Moto Wrap for April 10, 2012
— By Darren Smart
– AMA Motocross and Supercross News / Windham OUT!!
Kevin Windham to miss final four AMA Supercross Championship rounds after the veteran spewed over the bars of his Geico Honda while battling with James Stewart for the lead of the opening heat race at Houston.
“I’ve definitely got a dislocated shoulder so that ends my season right there,” Windham said. “I’ve had my wrist examined by two doctors; one said it was broken and the other one said it’s not. It’s very swollen and black and blue so it’s hard for them to tell. I’m going to see another specialist and have an MRI done to see exactly what’s up. We just need get it fixed properly.”
“I can’t move my left thumb at all and my hip hurts. I’m not really sure what’s going on with either of them at the moment. I’m basically hurting all over.”
“It’s disappointing,” Windham said. “I’ve been lucky at avoiding big get-offs like the one I had in Houston for the past several years. Staying healthy has been a big part of my career going this long. But even after this one I’m not done. I’ll be back for sure.”
“A big thanks to all the fans who have tweeted and left messages on Facebook wishing me well,” Windham said. “And to all my friends in the industry that have called or e-mailed. It really means a lot to me and my family.”
“I’ll be at the New Orleans race and we’ll try to get out to Vegas for the finals. I want to stay involved and hang out with the fans as much as possible.”
– Tragedy for Penhall Family
Former World Speedway Champion Bruce Penhall’s son Connor Penhall has been killed by a drunk driver while working on road repairs in California. Connor was a well-liked local motocrosser around the California area.
According to local news reports, Penhall was working on a road construction crew on Interstate 10 when a drunk driver drove right through the barriers and hit Penhall at speed. The driver tried to flee but was detained and later arrested.
Remember last month James Stewart’s mechanic stopped on the freeway to help a woman who had run out of fuel and was hit and killed by a driver who was texting……great place those American freeways….
– Andrew Short to JGR?
Oops, JGR Team Manager Jeremy Albrecht thought he was sending a private message but ended up sending a public tweet to Andrew Short asking for his agent’s phone number to talk about his plans for the up-coming outdoor series.
This raises a heap of questions. Has JGR finally given up on James Stewart? Is the rumour about Short’s current team Supercross.Com folding true?
Time will tell.
– Byrne Back!!
Queensland’s Michael Byrne has been seen riding at Chad Reed’s place over the last few weeks after a neck injury put the hard charging Aussie out of the supercross series.
According to several people who have been to Chad’s place the ‘Burner’ is looking smooth and fast and will be good for a top ten in the up-coming outdoor nationals if he stays fit.
– Australasian News
MX Nationals Heads to Coonabarabran
The 2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals will head to Coonabarabran this weekend for round 2 of the series and I don’t think anyone will argue that round one raised more questions than answers.
Ben Townley is reported to have committed to the round before heading to America and the flying Kiwi is a sure bet to go 1-1-1 over the three MX1 motos. There is talk of the ‘back-to-back’ 20 minute motos in the morning being reduced to 15 minutes after Townley was critical of that part of the format.
Brad Anderson, Billy McKenzie, Cody Cooper, Lawson Bopping, Tye Simmonds, Michael Philips, Dan Reardon and Jay Marmont are going to arrive at round two looking for better results.
The MX2 class is wide open going into round two. Kirk Gibbs, Ford Dale and Luke Styke will be happy to come away from Conondale in good shape while Josh Cachia, Ryan Marmont, Adam Monea, Justin McDonald, Kade Mosig and Cheyne Boyd will all be looking at gaining ground on the series leader.
Coonabarabran is going to rip!!
– Euro News
– 2012 World Motocross Championship / Rd1 – GP of Netherlands – Valkenswaard
From The Pits: Watch It Live!!
I just signed up to watch the whole 2012 World Motocross Championship season on www.mx-life.com for 70 pounds…paid for it on paypal and still haven’t worked out how much it really cost me – the coverage is awesome though……
– KDD to KTM
Former GP winner Ken De Dycker has left the LS Honda team and will join the Red Bull MX1 Factory Racing Team as the replacement rider for the injured Max Nagl for the first five MX1 GP’s of the 2012 season.
– CP377 Ready To Go!!
Christophe and Sebastien Pourcel will debut the CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit team at Valkenswaard and according to some of the ‘local’ experts we are in for a surprise from both Pourcel brothers……
– Herlings the Favourite…By Far!!
17 year old Jeffrey Herlings is the overwhelming favourite in MX2 for round one. Valkenswaard is one of the two true sand circuits on the calendar and Herlings is considered one of the fastest sand riders in the world…a lot of pressure on a young man’s shoulders…….
One thing Herlings has in his corner is four time Valkenswaard winner and ten time World Champion Stefan Everts who will be on hand to help all of the KTM factory riders.
– Dean Ferris Not Racing
ICE1RACING team’s Niko Koskela will ride as the substitute for Dean Ferris in the first GP while the Australian recovers from a broken elbow.
Results – Sunday Qualification
MX1 Qualification race: 1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM), 2. Clement Desalle (Suz), 3. Steven Frossard (Yam), 4. David Philippaerts (Yam), 5. Kevin Strijbos (KTM), 6. Ken De Dycker (KTM), 7. Gautier Paulin (Kaw), 8. Tanel Leok (Suz), 9. Xavier Boog (Kaw), 10. Rui Goncalves (Hon), 11. Davide Guarnier (Hon), 12. Marcus Schiffer (Suz), 13. Shaun Simpson (Yam), 14. Herian Brakke (KTM), 15. Matteo Bonini (Yam).
MX2 Qualification race: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM), 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (KTM), 3. Tommy Searle (Kaw), 4. Jake Nicholls (KTM), 5. Jose Butron (KTM), 6. Max Anstie (Hon), 7. Joel Roelants (Kaw), 8. Valentin Teillet (Kaw), 9. Alexander Tonkov (Hon). 10. Jordi Tixier (KTM), 11. Glenn Coldenhoff (KTM), 12. Harri Kullas (Suz), 13. Mel Pocock (Yam), 14. Dylan Ferrandis Kaw), 15. Romain Febvre (KTM)
Former World Champion Christophe Pourcel finished way back in 16th while his brother Sebastien was three places behind….hmmmm…
Race Day: MX2 – Moto 1 – KTM riders everywhere on the start with Jake Nichols pulling the holeshot but Herlings blasts by and takes the lead then pulls a 5 second lead after the opening lap.
Herlings is the only rider to jump this huge sandy triple in the middle of the course…..INSANE!! Former GP star Paul Malin is commentating and he is amazed at Herlings speed…..Searle into second ahead of Nichols and Hornbeek.
The track is getting SO rough – there has been a woman’s race already (which was like watching paint dry – 30 plus seconds a lap off the pace is boring….) and an MX3 race so the track was already chopped up BEFORE the start of the opening MX2 race……
Herlings 24 seconds clear of Searle, Horebeek, Roelants, Nichols, Tixier, Teillet while the factory Husky 250 with Alex Lupino on board is looking good in 13th. Max Anstie is way back……his Honda is apparently under-performing compared to the Pro-Circuit Kawasaki he rode last year…
Herlings laps the 7th placed rider with a few corners to go and then launches off the huge triple and blasts over the finish line 54 seconds ahead of Searle with Roelants in 3rd coming from 11th, Horebeek, Nichols, Tixier…Max Anstie up to 11th with Lupino into 13th on the factory Husky….
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM); 2. Tommy Searle (Kaw); 3. Joel Roelants (Kaw); 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (KTM); 5. Jake Nicholls (KTM); 6. Jordi Tixier (KTM); 7. Alexander Tonkov (Hon); 8. Mel Pocock (Yam); 9. Valentin Teillet (Kaw); 10. Dylan Ferrandis (Kaw); 11. Max Anstie (Hon); 12. Nikolaj Larsen (Suz); 13. Alessandro Lupino (Husky); 14. Petar Petrov (Suz); 15. Glenn Coldenhoff (KTM)
– MX1 – Moto 1
Christophe Pourcel pulls the holeshot but Cairoli blitzes the second berm on the ‘little’ 350 and comes out with the lead. Frossard, Desalle and Paulin all ride by Pourcel.
Frossard keeps on the rear guard of Cairoli while Paulin puts his factory Kawasaki ahead of Desalle. Strijbos moves to fifth ahead of Boog, Philippaerts, De Dycker and Leok. Pourcel is going backwards so fast it’s embarrassing….
The exhaust note on Cairoli’s KTM350 is noticeably different from the 450 bikes…yet is rips out of turns like a 550….Frossard passes Cairoli but then blows through a berm and falls back into the clutches of Paulin and Desalle. Great battles throughout the top ten. De Dycker coming forward, Strijbos riding hard, Boog hanging on while Philippaerts keep moving forward. Factory Honda rider Bobryshev in a big crash and has pulled out of the race.
Cairoli is gone but Frossard is coming back at Desalle who in turn wants to get back by Paulin. Desalle blasts by Paulin as does Frossard. Frossard blows by Desalle then Desalle gets him back…great race.
De Dycker gets by Strijbos, both on KTMs. Boog and Leok going at it as well. The track in amazingly rough….these guys are unreal. Pourcel is wobbling around out of the points. Cairoli is still jumping the big triple….it’s as dodgy a jump you can get with ruts all over the down ramp…..
Frossard has one more run at Desalle but the Suzuki rider is giving nothing away…..the whole track is just a series of huge bumps and deep ruts yet Cairoli is riding around like it’s as flat as a pool table…well, almost….
He is a cut above…he and Herlings must train together because they are both riding this sand so well…..Cairoli jumps the big triple and wins the moto by 18 seconds over Desalle, Frossard, Paulin, De Dycker, Strijbos, Pilippaerts, Boog, Leak and Goncavles.
Unreal race….IF you haven’t signed up to watch this you are doing yourself a huge disservice….
MX1 Moto one: 1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM); 2. Clement Desalle (Suz); 3. Steven Frossard (Yam); 4. Gautier Paulin (Kaw); 5. Ken De Dycker (KTM); 6. Kevin Strijbos (KTM); 7. David Philippaerts (Yam); 8. Xavier Boog (Kaw); 9. Tanel Leok (Suz); 10. Rui Goncalves (Hon); 11. Shaun Simpson (Yam); 12. Marcus Schiffer (Suz); 13. Davide Guarneri (KTM); 14. Matteo Bonini (KTM); 15. Matiss Karro (KTM)
MX2 – Moto 2
Tommy Searle with his teammate Joel Roelants just ahead of Herlings and Max Antstie. Jake Nicholls crashes on the first lap. Searle has a small margin as Herlings passes Roelants. Roelants nearly passed Herlings back!
Herlings clears the big triple and takes the lead on the second lap and on lap three Roelants surprisingly passes Searle whith Anstie in fourth. Anstie the only other rider doing the big triple, he looks much better this moto.
Van Horebeek, Nicholls and Pocock all outside the top 10 but moving forward. Jose Butron’s KTM stops AGAIN…he was running 5th or 6th at the time, the number 17 riders just parks his bike against a fence, sits on the seat and watches the race. Coldenhoff takes his 5th place in the race….Lupino has the Husky up inside the top 15 again.
Great race between Coldenhoff, Tixier, Horebeek, Pocock and Nichols. Searle catches Roelants put a local back marker gets in Searle’s way and hands Roelants 2nd place.
Herlings tapers off and finishes 30 plus seconds ahead of Roelants, Searle, Anstie and Van Horebeek who must have been 15th or so on the opening lap so a good race from him…….likewise Nichols move up to 9th after his crash.
Herlings obviously loves this track. “It was really cool to win today. I heard the fans, the last few laps of each moto, I heard the fans screaming my name, which was nice. I love to come here and I won the last three years with double moto wins, I would love to race every GP here.”
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM); 2. Joel Roelants (Kaw); 3. Tommy Searle (Kaw); 4. Max Anstie (Hon); 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (KTM); 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (KTM); 7. Jordi Tixier (KTM); 8. Dylan Ferrandis (Kaw); 9. Jake Nicholls (KTM); 10. Valentin Teillet (Kaw); 11. Harri Kullas (Suz); 12. Mel Pocock (Yam); 13. Alessandro Lupino (Husky); 14. Alexander Tonkov (Hon) 15. Pascal Rachenecker (KTM)
MX2 Overall: 1. Jeffrey Herlings 50pts, 2. Joel Roelants 42pts, 3. Tommy Searle 42pts, 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek 34pts, 5. Jordi Tixier 29pts, 6. Jake Nicholls 28pts, 7. Max Anstie 26pts, 8. Dylan Ferrandis 24pts, 9. Valentin Teillet 23pts, 10. Mel Pocock 22pts
MX1 – Moto 2
Still raining and Christophe ‘mobile chicane’ Pourcel gets another holeshot before Frossard rips around the outside of Pourcel who is now just ahead of salle, Cairoli and Strijbos.
Desalle into second and Cairoli into third…..Frossard and Desalle battling hard and Desalle takes Frossard’s front wheel away from him twice in two corners….then on board footage of De Dycker banging into the side of Goncalves…..it’s like a bloody Arenacross race out there!!
Cairoli has watched the leaders exchange places and sits patiently…Pourcel in 4th, Strjbos, Jonathan Barragan, Simpson. Goncalves and De Dycker still further back……
Frossard jumps back to the lead…he has taken offence to Desalle’s riding….Cairoli trail riding behind them….Simpson moved up to 5th place passing Barragan while De Dycker gets his rhythm back and starts moving forward…..Strijbos must have crashed…he’s back in 10th.
Desalle back into the lead, now Cairoli looking for a way past Frossard…..bang…Cairoli moves into second and onto Desalle….Pourcel still in fourth…amazing! Won’t be long before the faster riders who had bad starts reel the former world champion in….aha, here comes De Dycker who is past Simpson and closes in on Pourcel.
Cairoli and Desalle jump the big triple side-by-side and look at each other in the air….Frossard doesn’t jump it and loses another 10 bike lengths…..the track in indescribable – there are whoops that are deeper than the bikes and just as I type that Cairoli and Desalle get into wild feet-off tank slappers….Cairoli wears Desalle down and passes the Suzuki pilot for the lead. Five corners later and 222 is GONE!!
De Dycker and Goncalves went past Pourcel for fourth and fifth. Just noticed factory riders like Boog, Bobryshev, Leok, Paulin and Philippaerts all outside the top ten – they must have crashed earlier in the race.
Goncalves riding really well on the all white Honda passes De Dycker for 4th. De Dycker crashes and Strijbos blasts by the tall Belgian for 5th place…don’t forget Strijbos crashed back to 10th earlier in the race. Barragan also rides by the fallen De Dycker. Barragan crashes soon after. Cairoli wins well ahead of Desalle and Frossard. Some great rides there, my vote goes to Goncalves and Strijbos.
“I knew I had some speed and I saw them (Desalle and Frossard) battling hard and I waited for the moment and then I used some speed to pass them,” said Cairoli through his mud encrusted smile after the . “Also in the first race I had problems with the lapped riders, because a lot of blue flags, but the riders didn’t see it or didn’t want to move.”
“I am satisfied and I felt good and rode safe, I just rode for my own speed which is okay for the moment, said Desalle. My speed was good, I am just looking for my own riding and concentrate on that. I want to be more careful, but also fast. I am trying to do the best I could do. The track had some bumps, but it was also difficult, but not like last year. They had not so many bumps as last year, but there are so many riders on different levels and it has to be good for everyone.”
Frossard has this to say after the final race. “The first moto I wasn’t so good, I did a good lap at the start, but then got arm pump because I pushed too hard. I made some mistakes and went off the track twice and I was very disappointed, I pushed too hard. It was a good race and my feeling was good, I think I will be ready for Bulgaria now. I want to be first everytime and I pushed too hard at the start of the second moto and made a lot of mistakes. I liked the track, some bumps were bad, but in the second moto it was easier, it was okay.”
1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM); 2. Clement Desalle (Suz); 3. Steven Frossard (Yam); 4. Rui Goncalves (Hon); 5. Kevin Strijbos (KTM); 6. Ken De Dycker (KTM); 7. Gautier Paulin (Kaw); 8. Shaun Simpson (Yam); 9. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 10. Matiss Karro (KTM); 11. Marcus Schiffer (Suz); 12. Tanel Leok (Suz); 13. Evgeny Bobryshev (Hon); 14. Jonathan Barragan (Hon); 15. Xavier Boog (Kaw)
MX1 Overall: 1. Antonio Cairoli 50pts, 2. Clement Desalle 44pts, 3. Steven Frossard 40pts, 4. Gautier Paulin 32pts, 5. Kevin Strijbos 31pts, 6. Ken De Dycker 31pts, 7. Rui Goncalves 29pts, 8. Shaun Simpson 23pts, 9. Tanel Leok 22pts, 10. Xavier Boog 20pts