Toni Bou Rebounds For A Win On Day Two Of TrialGP Of Spain

After the disappointment of finishing second yesterday, defending champion Toni Bou was back on top on day two of the TrialGP of Spain – round one of the 2023 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship.

But Bou found he could not fully shake off the challenge of his compatriot Jaime Busto who claimed Saturday’s win and the Spanish pairing head to round two in Portugal next weekend tied on points.

On a dry and dusty day in the north-west of Spain, a number of sections were changed overnight to increase the severity and the final scores reflected this with sixteen-time champion Bou parting with fourteen marks – one more than he lost on Saturday – and Busto’s total of seventeen a full ten marks more than his winning total incurred on day one.

The toughest hazard was the reworked section three thanks to the introduction of a double rock step with a short run-up. Bou scored two maximums here and although Busto recorded one of only two successful clean attempts alongside Aniol Gelabert, it was the big slabs of sections nine and ten where Bou pulled clear.

“I’m very happy with the weekend and with the victory,” Bou said. “In today’s race, I found felt better. I still have some discomfort in my arm, but we were able to fight at an impressive level. It is a victory that is very valuable because our rivals didn’t make it easy at all. Now it’s time to recover well after the weekend. We are tied on points with Jaime overall and we have seen that he is at a very high level, and both races have been very close. We will have to be strong in Portugal, but the first thing now is to recover and get back to 100% fitness.”.

Trailing Bou by nine after the opening twelve sections, Jaime Busto responded with a sensational second-lap total of one but it was too little, too late to reel in the record-breaking champion.

“It’s been a really great weekend for me. I didn’t expect it to be this good,” Busto reflected. “Yesterday I got the win, and it was amazing from section one and I felt incredible on the bike. I was able to make it happen on day one and this was a perfect way to start the season. Unfortunately today I made a mistake in one of the sections and as it was a low-scoring trial, it was impossible to recover from that. I pushed until the end and I was able to pull some points back so that’s good. I had an amazing feeling. Let’s hope when we go to Portugal I can repeat my form from day one.”

For the second day in a row, home riders dominated the premier positions with veteran Adam Raga taking third on a distant thirty-two – two ahead of yesterday’s third-placed rider Gabriel Marcelli – with Jorge Casales completing the top-five on a score of fifty-five.

Britain’s Toby Martyn withdrew following a crash on the opening lap which it is hoped he stages a speedy recovery from.

The focus now switches to Gouveia in Portugal on 21-23 April.

Lawerence Brothers Go Head to Head

In-form Lawrence brothers look ahead to Showdown

 Competition Post: Troy Guenther

250SX red plate-holders preview East Rutherford Supercross this Saturday.

Image: Octopi Media.

The in-form Lawrence brothers are primed for the first 250SX East/West Showdown of the season, each holding a comfortable points lead in their respective regions ahead of what is shaping up to be an anticipated battle between the pair.

For 250SX East leader Lawrence, he holds a 45-point advantage and has the opportunity to capture his first Supercross title this Saturday, if he can leave East Rutherford with a points advantage great than 52.

The Team Honda HRC rider has tasted 250SX Showdown success previously, winning last season in Atlanta, and is looking forward to entering the first such event this season with a healthy championship buffer.

“Both of us want to win, but at the same time I think it is kind of cool because we both have a pretty healthy points lead, that we can’t really, obviously touch-wood and within reason, mess it up,” Hunter Lawrence said.

“I think I’m 45 points and Jett is 26, so it’s a good position to be in I think, everyone can kind of let their hair down and go put on a good show and have some fun racing.”

Following Atlanta last Saturday, the number 96 has won six out of the seven 250SX East races contested this year, while younger brother Jett has been victorious in five from six 2023 250SX West rounds, his latest success coming at the region’s most recent outing at Glendale’s Triple Crown.

While Hunter’s closest challenger in terms of the 250SX East championship is Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing), Jett’s points lead is 26 ahead of RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) with the chance to achieve his first 250SX Showdown victory this Saturday.

“We both have a fairly healthy points lead, like Hunter said, so I think it is kind of really going out there and racing like any other race really,” Jett Lawrence explained. “I don’t think we are going to do anything stupid to where we are going to try and take each other out or risking ourself, but I mean if we are 1-2 and I’m in second and the pass is there, I’m going to take it, and vice-versa.

“We are not going to do anything crazy stupid out of our way. Our main goal is to obviously be 1-2 at the end of the day. So it’s just whoever is feeling it that day really. At this point, we don’t know. Just have to wait really [laughs].”

Agassiz MX Track...One Beautiful Spot!

2023 World Two Stroke Championship

The 2023 Wiseco World Two-Stroke Championships, presented by FastHouse, once again delivered intense racing action. Glen Helen was packed with racers, young and old, along with many spectators who came to enjoy the sights and sounds of the two-stroke roaring up and down the hills of the Glen Helen National track. The Pro class was stacked competition as usual, with tons of Pros hungry to get their slice of the $25,000 in prize money that was spread between the premier Open Pro class and the Pasha 125 Open Pro, Pasha Over-30 and Pasha Over-50 classes. In the end, Carson Brown took the win in the Open Pro class and Ryan Morais took the win in the Pasha 125 Open class.

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Jay Wilson Makes Perfect Start To 2023 Japanese Motocross Championship

Jay Wilson took his YZ450F to a perfect three wins from three starts to kick off his campaign in stunning fashion

Jay Wilson made his debut in the IA1 (450cc) class a memorable one at the opening round of the 2023 Japanese Motocross Championship taking his YZ450F to a perfect three wins from three starts to kick off his campaign in stunning fashion.

Wilson, the 2022 250cc Japanese Champion, made the move to the 450 class for 2023 with the newly formed Yamaha Factory Innovation Team and has adapted well to the new YZ450F. Despite a mishap in the early free practice session, Wilson went on to win his qualifying race and then pieced together three impressive motos to take the round one victory.

It’s the perfect start for Wilson and his team and with plenty of rounds to come, he expects the competition to step up in the coming rounds.

“The weekend went well and to be honest, I’m a little surprised by the results,” Wilson said. “Throughout the pre-season and in testing, my Yamaha teammates have shown they have plenty of speed and often been faster than me so to dominate the opening round wasn’t expected.

Herlings 4th in Swiss MXGP

Herlings on fourth in Switzerland

The FIM Motocross World Championship returned to Swiss territory for the first time in five years. The third round of the 2023 MXGP calendar at Frauenfeld was the scene for Andrea Adamo to score 2nd overall in the MX2 category with his works KTM 250 SX-F. Jeffrey Herlings classified 4th in the MXGP class.

• Adamo stars as KTM’s lead MX2 hope with 2nd overall and his second podium result in three GPs
• The Italian rides to a 3-2 card in front of a packed attendance and across a rough and rutty course at Frauenfeld on Easter Monday. He sits 4th in the championship standings.
• Herlings just misses a third consecutive podium finish with his KTM 450 SX-F but keeps steady to take 4th in Switzerland and guard 2nd spot in the championship table
• Liam Everts rides to 7th in the final MX2 Grand Prix classification as MXGP heads to Pietramurata in Italy next weekend for round four

An overdue and welcome return to Switzerland and some of the most vocal and enthusiastic fans in Europe awaited MXGP on Easter weekend. Round three gathered under bright but temperate conditions at Frauenfeld northeast of Zurich and around a rough and demanding new layout for the Grand Prix. Frauenfeld had previously staged MXGP dates in the middle of the last decade but had not hosted the series since 2018.

Jeffrey Herlings came to the meeting after claiming his 100th career victory in Sardinia two weeks previously and then after victorious outings in domestic events in Europe in a quest to build-up his race speed and conditioning even further. The 28-year-old rode to 3rd place in Saturday’s RAM Qualification Heat and then waited until Monday’s motos to secure to a 6th and a 4th for 4th on the day and dealt with a rough, quick and potentially treacherous surface with a composed approach despite suffering with arm-pump.

 

In the MX2 class Andrea Adamo made use of decent starts and an effective rhythm to be among the leaders with a 3rd and a 2nd. The haul was enough for Adamo’s second walk to the rostrum in his first season with the team and with the factory KTM 250 SX-F. Liam Everts was once more in the top ten reckoning and an 8-6 effort (the second moto 6th place being his second-best result of the young season so far) was another learning experience for the Belgian.

There will be little time to dwell on round three as MXGP pushes directly onto the fourth appointment of the campaign next weekend. Another bumper and expectant crowd are expected to flock to the hard-packed, slick but spectacular setting of Pietramurata in Arco di Trento for the Grand Prix of Trentino.

Jeffrey Herlings, 6th and 4th for 4th overall in MXGP: “I had a good gatepick after Saturday but the break in the schedule didn’t help me much. I felt a bit tight today and although I had a good start in the first moto I had some arm-pump and went backwards. It was a shame. I took the points. It was not a great weekend but not a bad one. I’ll look forward now to Arco next weekend and work from there.”

Andrea Adamo, 3rd and 2nd for 2nd overall in MX2: “A really good weekend for me. A solid one. The track was a bit different to what we are used to but I enjoyed it: something different is also cool! I think we can all be quite happy with 2nd overall today. Now we’ll go back to Italy for some training and get ready for Arco. We are confident at the moment and I hope we can try for the same result or even better.”

Liam Everts, 8th and 6th for 7th overall in MX2: “My Quali race went well and my pace was good but in the first moto I got held-up, tipped-off and struggled to find my rhythm. In the second moto I was 5^th for most of the race until Kay [De Wolf] got around me at the end. P6 for 7^th overall though felt like an improvement. I liked the track here. It was better on Saturday; more lines and slower but a bit faster today. It was an unusual weekend but we made the most of it.”

Christan Craig Update

Following his horrific crash at the Glendale round of AMA Supercross, Christian Craig has provided an update on his condition. Sadly, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider has confirmed he’s dislocated his hip, dislocated elbow and broken his elbow. Here’s his post below.

“Rough day in AZ. Ended up going down early in first practice. Dislocated hip and dislocated elbow. Was able to get them both put back in at hospital. My elbow is also broken so will be getting surgery on that once the swelling goes down. Appreciate everyone that has reached out- including lots of the guys I race every weekend. And thanks to everyone who was at the hospital with me while Paige Craig hopped on a flight as well as the mobile medical team for taking care of me. Unfortunately, this is part of the sport and I’ll heal up to be ready,’’ he explained.

Glendale SX Highlights

Swiss MXGP