Inside Dirt - Issue 14: MX Nationals Round 9/10 by MX Nationals

PLUG CHOP INTERVIEW WITH NATHAN CRAWFORD

RIDERS TIPS MANAGING A SERIES

pg. 40

pg. 22

CHECKING IN WITH THE MXN MECHANICS

MYTH BUSTERS THE ONE PERCENTERS

pg. 76

pg. 32

JED BEATON GAINS CONTROLL OF THE RED PLATE IN MX2 After a dominating performance at broadford and some bad luck from our early series leader Caleb Ward, Jed Beaton has grabbed the red plate with no sign of letting it go. Can he go all the way? pg. 110

CAN CAN KIRK KIRK GIBBS GIBBS GO GO

BACK TO BACK TWO TWO ROUNDS ROUNDS TO TO GO, GO,33 RIDERS RIDERS WITHIN WITHIN STRIKING STRIKING DISTANCE. DISTANCE.CAN CAN KIRK KIRK GIBBS GIBBS DO DO IT IT AGAIN AGAIN AGAINST AGAINST ALL ALL ODDS? ODDS? READ READ MORE MORE ON ON PAGE PAGE 48 48

R9 TOOWOOMBA R10 COOLUM

MX NATIONALS

ISSUE 14 17.8.2016

Todd Waters

Wilsons Cool Air Motul Suzuki Team

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MAGIC MOMENT The MX2 Championship tightened up over the weekend with Beaton and Crawford now tied on points. No love lost for these two as they scrap it out for the red plate.

FLIP YOUR PHONE HORIZONTAL TO VIEW THE FULL IMAGE

MAGIC MOMENT Defending MX1 Champion Kirk Gibbs extends his points lead with 2 rounds to go, Can he hang on and make it back to back championships? The look in his eyes says he wants it!

FLIP YOUR PHONE HORIZONTAL TO VIEW THE FULL IMAGE

TA K E T O T H E U N K N O W N

COMP CODE: 47- TODDWATERS

Here we are, about to embark on the final two rounds of the 2016 Motul MX Nationals, and we are now less than two weeks away from crowning this year’s champions. You can bet that with the biggest motorcycling series in the country coming to a close, that the latest issue of Inside Dirt is set to be jam packed with content. After the last round of the MX Nationals at Shepparton, we saw two new championship leaders in two classes, and this year’s titles have now well and truly been set up to go down to the wire. So to celebrate this year’s champions being crowned, in this issue of Inside Dirt, we will look at the threeway battle for this year’s championship, and just what it’s going to take to hold up that winner’s trophy at Coolum in under two week’s time. We will also check in with former Motul MX2 red plate holder Nathan Crawford to hear exactly what his game plan is in retuning to the top step before round ten, plus learn how to manage a championship, hear from our regular contributors, plus in this issue we will have a ton of extra content. So dive in to the latest issue and stay completely up to date. Inside Dirt is your complete digital destination, and we have dirt bike coverage from all over the country in our latest edition. 10

WHATS INSIDE 16

Behind the Gate

Riders Tips

Myth Busters

MW Plug Chop - Nathan Crawford

MX1 Major Players

Race Recap - Kirk Gibbs

GoPro Trackside Gallery

7 Questions with Daniel Banks

Checking in with the Mechanics

Hit and Miss

What’s on Sunshine coast

Round 9 Schedule

101 Round 10 Schedule 104 MX1 Round Recap 114 MX2 Round Recap 122 MXD Round Recap 136 Spy Offtrack Gallery 142 MXN Team Press & Gallery 171 AORC Rounds 7 & 8

ID ISSUE #14

RIDERS TIPS How do you manage a long championship? We have some tips that will help your future racing campaigns

Page 22

MX1 MAJOR PLAYERS Gibbs, Ferris and Waters have shared round wins in 2016. Only a few points separate them all. Who will win? Page 40

76 NATHAN CRAWFORD INTERVIEW Crawford is currently tied on points for the championship lead. We ask him what his game plan is and more! Page 40

THROWBACK THIS TIME LAST YEAR Pre Rd 9, 2015. Kirk Gibbs had the rare opportunity to wrap up the title early at Toowoomba sitting on 530 points. A huge 65 points behind him was teammate Luke Styke (465 points), followed by former CDR Yamaha rider Kade Mosig (456 points). Unfortunately Gibbs wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to secure the 2015 MX1 title early, and was forced to wait until the final round at Coolum a week later.

84 58

MAJOR GIVEAWAYS INSIDE STAY TUNED TO @INSIDEDIRT AND @MXNATIONALS SOCIAL MEDIA TO FIND OUT HOW TO

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BEHIND THE GATES Well here we go, it’s that crazy time of the year again. Back to back weekends, sunshine, smiles, tears, and another handful of Australian Champions crowned after 10 gruelling rounds of racing. Our 20th year in operation has been one hell of a ride. Many people find it hard to believe that people would be crazy enough to do this for 20 years, but myself, my team, and my family love every minute of it, and it doesn’t matter how many times I shake the hands of the winners at Coolum, truth is, it never gets old. This year we have been lucky enough to have naming rights support

from Motul Oils. After the memories that I have in the very early days of running events with the team at Link International, it’s been fantastic to deliver a championship together for the very first time, and we look forward to continuing to grow our relationship and working towards making the series even bigger and better in the future. Without the support of Motul the championship’s success this year just wouldn’t have been possible. I would also like to thank our new, and old series sponsors for their support of the series in 2016. We believe that the MX Nationals is a valuable product

to the motorcycling community, and I’m very proud to be aligned with a number of companies who are leaders in our industry, and who are constant supporters of what we do. I would also like to quickly give a big shout out to all of the privateers who have raced the MX Nationals in 2016. Racing is an expensive exercise, there’s no ifs or buts about it, however a number of privateers have continued to make the huge commitment to racing week in week out, and without their dedication we simply wouldn’t have a series. One privateer race team who has really stepped things up this year is the crew at

“I would also like to quickly give a big shout out to all of the privateers who have raced the MX Nationals in 2016.” _________ KEVIN WILLIAMS THANKS THE PRIVATEERS FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE SERIES

Davey Motorsports. Those guys like many other teams work tirelessly to help up and coming privateer riders, and as a result, three of their riders are well within striking distance of collecting this year’s Jono Porter and Andrew McFarlane Privateer Awards which is a huge achievement for everyone involved. A big congratulations also needs to be given to Kirk Gibbs, Dean Ferris and Jed Beaton on their 2016 Australian MXoN Team selection. All three riders are highly talented athletes and are all very deserving of the opportunity to head over to Italy and fly the Aussie flag. We will be cheering you on all the way from Australia that’s for sure!

Now, lets talk racing. Truth is, this year couldn’t have been scripted better. In 2015, we were treated in the Motul MX2 class with a championship hunt that went all the way down to the final round at Coolum. This year, every single class has multiple potential championship winners, and at this point I can’t pick who will be taking home the title. Every year before we head to Queensland, I head to the trophy shop and get a few plaques made up, but most of the time we have a pretty good idea of who is going to be standing on the top step at Round 10 and the extras are just in case. This year, we’ve had to spend extra money getting multiple versions made

“One thing I’ve learned and witnessed throughout my time at the helm is that anything can happen when it comes to racing” up, because at this point, titles in all three classes are going to come down to that final race at Coolum. One thing I’ve learned and witnessed throughout my time at the helm is that anything can happen when it comes to racing. I still have vivid memories from when Josh Coppins was in the box seat to collect a Championship at Coolum and he crashed out, which eventually meant that Jay Marmont walked away with the title. Nothing is ever certain, and no one has wrapped anything up until the chequered flag has flown on that final moto of the year. One of the things that has been very special this year is seeing Kirk Gibbs lead the Thor MX1 championship. As a rider I have no doubt that with Todd Waters and Dean Ferris returning, that he would have guessed his speed, and his capability to defend his title. But Kirk hasn’t just kept up with the former MXGP

boys, he’s proved to the entire country that MX Nationals riders have the pace to keep up with some of the best in the world, and for myself personally, that has been fantastic to witness. For fans of the Motul MX2 class this year, we’re heading into the last two rounds with Jed Beaton and Nathan Crawford tied on points, meaning every time these guys line up over the next two weekends, a championship is going to be on the line. Need we say anymore? This is going to be seriously exciting. And as well as things getting tight in the MX1, and MX2 classes, the Pirelli MXD class is no different, with only three points separating points leader Mitchell Evans from closest competitor Connor Tierney. 20

So, what can fans expect when we head to Toowoomba and Coolum these next two weekends? They can expect to see riders leaving nothing on the track that’s for sure. Before I sign off for this issue, I’d like to thank all of our readers who have clicked a link, downloaded the Inside Dirt app, and been a part of the success of the digital magazine in 2016. We will have another big year book after our champions are crowned to really showcase 2016 in all it’s glory so stay tuned. Story By Kevin Williams

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RIDERS TIPS MANAGING A CHAMPIONSHIP

Hi everyone and welcome to the final instalment of the Riders Tips article series for the 2016 MX Nationals season. It’s hard to believe that it’s now late August and the champions are about to be crowned after rounds eight and nine in QLD. But as the racing action this season has been nothing short of breath taking every round I’m not surprised that time has gone so quickly! This season has certainly not been a boring one and will looked back on for many years to come as the season that some of the Nation’s most successful international exports returned home from MXGP to battle with the MXN’s best riders. With all that hype in mind and the closest championship battles in all three classes in recent memory, let’s get to the point of my article; MANAGING A CHAMPIONSHIP. So what exactly does it mean to manage a championship? To me it is a rider coming in with a season long game plan to capitalize on his strong points and limit his weaknesses being exposed. To put that into context I will use current Thor MX1 class point’s leader and red plate holder Kirk Gibbs. Gibbs Story By: Joe Stevens

game plan for the last few seasons has been consistency. In the commentary booth we have named him “The Diesel” as his similarities to Ryan Dungey are all too obvious. Kirk Gibbs coming into 2016 as the defending MX1 champion was almost over shadowed by the returning MXGP stars of Dean Ferris and Todd Waters, having everything in his riding style questioned from his peed, to intensity and fitness. However for Gibbs he acknowledged that the returning MXGP riders would be fast.. but faster than him? Well, on their day it is likely even Gibbs admitted to himself this may be the case. However, this did not change Kirk Gibbs game plan that paid dividends in 2015. CONSISTENCY. Gibbs has let the “faster” riders show their speed, but he has also let them expose their weaknesses. For Ferris this is in the form of big crashes at pivotal moments in the season and for Todd Waters it has been his inconsistency in the second moto’s to clinch overalls and valuable points. Gibbs game plan has been to win on his good days, pressure Ferris and Waters into mistakes if he finds himself behind them in a moto and ensure that his bad days (even when carrying a knee injury from round six) do not land him off the podium. After Round eight, Gibbs now holds a nine point lead after pressuring Ferris into a last lap crash in Moto two, he has by far the most consistent podium and top five streak in the class and in the high pressure situations coming up in the last two rounds it will be hard to bet against him for the title chase! So for the riders reading this article competing at any level of the sport, from club events, to regional and state level championships.. even MXN riders, some of these tips below may help you in achieving your potential over a championship season.

“Gibbs has let the “faster” riders show their speed, but he has also let them expose their weaknesses.”

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where I see many riders going wrong is that they allow their race decisions and ultimately their results to be decided by other riders or the track conditions.â&#x20AC;?

HAVE A GAME PLAN Where I see many riders going wrong is that they allow their race decisions and ultimately their results to be decided by other riders or the track conditions. What I mean by this is that if you do not keep a level head in racing and continually strive to stick to your game plan, then other riders, the track and race day emotions WILL get the better of you. So if you are a good starter, let the holeshots and early sprint speed be your strength in establishing good track position. If you are more consistent with lap times and fitness aim to hit your marks every lap regardless of where you are in the field and you will end up moving forward. As a racer if you know your competition is faster but crashes BIG every few rounds, take consistent points and allow them to self-destruct. Is the upcoming round at a track you do not like or struggle with? Then set a goal to leave with solid points and healthy, there is always next weekend in a long season. If you are not an aggressive rider do not get into a block passing match with a sketchy rider who lives for the mid race beef.. pass them clean and move on! Simply put do not engage in any racing styles that are not your strong points and stick to your game plan, if you do this, much like Kirk Gibbs, you will find yourself exactly where you want to be with a few rounds left in your chosen race series.

LIMIT YOUR BAD DAYS It is often said that a champion wins a championship on their bad days! Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face it, many things in Motocross racing can happen outside of your control. These things that happen you cannot control however how you choose to react to them is totally in your control! First corner crashes, mechanicals, injuries.. it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter. Do not get emotional, stay calm and decide on a course of action that will lead to the most points at the end of the weekend. Crashing a further three times and carding a DNF after a first corner crash will result in no points and a hit to your confidence, however taking a deep breath and scoring a top ten with consistent laps and smooth passes will give you the best case points scenario from a race that could have quite easily ended your championship campaign.

CONFIDENCE IS KEY As a racer, confidence in your ability to manage a race series and championship is key, and second to speed in my opinion. Once you get used to the feeling and experience of controlling your own destiny once the gate drops, no longer being a victim to the external elements of Motocross racing, you will find your confidence will soar. You are racing on the track alone and only competing against yourself at the end of the day, trust your own judgment and watch your results, confidence and personal satisfaction from racing reach new heights! Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it from me for this article.. itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to hit the chase for the championship in sunny QLD! Make sure to come out to the races if you are in the area and if not tune into NRGTV on race day live to see who is crowned champion in the 2016 MXN finale! See you all at the races Joe Stevens

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MYTH BUSTING THE ONE PERCENTERS

There are many aspects of your on and off bike training that need to be considered in developing a sound foundation for your racing campaign, and although we study the science of physical performance every day, I am still a firm believer that athletic success is at least 70% mental. So, in this article I am going to discuss not only the physical side of training, but also some very important mental training that must be addressed to improve your racing. The training factors we are going to touch on are cognitive (mental) alertness and vigilance, mental rehearsal, timing, and coordination. Don’t worry, as these areas may be new to you or you have overlooked them in the past, I am

going to define and explain each factor, as well as provide some basic ways you can work on improving them so that you can take some big things away from reading on. First on the agenda is cognitive alertness and cognitive vigilance. Think of the five second board when we’re behind the gate. Did you know, that our best reaction time to that gate drop is between one and four seconds of our focus. This very short period of time is known as cognitive alertness and is when we react most quickly to something. Anything shorter than one second and we don’t have enough time to prepare for the reaction, which leads to a slow

Story By: Todd Jarratt

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING THAT YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE PROBABLY NOT. 33

response. Anything longer than four seconds shifts us from being alert to “vigilant”, which also leads to slowed reactions as the extended attention span decreases our responsiveness. So, in terms of a race, we’re going to be in a mostly vigilant state, however we can use the above optimal reaction time period to our advantage on the start! How? Head up to the start gate a couple of races early and see if there is a pattern in the time of the gate drop. If we realise the gate is repeatedly dropped six seconds after the five second board is shown, we know we should narrow our 34

focus to the gate around three seconds after the five second board is shown, so that we sit within the one to four second range of our focus, and as a result are cognitively alert not vigilant. This attention to detail should also be utilised in mentally rehearsing our race. The type of mental rehearsal I’m going to refer to in this article is imagery (creating a mental picture or experience without actually completing the movement). Think about hitting a long, technical rhythm section. We can use either internal imagery (rehearsing the rhythm section as though we’re doing it on the bike) or external imagery (imagining the section as though we’re on the sidelines watching ourselves hit the section), to improve our performance when actually hitting the rhythm section. This is not a joke; it has been shown on many occasions by scientists working with elite athletes that mentally rehearsing the successful completion of events leads to far better results when actually completing the task. So once we’ve walked the track, take five minutes to mentally rehearse what a perfect lap feels and looks like – but don’t just skim through it, be very detailed! The big thing to remember with imagery, is to always rehearse the movement with detail and to perfection in our head, as this not only allows us to get a true simulated feel for the movement,

“European riders aren’t typically exposed to supercross and as a result, their timing and setting up of sections in supercross is generally not up the level of AMA”

but also increases our confidence in completing the movement – i.e. kills two birds with one stone. The next key area that must be considered is timing! I don’t care how fast we are on an open motocross track, if we lack timing, we will not succeed in supercross. It is a completely different ball game doing well in motocross to succeeding in supercross, and a lot of that comes from timing. For example, European riders aren’t typically exposed to supercross and as a result,

their timing and setting up of sections in supercross is generally not up the level of AMA riders, who have a major focus on their supercross season. This has a lot to do with their ability to time movements, such as when to apply the most downward pressure in a low speed seat bounce, or negotiating an on-off rhythm section. Obviously, the best way to improve our timing for racing is to spend time on the bike – i.e. completing the skill itself. However, if we can’t get to the track, some things 35

we can try are repeatedly manualling different rollers on our pushbikes or even throwing a ball at a moving object. Although this isn’t practicing the skill of riding a motorcycle, we will become more in tune with our body and how it moves in space over time, which I can guarantee transfers across when we then ride our dirt bike. The final crucial area of general physical preparation (off bike training) that we must implement into our training is that of coordination based work. Think about it – when we’re exiting a tight, rutted left hand bowl turn, to seat bounce a step-on step-off section, how many movements

do we have to complete? We must control the clutch, rear brake, front brake, throttle, and gear shift, as well as change our limb positioning approximately five times between just the turn and end of the jump face. Now add into that four or five ruts on the face of the up ramp and middle step of the rhythm section, and due to the increased number of choices we have to make, the section becomes even more complex, which leads to an even slower reaction time (this can be explained by something known as Hick’s Law – look it up as it relates directly to motocross racing). I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to work out, but that is a

heck of a lot of movement that must be timed and coordinated to millisecond perfection in order to avoid a mishap. So an easy way to work on this away from your on bike training is to practice very complex, timing specific tasks such as partnered boxing, or playing the drums. Again, these examples may seem strange but their purpose is to improve the feel and control you have over your body in space, which as stated above, most definitely transfers across to improve your on bike performance Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all I have time for at the moment, but as always if you have any questions or would like to know about any of the science underpinning my words feel free to chat with me at the track or contact me via my Facebook page! Until next time guys â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ride hard and stay safe! Story By Todd Jarratt

MYTH BUSTED? SHARE YOUR OPINION

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TA R G E T N AT H A N C R AW F O R D He’s currently tied on points with Jed Beaton for the Motul MX2 Championship, and he’s got everything riding on these next two Queensland rounds of the Motul MX Nationals. We catch up with Husqvarna’s Nathan Crawford to get the low down on that fierce rivalry with the DPH Motorsports rider, what it’s going to take to win that MX2 Championship, and why he hopes to one day end up in America.

NC1 9 9 It’s been a really solid year for you this season, how do you feel about your performance so far in 2016? I’m stoked actually. From where I was at the start of the year, not knowing where I was going to be at the first round, and only having around three weeks on the bike I’m stoked to be where I am now. Everything has gone really well so far, so hopefully I can carry that in to the last couple of rounds and get the job done. You haven’t won a championship at the MX Nationals yet, how has the experience been this year being in contention for your first MX2 title? Oh there’s lots of games that get played and things like that, but for me, I just do my job and don’t really let anyone into my little circle, and my routine doesn’t tend to change. But it’s been pretty cool, being one of the guys who’s chasing that title. Experience wise, it’s been fun and interesting at the same time. You missed out on holding on to the MX2 red plate by the narrowest of margins at Shepparton, how difficult was that day for you? Jed and I are sharing the lead now in the points, but because he won the round, he walked away with the red plate. The day was actually going really well for me right 42

up until in the first race I got a penalty, and if I hadn’t got that penalty I’d probably still have the red plate to be honest. It was a tough pill to swallow, but I’ve knuckled down and I’m ready to go for this coming weekend. Motorcycling Australia also selected the MXoN team following that weekend, that must have been quite difficult too? It would have been a pretty cool experience to go over and represent my country, obviously I’ve never been before, but at the same time, not being selected gives me the opportunity to stay home and to continue doing what I’m doing here, and go for the next title which is the Supercross. I know that the race for MXoN is in between Supercross rounds so having to go over to a different country and race motocross and then to come straight back to Supercross would be pretty tough. For me, I can stay home and do my job and just get on with it. But honestly yeah, I would love to go, but it is what it is. Did you know that the MXoN team was being selected after Shepparton? There were a couple of rumours floating around, and I did have some idea that that’s when they would pick the team, but I was more disappointed that I wasn’t

picked probably because of the penalty We are heading in to two Queensland which affected my result at Shepparton, based final rounds, which are both but as I said, it is what it is. tracks you have previously done well at, does that give you a lot of added Have you felt a lot of pressure to win confidence in terms of getting back the championship this year? that red plate, and possibly even the I think the only pressure I get, is pressure championship? I put on myself. Obviously I want to Yeah it helps heaps. Both tracks are close perform and make my sponsors happy to home and I’ve spent a lot of time on but I definitely haven’t got pressure from both of the tracks too, so knowing I have people like my dad or those around me. that in my favour helps a lot. I will also I’ve always been up there and chipping have a lot of friends and family there so away at it, but that’s just made me really that makes it feel a lot more like home hungry for it, and hopefully I can get the too. Then Coolum is one of my favourite number one plate at Coolum. Pressure tracks, so I’m always keen to get there wise for me, it’s sort of eased a little bit and do battle in the sand. not having the red plate, It’s sort of a bit of a target. I’m confident, I’m feeling good, Tell us about the rivalry you and Jed so we’ll just have to see how these next Beaton have going on at the moment! couple of weeks go. I think ever since around Perth or when he got the red plate and it started tightening 43

up that’s when it started. To be honest, as far as I knew, we were getting along really well this year, and then all of a sudden he took a turn for the worst in my eyes. As far as that goes, we’re obviously racing for the same thing which is tough, but I’d say if we were away from the track or I was in 10th and he was in 15th it would be a completely different story. So obviously it’s a rivalry for the championship, and it comes down to personality. As for me, I don’t hold a grudge, and I’m just going out there to win. Do you have any doubts that by the time the final race is run at Coolum that it will be you being crowned this year’s Motul MX2 champion? I don’t like to count my chickens before they’ve hatched, but I feel really confident. 44

With two Queensland rounds, and Jed being from Victoria, I’m in my home town and in my element, so hopefully the next two weeks play out in my favour and pan out the way I want it to. After this year, what’s the plan for you racing wise? I’ve had a lot of thoughts about next year and I’m not 100 per cent sure at this stage, at the moment I just want to focus on the task at hand. We’re in a tight situation at the moment so that’s taking up a lot of my energy. But as far as next year goes, I’d say I’ll be here in Australia, and depending on whether or not I win the championship, it would be pretty cool to try and back it up in 2017. I know for a fact that my dad isn’t going to be doing it with me next year so I’m chasing a team, and there’s a 50, 50

chance I could be in the 450 class, but at season yet. Last year I got hurt so I didn’t the moment I’m just trying to focus on my get to see the season out, but I’m a very job and that’s to win the championship. technical rider, so I feel like Supercross could also work in my favour, so hopefully Do you have goals to race overseas? America one day. Yeah I’d like to. I have a lot of connections that could help me get overseas, but it’s a Thanks for the chat, good luck for the big step. I’d like to go and do a few races last two rounds! so I could just see how I fair over there. Thanks heaps. Watching Luke Clout race over there, I’d really like to go and live that lifestyle and xx try and progress and see how I go. That’s obviously a pretty big step, and I’ll just take it one step at a time.

So if you do go though, you’re thinking America? Yeah I’d say so. I feel like I’m a good Supercross rider, I just haven’t had a great 45

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MX1 MAJOR PLAYERS “A THREE WAY BATTLE FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP” AS WE APPROACH THE FINAL TWO MOTUL MX NATIONALS ROUNDS IN TOOWOOMBA AND COOLUM, THERE ARE THREE RIDERS WHO HAVE SET THEMSELVES APART FROM THE REST, AND NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE HOME A 2016 THOR MX1 CHAMPIONSHIP. WE TAKE A LOOK AT KIRK GIBBS, DEAN FERRIS AND TODD WATERS AND WHAT HAS MADE THEIR 2016 SEASONS SO SUCCESSFUL, WHY THEY’RE GOING TO BE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THROUGHOUT THE NEXT TWO HUGE MX NATIONALS OUTINGS, AND WHAT HAS DELIVERED AUSTRALIA WITH A THREE WAY BATTLE FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP.

Words By: Misty Walton

1 KIRK GIBBS KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs came into the 2016 Motocross season having won last year’s championship relatively unchallenged and coming off the back end of a nasty pelvis injury. Many people did not even consider him as a championship contender this year, and with two MXGP riders returning to contest the 2016 title, many also questioned whether or not Gibbs would even be able to match their pace. However, at Round 1, Gibbs proved from his first outing that he meant business this year, and that the Australian fans had completely underestimated him. So far, Gibbs has been on the podium at every single round except Appin and has now led the Thor MX1 Championship since Round 4 at Murray Bridge. Since the mid-season break, Gibbs has continued to make steady progress and collected two thirds and a round win, even despite dislocating his knee at Nowra and Dean Ferris beginning applying significant pressure, 50

proving that he’s well within contention for this year’s title. At the last round at Shepparton, Gibbs also collected his first GoPro Superpole win for the year, ensuring that he capitalises on every opportunity to collect valuable championship points from now until Coolum. So, can he do it? Can the reigning MX1 Champ be crowned with a title for the second consecutive year? You bet ya. In a recent interview, Gibbs commended his competition, but in the same breath, said that no matter how well his opponents are riding, that he will not give up on this year’s championship, and that he plans on chasing it to the very end. He’s often been doubted, questioned, and completely underestimated, but this year Gibbs has proven that he’s not only at the top of his game here in Australia, but he’s got the speed to match some of the fastest riders on the planet.

UNDERESTIMATED - Regard (someone) as less capable than they really are

KG1

111 DEAN FERRIS CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris was the first MXGP rider to confirm his return to Australian soil, which sent shock waves through the entire industry, and forced all teams to re-evaluate their game plans for the 2016 Motocross season. Ferris who has raced in America, Europe and many other parts of the world, is arguably one of the most experienced riders in the field, and really an Australian title seemed like a walk in the park in comparison to what he had been racing for the two years prior to returning. But when Ferris did return, it was soon realised that if he wanted to take out this year’s MX1 championship, he would not only have to overcome fast competition, but he would have to overcome himself. Ferris so far this season has undoubtedly been the fastest rider on the track. He has collected four out of seven possible GoPro Superpole victories and won a total of seven races already this season. But one thing that has continually hindered Ferris’s charge is himself. A number of silly crashes 52

whilst in the lead position has cost the CDR Yamaha rider, and reduced his chances of snatching up maximum points at a number of rounds. But, since the mid-season break we have seen somewhat of a smarter, ‘riding at 90% instead of 200%’ style of rider which has meant he’s collected two from three possible round wins, and narrowed Gibbs championship lead down to nine points with two rounds remaining. So, what’s it going to take for Ferris to win this year’s championship? Consistency, and intelligence. With two crucial rounds coming up over the next two weeks the CDR Yamaha rider needs to remain level headed and make no mistakes. No longer is it about being the fastest but the smartest rider on track every weekend. Plus, with CDR Yamaha not taking out an MX1 championship since 2012 when Josh Coppins secured the title, an MX1 victory this year is more important than ever.

DF111 LIKE A BULL AT A GATE - Taking action hastily without thought

47 TODD WATERS Todd Waters was the second rider to come back from racing the MXGP’s and was the only rider in the top three who had the luxury of hand picking the team he put around him at Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki for the 2016 season. So far, Waters seems to be plagued with second places on the overall podium. He often has one great opening moto, and it the second race, something tends to go pear shaped. But, in saying that, Waters has been building throughout the last two rounds, he’s won two races at both Conondale and Shepparton, as well as made regular appearances throughout the year in GoPro Superpole, seeing him labelled as this year’s ‘Dark Horse’. Despite having only taken one round win at Murray Bridge, Waters trails points leader Kirk Gibbs by only 16 points, and with the final two rounds being held in his home state of Queensland, there’s no time like the present to make his final charge to the top. 54

So is it possible? Can Waters really make up two positions and snatch up this year’s championship? Truth is, yes. It would take some mistakes from the front two boys, but if there’s one thing we know about racing, it’s that anything can happen, and anything does happen. It would be one fairy tale story if Waters could win Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s first ever championship in their first year of operation, and if there’s one thing that Australians love, it’s an underdog.

THE DARK HORSE - A candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who could unexpectedly win or succeed.

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RACE RECAP

KIRK GIBBS Overall MX1 victor share his thoughts from Shepparton, Victoria.

Shepparton was another important step toward the 2016 Motul MX Nationals crowns for Kirk Gibbs and Jed Beaton, holding the red plates with two rounds remaining. MotoOnline.com.au caught up with reigning champion Kirk Gibbs to see how his day went.

Here with the overall winner at Shepparton, Kirk Gibbs. Really good result, probably a surprise there in the last lap when [Dean] Ferris crashed. What was going through your mind when you saw Dean was down and you were able to go through? Yeah, obviously just a big mistake on his behalf, he still had a little buffer. I was reasonably close, but yeah, by that time I thought the race was done and dusted. But I guess it’s the old saying, it’s not over until the fat lady sings. When he went past me he was moving, so I just tried the best I could, to stay as close as I could. A little bit of pressure helps along the way. It’s obviously frustrating for him, but I’ll take the win. I really needed it after the last couple of weeks, with my knee and the way things have been going, so it’s good to keep chipping away at this championship and take it one week closer.

The guys up at the front are obviously going really, really fast right now. In terms of the front-runners in the championship, what does the pace on the bike feel like compared to last year? Every year I think you get a little bit faster, but for me I think I have stepped up more again, only because I knew I had to. I knew the challenges were going to be so big. Obviously riding with Todd [Waters] during the week has helped, I seen the way he was going so fast, so it gave me a good gauge in what I needed to do. Todd and Dean are so fast, it’s just who can put it all together and get great starts and not make any mistakes. First moto I was really disappointed, a lot of arm-pump and I couldn’t really do much with that, but the second moto I felt like I rode 100 percent and really strong. Dean was moving, but obviously that little mistake cost him. 60

How important are the starts considering how close you guys are?

Definitely important! Obviously in that second race Todd had a bad start and he couldn’t really get up there with us. Then me in that first race I didn’t really get a great start either, I just wasn’t quite there to make it up, obviously with arm-pump didn’t help. So yeah, it’s so critical right now, everyone is so fast. There is only a couple of tenths in it, so we are just pushing real hard and trying not to make mistakes.

These final two rounds at Toowoomba and Coolum will be on back-toback weekends, so what’s the plan between now and then? Just routine. Just hit routine every time and don’t change anything – everything seems to be working and going well, so yeah, just keep it the same as always and go from there.

No worries mate, well done.

Thank you.

TRACKSIDE GAL L E R Y

JE SSY NEL SON

OVER

Photo by: Jessy Nelson

MOUNTS

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QUESTIONS WITH

DANIE L BAN KS Tell us about your deal with Davey Motorsports for this year and how it came about? The Davey Motorsports guys have been awesome this year, they’ve transported my bike and all my gear to each and every round. It came together at the start of 2015, so it was pretty late and just through a shop, AJ Motorcycles in Shepparton who helps me out, he helped out Jack Simpson who was their other rider last year, and we all just sort of hooked up and that’s how it all came about. Having the Davey Motorsports guys take my bikes and gear, it allows me to fly in to the races that are in Queensland and Western Australia which helps a lot. The only problem has been I only have one bike (laughs), so I have to arrange to get my bike over to Melbourne

and sometimes it’s a bit hard. There’s a lot of planning that goes in to the whole thing, but without Davey Motorsports this year wouldn’t have been possible. The team seems like it has a real family vibe underneath the truck, tell us about that? Yeah it does. There’s no pressure at all and everyone gets along so well and is there to help each other. All of the riders do their own thing, and we have our own personal deals with things such as gear and stuff like that. But it’s very family orientated and every one gets along well – we all go for dinner together every round and it’s a nice low pressure situation which is awesome to be involved in.

You’re one of the few riders in the MX1 class who juggle full time work and racing, what’s that like? It’s good because I’m so busy all the time, and it keeps me on my toes, but it’s just a big planning process to do the national series. Just for myself working out how I’m going to get to the races or even just with the one bike it can be tricky. If I had a couple of bikes and I could leave one with the truck it would be ok, but because I’ve only got the one bike, there’s a lot of planning involved in getting it back from a round, then from Melbourne to my place in South Australia - sometimes I just end up jumping in the truck and driving to the rounds with the team to make it easier on me! But juggling racing with work is hard because obviously once you finish racing you have to head straight home to your 70

job. At Conondale I was lucky enough to fly, and I flew home Monday morning and went straight in to work, so it is tough, but it makes it all that more rewarding when I do do well. You’ve managed to break into the top ten in the MX1 class this season, how cool has that been for you? It’s been really cool. The goal last year was to get inside that top ten and I didn’t quite make it, so I had that goal again this year and it’s started to pay off. The plan for me is always to keep improving every year, and every round, as long as I’m doing that I’m happy. But for me to get inside that top ten and then to get sixth in the last race at Shepparton was a career best result and it felt awesome to mix it up with those top guys.

What’s next for you after this season? I don’t plan to do Supercross at this stage, it’s more the planning, it’s a whole other series, and I haven’t done a lot of Supercross training before. I like being prepared for something so I don’t want to go in unprepared. But over Summer I actually get a lot of work doing temporary fencing and we’re really busy. We do a lot of events, the Clipsal 500 setup starts so there’s a lot of work on. Through the winter it’s a little bit easier to have a couple of days off here and there, but pretty much once the motocross season stops it’s just straight into work and saving up so I can do it all again next year.

I didn’t finish a round and I lost a couple of motos there and lost a lot of points so I wasn’t able to get the championship, so I’d like to come back and win the 450 class at a state level next year. At a national level, I really want to be pushing for that top five, or getting as close as I possibly can to it. The top five guys are on another level, but if I can keep improving and be a little bit more consistent with getting inside that top ten, then that’s my goal.

Where do you see yourself in five year’s time? Umm it’s a hard one, but my long term goal is to win an Australian championship. Whether it’s as a privateer or on a factory What’s the goal for you for 2017? bike, that’s my goal. So hopefully in five This year at a state level I really wanted years that has been achieved. to back up my 450 title, but unfortunately Interview By: Misty Walton

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DYLAN PILGRIM Raceline Pirelli KTM Mechanic for Wade Kirkland

JARROD PYNE DPH Motorsports Head Technician

DARYL FENN Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team Mechanic for Jay Wilson

CHECKING IN WITH THE MECHANICS What’s in your mechanic’s bag? DYLAN: In my mechanics bag I’ve got spanners, Tbars, allen keys, a sag stick, mud scraper, butt plug and I think that’s about it. JARROD: There’s Tbars, pliers, zip ties, spare googles and a bottle of water. DARYL: Tools in case of an emergency, and in case we need to fix something on the side of the track. Tbars, spanners, sockets, pliers, screw drivers.

What’s the best part about your job? DYLAN: It’s probably getting to hang out and have a good time with all of the other riders and the other mechanics. It’s a lot of fun at the track. JARROD: Probably getting a win, it’s pretty rewarding. DARYL: Getting out and about and travelling. Not being stuck in a factory and getting to try and keep Jay happy.

What’s the worst part about your job? DYLAN: Oh it would have to be clean up easily. Especially when it’s really muddy and sticky. JARROD: Cleaning up on Mondays. DARYL: Probably being away from home.

What do you say to your rider before the gate drops? DYLAN: I give Wade a little tap on the back, and we do a little fist pump. Then just tell him to give it all he’s got and have fun. JARROD: It depends who I’m working with, and it depends on the day. Most riders I’ll tell them to believe in themselves, but then now and then you’ll get riders who don’t like you to say anything at all. Jed likes to be revved up a bit, where as Lawson Bopping doesn’t like to be spoken to at all. DARYL: I don’t say much to Jay because he doesn’t want me to say anything to him. Jay doesn’t like me to say anything before the race, it’s more on the pit board and after the race that we communicate.

Do you have any superstitions? DYLAN: Na not really, I sort of leave that up to the riders (laughs) JARROD: Nope, none! DARYL: Nope, none!

What’s your most used tool? DYLAN: It would be Tbars for sure. JARROD: 8mm Tbar! DARYL: Probably my brain (haha)

What do you write on the pit board? DYLAN: I give Wade lap times, his position in the race, and then sometimes I’ll writ breathe if I can tell that he’s struggling a little bit. JARROD: Most of the time its lap times, but then we have our little one liners, which are ‘focus’ ‘breathe’ and stuff like that to keep the time ticking. If there’s something I notice that one of the riders needs to be told, I’ll write that on there too. DARYL: With Jay, normally just lap times, how long to go in the race, and if I see him doing anything like not looking forward, or keeping his head down then I’ll let him know. Sometimes we also put some motivational stuff on there too.

RIDER 2015 TITLE Dan Reardon AUS SX Romain Febvre MXGP Jay Wilson AUS MX Cooper Webb AMA SX Dan Milner A4DE Wilson Todd AUS MXD Hunter Lawrence AUS MXR

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HIT& MISS MotoOnline.com.au pulls out the microscope and dissects some of the surprises, standouts, shockers and disappointments from a tough eighth round of the 2016 Motul MX Nationals at Shepparton.

HIT. THE HIGHS FROM ROUND 8 OF THE 2016 MX NATIONALS

“THE THREE OF US ARE ALL RIDING VERY WELL, AND IT’S COMING DOWN TO WHO CAN PUT IT ALL TOGETHER. TWO SOLID MOTOS, WITH NO CRASHES” - KIRK GIBBS

Kirk Gibbs: KTM Motocross Racing Team’s defending champion Kirk Gibbs proved why he’s the current points leader in the tense MX1 class fight by claiming both the Super Pole points and round win around the challenging Shepparton circuit. In doing so, Gibbs snapped Dean Ferris’ tworound win streak (and his Super Pole dominance) and again proved that he’s not going to let this championship go without fighting tooth and nail for it. Gibbs placed third in the opening race, then capitalised on a last-lap crash by Ferris to clinch both the race and round win. The MX2 title fight: Wow, the MX2 class turned up the heat on Sunday, as DPH Motorsport Yamaha’s Jed Beaton and Husqvarna’s Nathan Crawford locked horns, then finished the day locked on 507 points apiece in the championship chase. Beaton, who

held the red plate earlier in the season, was handed the win in the opening hitout after Crawford and Serco Yamaha’s Wilson Todd were penalised 15 seconds for jumping under yellow flag conditions. Although KTM’s Caleb Ward took the second race win, Beaton finished a close second and took the day’s honours, while Crawford had to settle for fourth. With just 15 points separating Beaton, Crawford and Ward, the stage is set for a barnstorming final two rounds. Mitch Evans: Three rounds ago Yamalube Yamaha’s Mitch Evans was a seemingly insurmountable 40 points adrift of MXD front-runner Connor Tierney. Since then Evans has been riding like kid possessed and on Sunday the North Queenslander absolutely schooled the rest of the development class. After posting a qualifying time a full second faster than anyone else, Evans smashed the field by 45 seconds in the opening race, then almost 56 seconds in the second to dominate the round and swipe the red plates. Evans seems to be gaining more and more speed each week, and with two home state rounds remaining, all bets are on him to take home an inspiring championship title.

MISS. THE LOWS OF ROUND 8 OF THE 2016 MX NATIONALS

Dean Ferris: One man’s gain is another man’s loss and this weekend it was CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris left picking himself out of the mud (literally) on Sunday. In a twist that distinctly had a Nowra feel to it (when Moss dropped his bike late in the final race to hand the race and round wins to Ferris), Ferris had a small crash on the final lap of the second moto while in control of both the race and round victories, allowing his nemesis Kirk Gibbs to gain the upper hand and extend his slim points lead to nine markers. As with the MX2 class, this battle between Ferris, Gibbs and Todd Waters is going to go down to the wire. Wilson Todd: While all the attention was on the heated on-track and off-track exchanges and drama between Jed Beaton and Nathan Crawford, Wilson Todd’s inspired ride in the technical conditions has been largely

overlooked. The Serco Yamaha rider was actually the first rider to the checkers in the opening stanza but was pinged 15 seconds for jumping under yellow flag conditions, shuffling him back to second behind Beaton. Had he kept both wheels on the ground, the quiet-spoken Queenslander could’ve landed himself his first-ever MX2 podium after his fifth place finish in the second race. Still, Todd will take heart in the fact his race pace was right up there on Sunday and will only get better the more experience he gets. Jay Wilson: Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Jay Wilson was flying the team’s colours on his lonesome on Sunday with Dylan Long not joining the action, but it was a tough day at the office for the 2015 MX2 champion. Wilson was plagued all day, with a qualifying lap time that was seven seconds slower than Kirk Gibbs after experiencing electrical problems. He was then lapped by Waters, Ferris, Gibbs and Kade Mosig in the opening MX1 race with a damaged exhaust, before falling awkwardly early in the second moto and tweaking his wrist and pulled the pin on the rest of the race. Wilson will be very eager to forget all about Shepparton and focus on finishing the season on a high note over the final two rounds. 89

Welcome to the Naturally refreshing Sunshine Coast

Official holiday destination for the MX Nationals

visitsunshinecoast.com

Make a Sunshine Coast event part of your next holiday Highlights include the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships, the Hawaiian Airlines Va’a World Sprint Championships, International Rally of Queensland, World IRONMAN 70.3 Championships, Wanderlust and the Australasian Police and Emergency Services Games.

In 2016 the Sunshine Coast will play host to its largest portfolio of events ever. With a range of national and international events in addition to our already impressive events calendar there is sure to be an event that you will want to be part of. From major events that are all about the surf or sporting participation, to tantalising food and iconic music festivals, you’ll always find a fun and exciting event to include in your holiday plans.

Maleny Wood Expo

APR

MAY

30 April - 2 May Maleny Showgrounds

There is no doubt The World is coming to the Sunshine Coast in 2016. You should be here!

Australian Outrigger Aussie Aito Noosa Food & Wine 2016

20-22 May Noosa Heads

20 May Mooloolaba

JUN

57th Australian National Square Dance Convention

Downunder Beachfest

26 June -4 July

9-13 June

University of the Sunshine Coast Sports Centre, Sunshine Coast Square Dance Centre and Mantra Mooloolaba

Caloundra and Hinterland

Queensland State Club Gymnastics Championships and Border Challenge

Etchells Australasian Winter Championships 9-12 June Mooloolaba

Va’a World Outrigger Sprint Championships 5-15 May Lake Kawana

Australian Surf Life Saving Championships - The Aussies

16-24 April Maroochydore, Alexandra Headlands & Mooloolaba

Australian Outrigger Marathon Titles

21-22 May Mooloolaba

Pumpkin Festival 29 May Goomeri

Noosa Ultimate Sports Festival 28 May Noosa Heads

Sunshine Coast Winter Bowls Carnival

International Rally of Queensland

28 May-27 July

17-19 June Maroochy River, Beerwah, Kenilworth, Imbil

JUL

AUG

SEP

Open Cockpit Weekend

MX Nationals Round 10

Maroochy Music and Visual Arts

2-3 July

27-28 August

Queensland Air Museum Caloundra

Coolum Beach

24-29 June Caloundra Indoor Stadium

Gympie Music Muster

25-28 August Amamoor State Forest

10 September

IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships

4 September Mooloolaba

Horton Park Golf Course

Mitchell Creek Rock 'N' Blues Fest 15-19 September

Queensland Garden Expo

08-10 July Nambour Showgrounds

Northern University Games

Noosa Long Weekend

3-7 July

15-24 July

Sunshine Coast Stadium

Noosa area

OCT

22-24 October

October

Blackall Range

7 Sunshine Coast Marathon

17 July

Conondale

World Series Swims - Swim Queensland

The Blackall 100

Mitchell Creek

MX Nationals Round 7

19-21 August Alexandra Headland, Cotton Tree, Maroochydore

Tin Can Bay Seafood Festival 24 September Tin Can Bay

DEC

NOV

National Outrigger Junior Titles

Trans Tasman Gubbi Gubbi Waka Ama 22-23 September

24-26 September Lake Kawana

Lake Kawana

Christmas lights December

Mooloolaba

Triathlon Pink and Fun Run Pink November

Kawana Sports Precinct / Sunshine Coast Stadium

Caloundra Music Festival

30 September-3 October

Gatorade Qld Tri Series - Kawana

November

Kawana Sports Precinct / Sunshine Coast Stadium

Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival 30 October Noosa Heads

Caloundra

Mary Valley Australia Zoo Scarecrow Festival Festival 31 October - Australasian Police and 21 October - 1 November Emergency Service Games

12 November Mary Valley

Wanderlust Sunshine Coast

8-15 October 13-16 October Australia Zoo, Sunshine Coast Stadium Novotel Twin Waters Resort Beerwah

Conscious Life Festival November

Innovation Centre Kawana

Holden Scramble Championship Finals November Twin Waters Golf Club

Woodford Folk Festival

27 December- 1 January Woodfordia

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MXNATIONALS PROGRAM, RIDER LISTS, PROFILES AND PRESS RELEASES

ba, m o o w Too

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WIL

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Queenslan

TOOWOOMBA. Round 9 takes us all the way Echo Valley Toowoomba. This track is known as MX heaven. The venue has stayed true to motocross and has seen some of Australia’s best racing over a number of years. With it’s very steep down hill sections; rider’s skills are tested to the max. Starts are very important on this track and a clear track can be a huge advantage when riding this exciting circuit.

RND 9 SCHEDULE START

CLASS

DURATION

8:30am

MX2 Practice / Qualifying

25 Min

9:00am

MXD Practice / Qualifying

25 Min

9:30am

Amateurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Practice / Qualifying

20 Min

10:00am

MX1 Practice / Qualifying

30 Min

10:30am

Go Pro Super Pole

10 Min

10.40am

Official Opening

5 Min

10.45am

Motul MX2 Moto 1

30 + 1 lap

11:25am

Pirelli MXD Moto 1

20 + 1 lap

12:05pm

Thor MX1 Moto 1

30 + 1 lap

12:40pm

Lunch

45 Min

1:25pm

Amateur Cup Moto 1

15 Min

1:55pm

Motul MX2 Moto 2

20 + 1 lap

2:35pm

Thor MX1 Moto 2

30 + 1 lap

3.20pm

Pirelli MXD Moto 2

20 + 1 lap

3:50pm

Amateur Cup Moto 2

15 Min

CHAMPIONSHIP POINT ALLOCATION PER MOTO 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

35 32 30 28 26

6th 7th 8th 9th 10th

25 24 23 22 21

11th 12th 13th 14th 15th

20 19 18 17 16

16th 17th 18th 19th 20th

15 14 13 12 11

21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th

10 9 8 7 6

26th 27th 28th 29th 30th

5 4 3 2 1

With tough, tight racing on the grass sprint format tracks today, competitors kicked their bikes into gear in the hope to redeem championship points and take the top step on the podium at Round 5 of the 2016 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship at Murray Bridge, South Australia. With fine weather and a flat track, The Yamaha AORC produced some close racing as over 300 competitors took on the tough terrains today. The record entry numbers bringing in spectators from all over the country to witness the E1, E2, E3, EJ, Vets, Womensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Masters National Championship classes maneuver over the obstacles and fight through the trees. The E1, E2, E3 and Transmoto 19 and Under classes competed on the Grovescaff test today. E1 E1 competitor and KTM mounted Jack Simpson showed his knowledge and talent on the Grovescaff grass track, much like a Motocross track from Simpsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s background. The young rising OffRoad star concluded the day with a time of 1:05:43.063 and took out

m , Queensland u l o o C ||

WHO

WIL

L W IN

DOWN TH G E IN

N E

A IN

N ROU

COOLUM. Round 10 takes us back to Coolum for the grand finale. With two huge days of racing over the weekend, the track becomes very tough and technical, and often with championships up for grabs, racing is always action packed. This round is much more than a race meeting; the MX Nationals grand finale is an event on, and off the track.

100

RND 10 SCHEDULE S AT U R D AY START

CLASS

DURATION

8:30 am

Yamaha 85cc P & Q

20 min

8:55 am

Yamaha UTV P & Q

20 min

9:20 am

YMI Womens P & Q

20 min

9:45 am

Yamaha 125 Rookies P & Q

20 min

10:15 am

Yamaha UTV Race 1

15 min

10:40 am

Yamaha 85cc Moto 1

15 min

11:05 am

YMI Womens Moto 1

15 min

11:35 am

Yamaha Rookies Moto 1

15 min

12:00 pm

Lunch

45 min

12:45 pm

Thor MX1 P & Q

30 min

1:25 pm

Yamaha UTV Race 2

15 min

1:45 pm

Motul MX2 P & Q

30 min

2:25 pm

Yamaha 85cc Moto 2

15 min

2:45 pm

Pirelli MXD P & Q

25 min

3:20 pm

YMI Womens Moto 2

15 min

3:45 pm

Yamaha 125cc Rookies

15 min

CHAMPIONSHIP POINT ALLOCATION PER MOTO 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

35 32 30 28 26

6th 7th 8th 9th 10th

25 24 23 22 21

11th 12th 13th 14th 15th

20 19 18 17 16

16th 17th 18th 19th 20th

15 14 13 12 11

21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th

10 9 8 7 6

26th 27th 28th 29th 30th

5 4 3 2 1

101

RND 10 SCHEDULE SUNDAY START

CLASS

DURATION

8:20 am

KTM 65 Invitational Practice

10 min

8:30 am

Pirelli MXD warm up

10 min

8:45 am

Motul MX2 warm up

15 min

9:00 am

Thor MX1 warm up

15 min

9:20 am

Go ProSuper Pole

5 min

9:35 am

YMI Womens Moto 3

15 min

9:55 am

KTM 65 Invitational

8 min

10:15 am

Official opening

10 min

10:35 am

Pirelli MXD Moto 1

20 min

11:10 am

Motul MX2 Moto 1

30 min

11:55 am

Thor MX1 Moto 1

30 min

12:30 pm

KTM 65 Invitational

8 min

12:40 pm

Lunch

50 min

1:30 pm

YMI Womens Moto 4

15 min

1:55 pm

Pirelli MXD Moto 2

20 min

2:35 pm

Motul MX2 Moto 2

20 min

3:15 pm

Thor MX1 Moto 2

30 min

102

R N D

M X 1 104

MX1 PRESENTED BY:

KIRK GIBBS

TAKES ROUND 8 WIN KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs shined in Shepparton today, taking the Thor MX1 round win in front of thousands of spectators at Round 8 of the 2016 Motul MX Nationals. With the championship being separated by only six points heading into the weekend, every raced proved to be crucial at Shepparton, with Gibbs eventually edging out tough competition to come out on top. When the Premier Thor MX1 class headed out on to the circuit for their

qualifying session this morning, the sun had well and truly come out, and tons of spectators had poured through the gates to watch the fastest riders in the country throw down their quickest times. Gibbs emerged as the early man to beat in qualifying, while CDR Yamaha’s Dean Ferris was also on the pace finishing the session in second. KTM’s Jesse Dobson, Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Todd Waters and NPE Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kade Mosig were the final three riders to progress through 105

to GoPro Superpole at the conclusion of the session. Once all riders had completed their flying laps, it was KTM’s Gibbs who secured his first GoPro Superpole win of the year with a lightening fast lap of 1:40.273, awarding him first gate pick and five vital championship points. When the Thor MX1 bikes lined up for race one, all eyes were on the number one machine of Gibbs who was starting from pole position for the first time this year, but when gates dropped it was Mosig who secured the MXStore holeshot. However, it took no time at all for CDR Yamaha’s Ferris to move in to the lead, followed by Waters, Mosig, Gibbs and Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Wilson who completed the top five positions. After only two laps, Ferris and Waters began to break away from the group, while Gibbs had moved up into third position, relegating NPE Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Mosig to fourth. By the time riders had completed five minutes of racing, Gibbs began to tag on to Ferris and Waters’, and with a second consecutive MX1 championship on the line, Gibbs began eyeing off Water’s rear wheel. After 15 minutes, the running order saw Ferris maintaining his lead on Waters, while Gibbs continued in third position, followed by Mosig in fourth. KTM’s Dobson had made his way past Wilson to move in fifth position, meaning Wilson and DPH 106

Motorsport’s Jacob Wright maintained sixth and seventh places respectively. In what was a huge shock to spectators, on lap ten, Ferris made a small mistake, crashing and handing the lead to Waters – Ferris forced to re-join the pack in third position behind Gibbs. From there, Ferris was under pressure to make up time, and with only ten minutes left on the clock the CDR Yamaha rider had his work cut out for him. As moto one reached its closing stages, Waters looked more and more comfortable out in front, while Gibbs began to feel the pressure from Ferris who was attempting to claw his way back to the front of the pack. When riders received the last lap board, Waters was in the box seat to take the moto one victory, but spectator’s attention was well and truly on Gibbs and Ferris who were locked in to an aggressive battle for second position. And it was on the final lap that the action played out. Ferris blew past Gibbs like he was standing still in the front section of the track, and not long after that, Gibbs came off and was forced to re join the race in third position. But when the chequered flag flew, it was Waters who had reason to celebrate, taking the opening moto win from Ferris who finished in second, while Gibbs concluded race one in third. Fourth place was collected by Mosig, while fifth was awarded to DPH Motorsport’s Wright. In race two, the hole shot was

“I’LL NEVER GIVE UP, SO I’M GOING TO KEEP FIGHTING UNTIL THE END.” - KIRK GIBBS

taken by KTM’s Gibbs, followed by Mosig, however once again it took no time at all for CDR Yamaha’s Ferris to assert his authority, moving past Mosig and up in to second position. With the top three out in front with a healthy lead, Waters and Wilson began to battle for fourth place behind them, and before long Waters moved past the Crankt Honda machine to move up in to fourth. As race two progressed, Ferris once again began to close in on Gibbs’ lead, setting the final race up as a dash to the finish line. By the half way point in moto two, the running order saw Gibbs maintaining a marginal gap on Ferris, while Mosig who was in third, was just fighting off a hard charging Waters in fourth. Fifth place was occupied by KTM’s Dobson. As race two reached its final stages, Waters made the pass on Mosig for third position, where he also began to eye off Ferris’s rear wheel. But it was the battle for the top spot that had spectators on the edge of their seats, with Ferris continuing to close in on Gibbs’ lead. And with six minutes remaining, Ferris made a pass on Gibbs that stuck, allowing him to move in to the lead 107

position, relegating last year’s champ to second. By the time riders received the last lap board, competitors were well and truly relieved, with the track getting rougher and ruttier as the afternoon went on, and with only one more lap to steer his CDR Yamaha to victory, Ferris looked ready to take the win. However, in what was yet another shock to onlookers, Ferris once again made a mistake, going down when out in front which eventually cost him the win – Allowing Gibbs to stream to victory, followed by Ferris and Waters who wrapped up moto two in second and third places respectively. When points were tallied, it was KTM’s Gibbs who was awarded the round victory with 3,1 results, while Waters was handed second position after finishing on equal points to Gibbs on a countback. For Ferris mistakes at Round 8 proved costly,

finishing in third position on the overall Thor MX1 podium. Gibbs retains the red plate after Round 8, and continues to lead the Thor MX1 championship by nine points. Kirk Gibbs after winning round 8 “It’s good to be up here. As everyone has said, the three of us are all riding very well, and it’s coming down to who can put it all together. Two solid motos, with no crashes and no mistakes,” Gibbs said. “In the final moto things worked out well for me. I got the holeshot and I could feel Dean (Ferris) right behind me the whole time, when he made the pass on me, he ended up making a mistake so I’m happy to take the win. “I’m just super happy to keep chipping away at this championship, and I’ll never give up, so I’m going to keep fighting until the end.”

T H E R E S U LT S

108

MX1 Round Results:

MX1 Championship Standings:

1) Kirk Gibbs – 65 points 2) Todd Waters – 65 points 3) Dean Ferris – 64 points 4) Kade Mosig – 56 points 5) Jesse Dobson – 51 points 6) Jacob Wright – 49 points 7) Daniel Banks – 46 points 8) Joel Green – 46 points 9) James Alen – 43 points 10) Kurt Gow – 42 points

1) Kirk Gibbs – 538 points 2) Dean Ferris – 529 points 3) Todd Waters – 522 points 4) Kade Mosig – 437 points 5) Matt Moss – 381 points 6) Dylan Long – 359 points 7) Jacob Wright – 340 points 8) Jay Wilson – 320 points 9) Michael Menchi– 301 points 10) Daniel Banks – 299 points

109

PRESENTS

MX1 RIDER LIST #

Name

Manufacture

Sponsors

Kirk Gibbs

KTM

KTM Motocross Race Team - ETS Racing Fuels - Motorex Oils - Dunlop - Troy Lee Designs - Sony - NGK

Jay Wilson

Honda

Crankt Protein - Honda

Kade Mosig

Kawasaki

NPE Monster energy Kawasaki

Luke Wilson

Suzuki

Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki - NRG TV - THOR - SPY - JetPilot - Akrapovic - Pirelli - MX Store

Broc Grabham

Husqvarna

Daniel Banks

KTM

DAVEY MOTORSPORTS KTM - Tunetech Suspension - AJ Motorcycles - Temporary Fence Hire - M2R

Jacob Wright

Yamaha

MXRP, ktm australia, shift, fox, oakley, FIST, pirrelli, motul, RK, GET, work4me

Todd Waters

Suzuki

Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki racing - Cairns coconut resort - Red bull - Berry sweet strawberry

James Alen

KTM

Craig Bolton

KTM

Ray Moore Motorcycles - manuel haulage - tierney contracting - gold fields people hire - One Industries

Kurt Gow

Husqvarna

On Two Wheels Motorsports - Ficeda Accessories - Yamaha - Parrish plumbing - Kennedy's Automotive

Travis Tough

Honda

Rapid Pacific

Brendan Duck

KTM

Eddie Brown

Suzuki

110

Kyle Peters

Kawasaki

111

Dean Ferris

Yamaha

CDR Yamaha

117

Dylan Long

Honda

Crankt Protein - Honda

134

Jayson Tough

Honda

Rapid Pacific

222

Michael Menchi

KTM

264

Izak Maule

Yamaha

AAA Parts - Ipone - Fox - Yamaha - Northern motorcycles - SK Designs

414

Jesse Dobson

KTM

KTM Motocross Race Team - Motorex Oils - Troy Lee Designs - Sony - Dunlop - NGK - ETS Racing

604

Daniel Dingle

Yamaha

dany walker plastering - sixty7 mx gear

793

Alex Redgwell

Husqvarna

JWR/ 13 OMG - Pete's Trackside Suspension and Coaching - Tyres for Bikes - Hutchinson Builders

110

Trac-Rite Suspension, Scrubin 100% , Lisa Prestwood

Tech 10

Tech 8RS

Tech 7

Tech

AL PIN ESTARS2015 2016 Boot BOOT RAN GE Alpinestars Range COMP CODE: 199-NATHANCRAWFORD

Click to watch the Alpinestars boot video

Kids Boots

Tech 1

Tech 6s www.monzaimports.com.au

Tech 3s

alpinestarsaustralia

alpinestarsaus

R N D

M X 2 114

MX2 PRESENTED BY:

JED BEATON

GOES BACK TO BACK DPH Motorsport’s Yamaha riderJed Beaton has secured his second consecutive round win, and been awarded with the Motul MX2 championship red plate, after a fiery Round 8 of the Motul MX Nationals at Shepparton today. There was excitement from the minute bikes hit the circuit, and in traditional Victorian weather conditions this morning, the Motul MX2 class were the first riders to brave the cold and hit

the track for their practice and qualifying session. With 15 minutes to qualify, it was Husqvarna Australia’s Nathan Crawford who put down the fastest lap time with a 1:37.717, 1.3 seconds faster than KTM’s Caleb Ward, followed by Davey Motorsport’s Jayden Rykers who concluded the session with third pick of the grid. When the Motul MX2 class lined 115

up for the first race of the day, thousands of fans watched on to see who would launch down the straight first, and when gates dropped it was KTM’s Rykers who collected the first MXStore holeshot and moved in to the early race lead. However, with vital championship points on the line, it took no time at all for DPH Motorsport’s Beaton to take control of moto one, while Serco Yamaha’s Wilson Todd followed suit, passing Rykers to move in to second position. Red plate holder Crawford became the third rider to blow past Rykers and move up in to third position, and with a championship lead to defend, Crawford was not letting Beaton and Todd out of his sight. A notable absentee from the front of the pack was Ward – after three laps the KTM star was back in 10th position. With four laps in the books, both Crawford and Todd began to close in on Beaton’s lead, and with the lead group already heading in to lapped traffic, back markers added another dynamic to what was playing out between the bar banging trio. But it was at the 12-minute mark that Todd made his move to the front, making a clean pass on Beaton in the top section of the track, relegating the DPH Motorsport rider to second position. By the half way mark in moto one, Todd remained in control with the race lead, followed by Beaton, and Crawford, while Rykers continued to maintain fourth position, followed by Proformance Racing Team’s Kale Makeham in fifth. Ward, who

116

suffered a poor start had made his way in to sixth place, followed by Dylan Wills (Raceline Pirelli KTM) and Wade Hunter (Serco Yamaha). With ten minutes remaining, Beaton began to feel the pressure of Crawford, who continued to edge closer and closer to his rear wheel, meaning any mistake at this point would prove critical to the overall championship – and by lap 13 things got aggressive. Beaton break checked Crawford in a corner before the pair nearly came together over the finish line, but it was Crawford who made a pass stick, moving in to second position, leaving Beaton behind him. With five minutes left to run, there was no change to positions, with Todd remaining out in front with only a minimal lead, followed by Crawford and Beaton in second and third. However, in a huge twist of events, both Crawford and Todd were handed 15 second penalties for jumping under a yellow flag, which put Beaton in the lead with only one lap remaining. And when the chequered flag flew, fans had been treated to an epic final lap, with Todd, Crawford, and Beaton all within striking distance of each other – However, it was Beaton who was awarded the victory from Todd and Crawford once penalties were applied. Rykers and Ward completed the top five finishing positions, while Makeham and Wills were awarded with sixth and seventh places at the conclusion

“THERE’S THREE OF US GOING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP, THEN IT’S GOING TO GET A BIT HEATED NOW AND THEN.“ - JED BEATON

of the moto. When race two kicked off, DPH Motorsport’s Beaton once again launched out of the gate and in to the race lead, but this time Crawford was hot on his tail in second position, followed by Rykers in third. After only two laps you could feel the tension in the air. A race win for Beaton in the final moto would see him the new red plate holder, making the last race of the day all that more critical. With three laps in the books, Beaton continued to lead from Crawford, while KTM’s Ward had made the pass on Rykers to move in to third position, where he began applying significant pressure on Crawford. And by the time riders headed in to their next lap, Ward had made the move in to second, relegating Crawford to third position. With Ward on a charge, Beaton also began to come under fire from Ward’s KTM machine, while Crawford continued not to let the lead pair out of his sight. However, by the time race two reached the halfway mark, Ward had gotten by Beaton to move in to the race lead, keeping spectators guessing as to

117

who would emerge from the round as the red plate holder. With ten minutes in the 20-minute moto remaining, Ward continued to lead from Beaton and Crawford, while Rykers remained consistent in fourth position, followed by Serco Yamaha’s Todd in fifth. As race two reached its final stages, Ward and Beaton had put significant ground in between themselves and third placed Crawford, providing the front pair with a clear track to allow the final battles unfold. And despite Beaton’s every effort to chase down Ward, it was Ward who crossed the finish line for the final time today victorious, followed by Beaton in second and Crawford in third. But with 1,2 results, it was Beaton who was awarded not only the round victory at Shepparton but the Motul MX2 red plate for the second time this year, while second place on the podium was

taken by Ward, followed by Crawford who collected third place at Round 8. Beaton now holds the Motul MX2 red plate, equal on 507 points with Crawford with two rounds remaining. Jed Beaton after winning round 8 “I’m really happy to finish with another round win here at Shepparton. The championship is coming down to the wire and we all want to win just as bad as each other now,” Beaton said. “When you’re that close to each other on the track, and there’s three of us going for a championship, then it’s going to get a bit heated now and then, but we’re all in it to win. “I had a slow start to the season but I feel as if everything is coming together now. I feel confident and I believe in myself more than ever before so I’m really looking forward to these last two rounds.”

T H E R E S U LT S

118

MX2 Round Results:

MX2 Championship Standings:

1) Jed Beaton – 67 points 2) Caleb Ward – 61 points 3) Nathan Crawford – 60 points 4) Wilson Todd – 58 points 5) Jayden Rykers – 56 points 6) Kale Makeham – 50 points 7) Dylan Wills – 47 points 8) Keiron Hall – 45 points 9) Hamish Harwood – 44 points 10) Joel Wightman – 42 points

1) Jed Beaton – 507 points 2) Nathan Crawford– 507 points 3) Caleb Ward – 492 points 4) Jayden Rykers – 449 points 5) Wilson Todd – 412 points 6) Dylan Wills – 381 points 7) Hamish Harwood – 353 points 8) Joel Wightman – 341 points 9) Wade Hunter– 324 points 10) Kyle Webster – 296 points

119

PRESENTS

MX2 RIDER LIST

Name

Manufacture Sponsors

Wilson Todd

Yamaha

Serco Yamaha

Jayden Rykers

KTM

Davey Motorsports - KTM Australia - Moss Institute - Fox Head Australia - Oxy Fresh Australia - Tracrite

Kale Makeham

Yamaha

Proformance Race Team - Yamaha - Bulk Nutrients - Maxima - Procircuit - Pirelli - Scott - MX Ink

Ricky Latimer

Yamaha

TLR - Fuchs Silkolene - FXR Racing - Ride Tribe - Goodridge - Dinasaw - Moto Junkie Clothing

Jed Beaton

Yamaha

DPH motorsport yamaha

Geran Stapleton

Honda

Caleb Ward

KTM

TroyLee Designs - KTM Racing Team - Alpinestars - Scott - Motorex - Kustom - Dunlop - Sly

W18

Maddy Brown

Yamaha

DPH MOTORSPORT

Daniel McEntee

KTM

Mcentee carpentry - Mcd - Tee n Cee graphics

Lachlan Davis

Yamaha

Proformance Race Team - Yamaha - Bulk Nutrients - Maxima - Procircuit - Pirellii - Scott - MX Ink

Wade Hunter

Yamaha

Serco Yamaha

Bailey Coxon

Yamaha

JBC MOTORSPORTS - SHELL ADVANCE - YAMAHA

Joel Wightman

Honda

CRF HONDA RACING - Honda Motorcycles - Honda Genuine Oils - Honda Genuine Parts - Pirelli Tyres - Fly

Jake Lowe

Yamaha

Mx store - Main Arm Constructions

Jayden Conforto

Suzuki

trac-Rite suspension - matt jones kawasaki - dirtybits moto - VICT - JDC plumbing - The Collective Family

Dylan Wills

KTM

Raceline Motorsport - Alpinestars - KTM Newcastle - Bell Helmets - Oakley - Pirelli - Motorex - Willmax

Adam Smith

Mathew McEntee

Yamaha

teencee graphics

Joel Evans

Yamaha

Hotondo Homes - Dinos Bobcat - Yesberg Earthmoving - MXRP - SK Designs - Kwala - Shass Apparel

W86

Jessica Moore

KTM

KTM Australia - Pirelli - EBM Insurance - Nine Two Decals

Richie Evans

Yamaha

Hadleigh Knight

Husqvarna

Dr Trim, Fox NZ, Shift NZ, MotoMuck, Workshop Graphics, Pirelli NZ

Kyle Webster

Honda

CRF Honda Racing

121

Tyson Wickham

Yamaha

151

Nick Sutherland

Yamaha

Westend LPG Cylinder Testing

153

Hamish Harwood

KTM

CML Racing Team - Pohara Beach Top 10 Holiday Park - Golly's Civil Excavations - You Foodz - JT Racing

188

Tomas Ravenhorst

KTM

Dirty Bits Moto - Ravo Maintance - Alpinestars - Fox Head - Kickstart Industries - JP Preformance

199

Nathan Crawford

Husqvarna

Husqvarna Racing Team - BEL HELMETS - Belray Oils - Alpinestar - P2P Replenish - Oakley - Advanti

265

Jamie Harvey

Suzuki

Raceline Performance

306

Geoffrey Chalmers

KTM

EDD racing - PMR suspension - ipone - JR Motorcycles - Dunlop

430

Dean Porter

KTM

Berry Sweet Strawberries - Mandurah City KTM - fasthouse - troy lee designs - Spy goggles - KTM power

432

James Jafer

Kawasaki

TATTOO RACING AUSTRALIA - Krooze Tune

120

Team Bunbury ktm and Suzuki , fox, motorex oils, Dunlop tyres

*Available at participating Mule dealers only. Mule 600, Mule 610 & Mule 610XC Outback Pack inclusions: Roof Kit, Trailer Hitch & Ball, Air Filter, Oil Filter, Outback Pack decal set and Freight for Outback Pack only â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Retail Value $650. Mule PRO-DX Outback Pack inclusions: Roof Kit, Trailer Hitch & Ball, Rear View Mirror, Horn, Air Filter, Oil filter, Outback Pack decal set and Freight for Outback Pack only â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Retail Value $800. The Outback Kits do not include fitting by the Kawasaki dealership. Fitting is to be negotiated by the customer with the dealership. Check www.kawasaki.com.au for promotion start and finish dates. Vehicle must be collected from the dealership prior to the promotion end date. The Outback Pack will be sent to the dealership after the vehicle is purchased and Kawasaki Motors Australia is notified of the sale. The model year, colour & graphics may vary on the dealership floors when compared to the promotional materials. kawasakiaus

www.kawasaki.com.au

R N D

M X D 122

MXD PRESENTED BY:

MITCH EVANS

TAKES THE RED PLATE Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Mitchell Evans has gone undefeated for the second time this season, and secured the Pirelli MXD red plate after a dominant outing at Round 8 of the Motul MX Nationals at Shepparton in Victoria today. When the Pirelli MXD class headed out for their qualifying session this morning, Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Evans took no time at all to shoot to the top of the time sheets, putting down

a 1:42.252 lap time, ahead of Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Wade Kirkland and Yamaha’s Lochie Latimer who who finished this morning’s session with second and third picks of the grid. When bikes headed to the line for their first concrete start of the weekend, smoke poured off the Pirelli MXD rider’s tyres, with competitors doing their best to warm their starting pads up, ahead of race one commencing. And when gates 123

dropped, it was KTM’s Luke Abela who took the MXstore holeshot, however it only took two turns for red plate holder Connor Tierney to move in to the race lead. But, after going undefeated at Conondale, Evans was carrying significant momentum in to Round 8, and before long had capitalised on a mistake from Tierney – moving in to the top spot, followed by Abela and Kirkland. After three laps, Evans had stretched out his lead to an impressive 14 seconds, leaving the fight for remaining positions to happen behind him, and fight they did. Before long, Husqvarna’s Zak Small had made the pass on Kirkland for third, where he then eyed off Abela, and after a few turns had made a successful pass on Abela’s KTM machine to move in to an impressive second position. Unfortunately for Abela, Small’s pass would only be the first – Kirkland becoming the second rider to follow suit – redeeming himself to make the pass back for third place, relegating Abela to fourth. 124

Once riders had reached the half way point in moto one, the running order saw Evans with a commanding race lead, followed by Small, Kirkland, Husqvarna’s Justin Hart and Abela who completed the top five. A notable absentee from the front of the pack was Tierney, who was back in 11th position. With two minutes left on the clock for the MXD competitors, there had been no change to positions, however Evans had stretched out his lead to an unbelievable 28 seconds. So when the chequered flag flew, Evans had plenty of reason to celebrate, taking an emphatic race one victory, from Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Kirkland who managed to make his way up to second, followed by Small who dropped back a position but wrapped up race one in third. Fourth place is race one was taken by young KTM rider Cooper Pozniak, while Hart completed the top five finishing positions. When race two kicked off, once again it was Evans who got to the early race lead, followed by Small and Kirkland

“WHEN YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU’RE HAVING FUN, THAT’S WHEN YOU RIDE YOUR BEST SO I’M JUST FOCUSSING ON PUTTING IN HARD WORK AND ENJOYING MYSELF, AND IT’S ALL PAID OFF. “ - MITCHELL EVANS

in second and third behind him. With the track rougher and ruttier than many riders had seen in years, navigating the Shepparton circuit this afternoon proved to be much more difficult than many had expected. However, the competitors in the Pirelli MXD class rose to the occasion, and by the time moto one had reached the half way mark, Evans once again showcased his dominant form out in front, followed by Small, Kirkland and red plate holder Tierney. With four minutes left on the clock, there had been little change to the running order, with competitors all settling in to their respective positions, so when the last lap board was shown, once again Evans was in the box seat to take his fourth consecutive race win over the last two rounds. And when the chequered flag flew, Evans went undefeated, taking the final race win from Tierney who had shot from 125

fourth to second position in the closing stages of the race, while Kirkland crossed the line in the final moto in third. Pozniak wrapped up the final race of the day with a consistent fourth place, followed by Kaleb Barham who completed the top five finishing positions. With 1,1 results once again, Yamalube Yamaha Racing Team’s Evans was awarded with the Round 8 victory, while second place on the podium was taken by Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Kirkland, and third was snatched up by KTM’s Pozniak. Evans now leads the Pirelli MXD Championship by three points with two rounds remaining.

Mitchell Evans after winning round 8 “I’ve definitely got a lot more confidence after this round, going 1,1 gives you a lot of confidence and it’s good for the points chase so I couldn’t be happier,” Evans shared. “It was a bit of a slow start to the series for me, but now we’ve got the red plate and we’re back on track. Mike Ward, my mechanic has been helping me out heaps and getting me back training, so I’m feeling 100 per cent. “Now that I’ve got the red plate, and I’m heading back to my home state I couldn’t be more confident for the next two rounds.”

T H E R E S U LT S

126

MXD Round Results:

MXD Championship Standings:

1) Mitchell Evans – 70 points 2) Wade Kirkland – 62 points 3) Cooper Pozniak – 56 points 4) Connor Tierney – 54 points 5) Kaleb Barham – 50 points 6) Luke Abela – 50 points 7) Justin Hart – 48 points 8) Levi McManus – 47 points 9) Hugh McKay – 40 points 10) Jackson Coulson – 38 points

1) Mitchell Evans – 416 points 2) Connor Tierney – 413 points 3) Wade Kirkland – 404 points 4) Cooper Pozniak – 394 points 5) Kaleb Barham – 350 points 6) Zak Small – 324 points 7) Jordan Hill – 322 points 8) Lochie Latimer – 303 points 9) Hugh McKay – 268 points 10) Levi McManus – 245 points

127

PRESENTS

MXD RIDER LIST #

Name

Manufacture Sponsors

Wade Kirkland

KTM

ktm - raceline - pirelli - alpinestar - motorex

Connor Tierney

Husqvarna

Husqvarna - Goldfields People Hire - Tierney Contracting PL - MXR&D - MXINK

Kaleb Barham

Husqvarna

SD3 Husqvarna - Husqvarna Australia - Fox - Shift - Oakley - Belray - Dunlop - Rival Ink - Toowoomba

Cooper Pozniak

KTM

lusty industries - KTM Australia - Fast House - Newcastle KTM - CFX Seats - WillMax - all Pro racing

Dylan Wood

Kawasaki

Pirelli - Fox - AXIS Motorsport - MDM Racing - Singleton Motorcycles

Mitchell Evans

Yamaha

Yamalube Yamaha Racing - Yamaha

Hugh McKay

Yamaha

Proformance Race Team - Yamaha - Bulk Nutrients - Maxima - Procircuit - Pirelli - Scott - MX Ink

Trae Kuehn

Husqvarna

MPE Suspension - Ben Schodel MX Coaching - Crossfit 4551 Caloundra - Spent Clothing - Mass Nutrition

Jordan Hill

Yamaha

Yamalube Yamaha Racing

Levi McManus

Suzuki

Deakin Motorcycles - RaceLine Performance - Power Plus Racing Fuels - WillMax Graphics - Rebel Racing

105

Jackson Coulson

Yamaha

City West Motorcycles

116

Sam Pelz

Yamaha

R Pelz Haulage Pty, Ltd, Doyle & Shields Motorcycles, Evans Petroleum, Beaton Pro Formula, Monza,

127

Cory Watts

Honda

Scrivens Racing Honda, KCR, KAJX, Mooores Bulk Haulage, LOWES BP, Choice suspension, Fox, Astars

168

Zhane Dunlop

Yamaha

Dragon Goggles - Thor - Custom Mx - Costanzo Racing - Top Gun Motorcycles - M2R Helmets - Kwala

195

Justin Hart

Husqvarna

HUSQVARNA AUSTRALIA - TYRES FOR BIKES - HART ROOFING - PIRELLI - MOTUL - DID CHAINS

198

Luke Abela

KTM

Davey MotorSports - MossInstitute - SPMX - DreamersandBelieversApparel - TheCollectiveFamily - ETS

214

Jai Quinlan

Kawasaki

JBC Motorsports - Teammoto Kawasaki Maroochydore - GoldenTyre

219

Lachlan Wilson

Yamaha

Next level Coaching - Avi John Contracting - MXRND - Admart Constructions - Excite Motorsports

223

Tristan Owen

KTM

KTM - Nt motorcycle centre

224

Jaiden Corrigan

Yamaha

city coast m/c - MXTS

237

Zak Small

Husqvarna

Husqvarna Australia - Mega Motorcycles Bundaberg - Fox - Motorex Oils - Pirelli - MPE Suspension

288

Tom West

KTM

Bunbury KTM - Fox - Valvoline - Dunlop - Tyreplus Maddington - Bell Helmets - Motorex

353

Cody McMahon

KTM

Suttos - Mag Wheel Repairs - Sutto's Motorex KTM Racing Team

602

Lochie Latimer

Yamaha

TLR - Fuchs Silkolene - Ride Tribe - FXR Racing - Goodridge - Moto Junkie Clothing - Dinasaw

887

Billy Harth

KTM

Troy Lee Designs - Fastlane Mx Performance - KTM - Motorex - TeamMoto Moorooka - A1 Accessories

128

E K I B L A I C I F F O THE

S L A N O I T A N X M WASH OF THE

R A C E L I N E . C O M . A U

PRESENTS

AMATUAR CUP RIDER LIST

Name

Manufacture

Sponsors

Lachy Steen

Yamaha

wbr racing - repco service castlemaine

Callum Wastell

KTM

BLU Logistic Solutions

Danielle Foot

KTM

Madas Racing - MotoTech Geelong , JC Suspension,Oates MX , Troy Lee Design, CLICKR ,FIST

Brad Polsoni

KTM

KTM - Choice MX Coaching - Throttle Riders - Motorex - Waterwise Plumbing

Brodie Ravenhorst

KTM

TRMOTORSPORT - Bolt - Traralgon tattoos - Kickstart industries - Marriotts Ktm - Maxima Oils - TSP

Kerrod Morrissy

KTM

Qld Bike & 4wd

Samantha Beecroft

Yamaha

First Class Motorcycles Lilydale - Pick Me Up Mowers - NGK - XTM Preformance - Brink Boots

130

Mark Godwin

Kawasaki

AMC Racing Team - Snap-on Tools Darling Downs - EKS Goggles - Troy Lee Designs - Ipone -

141

Joel Newton

Suzuki

Pirelli - Davis Bike Worx

199

Justin Hill

Kawasaki

WBR motorcycles

212

Adam Winnell

Suzuki

290

Nicholas Davis

Yamaha

387

Daniel Webber

Yamaha

Echuca yamaha and Chads off road set ups

400

Nicholas Russell

Yamaha

Elite motorcycles

452

Luke Kilborn

Suzuki

494

daniel figueroa

Yamaha

Flightpath Materials - Torque Motorcycles - Dragon Goggles - EZE Race Products

530

Matthew Lyall

Yamaha

LMX - Barryfrancis motorcycles - Sk designs - sixty7 - Ride park vic - Dirty bits moto accessories - bro

604

Daniel Dingle

Yamaha

dany walker plastering - sixty7 mx gear

700

Lily Kent

KTM

737

Jack Davey

KTM

KTM - davey motorsports

836

Jonathan Wheeler

Kawasaki

Queensland Bike and 4wd

130

PRESENTS

8 5 C C C UP R I D ER LIST

Name

Manufacture

Sponsors

Joshua Zorbas

Husqvarna

Reid Taylor

Husqvarna

Husqvana junior factory team - Pirelli - Hg stickers - Rock motorcycles

Blake Hollis

KTM

SUTTOS KTM MOTOREX TEAM LKI MOOSE RACING ZERO MX COOKS PLUMBING SUPPLIES

Noah Ferguson

KTM

1300 Locate Racing - Golden Tyres Australia - Full Force Racing Componets - Stegpegz - Twisted

Bailey Malkiewicz

Husqvarna

Husqvarna Junior Racing Team - Belray - Moto GC - Thor - HG Stickers - Pod Active - Brigdestone

Dylan Vivian

ktm

KTM - Motorex - Pirelli - Pro Motorcycles Sunshine Coast - JC Hire Sunshine Coast

Reece Crutch

KTM

Penrite Oils - BEAR MX - CFX Seats - Killa Headpones

Ryan Morgan

KTM

Sutto''s Motorex KTM, Zero MX Graphics

132

Lyle Byrne

KTM

227

Billy Payne

KTM

Dirt Bike Factory Wollongong, Race Pace MX Coaching

241

Tyler Darby

KTM

Moss institute, MCD Development , Backflips clothing ,Athlete performance training Tahmoor ,CFX

284

John Bova

KTM

SS Racing, Link Int. Coastal KTM, LKI, Mongrel Graphics, SRD Suspension

628

Ricky chalmers

KTM

131

PRESENTS

R O O K I E S R ID ER LI ST

Name

Manufacture

Sponsors

Jake Williams

Yamaha

Yamaha Junior Racing - MPE Suspension

Levi Rogers

Yamaha

YJR - Yamaha Junior Racing Qld

Mason Semmens

KTM

KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team - Alltech Suspension

Connor McNamara

Husqvarna

Morgan Fogarty

KTM

Beatons Pro Formula. Ipone oils. - KTM, Evolution motorcycles, Pumpworks, Maben, KroozeTune, Fox

Royce Anell

KTM

Ellroy Insulation Contractors - Racemaster Australia

Lachlan Wells

KTM

Filthy Habits Clothing Co - Southern Highlands Motorcycle Centre

Bailey Malkiewicz

Husqvarna

Husqvarna Junior Racing Team - Belray - Moto GC - Thor - HG Stickers - Pod Active - Brigdestone

Chandler Burns

KTM

Davey Motorsports - Perelli - Motorex - Able On site Services - Fox Australia - The Collective Family

Jaxon Murphy

KTM

Jake Cobbin

Yamaha

Hardiman MC - Fox Shox - Kenda Tyres - Lucas Oil

Dylan Vivian

ktm

KTM - Motorex - Pirelli - Pro Motorcycles Sunshine Coast - JC Hire Sunshine Coast

Ryan Morgan

KTM

Sutto''s Motorex KTM, Zero MX Graphics

100

Jy Roberts

Husqvarna

Husqvarna Australia Junior Motorcross Team, Axo, Ipone, Hg Stickers, Powerplus Racing Fuel, Pirelli,

121

Liam Walsh

KTM

NT Motorcycle Centre - RGM Maintenance - Fox Head Au - SPMX Motorsport - EK Chain

153

Korey McMahon

KTM

suttos/mag wheel repairs

213

Ben Savell

Kawasaki

284

John Bova

KTM

SS Racing, Link Int. Coastal KTM, LKI, Mongrel Graphics, SRD Suspension

288

Michael Driscoll

Yamaha

Yamaha Junior Racing - YAMAHA Motors Australia / GYTR - The Realty Group Macarthur - Corbetts

345

Jack Kukas

Yamaha

Topgun BSMX

492

Jono cordwell

Yamaha

MOTOSOLUTIONS

132

PRESENTS

WO M E N S R ID ER LI ST

Name

Manufacture

Sponsors

Emma Milesevic

Yamaha

CTI Knee Braces - Ethika - Moto Tasinari - Yamaha Australia - Flightpath Materials - Full Force Racing

F11

Chelsea Carter

Husqvarna

CRC Racing - Moss Institute - John Prior mx - Lyn Summers Stock Coarse - Pro Powder Powder

Stephanie Maule

Kawasaki

Ride tribe - FXR racing

Jamie Sanders

Husqvarna

Pro Powder Powdercoating - iCan Athlete Development

G17

Oleana Crawford

Husqvarna

Courtney Whyte - Dennis Yamaha

Peter Stevens Motorcycles - Mitas tyres - Fox - Dreamers and Believers Apparel - TJP Suspension -

W18

Maddy Brown

Yamaha

DPH MOTORSPORT

Tahlia Lang

Yamaha

Steve''s Menswear Manjimup - Teencee Graphics - Black Anchor Tattoo Studio Busselton - Chainreac

Steph Cutler

Honda

Northern Motorcycles - SK Designs - BMS Racing

Danielle Foot

KTM

Madas Racing - MotoTech Geelong , JC Suspension,Oates MX , Troy Lee Design, CLICKR ,FIST

alana king

Yamaha

Fleur Barling

Suzuki

Mum and dad - Colac motorcycles, holeshot hog graphics, mitas tyres

Meghan Rutledge

Kawasaki

Kawasaki Australia - Fox - Hitachi Power Tools Australia - Smart City Vocational College - Rockwell

F70

Charlotte Gamble

Yamaha

Yandina Motorcycles - Admissive Clothing - Pirelli - Pete's Trackside Suspension

Bianca Barnett

Yamaha

W86

Jessica Moore

KTM

KTM Australia - Pirelli - EBM Insurance - Nine Two Decals

Samantha Beecroft

Yamaha

First Class Motorcycles Lilydale - Pick Me Up Mowers - NGK - XTM Preformance - Brink Boots

Tayla Jones

Yamaha

Active 8 Yamaha - Three six motorsports - Yamaha - Yamalube - GYTR - Michelin - Thor - Spy - Virus

155

Tamara Gray

KTM

QLD KTM Womens Team

169

Leeha Worthington

Yamaha

Southwest Yamaha

252

Sarah Guthrie

KTM

Qld KTM Womens Team

329

Megan Bagnall

Yamaha

Jims Antennas - Fly Racing - Yamalube - Cully''s Yamaha

539

Chelsea Blakers

Yamaha

Steve''s Menswear Manjimup - Kurupt Industries - Teencee Graphics - South West Yamaha

623

Hannah Bagnall

Yamaha

Fly Racing - Cully''s Yamaha

687

Brooke Thiemann

KTM

700

Lily Kent

KTM

737

Jessica Gardiner

Yamaha

133

PRIVATEERS CUP MOTUL MX1 SOUTH PRIVATEER CUP ROUND 4 - SHEPPARTON

CONGRATULATIONS 1st PLACE: JOEL GREEN

1stValue PRIZE $199.00

OFFICIAL LUBRICANT PARTNER 160074

motulaus

PRIVATEERS CUP PIRELLI MX2 SOUTH PRIVATEER CUP ROUND 4 - SHEPPARTON

CONGRATULATIONS 1st PLACE: ALLISTER KENT 2nd PLACE: TOM RAVENHORST

nd 1stValue PRIZE 2 PRIZE $235 Value $129

OFFICIAL TYRE PARTNER FEEL THE CHAMPIONSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; INSTINCT 160073

COMP CODE: 12-JEDBEATON

k : Craig Dac R E G A N A F NER / M aha YZ450 TEAM OW m a Y : S E IK B S WON: 37 IP H S N IO P CHAM

#111

FERRIS #111 DEAN Class: MX1 Age: 25 W : Kyogle NS Hometown zer Aiden Melt Mechanic: heel111 IG: @ferrisw

#122

N L REARDO #122 DANIE Class: MX1 Age: 30 t : Gold Coas Hometown man Mike Land Mechanic: ardon122 IG: @danre

CRASHES THWART FERRIS’ CHARGE AT MX NATIONALS

It was a day of frustration for the CDR Yamaha team as MX1 championship contender, Dean Ferris, made two small but costly mistakes that kept him from the top spot at round eight of the MX Nationals, held at Shepparton, over the weekend. Persistent lead up rain made the tight Shepparton circuit difficult to ride with long, deep ruts

lead and inched out a small gap over his rival. But on the final lap and with the race seemingly in the bag, Ferris went down allowing Gibbs to sneak by and pinch the race win. In what is the narrowest of margins, the round victory went to Kirk Gibbs on 65 points with his 3-1 results, who won the day on a count back with Todd

and varying surface conditions that had riders and teams on their toes all day. Conditions like these are tailor made for a rider like Ferris and he was confident of a good performance and ready to make more inroads on the championship table. After a good qualifying session, Ferris was ready to go for race one and instantly slotted himself into the top three as the field charged into their opening lap. He sprinted to the lead and tried to make a gap as his rivals jostled for positions behind him. 15 minutes into the race and Ferris was looking good, holding down the lead but on lap 10 he fell from his machine and as he rushed to get back on the bike, dropped two positions to be third. With time running out in the moto, Ferris desperately clawed his way to the rear wheel of the second placed rider, Kirk Gibbs, and made a bold move to take the spot with just one lap remaining. Race one saw Todd Waters take the win ahead of Ferris and Gibbs as the three riders pursue the MX1 championship with spirit and vigor. Race two saw Gibbs take the lead but Ferris slowly but surely closed in on the lead and by the half way stage, he was wearing Gibbs like a cheap suit. With less than a handful of laps remaining, Ferris went from the hunter to the hunted as he moved into the

Waters who finished with a 1-3. Ferris took 64 points home with his 2-2 results. “I’m so angry with myself,” Ferris fumed. “I don’t know what else to say! I’m angry, disappointed and a whole heap of other emotions but I’m going to use that to drive me for the final two rounds. I’m better than what happened today and I’m going to prove it at the last two rounds,” Ferris said with venom. So, with two rounds remaining, the stage is set for one of the most epic finishes in MX Nationals history with the top three riders in the premier MX1 class separated by just 16 points. The final two rounds are set down for Toowoomba and Coolum both tracks where all three riders have had plenty of experience. “It was the day that could have been,” said team manager, Craig Dack. “Dean had both races under control but he couldn’t close it out. I know he is fuming, so we will just let the emotion settle and then go through the races and work out the things he could have done better and coach him through it. “It was a rough day but he has the speed and skill to win this championship and, after today, a lot more motivation. Knowing Dean, no one will work harder in the next three weeks and as a team we will leave no stone unturned in chasing this championship,” Dack concludes.

FACEBOOK: /cdryamaha

INSTAGRAM: @cdryamaha

s : Gavin Eale R E G A N A F NER / M aha YZ250 TEAM OW m a Y : S E IK B IPS WON: 4 H S N IO P M CHA

TODD #2 WILSON Class: MX2 Age: 18 QLD : Atherton, Hometown nes Peter Rabjo Mechanic: todd2 IG: @wilson

#23

HUNTER #23 WADE Class: MX2 Age: 21 D : Cairns, QL Hometown rew Stoppa d n A : ic n a h Mec hunter IG: @wade

SERCO YAMAHA’S SPIRITED FIGHT AT BROADFORD MX NATS

RIDER 2015 TITLE Dan Reardon AUS SX Romain Febvre MXGP Jay Wilson AUS MX Cooper Webb AMA SX Dan Milner A4DE Wilson Todd AUS MXD Hunter Lawrence AUS MXR

MODEL YZ450F YZ450F YZ250F YZ250F YZ450F YZ250F YZ250F

YAMAHA WINS, YOU BENEFIT!

1.00% comparison rate is available on new YZ250F/FX, YZ450F/FX and sports ATVs – plus all variants thereof. Finance is to approved purchasers only, conditions, fees and charges apply. Offer available while stocks last, at participating dealers on a loan term of either 24 or 36 month only. The comparison rate 1.00% is based on a secure loan for $10,000 over 3 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might results in a different comparison rate. Promotion starts on 14/03/16 and ends on 31/05/16. Credit is provided by Yamaha Motor Finance Australia Pty Ltd. ABN 29 101 928 670 Australian Credit License No:394553

FACEBOOK: /SercoYamaha

INSTAGRAM: @sercoyamaha

p cott Bisho S : R E G A N F TEAM MA AHA YZ250 M A Y : S E BIK IPS WON: 4 H S N IO P M CHA

#43

EVANS #43 MITCH Class: MXD Age: 17 D : Cairns, QL Hometown y Cory Hillsle Mechanic: evans43 IG: @mitch

#88

N HILL #88 JORDA Class: MXD Age: 17 D : Noosa, QL Hometown Mike Ward Mechanic: hill88 IG: @jordan

EVANS TAKES TWO IN A ROW AT MX NATIONALS

Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Mitch Evans made it two round wins in a row after another commanding performance at round eight of the MX Nationals at Shepparton in Victoria that saw him take both race victories in a stellar day for the north Queenslander. The mid-season form revival has now seen Evans move into the championship lead after round eight but with points extremely tight at the top of the MXD points table, Evans is aware there is still a lot of work to be done. On a wet, rutty and challenging Shepparton circuit, Evans started the day out in good fashion taking the fastest qualifying lap and getting the allimportant first pick of the starting gate for race one. Powering into the first turn in race one inside the top five, Evans quickly went to work and charged his way to the front in the opening minutes. From there, he was able to increase his lead in each and every lap, circulating much faster than his rivals on a track that really separated the riders. With a lead of around 40 seconds, Evans took the win in the opening moto and was confident of a repeat in the second leg. Race two and Evans hit the lead on the second corner and instantly gapped the field. He motored away and took control of the race to again build a large cushion between himself and the chasing pack. By the mid-way point, Evans needed to only race sensibly to take the win and that’s exactly what he did and as a result, he moved to the top of the points table with two rounds remaining. “Today was a good day for me and a track like this is what I really enjoy racing on,” Evans mentions. “The long ruts and technical sections takes a bit of thought and technique to get through and today I was

FACEBOOK: /GYTRYamaha

just feeling great on the bike. “To win the round is awesome and its’ good to grab the red plate but the priority is always about the way I ride and race and if I continue to do that well, then the race wins and championship takes care of itself. “We have a couple of weeks break before round nine at Toowoomba so we will all continue to work hard and give it everything we have as the team has done for the first eight rounds,” Evans finished. The news wasn’t so great for team mate Jordan Hill. Hill fell at a race last weekend in Queensland and dislocated his shoulder. Under considerable pain, Hill tried to ride and amazingly managed to qualify in P8 but looked extremely tentative on the bike as he nursed his injury. Race one got under way and Hill was edging his way forward when he fell in a rutted section and couldn’t get out from under his bike. He then withdrew from racing for the remainder of the day as the pain of the injury was too much to bare and he can get himself into shape for the final two rounds. “I tried to ride but the pain in my shoulder was too much on a track like this. I had some strength on the up and down movement of it but it was the side to side movements in the long ruts that I really struggled with and I could feel the shoulder moving on the bigger bumps so I decided to shut it down for the day. “It’s really disappointing for me and the team as they put in a big effort to get me here. I also want to thank Simon and everyone at RACESAFE for all their efforts. “I will get onto the rehab and come back swinging at the final two rounds,” Hill commented.

INSTAGRAM: @yamalube_yamaha_racing

n yle Blunde K : R E G A N TEAM MA M 250 SX-F T K , F X S 0 45 BIKES: KTM S WON: 20 IP H S N IO P CHAM

BS #1 KIRK GIB Class: MX1 A Age: 27 Gambier, S t n u o M : n Hometow en Kyle Blund : ic n a h c e M bs IG: @kirkgib

E DOBSON #414 JESS Class: MX1 9 1 : e g A QLD : Brisbane, n w to e m o H Jordan Yeo Mechanic: obson414 IG: @jessed WARD #17 CALEB Class: MX2 9 1 : e g A e, FNQ : Ravensho n w to e m o H an Jess Forem Mechanic: _ward17 IG: @caleb #17

#414

KTM’S GIBBS WINS A TECHY SHEPPARTON

KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Kirk Gibbs added another victory to his MX Nationals title defence when he won the eighth round of Australia’s premier motocross championship at Shepparton in Victoria. Gibbs won the round ahead of Todd Waters and Dean Ferris. The reigning number one plate holder kicked off the day with the fastest qualifying time, then a victory in Superpole, before going on to take third in the opening moto after an average start. Gibbs took the holeshot in the second and after an intense battle with championship rival Ferris, went on to win the day and the round, extending his lead over Ferris to nine points. KTM team mate Jesse Dobson again showed his uncanny ability to bounce back from injury straight into a top five position in the premier class, qualifying third fastest in the morning and finishing with 6, 5 results for fifth on the day. Kirk Gibbs (KTM 450 SX-F) – “The day was pretty good. I qualified fastest and got Superpole, which is an area I’ve been lacking in the last few rounds. First race I had a really bad start but I pushed hard in the first two laps and got into third. Dean and Todd had a couple of seconds on me and I was fighting hard to stay with them but I got a bit of arm pump. From there, you’ve just got to ride within yourself without crashing. Dean went down and I was in second, but in the last two laps he found some good lines and ended up passing me. In the second I holeshot and lead for the majority of the race, but Dean passed me and he had a really good pace going as well. I just tried to stay with him and he only had a very small buffer in the last laps, but he threw it away with four turns to go and he handed me the win. I don’t like to win that way but I’ll take it. I rode a lot better in that second moto and it’s good to make some points up!” Jesse Dobson (KTM 450 SX-F) – “For my first race in eight weeks it wasn’t too bad – it’s something

FACEBOOK: /KTMAustralia

to build off. First race I was disappointed with – I tried to go a little bit too hard, too fast, and found myself on the ground and pumped up really quick with my arms. That race was a struggle even though I had good speed at the start. In the second I again got off the concrete poorly, but I put myself in a good position and just rode around. I’ve got a lot of work to do to try to be up there with Gibbsy and Dean and Toddy at the moment, they are riding really good. So I’ll work hard in the next three weeks and try really hard to be on the podium in Toowoomba and at Coolum.” In MX2 racing, KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Caleb Ward moved to within 15 points of the championship lead with a second place at Shepparton behind Jed Beaton and ahead of championship leader Nathan Crawford. Ward suffered another poor start in the first Moto but powered his KTM 250 SX-F through to fifth place, before a better start in the final Moto allowed the likeable north Queenslander to demonstrate his incredible speed with a craftsmanlike victory. Caleb Ward (KTM 250 SX-F) – “The first Moto was not very good at all, I got a horrible start and I spun on the concrete then got pinched out of the gate, I made my way through the pack – it was just chaos out there with people getting loose and crashing – I managed to come through to fifth, but it was really disappointing after my starts at Conondale. Second Moto I spun again but I got a bit lucky in the first corner around sixth. From there I pretty-much had the mindset that I was going to win the race. I wanted it bad. I got onto the back of Nathan and Jed and managed to make the passes. The track was really technical and it was a case of just trying to maintain the lead. I’m 15 points off the championship lead and anything can happen from here. I’ve got four motos left so I will just give it my all. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

INSTAGRAM: @ktm.australia

Tisdale GER: Chris A N A M M A TE 250SX-F BIKES: KTM

#64

WILLS #64 DYLAN Class: MX2 Age: 20 W : Como, NS Hometown es Josh Smail Mechanic: wills64 IG: @dylan

IRKLAND #5 WADE K Class: MXD ia Age: 16 er, Tasman d n a m a c S : Hometown m Dylan Pilgri Mechanic: dwade IG: @kirklan

PODIUM FINISH FOR RACELINE PIRELLI KTM’S KIRKLAND AT ROUND 8

Raceline Pirelli KTM has recorded yet another podium finish, with Pirelli MXD pilot Wade Kirkland securing second overall, while MX2 team rider Dylan Wills was once again consistent at Round 8 of the MX Nationals in Shepparton on the weekend. With a tough round at Conondale well and truly behind them, both Wills and Kirkland headed to Shepparton with the anticipation of improved results, and despite the challenging rutty conditions, both riders left the track with plenty of positives yesterday. Despite being his first year in senior racing, Kirkland showed speed from the minute bikes hit the track yesterday, qualifying in an impressive second position in the Pirelli MXD class. Following a positive qualifying, Kirkland raced to 2nd position in moto one, and 3rd in race two, to conclude the round just shy of the Pirelli MXD top step, in 2nd overall. For Wills, Round 8 of the MX Nationals proved to be somewhat difficult. After qualifying in sixth place Wills crashed off the start in moto one, forcing him to claw back positions from nearly dead last, eventually finishing in seventh place. In race two, the track was deeper and ruttier than ever, however Wills took to the conditions and concluded the final moto of the day in 8th. With two top ten results, Wills wrapped up the round in a consistent 7th overall. After the weekend’s racing, Kirkland maintains third position in the Pirelli MXD Championship standings, while Wills sits in sixth in the MX2 standings, with two rounds of racing remaining.

“In moto one, I got a decent start but tipped over going into the first turn, so I started that race from the back but fought my way back to seventh which I was pretty happy with especially with the MX2 class stacked with talent this year, so to pass that many guys was pretty cool! “In moto two I started in about tenth and made my way up the field in the first two laps, but then just struggled to break free from a little four-way battle and got caught up making mistakes and a little crash. I got up and got back to eighth. “All in all, it wasn’t an awesome day, but we definitely have positives to take away from it. I had fun going racing with the team, and my bike is awesome! I do feel like I’m getting better, and I’m looking forward to these last two rounds!” Wade Kirkland – MXD 2nd Overall (2nd, 3rd) “Second overall is another pretty consistent result which keeps me going in the championship,” Kirkland said. “I don’t really get to ride the ruts very much in Tassie so I struggled with them. They were difficult, deep, and just hard to balance because they were so long, and bumpy. “It was definitely tacky dirt, but it had those woodchips in it which was a little bit slippery in some spots, because it is so hard packed. “But it’s good fun and it’s all good practice. We’re only 12 points off the lead in the championship now so anything can happen!”

Dylan Wills – MX2 – 7th Overall (7th, 8th) “Round 8 at Shepparton was a tough one – I qualified sixth which I was happy about, I was right there with the times and I felt good,” Wills shared

FACEBOOK: /raceline.liquid.technology

INSTAGRAM: @raceline_motosport

SX , KTM 250 F X S 0 5 2 ES: KTM

BIK

SUPPORT RIDERS #17

K ER POZNIA #17 COOP Class: MXD Age: 17 SW odrising, N o W : n w to Home Darren Mechanic: rpozniak17 IG: @coope

RYKERS #3 JAYDEN Class: MX2 Age: 19 A : Byford, W Hometown kers Graham Ry Mechanic: rykers3 IG: @jayden

JAYDEN RYKERS MAINTAINS CONSISTENCY

In MX2 racing, KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Caleb Ward moved to within 15 points of the championship lead with a second place at Shepparton behind Jed Beaton and ahead of championship leader Nathan Crawford. Ward suffered another poor start in the first Moto but powered his KTM 250 SX-F through to fifth place, before a better start in the final Moto allowed the likeable north Queenslander to demonstrate his incredible speed with a craftsman-like victory. Davey Motorsports rider Jayden Rykers finished with a pair of fourths for fifth on the day on the KTM 250 SX, while KTM Raceline Pirelli rider Dylan Wills was the next best of the orange men, his 7-8 finishes, earning seventh on the day. Jayden Rykers (KTM 250 SX) – “It wasn’t a good weekend, and it wasn’t a bad one. We start off qualifying pretty good in third and in the first moto I got off to a holeshot. I hadn’t been in that situation all year and I made two big mistakes on that first lap and went off track and came back to fourth, which I maintained for the rest of the race. I didn’t feel that good on the

FACEBOOK: /KTMAustralia

bike in either moto and I just wasn’t following the ruts. In the second Moto I finished fourth as well – but when I get a holeshot like in the first I should be able to win the moto, easy.” In the MXD class, KTM’s young up-and-coming hotshots, Raceline Pirelli KTM rider Wade Kirkland and KTM Newcastle rider Cooper Pozniak finished second and third on the day behind championship co-leader Mitch Evans. Kirkland won the opening moto before going on to finish third in the second moto, while Pozniak took 4, 4 finishes at Shepparton, both aboard KTM 250 SX-F machines.

INSTAGRAM: @ktm.australia

ll : Troy Carro R E G A N A F TEAM M F & KX250 0 5 4 X K i k a as BIKES: Kaw IPS WON: 1 H S N IO P M CHA

MOSS #102 MATT Class: MX1 Age: 27 t, NSW Sussex Inle : n w to e m Ho ale Paul Teasd : ic n a h c e M 102 IG: @mossy OSIG #8 KADE M Class: MX1 6 2 : e g A le, VIC : Pearceda n w to e m o H Ben Dutton Mechanic: 8 IG: @mosig OSS # 6 JAKE M Class: MX2 7 2 : e g A NSW : Neringah, n w to e m o H ders Luke Saun Mechanic: oss06 IG: @jakem #8

KADE MOSIG FOURTH AT SHEPPARTON

National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kade Mosig has further consolidated his position near the front of the 2016 MX Nationals championship with a brace of fourth positions at Shepparton, Victoria, on Sunday. At the venue where he claimed the round win last year, the Victorian-born Mosig had a very consistent day around the demanding, technical track. After finishing fourth in Super Pole, Mosig and his 2016 KX450F then backed up that result with fourth-place finishes in both 30-minute plus two-lap races. The result has also seen him cement his top four MX1 championship position, but he knows he still has work to do to break into the top three before the season’s out. “To be honest I’m not overly pumped with my results today, but I was consistent and fourth position seems to be where I’ve landed myself throughout the year,” Mosig reflected. “I struggled a lot in the first

moto but we made some big changes between races and I found a lot of speed and intensity in the second race and could push a bit harder. “The pace of the top three riders this year is definitely fast and I’m enjoying trying to find the levels in myself and pushing those levels every week. We’ve got a bit more to find to break into the top three, but I know I can do it and I believe in myself and the team around me. We’ll keep our heads down, work hard, and hopefully we can get on the podium over the next two rounds.” The 2016 MX Nationals now heads into a threeweek break before the final two Queensland races at Toowoomba and Coolum are held on back-to-back weekends, starting on 21 August. Mosig’s currently fourth in the standings following eight rounds.

FACEBOOK: /KawasakiAustraliaMXRacingTeam

INSTAGRAM: @kawasakimotors

n e McKinno v te S : R E G A 0 TEAM MAN C450, FC25 F a rn a v q s BIKES: Hu

#54

ARBON #54 LUKE Class: MX2 3 2 : e g A : Gawler, SA Hometown on54 IG: @lukearb

#16

BARHAM #16 KALEB Class: MXD 7 1 : e g A nd : Queensla n w to e m o H barham_16 IG: @kaleb_

HUSQVARNA’S KALEB BARHAM GETS TOP 5

In the MXD category, a heavy crash in the opening moto caused Husqvarna Support racer Connor Tierney to relinquish his lead in the Under 19s. Battered and bruised he returned for the second, only to be felled a second time, this time by a fallen rider. SD3 Husqvarna team rider Kaleb Barham climbed one place to fifth in the championship after posting 7, 5 results for fifth overall in Shepparton. Kaleb Barham – “It was an interesting track that’s for sure, but very technical. I did pretty well in the first one considering the concrete start doesn’t really suit me. Being light on the bike has its advantages on the dirt, but it’s a disadvantage on wet concrete. So I came from the last out of the first corner in both motos. I came through to seventh in the first one – didn’t do anything overly spectacular. Then in the second I think I was fourth by the end of the first lap, but then I had a big crash coming down the straight, but I pulled myself up, regrouped and got back to fifth. Without that I’m pretty confident that I would have gotten through to the top three. I’m looking forward to Toowoomba, everyone knows I’m quick around my home track, I hope to make it a fun weekend.”

FACEBOOK: /SD3-Husqvarna

INSTAGRAM: @sd3.husqvarna

sqvarna BIKES: Hu

FC250

RD N CRAWFO A H T A N 9 9 #1 Class: MX2 Age: 18 : Brisbane Hometown n199 IG: @_natha

#199

R TIERNEY #7 CONNO Class: MXD 8 1 : e g A , WA : Kalgoorlie n w to e m o H l_ct7 IG: @therea SMALL #237 ZAK Class: MXD 8 1 : e g A , QLD : Bundaberg n w to e m o H all_ IG: @zaksm

#237

TOUGH DAY FOR THE HUSQVARNA CREW IN SHEPPARTON

Husqvarna’s young Factory Support racers were forced to cop some bitter racing luck on the chin as this year’s MX Nationals passed through Shepparton in Victoria for its eighth round. Husqvarna Factory Support racer Nathan Crawford’s lead in the MX2 championship became a shared one when he rode his Husqvarna FC250 to 3, 3 finishes for third overall behind Jed Beaton and Caleb Ward. Beaton closed the gap in the championship chase, and the stage is now set for a straight-up

sharing the lead than 20 points down. I lost the red plate but we’ve got two Queensland rounds to go, so I’ll be there firing, for sure. The track was a challenge, but it was the same for everyone. I’m not real happy with the end result but I’ve got three weeks to work on improving myself on the bike and hopefully these two Queensland rounds work in my favour.” Connor Tierney – “In the first Moto lead for a lap and then made a small mistake and Mitch got around me. I started chasing him but got a little bit frustrated

fight for the win across the two remaining rounds in Toowoomba and Coolum, with the series third major contender, Caleb Ward just 15 points behind. In the MXD category, a heavy crash in the opening moto caused Husqvarna Support racer Connor Tierney to relinquish his lead in the Under 19s. Battered and bruised he returned for the second, only to be felled a second time, this time by a fallen rider. To his credit Tierney remounted, gritted his teeth and pushed back through to second place, limiting the damage to a three point deficit entering the final two rounds of the championship. Fellow FC250-mounted Husqvarna Factory Support racer Zak Small capitalised on his race one third place and was on track to record his very first national podium – while stuck in third gear – after having snapped off his gear shifter during first lap push and shove. However fate intervened a second time when his clutch lever – apparently fractured during the morning’s practice crash – let go and fell off, dropping Small out of the race a lap later when he stalled with a little over a lap to run… The Toowoomba racer is now eagerly looking forward to the next round of the championship at his home track of Echo Valley in three weeks time. Nathan Crawford – “The day was looking really good, but a few little things went wrong. I could’ve won the first Moto but I got a 15-second penalty, then in the last moto I was right there with the top boys and had a crash. So, 3-3’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. Obviously I’m still on the podium, and I’d rather be

and tucked the front and went down hard. It was one of those hits where you can’t get an ounce of breath in your lungs and you think you are going to die. I ended up getting going. Everything was pretty twisted up and I ended up getting back to ninth, but I was hurting pretty bad after that. I went out for the second one, and was fifth when Cooper crashed in front of me. I went to wheelie over his bike and crashed on him, so we both went down together. I went down to 20th but came back to second so I was pretty happy with that moto. This is the first time I haven’t had the red plate all year, so now I can start chasing it and instead of trying to protect it. Hopefully I can get it back; we’ll see how we go. Zak Small – “I got a pretty average start in the first moto but I made quick work of a lot of riders. I got to second and stayed there until the second last lap when Wade got me. I’d actually had a pretty big crash in practice and qualifying, so to get that first moto out the way was awesome. In the second I got the holeshot and just sat in second for 15 minutes, despite having no gearshift because I snapped it off on the first lap. The bike was stuck in third so that was okay. However, it seems I fractured my clutch lever during the practice crash and didn’t realise it, because it suddenly broke and fell away on the second last lap. I stalled just two corners short of the last lap board and couldn’t restart the bike because I couldn’t pull the clutch in or change gears. I was so close to getting a podium and it was pretty devastating.”

FACEBOOK: /HusqvarnaMotorcyclesAUS

INSTAGRAM: @Husqvarna.aus

ip Harrison P : R E G A N TEAM MA a CRF450R d n o H : S E BIK

SON #6 JAY WIL Class: MX1 Age: 21 W n Innes, NS le G : n w to Home Daryl Fenn Mechanic: son_6 IG: @jaywil

#117

N LONG #117 DYLA Class: MX1 Age: 21 IC : Benalla, V Hometown g rge Rawlin o e G : ic n a h Mec long IG: @dvlan

DIFFICULT OUTING AT SHEPPARTON FOR THE CRANKT PROTEIN HONDA RACING TEAM

The Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team have taken the positives from the weekend despite a challenging Round 8 of the Motul MX Nationals at Shepparton in Victoria on Sunday With MX1 pilot Dylan Long sidelined for the round due to a virus, teammate Jay Wilson flew the Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team flag solo on the weekend, showing plenty of potential, despite suffering some bad luck. After having electrical problems during qualifying, Wilson and the team made some improvements and he looked to redeem himself in moto one. After a great start, Wilson put himself in a position to battle with the front riders, however, only 10 minutes into the moto, Wilson came together with another rider, causing him to lose his exhaust, eventually nursing his machine to the finish line where he concluded the race in 8th place. In moto two, Wilson started strong in position four, and managed to hold off Todd Waters for the first couple of laps. Once Waters came past, Wilson put his head down in chase, but unfortunately that was cut

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short with a crash four laps into the race, re-injuring his wrist which has just been recently operated on forcing him to DNF. “I don’t really know what to say about the weekend other than I’m disappointed,” Wilson shared. “I know that we all have bad days racing but Sunday was definitely one of the toughest so far in my career. “As a team, after yesterday’s results we need to go back to the drawing board, and make sure we don’t have rounds like that again. “We all have to work harder, so that will be the goal from now until Toowoomba and Coolum.” The Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team will now begin preparations for round nine of the Motul MX Nationals being held at Toowoomba in Queensland on August 21, 2016.

INSTAGRAM: @teamhondaracing

h ark Luksic M : R E G A N MA T: Glen Bell N E M P O L E RIDER DEV a CRF250R d n o H : S E BIK

#30

IGHTMAN #30 JOEL W Class: MX2 Age: 19 NSW ndonbrook le G : n w to Home an Ian Wightm Mechanic: htman IG: @joelwig

#96

ebster #96 Kyle W Class: MX2 Age: 19 A anneroo W W : n w to e Hom Mick Lillis Mechanic: ebster IG: @kylew

WIGHTMAN FLIES THE CRF HONDA RACING FLAG AS MX NATIONALS CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE CONTINUES

As the prestigious Motul MX Nationals series roars towards the sharp end of the season, NSW Hunter Valley young gun Joel Wightman has been flying the flag high for the CRF Honda Racing squad at rounds seven and eight of the Championship staged at Conondale, Queensland (July 17) and Shepparton, Victoria (July 31), to now hold down eighth overall in the hotly contested MX2 category. Both the Conondale and Shepparton events were held in trying conditions, with wet weather in the build up to the events making for treacherous and testing race tracks that put added pressure on all competitors. Heavy rains turned the Conondale track into a quagmire, but Wightman fought hard to post 11th and 10th moto placings for 10th overall at the Queensland event, to hoist himself up into eighth overall in the Championship standings. Rain again impacted yesterday’s eighth round of the Championship at Shepparton, leaving the regional Victorian circuit a rutted and gnarly venue for Australia’s top motocross pilots. “I qualified 12th, which is my second best performance this year, so that was a positive start to the Shepparton round,” explained Wightman, who put the performance of his Ross McWatters developed CRF250R to good use. “But then in the first moto I had vision issues after getting filled in with mud following a mid-pack start, but I went on and rode a consistent race and finished 11th. “In the second moto I made a better start,” Wightman continued, “and was running up in seventh place, before a crash put me back to ninth at the finish,

With a three week break now before the final two MX Nationals rounds roar into life in Queensland at Toowoomba (August 21) and Coolum (August 28), Wightman is looking forward to working hard to complete the Championship in style. “These next few weeks will give me a chance to work on my starts, which are so important, and then the plan will be to come out swinging at Toowoomba,” Wightman enthuses. Meanwhile second CRF Honda Racing team rider Kyle Webster endured the kind of luck no rider deserves, after suffering a nasty injury at round seven at Conondale. Webster, who scored a spectacular MX2 moto win back at round five of the Championship in WA in May, crashed at the Conondale round and got stuck in the mud under his bike, the header pipe resting on his arm and burning him. “I suffered a third-degree burn which has since required a skin graft,” explains Webster. “The graft has healed really well but it has meant a couple of weeks off the bike, but hopefully I should be back in the saddle in the next week and back into it.” With the Conondale injury ruling him out of racing, Webster was left with no option but to watch yesterday’s Shepparton MX Nationals action online. “I had to watch the Shepparton coverage on NRGTV yesterday, which was so hard to take, because I just hate being on the sidelines,” Webster admitted. “But it made me way more determined to finish the Championship strong at the final two rounds in Queensland, and then get straight into the Australian Supercross Championship, which kicks off

which gave me another 10th overall for the round and keeps me eighth overall in the Championship with just two more rounds to go.”

the following month.” Webster continues to hold down 10th overall in the MX2 Championship standings.

FACEBOOK: /crfhondaracing

INSTAGRAM: @crfhondaracing

er vin Crutch e K , n o s il le W y AGER: Nea son Corne a J : IC N A TEAM MAN H F HEAD MEC ki RMZ450 u z u S : S E BIK

#47

WATERS #47 TODD Class: MX1 Age: 25 D : Cairns, QL Hometown Mechanic: aters47 IG: @toddw

#15

WILSON #15 LUKE Class: MX1 Age: 26 QLD old Coast, G : n w to e Hom Mechanic: wilson15 IG: @__luke

ANOTHER PODIUM FINISH FOR WILSON COOLAIR MOTUL FACTORY SUZUKI AT ROUND 8 Wilson Coolair Motul Factory Suzuki’s Todd Waters has once again finished on the Thor MX1 podium, and Luke Wilson just outside the MX1 top ten, at an action packed Round 8 of the Motul MX Nationals at Shepparton in Victoria today. In what was very close to a round victory, Waters showed impressive speed and technique on the technical and rutty Shepparton circuit today, while Wilson was forced to learn quickly, being the first time the pair had raced at the country Victorian venue. Showcasing his consistent form, Waters again made an appearance in GoPro Superpole this morning where he collected an impressive second place with a 1:41.224 lap time, while Wilson qualified in 13th position. In moto one, Waters put on a class act performance – biding his time and remaining consistent and smart, to take over the lead in the closing stages of the moto, eventually crossing the line and collecting the first race victory of the day. Despite the track forming up to be extremely challenging from the minute race one kicked off, Wilson remained determined and finished race one in 14th position. In race two, Waters was on the cusp of claiming a round win at Shepparton. However, when gates dropped, Waters was caught up with another rider off the start, which forced him to have to make up numerous positions, eventually clawing his way back to third place. Moto two for Wilson saw improved results, the Queenslander getting to know the gruelling track conditions, and crossing the finish line just outside the top ten in 12th. At the conclusion of the round, Waters was awarded with second overall on the Thor MX1 podium due to a countback, after finishing on equal points with the overall round winner, while Wilson’s consistent

FACEBOOK: /wilsonmxaus

results saw him finish the round just outside the top ten in 12th overall. After the results from today’s round at Shepparton, Waters remains in third in the Thor MX1 championship standings on 522 points, while Wilson now sits in 14th with two rounds remaining. Todd Waters – MX1 – 2nd Overall (1st, 3rd) “Today was a bit hard to swallow, especially finishing in second tied on points for the round overall,” Waters shared. “I managed to get a win in the first race which was awesome, but in the second one I got a bad start and just missed my rut and came together with another rider. So I’m a bit battered up and sore. “I want to be up the front every race battling with the top two guys, so it was just a bit disappointing that I wasn’t able to do that in the second moto. “I’m happy that we’re closing in on the points a little bit every weekend, and that’s what we need to do, but as a racer I want to win, so over the next two rounds hopefully we can make that happen.” Luke Wilson – MX1 – 12th Overall (14th, 12th) “I had the flu all week in the lead up to this round but I wouldn’t use that as an excuse, I just struggled. The track was really tough today,” Wilson shared. “You have to give it up to the boys at the front who are riding as fast as they are, because it’s crazy out there. I went out and walked the track this afternoon and it’s a lot deeper than what people probably expect. “I managed to get the day done in 12th overall, and got some more points on the board so we’ll move on to the next two rounds.

INSTAGRAM: @wilsonscoolairmotulsuzuki

g ale Hockin D : R E G A N TEAM MA aha yz250f m a Y f, 0 5 4 z aha y IPS WON: 0 BIKES: Yam H S N IO P M CHA

#37

WRIGHT #37 JACOB Class: MX1 Age: 21 ba : Toowoom Hometown e Jarrod Pyn Mechanic: IG: @jw37_

#12

ATON #12 JED BE Class: MX2 Age: 18 IC : Churchill V Hometown n Ross Beato Mechanic: aton12 IG: @jedbe

BEATON TAKES RED PLATE WITH ONLY TWO ROUNDS LEFT OF THE MX NATIONALS

It was an action packed weekend at Shepparton Victoria for round eight of the MX Nationals Championship. In what was dubbed one of the most technical rounds of the year and weather conditions being typical of a Victorian Winter, the DPH Motorsports team focused on the job at hand and it resulted in positives in both classes. Jed went 1-2 on the day in the MX2 class, placed first for the round and now successfully holds the red plate heading into the final two rounds of the Championship with only 15 points separating him and third place. Jed will be jetting off to Europe today to check out the MXGP series in Switzerland before returning back to Australia to prepare for the final rounds.

the key for MX1 rider Jacob Wright who is focusing on each round, one at a time. Jacob placed 5-8 on the day and currently sits in seventh position in the Championship. “6th overall this weekend is a good result. I’ll be working hard in this short break to ensure good results at the final two rounds” Said Wright. DPH continue their assault on the 2016 MX Nationals Championship at round nine in Toowoomba, QLD on Sunday 21st August 2016.

“Great weekend for me with consistent starts. I am feeling pretty excited going into the final two rounds with the red plate.” Said Beaton. Consistency has been

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INSTAGRAM: @dphmotorsport

vis Whitten ra T : R E G A F TEAM MAN AHA YZ250 M A Y : S E BIK

AKEHAM #9 KALE M Class: MX2 Age: 22 IC : Echuca V Hometown Darryl Hurd Mechanic: akeham96 IG: @kalem

IE DAVIS #20 LACH Class: MX2 9 1 : e g A VIC : Hamilton n w to e m o H n Derek Stee : ic n a h c e M d20 IG: @lachie MCKAY #46 HUGH Class: MXD 6 1 : e g A n TAS : Launcesto n w to e m o H ay Leigh Mck Mechanic: ckay46 IG: @hughm #46

#20

PROFORMANCE PERFORMS AT SHEPPARTON HOME ROUND

A home round at Shepparton was a nice way to close out a busy three weeks on the road for the Proformance Yamaha Team of Kale Makeham, Lachie Davis and Hugh McKay. The conditions, while not suiting the Northern riders were nothing new for the Victorian and Tasmanian chargers, with plenty of mud, ruts and obstacles on the track, particularly late in the day. In moto 1, Kale Makeham made another impressive start, putting his YZ250F at the very pointy end by the first corner. It is testament to the grunt the new Yamaha is putting out and the job done by Proformance in extracting maximum power, when seeing these starts. After a conservative opening lap, Kale had been passed by a few riders but managed to finish in a very solid 6th position in very difficult conditions. Further back, Lachie Davis was dicing with several mid pack riders, to finish in a respectable 15th. In the first of the MXD motos, Hugh McKay had an up and down race where he showed some flashes of brilliance, to finish in a solid 10th place. If it wasn’t for a few mishaps he could have been pushing much closer to the top 5. In Race 2 for MX2, Kale managed to put all the power down to holeshot the field once again in the muddy conditions. While he lost a few positions to the furious few who are fighting out the championship, he once again rode a very sensible race, riding

FACEBOOK: /ProformanceKawasaki

consistently for another 6th place. Lachie Davis also ran in a similar position to the first moto, finishing in 16th His lap times were a little closer to the front runners as he adjusted to the track conditions this time round, a little sooner. In the second MXD moto, Hugh Mckay had his work cut out for him, ending up in last place after putting his bike down on the first lap. Not to be deterred, he rode with some real vigour gaining back a lot of spots, where he snared a 9th overall for the day, once both moto results were combined. The team were philosophical by the days’ end, able to take away some real positives from the weekend. Kale is improving every time out, while not in top 3 contention – where the riders are putting everything on the line for the championship, he is very competitive with the fastest riders just back from that group and with a little luck could land a podium once again by years end. In MXD, Hugh’s best lap times suggest he could be pushing a top 5 race finish, if he is able to put more consistent laps in for a whole moto. Not a bad finish for the weekend, as the guys will continue to test, preparing for the penultimate round in Toowoomba.

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96 Northern Highway Echuca Phone - 03 54 801 084 sales@wbrmotorcycles.com.au Sales - Service - Engine and Suspension Dyno - Massive range of accessories

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OFFROAD

AUSTRALIAN OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESS RELEASES

171

ROUnD 9

AORC 172

SANDERS SHOOTS TO STUNNING VICTORY AT AORC As the sun cast over the Monkerai hills just short of 9:00am this morning it was KTM Enduro Racing Teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daniel Sanders who launched off the line in familiar fashion to claim the first hole shot of the morning at Rounds 9 & 10 of the 2016 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championships this weekend. The Championship E3 competitor Sanders led athletes in the Championship E1, E2, E3, Transmoto EJ and the Vets classes through the first lap of this testing and trying 3 hour Cross Country Race. Followed close in suit was KTM Enduro Racing teammate Tye Simmonds while KTM mounted Jack Simpson launched himself in to third in the hope to maintain his position for the three-hour long stint. By the half way mark of the race the teams were instructing their riders to pull in for fuel stops and in a dash they were back out on

the track ensuring no time was lost. Sanders and Simmonds were still out in front with a comfortable lead with one and half hours to go under the hot New South Wales sun, however three fuel stops by Simpson relegated him down in positions allowing the speed of Active8 Yamaha Yamalube rider Beau Ralston to step straight into third position outright. And at the conclusion of the race it was hole shot getter KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders who remained consistent the whole race, taking on the pristine conditions to ride home in a comfortable first position outright and in the E3 class by almost over one minute in front of team mate Simmonds (E2). Simmonds crossed the line second outright but took the win in the E2 class just in front of second placed Broc Grabham and third placed CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis for the Championship E2 class.

In the Championship E1 Class it was Jack Simpson who was victorious despite three fuel stops throughout the race and a pit lane penalty. Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Glenn Kearney finished second in his class, describing the track as “hard” and was followed behind in third by Yamaha mounted Riley Graham. Following first placed Sanders in the Championship E3 class was Ralston and third was Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Lachlan Stanford. There was plenty of action in the Transmoto EJ class with a notable absence from KTM rider Nic Tomlinson - currently second in the Championship points standings, sitting this round out due to injury. While current Championship points leader Motul Pirelli Sherco Factory Teams Wil Ruprecht snapped a chain during the race forcing him to lose valuable time and finish 17th. Ben Kearns rode to an impressive finish taking his first win of the season in 173

the Transmoto Championship class while Fraser Higlett and Jai Wedlock secured second and third respectively. In the Championship Veterans class there was a notable absence from the front from Bjorn Osborne with Damien Smith riding a stella performance to finish first. Second was Anthony Greene, while Jason Pearce finished the race in third. Osborne and Scott Campbell finished fourth and fifth respectively. Women’s and Masters – By 1:00pm this afternoon the Women’s and Master’s class rocketed off the line under the afternoon sun with a tweaked track and plenty of competition to make the afternoon interesting at Rounds 9 & 10 of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championships at Monkerai, NSW. And after just one lap in the books for the two-and-a-half-hour Cross Country race 174

it was Yamaha mounted Jemma Wilson who pushed in front to lead around the tricky circuit. Close behind Wilson was second placed Jessica Gardiner followed by Emilie Karlson. Leading the Championship Masters class after just one lap was Derek Grundy eager to prove his dominance in the Masters class. Wilson lead for the remainder of the race putting in consistent laps, while both Gardiner and Karlsson chopped and changed defending off the competition both keen to put their front wheel ahead. On the last lap however Jessica Gardiner took a tumble off the bike which resulted in Karlsson overtaking the Yamaha mounted rider as they hooked in to the final turns on the track for one last push to the finish line. With the wind picking up and the sun slowly beginning to fall in the early afternoon of today it was Jemma Wilson who crossed the line outright and leading the Championship Women’s class. Second to cross the finish was Karlsson who secured second position outright and in the Women’s class after a glorious battle with Gardiner throughout the Cross Country race, and It was left to Gardiner to bring it home in third. Derek Grundy wrapped up the day in first while Robert Bailey finished in second. It was Current Masters Championship points leader Peter Schaper who trailed in behind, in third position. Andrew Cais and David Pratten finished the day if fourth and fifth repectively. Now that Cross Country is done and dusted competitors will now focus their attention to the Sprints tomorrow to mark Round 10 of the 2016 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship.

CROSS COUNTRY ROUND 9 RESULTS: Championship E1: Jack Simpson – 3:02:31.474 Glenn Kearney – 3:05:11.679 Riley Graham – 3:07:51.900 Tom Kite – 3:12:43.294 Scott Keegan – 2:55:31.495 Baylee Davies – 2:58:11.585 Brad Hardaker – 2:58:42.076 Murray Mulholland – 3:06:00.913 Championship E2: Tye Simmonds – 2:58:50.981 Broc Gragham – 3:03:24.820 Chris Hollis – 3:03:43.054 Tom McCormack – 3:04:18.643 Lyndon Snodgrass - 3:08:20.451 Geoff Braico – 3:11:56.746

Mitch Bowen – 2:54:55.832 Luke Tisdale – 3:07:53.651 Stuart Holt – 3:12:09.902 Peter Clark – 3:13:29.682 Championship E3: Daniel Sanders – 2:57:23.903 Beau Ralston – 3:00:21.315 Lachlan Stanford – 2:56:28.502 Brayden Zillman – 3:14:52.927 Transmoto Championship EJ: Ben Kearns – 2:56:59.516 Fraser Higlett – 2:59:37.893 Jai Wedlock – 3:01:47.540 Jacob Peacock – 3:02:22.469 Dalton Johnson – 3:02:59.151 175

Championship Veterans: Damien Smith – 3:00:16.416 Anthony Greene – 2:51:30.228 Jason Pearce – 3:02:56.032 Bjorn Osborne – 3:03:14.384 Scott Campbell – 3:07:15.490 Trevor Duncan – 2:59:00.002 Kurt Broomhall – 3:07:54.750 Championship Women’s: Jemma Wilson – 2:17:24.790 Emelie Karlsson – 2:18:55.217 Jessica Gardiner – 2:19:48.608 Sophie Coldicutt – 2:26:24.124 Brittany Rubie – 2:20:18.481 Karina Bailey – 2:25:28.478 Kate Norman – 2:26:33.555 Irene Vasilas - 2:28:28.630 Championship Masters: Derek Grundy -2:27:46.889 Robert Bailey – 2:31:56.274 Peter Schaper – 2:32:15.252 Andrew Cais – 2:32:27.527 David Pratten – 2:36:57.463 Lyndon O’Neil – 2:20:18.824 Mick Collins – 2:22:43.982 Mal Dalton – 2:24:10.692 Rod Kearns – 2:24:15.370 Craig Hale – 2:30:09.701

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ROUnD 10

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SANDERS STRENGTHENS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD It was a chilly start to the morning for the competitors of the 2016 Yamaha Australian OffRoad Championship as they left the start line for their sight lap before 8:00am this morning in Monkerai for Round 10 of the AORC. After the first test it was KTM Enduro Racing Teams Daniel Sanders out in front by almost 10 seconds with a starting lap time of 8:32.343 on teammate KTM Enduro Racing Teams Tye Simmonds (8:42.560) and Broc Grabham (8:44.397) in third. With seven classes taking to the track the dirt was turned up in every corner and with the moisture in the ground it was beginning to get muddy and tricky for the pro competitors. By the fourth test all eyes were on Broc Grabham who was having a stand out morning still sitting third outright behind Sanders and Simmonds with CRD Yamahaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chris Hollis behind in fourth.

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Fifth after the fourth test was Active8 Yamaha Yamalube’s Beau Ralston, sixth was Scott Keegan and Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Championship E1 competitor Glenn Kearney proved that his experience in the dirt was enough to up his speed sitting seventh outright. Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Lachlan Stanford, Yamaha mounted Riley Graham and CDR Yamaha’s Tom McCormack were eight, ninth and tenth respectively with only three more tests to increase their speed and positions on the board. Jemma Wilson led the Women’s class from test one strengthening her lead coming in to the fourth test, Wilson managing a time of 39:42.796. Derek Grundy once again putting on a fine performance to cement a 41:26.351 lap time by the fourth test and Damien Smith (47:10.707) led the Vet’s arounds the course.

At the conclusion of seven tests in total it was KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders who couldn’t be beaten to take another clean sweep at Rounds 9 & 10 of the Yamaha Australian OffRoad Championship with a 1:00:38.547 concluding time. Sanders has now put another 50 points on the board for the E3 Championship points standings as we head to the final Rounds 11 & 12 only weeks away. Under the belting down sun it was KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Simmonds (1:01:40.454) who crossed the line second outright after maintaining his positions throughout the remainder of the tests, and Broc Grabham who finished third only seconds behind with a 1:01:55.907 time. It was a fantastic day for Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Glenn Kearney (1:02:30.250) who’s speed saw him steal the win in the Championship E1 class in front of second placed Scott Keegan 179

(1:02:35.957) and third placed Riley Graham (1:02:38.463). In the E2 Championship class it was outright podium getters Simmonds and Grabham who were also 1,2 in their respective class with CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis putting his Dunlop tyres through the paces to finish with a 1:01:57.564 overall concluding time. Outright winner Sanders was the victor once again in his class with Active8 Yamaha Yamalube rider Beau Ralston improving in leaps and bounds to second in his class with a fast time of 1:02:06.401. Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Stanford (1:02:43.615) was just a fraction off the pace from second place, however wrapped up the day in third. Despite his unfortunate bike issues yesterday Motul Pirelli Sherco Factory Team rider Wil Ruprecht bounced back and showed why he is in the Championship chase finishing first for the Transmoto EJ 180

class with a 1:03:45.973. It was Tasmanian local Jonte Reynders who made his mark on the Championship this week finishing the seven Sprints with an overall time of 1:05:02.547 and putting himself in second, while Andrew Wilksch (1:05:10.541) finished third. Jemma Wilson (1:09:57.965) proved why she and her fellow teammates are heading to the ISDE in Spain later this year with a 1,1 finish over both Saturday and Sunday strengthening her championship points lead. Emelie Karlsson 1:11:42.044 made another second place appearance over third placed Yamaha mounted Jessica Gardiner who finished with a 1:13:54.189 time. Championship Veterans competitor Damien Smith (1:06:17.220) also made it a 1,1 weekend taking both the Cross Country race win yesterday and securing first place again today ahead of Anthony Greene (1:13:41.533). Bjorn Osbourne climbed his way back on to the podium today for a third place finish on a tricky track with a 1:14:41.571 finalised time. Derek Grundy stole the Master’s glory after taking yet another win for the Sprints today. He finished with a final time 1:13:59.448 almost three minutes ahead of Robert Bailey (1:16:10.037) who finished the round in second. Peter Schaper was only just behind Bailey in third only seconds off with a 1:16:30.990 time. After a successful weekend out on the dirt competitors will now be focusing their attention on the upcoming final Rounds 11 & 12 of the 2016 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship this September 10-11, with the Championship on the line as Penshurts in Victoria hosts what is set to be a battle. Championship

SPRINTS ROUND 10 RESULTS: Championship E1: Glenn Kearney 1:02:30.250 Scott Keegan 1:02:35.957 Riley Graham 1:02:38.463 Jack Simpson 1:04:26.748 Tom Kite 1:05:37.143 Brad Hardaker 1:06:32.498 Baylee Davies 57:08.475 Championship E2: Tye Simmonds 1:01:40.454 Broc Grabham 1:01:55.907 Chris Hollis 1:01:57.564 Tom McCormack 1:03:11.511 Geoff Braico 1:04:34.898 Luke Tisdale 1:09:28.047 Peter Clark 1:11:46.485 Jarrod Wilson 1:13:02.994 Nicholas Stockwell 1:13:27.426 Scott Dunn 1:14:05.523

Championship E3: Daniel Sanders 1:00:38.547 Beau Ralston 1:02:06.401 Lachlan Stanford 1:02:43.615 Lyndon Snodgrass 1:03:14.043 Mitch Bowen 1:05:18.530 Brayden Zillman 1:17:34.862 Transmoto Championship EJ: Wil Ruprecht 1:03:45.973 Jonte Reynders 1:05:02.547 Andrew Wilksch 1:05:10.541 Ben Kearns 1:05:23.460 Fraser Higlett 1:05:41.590 Jake McGlashan 1:07:07.460 Dalton Johnson 1:07:08.940 Jacob Peacock 1:07:47.672 Jesse Lawton 1:08:44.304 Kade Dorrington 1:09:04.254

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Championship Veterans: Damien Smith 1:06:17.220 Anthony Greene 1:13:41.533 Bjorn Osborne 1:14:41.571 Scott Campbell 1:16:46.277 Jason Pearce 1:17:23.919 Kurt Broomhall 1:18:12.417 Guy Wade 1:19:31.511 Jarrod Eveleigh 1:20:01.446 Trevor Duncan 1:23:53.244 Shane Coffey 1:35:05.149 Championship Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s: Jemma Wilson 1:09:57.965 Emelie Karlsson 1:11:42.044 Jessica Gardiner 1:13:54.189 Sophie Coldicutt 1:15:54.468 Karina Bailey 1:23:40.751 Brittany Rubie 1:26:36.723 Irene Vasilas 1:45:07.382 Kate Norman 13:30.326 Championship Masters: Derek Grundy 1:13:59.448 Robert Bailey 1:16:10.037 Peter Schaper 1:16:30.990 Andrew Cais 1:19:24.278 Rod Kearns 1:19:49.233 David Pratten 1:19:57.345 Mal Dalton 1:19:58.211 Danny Gunning 1:25:20.698 Craig Hale 1:26:11.002 Scott McClean 1:26:36.764

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