Motocross

MIDWEEK MOTO 2019 Week 7

Author: Aaryn Minerds

Posted:

Thursday, February 14th, 2019

9:19 PM

The 2019 MX Nationals kicks off in one month and three days, it cant come soon enough

WHEN DOES THE RACING START

It's funny, we currently have the shortest break between the end of Supercross series here in Australia until the start of the National Motocross Championship, the Pirelli MX Nationals, that I can remember in the past 10 years at least, but for some reason it feels like it has been forever since we have seen national level pro racing.

Maybe I am eager for the first round this year. Last year was the first time since about 2008 that I missed being at the opening round of the year.

We will rectify that this year and have already planned my road trip from Adelaide to Appin for the opening round in 2019, nothing like a 2800km round trip to kick the year off!

W.E.M announced this week that entries are now open.

The MX1 class is shaping up to have a great line up of riders with quite a few title contenders and even more potential moto winners and the fight for the season-ending number one plate over that will play out over eight weekends for a total of ten rounds of racing will be one not to be missed.

WHO IS RIDING WHAT?

All of the facotry supported MX1 rides are set and we are sure there will be some big privateer efforts to help make the 2019 a great one

Pretty much all the major MX1 team lineups have been named, most officially some via social networks with official announcements still to come, below will take a final look at who is riding for who in the premier class of racing in Australia in 2019.

YAMAHA:
Monster Energy CDR Yamaha: Kirk Gibbs, Luke Clout
Yamaha Yamalube Racing: Richie Evans

HONDA:
Penrite Honda Racing: Brett Metcalfe

SUZUKI:
KSF ECSTAR Suzuki: Justin Rodbell, John Prutti
SB Motorsports: Cody Dyce

KTM:
Raceline KTM: Hayden Mellross
Davey Motorsport: Caleb Ward

KAWASAKI:
Empire Motorsports: Dylan Long

Husqvarna:
DPH Motorsports: Todd Waters

AUSSIES ABROAD:

There are plenty of Aussie's racing overseas, we will continue to track down as much info on them as we can each and every week.

It is hard to keep track of all the Australian racers racing in competitions overseas, but we do our best and a regularly checking race results and checking in with riders in regards to what they are up to.

The weekend just gone seen plenty of Aussie riders in action around the globe, below is a quick overview of what we have found.

Josh Strang: Strang made a move from Husqvarna to Kawasaki for 2019 and has quickly landed his green machine on the podium with reigning Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro Series champion landing on the second step of the rostrum at the opening round.

Tayla Jones: While Strang finished second, Tayla Jones continued from where she left off in 2018, winning the Women's class at the opening round fo the Full Gas Sprint Series aboard her Rockstar Energy Husqvarna

Mackenzie Tricker: Finishing right behind Jones was fellow Aussie Mackenzie Tricker making it a 1-2 result for top female racers.

Chad Reed Another great ride by Chad Reed at the sixth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, starting outside the top ten on a track that proved to be hard to pass on and worked his way up to 7th, finishing just behind Eli Tomac after he made a late race pass on Dean Wilson.

Mitch Evans: Evan's raced his Honda 114 Motorsport CRF250R to 11th position in the MX2 race at the third round of the Italian Motocross championship in Mantova. He then carded an even better result in the Superfinal that combines the top 20 MX1 and MX2 riders into one race, with the Aussie riding crossing the line in 9th position.

Four Riders / Two Points:

Cooper Webb has now won half the Supercross racers to kick off the 2019 season, however the red plate lies else where.

It was an interesting round of racing at the 6th round of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship.

For myself, it was one of the most frustrating main events I think I have ever watched. There really was nothing on the track to separate the riders, and by the main event, the track had become pretty well one lined and with the competition so tight this year, with many riders able to match each other's lap times, the only real passes happening on track were due to mistakes from riders.

I was literally yelling at the TV during the opening ten laps as Savatgy, Webb, Roczen, Baggett all played follow the leader.

Every lap at the end of the Whoops (That wore more like moguls) Roczen would close in on Webb, but no matter what line he used on the exit of the whoops leading back on to the straight he would lose time to Webb and allow Baggett to close on his rear wheel, it was much the same ahead of him with Savatgy and Webb yo-yoing.

Eventually, Savatgy made one mistake and let Webb pass and run away from the field, Roczen a few laps later once Webb had well and truly gone also got by, Baggett wadded up, and Musqin moved by Savatgy to claim third while Eli Tomac worked his way to 6th after starting lap one in 14th.

In stark contrast, Ken Roczen is yet to win a main event in 2019, but will line up at round seven this weekend with the red plate on his Honda CRF450R

Now for the crazy part, Tomac came into the round leading the points, unlike years past he does not have the pace at the moment to go from mid-pack to win a race, especially not on a track like that, it meant he gave up to the points lead, but it was not to Webb who won his third race of the season, it was to Roczen who finished second and is yet to win a race this season!

While the race itself was frustrating to watch, the championship continues to be one of the best I have witnessed. There genuinely are 5-6 riders who could win on any night, maybe even 7-8 riders. There is no one with runaway speed, and after six rounds Roczen, Webb, Tomac and Musquin are separated by just 2 points.

There is a lot of racing left, and we can only hope things stay this close for another 11 rounds.

The opening 250 East race was a little more interesting, though Austin Forkner put a clinic on out front. Behind him, Jordan Smith found a million ways to crash and still finish second, while Justin Cooper waited for a half a race before he cleaned out Alex Martin with a nice bump and run move for the final spot on the podium.

For Alex Martin and Martin Davalos, it looks like another year when one round with disastrous results have put an end to any championship aspirations.

JUNIOR SUPPORT:

It is a good time to be a fast junior in Australia with a fair bit of support currently flowing through to the up and coming stars of the sport

KTM Australia this weekend announced that they would field five riders as part of their official junior race team for 2019. When you add their five riders to the 14 Yamaha Australia supported riders and Honda's riders through Lee Hogan's BCP junior team, things are looking good for junior racers around the country right now with at least 22 supported rides around the nation.

Yamaha also announced that is will hold three YZ65 Cup rounds at this years MX Nationals, with events at Appin, Maitland and Coolum rounds.

We were lucky enough to be part of the Coolum event last year, and it indeed was a fantastic experience for mainly Jayden as one of the 40 kids riding the event and also myself as a parent.

If you can make it happen, get your young riders involved for more information about how to enter one or more of the events CLICK HERE

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

THOR MX all new Radial Boot

THOR RADIAL MX BOOT:

After years of rigorous development and professional athlete testing, THOR are has introduced their Radial motocross boot.

The concept was simple; to create a quality boot, featuring premium materials and performance, at a price point that any serious rider could afford. The Radial boot is now ready for deployment to the motocross masses.

RADIAL MX BOOT FEATURES

A high end boot at a price that won't break the bank

- Pre-curved injection molded components throughout
- Radial hinge component adds structure and reduces over extension
- Injection molded positive-lock buckle system
- Adjustable straps allow for a custom and secure fit
- Injection molded medial abrasion plate with integrated shift protection
- Fully synthetic calf overlays deliver premium durability and optimal grip
- Low profile toe box for unhindered shifting
- Uni-directional outsole with steel shank for rigidity
- Replaceable outsole inserts for extended wear
- Mesh liner promotes airflow while interior EVA panels enhance comfort
- Tested and certified to standard EN 13634: 2017
- RRP: $399.95

GONE RIDING:

While I did leave the camera at home, I did sneak in one photo of our new transport for our Yamaha YZ450F and YZ65.

Riding, just pure riding is something that has not been a big part of my life in the past six months, pretty much since the end of the 2018 racing season, I spent a little time riding in the lead up to the Yamaha WR450F launch back at the start of December, and then had ridden just once since then.

Not that I have not spent any time at the track, but between the day job, some online work and getting Jayden to the track, slow cooking BBQ and my daughter's dance season getting underway, there has not been a lot of time for myself to ride.

However the weekend just gone it was time to do something I had not done for a long time, I loaded up the Yamaha YZ450F, along with Jayden's YZ65 and headed to a local MX track. I didn't grab a camera, or a phone to shoot any video on, just ourselves our bikes and two fuel jugs.

The local Tea Tree Gully MX track had been all but closed for the majority of 2018, it is fun local track that offers a little elevation, and the new track crew had done an amazing job bringing the venue back to life and man did it feel good to head out cut some laps, then sit back at the top of the pits and watch others ride with not another worry in the world.

It is something I will be doing a lot more of in 2019, though leaving the camera's at home will probably not happen again, but after a bit of a break from riding I am as keen as ever to get back out and enjoy not just the riding, but the banter in the pits, hanging out with mates and meeting more like-minded people.

There is no other sport like Motocross, and I can't wait for the 2019 race season to begin!

A WEEK IN MOTION - A collection of Video's and Films from the past week