Smarty’s Moto Wrap for April 22, 2014
Brett Metcalfe has been getting himself in shape for his up-coming defence of his 2013 Canadian MX1 Motocross Championship by pumping out laps around many of California’s moto tracks and just last weekend the South Aussie absolutely blitzed all of the local pro riders and Glen Helen specialists to win both 30 minute motos from start to finish. The goss is that Metty has the speed to give the front runners a hard time at the opening round of the AMA Motocross Championship being held at Glen Helen on May 24.
Speaking of the AMA Motocross Championships, Chad Reed hasn’t been idle either with the Aussie training his arse off on his pushy logging up serious miles to get ready for round one, while Ryan Villopoto is in fact in doubt for the series. I have been closely watching the rumour around Villopoto and the possibility of the factory Kawasaki pilot not competing at all, OR competing until his yet to be confirmed knee/leg injury causes too much pain. Well, I haven’t mentioned it to date because it was pure rumour and speculation but there seems to be some substance to the rumblings that Villopoto has injured himself at some stage during this supercross season but as per usual with RV we won’t really know what is going down until Glen Helen comes around.
The Bulgarian round of the World Motocross Championships didn’t go to plan for Todd Waters or Luke Styke. In the opening MXGP moto Waters got another mid pack start but worked his way up 11th before coming under attack from David Philippaerts, Shaun Simpson, Rui Goncalves, Matiss Karro and finally Davide Guarneri on the final lap to finish up in a disappointing 16th place then in the rain soaked second moto Waters start back in 12th but quickly moved up sixth place but with two laps to go tangled with Karro and dropped back to 8th place. Todd still sits seventh in the championship and is due a good weekend.
After finishing a credible 12th place in Saturday’s qualifying race, Luke Styke started the opening moto in 15th place and battled lone Yank Thomas Covington and Finnish star Harri Kullas all moto to end up in 15th, but in the second moto Styke started the race in 13th place but dropped back to 16th place and that is where he finished. I have a feeling Styke is battling a bike issue to be sitting mid pack over the last two rounds. See the full report below.
Bulgaria saw the running of the new 300cc Two-Stroke Championship and it was TM Racing Team’s Samuele Bernardini who dominated both motos while team Maddii Racing’s Marco Maddii scored second overall thanks to his 3-2 finishes ahead of CEC I.S Racing’s Toms Macuks who rounded off the podium with his 2-4 moto finishes.
Round two of the All-Japan Motocross Championships was held at Saitama last weekend and Gold Coast rider Takeshi Katsuya hammered the 250 class with two emphatic wins and now leads the championship by nine points while living legend Akira Narita dominated the 450 class. See report and results below.
Round two of the UK MX Nationals was held last Sunday but at the time of writing I can’t find one spec of information about the event. For some reason there are three national championships in the UK and they are the hardest to report on thanks to the slow process of the results and reports hitting their web sites.
On the local front there was a plethora of national stars racing their State Championship rounds on the weekend. Broc Winston and Nick Sutherland took their Husqvarnas to victory in the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively ahead of a gaggle of contenders at the opening round of the Queensland Championship up in Coolum. Louis Calvin and Kyle Webster did the same thing over in Kalgoorlie at round two of the Western Australian Motocross Championships.
South Australia’s ‘King Of The Gulf’ was won by none other than Luke Arbon who managed to keep locals Danny Leane and Dan Banks at bay all day.
Moto Wrap for the weekend of April 19/20 includes:
– Round 5 of World Motocross Championships in Bulgaria
– Rounds 3 and 4 of the Australia Off-Road Championships (AORC) I, Boyland, Queensland
– Round 2 of the All-Japan Motocross Championships at Saitama
– Round 1 of the AMA Supermoto at Lake Havasu, AZ
– World Mini GP being held at Glen Helen, CA April 15-20
– Tough One Hard Enduro – Hawkwstone Park, UK
World Motocross Championships – Round 5 – Bulgaria – Official MXGP Report (with some extra rider quotes)
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli finally broke the curse of Bulgaria, winning in Sevlievo for the first time since his MX2 days back in 2007. Ever modest, the seven-time world champion admitted it wasn’t easy, “In race one, Gautier was riding really fast and in race two the track was really difficult, but I tried to ride smooth. I did make some small mistakes near the end but I had an ok lead so it was ok.”
“I was happy to win in Bulgaria, the last time here was 2007, and I’m happy to gain some good points after we lost a few in Trentino. That’s good for the championship. The track was very slippery in the second moto and we had to find different lines. The two motos were in completely different conditions and we don’t often see that in a GP.”
Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin mixed a brilliant race with an average one for second overall. In race one, the flying Frenchman put an amazing pass on the reigning world champion Antonio Cairoli when he railed around the outside and scrubbed down the hill to take over the lead. Despite finishing race one with a convincing win, the best he could do in the treacherous conditions of race two was fourth, but was still satisfied with his riding saying, “I am ok with this result, my riding was good so I am happy, we had a real motocross track this weekend, and it was great to ride on Saturday with such grip; I really enjoyed going in the corners full gas. Today the conditions were different but the organisers did a good job to prepare the track. I was second at the start of the first race but I passed Cairoli straight away in a corner and controlled my rivals to post the fastest lap and win this race. The second moto was different with the rain; my start was not so bad, but not as good as the first one; I was running in fourth position and it was important to get a podium result again. Now I will fly to Belgium to train in the sand before the GP of Valkenswaard.”
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek continues his climb up the championship ladder as he takes home yet another podium with third overall. After taking home fourth in race one, the Belgian proved his worth in race two when he took the gnarly conditions with a grain of salt, finishing second, a remarkable three seconds behind the seven-time world champ Antonio Cairoli.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s dynamic duo Clement Desalle and Kevin Strijbos both rounded out the weekend with a fourth and a third place finish in their races for fourth equal. Going up against the consistency of fellow Belgian Jeremy Van Horebeek, Desalle drops four points to his countryman and is now tied with the Yamaha rider for second overall in the championship standings.
Meanwhile yesterday’s top qualifier Team HRC’s Max Nagl didn’t have the best day in the office. After going down early in race one, the German put in an outstanding ride, battling all the way from last place to salvage ninth. In the slop of race two, Nagl, in a battle for fifth, wedged his bike between the wheel and fender of Shaun Simpson. After finally untangling and re-grouping he managed to move back up to sixth, but a last lap fault ended up dropping him back to ninth meaning he would have to settle for a disappointing ninth overall.
Todd Waters had this to say after the final race of the weekend. “It’s been one heck of a weekend. Rain on Saturday left the track with some massive ruts and it was really technical to ride. I was out of my comfort zone a little in race one trying to deal with the ruts but I gave it my best shot. Even though I don’t get a lot of mud in Australia I had a lot of fun in race two. I got up as high as sixth but then crashed with another rider. Even though my gloves were caked in mud I kept pushing on and finished eighth.”
MXGP Race 1 top ten: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:19.641; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:08.082; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:16.115; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:30.343; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +1:01.766; 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Honda), +1:09.534; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:12.698; 8. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna), +1:24.429; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:27.782; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +1:35.667. 16. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna).
MXGP Race 2 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35:40.651; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:03.570; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:10.551; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:41.981; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:44.961; 6. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna), +1:16.440; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:22.728; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:26.334; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +1:27.951; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +1:38.708
MXGP Overall: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 43 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 40 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 36 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 36 p.; 6. Tyla Rattray (RSA, HUS), 28 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, HON), 25 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 22 p.; 10. Rui Goncalves (POR, YAM), 20 p. 8. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), 18.
MXGP World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 222 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 194 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 194 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 180 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 166 p.; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 145 p.; 7. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 107 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, HON), 96 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 95 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 95 p
Official MX2 Report (with some extra rider quotes)
After arm-pump plagued his qualifying heat race, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings came out all guns blazing today in Sevlievo. Although winning race one proved no easy feat, the young Dutch sensation is ever a fighter and fought right to the end to claim the win in both races for his second perfect score of the season.
While the result for Team CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Arnaud Tonus was not quite what he wanted, his impressive racing is what caught the attention of many. The flamboyant Swiss was throwing big scrubs as he stayed in contention for the win for the entire duration of both races. After taking two second place finishes behind the two-time world champion Jeffrey Herlings, Tonus remains the championship points leader, four points clear of Jeffrey Herlings. Tonus said in the press conference, “It was really a balance between pushing and trying to stay on two wheels, so it was really difficult, but I really wanted to stay on two wheels and I did that so I am happy.”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier hasn’t had the greatest start to the season, but after his solid set of thirds, even despite the fact he ditched his goggles early in race two, the Frenchman looks to be turning things around as he seals the deal on his first podium finish of the season. “This season has not gone really good, I have had bad starts and just put too much pressure on myself, which is not the best, but today I came in not expecting to be on the podium because I have broken a little bone in my hand and now here I am, so I am really happy.”
Even though CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Dylan Ferrandis found himself in the thick of the battle for a podium finish, the stylish Frenchman made a few too many errors this weekend, which in turn landed him in fourth overall with two consistent fourth place finishes.
Rounding out the top five Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre was forced to settle for fifth, after a tangle with a lapped rider saw him loose his easy third place finish in race two.
The local hero Kemea Yamaha Racing’s Petar Petrov was one of the most impressive performers of the day. The friendly Bulgarian had all the fans on their feet as he carved his way from last place in race one to a remarkable eighth and then placed the cherry on top with his seasons best place finish in race two, sixth, for sixth overall.
Luke Styke doesn’t sound wrapped with his weekend. “Saturday went good for me. I had a good feeling on the track and finished 12th. On Sunday it was more difficult. The first moto I was in 15th for pretty much the whole race. On a jump I hurt my wrist a little and after that I rode tight and cautious not to hit the wrist again. In the second race I was riding tight again to finish 16th. Back to Belgium now and we will continue to work hard for the next race.”
MX2 Race 1: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:45.533; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:04.431; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:12.807; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.900; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:18.710; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:37.581; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:49.409; 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +0:53.953; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:56.176; 10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:00.286. 15. Luke Styke (AUS, Yamaha).
MX2 Race 2: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 36:18.566; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:04.511; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:49.156; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:52.087; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:54.248; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +0:56.871; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:57.131; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +1:07.437; 9. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:19.120; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:22.307. 16. Luke Styke (AUS, Yamaha).
MX2 Overall: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 44 p.; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 36 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 32 p.; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 28 p.; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 28 p.; 9. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 23 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 23 p. 17. Luke Styke (AUS, Yamaha), 11p.
MX2 World Championship Classification: 1. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 198 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 194 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 176 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 158 p.; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 154 p.; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 147 p.; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 130 p.; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 121 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 107 p.; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 105 p. 19. Luke Styke (AUS, Yamaha) 38p.
Australia Off-Road Championships (AORC) – Rounds 3 and 4 – Boyland, Queensland
The Gold Coast hinterland suburb of Boyland hosted rounds 3 and 4 of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championships and by the looks of the results Daniel Milner was without doubt the fastest rider over the two days of competition – see the official report below.
DAY 1:
The Enduro saw riders depart at 9am and pre-ride the first loop and two tests of around 1 hour in length, then out on loop two and its pair of tests for an average of 55 minutes.
When they returned it was game on as the stop watches came out to see who had been doing the hard yards and had the speed in the dry conditions to pull the #1 spot.
Juniors did 2 loops for the day and 4 timed tests along with Women and Masters.
In the Women’s Class on her return from Europe only 10 hours prior Jessica Gardiner (Sherco) showed why she is #1 and won the day by 40sec to Tayla Jones (KTM) and a further 12 sec’s back to Jemma Wilson (Yamaha).
In the Masters Mike Shearer showed that he still has the goods to take the win over Trent Lean and closely followed by Geoff Ballard, with less than 1 min separating the top 5 in this class it shows that the class is very competitive.
They all had a good days riding although the tough terrain didn’t suit all riders.
The rest of the field did three loops and eight tests in what was a big days riding.
Vets class saw old Rivals Damian Smith (Husqvarna) and Kirk Hutton (Yamaha) go head to head with Smith coming out on top with the #1 podium, #2 Hutton and #3 Rowan Pumpa (Yamaha).
In the E1 division, Scott Keegan (Husqvarna Enduro Racing) stole first by only two seconds to Tom McCormack (Active8 Yamaha) in second and only five seconds back to Peter Boyle (Motorex KTM) in third making for exciting racing on day two.
E2 saw current Australian #1 Milner take the win by only 13 seconds to Price and Geoff Braico (Husaberg) in third.
Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Enduro Racing) proved his mettle in the E3 class to take first by 27 seconds to Jarrod Bewley (Husaberg) and Stefan Granquist (Active8 Yamaha) in third.
The newly formed Transmoto 19 & Under class saw young gun Daniel Sanders (KTM) continue to dominate and take the win over a pair of talented up and comers in Tom Mason (KTM) second and Broc Grabham (KTM) in third.
DAY 2
It was Dry and dusty conditions that saw yesterday’s top three Milner, Price and Kearney lead the field into the first test today at 8am.
The first test saw Milner continue to dominate and get a 10 second lead to Price and Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha) in third, after eight tests, that was the top 3 outright as well.
All Riders commented on how gutsy and tough the Juniors were in finishing the day as there was some gnarly trail out there.
In the Junior classes Lyndon Snodgrass continued to dominate the J4 class with over 1.5 minutes to the nearest J4 competitor Seth Muller and a further 30 secs back to Wil Ruprecht.
In the J3 Class Ben Kearns continued his winning streak to now 4 from 4 winning the day. Deon Javni and Tom Bushell in third
In the J2 Class the NSW Brierley twins continued their dominance of the sport taking the top 2 spots Joshua in first and Mitchell in second and young Victorian Jack Mathews came home in third.
In the women’s it was Gardiner who was showing no signs of jet lag to take the double for the weekend winning today by just under one minute to Jemma Wilson who held her own today to beat Tayla Jones for third.
In the Masters Class Geoff Ballard of old came out to play today and took the win even commentating afterwards that “in the end it was kind of fun”, Trent Lean second and Mike Shearer managed to hold third after a a big crash in the second last test.
Damian Smith continued to Dominate the Vets Class winning 4 from 4 now and showing the rest of the field a clean set of heals. Kirk Hutton also continued to get 4 from 4 in second place not quite having the speed to get to the top of the podium, Rowan Pumpa rounded out the class in third.
19 and under class saw Victorian Daniel “Chucky” Sanders take first again this time to NSW Broc Grabham leaving third place to Victorian Tom Mason. with only a minute separating the top th,ree this will be a class to watch.
Active 8 Yamaha Rider McCormack took his second top spot on the podium this year with only eight seconds to KTM rider Boyle and only 24 seconds back to Husqvarna Rider Scott Keegan.
The E2 class saw reining Australian #1 take the top step on the podium by only 10 seconds to a gutsy riding Price and Josh Green in third who came home strong only seven seconds later.
E3 Class saw Glenn Kearney take the win with Jarrod Bewley in second and Stefan Granquist in third.
Round 3 Class Results
Outright: 1. Daniel Milner. 2. Toby Price. 3. Glenn Kearney. 4. Geoff Braico. 5. Lachlan Stanford. 6. Jarrod Bewley. 7. Josh Green. 8. Daniel Sanders. 9. Scott Keegan. 10. Tom McCormack.
E1: 1. Scott Keegan. 2. Tom McCormack. 3. Peter Boyle. 4. Tom Kite. 5. Kristen Sprenger. 6. Nic Tomlinson. 7. John Day. 8. Michael McCormack. 9. Andrew Janke. 10. Thomas Jenner.
E2: 1. Scott Keegan. 2. Tom McCormack. 3. Peter Boyle. 4. Tom Kite. 5. Kristen Sprenger. 6. Nic Tomlinson. 7. John Day. 8. Michael McCormack. 9. Andrew Janke. 10. Thomas Jenner.
E3: 1. Glenn Kearney. 2. Jarrod Bewley. 3. Stefan Granqvist. 4. Adam Giles. 5. Craig Hepburn.
Under19’s: 1. Daniel Sanders. 2. Tom Mason. 3. Broc Grabham. 4. Kane Hall. 5. Kaleb Treasure.
Women: 1. Jessica Gardiner. 2. Tayla Jones. 3. Jemma Wilson. 4. Emelie Karlsson. 5. Kellie Catanese.
Round 4 Class Results
Outright: 1. Daniel Milner. 2. Toby Price. 3. Josh Green. 4. Glenn Kearney. 5. Chris Hollis. 6. Jarrod Bewley. 7. Geoff Braico. 8. Lachlan Stanford. 9. Tom McCormack. 10. Peter Boyle.
E1: 1. Tom McCormack. 2. Peter Boyle. 3. Scott Keegan. 4. Tom Kite. 5. Nic Tomlinson. 6. Kristen Sprenger. 7. Michael McCormack. 8. John Day. 9. John Prutti. 10. Andrew Janke.
E2: 1. Daniel Milner. 2. Toby Price. 3. Josh Green. 4. Chris Hollis. 5. Geoff Braico. 6. Lachlan Stanford. 7. Beau Ralston. 8. Kye Anderson. 9. Alex Bolton. 10. Dan Ralph.
E3: 1. Glenn Kearney. 2. Jarrod Bewley. 3. Stefan Granqvist. 4. Adam Giles. 5. Adrian Curley. 6. Daniel Chrzanowski.
Under19’s: 1. Daniel Sanders. 2. Broc Grabham. 3. Tom Mason. 4. Kane Hall. 5. Kaleb Treasure.
Women: 1. Jessica Gardiner. 2. Jemma Wilson. 3. Tayla Jones. 4. Emelie Karlsson. 5. Tamara Gray.
Outright Championship Standings (After Round 4 of 12): 1. Daniel Milner – 85. 2. Glenn Kearney – 74. 3. Josh Green – 70. 4. Toby Price – 69. 5. Lachlan Stanford – 62. 6. Chris Hollis – 61. 7. Jarrod Bewley – 59. 8. Tom McCormack – 49. 9. Daniel Sanders – 49. 10. Geoff Braico – 48.
AMA Supermoto – Round 1 – Lake Havasu, AZ
At the time of writing there is nothing official out but thanks to Facebook I can report that Honda CRF450R mounted Joey Pascarella has dominated round one of the AMA Supermoto Championships held at Lake Havasu last weekend.
Open Pro: 1. Joey Pascarella. 2. Steve Drew. 3. Gage McAllister.
Pro Lites: 1. Sean Butterman. 2. Nocky Reimer. 3.Mark Hopkins.
All-Japan Motocross Championships – Round 2 – Saitama – MFJ Motocross Championship 2014 Round 2 of 9
Defending champion Akira Narita and Australian Takeshi Katsuya have dominated the 450cc and 250cc classes respectively at round two of the MFJ All-Japan Motocross Championships held at Saitama last weekend.
Narita is a living legend in Japan and has yet to drop a moto in the championship so far. “Saturday, I did not ride well, I was full of anxiety to be honest but in heat 1 I had some luck, I was surprised when Kojima had a big fall in the first lap and in heat 2 I was faster around this course and my competitive spirit and ability to concentrate has increased.”
Katsuya returned to the All-Japan series in 2014 after competing in the MX Nationals last year and so far it has been a success with the Gold Coast rider winning three of the four motos in the series so far and has a nine point lead ahead of Honda factory star Toshiki Tomita.
Round 2 Top Five – IA1 (450): 1. Narita (H). 2. Arai (K). 3. Hoshino (H). 4. Ogata (H). 5. Mihara (K)
450 Championship Points after 2 of 9 Rounds: 1. NARITA Akira – 100. 2. OGATA Makoto – 72. 3. ARAI Hiroaki – 66. 4. HOSHINO Yui – 63. 5. MIHARA Takuya – 61. 6. ATSUTA Yoshitaka – 59. 7. KOJIMA Yohei – 47. 8. FUKAYA Koh’ichi – 46. 9. ITOH Masanori – 46. 10. NUMATA Seiji – 41.
Round 2 Top Five – IA2 (250): 1. Katsuya (K). 2. Tomita (H). 3. Okano (S). 4. Takenaka (S). 5. Inoue (K)
250 Championship Points after 2 of 9 Rounds: 1. KATSUYA Takeshi – 93. 2. TOMITA Toshiki – 84. 3. TAKENAKA Jun’ya – 73. 4. NOHTSUKA Chihiro – 60. 5. OKANO Takashi – 60. 6. TANAKA Masami Honda – 57. 7. OGAWA Kouhei – 56. 8. INOUE Shin’ichi – 53. 9. BABA Daiki – 47. 10. YASUHARA Nozomu – 45.
World Mini GP – Glen Helen
The 43rd running of the NMA World Mini Grand Prix at Glen Helen Raceway is now in the history books with more than 40 class championships being decided over three days of racing. More than 700 entries were filled out for this year’s event. This was, according to the NMA, a slight increase over last year’s World Mini GP, which had been held in Mesquite, Nevada, the last few years.
There were a number of multi-class champions this year, but no one took home more than Yamaha’s Ryan Surratt from nearby Corona, California. Surratt racked up four titles, all coming in the Intermediate division, where he topped both the 250 Stock and Modified motos, as well as both the 450 Stock and Modified motos.
Another big winner was KTM rider Carson Brown. Had it not been for a problem early in the second 85/150 Open that resulted in a 10th-place finish, Brown might’ve gone back to his home state of Washington with four titles as well. Instead, he’ll have to be satisfied with just three. Brown claimed double-moto wins in the 85/150 Modified and Stock (14-16) classes, and went 1-2 in the 112 Supermini Thru-16 for the title. (Brown also won the first 85/150 Open moto.) Casey Keast won the second Supermini moto but a third in the first moto resulted in a second overall trophy.
KTM rider Tanner Amarillas took the 112 Supermini Thru-13-class Championship and did so without winning a moto. His consistent 3-2 placing gave him the big number-one trophy.
In the Pro division, Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger added two more titles to his already impressive resume. The Ohio-native swept all motos in the 250 and 450 Modified Pro classes.
Michigan’s Cody McCulloch (Yamaha) traded moto wins with Georgia’s Kyler West (Honda) to win the 250 Stock Pro class, while Nevada’s Jayme Gardiner III (Suzuki) won the 450 Modified Pro class with a 1-1, topping Justin Jones (KTM) and his 2-2 tally.
Temecula, California’s Brooke Whipple went 1-1 to take the Women’s-class Championship on her Honda.
One of the stars in the 50 Pee Wee division was Enzo Termmerman who guided his Cobra through the deep ruts and over the big bumps of Glen Helen to claim two titles in the Stock and Modified (4-6) divisions, winning all four motos.
KTM rider Haiden Deegan also claimed two class championships in the Pee Wee Modified (7-8) and Super Pee Wee Open (6-9) classes.
Kyle Berry and Fletcher Jackson went at it in the Pee Wee Modified (9-10) class. The KTM riders traded moto wins, but it was Berry who won the all-important second moto for the overall victory.
Canada’s Jacob Piccolo went home with two titles in the 65cc Jr. Cycle Stock (9-11) and Open (6-11) classes.
Oregon’s Max Miller was another double title winner at the World Minis. The Kawasaki rider fought hard for his championships in the 85 Stock and Modified Thru-11 classes.
Tough One Hard Enduro – Hawkwstone Park, UK
David Knight took a tough win at this year’s Tough One Hard Enduro in England, turning in an inspired, come-from-behind performance to give Sherco their first-ever Hard Enduro victory.
With the event moving to the legendary Hawkstone Park motocross circuit as it celebrated its 10th anniversary, many riders were unsure of what to expect. However, The Tough One lived up to its name; featuring a fast-paced, sandy motocross circuit and challenging woodland hill climbs it tested all competitors during the three-hour duration of the event.
Jonny Walker had the early edge. Leading the race after the Le Mans style start, the KTM rider tried to break away from the chasing field of riders. But with Knight in close pursuit, Walker was unable to gain an advantage. At the end of lap two, Knight ran into trouble and handed the race lead back to Walker. Pushing on, Walker opened up a significant gap but as the rough and unforgiving conditions began to take their toll, his lead diminished as Knight caught back up. Losing out in the final hour of the race, Walker was reluctantly forced to settle for the runner-up result while Knight took the victory.
Husqvarna’s Alfredo Gomez rounded out the podium, while Graham Jarvis, who has won the event the last four years, was fourth, also on a Husqvarna.
Pro Class Results: 1. David Knight (Sherco) 18 laps, 3:00:24; 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) 3:02:19; 3. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 3:09:24; 4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 3:11:46; 5. Paul Bolton (KTM) 17 laps, 3:01:16.
Moto Wrap for the weekend of April 26/27 will include:
– Round 16 of the AMA Supercross at the MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, N.J.)
– Round 5 of the GNCC at Loretta Lynn’s, Hurricane Mills, TN
– Round 3 of the MX Nationals at Wonthaggi, Vic
– Round 3 of the Dutch Motocross Championship at the Axel circuit in Holland
– Round 2 of the FIM World Speedway Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland
– Round 2 of the Maxxis British Motocross Championships at Foxhill (I hope)
– 2014 Aust Post Classic MX Champs being held at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley
