-- Smarty’s MC News ‘Mega’ Moto Wrap for July 17, 2012
-- By Darren Smart

The four major motocross championships in the world are in action this weekend with the AMA Motocross Championships, the Canadian Motocross Championship, the Australian MX Nationals and the World Motocross Championships heading well and truly into their second half of the season…we will also be covering Australia’s assault on the Speedway World Cup and the 2012 King of Nepean Dirt Track classic.

So our little trip will take us to Spring Creek in Millville, Gopher Dunes in North America, Horsham in Victoria, Kegums in Latvia, somewhere in Sweden and good old Nepean near Penrith.

- America Report - AMA Silly Season’s Latest

Hart & Huntington is keeping Josh Hansen on the KXF450 for 2013 and a second rider is close to being signed whiles MotoConcepts has Jake Canada and Mike Alessi signed up and have offer on the table for Brett Metcalfe, Michael Byrne and Cole Thompson as well.

BTOSports.com/BBMX may switch to KTM for next year with Matt Goerke and another 450 rider on the team.

RD IN for MEC12 - Ryan Dungey has confirmed he will be on the starting line to take his shot at the ‘Monster Million’ come 20 October, as the 2012 Monster Energy Cup gets underway for the second consecutive year. In 2011 Dungey made the last minute decision to debut his all-new Red Bull KTM outfit at the inaugural running of the event. For 2012 the former AMA Supercross and motocross champion will arrive race ready and completely in-tune with his new team.

Dungey left Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium last year with a second overall, taking 3-2-2 finishes in the three moto format, Ryan Villopoto was able to string together three moto wins for the overall and the coveted million dollar pay cheque.

“Coming into last year’s Monster Energy Cup, I was really excited about it,” said Dungey. “It was a quick decision we made – kind of last minute – but it was something different. The format was a little different and you had a million dollars up for grabs. The first year of the competition was a success.”

The 2012 Monster Energy Cup features an all-new track design inspired by five-time Supercross Class Champion Ricky Carmichael which will consist of supercross and motocross obstacles unlike any other racetrack design in the world.

The Monster Energy Cup will again post a $250,000 purse with the winner walking away with a $100,000 check, and any rider that wins all three main events will take home the $1 million.

- OUT!!!!! James Stewart - Surprise Surprise – this came through on Friday: Team Yoshimura Suzuki Racing’s James Stewart will unfortunately miss this weekend’s seventh round of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship at the Spring Creek National in Millville, MN. The multi-championship winning rider has not seen enough progress in the rehab from his recent injury to make sense to compete at this time.

“At this point in time it doesn’t make sense to push it,” said Team Yoshimura Suzuki Manager, Mike Webb. “From a safety standpoint, for both James and the other riders, (can’t agree more and about time – DS) we just don’t want to take the chance. The injury is a little more than we thought and will simply require a bit more rehab. The plan is to stay off the bike for a couple weeks and then ride and test and come back strong for Southwick.”

Stewart was injured during the beginning of the first moto at the Lakewood, CO round back in the beginning of June. The Yoshimura Suzuki rider has collected two overall victories with four moto wins and a third-place overall thus far this season.

- OUT!!!! Tommy Weeck - Rockstar Star-Valli Yamaha fill-in rider Tommy Weeck broke his tibia and fibula practicing at Glen Helen yesterday.
Weeck tweeted this the following night: ‘I'm sorry to let everyone down. Especially my team starvalli rockstar Yamaha. I can't thank them enough for the opportunity they gave me. This one set in immediately. I'm devistated!’

- IN!!!!! Izzi, Brown, Dowd, Hahn, Bogle and Tedesco
According to the Pre-Entry list for Millville Bike Brown is back after running out of fuel twice at Red Budd, John Dowd is also entered as his son Ryan is racing the amateur races on Saturday while Tommy Hahn, Justin Bogle, Ivan Tedesco and Nico Izzi are back from injury and a welcome return for the top ten contenders.

Brown and Dowd have to score a minimum of 25 points in a season to keep their national numbers 3 and 16 respectively. Dowd traditionally does well at the Southwick National which is only a month away, the day after Dowd turns 47 years young…..

By the way, there are 80 riders vying for a spot on the main gate in the 450 class while there are 72 hopefuls in the 250 class…..and there are 20 odd pros out with injury. The field is DEEP in the US of A.

2012 AMA Motocross Championship – Round 7 – Spring Creek Motocross Park in Millville, MN

RedBud 450 Qualifying: 1 5 Ryan Dungey KTM 450 SX-F 2:08.293. 2 800 Mike Alessi Suzuki RMZ 450 2:08.942. 3 48 Jimmy Albertson Suzuki RMZ 450 2:09.606. 4 10 Justin Brayton Honda CRF450R 2:09.728. 5 25 Broc Tickle Kawasaki KX 450F 2:09.820. 6 28 Tyla Rattray Kawasaki KX 450F 2:09.880. 7 11 Kyle Chisholm Kawasaki KX 450F 2:09.975. 8 29 Andrew Short Honda CRF450R 2:10.175. 9 21 Jacob Weimer Kawasaki KX 450F 2:10.247. 10 60 Mathew Lemoine Kawasaki KX 450F 2:10.572

RedBud 250 Qualifying: 1 70 Ken Roczen KTM 250 SX-F 2:08.150. 2 17 Eli Tomac Honda CRF250R 2:08.345. 3 38 Marvin Musquin KTM 250 SX-F 2:09.027. 4 44 Jason Anderson Suzuki RMZ250F 2:09.173. 5 20 Justin Barcia Honda CRF250R 2:09.268. 6 12 Blake Baggett Kawasaki KX 250F 2:09.709. 7 58 William Hahn Honda CRF250R 2:10.350. 8 49 Justin Bogle Honda CRF250R 2:10.765. 9 30 Alex Martin Honda CRF250R 2:12.214. 10 956 Blake Wharton Suzuki RMZ250F 2:12.232

250 Race Report: Last week we had Larocco’s Leap and this week we have the famous Millville Whoops….two full straights of massive whoops that have over the years been the place where races are won and lost…..and it will happen today.

Moto one saw Justin Barcia grab the holeshot with Ken Roczen, Wil Hahn, Justin Bogle and Eli Tomac right behind. Tomac blasted into third moved in on Barcia and Roczen.

Championship leader Blake Baggett was bumped out of the first turn and had to ride around the second corner before he could re-join the race but managed to finish the first lap in eighth place during which Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin fell in front of him so the lap didn’t go as smoothly as would seem.

Pacing some two seconds a lap faster than the front runners Baggett soon joined the Tomac-Roczen battle for second. BB12 (Baggett’s knickname) bitzed the berm betweek the Millville Whoops and passed Tomac and then took advantage of Roczen’s poor drive out of the same corner a laps later to claim second place.

Tomac got by Roczen for third then found the pace to run with Baggett right up till they caught Barcia. Baggett then pulled off a banzai pass on Barcia for the lead and once into the lead was able to check out for the win ahead of Barcia, Tomac, Roczen and Hahn.

Just days after losing fill-in rider Tommy Weeck to a broken tibia and fibula, Star-Valli Rockstar Yamaha was dealt another blow in the first moto at Millville when Gareth Swanepoel jumped into a lapper and suffered a broken leg as a result. Swaenpoel tweeted the following the night after the race: Well bad news was having a great race 1st moto and on the last lap jumped into a lapper and put my leg out and I have broken my leg just under my knee.. See doctor on Monday

Barcia grabbed the early lead again in moto two but Tomac was able to rip by his teammate to take the top spot and then Baggett passed Barcia as well. Tomac had Baggett’s measure for 6 laps before Baggett got by for the lead but shortly after slid out off the face of a sandy jump and crash hard.

“I made a little error, ended up going down and it was kind of in a bad spot, so I couldn’t get to my bike,” said Baggett. “I was trying to get the flagger’s attention so that I could go pick up my bike without getting landed on or anything. That was just a little mistake. I felt like I was doing really good and I felt like everything was clicking along. It was just kind of one of those errors that sneaks up on you and there’s nothing that you’ve got to go back and change or work on. Stuff just happens. I salvaged it out, though. Still felt good afterwards. The bike was a little bit bent up, to say the least. But it ran good all day. It handled awesome.”

Tomac kept his head down and built a solid lead over his teammate Barcia to take the moto win and win the overall with 3-1 scores. Barcia and Baggett were next for the overall while Roczen never figured among the leaders and went 4-3 to take fourth overall.

250 Overall: Eli Tomac 3-1. Justin Barcia 2-2. Blake Baggett 1-4. Ken Roczen 4-3. Blake Wharton 6-5. Wil Hahn 5-7. Marvin Musquin 7-6. Justin Bogle 10-8. Jason Anderson 8-10. Jake Canada 9-13. Jessy Nelson 9-13. Travis Baker 13-11. Alex Martin 16-9. Malcolm Stewart 12-14. Dakota Tedder 17-16. Mike McDade 20-15. AJ Catanzaro 18-17. Kyle Peters 14-36. Gareth Swanepoel 15-37. Ryan Zimmer 29-18.

250 Points after Round 7 of 12: 1. Blake Baggett 315. 2. Justin Barcia 297. 3. Eli Tomac 281. 4. Ken Roczen 273. 5. Marvin Musquin 218. 6. Wil Hahn 191. 7. Blake Wharton 156. 8. Jason Anderson 145. 9. Jessy Nelson 128. 10. Jake Canada 125. 11. Travis Baker 121. 12. Gareth Swanepoel 106. 13. Ivan Tedesco 99. 14. Kyle Cunningham 96. 15. Malcolm Stewart 74

450 Race Report: In the first 450 moto Michael Byrne grabbed the lead through the fast right hand first corner but then almost come together with Dungey which pushed the KTM rider back a few spots.

Weimer and Alessi blew by Byrne for the lead and ‘The Burner’ had the best seat in the house to watch Alessi pass Weimer in the sand whoops then save a HUGE tank slapper to hang on to the lead.

Alessi easily pulled away from Weimer while Dungey predictably began his charge through to third and wasted no time on getting around Weimer for second. Dungey showed the patience of an angel as he tried to get around Alessi for the lead with the number 800 using some dubious tactics to try and unsettle Dungey but as per usual Dungey’s raw speed put the series leader to the lead and the eventual win.

Alessi lost his rhythm and lost second place to Weimer passed Alessi back for second while Justin Brayton battling past Andrew Short, Tyla Rattray for a solid fourth place.

Byrne nailed another incredible start in moto two but this time Dungey got through the first corners clean and quickly made the pass for the lead and that as they say, is that. The huge crowd was loving their local man out in front blitzing the field.

“It was a good day, obviously I’ve spent a lot of time riding here as a kid, and I had lots of friends and family here. Had to get a lot of tickets, but that’s okay. The fans get really excited and to get a win was really good for myself and the team,” said Dungey adfter the final moto. “It’s amazing. I was a little kid here too, once, and I was trying to get the riders pants and jerseys and whatever. I was kind of a pain in the butt! But now that I have an idea of what you go through, to be able to come here once a year, that’s what we look forward to more than anything. To come here once a year and be that guy in that position, it’s just a dream come true. I remember standing in front of that podium looking up at Ricky [Carmichael]. And you just wanted to be in that position so badly. You hope all the cards lay out right so you can be there one day. I don’t let a day go by where I take the moment for granted.”

This time Alessi rode strong all the way to the end to claim second place while Weimer started the moto just inside the top ten and managed to get back to third just ahead of Brayton who ride strong for a 4-4 day.

Broc Tickle, who crashed back to 12th in the first moto, took fifth in moto two and unbelievably 40 year old Mike Brown finished with an impressive 18-12 day and fellow 46 year old John Dowd went 19-13. AMAZING!!!!

450 Overall: Ryan Dungey 1-1. Mike Alessi 3-2. Jake Weimer 2-3. Justin Brayton 4-4. Andrew Short 5-6. Broc Tickle 12-5. Les Smith 11-9. Cole Thompson 15-7. Tyla Rattray 6-28. Christian Craig 14-14. Tommy Hahn 7-38. Kyle Chisholm 33-8. Michael Byrne 9-20. Josh Grant 8-34. Mike Brown 18-12. Derek Anderson 22-10. Jimmy Albertson 10-32. Ronnie Stewart 21-11. John Dowd 19-13. Vince Friese 17-16.

450 Points after Round 7 of 12: 1. Ryan Dungey 336. 2. Mike Alessi 255. 3. Jake Weimer 244. 4. Andrew Short 209. 5. Broc Tickle 187. 6. Justin Brayton 167. 7. James Stewart 151. 8. Josh Grant 150. 9. Brett Metcalfe 142. 10. Kyle Chisholm 113. 11. Michael Byrne 110. 12. Nico Izzi 95. 13. Ryan Sipes 94. 14. Davi Millsaps 85. 15. Cole Thompson 64. 16. Jimmy Albertson 61. 17. Matt Lemoine 61. 18. Tommy Hahn 53. 19. Tyla Rattray 49. 20. Les Smith 49.

Quotes from Riders:
Justin Barcia: “I’ve got really good starts this year. Obviously, that’s good for me. I just get out front, and just push as long as I can until the end. First moto was good. I pushed it for as long as I could as hard as I could. I definitely need to get a win, I’m getting pretty sick of these second-place finishes. As riders I think we’re all going home and working hard, and we’re all so even and it’s so close, it’s stupid! It’s tough.”

Jake Weimer: “I didn’t get the starts I needed, which is frustrating because I don’t feel like I’m going to accomplish what I want to accomplish when I don’t start first or second. I started like sixth or something around there, which isn’t terrible, but it’s just not going to cut it. By the time I got into third, I didn’t even know where Mike [Alessi] and Ryan [Dungey] were. They were gone. But I have to get better starts.”

Ken Roczen: “My day went alright. I got a good qualifying position. It was the first time ever that I’ve been first. That was good for the first moto. I felt pretty good in the first moto, too. I finished fourth in the end, but I think I’ve been riding decent. I got really hot in that first moto. I don’t know why. It wasn’t as hot as RedBud, but it was worse for me. I had a hard time. I knew the second moto was going to be hard and then I had a bad start. I just fought my way through and then ended up in third place. We’re all working and we’re just trying to make up for it.”

Wil Hahn: I feel like it was a good day. The first moto was good. The second moto was shit. Plain and simple. I put myself in a good position at the beginning, then I made mistakes and went backwards. I don’t like going backwards. I went back forwards again, but in the first moto, I went backwards then I went really forward and made some good passes at the end. I’ve just got to capitalize on my starts. I’m getting top 5 starts every weekend. I’ve just got to grow a set the first couple of laps!”

Broc Tickle: “Practice went good. First moto was going good, then I crashed and went back to, I don’t know, fourteenth or fifteenth. Then I slowly made my way to twelfth. So first moto was kind of over with and I knew if I got in top five, I could get a good result and ended up fifth in the second moto. I was hoping to close up on [Justin] Brayton a little bit, but he was going steady and strong at the end and I just didn’t have it.”

Cole Thompson: “Yeah, it was another great day. Glad to be safe. Rode two solid motos and felt good. I had kind of a horrible start, then didn’t make good line choices on the first lap and didn’t make it up to the pack and they kind of got away. I rode to fifteenth, which was alright. Then second moto, I just put everything that I had into it. [Andrew] Short was right there in front of me and I couldn’t seem to get that little extra bit to get around him but it was still a good finish.”

Tyla Rattray: “First moto I didn’t get such a great start. It’s definitely something I’ve been working on during the week and they seem pretty good, but then I come to the next race and I can’t do it. I managed to get sixth in the first moto. It’s not great. I expect myself to be up front, but with me not racing for such a long time from Oakland, it’s taking me a little while to get back into it and get my race fitness back to where it should be. Second moto, I got a great start. I was fifth or fourth. Then Jimmy Albertson kind of lost the front end and stood up and I was in the turn already and just kind of fell over. Then I was coming back. I think I got up to like fourteenth or thirteenth or somewhere then hit Mike pretty hard and blew the disc off my bike. And I twisted the front end on my bike. Had a DNF with two left to go, which kind of sucks.”

Jake Canada: “Day was pretty good. I think I qualified eleventh. That’s alright. I don’t usually qualify that good. Then first moto, I didn’t get the best start, probably about twentieth. Then I worked my way up to ninth by the end of the moto and got ninth in that moto. So that was cool. I was pumped on that. Then second moto, I got an even worse start, maybe like five from last. I worked my way up and then, for a second, I was in eighth. I passed [Jason] Anderson and I was in eighth for a second. Then I don’t know what happened, I think I got heat exhaustion. I haven’t done all these outdoors before in a row. I didn’t have anything that second moto. I was dizzy. I couldn’t see straight. I faded back to thirteenth.”

The AMA riders now head to the Washougal National next weekend.

- 2012 Loretta Lynn Amateur Motocross

The 2012 Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship presented by Amsoil is a week-long event that for many young stars is their ‘make-or-break’ race to their future AND it is a chance for the likes of former champions like Ricky Carmichael, Gary Semics, Scott Sheak, Robbie Reynard, Doug Dubach and Mike Sleeter (to name a few) to re-live their youth in the highly competitive vet classes.

There are some other names you may recognise. Joey Savatgy has visited Australia several times and has won a couple of Australian Junior Motocross Championships. Joey has qualified for several classes at Loretta Lynn while Aussies Jacob Blomfield, Hayden Mellsoss and Luke Reardon are also on the entry list.

The action starts on Saturday July 29 and wraps up on August 4. I will get the results to you when they come to hand.

2012 Canadian Motocross Championships – Round 5 Gopher Dunes – Courtland.

Matt Goerke has continued his stellar 2012 season with a dominant performance at round 5 of the 2012 Canadian Motocross Championship held at Gopher Dunes, Courtland last weekend. Goerke has inked a deal to race the AMA series in 2013.

Round 5 MX1 Overall: 1st - MATT GOERKE – KAW. 2nd - BOBBY KINIRY – YAM. 3rd - TYLER MEDAGLIA – HON. 4th - DUSTY KLATT – YAM. 5th - COLTON FACCIOTTI. 6th - JOSHUA CLARK – HON. 7th - GAVIN GRACYK – KAW. 8th - JASON BURKE – HON. 9th - TYLER VILLOPOTO – KAW. 10th - LIAM OFARRELL – KTM.

Round 5 MX2 Overall: 1st - TEDDY MAIER – KAW. 2nd - KEVIN BENOIT – KTM. 3rd - JEREMY MEDAGLIA – KTM. 4th - TOPHER INGALLS – HON - 5th - RICHARD GREY – YAM – 28.
MX1 Championship after Round 5: 1st - MATT GOERKE - 247. 2nd - BOBBY KINIRY - 211 (-36). 3rd - TYLER MEDAGLIA - 182 (-65). 4th - COLTON FACCIOTTI - 175 (-72). 5th - DUSTY KLATT - 143 (-104). 6th - TYLER VILLOPOTO - 137 (-110). 7th - GAVIN GRACYK - 126 (-121). 8th - MORGAN BURGER. 108 (-139). 9th - JASON BURKE - 101 (-146). 10th - BROCK HOYER - 76 (-171).

MX2 Championship after Round 5: 1st - TEDDY MAIER - 231. 2nd - JEREMY MEDAGLIA - 211 (-20). 3rd - JARED ALLISON - 154 (-77). 4th - KYLE BEATON - 142 (-89). 5th - BRAD NAUDITT - 141 (-90).

- Aussie News - 2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals – Round 7 – Horsham, Victoria.

MX1 Top 10 Qualifying Results: 1. Brad Anderson 2:06.407. 2. Todd Waters 2:07.444. 3. Josh Coppins 2:09.703. 4. Lawson Bopping 2:11.803. 5. Cody Cooper 2:12.053. 6. Daniel McCoy 2:13.600. 7. Jay Marmont 2:13.938. 8. Dean Porter 2:14.065. 9. Jake Moss 2:15.140. 10. Craig Anderson 2:15.620

MX2 Top 10 Qualifying Results: 1. Kade Mosig 2:05.977. 2. Ford Dale 2:07.133. 3. Adam Monea 2:07.502. 4. Brenden Harrison 2:07.890. 5. Josh Cachia 2:08.667. 6. Kirk Gibbs 2:09.035. 7. Justin McDonald 2:09.208. 8. Scott Columb 2:10.167. 9. Luke Styke 2:10.732. 10. Luke Arbon 2:12.141

MX1 Race Report: Motul Pirelli Suzuki riders Todd Waters and Cody Cooper scored a rare 1-2 finish at Horsham and in doing so Waters now sits just eight points from series leader Josh Coppins in the championship chase.

The 21-year-old Queenslander rode superbly throughout the day with 1-3-2 finishes over the three motos. “I was a little bit disappointed Josh came past in that final moto, but I’ve got to hand it to him,” Waters said. “I couldn’t quite hold him off, but anyway that’s how it goes and the track was tough. To come away from today on top of the podium shows the work is starting to pay off, so I’m just stoked and it’s a great day for Motul Pirelli Suzuki.”

Cody Cooper actually tied on points with Waters with 2-1-3 finishes but with Waters finishing ahead of the likeable Kiwi in the final moto the round win was handed to Waters while Coppins managed 3-4-1 over three motos for third overall.

2011 British Motocross Champion Brad Anderson was fourth overall ahead of round six winner Lawson Bopping and defending champion Jay Marmont.

MX1 Overall: 1. Todd Waters 67. 2. Cody Cooper 67. 3. Josh Coppins 63. 4. Brad Anderson 53. 5. Lawson Bopping 48. 6. Jay Marmont 47. 7. Jake Moss 45. 8. Daniel McCoy 38. 9. Dean Porter 32. 10. Daniel Reardon 31.

MX1 Championship Standings (after 7 of 10 rounds): 1. Josh Coppins 415. 2. Todd Waters 407. 3. Brad Anderson 380. 4. Lawson Copping 375. 5. Cody Cooper 336. 6. Jake Moss 255. 7. Jay Marmont 254. 8. Tye Simmonds 234. 9. Daniel Reardon 227. 10. Daniel McCoy 227.

MX2 Race Report: JDR/KTM Factory Racing rider Josh Cachia picked up his second overall win of the season with a dominating 2-1-1 finishes over the three motos.
“It was really good to show my speed and get another win here this weekend,” Cachia said. “This is motocross, the track was rough, rutted, sticky and just gnarly out there after the rain. I couldn’t have done it without my whole team, so thank you to JDR/KTM Factory Racing. Hopefully we can keep winning races.”

Second overall was Adam Monea for Zero Seven Motorsports Suzuki who won the opening moto and backed that up with a second and a fifth while Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing’s Ford Dale came home third overall ahead of Kade Mosig, series leader Luke Styke and Brendan Harrison.

Styke was forced to settle for fifth overall in Horsham, trailing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kade Mosig. Cachia’s teammate Brenden Harrison returned to racing and put forward a positive performance, claiming sixth for the round.

The hard luck season for Kirk Gibbs continued at Horsham on the weekend as he went down heavily in the final moto of the day in a first turn pile up.

The Serco Yamaha , Metal Mulisha rider was one of the first riders to go down while near the front of the pack as the MX2 field tipped into the first corner, resulting in the South Australian being hit by many bikes and riders behind him forcing him out of the moto.

It continued what had already been a tough day for Gibbs who had already been involved in other crashes and hard luck throughout the day, scoring just 17 points in the opening two motos for the day.

“I’m just disappointed,” Gibbs lamented. “I have been putting in a huge amount of work with my training and fitness during the week but at the moment it’s just not showing up on the weekends."

"I’m not really sure how the crash happened, it was in the first turn and a few of us ended up on the ground and I got hit a few times.” added the rider who has finished second in the Lites championship in the past two seasons.

At this point in time it looks as though Gibbs was able to walk away with no broken bones, however he was holding his wrist when initally getting up from the first turn cash. “Nothing is broken but I’m sore at the moment. I will get everything checked out when I get home and come back fresh for Appin." Gibbs concluded.

MX2 Overall: 1. Josh Cachia 72. 2. Adam Monea 63. 3. Ford Dale 57. 4. Kade Mosig 54. 5. Luke Styke 47. 6. Brenden Harrison 44. 7. Justin McDonald 37. 8. Luke Arbon 36. 9. Scott Columb 34. 10. Joel Milesevic 32.

MX2 Championship Standings (after 7 of 10 rounds): 1. Luke Styke 421. 2. Ford Dale 385. 3. Josh Cachia 368. 4. Kade Mosig 337. 5. Adam Monea 327. 6. Cheyne Boyd 319. 7. Kirk Gibbs 301. 8. Justin McDonald 261. 9. Scott Columb 249. 10. Lewis Woods 242;

The Australian Motocross Championship series will continue at Appin in New South Wales on Sunday, 29 July.

- 2012 KTM King of Nepean

Luke Richards wins King of Nepean

The Nepean Motors Sports Club hosted what they believe will be the first of a new era of the iconic King of Nepean Dirt Track event and a huge crowd was on hand to watch Australia’s best riders battle tooth and nail throughout the day.

After blasting through the qualifying heats the KTM King of Nepean title was dominated by the Honda trio of Luke Richards from Jamie Stauffer and Brody Nowlan.

Former dirt track champion and current road racing champion road racer Jamie Stauffer and his Team Honda teammate Josh Hook put themselves into the mix and managed to up-stage many of the more fancied regular dirt trackers.

In fact, Jamie Stauffer managed a podium finish in all three of his finals while Hook managed to qualify for all his finals with the highlight being a third in the Pro Open class and the opposite when he fell on the last corner whilst running in fourth position in the King of Nepean finals race.

A breathless Stauffer said this after the days racing, “The racing today was much more physical than I am used to in road racing. After racing in 30 heats across three classes I’m absolutely exhausted, but it was a blast, I haven’t had so much fun in ages.”

The full results are as follows.
King Of Nepean Final: 1 LUKE RICHARDS (NSW) HONDA CRF 450. 2 JAMIE STAUFFER (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 3 BRODY NOWLAN (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 4 MARTY MACNAMARA (NSW) YAMAHA YZF450. 5 CAREW DICKINSON (NSW) MOTORCYCLE WEAPONRY HONDA CRF450. 6 GRANT CHARNOCK (NSW) SUZUKI RMZ450. 7 MICHEAL VECCHI (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 8 JAKE ALLEN (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 9 IAN HAMILTON (NSW) YAMAHA YZF450. 10 JOSH HOOK (NSW) HONDA CRF450.

King of Nepean - Pro Lites 150cc 2-stroke / 250cc 4-stroke – Final: 1 PETER SMITH (NSW) RICK ANDREWS MOTORCYCLES HONDA CRF250. 2 GRANT CHARNOCK (NSW) HOMEWOOD WRECKERS YAMAHA YZ250F. 3 JOSH HOOK (NSW) HONDA CRF250. 4 ANTHONY GRASS (NSW) YAMAHA YZ250F. 5 MORGAN TEIRNEY (NSW) TOOL FORCE YAMAHA YZ250F. 6 KIEREN GASKIN (NSW) GASKIN MOTORCYCLE REPAIRS HONDA CRF250. 7 GREG EPIS (NSW) RESPONSE RE KTM 250. 8 MATT BLACK (NSW) SUZUKI RMZ250. 9 MATT O'REGAN (NSW) YAMAHA YZ250F. 10 COREY BOOTH (NSW) SUZUKI RMZ250.

King of Nepean - Unlimited Open - MX & Slider – Final: 1 LUKE RICHARDS (NSW) HONDA CRF 450. 2 JAMIE STAUFFER (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 3 JAKE ALLEN (QLD) TONY CORBET HAULAGE HONDA CRF450. 4 BRODY NOWLAN (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 5 MARTY MACNAMARA (NSW) YAMAHA YZ450F. 6 MICHEAL VECCHI (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 7 JOEY RINGWOOD (NSW) GM 500. 8 JOSH HOOK (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 9 IAN HAMILTON (NSW) MOTO GARAGE YAMAHA YZ450F. 10 CODY SAMPSON (NSW) YAMAHA YZ450F.

King Of Nepean - Pro Open - 250cc 2-stroke / 450cc 4-stroke – Final: 1 GRANT CHARNOCK (NSW) SUZUKI RMZ450. 2 JAKE ALLEN (QLD) TONY CORBET HAULAGE HONDA CRF450. 3 JAMIE STAUFFER (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 4 MICHEAL KIRKNESS (NSW) SUZUKI RMZ450. 5 JOSH HOOK (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 6 CAREW DICKINSON (NSW) MOTORCYCLE WEAPONRY HONDA CRF450R. 7 ALAN MACDONALD (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 8 LUKE RICHARDS (NSW) HONDA CRF 450. 9 BRODY NOWLAN (NSW) HONDA CRF450. 10 MARTY MACNAMARA (NSW) YAMAHA YZF450.

- Euro News

2013 World Motocross Calendar Released - Youthstream and the FIM has released the provisional calendar for the 2013 World Motocross Championships with a few details still to be finalised

FIM World Motocross Championship Calendar:
Rd1 - March 10 - Si Racaha – Thailand.
Rd2 - March 17 – TBA – TBA.
Rd3 - April 1 – Valeknswaard – Netherlands.
Rd4 - April 14 – TBA – TBA.
Rd5 – May 12 – Guadlajara – Mexico.
Rd6 - May 19 - Beto Carrero – Brazil.
Rd7 - June 2 – Ernee – France.
Rd8 - June 9 – Maggiora – Italy.
Rd9 - June 23 – TBA – Germany.
Rd10 – June 30 – Uddevalla – Sweden.
Rd11 - July 14 – Kegums – Latvia.
Rd12 - July 21 – Semigorje – Russia.
Rd13 - August 4 – TBA - Czech Republic.
Rd14 - August 11 – TBA – Belgium.
Rd15 - August 25 - Matterley Basin - Great Britain.
Rd16 - Sept. 8 – TBA – Portugal.
Rd17 - Sept. 15 - St. Jean d’ Angely - France
FIM Motocross of Nations: Sept. 29 – Teutschenthal - Germany

- No Ride For Nagl

Max Nagl has been dropped by the KTM team but has taken it pon the chin like the champion he is. “I was totally surprised by the news. Nevertheless, I would like to thank KTM for the past five years in the factory team. It was a great time with ups and downs and of course my wonderful success, the vice-championship title 2009.”

- World Motocross Championships – Round 10 - Kegums in Latvia

MX1 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 25:30.110; 2. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:08.466; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:19.093; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:23.291; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:23.488; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:29.488; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:39.385; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:44.130; 9. Marc de Reuver (NED, Kawasaki), +0:47.789; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +0:50.530;

MX2 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 25:28.669; 2. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:02.810; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:26.927; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:28.644; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:36.511; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:42.893; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:45.136; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), +0:46.062; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:47.229; 10. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +0:51.852;

MX1 Race Report: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli has regained control of the MX1 points chase via a solid 1-2 moto score but it was not all easy going for the Italian who had a huge crash on a table top in moto two and was lucky to not get landed on while he struggled to get his KTM fired up.

After the crash and spending a lap or so sorting himself out Cairoli made the charge back to second place before the chequered flag flew to salvage the round win ahead of fellow KTM pilots Ken De Dycker and Kevin Strijbos.

Strijbos rides for the HM Plant KTM UK backed team and after taking a 10th place in moto one, the Belgian rebounded in moto two with an impressive victory, his first MX1 moto win since 2007.
Cairoli now leads the MX1 points by 12 over previous championship leader Clement Desalle who battled crashes all weekend to finish back in sixth place while the ‘other’ contender Christophe Pourcel finished back in 11th place .

MX1 Round Results: 1. Antonio Cairoli KTM. 2. Ken de Dycker KTM. 3. Kevin Strijbos KTM. 4. Rui Goncalves Hon. 5. Gautier Paulin Kaw. 6. Clement Desalle Suz. 7. Tanel Leok Suz. 8. Shaun Simpson Yam. 9. Evgeny Bobryshev Hon. 10. Xavier Boog Kaw.11. Christophe Pourcel Kaw.

MX1 Championship Standings after round 10: Antonio Cairoli 392pts. KTM. Clement Desalle 380pts. Suz. Christophe Pourcel 357pts. Kaw. Gautier Paulin 348pts. Kaw. Ken de Dycker 299pts. KTM. Kevin Strijbos 279pts. KTM. Xavier Boog 258pts. Kaw. Tanel Leok 230pts. Suz. Rui Goncalves 219pts. Hon. David Phillippaerts 212pts. Yam

MX2 Race report: Championship contenders Tommy Searle and Jeffrey Herlings suffered mechanical issues allowing team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Joel Roelants to score 1-2 moto finishes to take the win by just two points over second place rider Jeremy van Horbeek who in turn beat home team mate Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier who finished the tough days racing with 5-3 moto finishes.

Searle’s Kawasaki failed to finish either moto while Herlings was able to salvage a seventh for the round with only one DNF finish on the day. Herlings now leads the MX2 points chase by 41 points.

The Lupino Report: Dylan Ferrandis, Husqvarna TC250R mounted Alessandro Lupino and Zach Osborne were all involved in a crash at the start of the qualifying race and finished fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth respectively.

Lupino managed to fight though some ensuing niggling injuries to score 12-10 finishes in the tough conditions to remain in tenth place in the championships.

MX2 Round Results: 1. Joel Roelants Kaw. 2. Jeremy van Horebeek KTM. 3. Jordi Tixier KTM. 4. Glenn Coldenhoff KTM. 5. Jose Butron KTM. 6. Max Anstie Hon. 7. Jeffrey Herlings KTM. 8. Arnaud Tonus Yam. 9. Romain Febrve KTM. 10. Jens Getteman Suz. 11. Nikolaj Larsen Suz. 12. Alessandro Lupino HSQ. 23. Zach Osborne Yam. 30. Tommy Searle Kaw

MX2 Championship standings after Round 10: Jeffery Herlings 428pts. KTM. Tommy Searle 387pts. Kaw. Jeremy van Horebeek 375pts. KTM. Joel Roelants 310pts. Kaw. Jordi Tixier 279pts. KTM. Jake Nicholls 255pts. KTM. Max Anstie 224pts. Hon. Dylan Ferrandis 190pts. Kaw. Jose Burton 197pts. KTM. Alessandro Lupino 183pts. Husq

The FIM World Motocross Championship only has a few days of before they head to Semigorje, Russia.

-- 2012 World Enduro Championship - Round 5 - Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy

E1 Standings after Round 5: 1, Antoine Meo, 160. 2, Rodrig Thain, 130. 3, Eero Remes, 128. 4, Matti Seistola, 117. 5, Simone Albergoni, 104

E2 Standings after Round 5: 1, Cristobal Guerrero, 155. 2, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, 151. 3, Juha Salminen, 137.4, Ivan Cervantes, 120. 5, Johnny Aubert, 98

E3 Standings after Round 5: 1, Christophe Nambotin, 197. 2, David Knight, 143.3, Joakim Ljunggren, 142. 4, Aigar Leok, 133. 5, Oriol Mena, 124

EW Standings after Round 5: 1, Laia SANZ, 117. 2, Ludivine PUY, 105. 3, Audrey ROSSAT, 66. 4, Blandine DUFRENE, 50. 5, Jemma WILSON, 48. 7, Jessica GARDINER, 40.

The next round of the WEC will be over the weekend of the 25th and 26th of August at Karlsborg, Sweden.

- 2012 World Trials Championship

World Trials Championship standings after Round 6: 1 Toni Bou 210 pts. 2 Jeroni Fajardo 160 pts. 3 Albert Cabestany 160 pts. 4 Adam Raga 155 pts. 5 Takahisa Fujinami 147 pts v 6 James Dabill 109 pts. 7 Jack Challoner 81 pts. 8 Daniel Oliveras 78 pts. 9 Michael Brown 76 pts. 10 Matteo Grattarola 58 pts

- Aussie Team 2nd at Speedway World Cup

Denmark has won the 2012 Speedway World Cup after beating the Australian team by three points after a hard night’s racing at the Malilla's G&B Arena in Sweden.

"I don't know where it came from, but this has been such a fun week. Everyone was open-minded – talking together about setups, everything. The new boys definitely gave us a real boost and no-one had to beat each other,” said team Swede leader Niki Pedersen.

"The Australians are definitely a good team – no doubt about it," Pedersen admitted. "Darcy Ward is the biggest talent in the world – the biggest we have ever had. "I don't know how on earth we actually beat them. But I think the way we did it was team spirit, we were confident about it."

Crump said: "It was tough racing and there was not so much you could do. The Danish team scored more than us and won. We tried our best all night, but it just didn't go for us. There is nothing you can say apart from 'well done' to the Danes. We gave it everything we had."

Russian star Emil Sayfutdinov was proud to put his country back among world speedway's superpowers. "For us, this bronze medal is very important. I think Russian speedway will be much better now. We're working hard – our whole team is working hard.”

"The beginning of the meeting was really tough because we had a few problems. But later we found good setups and it went much better."

FIM MONSTER ENERGY SWC FINAL SCORES:

1 Denmark 39: Nicki Pedersen 9, Niels-Kristian Iversen 11, Michael Jepsen Jensen 11, Mikkel B Jensen 8.

2 Australia 36: Jason Crump 10, Darcy Ward 7, Davey Watt 3, Chris Holder 16.

3 Russia 30: Emil Sayfutdinov 17, Grigory Laguta 8, Artem Laguta 5, Roman Povazhny 0.

4 Sweden 24: Andreas Jonsson 11, Fredrik Lindgren 9, Peter Ljung 1, Tomas H Jonasson 3