-- Smarty’s MC News ‘Mega’ Moto Wrap for September 18, 2012
-- By Darren Smart

Hmmm, the AMA and Australian Motocross Championships are over so let’s see what else is happening. Well, I drove out to Queensland Raceway to check out the Supermoto Championship so you will get the full guff of those races while the EnduroX and GNCC kicks back into life in the US of A and the old dudes do battle at the 2012 Vets Motocross Des Nations at Farleigh Castle.

-- America - No News Is Good News Heading Into MEC?

There is next to nothing happening motocross wise in the US right now – most are recovering from the outdoors while the rest are aiming for the Monster Energy Cup that will be on October the 20th in Las Vegas.

EVERYONE is going to be there (except Chad), even the party in the pits will feature Freestyle motocross exhibitions by X Games Gold Medallists Nate Adams, Adam Jones, Taka Higashino and Blake "Bilko" Williams…..how cool is that?!!

Will get some more MEC news as it comes to hand but right now all attention is on the return of Ryan Villopoto and how he will fair against Ryan Dungey.

-- Can-Am GNCC Championship – Round 10 of 13 – Unadilla

Shenandoah Honda/Off-Road Champion’s Thad DuVall secured his first-career XC1 Pro Class win at the Can-Am Unadilla GNCC ahead of championship leader Paul Whibly while JG Off-Road/American Honda’s Nate Kanney also earned his first podium finish of the year in his home state of New York.

DuVall has been within striking distance of a podium finish all season long but hasn’t been able to break past a fourth place finish until Unadilla. DuVall took a chance on a brand-new Honda-backed ride for 2012 and has continued to put in some of the most consistent finishes of his pro career. Kanney made a similar switch to red this season, joining the already established JG Off-Road team and both riders seem to fit most comfortably aboard the Honda CRF450.

“I probably rode one of the best races I’ve ever ridden today,” DuVall said. “We made a few changes over the summer and it really panned out. I got hooked up with Shenandoah Honda and Offroad Champions after kind of joking around on Facebook saying I was going to have to get a real job this year and they came up with an awesome ride for me! I couldn’t be happier with my program and the bike so I can’t thank those guys enough for stepping up to help me.”

Whibley kicked off the afternoon by grabbing the $250 Motosport.com Holeshot Award before taking the early lead with Russell, DuVall and defending champ Charlie Mullins. The top four diced back and forth throughout the first half of the race but bad luck soon plagued the Factory FMF/KTM camp as Mullins lost rear brakes and was forced to return to the pits to change them out. Russell fell back a few positions after crashing on the motocross track on Lap 3, which opened the door for Kanney and Yamaha-backed Chris Bach, who were previously battling for the sixth place position, to make their way to the front.

Kanney turned it up on Lap 6 when he took over the third place position, with Bach close in tow. The two battled back and forth for the final podium position but Kanney began to pull away from Bach near the end. Russell put a charge on to reclaim his fallen positions, eventually passing Bach on the final lap, finishing fourth place just behind Kanney.

“I came here confident I could win and of course I wanted to win but I’m just happy to put in a good ride in front of all the people that support me. It’s just the same as getting a win for me,” Kanney said. “The season is almost over but it’s better late than never and it feels to good to give something back to all the people that help me out.”

Bach maintained the fifth place spot, just ahead of AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn in sixth. Mullins bounced back from a brake issue to finish seventh, in front of of JG Offroad/American Honda’s Jimmy Jarrett in eighth. Rory Mead and Japan National Cross Country champ Takeshi Koikeda rounded out the top ten.

“Thad and I were battling at the end and I broke my front brake lever on the last lap,” Whibley said. “There was no way I could keep up with Thad after that, he was riding really good, so I just chose to back it down and try to ride with him and make sure to get some good points. Second is not what I was wanting but we’ll take it.”

XC1 Pro Results: Thad DuVall (HON). Paul Whibley (YAM). Nathan Kanney (HON). Kailub Russell (KTM). Chris Bach (YAM). Jordan Ashburn (YAM). Charlie Mullins (KTM). Jimmy Jarrett (HON). Rory Mead (KTM). Takeshi Koikeda (KTM).

XC1 Pro Standings: Paul Whibley (253/3 wins). Kailub Russell (240/4 wins). Rory Mead (189/2 wins). Thad DuVall (168/1 win). Jordan Ashburn (147). Charlie Mullins (143). Chris Bach (139). Garrett Edmisten (123). Nathan Kanney (122). Takeshi Koikeda (111)

The ultra-competitive XC2 Pro Lites championship just became even tighter as F.A.R Husqvarna’s Andrew DeLong officially put himself into contention with his fourth win in the last five rounds, despite sitting out the first two races due to injury. Now entering a three-way battle with points leader Steward Baylor Jr. and former teammate Jason Thomas, DeLong is keeping his eye on the prize with three rounds remaining in the series.

KR4 Performance’s Thomas led the early stages of the three-hour competition and seemed to have his work cut out for him at times, especially since DeLong wasn’t able to secure a good holeshot amidst a pack of almost thirty XC2 riders. North Carolina’s Cody Gragg (YAM) jumped out front early on too, where he put in one of his best rides of the season. DeLong eventually made his way up to Baylor, just before the defending champ realized he had a flat and rode back to the pits to swap it out.

Thomas and DeLong continued the battle for first place and upon entering the rough and technical “railroad section”, but both riders got caught up in the mud hole. DeLong was able to break free soon after but Thomas continued to bury his bike into the mud. Thomas eventually got his bike going again and was able to finish the race.

In the meantime, Yamaha-backed Morgan Moss snuck into the lead-pack as he put in an impressive first ride back from knee surgery this year. Moss battled with JG Offroad/American Honda’s Scott Grills for a potential podium position until Grills dropped off with two laps to go. Moss capitalized on the opportunity and rode his way into a season-best second place. F.A.R Husky’s Nick Davis slowly worked his way into podium contention over the course of three-hours and by Lap 5, Davis was going back and forth with Moss for second. Moss eventually bested Davis for the second place spot, and Davis secured his first podium finish of the season with third place.

Baylor eventually jumped back into the race as soon as he could, salvaging a fourth place finish for the day and securing valuable championship points. Thomas finished eighth place for the day, still gaining points toward the championship. Thomas now trails Baylor by 11 points in the overall standings, while DeLong sits a mere eight points behind in third. Obermeyer Yamaha/Raines Riding University/Offroadviking.com’s Brad Bakken rounded out the top five.

XC2 Pro Lites Results: Andrew DeLong (HSQ). Morgan Moss (YAM). Nick Davis (HSQ). Steward Baylor (KTM). Brad Bakken (YAM). Jedediah Haines (YAM). Michael Mcginnis (KTM). Jason Thomas (KTM). AJ Stewart (YAM). Cody Gragg (YAM).

XC2 Pro Lites Standings: Steward Baylor Jr. (221/5 wins). Jason Thomas (211/1 win). Andrew DeLong (208/4 wins). Jedediah Haines (168). Jesse Robinson (156). Brad Bakken (146). AJ Stewart (119). Cody Gragg (102). Zach Nolan (94). Michael Mcginnis (94).

Round 11 of the series will continue over the October 6 and 7 weekend at St. Clairsville, Ohio.

-- GEICO AMA EnduroCross - Ontario, Canada

KTM mounted Taddy Blazusiak made a victorious return to the 2012 EnduroCross Championship taking his second win of the championship at round four of the eight round series held in Ontario, Canada.

Topping the Hot Lap session before going on to win both heat races and the main event Taddy extended his championship points lead over arch rivals Cody Webb and Mike Brown. Brown was in contention until several falls put the veteran back to seventh on the night.

“It’s great to get back to racing, and great to get back to the top of the podium. It’s been more than two months since the last Endurocross race, so I’ve been looking forward to this race for a long time,” said Blazusiak. “It’s also an important race to win because it’s the fourth event of an eight race series, and from here the schedule really steps up a gear.”

“I felt good and felt like I rode well. I made a few mistakes but the important thing for me is to get another win. X Games was really disappointing for me after all the hard work that went into preparing for the event, but I’ve always said it’s the championship that’s the most important thing and another win is great for my championship. The night started well with the fastest time in the Hot Lap session, and from there everything worked out really well. It was nice to have a pretty smooth evening. Winning my heat race gave me a lot of confidence going into the final, and although I made a mistake I got the win. I enjoyed the final, being back racing Endurocross. We have a two weeks break now before the next round of the series and then it’s going to be wide open for the whole of October. ”

Expert Overall: 1. Taddy Blazusiak KTM. 2. Cody Webb Beta. 3. Justin Soule Kaw. 4. Kyle Redmond Husq. 5. Taylor Robert Kaw. 6. Colton Haaker Kaw. 7. Mike Brown KTM. 8. Destry Abbott Kaw. 9. Ryan Rodgers Hon. 10. Gary Sutherlin Kaw. 11. Jamie Lanza Hon.

Expert Points Standings: Taddy Blazusiak 99pts. KTM. Cody Weeb 82pts. Beta. Mike Brown 75pts. KTM. Taylor Robert 73pts. Kaw. Colton Haaker 66pts. Kaw.
The next round will be held on October the 6th at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado.

-- Australian Supermoto Championships – Final Round – Qld Raceway

The final round of the 2012 Australian Supermoto Championships was held at Queensland Raceway last weekend and it was Jarrod Koppe (#575) who took the S2 round win while Kawasaki pilot Ben Nicolson (#5) managed to wrap up the championship with 2nd on the weekend.

Koppe hails from Townsville where he is the dealer principal of Future Sport Motorcycles, a Suzuki, KTM and Husaberg dealership that he runs with his father Steve. After a close second in the opening race the RMZ450 mounted Koppe managed to hold off KX450 mounted Nicolson in the final three races of the weekend but there was never more than a few bike lengths between the pair.

Koppe’s good mate Warren Gill (#215) rounded out the podium on his RMZ450 while David Roughley and Ian McHugh rounded out the top five on the day.

In the S1 class it was Luke Trail (#4) who managed to clean sweep all four races ahead of Dave Oliver (#57) and Phil Lovett (#71) and that is how the three hard chargers finished in the final championship standings with Alex Harriman and Michael Ricketts rounding out the top five.

-- Phil Lovett – Living Legend

A visit to Queensland Raceway last weekend became an opportunity to catch up with an old mate by the name of Phil Lovett and here is a brief summary of Phil’s weekend.

The 54 year old living legend scored two solid fourth places in the Australian Pro-Stock class at Queensland Raceway to finish the championship in third place behind Linden Magee and Chas Hern before turning his hand to the Australian Supermoto Championship where the former Finke Desert race winner scored solid points all day to wrap up third place in that championship as well.

Lovett is a former Australian Enduro Champion, 3 time Finke Desert Race winner, ISDE Gold medallist and a more than handy motocrosser as well.

-- Europe - 2012 Vets Motocross Des Nations

The famous Farleigh Castle motocross facility hosted the 2012 Vets Motocross Des Nationals and it was team Belguim who came away with the win ahead of the much fancied team of Jeff Ward, Ryan Hughes and Doug Dubach who represented USA.

It has been hard to get official results but it appears that Hughes and Belgian’s Werner Dewitt were the fastest riders on the track and it was a costly crash by Hughes in the opening moto that cost the super fit Yank the overall. Brit Gordon Crockard also put in some good rides ahead of Johan Boonen for third overall in the Evo class.

Surprisingly the pre-race favourite Doug Dubach struggled riding the older machinery while Geoff Ballard actually won the opening moto in the over 50s class but mechanical problems put pay to GB’s weekend.

Other Aussies to race were enthusiasts Russell Williamson and Ray Beetz who along with Ballard represented Australia In the Twin Shock MXDN and as expected were never really in the hunt but I don’t think they ever thought they would be, it was more about being there and having fun for the Aussie team.

VETS Motocross Des Nations: 1. Belgium. 2. USA. 3. Great Britain

EVO VMXDN Results: 1. Werner Dewitt - 1-2-3-5. 2. Ryan Hughes - 10-1-1-3. Gordon Crockard - 5-4-2-2. 4. Johan Boonen - 3-3-4-4. 7. Doug Dubach. 12. Jeff Ward. 52. Russell Williamson (Aus)

TWIN SHOCK VMXDN Results: 1. Ryan Hughes..........1-1-1-1. 2. Patrick Caps - 2-3-3-2. 3. Colin Dugmore - 7-2-2-7. 4. Jurgen Kuppers - 3-7-5-3. 5. Doug Dubach. 27. Chuck Sun. 40. Geoff Ballard (Aus). 41. Russell Williamson (Aus). 49. Mike Bell. 52. Ray Beetz.

EVO 250 Results: 1. Kristian Whatley - 1-1-1-2. 2. Gordan Crockard - 15-5-2-1. 3. Jack Gribble - 7-7-4-5. 4. Stuart Rawlings - 8-2-7-6.

EVO 500 Results: 1. Scott Elderfield - 3-2-2-2. 2. Dorren Coutts............2-3-5-1. 3. Tom Church - 1-1-3-9. 4. Sam Chapman - 4-5-6-7.

TWIN SHOCK UNDER-40 Results: 1. Tom Church - 5-1-3-3. 2. Ed Bradley - 3-3-4-5. 3. Luke Hill - 2-4-6-6. 4. Brad Tomlin - 1-12-5-3.

TWIN SHOCK OVER-40 Results: 1. Anders Sydborg - 1-1-1-1. 2. Howard Standfield - 3-3-2-2. 3. Danny Scheers - 2-2-3-4. 4. Gary Turner - 4-6-7-5.

TWIN SHOCK OVER-50 Results: 1. Russell Priddle - 2-2-3-9. 2. Mike Bell - 5-5-2-5. 3. Nick Toms - 9-3-4-8. 4. Chris Elderfield - 11-10-8-6. 15. Chuck Sun. 26.
Geoff Ballard (Won the opening moto).

-- 2012 World Motocross Championship – Current Standings

MX2 Championship Points: 1. Herlings 672pts, 2. Searle 601pts, 3. Van Horebeek 559pts, 4. Nicholls 409pts, 5. Tixier 401pts, 6. Roelants 367pts, 7. Anstie 323pts, 8. Butron 272pts, 9. Ferrandis 272pts, 10. Coldenhoff 251pts. 11. Lupino 249pts.

MX1 Championship Points: 1. Cairoli 642pts, 2. Desalle 554pts, 3. Paulin 502pts, 4. Pourcel 496pts, 5. De Dycker 478pts, 6. Strijbos 389pts, 7. Boog 372pts, 8. Leok 365pts, 9. Goncalves 315pts, 10. Simpson 298pts.

The next round of the MX1 and MX2 World Championships will take place in Germany on the 23rd of September.

-- 2012 World Speedway Championship – Current Standings

WSC Standings after 10 of 12 Rounds: 1 Chris Holder 134, 2 Greg Hancock 126, 3 Nicki Pedersen 123, 4 Tomasz Gollob 114, 5 Jason Crump 111, 6 Emil Sayfutdinov 107, 7 Fredrik Lindgren 100, 8 Antonio Lindback 92, 9 Andreas Jonsson 77, 10 Hans Andersen 58.

Next up is the penultimate round at the GP of Denmark on the 22nd of September – last year Hancock won this GP ahead of Jason Crump.

-- Maxxis British Motocross Nationals – Current Standings

450 Points Standings: Kevin Strijbos 388pts. Shaun Simpson 339pts. Matiss Karro 308pts. Gert Krestinov 264pts. Martin Barr 243pts. Kristian Whatley 201pts. Jamie Law 200pts. Stephen Sword 198pts. Alex Snow 186pts. Dorron Coutts 170pts.

250 Points Standings: Mel Pocock 343pts. Elliott Banks-Browne 327pts. Nev Bradshaw 271pts. Steven Lenoir 254pts. Nicolas Aubin 239pts. Graeme Irwin 239pts. Bryan MacKenzie 235pts. Stu Edmonds 174pts James Cottrell 152pts. Lewis Tombs 141pts.

Round 8 will be held on the 7th of October at Little Silver, Exeter.

-- 2012 World Enduro Championships – Current Standings

E1 Standings after Round 14: 1, Meo, 237 - World Champion . 2, Thain, 174. 3, Oldrati, 166. 4, Remes, 162. 4, Seistola, 162

E2 Standings after Round 14: 1, Renet, 228. 2, Guerrero, 217. 3, Salminen, 204. 4, Cervantes, 152. 5, Aubert, 122.

E3 Standings after Round 14: 1, Nambotin, 274 - World Champion. 2, Ljunggren, 204. 3, Leok, 202. 4, Mena, 167. 5, Knight, 162.
WEC riders will compete in the final two rounds in France over the weekend of the 20th and 21st of October.

-- Here are the Championships that are Finished for 2012

-- 2012 AMA Motocross Championship
Final 250 Points: 1. Blake Baggett – 519. 2. Justin Barcia – 499. 3. Eli Tomac – 487. 4. Ken Roczen – 456. 5. Marvin Musquin – 406. 6. Wil Hahn – 316. 7. Blake Wharton – 265. 8. Jason Anderson – 238. 9. Jessy Nelson – 225. 10. Travis Baker – 193.
Final 450 Points: 1. Ryan Dungey – 580. 2. Mike Alessi – 453. 3. Jake Weimer – 355. 4. Andrew Short – 354. 5. Broc Tickle – 349. 6. Josh Grant – 277. 7. Justin Brayton – 247. 8. Kyle Chisholm – 211. 9. Davi Millsaps - 176
10. James Stewart – 163.

-- 2012 Canadian Motocross Championships - Final Standings
MX1 Final Points Standings: Matt Goerke 442pts. Bobby Kiniry 375pts. Yam. Dusty Klatt 316pts. KTM. Gavin Gracyk 252pts. Kaw. Tyler Villopoto 230pts. Kaw. Morgan Burger 207pts. Kaw. Tyler Medaglia 182pts. Hon. Jason Burke 181pts. Hon. Colton Facciotti 175pts. KTM. Shawn Maffenbeier 155pts. Yam.
MX2 Final Points Standings: Teddy Maier 406pts. Kaw. Jeremy Medaglia 386pts. KTM. Topher Ingalls 263pts. Hon. Jared Allison 261pts. Yam. Brad Nauditt 230pts. Hon. Kaven Benoit 227pts. KTM. Parker Allison 219pts. Yam. Spencer Knowles 201pts. Yam. Richard Grey 196pts. Yam. Dylan Kaelin 180pts. Yam.

-- Australian MX Nationals – Final Standings

MXD Championship Standings: 1. Kayne Lamont 521 Pts. 2. Dylan Long 500 Pts. 3. Dylan Leary 462 Pts. 4. Jay Wilson 439 Pts. 5. Kale Makeham 428 Pts. 6. Sam Martin 411 Pts. 7. Mitch Norris 322 Pts. 8. Wade Hunter 268 Pts. 9. Joel Milesevic 230 Pts. 10. Mitch Budd 201 Pts.

MX2 Championship Standings: 1. Ford Dale 571 Pts. 2. Luke Styke 569 Pts. 3. Josh Cachia 565 Pts. 4. Kade Mosig 499 Pts. 5. Kirk Gibbs 441 Pts. 6. Cheyne Boyd 411 Pts. 7. Adam Monea 409 Pts. 8. Scott Columb 360 Pts. 9. Justin McDonald 320 Pts. 10. Lewis Woods 306 Pts.
Yamaha 37 Pts. 10. 6 Jake Moss Honda 36 Pts. 11. 100 Craig Anderson Yamaha 30 Pts.

MX1 Championship Standings: 1. Josh Coppins 618 Pts. 2. Todd Waters 607 Pts. 3. Cody Cooper 509 Pts. 4. Brad Anderson 509 Pts. 5. Lawson Bopping 506 Pts. 6. Jay Marmont 374 Pts. 7. Jake Moss 347 Pts. 8. Dean Porter 331 Pts. 9. Daniel McCoy 329 Pts. 10. Dan Reardon 320 Pts. 11. Tye Simmonds 234 Pts. 12. Craig Anderson 207 Pts.

-- 2012 World Trials Championship Final Standings

Final Championships Points: 1. Toni Bou 250 pts. 2. Adam Raga 187 pts. 3. Jeroni Fajardo 186 pts. 4. Albert Cabestany 181 pts. 5. Takahisa Fujinami 174 pts. 6. James Dabill 135 pts . 7. Jack
Challoner 99 pts. 8. Daniel Oliveras 90 pts. 9. Michael Brown 89 pts. 10. Matteo Grattarola 66
Pts.

-- 2012 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship – Final Standings

65 Overall: 1. Caleb Grothues AUS. 2. Rily Dukes AUS. 3. Robert-Crisztian Tompa ROU. 4. Conner Mullennx USA. 5. Timur Petrashin RUS. 6. Luke Milec SLO. 7. Raivo Dankers NED. 8. Dmytro Chernov UKR. 9. Rene Hofer AUT. 10. Xylian Ramella SUI.

85 Overall: 1. Brian Hsu GER. 2. Austin Forkner USA. 3. Davey Pooties NED. 4. Ivan Petrov BUL. 5. Tomas Ragandini ITA. 6. Jake Pinhancos USA. 7. Bradley Cox RSA. 8. Fillippo Zonta ITA. 9. Mitchell Evans AUS. 10. Conrad Mewse GBR. 13. Hunter Lawrence AUS.

125 Overall: 1. Tim Gajser SLO. 2. Simone Furlotti ITA. 3. James Dunn GBR. 4. Jorge Zaragoze Beltran ESP. 5. Pauls Jonass LAT. 6. Vaclay Kovar CZE. 7. Nicholas Adams RSA. 8. Brian Bogers NED. 9.Thomas Kjer Olsen DEN. 10. Calvin Vlaaderen NED12. Jordan Smith USA. 16. Jarec Balkovic USA. 17. Joel Milesevic AUS. 31. Egan Mastin AUS.

Nations Overall: 1. Netherlands. 2. Italy. 3. United States. 4. Australia. 5. South Africa. 6. Russia. 7. Czech Republic. 8. Bulgaria. 9. Latvia. 10. Lithuania. 11. Ukraine. 12. Slovenia. 13. Germany. 14. Great Britan. 15. Austria. 16. Brazil. 17. Estonia. 18. Slovakia. 19. Begium. 20. Finland.

-- 2012 AORC Championship – Final Standings

E1: 1. Daniel Milner (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) 232. 2. Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 215. 3. Ben Burrell (Motorex KTM Off-Road) 200. 4. Tom McCormack (Yamaha) 176. 5. Luka Bussa (Husqvarna Racing Team) 174. 6. Tom Kite (Honda) 149. 7. Kristian Sprenger (Yamaha) 115. 8. Nick Lean (Suzuki MX1 Australia) 105. 9. Dylan Rose (Honda) 63. 10.Dean Fiddler (Kawasaki) 37.

E2: 1. Matt Phillips (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) 215. 2. Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Racing Team) 198. 3. Chris Hollis (Motorex KTM Off-Road) 194. 4. Mitch Harper (Yamaha) 175. 5. Lachlan Stanford (Suzuki MX1 Australia) 153. 6. Stefan Granquist (Yamaha) 135.7. Jarrod Bewley (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 134. 8. Broc Grabham (KTM) 104. 9. Kane Hall (Husqvarna) 91. 10. Christopher Davey (Christensen’s Motorcycles) 72.

E3: 1. Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road) 250. 2. Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) 220. 3. Scott Keegan (Motorex Force Husaberg) 190. 4. Mitch Bowen (Husaberg) 137. 5. Kye Anderson (KTM) 108. 6. Christofer Cash (Yamaha) 90. 7. Daniel Sanders (KTM) 76. 8. David Hogan (Highway Performance Bikes) 75. 9. Luke Tomlinson (KTM) 63. 10. Brett Holl (Honda) 63.

Outright: 1. Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road) 244. 2. Daniel Milner (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) 191. 3. Matt Phillips (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) 169. 4. Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) 165. 5. Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 154. 6. Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Racing Team) 153. 7. Chris Hollis (Motorex KTM Off-Road) 133. 8. Ben Burrell (Motorex KTM Off-Road) 124. 9. Mitcham Harper (Yamaha) 121. 10.Tom McCormack (Yamaha) 99.