Moto News Wrap for March 24, 2015 by Darren Smart
Moto news Wrap Proudly brought to you by Dunlop Geomax
Australasian Moto News
Bugga! Former World Speedway and Long Track Champion Ivan Mauger OBE MBE is being treated for cognitive aphasia, a communication disorder.
The 75 year old New Zealand-born, Australia-based Mauger won six speedway titles between 1968 and 1979, and long track crowns in 1971, 1972 and 1976, announced his retirement from public life two years ago.
He is receiving daily treatment at a Gold Coast nursing home, but still manages to enjoy time with wife Raye, their three children, Julie, Kym and Debbie, and longstanding friends. The motorcycling community’s thoughts and prayers go out to Ivan and his family.
Kiwi speedster John Phillips will be racing in place of Jake Moss for the season opener of the Australian MX Nationals after Moss was sidelined as a consequence of injuring his leg during a training accident.
“I’m absolutely devastated that this has happened to me!” Moss stated. “I was in a great position to take the championship on this year and come out with a lot of wins.”
The 23-year-old Phillips finished 3rd at the 2015 New Zealand Motocross championships. “I’m so thankful for the opportunity to race for the Kawasaki factory team in the opening round this year. I have wanted to race in the Australian motocross arena for a while and I am looking forward to proving myself against the competition”, said Phillips.
The 2015 Australian Motocross Nationals kick off at Horsham, Victoria this weekend.
After a day of furious racing Mildura’s Nick Waters has won the inaugural Gilman Flat Track Masters from living legend Paul Caslick and Brodie Waters.
American Moto News
Taylor Potter’s confidence is growing. The privateer qualified in 22nd place in Detroit and back that up with a solid eighth place in his heat race before sitting in 12th place for most of the main event. Potter dropped a couple of spots late in the race to finish an eventual 17th place.
After qualifying in 5th place, Chad Reed started his night in Detroit with a fourth in his heat and back that up with fourth in the main event. Chad now sits fifth in points and a solid run to Vegas could see the Aussie third in points.
Chad had this to say to RacerX: “I felt good; track felt good. I had a lot of fun on the track. Like I said, I think the riding, the bike, everything was there; I just didn’t have what it took to be competitive in the main event and that’s when they hand out the points. So I’m a little disappointed in that, but live and learn. Keep moving forward. This is my first time back to Detroit since 2008 and that wasn’t a fun experience. Obviously there’s a bigger picture at this point in the season, so try to get through. This track, it wasn’t that gnarly but it took down a lot of guys tonight. Glad I wasn’t one of them.”
Both Trey Canard and Jake Weimer sustained broken arms after a scary crash in the first Semi. Weimer made a small mistake in the second rhythm section and Canard, already committed to the line, landed on top of Weimer. The race was red flagged while medics attended to both riders. Weimer and Canard were able to get up under their own power before being transported off. Early reports have a broken upper arm for Weimer and a lower arm for Canard.
The 2015 AMA Supercross Championship has been a good one for Dunlop so far. Ryan Dungey, Marvin Musquin and Cooper Webb are leading their respective classes using the Dunlop Geomax tyres, other than Chad Reed’s win at Atlanta, every other main event winner in every class have relied on Dunlop traction.
2015 AMA Supercross Main Winners
- Rd1 – Jan. 3. Anaheim I – Ken Roczen (450 – Dunlop). – Jessy Nelson (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd2 – Jan. 10. Phoenix – Eli Tomac (450 – Dunlop). – Cooper Webb (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd3 – Jan. 17. Anaheim II – Ken Roczen (450 – Dunlop). – Cooper Webb (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd4 – Jan. 24. Oakland – Trey Canard (450 – Dunlop). – Malcolm Stewart (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd5 – Jan. 31. Anaheim III – Ryan Dungey (450 – Dunlop). – Cooper Webb (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd6 – Feb. 7. San Diego – Trey Canard (450 – Dunlop). – Cooper Webb (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd7 – Feb. 14. Dallas – Ryan Dungey (450 – Dunlop). – Marvin Musquin (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd8 – Feb. 21. Atlanta – Chad Reed (450 – Pirelli). – Jeremy Martin (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd9 – Feb. 28. Atlanta – Ryan Dungey (450 – Dunlop). – Marvin Musquin (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd10 – Mar. 7. Daytona – Ryan Dungey (450 – Dunlop). – Marvin Musquin (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd11 – Mar. 14. Indy – Ryan Dungey (450 – Dunlop). – Marvin Musquin (250 – Dunlop)
- Rd12 – Mar. 21 Detroit – Eli Tomac (450 – Dunlop). – Justin Bogle (250 – Dunlop).
- Rd13 – Mar. 28 St. Louis – Dunlop? – Dunlop?
- Rd14 – Apr. 11 Houston – Dunlop – Dunlop?
- Rd15 – Apr. 18 Santa Clara – Dunlop? – Dunlop?
- Rd16 – Apr. 25 New York – Dunlop? – Dunlop?
- Rd17 – May 2 Las Vegas – Dunlop? – Dunlop?
Mackenzie Tricker has finished third behind Kylie Fasnacht and Marissa Markelon at round two of the AMA WMX held in conjunction with the James Stewart Spring Championship held in Wortham, Texas last weekend.
Euro Moto News
WOW!! At the end of the first MX2 race at the Thai Motocross Grand Prix, Jordi Tixier, Jeremy Seewer and Tim Gajser were taken to the medical centre for examination after suffering from heat stroke and dehydration. All three riders were declared unfit by the Chief Medical Officer and the FIM Medical Director, and were then forbidden to take part in the second race in accordance with the FIM Medical Code.
While receiving his treatment, Jordi Tixier physically attacked the Chief Medical Officer FIM Medical Director so the Race Direction called for a hearing during which Jordi Tixier admitted the facts. The decision of the Race Direction was to impose a fine of € 5’000, as well as a suspension of one month starting from 8 March 2015 on Jordi Tixier, in accordance with the Motocross World Championship Regulations.
Tixier will now miss this weekend’s GP in Argentina and has lost any chance of defending his 2014 MX2 World Championship.
This is horrible. Brit Mel Pocock has lost most of his thumb and suffered severe injuries to his hand in a pile up during the opening round of the British Motocross Championship held two weekends ago. Pocock posted this on social media: ‘Had my third operation this afternoon. They have done further work on my forearm by partially closing the cut on it and they have fitted a custom splint and set my hand in a more comfortable position. I have also got a new pump in my wrist draining fluids, all in preparation for my op on Monday. Thank you again for all the support, I will be ok.’
Yamaha Factory rider Jeremy Van Horebeek has dominated the opening round of the Belgian Motocross Championship held at Moerbeke-Waas last Sunday. Van Horebeek went 1-1-1 for victory ahead of Kevin Strijbos who went 2-4-2 but the rider who shone on the day was young Red Bull KTM Factory rider Pauls Jonass who scored 5-3-3 results in the MX1/MX2 motos on his KTM250SX-F.
Buildbase Honda rider Kristian Whatley has taken out the MX1 class at the opening round of the British MX Nationals series held at Preston Docks last weekend. Whatley went 1-1 to take the win ahead of veterans Martin Barr and Brad Anderson.
Aussie Freestyle star Rob Adelberg trails series leader Maikel Melero by just six points in the NIGHT of the JUMPs World Championships after two huge days of competitions in Poland last weekend.
Kawasaki’s Xavier Boog narrowly defeated Valentin Teillet at round two of the French Elite Motocross series held in in Gueugnon last Sunday.
Albert Cabestany has won the final round of the 2015 FIM X-Trial World Championship held in Oviedo, Spain last weekend. Toni Bou was crowned the champion at the previous round and took out third place in Spain.
Race Reports and Results from last Weekend further below
- – Monster Energy Supercross Championships – Round 12 – Detroit
- – Amsoil Arenacross Championships – Round 10 – New Orleans, LA
- – 2015 GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship – Round 2 – Salt Lake City, Utah
- – Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) – Rounds 1 and 2 – Kilkivan
Monster Energy Supercross Championships – Round 12 – Detroit
450SX Report: For just the second time this season, and first since Phoenix, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac is a 450SX race winner. In Detroit Saturday night, Tomac rode a flawless twenty laps to cruise to the win over Ryan Dungey. “It was just a track that was good for me, good for my motorcycle,” he said. “It was just a track I liked.” Tomac also said he liked the sand section and that the technical track fit his style.
Ryan Dungey’s career long three-race win streak has come to an end in the Motor City. Dungey held Tomac at bay for some of the race, but eventually Tomac made a pass stick and ran away with the win. “Of course the goal is to win each race that we can,” stated Dungey. “But sometimes it’s important to remember to ride a safe race and maintain the points lead as we near the end of the series. We still have quite a few rounds remaining and it’s important to finish each on the podium.” Dungey now has a sixty-seven point lead over Trey Canard.
Cole Seely’s rookie season continues to get better and better. For the second consecutive week, and third time this season, Seely found the podium. He said in a statement after the race that the laps are getting easier. “The laps are getting easier for me when I’m running with the front pack. The track was really technical and ended up being pretty slick. Not many of us hit that quad before going into the main event so I knew I had to wing it. It was definitely scary, but made for some good racing.”
450SX Class Results: 1. Eli Tomac. 2. Ryan Dungey. 3. Cole Seely. 4. Chad Reed. 5. Davi Millsaps . 6. Josh Grant. 7. Broc Tickle. 8. Blake Baggett. 9. Andrew Short. 10. Justin Brayton.
450SX Class Season Standings – After Round 12 of 17: 1. Ryan Dungey – 271pts. 2. Trey Canard – 204pts. 3. Eli Tomac – 194pts. 4. Cole Seely – 180pts. 5. Chad Reed – 170pts. 6. Ken Roczen – 156pts. 7. Blake Baggett – 154pts. 8. Jason Anderson – 145pts. 9. Andrew Short – 136pts. 10. Broc Tickle – 134pts. 11. Davi Millsaps – 119pts. 12. Josh Grant – 95pts.
250 West Report: As for the 250 class, it appeared early on that Marvin Musquin was going to run away with another win—and potentially the series. He was a half second faster than qualifying runner-up Jeremy Martin and was also the only 250 rider to dip into the 52-second range in practice. Justin Bogle was for sure a sleeper pick going into the night. The GEICO Honda rider was two full seconds off of Musquin’s quickest lap and sat in seventh after qualifying had wrapped up.
Not only did Bogle pick up the pace once the night show was under way, but he also pulled the trigger on the quad. Many riders experimented with the quad in practice. Bogle was not one of them, but apparently it didn’t matter. He pulled it lap after lap in the main event without trouble to extend his lead.
Joey Savatgy has to be relieved to step back onto the podium for the first time since the Arlington opener. With Arnaud Tonus sidelined, all focus is on the number 37 bike at the moment. He did a great job holding off the current points leader for as long as he did, especially considering Musquin’s win streak going into the race.
Rj Hampshire was caught up in an unfortunate incident with Martin Davalos that sent both riders over a bowl turn. Davalos lost control after facing one of the rollers in the first rhythm section, and although it initially appeared that he was going to save it, the Husky rider couldn’t seem to find the brakes and substituted them with Hampshire instead.
Anthony Rodriguez landed himself a top five. The kid has speed, but typically has problems steering clear of trouble on the track. Actually, Detroit treated the remainder of the top ten rather well. Colt Nichols scored a career-high sixth place, and Jace Owen has now scored back-to-back top ten finishes, which is also his career highest finish. Mitchell Oldenburg has been hitting the deck quite a bit lately, so an eighth place finish is the kicker to a track that has claimed a few riders tonight.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results: 1. Justin Bogle. 2. Marvin Musquin. 3. Joey Savatgy. 4. Jeremy Martin. 5. Anthony Rodriguez. 6. Colt Nichols. 7. Kyle Cunningham. 8. Mitchell Oldenburg. 9. Jimmy Decotis. 10. Jace Owen. 17. Taylor Potter.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Season Standings – After Round 5 of 9: 1. Marvin Musquin – 144pts. 2. Justin Bogle – 131pts. 3. Jeremy Martin – 103pts. 4. Joey Savatgy – 93pts. 5. RJ Hampshire – 84pts. 6. Jimmy Decotis – 69pts. 7. Anthony Rodriguez – 68pts. 8. Kyle Peters – 65pts. 9. Martin Davalos – 63pts. 10. Vince Friese – 58pts.
Amsoil Arenacross Championships – Round 10 – New Orleans, LA
The first round of the playoff-inspired Race to the Championship, Chris Blose rode to a dominant 1-1 performance last night in New Orleans. The two wins vaulted Blose into the points lead. He now holds a three point lead over teammate Matt Goerke, who finished second overall.
Kyle Regal entered the night with the red plate, but is six points back after an 8-4 performance for fourth overall. Regal’s teammate Gavin Faith rounded out the podium with a 3-5 finish and is now seven points back of Blose.
In East Region Lites, Steve Mages rode to the win Saturday night. Daniel Blair and Jacob Williams would round out the podium.
Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)
1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (1-1)
2. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (4-2)
3. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (3-5)
4. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (8-4)
5. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (5-6)
6. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (6-7)
7. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (2-12)
8. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (7-8)
9. Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM (13-3)
10. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (9-9)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results
1. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (2 points)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (1 point)
3. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (1 point)
4. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (1 point)
5. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (1 point)
6. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (1 point)
7. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (1 point)
8. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM (1 point)
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
2. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
3. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki
4. Drayke Sizemore, Tamaroa, Ill., Honda
5. Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
6. Jason McConnell, Canonsburg, Pa., KTM
7. Brian Alquist, LaGrange, Calif., KTM
8. Jake Lowry, Pearl, Miss., Kawasaki
9. Jonah Locks, Dixon, Calif., Kawasaki
10. Clay Elliott, Buford, Ga., KTM
Race to the Championship Standings
1. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki – 36
2. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki – 33
3. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna – 30
4. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna – 29
5. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki – 25
6. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha – 25
7. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 25
8. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 23
9. Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM – 20
10. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM – 18
Arenacross Class Points (Race 15 of 20)
11. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 156
12. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 148
13. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda – 110
14. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 102
15. Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM – 76
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 10 of 11)
1. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM – 134 (2 Main Event wins)
2. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki – 79
3. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM – 75
4. Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki – 65
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 63 (2 Main Event wins)
6. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda – 56
7. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM – 45
8. Dave Blanchet, Quebec, Canada, Kawasaki – 41
9. Drayke Sizemore, Tamaroa, Ill., Honda – 36
10. Darian Sanayei, Orting, Wash., Kawasaki – 35 (2 Main Event wins)
The 11th round of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross, and the second round of the Race to the Championship, begins next Saturday, March 28, with the inaugural visit to Austin, Texas.
2015 GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship – Round 2 – Salt Lake City, Utah
Mike Brown won his first GEICO EnduroCross event since 2013 by leading every lap inside the Energy Solutions Arena tonight in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Rockstar FMF Husqvarna Factory Racing pilot and AMA professional racer since 1988, showed he’s still the man when it comes to pulling great starts, sprinting to a lead and putting down consistent laps to take a win. Rockstart Lucas Oil Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker overcame some mayhem to apply pressure on the last lap but settled for second while Factory Beta’s Max Gerston rode a smart race to finish third.
Behind Brown off the start, second-turn carnage held off defending champion and race-one winner Cody Webb from applying pressure. Brown used the room to his advantage and took the win.
Brown’s night went great from the beginning with the veteran throwing down an insanely fast lap time during the evening Hot Laps session while also “quadding” a step-on-step-off section of the track previously un-attempted by EnduroCross’ best. He took the first gate pick and a bonus championship point (his second of both for the year) into the Main Event. From there, he grabbed the Nexen Tire $500 Holeshot award (also for the second time in-a-row this year). And that’s when the race got interesting.
Right after the finish tire jump—into the second turn of the course—was were most of the drama on the evening would unfold. As Webb and Haaker charged for the inside line, they both refused to shut down and leave the second spot to the other, the result was them both going down and the rest of the class stacking up, around and on-top of them. Haaker would re-mount quickly (inside the top-10), while Webb suffered the worst of it with multiple bikes and riders blocking his way. Webb would get up and start his race in near last position. Somehow, Gerston made his way through relatively unscathed.
Meanwhile, it was clean sailing up front for Brown. On a fast track it was clear he’d be hard to catch but Gerston kept him in-check for the first half of the race with Webb’s FMF/RPM/KTM Team Maxxis rider Ty Tremaine in third. Behind them, Haaker and Webb were on a moving missing. By the halfway point, Haaker had charged past SRT Racing-backed rider Cory Graffunder and Tremaine to put the pressure on Gerston. Gerston looked strong, holding him off until nearly the 10th lap of the 15-lap main when Haaker made a smooth move on the rocks to get by.
Webb was flying, too. His pace only impeded by the fastest line being occupied by a slower rider or lapped rider. He ended up going down once more but still, somehow, managed to power into fourth overall on the evening.
With only a few laps to go, it looked like Brown was going to cruise to a victory, but Haaker had other plans and put down a two-lap charge to get right next to Brown on the final lap. In the end, Brown had enough gas in the tank to push a little harder (will he ever run out?) and take his first win of the year and first since 2013’s season. Haaker would finish second, Gerston in third, Webb in fourth and Graffunder in fifth.
Mike Brown on the WIN: “The track was good for me tonight. It was fast but the rocks were tough and a lot of guys were going down there. I rode the track as hard as I could and didn’t make mistakes in the difficult sections,”Brown said. “ When I saw the other guys behind me go down after the start I told myself I better go now. The start was the whole race. If I would have started third or fourth I probably couldn’t have gotten here—these guys are going so fast. I got a little tight at the end and these guys caught up to me but I can’t wait to work on a little bit of stuff for the next race.”
Colton Haaker on finishing second: “I wanted to shut the door on that second corner and Cody (Webb) didn’t want to let me inside so we just collided right in the beginning,” Haaker said. “He was on the inside and I had a wheel on him and he probably felt like he had it and both of us felt like we didn’t want to shut down. I managed to get up faster and squirt out of there in the top ten and put in some good, consistent laps. I finally caught up to Brown on the last lap and I ran out of laps. Second is good. I didn’t want to give up any points tonight because I’m still not 100%.”
Max Gerston on third and his first podium: “I’m feeling like a million bucks,” Gerston said. “I feel like this is where I belong and we’ve been working so, so hard for so, so long during the week and my DA8 training has been getting me to another level. I just eat, sleep, breathe EnduroCross and hopefully this is a start of a big thing. I have so much fun out here and am so fortunate. The track was fast and fun and flowed well tonight with a gnarly rock section. I had a blast!”
Salt Lake City, Utah GEICO AMA EnduroCross Men’s Main Event Results
1. Mike Brown Husqvarna
2. Colton Haaker Husqvarna
3. Max Gerston Beta
4. Cody Webb KTM
5. Cory Graffunder KTM
6. Ty Tremaine KTM
7. Nick Thompson KTM
8. Kyle Redmond Beta
9. Kevin Rookstool Suzuki
10. Destry Abbott Kawasaki
11. Noah Kepple KTM
12. Dalton Dietz KTM
13. Wallace Palmer Christini
GEICO AMA EnduroCross 2015 Point Standings Top-Five (unofficial)
1. Cody Webb 45
2. Colton Haaker 45
3. Mike Brown 43
4. Max Gerston 36
5. Kyle Redmond 34
6. Cory Graffunder 34
Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) – Rounds 1 and 2 – Kilkivan
KTM Off-Road Racing rider Toby Price has made it a clean sweep of the opening two rounds of the 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship held at Kilkivan in Queensland last weekend.
Dust was a factor all weekend with the event organisers shortening round two from five heats to four after conditions were ruled too dangerous to continue with the final heat. As a result, Price took out three of the four heats available with a time of 28:38.865, ahead of CDR Yamaha’s and E2 class winner Chris Hollis 28:56.423 and Active8 Yamaha’s Beau Ralston (29:01.752).
Ralston’s teammate Josh Green (29:05.197) and Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing rider Tye Simmonds (29:39.272) rounded out the top five.
The 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship will now head to Hedley, Victoria for Rounds 3 and 4 on April 18-19.
Outright – Saturday Top 10
1. Toby Price (KTM Off Road Racing)
2. Beau Ralston (Active8 Yamaha)
3. Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna Off-Road Team)
4. Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha)
5. Chris Hollis (CDR Yamaha)
6. Daniel Sanders (KTM Off Road Racing)
7. Tye Simmonds (KTM Off Road Racing)
8. Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Off-Road Team)
9. Stefan Granqvist (Yamaha Privateer)
10. Scott Keegan (Husqvarna Privateer)
Outright – Sunday – Top 10
1. Toby Price (KTM Off-Road Racing)
2. Chris Hollis (CDR Yamaha)
3. Beau Ralston (Active8 Yamaha)
4. Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha)
5. Tye Simmonds (KTM Off-Road Racing
6. Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna Off-Road Team)
7. Daniel Sanders (KTM Off-Road Racing)
8. Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Off-Road Team)
9. Stefan Granqvist (Yamaha Privateer)
10. Scott Keegan (Husqvarna Privateer)
What is coming up next weekend?
- – Monster Energy Supercross Championships – Round 13 – St. Louis
- – World Off-Road Championships (WORCS) – Round 4 – Lake Havasu, AZ
- – World Motocross Championships – Round 3 – Neuwuen, Argentina
- – Australian MX Nationals – Round 1 – Horsham, Vic
- – Dutch Motocross Championships – Round 1 – Halle
Australasian News:
