Motocross

MIDWEEK MOTO 2019 Week 6

Author: Aaryn Minerds

Posted:

Thursday, February 7th, 2019

9:15 PM

Kirk Gibbs kicked off his NZMX title defence with a moto win, however it was Cody Cooper who took home the round one overall win

OVER THE POND

The opening round of the 2019 New Zealand Motocross Championships kicked off on the weekend at Tauranga with Australia‰Ûªs Kirk Gibbs rocking the number one plate aboard his Altherm Windows Josh Coppins Racing Yamaha YZ450F.

Gibbsy got his title defence off to the perfect start winning the opening MX1 moto from Honda‰Ûªs Cody Cooper, but it was Cooper who took the day‰Ûªs overall honours, after leading Gibbs home in the final two motos.

Beating Cooper in New Zealand is no easy task, he is world class at the best of times, but at home, he is near unstoppable, but Gibbs will be aiming to make it two NZ titles in a row.

Rounding out the 450 podium was Gibbs Yamaha team-mate, Kayne Lamont.

In the MX2 class it Hamish Harwood who was consistently up front in all three moto‰Ûªs who walked away with the round win, ahead of Australia‰Ûªs Wilson Todd, who managed to score one moto win and a second place, however an 8th in his opening moto left him two work hard for his second position overall.

Maximum Purvis, who at one point last year was leading the MXD class hear in Australia rounded out the podium ahead of Brad Groombridge, who also finished 4th in the MX1 class!

SAD DIEGO WAS SUBLIME

Mud, what mud! San Diego was just a little moist.

On the back side of the fifth round of the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross, one of the muddiest races in recent history, most of the talk should have been surrounding the fact that we have now had four different race winners and four different Red Plate holders after just five rounds of racing.

That stat is pretty freaking cool, and there is every chance that we could have another race winner and another points lead after next weekend.

However, the main talking point from San Diego was all about Lime. The track crew in the U.S have been mixing a lime/sand combination into the dirt when the rain hits for a while now, it helps to soak up the moisture from the mud and allows racing to go ahead on a relatively dry track.

With the deluge of rain that hit the track on the weekend, the Lime/Sand mixture was not able to blend in with the wet soil and instead held its form and ended coating bikes and riders, leaving riders with chemical burns, rashes and in some cases unable to ride and train early this week, while a lot of bikes and parts were destroyed.

You only have to check out the likes of, Ken Roczen, Tyler Bowers, Heath Harrison‰Ûªs and other social media accounts after the weekend to see the damaged caused.

Bike and body damage was rampant at San Diego

It was some nasty stuff and hopefully, a lesson learned and FELD midweek sent out this release regarding the situation.

‰ÛÏOn Saturday, February 2nd at Petco Park in San Diego, Ca., Supercross riders were affected by a drying agent applied to the dirt track, which may have caused skin irritation and damage to their bikes.

"The wellbeing of our riders, their teams and our crew is always a top priority for us at all Supercross events. Given last week‰Ûªs forecast of rain for Saturday‰Ûªs event in San Diego, the track crew took normal precautions to ensure a safe and raceable track.

"Prior to the qualifying rounds and main events, they removed the protective tarp and applied a drying agent, a lime and sand mixture, to treat two areas on the track to try and remove moisture from the dirt. This process has been used safely for decades at Supercross to dry dirt and thereby reduce the risk of accidents for the riders.

"It appears that the unprecedented amount of rain on Saturday prevented the lime from mixing with the soil as usual. This resulted in splashing of the riders and their bikes, which may have caused skin irritation to some riders and damage to their bikes.

"We are currently reaching out to each rider who participated in Saturday‰Ûªs race to assess the extent of the impact, ensure their welfare and get them back on their bikes racing. We are also reviewing our existing processes to deal with excessive water on the track to prevent a recurrence.‰Û

It sucks to hear Hunter will miss the opening round/s of the 250 East Coast SX championship that starts this weekend.

It was a tough end to Tomas Ravenhorst‰Ûªs U.S trip, with the Aussie left on the sidelines at the final round after an electrical fault put an end to his day before it started.

The issue probably ended up being a blessing in disguise, as there would have been nothing fun about riding the mud at San Diego and going by what we have just posted above, it would not have been good for his wallet if he did ride as his bike would have been trashed.

Hopefully, he can head back again next year and make that main event he was looking for.

In further bad news for Aussie 250 SX racers, we just learned that Hunter Lawrence would have his first AMA Supercross delayed after aggravating a collarbone injury that he first sustained eight weeks ago.

There is currently no news on when he will be fit and ready to race, but we wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully see him on track soon.

Oh and by the way, that mudfest in San Diego proved to suit Chad Reed nicely, posting a great 5th place result, unfortunately for his mechanic, it is going to be a long week getting that bike to look like new again.

EVERYONE LOVES A SMOKER

Not a four-stroke will be in sight this weekend in Traralgon this weekend as a new two stroke only series kicks off

The first round of the BLU CRU two-stroke amateur championship being run by W.E.M (William‰Ûªs event management) the promoters of the MX Nationals, kicks off at Traralgon in Victoria this Sunday.

With three junior classes in action along with two senior classes (One modern on classic), the series looks like it will be a popular way to kick off the national race calendar.

Entry is only $10 for spectators to get in and watch some great talent battling it out for round honours at the first round of the three-round championship.

A SHOUT OUT

We here at fullnoise.com.au you like to congratulate Jess and Josh Proctor on the arrival of their son Nash earlier this week.

Jess is the marketing manager of THOR MX Australia and works tirelessly supporting many motocross and supercross events here in Australia, while Josh is the man behind Pro-Traxx Australia, who built the majority of the track during the 2018 Australian Supercross Championship.

It is fair to say another future junior motocross rider was welcomed into the world this week, or maybe a budding golf star!

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Product of the week: The SCOTT 550 MX Helmet

SCOTT 550 Helmet

The Scott 550 MX Helmet is a very well priced helmet that comes standard with features you would expect to see on higher end helmets.

Incorporating both Cone Head and MIMPS technology into their helmets, along with designing a very well ventilated helmet that allows a large amount of airflow around the top of the helmet, SCOTT has developed a helmet that is functional with a big focus on the riders wellbeing.

I have ran the SCOTT 550 helmet as part of a rotation of helmets I have worn over the past year and a half, and it has proven to be a very comfortable helmet that really has stood up well over the time I have had it.

For $299 the SCOTT 550 helmet offers great value and most importantly some great saftey features.

It vents very well, the inner lining is comfortable, and the eye port has been designed with the current generation of larger goggle in mind, ensuring there is no issue running a set of goggles like the SCOTT Prospect goggles.

There is one slight downside to the helmet if you like to adjust the peak of your helmet when you ride, you won‰Ûªt be able to with the 550MX helmet. It was a design that I thought might hinder the helmet but it has not been an issue for myself, and if you think about it how often do you ever move your peak unless it moves itself.

Fortunately, I am yet to test out the safety features of the Scott 550 helmet, but with an RRP price of just $299, it is a safety-focused helmet that will meet any riders budget.

WHERE WE HAVE BEEN AND WHAT WE ARE UP TO

Our #bLU cRU weekends contiue this Sunday at TTG in SA.

It was a bit of quiet weekend for us last weekend. We spent a little time on Saturday prepping the YZ65 for a ride on Sunday which involved a quick air filter change.

After a quick ride Sunday morning, we kicked back and watched the world best Supercross riders ride some slop. The racing was actually not to bad, though in slow motion.

For this weekend we are heading back to a South Australian track that has been all but closed for the past six months.

The Tea Tree Gully Motocross club is a tremendous local suburban track in South Australia but had not seen much action since early in 2018.

A new committee has worked hard over the past few months, getting the track and its surrounds back to their former glory and it is only fitting that we take both the Yamaha YZ65 and YZ450F out to carve out a few laps this Sunday.

A WEEK IN MOTION -