Smarty’s Moto Wrap for June 17, 2014
The MAXIMA Oils Conondale Classic is without doubt the biggest classic motocross meeting in Australia and for 2014 the event is being held over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of August. 1996 World Motocross Champion Shayne King is returning for the third time and this year he has a very well prepared 1989 CR500R worthy of his ability at his disposal and he wants to get to the pointy end of the field to battle with the likes of Dave Armstrong and James Deakin. Google search QVMX and/or Conondale Classic for more information.
The future of the Green Park, Conondale Motocross facility was up in the air thanks to the trustees looking to turn the property into a Grey Nomads destination. Thankfully that decision has been squashed and motocross is here to stay at Conondale for the foreseeable future.
The 2014 Australian Supermoto Championships were held up in Proserpine (North Qld) last weekend and former Junior Motocross Champion Beau Laing has won the S1 championship while some guy by the name of Troy Bayliss won the S2 and S3 classes. That is five Australian Championships for Bayliss in two weekends after the former World Superbike Champion dominated the Australian Dirt Tracks Championships the weekend before.
Round 3 of the Smarter Than Smoking WAMX was held in Bunbury, South of Perth last weekend and Reece Colgan took the MX1 round win from series leader and defending champion Louis Calvin with Tim Bell grabbing the third step of the podium while Josh Adams picked up first overall in the MX2 class with Jayden Rykers second and Dylan Heard for third place.
Chad Reed is Back!! Well, sort of. Chad managed to pull two holeshots at round four of the AMA Motocross Championships held at Hi-Point last weekend and managed a very respectable 5-10 finishes over the two motos and now sits ninth overall in the championships. Chad is getting faster and stronger so it is only a matter of time before he hits the podium.
Brett Metcalfe on the other hand had a disappointing day with two poor starts forcing the South Aussie to come from the back of the pack to finish 9-7 over the two motos. See the full report and results below.
Swiss MX2 World Motocross Championship contender Arnaud Tonus has announced that he will move to the United States to race for the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team for the 2015 and 2016 AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships. “I signed a two year contract with Kawasaki Pro Circuit, and I’m really happy to enter a new experience in such a prestigious team.” Tonus exclaimed. “It was a dream for me to go racing one day in the USA, I have not so much experience in Supercross but I’m ready to go and work hard to get some good results there.
Luke Styke did not compete in the Italian round of the World Motocross Championships thanks to an injury sustained recently but the former Australian Motocross Champion should be back and ready to race in the next few weeks.
It was a tough weekend in Italy for two of MXGP stars with Russian Evgeny Bobryshev breaking his leg at the start of the second moto while Joël Roelants broke his back during timed qualifying and has had his spine stabalised with eight bolts. See the full report and results from the latest round of the World Motocross Championships below.
Matt Phillips is the new leader of the E3 class in the FIM World Enduro Championships after a sensational 1-3 result over the two days of racing that made up round four in Sweden. Phillips was not the only Aussie to shine in Sweden with Stefan Granquist putting in two top ten guest rides in the E2 class while Jessica Gardner managed two podium finishes in the Women’s class. See the full report and results below.
Chris Holder, Darcy Ward and Troy Batchelor have finished 3rd, 10th and 11th respectively at round five of the World Speedway Championships held in Sweden last weekend and thanks to the fact that no one riders has really run away with the series this year Holder and Ward are still very much in the championship hunt. See the full report and results below.
Moto Wrap for the weekend of June 14/15 includes:
- Round 10 of the World Motocross Championships at Maggiora, Italy
- Round 5 of the World Enduro Championships at Enköping, Sweden (includes Women)
- Round 5 of the FIM Speedway Championships in (Malilla) Sweden
- Round 4 of the AMA Motocross Championship at the High Point National, Mt. Morris, Pa.
- Round 3 of the Canadian Motocross Championships at Calgary
- 2014 Prairie Dogs Last Dog Standing
World Motocross Championships – Round 10 – Maggiora, Italy
Every year that Maggiora has hosted an FIM Motocross World Championship event it has never ceased to amaze and this year was no different. The location itself just has a knack of drawing huge boisterous crowds filled with passion and enthusiasm which was just egged on even more with their very own motocross phenomenon Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli bringing home a perfect score for a very emotional victory here at round ten of the FIM Motocross World Championship. Meanwhile in the MX2, Cairoli’s Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Jeffrey Herlings rocked with yet another dominating performance to tie with Italian legend Alessandro Puzar as the most successful rider around the magnificent circuit here in Maggiora.
MXGP Race Report: Team Italy just scored the winning goal in the final of the Football World Cup! Maybe not yet, but their star Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli got the same response with the tens of thousands of screaming ‘TC222’ fans cheering and celebrating as the Italian sensation brought home a breath-taking double victory. Just seconds after the race a noticeably happy and emotional Tony Cairoli said with a smile from ear to ear “I’ve wanted to win this race so much and to have so many fans here pushing me all the way, I am happy to do it here today, I liked the track, it fitted me better than last year and I just want to dedicate this race to my father, Benedetto Cairoli.”
‘Watch this space’ could be the next butt patch for Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek as he continues to pick up momentum. The Belgian youngster looked more aggressive than normal on his retro looking YZ450FM, it’s evident he’s getting hungry for his first MXGP victory. If it wasn’t for the flawless form of his good friend and rival Tony Cairoli, it would have been a win for Van Horebeek here today. Nonetheless he rode well with two second place finishes landing him on the podium for the ninth time in succession this season.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos has missed the box for the last handful of MXGP rounds, while his teammate Clement Desalle has been racking them up. This weekend it was Strijbos who landed on the box with third after Desalle threw away second place in race one with a super gnarly crash over a jump forcing him to settle for fourth. During the press conference a content Strijbos said “This season has gone pretty good so far only the last two races in England and France were not so good, but after that I sat down with the whole team and we made a plan to try to make it better and we worked hard the last few weeks and it’s coming back now. I definitely want to be on the podium every time.”
One of the top performances of the weekend has to go to the 2008 FIM Motocross World Champion DP19 Racing’s David Philippaerts. The local man with a ton of fans of which he shares with fellow Italian legend Antonio Cairoli had the crowd in fits of celebration as he fought his way to his best race finish since 2012. A plausible fifth in race two which was hard fought against Hitachi Construction Machinery’s Shaun Simpson, who was all over him like a rash, combined with his ninth in race one landed the Italian star in fifth overall for his best finish this year.
Bad luck struck Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Steven Frossard who rode a stellar race in race one filling the gap of his missing teammate and last year’s victor Gautier Paulin just fine. The Frenchman bought home a third in that race which came undone when he was forced to retire due to a technical problem with the bike in race two.
Clearly, the Italian fans know how to fire up their riders with the third top Italian MXGP star TM Ricci Racing’s Davide Guarneri also riding amazing today on his retro style red TM for a remarkable eight overall.
Heartbreak for HRC Team’s Evgeny Bobryshev who was looking more like the ‘Bobby’ of old out on the iconic track of Maggiora. After taking home a remarkable fifth in race one, race two saw Bobryshev crash three corners in when he was struck from behind by another rider. The Russian MXGP star was immediately stretchered off of the track by the medical crew and taken to the track’s medical center before being transported to a nearby hospital with a suspected broken tibia and fibula.
MXGP Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:47.796; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:04.109; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:10.121; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:20.361; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:23.524; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:41.674; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:45.162; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:45.566; 9. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:50.193; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:10.566.
MXGP Race 2 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:39.495; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:04.774; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:05.986; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:24.914; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:31.560; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:34.934; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:48.210; 8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:49.759; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:51.107; 10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:51.136.
MXGP Overall top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 44 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 38 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 32 p.; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 28 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 27 p.; 8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 24 p.; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 20 p.; 10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, KAW), 19 p.
MXGP World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 443 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 405 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 402 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 314 p.; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 217 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 211 p.; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 205 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 184 p.; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 166 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 163 p.
MX2 Race Report: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings, as he stormed his way to his 40th Grand Prix overall, “It was amazing, I’ve won 23 GP’s in the last 18 months so that has helped and today I made 40 GP wins, so that’s pretty amazing. Today the track was really good, the rain was the perfect watering just enough to keep the dust away and give the track a lot of grip. I made a lot of passes in the race, so it shows it was possible to make passes, it was a lot of fun!”
Maggiora loves a bit of retro and although the word ‘retro’ may not apply to last year, it was good to see Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier line up like his old self, finishing with two thirds for second overall and moving up into third in the championship standings.
Being knocked back to the third step after a bad start in race two ruined his solid performance in race one for second, CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Arnaud Tonus explained, “Yeah I made it difficult for myself today, I didn’t qualify so well yesterday so I didn’t have a good pick at the gate. In the second race my jump was also not so good and I struggled to find good lines to pass and lost a lot of time at the beginning of the race. Anyway I am just happy to be on the podium.”
This season’s early bloomer CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Dylan Ferrandis rounded out MXGP of Italy with an outstanding ride in race two to charge forward and run away with second place. Combined with his seventh in race one, the Frenchman ended up in fourth overall ahead of fellow young gun Tim Gajser.
Honda Gariboldi’s teenage dream Tim Gajser is fast becoming a solid top five guy. While the seventeen-year-old Slovenian would have loved to have stood on the podium today, his fourth and fifth place results were only enough for a respectable fifth overall.
MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:59.483; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:16.222; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:29.958; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:32.756; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:36.815; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:37.753; 7. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:38.583; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), +0:43.364; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +1:06.588; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:18.881.
MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:18.701; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:32.011; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:35.589; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:36.284; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:37.154; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:38.568; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:47.649; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:50.646; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, Suzuki), +0:57.312; 10. Damon Graulus (BEL, KTM), +1:00.811
MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 36 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 34 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 30 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 24 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 24 p.; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, SUZ), 20 p.
MX2 World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 444 points; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 389 p.; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 331 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 327 p.; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 314 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 269 p.; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 240 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 223 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 213 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 192 p.
World Enduro Championships – Round 5 – Enköping, Sweden
Round 5 – Day 1: Australia’s Matthew Phillips has moved to the top of the E3 World Enduro Championships after the opening day of action at the 5th round of the 2014 Maxxis World Enduro Championships in Sweden.
Firmly establishing himself as the rider to watch for in the Enduro 3 ranks, KTM mounted Phillips won day one. But despite taking his fourth consecutive victory, it was a tough day at the office for the KTM rider.
Injuring his wrist midway through the day, Phillips dug deep to win. “Mathias was riding really strong but I managed to get into the lead about lap two,” commented Phillips. “I then hurt my wrist and had to try and adapt my riding but with Mathias close it was a fight to the finish, it feels awesome to get another win in the bag.”
Starting his weekend off with the fastest time in the Super Test, France’s Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) put up the closest challenge to, eventually finishing as runner-up.
Claiming his first E3 podium result, France’s Jeremy Joly (KTM) found the long and testing day in Sweden to his liking to secure third. Recording yet another top five result, Portugal’s Luis Corria (Beta) ended his day in fourth. Back in competitive EWC action following his recent knee injury, Sweden’s Joakim Ljunggren (Husqvarna) finished a very impressive fifth.
It was a hard day for championship leader Ivan Cervantes (KTM). In obvious discomfort from his injured ankle, the Spaniard struggled home to 12th.
There was no stopping Christophe Nambotin (F-KTM) in the Enduro 1 category as he secured a runaway victory. Topping Friday’s super test by a massive four seconds, the Frenchman set the tone for day one and was never headed.
“It was a hard day but a good one,” told Nambotin. “I felt strong in the super test and carried that momentum throughout today, I’m really happy to win again.”
Unable to answer the pace set by Nambotin, like he had done previously in Finland, Eero Remes (M) had to settle for second. Off the pace of the leading duo but clear of the rest of the E1 field, Jeremy Tarroux (F) recorded another podium result for Sherco with third.
Recording his fifth win of the series, France’s Pela Rrenet (Husqvarna) led home the field of the Enduro 2 riders on day one in Enköping. Trailing both Johnny Aubert (F-Beta) and Alex Salvini (I-Honda) on lap one, the Husqvarna rider found his stride as they started lap two. Easing away to win 12 of the day’s 16 special tests, Renet took a comfortable win.
“That was one of the longest, most physically demanding days of the EWC for some time,” confirmed Renet. “With so many special tests it was very tough but I did enjoy it. I found my pace early on, tried to remain consistent and not make mistakes. It’s great to be on the top step of the podium again.”
Ending his day as runner-up, Aubert finished almost two minutes behind his French compatriot while placing nearly one minute clear of Salvini in third.
Picking up her fifth win of the season, Spain’s Laia Sanz (Honda) secured victory in the Women’s Cup. Britain’s Jane Daniels (Husqvarna) fought her way from fourth to finish as runner-up while Australia’s Jessica Gardiner (Sherco) completed the top three.
Round 5 – Day 2: Australia’s Matthew Phillips has consolidated his lead in the E3 World Enduro Championships standings after finishing in third position on the second day of competition at the 5th round of the 2014 Maxxis World Enduro Championship held in Sweden.
After taking the win on Saturday, Phillips had to settle for second position on Sunday a new winner emerged with France’s Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) recording his first win of the season.
Shadowing Phillips throughout day one, Bellino was determined to win day two and did exactly that. Fastest in the first four special tests, the Husqvarna rider controlled his lead for the remainder of the day to win.
Frustrated with his 11th position from day one, Finland’s Matti Seistola began day two intent on making amends, splitting Bellino and Phillips, SEISTOLA secured the runner-up result.
Though unable to make it five wins on the bounce, Phillips ended day two in third but leaves Sweden as the new E3 championship leader ahead of KTM team mate Ivan Cervantes who battled his way through injury in Sweden.
Recording his fourth consecutive victory of the series France’s Pela Renet (Husqvarna) took the Enduro 2 win ahead of Jonny Aubert with Alex Salvini in third.
“It’s fantastic to have won again,” told Renet. “This was a really tough race and Aubert was very fast. I managed to open up a small gap and it was enough to take the win. I’m really pleased.”
Returning to the top step of the Enduro 1 class podium, Finland’s Eero Remes (TM) was unbeatable on day two in Enköping. Capitalising on a mistake by early race leader Christophe Nambotin during the second extreme test, Remes took control of proceedings.
With the lead his, the TM rider pushed on to claim his third win of the series ahead of Bambotin with Crsitobal Gurerro rounding out the poidum.
“Today was much better for me,” confirmed Remes. “I made only one mistake and in conditions like today that was very important, I’m happy to get another victory for the team.”
Knocking Laia Sanz (Honda) off the top step of the Women’s Cup podium, Husqvarna’s Jane Daniels secured the race win on day two. With SANZ pushed back to second, Sherco’s Jessica Gardiner picked up two special test wins to give the Australian the final step on the podium.
E1 Saturday Results: 1. Christophe Nambotin. 2. Eero Remes. 3. Jeremy Tarroux. 4. Cristobal Guerrero. 5. Rudi Moroni. 6. Thomas Oldrati. 7. Anthony Boissiere. 8. Jaume Betriu. 9. Jakob Morhed. 10. Niklas Gustafsson.
E1 Sunday Results: 1. Eero Remes. 2. Christophe Nambotin. 3. Cristobal Guerrero. 4. Jeremy Tarroux. 5. Thomas Oldrati. 6. Anthony Boissiere. 7. Rudi Moroni. 8. Jaume Betriu. 9. Jakob Morhed. 10. Johan Eklundh.
E1 Championship Standings After Round 5 of 8: 1. Christophe Nambotin – 191. 2. Eero Remes – 154. 3. Cristobal Guerrero – 146. 4. Anthony Boissiere – 121. 5. Jeremy Tarroux – 119. 6. Jaume Betriu – 96. 7. Thomas Oldrati – 81. 8. Rudi Moroni – 79. 9. Maurizio Micheluz – 40. 10. Kévin Rohmer – 37.
E2 Saturday Results: 1. Pierre Alexandre Renet. 2. Johnny Aubert. 3. Alex Salvini. 4. Lorenzo Santolino. 5. Roni Nikander. 6. Mirko Gritti. 7. Romain Dumoniter. 8. Jonas Karlsson. 9. Stefan Granquist. 10. Jens Hillgren.
E2 Sunday Results: 1. Pierre Alexandre Renet. 2. Johnny Aubert. 3. Alex Salvini. 4. Lorenzo Santolino. 5. Nikander. 6. Romain Dumontier. 7. Stefan Granquist. 8. Fredrik Johansson. 9. Olle Lothman. 10. Fredrik Kvarnstrom.
E2 Championship Standings After Round 5 of 8: 1. Pierre Alexandre Renet – 186. 2. Johnny Aubert – 152. 3. Alex Salvini – 128. 4. Antoine Meo – 114. 5. Lorenzo Santolino – 110. 7. Jonathan Barragan – 76. 8. Mirko Gritti – 66. 9. Romain Dumontier – 60. 10. Jamie Lewis – 42.
E3 Saturday Results: 1. Matthew Phillips. 2. Mathias Bellino. 3. Jérémy Joly. 4. Luis Correia. 5. Joakim Ljunggren. 6. Antoine Basset. 7. Fabien Planet. 8. Aigar Leok. 9. Simone Albergoni. 10. Henrich Linholm.
E3 Sunday Results: 1. Mathias Bellino. 2. Matti Seistola. 3. Matthew Phillips. 4. Luis Correia. 5. Jérémy Joly. 6. Simone Albergoni. 7. Joakim Ljunggren. 8. Antoine Basset. 9. Fabien Planet. 10. Johan Edlund.
E3 Championship Standings After Round 5 of 8: 1. Matthew Phillips – 174. 2. Ivan Cervantes – 155. 3. Mathias Bellino – 148. 4. Matti Seistola – 127. 5. Luis Correia – 118. 6. Jérémy Joly – 97. 7. Aigar Leok – 90. 8. Antoine Basset – 72. 9. Fabien Planet – 69. 10. Simone Albergoni – 58.
Women Saturday Results: 1. Laia Sanz. 2. Jane Daniels. 3. Jessica Gardiner. 4. Emelie Karlsson. 5. Samantha Tichet.
Women Sunday Results: 1. Jane Daniels. 2. Laia Sanz. 3. Jessica Gardiner. 4. Emelie Karlsson. 5. Géraldine Fournel.
Women Championship Standings After Round 3 of 4: 1. Laia Sanz – 117. 2. Jane Daniels – 105. 3. Jessica Gardiner – 84. 4. Samantha Tichet – 64. 5. Géraldine Fournel – 53. 8. Jemma Wilson – 41.
The FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship continues with round six on Lumezzane, Italy on August 2/3.
FIM Speedway Championships – Round 5 – (Malilla) Sweden
World champion Tai Woffinden is determined to take his FIM Speedway Grand Prix winning streak indoors in Copenhagen and Cardiff after completing back-to-back victories with Swedish SGP gold in Malilla on Saturday night.
The Team Great Britain skipper powered past World Championship rival Greg Hancock in the final to top the box for the second time in two weeks following his Czech Republic SGP triumph in Prague on May 31. They were joined on the podium by their Monster Energy stable mate Chris Holder and Polish racer Jaroslaw Hampel, who was fourth.
Woffinden, who chases his second straight British Championship at Wolverhampton on Monday, leads the SGP standings by a point on 63 – just one ahead of Hancock, who is breathing down his neck on 62.
The Californian has won at both the next two venues – PARKEN in Copenhagen, home of the Danish SGP on June 28, and Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, stage for the British SGP on July 12.
So Woffy is determined to take his red-hot form into two of the SGP season’s biggest events as he aims to take charge at the top. “I’ve had a bad track record on the indoor ones, but hopefully I’m going to set that straight.” Woffinden said, “I’m going to work very hard until the end. I’m going to train my backside off to get ready and really push on. Anyone can win it – it’s one of those seasons. It’s going to be interesting for everyone.
“I struggled a little bit with setup at the start of the night, but as each race went on, I got faster and faster. I’m pumped to get the win and it was an all-Monster podium – that’s crazy. We’ll have to see how many more we can get.”
Woffinden had to overcome a restart in the final after jumping a fraction too early from gate three in the initial staging of the race. “CH was twitching at the start line.” he continued. “I didn’t make the start in the re-run, but I stayed smooth and rode my bike as hard as I could. It paid off.”
After Friday’s practice was washed out, Woffinden was impressed with the G&B Arena race track, which lived up to its reputation as one of the sport’s most exciting. “It was a good night. They did a great job to get the track race-able after the rain on Friday. I quite enjoyed going straight into the meeting and not having practice. That was different and mixed it up a bit.” Woffinden concluded.
Runner-up Greg Hancock was gutted not to leave Malilla with his first Grand Prix win on Swedish shale in 32 attempts. But he’s delighted to be firmly on Woffy’s tail. “I haven’t won a Grand Prix in Sweden yet and that’s the closest I have come so far.” Hancock explained. “On the second start, I saw daylight right off the bat and I thought ‘it’s my race.’ I forgot Tai was in the race too, though. It’s one of those things. You’ve got to pick the right lines.
“I had a great night still. I’m feeling good and building momentum. It’s a long season and I’m ready to run them all the way.”
Third-placed Holder was delighted with his first final and rostrum appearance of what has been a solid start to 2014. The Aussie is now fourth in the standings on 55 points – level with Nicki Pedersen in third – and he is pleased with his progress as he continues his recovery from the serious injuries that destroyed his 2013 season.
“It was an awesome result.” Holder stated. “It was great to be back up here – it was a long way for me to come back after last year. I might not be on the top step, but I don’t care. I was pumped to be in the final and on the rostrum. I’m stoked.”
“You want to be consistent – that’s the name of the game. But you want to be scoring points too. It was good to get the monkey off my back and get into the final, Woffy and Greg were so quick tonight and this was my limit. But I’ll see them in two weeks and hopefully I can overtake them.”
It was a tough round for fellow Australians Darcy Ward and Troy Batchelor finishing 10th and 11th respectively.
Triple world champion Nicki Pedersen and Slovenia’s Matej Zagar both appeared before the FIM Jury charged with ungentlemanly conduct following their on and off track altercations in semi-final two.
Both riders were fined €600. Pedersen and Zagar have the option to appeal the punishment.
MALILLA SCORERS: 1 Tai Woffinden 17, 2 Greg Hancock 16, 3 Chris Holder 15, 4 Jaroslaw Hampel 13, 5 Niels-Kristian Iversen 11, 6 Nicki Pedersen 11, 7 Kenneth Bjerre 10, 8 Matej Zagar 10, 9 Peter Ljung 7, 10 Darcy Ward 6, 11 Troy Batchelor 5, 12 Chris Harris 5, 13 Fredrik Lindgren 5, 14 Andreas Jonsson 4, 15 Martin Smolinski 3, 16 Krzysztof Kasprzak 0.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Tai Woffinden 63, 2 Greg Hancock 62, 3 Nicki Pedersen 55, 4 Chris Holder 55, 5 Matej Zagar 53, 6 Darcy Ward 51, 7 Niels-Kristian Iversen 46, 8 Jaroslaw Hampel 44, 9 Fredrik Lindgren 43, 10 Krzysztof Kasprzak 42, 11 Martin Smolinski 40, 12 Andreas Jonsson 35, 13 Kenneth Bjerre 32, 14 Troy Batchelor 26, 15 Chris Harris 17, 16 Peter Ljung 7.
AMA Motocross Championship – Round 4 – High Point National, Mt. Morris, Pa.
The fourth round of the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, took place on Saturday with the UPMC Sports Medicine High Point National, presented by United Bank and Coastal Drilling East, from High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. For the first time this season, a non-Red Bull KTM rider emerged victorious as Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart grabbed the 20th win of his 450 Class career with a dominant 1-1 performance. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Blake
Baggett posted back-to-back victories by also sweeping the afternoon motos.
450 Race Report: A welcomed name grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award in the first 450 Class moto of the day as Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed put himself up front early on with Stewart right on his rear fender. The duo was followed by the three most consistent riders in the series thus far in Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard and the Red Bull KTM tandem of Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen.
Reed paced the field for one lap before Stewart made the pass and took control of the race. As Stewart began to pull away, the battle for the remaining two spots on the podium took center stage. Reed did all he could to fend off his younger rivals, but Canard soon slipped by and eventually brought Dungey and Roczen with him. This three-rider battle was captivating, with Dungey going off the track late in his quest to pass Canard, allowing Roczen to take over the position.
Roczen fought his way around Canard with two laps to go and just a short time later Canard went down, allowing Dungey to assume the position. Stewart took the checkered flag by over four seconds, with Roczen in second and Dungey third. Canard finished fourth, while Reed held on for fifth.
It was more of the same from Reed to start the final 450 Class moto, racing to the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award once again. However, Reed’s time out front was short-lived this time around as Stewart also got another great start and moved into the lead on the opening lap. A surging Canard, Dungey, and Roczen soon passed Reed, with each rider knowing they needed to track down Stewart.
Canard kept Stewart honest for several laps, bringing Dungey with him and setting up a three-rider battle out front. Roczen wasn’t far behind in fourth and soon began closing in on Dungey. As the leaders approached lappers, Stewart was able to open a little bit of a gap and the battle for second soon came down to Canard, Dungey, and Roczen yet again. Canard stood tough against the KTM duo and Roczen eventually slipped past Dungey for third in the closing minutes, only to give the position back a short time later.
As Dungey made a final push to catch Canard, he lost the front end of his motorcycle and went down, handing third back to Roczen. Stewart wasn’t able to pull away in the same manner in the first moto, but still wrapped up a 1-1 outing, winning by just under a second over Canard, with Roczen third and Dungey fourth.
Stewart’s perfect day resulted in his first overall win since the ninth round of the championship a year ago.
“I was excited about coming this weekend because we made some good improvements on the bike,” said Stewart, who had one career 450 Class win at High Point entering the race. “It’s been a while since we’ve had this speed and pace in reserve and I felt comfortable doing it. This track is one of the ones that I’ve had to overcome, but it was nice to get a win. It’s actually the first time I’ve gone 1-1 in a while, so we’ll go back and keep on working and go from here.”
Roczen finished in the runner-up spot (2-3) and is the only rider in the class to finish on the podium at each round thus far, while Canard grabbed his third podium in four rounds (4-2). Dungey missed out on the top three for the first time this season in fourth (3-4) with Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX’s Josh Grant in fifth (6-6).
Roczen extended his lead over Dungey in the 450 Class standings, which now sits at 16 points. Stewart moved into third and is just six points behind Dungey for second.
“I didn’t get a start both motos and that makes it tougher, but I felt like I was riding good,” said Roczen. “It’s about keeping it consistent. I think I’m going to work on some starts and in a couple weeks we’ll bounce back. I just need to get a jump and get up front. I think it will make it that much easier.”
450 Class Overall Results: 1. James Stewart (1-1). 2. Ken Roczen (2-3). 3. Trey Canard (4-2). 4. Ryan Dungey (3-4). 5. Josh Grant (6-6). 6. Weston Peick (10-5). 7. Andrew Short (7-8). 8. Chad Reed (5-10). 9. Brett Metcalfe (9-7). 10. Phil Nicoletti (8-12)
450 Class Point Standings: 1. Ken Roczen, 183. 2. Ryan Dungey, 167. 3. james Stewart, 161. 4. Trey Canard, 150. 5. Brett Metcalfe, 115. 6. Josh Grant, 104. 7. Weston Peick, 104. 8. Malcolm Stewart, 90. 9. Chad Reed, 88. 10. Andrew Short, 74.
250 Race Report: The 250 Class kicked off the afternoon with Valli Motorsports Yamaha’s Christophe Pourcel racing to the Motosport.com Holeshot Award, only to be quickly passed by GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle. Behind this duo, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin, Baggett, and Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin rounded out the top five.
As Bogle began to open a gap, Martin made his move on Pourcel and set his sights on the lead. After a couple laps of battling, a surging Baggett caught both Bogle and Martin off guard to assume the lead on Lap 6. Once out front, Baggett controlled the moto from there on out while Martin and Bogle continued their battle for second. Baggett crossed the finish nearly 11 seconds ahead of Martin in second, while Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb made an impressive climb from eighth on the opening lap to pass Bogle late and finish third.
The final moto of the afternoon saw Pourcel sweep the Motosport.com Holeshot Awards, with the Frenchman able to maintain control of the race for the early stages over Rockstar Energy Racing’s Jason Anderson, with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Justin Hill rounding out the top three. Not far behind was Baggett making his push to the front in fourth, while Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Cole Seely rounded out the top five.
After a strong opening moto, the Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha tandem of Martin and Webb were in eighth and 10th, respectively.
Baggett took over second from Anderson early and sat in pursuit of Pourcel for three laps before eventually moving into first and beginning his march to victory.
With Baggett pulling away, Pourcel and Anderson engaged in an exciting battle for second with Anderson ultimately getting the upper hand on the veteran. While the action settled up front, Martin and Webb fought their way forward, but were never a factor. Baggett wrapped up his dominant ride with a 16-second margin over Anderson in second, with Pourcel third. Bogle finished fourth and Hill fifth, while Martin and Webb worked their way into sixth and seventh.
Baggett’s 1-1 outing was his first since RedBud on July 7, 2012, the same year he won the 250 Class title. “The starts don’t come easy out there and we’re still working on that,” said Baggett. “I feel that I should be up front. Those guys are riding great, but I’m going to do what I can to go after the championship.”
Martin’s resiliency helped him finish second overall (2-6) and he remains the only rider in the division to finish on the podium in each of the first four rounds. Anderson secured the best finish of his career in third (7-2), edging out Bogle (4-4) by virtue of the second moto tiebreaker. Pourcel rounded out the top five (6-3).
Martin maintains control of the 250 Class standings, holding a 29-point lead over Webb. Baggett closed in to within 36 points in third.
High Point 250 Class Overall Results: 1. Blake Baggett (1-1). 2. Jeremy Martin (2-6). 3. Jason Anderson (7-2). 4. Justin Bogle (4-4). 5. Christophe Pourcel (6-3). 6. Cooper Webb (3-7). 7. Marvin Musquin (5-8). 8. Justin Hill (9-5). 9. Cole Seely (8-9). 10. Alex Martin (10-10).
250 Class Point Standings: 1. Jeremy Martin, 177. 2. Cooper Webb, 148. 3. Blake Baggett, 141. 4. Christophe Pourcel, 128. 5. Justin Bogle, 126. 6. Jason Anderson, 117. 7. Marvin Musquin, 111. 8. Justin Hill, 93. 9. Jessy Nelson, 91. 10. Cole Seely, 87.
The 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will take its first break of the season next weekend and will resume on June 28 for the fifth round. Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee.
Canadian Motocross Championships – Round 3 – Calgary
Mike Alessi and Vince Friese have won the 450 and 250 classes respectively at round three of the 2014 Canadian Motocross Championships held in Calgary last weekend.
Alessi righted his championship assault after losing valuable points in round two with a pair of solid wins while Friese backed up last weekend’s double win with 3-1 results over the two championship motos.
450 Overall: 1. Mike Alessi (Suz) – (1-1). 2. Colton Facciotti (Hon) – (2-2). 3. Tyler Medaglia (KTM) – (4-3). 4. Teddy Maier (Kaw) – (3-5). 5. Josh Hill (Kaw) – (5-4). 6. Kyle Chisholm (Yam) – (6-7). 7. Dylan Kaelin (Yam) – (7-8). 8. Josh Clark (Yam) – (8-10). 9. Morgan Burger (Yam) – (10-9). 10. David Gassin (Yam) – (9-11).
450 Standings (After 3 of 10 races): 1. Colton Facciotti (KTM) – 139. 2. Mike Alessi (Suz) – 132. 3. Josh Hill (Kaw) – 116. 4. Teddy Maier (Kaw) – 104. 6. Tyler Medaglia (KTM) – 103. 5. Bobby Kiniry (Yam) – 81. 8. Dylan Kaelin (Yam) – 80. 9. Morgan Burger (Yam) – 68. 10. David Gassin (Yam) – 51.
250 Overall: 1. Vince Friese (Hon) – (3-1). 2. Kaven Benoit (KTM) – (2-3). 2. Jesse Wentland (KTM) – (5-2). 4. Topher Ingalls (Hon) – (4-4). 5. Dylan Wright (Yam) – (9-5). 6. Shawn Maffenbeier (Yam) – (8-7). 7. Jared Allison (Yam) – (10-6). 8. Austin Politelli (Kaw) – (1-36). 9. Parker Allison (Yam) – (11-8). 10. Robert Wilson (Yam) – (12-10).
250 Standings: (After 3 of 10 races): 1. Kaven Benoit (KTM) – 130. 2. Vince Friese (Hon) – 111. 3. Shawn Maffenbeier (Yam) – 99. 4. Topher Ingalls (Hon) – 98. 5. Jesse Wentland (KTM) – 98. 6. Austin Politelli (Kaw) – 90. 7. Jeremy Medalgia (Kaw) – 77. 8. Dylan Schmoke (Yam) – 56. 9. Dylan Wright (Yam) – 55. 10. Kyle Swanson (Hon) – 54.
2014 Prairie Dogs Last Dog Standing
American Beta’s Cody Webb tackled the worst Glen Helen Raceway had to offer and rode to the overall victory at the 2014 Prairie Dogs Last Dog Standing on Saturday, June 14. It was Webb’s first attempt at the extreme off-road race, where he put his trials skills to good use, and rode a patient race to take the big win. KTM’s Taylor Robert collected second ahead of former Last Dog Standing winner Kyle Redmond, while Cory Graffunder and Kale Elworth rounded out the top-five.
The morning’s prologue got things started for the Pro riders. KTM’s Taylor Robert topped the field ahead of Kyle Redmond, Webb and Colton Haaker. The riders then took to the “LDS 2” course – a daunting nine-mile course winding through several manmade obstacles, including multiple mud pits, the “tubes” and the infamous “high-dive.” The course also included the steepest climbs, descents and gnarliest canyons the Prairie Dogs MC could find. Robert, once again, took the win with Webb in second, followed by Redmond and Graffunder. Haaker ended his day early when he sheared off his shifter and bent the shift shaft on his Honda only minutes into the first lap.
Riders paired off on the staggered start of LDS 3 with Robert and Webb kicking things off. Robert, once again, grabbed the early lead, but yielded to Webb early on the first lap when he made a mistake in the rock garden. It was all Webb needed to get his Beta 300 RR out front, and from there he never looked back. Three laps and two hours later, Webb took the checkers over Robert and Redmond.
“It started out Taylor got ahead of me,” Webb recalled. “I came up on him in the rocks and I knew that was my time to get ahead. It’s too hard to pass in the dust and I figured I’d be fast enough in the rocks. Taylor kind of got hung up so I pushed ahead real hard and got past him there. He high-sided and got messed up with everyone else and that gave me a huge gap right from the beginning and I just maintained that gap for the rest of the race.”
OVERALL: 1. Cody Webb (Beta). 2. Taylor Robert (KTM). 3. Kyle Redmond (KTM). 4. Cory Graffunder (KTM). 5. Kale Elworth.
Moto Wrap for the weekend of June 21/22 includes:
- Round 11 of the World Motocross Championships at Teutschenthal, Germany
- Round 9 of the Amsoil GNCC at Snowshoe, Snowshoe, WV
- Rounds 5-6 of the Australian Off-Road Championships at Coonawarra, SA
- Round 4 of the Canadian Motocross Championships at Edmonton
- Round 3 of the AMA Endurocross Championships in Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, California.
