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Moto News Weekly Wrap
September 22, 2020

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Bartosz Zmarzlik doubles up in Prague

World champion Bartosz Zmarzlik was elated to break his Prague jinx after storming top of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship with victory in round five on Friday. Zmarzlik arrived at Marketa Stadium having reached just one semi-final in four appearances at the Czech capital track.

But after battling to a strong 11 points in the heats, he won a semi-final showdown with Tai Woffinden after Jason Doyle and Leon Madsen were both excluded for moving at the start. He then topped the podium after beating three-time Prague winner Woffinden, Slovak star Martin Vaculik and Russian racer Emil Sayfutdinov in the final.

Zmarzlik’s victory and 20 championship points saw him overhaul Fredrik Lindgren for top spot in the SGP standings on 79, with the Swedish ace in hot pursuit on 78 after scoring 12 points for finishing fifth in the meeting.

Then on Saturday Zmarzlik raced to his second straight FIM Speedway Grand Prix win in Prague, and admitted the thrill of the chase made it even sweeter.

The Polish icon topped the Aztorin SGP round-six podium at Marketa Stadium on Saturday night – his second win at the venue in 24 hours and his third SGP victory of 2020.

He heads into the final SGP double-header of the season in Torun, Poland on October 2 and 3 with a seven-point lead over nearest rival Fredrik Lindgren at the top of the World Championship standings.

Zmarzlik chased down Great Britain star Tai Woffinden in an epic final, blazing under the triple world champion with a breathtaking burst down the back straight to complete a maximum haul of 40 championship points this weekend.

The Gorzow favourite also won Friday’s meeting ahead of Woffinden with a sublime start in the final. But he was even happier to top Saturday’s podium after being forced to fight for the win. Zmarzlik claimed his first victory of 2020 in round three at home track Gorzow on Friday, September 11, but fell short of the final on the Saturday night. So he was delighted to follow up a fast Friday with another first place in Prague.

Bartosz Zmarzlik

“I am very happy because I won on both days. This is unbelievable for me and my team. This was a better win than yesterday because all the time I was fighting in the final, and that’s a much better feeling. I always had a good feeling in the race with Tai. I said to my bike ‘come on, come on!’ I was feeling fast and felt I could do it. I am really happy. I didn’t win the starts and win the heats. I was always fighting with the guys and it’s nice to do that rather than just make the start and win the heats. Before the meeting I was a little bit nervous because my second day in Gorzow was not so nice. Friday was the same story. I won the first meeting and was wondering what would happen the next day. What a night it was for me! This is my second win here and I am really happy. But this is history and I must look at what’s before me in the last two rounds. Please keep your fingers crossed for me and I’ll see you soon.”

Czech Republic SGP Round Five Points

Aztorin SGP Round Six Points

SGP World Championship Standings

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West Coast Speedway Solo Championship

By Graeme Sinden

A unique Speedway Solo Championship series is planned for the 2020/21 speedway season which will be run at Western Australia’s Perth Motorplex, 35 minutes south of Perth. Ten of the state’s top solo riders will be contracted to race over a series of five rounds to decide an eventual winner. With plenty of prize money on offer the series is expected to be hard fought and become an annual event on the Western Australian Motorcycle Speedway calendar.

The series will commence on 31st October and finish on 27th March 2021. The second round of the five round Championship series on the 5th December coincides with the running of the traditional ‘John Day Classic’ Speedcar division meeting, which attracts one of the largest crowds of any speedway meetings around the country.

Brad Muller from ‘West Coast Promotions’

“We wanted to select and contract some of the best riders in Western Australia to contest a Championship Series over five rounds at The Perth Motorplex complex to showcase motorcycle speedway racing in front of large crowds of bipartisan 4 wheel fans.” “Not only does our Invitational Series provide another Championship for the guys to chase, we hope it will encourage some 4-wheel fans to get up to WA’s dedicated Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway circuit in Perth’s northern suburbs. While we are still putting the finishing touches on some fine details, we are well underway with obtaining expressions of interest from potential sponsors for the event. We are also trying to arrange a solo ‘Stars of the Future’ support class to the Invitational ‘Championship Series’. While it is not finalised, we are looking to provide an opportunity for these guys to race in some handicap races with a chance of breaking into the Top Stars event should there be any opportunities. We are thrilled to have the support of the Speedway Motorcycle Club, the Perth Motorplex, and Motorcycling WA, the peak body for motorcycling in Western Australia. Despite Covid issues, West Coast Promotions are committed to ensuring speedway solo racing is alive and well in Western Australia. We will release more news on this exciting event as it comes to hand.”

The invitational five round Championship series at the Perth Motorplex is being planned to showcase solo racing in WA and provide another metropolitan circuit for top WA riders to compete at.

The Speedway Motorcycle Club of WA had previously arranged their racing calendar to allow solos to compete at the Perth Motorplex venue to avoid clashing with their own dedicated Pinjar Park Motorcycle Speedway meetings.

WA Speedway Motorcycle Club President, Steve Marson

“We are delighted to have senior solo riders competing in this fabulous event at the Perth Motorplex. We have had to reschedule our calendar for this year due to Covid restrictions. The Australian Sidecar Championship which was due to be held in Perth during Easter 2021, has been rescheduled and Pinjar Park will now hold this event in 2021/22. We have lots to rearrange and plan and we are encouraged that ‘West Coast Promotions’ have stepped in and taken some of the workload to develop and promote speedway motorcycle racing in WA. West Coast Promotions are providing great support to our club and from what I hear, they appear to be planning a very professional event for local speedway solo riders” which will be good for Motorcycle Speedway in general.”

Ironically, Steve Marson’s son, Matt, who rides for Mildenhall in the British league will be selected in the top ten riders for the Invitational Championship Series. New Club Vice President, former Kiwi rider, Bryan Miller, should also make the cut. The field will also include several former international stars.

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2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Round Six – Spring Creek National, Millville
September 19, 2020

Images Jeff Kardas

The sixth round of the 2020 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship featured a thrilling afternoon of racing in both the 450 Class and 250 Class. The legendary Spring Creek MX Park provided perfect weather and close racing throughout the day.

450 Class rookie Adam Cianciarulo proved that his victory at the RedBud II National was no fluke as he took his Monster Energy Kawasaki to a second consecutive victory in the premier class. Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-WPS-KTM’s Blake Baggett was a close second both motos, while Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Just Barcia occupied the final step of the podium. Championship point leader Zach Osborne ended the day tenth overall (4-16) and watched his championship lead shrink to just 15-points over Cianciarulo.

In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis collected a pair of moto wins for his second overall victory of the season, retaking the red plate and championship point lead from GEICO Honda’s Jeremy Martin who finished the day runner-up. JGR/Yoshimura/Suzuki Racing’s Alex Martin landed on the podium in front of his home crowd to finish third overall.

450MX Moto 1 Results

450MX Moto 2 Results

450MX Championship Standings

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250

In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Dylan Ferrandis swept both motos to capture the eighth overall victory of his career.

Jett Lawrence was on the podium in the opening 250 Moto then backed that up with a sixth in the second Moto, just missing out on the overall podium by a single point.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Race recap millville 4th overall 🙄😫 It’s coming just gotta work out these second moto starts 🥴 Thanks for all the messages and support guys 🤙

A post shared by Jett Lawrence 🇦🇺 (@jettson83) on Sep 19, 2020 at 5:38pm PDT

Older brother Hunter will be pumped after having carded some great results at Spring Creek, 7-5 placings earning him seventh overall for the round.

250MX Moto 1 Results

250MX Moto 2 Results

250MX Championship Standings

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2020 French EnduroGP – Réquista

The Acerbis French Grand Prix in Réquista has been much anticipated by all enduro fans after a long delay to the season start due to Covid-19 crisis, and well and truly delivered, keeping everyone in suspense on a dusty first day. The riders enjoyed themselves and put on a show over all three of the tests created by the Réquista Moto Sport club. The ranks of EnduroGP continue to lack many of the world’s best enduro racers due to the decision by KTM and Husqvarna to instead back the rival World Enduro Super Series.

We were close to witnessing ‘the comeback of the year’ with reigning EnduroGP World Champion, Brad Freeman who had a somewhat sluggish start to the day, put together a crazy last lap to put the pressure on his teammate Steve Holcombe. But the number 12 rider missed out by the tiniest margin, with the first EnduroGP class victory going to Holcombe by an incredible two tenths of a second! Despite many mistakes on the last lap, Holcombe impressed throughout the day, even going as far as 18 seconds ahead of Freeman at one point!

Another great protagonist on this first day of the 2020 season was the 2019 Junior World Champion, Andrea Verona. The rookie in the Senior classes was seriously quick and leading proceedings at the end of the first lap. He admitted at the end of the day that he is still a little ”green”, and the Factory TM rider made a few too many mistakes under pressure.

Nevertheless, he secured a brilliant fourth place in the top class. In fact, Verona was just one and a half seconds from third place, which was occupied by a very solid Loïc Larrieu. The Frenchman woke up this morning with a painful shoulder but that did not prevent him from being strong and consistent throughout the day.

Last minute entry to the 2020 season, Davide Guarneri shone on his first day back in the FIM Borilli World Enduro Championship and he pulled off an excellent Top 5! Two Betas and three TMs in the ‘Top Five’ meant unchallenged Italian domination in terms of manufacturers. Also good performances were the returning Jérémy Tarroux and Jaume Betriu who joined the 10 fastest riders on the day.

EGP winner Steve Holcombe also pocketed the victory in Enduro 2 ahead of Loïc Larrieu and Italy’s Matteo Cavallo – also a newcomer in the category. Danny McCanney and Alex Salvini completed the top five.

In Enduro 1, Andrea Verona made an emphatic start to his campaign with a brilliant victory. He outclassed much more experienced riders such as Thomas Oldrati, second, and Christophe Charlier third. The final two places in the Top 5 were occupied by Jérémy Tarroux and the promising Antoine Magain.

Over in E3, Brad Freeman claimed his first victory in the category ahead of Davide Guarneri and Jaume Betriu. Antoine Basset and Marc Sans Soria were next up.

The Junior classes are traditionally some of the hardest fought of the FIM Borilli World Enduro Championship, and the opening round hasn’t disappointed so far!

The crowd in Requista were treated to a magnificent battle between Ruy Barbosa, home rider Théo Espinasse, Roni Kytonen, Hamish Macdonald, Lorenzo Macoritto and Wil Ruprecht! In the lead from the get-go, Barbosa eventually cracked under the combined pressure of Espinasse, Macdonald and Kytonen.

At the end of the 10 specials of the day it was the Frenchman, just recovering from a rupture of the cruciate ligaments, who won on Saturday in front of his Sherco team-mate, Macdonald, and Finland’s Kytonen. The Chilean had to be satisfied with fourth position while Marcoritto stepped up his game at the end of the day to get into the top five, demoting his Beta Boano team-mate to sixth.

At the same time, Espinasse won J2 ahead of Macdonald and Ruprecht while Kytonen won J1 ahead of Barbosa and Macoritto.

In Youth 125cc we believed that the day was going to be a 100% Fantic duel between Jed Etchells and Harry Edmondson! The impressive Brits dominated head and shoulders above the rest of the field at the start of the day, but their charge came to an end against Claudio Spanu and Sergio Navarro. While the Spaniard believed he could take the victory until the last stage, he was pipped to the post by the Italian! The son of legend Paul Edmondson, Harry, takes his very first world podium while Etchells and Hugo Svard finished fourth and fifth. Three Fantics in the first five riders, not a bad return to the World Championship for the Italian brand!

Finally, in the Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, Gonçalo Reis started 2020 as he finished 2019, on the top step of the 2-Stroke class podium, ahead of Trials rider Loris Gubian and the Czech Republic’s Robert Friedrich.

In Open 4-Stroke, there were two Belgians in the top two places in the form of Damiaens Dietger and Mathias Van Hoof. Benet Gomez completed the podium.
In the Senior class, David Martinez Corbalan won this first day after a great battle with the Frenchman Arnaud Adam and the Italian Duccio Graziana.

Day 2

After a dusty first day, torrential rains over night on Saturday gave a whole different flavour to Sunday’s proceedings. Despite not being muddy, the three tests had nevertheless changed… although that didn’t change anything for the top riders, who continued their quest for the top.

Once again, Steve Holcombe had to watch his back at the end of the day when both Andrea Verona and Brad Freeman closed to within 16 seconds of him. Holcombe almost lost all his hard work on the last test when his two pursuers were very hot on his heels. But the Factory Beta rider managed to take another slim victory, just 3 seconds ahead of Brad Freeman!

Just like Day 1, the 2019 EGP World Champion took a while to get into the groove and once again narrowly missed out on a win. This is something he will have to sort out before next weekend in Italy. However, despite being out of the Top 3 for the majority of the day Freeman was still able to grab second place, proof of his strength of character.

Brad Freeman

“Once again, I’m angry! When I see the last lap that I put together, it drives me crazy that I didn’t find the rhythm at the start of the day! But in the provisional Championship standings, Steve is not too far away and it’s only the start of the season. Anyway, I’m very happy with my double win in E3 but I have to look for more in EnduroGP!”

As yesterday, Andrea Verona took third place on the EGP podium. The Italian Senior class rookie could have taken advantage of Holcombe’s drop in power to get his first victory in the premier class but a fall in the very last Champion Enduro Test of the weekend deprived him a win and even second place!

Behind the leading trio, Jaume Betriu had a very good race. In the overall lead at the end of the first lap, the Catalan has been out of Enduro for a while to focus on the Dakar Rally, but he clearly hasn’t lost any of his speed during his time off, taking a great fourth place. Fourth on Day 1, France’s Loïc Larrieu took another top five to the detriment of Danny McCanney.

A special mention again goes to Jérémy Tarroux, who managed seventh place, and for Belgium’s Senior class rookie, Antoine Magain as well as Marc Sans Soria.

In Enduro 2 Holcombe took another victory over Loïc Larrieu and Danny McCanney. Matteo Cavallo and Alex Salvini completed the top five.

Steve Holcombe

“After what’s been the longest off-season, it’s been a dream weekend to be able to kick things off with a double victory in EnduroGP and take an early lead in the championship. Adding to that, being the first person to put a four-stroke Beta on the top step of a world championship enduro podium is special. I was the first rider to win for Beta on a two- stroke, so it’s great to be able to do the double as it were and deliver their first four-stroke win as well. The weekend itself went pretty good from the start. I wanted to push the pace and managed that by winning the super test on Friday. There were mistakes throughout Saturday, especially on the final extreme test, but I kept it together and got the win. After getting that first race day out of the way I felt Sunday was more controlled. Overnight rain made lap one tricky, but I came back strong and won again. Overall, we’ve certainly proved this weekend that we’re on the right track with the 350 – now it’s a matter of building on today in what’s set to be a short, sharp and intense championship.”

In Enduro 1, we also find the same winner from the day before in the form of the 2019 Junior World Champion, Andrea Verona. Tarroux was next up with Thomas Oldrati third. The last two places in the Top 5 went to Antoine Magain and Christophe Charlier.

Andrea Verona

“I am much more satisfied with today than yesterday! I fought all day with HOLCOMBE for the victory, but unfortunately my fall in the very last special of the day cost me a potential victory and also second place. But after all, I was not really expecting to achieve the double in E1 and also get so close in EnduroGP, so I’m really pleased!”

On the E3 side, the same story goes with Freeman beating Jaume Betriu. After a great day of racing, Marc Sans Soria snatched the last step of the podium from Davide Guarneri while Cristobal Guerrero finished fifth…

Over in the closely contested Junior class, Théo Espinasse once again made life difficult for all his competitors with another win. He will head to Italy next weekend with the Junior leader’s plate! He finished more than 27 seconds ahead of his Sherco Factory team-mate, Hamish Macdonald and Matteo Pavoni.

Théo Espinasse

“Yesterday I won by 15 seconds, today by almost 30 … not bad at all for an injury comeback! I am very happy with myself and with all the work done by the CH Racing team, which has been exceptional all weekend.”

In difficulty at the start of the day, the Australian Wil Ruprecht made an explosive comeback on the last lap but he was far too far from the leading trio to see a podium! A third Beta Boano rider brought up the rear of the Top 5 in the form of Lorenzo Macoritto. Recognised as two of the best teams for bringing on young talent, Sherco Factory and Beta Boano took the lion’s share in the under 23 years classes…

Espinasse therefore also took the double in J2 ahead of Hamish Macdonald and Matteo Pavoni while Lorenzo Macoritto won Junior 1 against Roni Kytonen and the Brazilian Bruno Crivilin.

This time around, Jed Etchells did not falter like the day before and therefore took his very first Youth 125cc victory at the end of a well-rounded day. The rookie Brit has already given a first victory to Fantic and the D’Arpa Sicilia Racing Team who make their World Championship debut this year! Etchells kept Sergio Navarro at bay by more than 26 seconds. Third place was occupied by Claudio Spanu. On the podium the day before, Harry Edmondson took a nice fourth position while Hugo Svard placed a third Fantic in the top five!

Finally, in Champion Lubricants Enduro Open World Cup, Gonçalo Reis continues to dominate the Open 2-Stroke category ahead of Robert Friedrich. While Loris Gubian secures a second podium.

In Open 4-Stroke, things were unchanged with Damiaens Dietger as the winner, with Mathias Van Hoof second, and Benet Gomez third.

In the Seniors category, we saw a shake up as Italy’s Duccio Graziani took his first victory of the season ahead of the France’s Arnaud Adam (Honda) and Spain’s David Martinez Corbalan.

Another fantastic day of battles and brilliant riding means this Acerbis Grand Prix of France hosted by the Réquista Moto Sport club has been a successful season opener for the Borilli EnduroGP World Championship! We’ll be back next week for Round 2, in Spoleto in Italy.

EnduroGP standings

E1 Class standings

E2 Class standings

E3 Class standings

Junior Class standings

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2020 Andorran TrialGP

Toni Bou finished second in the first of the twin TrialGP World Championship trials held this weekend in Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra. The first day of competition at the TrialGP Andorra was a seriously tough affair. Rain made an appearance in the morning leaving the terrain extremely slippery and arduous for all the riders. In addition, the officials were fairly severe in their application of the non-stop rule, resulting in a very closely-fought trial.

Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou battled neck and neck for the win against eternal rival Adam Raga throughout the three-lap Andorran course. Bou led the day until halfway through the final lap where he picked up several points, eventually having to settle for second spot on the podium. Despite the result, Toni Bou continues to lead the championship, now with a seven-point lead in the overall standings.

Casales lap one was a mixture of performances. Scoring six maximum scores of five marks lost, he ended lap one with a total score of 33 yet focused on improving. Delivering notably better second and third laps, Casales ended the day in third to claim his first podium of the 2020 series.

Sunday however, saw Bou triumphant in the sixth round of the world championship, re-establishing a ten-point lead at the head of the competition standings.

Trial two of the Andorra TrialGP did not turn out to be such a wash-out as Saturday’s event, but the terrain was, nevertheless, slippery and muddy, especially over the course of the ten-section first lap around the Sant Julià de Lòria route.

A more aggressive and confident Toni Bou produced a high-level showing on the day, particularly in the sections likely to elicit most mistakes and went on to finish the trial with a twenty-point margin over his main rival, Adam Raga. The Repsol Honda Team rider takes the season victory tally to four and now holds a ten-point advantage over his pursuer with one GP – made up of two trials – still to run before the world championship season wraps up.

With drier conditions for day two, Casales again rode well and again finished third overall. Performing consistently on each of the three laps the Spaniard came out on top of a day-long battle with Takahisa Fujinami to join Toni Bou and Adam Raga on the podium and move up to fourth in the 2020 TrialGP championship standings.

After three consecutive events, there will now be a well-deserved fortnight’s rest before the end of this atypical TrialGP World Championship. The forthcoming final round of the world championship is scheduled for the weekend of October 9-11 in Lazzate, Italy.

Toni Bou

“Today was a similar day to yesterday: I was a little better on the first and second lap. The sections were difficult, so I was able to gain an advantage. On the final lap I took things more to the limit, perhaps, so I am very happy with this victory. I think the key was section five, where I was able to clean, while Adam Raga ‘fived’ it on each lap. I was much more aggressive today than yesterday and this showed in the result. Overall it has been a very positive weekend.”

Jorge Casales

“This has been a very important result for me. Finally, I rode like I know I can in world championship competition. In the Spanish championship, which has a similar level, I have been finishing on the podium, but I wasn’t able to find my rhythm in the world championship. I can say I needed to bounce back, which I did. The first day was hard and the scores were really high, but we kept doing our best despite the wet conditions. The first lap was really hard, it was really important to keep fighting to the end of the day. To be able to finish on the podium again feels great. I really focused on the first lap and felt like I rode well. Holding second during lap two was really good, but I was maybe a little bit too confident in the drier conditions on lap three and made some mistakes. I’m pleased that I stayed ahead of Fujinami, because he was pushing me really hard. So, it’s been a good weekend. Now I need to rest a little and start to prepare for the final round of the series in two weeks.”

TrialGP Andorra Day 1

TrialGP Andorra Day 2

TrialGP Standings

 

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Sebastian Bühler wins 2020 Baja TT do Pinhal

From the very first special, Sebastian Bühler (Hero) claimed an advantage over his opponents and never relinquished that lead to eventually take the laurels in 4hr 15min 04sec with a 3min 02sec advantage over Polish rider Adam Tomiczek (Husqvarna). Maciek Giemza (Husqvarna) was third, 5min 46sec adrift.

Sebastian Bühler

“Everything went very well for me, in the afternoon,the terrain was completely different from the morning and had dried up. I was even making dust, while in the morning, we drove in the rain. It’s good to train on all kinds of terrain in one race.”

Of the 13 riders entered in the FIM motorcycle and quad categories, three women fought for the Trophy and it was the Portuguese Janaina Souza (Honda) who crossed the finish line 5min 14sec ahead of of Spain’s Sara Garcia (Yamaha).

Official Bike Results after SS3

1. S. Buhler (Hero) in 4h15’05
2. A. Tomiczek (Huqvarna) +3’02
3. M. Giemza (Huqvarna) +5’46
4. M. Simao (KTM) +14’01
5. T. De Gavardo (KTM) +30’05

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Thomas Kjer Olsen signs two-year contract with Husqvarna

Husqvarna Motorcycles has confirmed the signing of Thomas Kjer Olsen to a two-year contract that will see the 2019 MX2 World Championship runner-up move into the MXGP division in 2021 onboard FC 450 machinery. Thomas will compete for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing in the IceOne Racing team managed by Finn Antti Pyrhönen.

A well-established MX2 World Championship competitor, 23-year-old Kjer Olsen will continue what is now a four-year association with Husqvarna Motorcycles as he takes his first step into MXGP class competition. Producing numerous stand out performances over recent years including three MX2 GP wins, the Dane has unquestionably proven himself as one of the World Championship’s leading MX2 class riders. Finishing as runner-up in the 2019 MX2 World Championship, Thomas previously finished third in both 2017 and 2018.

Thomas Kjer Olsen

“I’m really happy to continue with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, to be staying with the Husqvarna family and moving to the MXGP class with IceOne Racing. I really admire the team, I know they do a great job and I believe that it’s the best team in the MXGP class. I’ve been with Husqvarna for my whole MX2 career and we’ve shared a lot of success and I have a lot to be thankful for. But I’m excited about this new chapter of my career and to be moving to MXGP. I’ve tried the IceOne FC 450 bike and it’s unbelievable. So light and powerful and as I’m a bigger guy I think it’ll really suit to my riding style. The MXGP class is so competitive and an exciting prospect. It’s full of established racers, many that have moved up from MX2 in recent years. I hope to quickly find my feet and settle into the class. I’m really looking forward to it all. For now, I am fully focussed on the MX2 World Championship. We still have a lot of races to go and then I can look forward to moving over to the new team and begin testing with the FC 450 over the winter months. I’m really excited for 2021 and racing in the MXGP class.”

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Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge cancelled – Dubai Baja rescheduled

Despite the best efforts of all parties involved and due to ongoing health concerns and associated restrictions in light of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the FIM, the Emirates Motorsport Organisation (EMSO) and the Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) have announced the cancellation of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge rescheduled to take place from 20-26 November.

The FIM has announced it is working to have an event in the 2020 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and will communicate further information as soon as possible.

On a positive note the FIM, the Emirates Motorsport Organisation (EMSO) and the Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) confirm that the Dubai Intl. Baja will take place from 26-28 November after being rescheduled.

Updated Schedule:

• 19-20 September FMP Baja do Pinhal Serta Portugal
• 5-7 November FMP Baja Portalegre Portalegre Portugal
• 26-28 November EMSO Dubai Intl. Baja Dubai United Arab Emirates