Forkner Tough But Unlucky

Right knee injury forces Forkner out of Supercross remainder

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Section: Competition Post: Troy Guenther

Heartbreaking outcome for Monster Energy Kawasaki talent.

Image: Octopi Media.

Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner has been forced out of the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship remainder after sustaining a right knee injury during the start of Anaheim’s 250SX West main event.

Forkner fell heavily in the run to turn one after connecting handlebars with RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) and teammate Cameron McAdoo.

The pain and heartbreak were immediately evident for the number 55, prematurely sidelined on multiple occasions throughout recent years. Prior to the incident, Forkner qualified fastest at Angel Stadium and notched a podium in his heat race.

“I felt great going into this year and was ready to challenge for the championship,” said Forkner. “I think my qualifying and heat race speed proved that the preparation from the whole team was on par to win races.

“Unfortunately, I was involved in a racing incident during the start of the main event and injured my knee. This is definitely a frustrating situation, but I’m extremely motivated to focus on my recovery and I will get back to work with the team.”

The decision was made for Forkner to make an early exit from the 2023 250SX West Championship after consultation with medical professionals. Further updates on Forkner’s return to racing will be announced when available.

Dakar Stage 10 Highlights

Dakar Stage 8

Eli Again!

Tomac SX Only?

Team Alcavi Ready For Anaheim 1

Husky Flys At Dakar

On an extremely successful day in the Saudi desert for Husqvarna Factory Racing, Luciano Benavides posted the fastest time on Friday’s 358-kilometre timed special to earn his first ever Dakar Rally stage win. Finishing as runner-up to his teammate, Skyler Howes increased his lead in the provisional overall standings to three and a half minutes after his strong ride through today’s dunes.

After showing great pace so far at this year’s event, Luciano Benavides’ determination has paid off with a stage win at the Dakar. Setting off as the 12th rider into the special gave the Argentinian the perfect opportunity to make up time on his rivals ahead, and that’s exactly what he did.

Fourth-quickest to kilometre 31, Benavides continued to pick off the riders ahead of him on time, steadily moving up the rankings to finally overhaul teammate Howes by the finish line. The result moves Luciano one place higher in the overall standings to ninth and closes the gap to his rivals ahead.

Enjoying the stage and putting in another strong performance, Skyler Howes demonstrated why he currently sits top of the general rankings. The American skilfully navigated his way through the tracks and dunes of the stage to finish just under one minute short of the hard-charging Benavides. Increasing his lead at the top of the standings, Howes knows he can’t rest on his advantage and is ready to push once again tomorrow on the 713-kilometre first half of the event’s marathon stage.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price has posted the third-fastest time on a shortened stage six of the 2023 Dakar Rally. Teammate Kevin Benavides was hot on Price’s heels, finishing fifth, just 21 seconds behind. Matthias Walkner secured another top-10 stage result as he continues to adjust to riding with an injured wrist, sustained on stage two.

With the proposed bivouac at Al Duwadimi still under water due to the heavy rains affecting the region, organizers rerouted the Dakar caravan to Riyadh. As such, although the timed special was shortened to 358 kilometers, riders still faced an exhausting total distance of 768 kilometers today, due to the long liaisons. Today’s special comprised another day of dunes and sandy tracks, made all the more unpredictable due to the overnight rain.

Following his third-place finish on stage five, Toby Price set about chasing down the two riders ahead of him right from the start of today’s special. With the times among the front runners proving to be especially close this morning as they navigated their way through the damp dunes of the stage, Price found himself losing a few positions as he focused on his navigation near the front. After the refueling however, the Australian pushed on and moved back up the leaderboard to ultimately complete the stage in third place.

The day started differently for Kevin Benavides. Third-quickest through the first 100 kilometers, the 2021 Dakar champion dropped a little time following a small mistake midway through the special. Regrouping, Kevin clawed some of that time back to complete the demanding special in fifth place. Benavides’ consistency is paying off. Finishing no lower than eighth so far at the 2023 event has resulted in the Argentine lying in a solid third overall in the provisional standings.

Thankfully regaining his strength each day following the crash that injured his wrist on stage two, Matthias Walkner continues to put in solid rides to stay in contention. Delivering another top-10 result on today's special, the Austrian star minimized the time lost to the leaders and currently lies just outside the top 10 overall in 11th.

Tomorrow’s stage seven marks the first half of the event’s marathon stage. Following a short two-hour window where the service teams can work on their riders’ machines, the competitors then head to the bivouac at Al Duwadimi while the teams return to Riyadh. Of the total distance covered of 713 kilometers, 398 will be raced against the clock.

With his energy levels slowly restoring following a sickness bug that zapped all of his power ahead of yesterday’s stage five, Daniel Sanders made it known today that he’s not out of the running in the race for victory at the 2023 Dakar Rally. Clocking in as the seventh-fastest rider on today’s stage six, just three minutes behind the stage winner, it was a perfect execution of damage limitation by the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing star who remains eighth in the provisional standings.

KEN ROCZEN: “I WANT TO PUT SUZUKI BACK ON THE MAP”

The2023 Anaheim 1 Supercrosspress day riding was canceled, but we were still able to track down the most popular rider in the motocross and Supercross world right now, Ken Roczen. In this interview with Motocross Action’s Josh Mosiman, Kenny explains his excitement for racing the Suzuki RM-Z450 and he talks about joining the HEP Suzuki team. He also shares about his offseason experiences testing different motorcycles and he talks on how that might benefit him coming into the new season.

Champion Lawrence outlines 250 motive for 2023 Supercross

  Post: Troy Guenther

Australian looking to refine mistakes before premier class move.

Reigning 250SX East champion Jett Lawrence has outlined why he didn’t make the step to a 450 for the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, eager to refine mistakes made before transitioning full-time to the premier class.

Lawrence, 19, has experienced immense success in the quarter-litre category across the last two years, winning back-to-back outdoor titles and securing the 250SX East crown in 2022.

His second outdoors championship came smoother and with fewer mistakes than both his supercross and maiden Pro Motocross crown, however, the Australian is determined to further polish his riding in the upcoming campaign.

“One of the obvious ones [reasons], last year I feel like people look at the end result and go oh yeah, you dominated and are like you should move up, but last year in supercross I made just as many mistakes as I did in 2021,” Lawrence explained.

“I’m still making those silly mistakes and I still need to learn for the 450, obviously those boys are no joke on the 450s and I think a lot of people still miss that I am still a teenager, I’m still 19.

“It might not show on a dirtbike much because I feel like I have kind of created a much more mature rider on a bike, which is lucky that I have this, but I feel a lot of people forget that I am 19 still.

“At this point I feel like age doesn’t really matter anymore for me, but I still have a lot more to learn before I get to the 450 and make sure that I come in and make sure I’ve learned everyone I learn in 250s, so when I come to the 450 it’s kind of like another blank canvas and build up again.”

Lawrence debuted on a 450 at the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) last year at RedBud, impressing to win the Open category and playing a pivotal role in Team Australia’s podium charge. He will step up to the premier class for Pro Motocross this season.

“In outdoors for me to move up to a 450 is a lot easier than supercross, because technically I only really started riding supercross like three years ago,” Lawrence added.

“I’ve been riding motocross all of my life, so it makes more sense for me to go 450 in outdoors and supercross just kind of start where I am most comfortable, which is a smarter decision for me to make sure I build the year in outdoors so then in 2024 we can come in more looking for a title hunt, instead of trying to keep on learning from the mistake of getting injured or something like this.”

Team Honda HRC manager Lars Linstrom also stated that Lawrence will not likely compete on a 450 this year in East coast supercross rounds, however, Lawrence has indicated that he would like to score enough points in the premier class outdoors to race a 450 at the SuperMotocross World Championship finals.

Webb to KTM...My Bike Sucked

The2023 Anaheim 1 Supercrossis almost here and we caught up with Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb during press day to ask him the hard hitting questions. Cooper didn’t hold back, explaining that he was very hard on his team in the off season, making sure they did everything possible to make him comfortable on the 2023 KTM 450SXF this season. Cooper also talks about riding stock bikes, FELD positioning him in the second row at the press conference (instead of the front row with Tomac and Sexton) and he shared about his mindset on the Baker’s Factory in Florida to ride and train with Aldon Baker.