Moto News Wrap for October 27 by Darren Smart
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Rossi-V-Marquez: OK, it’s not motocross but I have to have my say on what went down between Rossi and Marquez in Malaysia last weekend:
1. Rossi made a tactical mistake by calling out Marquez at the press conference and accusing him of aiding Lorenzo the weekend before at Phillip Island – whether it is true or not, he should have kept his mouth shut till after the championship.
2. Despite what was said at the press conference, what Marquez did to Rossi during those early laps was a ‘dog act’ – as a racer going into my fifth decade of racing I would take extreme offense to any rider slowing to obstruct my progress and a trip in the gravel would be the least of his troubles if he did that to me – be it in a championship or club day situation. Chad Reed wrote on twitter: ‘Can’t say I wouldn’t of done the same’ – Mike Laverty had this to say on his twitter feed: ‘Marc broke the unwritten rule, always RESPECT those fighting for a Championship when you’re not. Vale got enraged and hung him out to dry’
3. There was no kick – simple as that – Rossi ran wide, instead of braking and diving back under (like most racers would), Marquez decided to stay to the outside of Rossi and his brake lever got caught in Rossi’s boot which caused Marquez to crash – I repeat – there was no kick!!
4. This was nothing really, ‘rubbing is racing’ is a saying that has been around for years and this incident wasn’t even rubbing yet the whole world is in a tank slappa over it – do you remember Capirossi slamming Harada to win the 1998 250cc World title? If not, go to youtube and look it up – ah, those were the days…..
5. The FIM had to react and what they did is probably for the best so with Rossi starting from the back of the grid at Valencia this is how I see it: Even with seven points up his sleeve Rossi has no chance of winning the title if Lorenzo wins the race (their point system goes 1st – 25, 2nd – 20, 3rd – 16, 4th – 13, 5th – 11, 6th – 10), BUT if Marquez and Pedrosa decide to stay out of it and go 1-2 with Lorenzo in third Rossi will need to climb from last to sixth (which he can do easily) to win the championships, BUT If Marquez decides to let Pedrosa win with Lorenzo in 2nd, Rossi would need to pass Marquez for third to win the title – THAT, my friend, will get UGLY!!
Australasian News
Matt Moss to Replace Jake Moss at NPS Kawasaki: Matt Moss will contest the 2016 Australian Motocross and Supercross Championships under the watchful eye of multi Aussie Champ Troy Carroll with the backing of the NP Monster Energy Kawasaki team. Moss has been forced to change teams thanks to the closing of his current Suzuki team.
Mountain Man Almost Here: The 40th anniversary of the Mountain Man Motocross is on in a couple of weekends and it is going to be bigger than Ben Hur. There is a full days of racing on Saturday for the riders on Pre 1995 machinery and on Saturday night the Charity Function will have former winners Peter Boyle, Pelle Granquist, Robert ‘Beetle’ Bailey, Anthony Gunter, David Armstrong, Jeff Leisk, Craig Dack, Glen Bell and Troy Carroll on hand to help with the auction and rub shoulder with their fans and fellow racers.
Here are the details of the Charity Function
- Raising Money for Racing for the Disabled, ‘R4D’and
- Raising Money for Beyondblue, ‘Riders Against Depression’
- An auction to raise money for these charities will be held during the night
- Only 120 tickets available – please get in quick
- Location: Fitz’s Tapestry room, 153 Margaret Street Toowoomba (NEXT DOOR TO QUEST MOTEL)
- Time: 6pm till 11pm
- Date: Saturday, 7th of November
- Cost: $50 per head includes canapé styled dinner served over a 2 hour period
- Dress: Smart Casual
Sunday will see some of the fastest young guns in Australia taking part in the Mountain Man Motocross event with the winner taking home $5000.00 and entering the history books – here is the full schedule for the 2015 Mountain Man Motocross:
Australian Supercross Championship News: Organisers of the 2015 Australian Supercross Championship have announced that round four of the series will return to Jimboomba X Stadium, at Jimboomba, Queensland, on Saturday, November 21.
Originally slated to take place at Coolum on the Queensland Sunshine Coast, circumstances have now forced the event promoter, Scott Bannan, to relocate round four to Jimboomba after the venue successfully hosted round two of the championship on October 17.
2016 AJMX Date and Venue Confirmed: Motorcycling Australia (MA) have advised that the competition date for the 2016 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship (AJMX) has changed. Originally scheduled to take place from October 4 – 9, 2016 in Renmark, South Australia, the 2016 AJMX will now take place a week earlier from September 24 – October 1, 2016.
The change has been made to better suit the school holiday period nationally and MA have also advised that although some local accommodation establishments are aware of the change and may have already contacted those with bookings, it is worth contacting your provider to confirm your place.
Huka Honda MX Fest 2015 – Digger McEwen Park, Taupo: Josh Coppins has won the Shoot Out and the MX1 class at the annual Huka Honda MX Fest held at Digger McEwen Park last weekend. Kayne Lamont managed to win the MX2 class ahead of Hamish Horwood.
Huka Honda Shoot Out – Top 3: 1. Josh Coppins. 2. Brad Groombridge. 3. Ethan Martens.
MX1 Results: 1. Josh Coppins. 2. Ethan Martens. 3. Brad Groombridge. 4. Hadleigh Knight. 5. Dean Porter. 6. Hamish Harwood. 7. Mitch Rees. 8. Daryl Hurley. 9. Campbell Bailey. 10. Jesse Wiki. 11. Lee Mckinstry. 12. Darryll King.
MX2 Results: 1. Kayne Lamont. 2. Hamish Harwood. 3. Cohen Chase. 4. Josiah Natzke. 5. Logan Blackburn. 6. Micah McGoldrick. 7. Tyler Steiner. 8. Sam Greenslade. 9. Camden Butler. 10. Joel Meikle.
Aussies at Etihad Stadium: 26000 people turned up to the final round of the 2015 FIM World Speedway Championships held at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne and there were four Aussie having a crack – let’s see how they fared:
Jason Doyle was again the fastest of the locals but his night came to an end in a first corner crash in the final ending in a trip to hospital with injuries to his back and neck – at the time of writing he was in a stable condition. Doyle ended the season in sixth place overall so he, like Holder (who finished in 8th overall) get an automatic start to the 2016 series.
Wild Card Sam Masters made a name for himself by passing Nicki Pedersen during Heat 8 but as he often does Pedersen took the young Aussies front wheel out coming onto the next straight so after the race young Masters gave the former World Champ a piece of his mind which led to one of Pedersen’s mechanic’s getting a nice clip across the jaw from Masters in the customary post race ‘push and shove’ malee.
Chris Holder and Troy Batchelor hardly trouble the scorers with two points each. See the full report and results below:
How About Takeshi Katsuya: All of the noise at the final round of the All-Japan Motocross Championships at Sugo was about the Americans Trey Canard, Cooper Webb and Jeremy Martin as well as the two World Champions Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre – well, our own Takashi Katsuya (yes, he is an Aussie) is not impressed with big names and the vet rode his arse off for 2nd outright in the 250 class behind Jeremy Martin and ahead of Gajser. See full report and results below.
American News
Champion to Barn Brothers Yamaha: Barn Pros Racing/Home Depot Yamaha announced today that they have agreed to a deal with Scott Champion for the 2016 season. Champion will be the final member of a three rider squad for the Washington-based team that includes Cole Martinez and Austin Politelli.
Champion finished sixteenth overall with one top ten in the 250SX West Region in 2015 with Strikt Slaton Yamaha. “I am excited for this new chapter in my career and will show what I am capable of in 2016,” Champion said in a statement.
“I have watched Scott over the last few years racing and working hard and we feel he is going to be a great fit for our team,” said team manager Scot Steffy.
Metcalfe to Yamaha in Canada in 2016: Brett Metcalfe will race for the Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha team in the 2016 Canadian Motocross Nationals – here is what he told Trailzone in a recent interview: “I’ve got a deal locked away to race with Rockstar OTSFF Yamaha in the Canadian Nationals next year, which is great. I won the championship up there a couple of years ago, but this year had some DNFs and some bad luck, which hurt a little, as it meant I didn’t with the title. I’m determined to go back there and pick up the championship next year, for sure.”
Glen Helen Grand Prix: The annual Glen Helen Grand Prix was held last weekend and it was Broc Harmon who took the win with a time of 46:44.924 ahead of Rick Jameson (48:04.962) and Marc Johnson (48:07.932).
AMA Pro Hillclimb Unlimited Class Championship: Honda pilot John Koester has taken out the AMA Pro Hillclimb Unlimited Class Championship and racked up wins in both expert classes at the 66th running of the Devil’s Staircase Hillclimb, hosted by the Dayton Motorcycle Club last weekend.
Bach Wins the Moose Run: JCR Honda rider Chris Bach claimed the overall win at the 40th running of the Moose Run in Fenton, Illinois last weekend. Bach finished just three seconds ahead of Nick Fahringer while Jimmy Jarrett earned third place ahead of Steward Baylor who locked up the 2015 OMA Nationals Championship.
AMA Hare and Hound and Hare Scrambles: The National Hare and Hound final round in Lucerne Valley, CA also host to the penultimate round of the Kenda SRT AMA West Hare Scrambles championship and although there is one round remaining in the series, Cory Graffunder went ahead and wrapped up the championship with a solid second place to arch rival Jacob Argubright.
As far as the National Hare and Hound goes, Ivan Ramirez rode conservatively for a seventh-place finish which was enough to win the 2015 AMA National Hare and Hound Championship and became the first Mexican rider to earn an AMA National title.
Canada Arenacross Tour – Rounds 5&6 – Penticton, B.C: Jacob Hayes continues to dominate the Canadian Arenacross Tour with wins in the Lites, Open and Dash for Cash in both nights of racing and now leads all three championships.
Euro News
Strang wins Gotland Grand National: Josh Strang has won the Gotland Grand National in Sweden last weekend and he posted this on FB: ‘Man what a race! Took the W in the Gotland Grand National today, was closer then I wanted but a fun day on a fast track! Swedish fans and media went crazy so it was a fun race and finish!’
British Beachcross Championship: Round 6 of the British Beachcross Championships was held at Margate last weekend and it was defending Solo Pro champion Arnaud Degousee who took maximum pints to extend his championship lead over Ton van Grinsen and Mitchell Lewis.
Suzuki World MXGP Grand Prix Team Announced: Suzuki have signed Jeremy Seewer and Brian Hsu to contest the 2016 FIM World Motocross Championships in the MX2 class while Bas Vaessen will race in the EMX250 European Championship which is widely regarded as the stepping stone to the FIM Motocross World Championship.
Smarty’s Race Report and Results from Last Weekend
FIM Speedway World Championship – Round 10 – Etihad Stadium, Australia
Double world champion Tai Woffinden collected the FIM Speedway World Championship trophy for the second time, and promptly set his sights on lifting it again at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on October 22, 2016.
Outgoing champ Greg Hancock stormed to a sensational seven-ride maximum to win an epic DON Smallgoods Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix and seal World Championship silver.
Woffinden piled up 12 points in the heats but crashed out of his semi-final to miss out on victory in the country he was raised. But the Scunthorpe-born star wrapped up the SGP trophy in Torun three weeks ago and promptly picked himself up to enjoy the medal presentation.
The Vetlanda and Wroclaw man is only the 16th rider in history to win multiple world titles, and only the fifth rider to achieve the feat in the SGP era, joining Tony Rickardsson, Nicki Pedersen, Jason Crump and Hancock. Only Rickardsson and Pedersen have won two titles on the bounce and it’s a feat Woffinden would love to match.
“Nicki said the hardest thing is to win it back to back. I’m always looking for something to help spur me on; another challenge in life. Hopefully this is another one I’ll knock straight down and I can keep trucking on.”
“Hopefully this is another one I’ll knock straight down and I can keep trucking on. But I have so many more years at this, it’s unreal. I’ve won it twice in the last three years. I have established myself as a top rider who is going to be here for a long time. I’ll see how many of these we can get.”
The Etihad Stadium pulled a superb crowd in excess of 26,000 for a dramatic first speedway meeting, staged on a fantastic race track. Woffinden hopes the event can go from strength to strength and was elated to lift the trophy in the country he calls home. “It was absolutely unreal. Etihad Stadium put on a really good show. It has been a long series. There have been some ups and downs for everybody, not just the riders. To see it all finish on a good note on a great track is fantastic. Hopefully every single person that was there tonight brings two people next year and we get this place full. It was great to clinch the championship in Torun, but to actually be given the trophy in Australia means so much to me. It has been an unbelievable year.”
Woffinden paid tribute to veteran title rivals Hancock and Pedersen. At 45 and 38 respectively, the duo may be the SGP series’ elder statesmen, but their pace continues to impress Woffy. “Me and Greg agreed that I don’t call him old; I call him experienced. Nicki is also experienced. It’s amazing to see how dedicated these guys are at such an old age! It’s unreal racing against these guys and long may it continue.”
Woffinden plans to enjoy a well-earned break, before getting back down to work in his bid for No.3. “This summer I’m going to try and ride motocross twice a week and I’ll go out on my mates’ boats and go fishing. I’m going snorkelling and diving. I’m going to plan a wedding with my fiancée Faye. I’m going to party hard and celebrate with all my mates. I don’t need to say anything else about what I plan to do for next season because I don’t want these boys to do the same. All I know is I’ll be working twice as hard as anyone in the series – you’ll see that next year.”
Hancock may have been deflated by missing out on his fourth SGP title. But he’s determined to keep learning and bounce back in 2016. “We all come here to win this thing. The truth of the game is second place is the first loser. But it’s a medal and shows the determination we all have. Winning is everything, but there are building blocks along the way. I’m learning all the time and I learned a heck of a lot from this. I love what I do. Speedway is what I have been doing since I was a kid and there’s nothing better than getting sideways. If I’m going to do it, I want to be the best.”
Pedersen also has no desire to slow down and is ready to go back to the workshop and test track to find the consistency needed to dethrone Woffinden. “Against those guys it’s hard to become the world champion. I gave it a shot. I have a few things I could do better and improve. I’ve won three rounds and I hadn’t won any rounds for a few years. You need to win GPs before you become world champion.”
“Halfway through the season, we were struggling with a lack of speed. We got that sorted towards the end. This winter I will improve upon small things here and there. We all start on zero points next season. We’ll see what happens.”
Hancock won the Melbourne final ahead of Niels-Kristian Iversen and Maciej Janowski. But that race was marred by a nasty-looking crash for Australian champion Jason Doyle, who was briefly knocked unconscious after a first-bend tangle with Hancock.
After being ruled out of the re-run of the final, he was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for treatment, but is said to be conscious and breathing unaided.
DON SMALLGOODS AUSTRALIAN SGP SCORES: 1 Greg Hancock 21, 2 Niels-Kristian Iversen 15, 3 Maciej Janowski 11, 4 Jason Doyle 11, 5 Peter Kildemand 13, 6 Tai Woffinden 12, 7 Andreas Jonsson 12, 8 Krzysztof Kasprzak 9, 9 Matej Zagar 7, 10 Michael Jepsen Jensen 7, 11 Nicki Pedersen 7, 12 Sam Masters 5, 13 Tomas H Jonasson 4, 14 Troy Batchelor 2, 15 Chris Holder 2, 16 Chris Harris 0, 17 Justin Sedgmen DNR, 18 Max Fricke DNR.
FINAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Tai Woffinden 163, 2 Greg Hancock 147, 3 Nicki Pedersen 131, 4 Niels-Kristian Iversen 120, 5 Jason Doyle 114, 6 Matej Zagar 107, 7 Maciej Janowski 106, 8 Chris Holder 95, 9 Peter Kildemand 92, 10 Andreas Jonsson 88, 11 Michael Jepsen Jensen 84, 12 Troy Batchelor 59, 13 Chris Harris 55, 14 Tomas H Jonasson 55, 15 Krzysztof Kasprzak 45, 16 Jaroslaw Hampel 31, 17 Antonio Lindback 20, 18 Bartosz Zmarzlik 17, 19 Piotr Pawlicki 8, 20 Craig Cook 7, 21 Mikkel Michelsen 6, 22 Sam Masters 5, 23 Tomasz Gollob 4, 24 Timo Lahti 3, 25 Kasts Puodzuks 3, 26 Vaclav Milik 2, 27 Robert Lambert 1, 28 Adrian Cyfer 1, 29 Aleksander Conda 1, 30 Denis Stojs 1.
2015 – A4DE – Blackwood Park, Penguin TAS
CDR Yamaha’s Daniel Milner has written himself into the record books by taking out his fourth Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE) title on the trot at Blackwood Park in Penguin last Saturday.
After leading from start to finish all week, the 24-year-old secured the victory with a second placing in the final E2 class moto behind Active8 Yamaha’s Beau Ralston on day four – topping off a typically polished A4DE campaign.
Milner’s fourth A4DE title sees him join Stefan Merriman as the second most successful rider in the event’s history behind six-time winner Shane Watts. “I’m absolutely stoked with it. It’s been such a rough year that I’ve had in the States, but to come out on top with my fourth one (outright Four Day title) I’m absolutely pumped.
“It’s definitely good. Winning Four Days was something that I always looked up to doing as a young fella, with the likes of Shane Watts and all the big boys up there at the time. To get away with four in a row, it has put the biggest smile on my face that’s for sure.”
“This one would have to be up there. Coming from such a bad year that I’ve had – it’s been the toughest of my career by far being over in the States – so this is probably the best. It is Matty’s (Phillips) home ground as well, and to beat him over here I’m stoked.”
“I just kept a level-head really. I tried to eliminate the mistakes and stay smooth for the whole four days. Everything that happened throughout the week worked well, so I was happy with that.”
Milner (also E2 class winner) finished a minute and 27 seconds ahead of KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Matthew Phillips in the outright standings, with Phillips’ delighting his home fans in Tasmania by taking out the E3 class.
“It’s a great achievement to add to the list. We’ve had a really good week down here in Tassie, and I had a big battle with (Daniel) Sanders and (Toby) Price in the E3 class. Even in the final moto, we mixed it up with (Glenn) Kearney and (Mitch) Bowen up there as well, so it wrapped up the week really well with a great fight to the finish. It was a bit dusty and I tried really hard to come back and make it a good race with Toby and Daniel, but didn’t make it happen.”
“In the outright battle with Daniel (Milner), I was really disappointed with yesterday. I wasn’t riding the lines as well as I would have liked to and let the race slip away there, but he was riding really well and hats off to him.”
“The atmosphere was awesome with so many fans. I haven’t seen a crowd like this at an Australian event for a long time, so I think it is a really good sign for the future. The Tasmanian fans were just happy to have the race here, and I was really lucky to have the support that I did. It was a good fun event and I’d do it all again tomorrow.”
KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders – who won a thrilling E3 class moto – completed the outright podium, while teammate Toby Price and Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green rounded out the top five.
Green also claimed his first Four Day E1 class title to follow on from his 2015 Australian Off-Road Championship title in the same class.
In the Trophy Team competitions, the Victorian team of Milson, Sanders, Peter Boyle, Chris Davey, Riley Graham and Tom Mason ended New South Wales’ five year stranglehold on the Senior Trophy, while Tasmania led by local hero Phillips recorded the first Junior Trophy Team win in the state’s history.
2015 A4DE Top 10: 1. Daniel Milner. 2. Matt Phillips. 3. Daniel Sanders. 4. Toby Price. 5. Josh Green. 6. Chris Hollis. 7. Lachlan Stanford. 8. Tye Simmonds. 9. Glenn Kearney. 10. Peter Boyle.
All-Japan National Motocross Championships – Sugo
On a heavily rutted and undulating SUGO circuit, Trey Canard has won the final round of the All-Japan National Motocross Championship with a 2-1 over Cooper Webb’s 1-3 and newly crowned World Champion Romain Febvre who went 3-2 on the day.
“It was good I had a lot of fun, just the riding the first moto wasn’t great,” said Febvre. “I crashed on the first corner and it wasn’t difficult to come back, but when I got into third they (Canard and Webb) were already gone and I had to accept third place. In the second moto I had a better start and I had a good battle with Canard and I was happy with my riding.”
In the 250 class Jeremy Martin used a 2-1 to beat newly crowned 250 World Champion Tim Gajser who crashed in the second moto and ended up with 1-5 day, but Martin had crashed in moto one and came from dead last to finish second behind Gajser. Aussie Katsuya Takeshi was second in the 250 class with 3-2 results.
450 Class: 1. Trey Canard – 2-1. 2. Cooper Webb – 1-3. 3. Romain Febvre – 3-2. 4. Ryo Narita – 4-4. 5. Ogata Makoto – 5-5.
250 Class: 1. Jeremy Martin – 2-1. 2. Katsuya Takeshi – 3-2. 3. Tim Gasjer – 1-5. 4. Toshiki Tomita – 4-3. 5. Notsuka Tomohiro – 6-4.
