Herlings commits to MXGP amid speculation of Pro Motocross switch

Red Bull KTM talent anticipating riding return in late April.

Reigning champion Jeffrey Herlings has reaffirmed his commitment to the 2019 MXGP World Championship despite speculation previously linking him to campaign in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider broke his right foot at the end of January in a training incident, sidelining him for at least the first four rounds and resulting in increased talk of the Dutchman plotting an assault on the American pro circuit after being ruled out of grand prix title contention.

Today the Austrian manufacturer released a statement revealing Herlings will in fact remain in the world championship, with an anticipated return from injury scheduled for late April.

“Rehab has been going very well and I cannot wait to be back and to throw a leg over the bike again,” Herlings explained. “I want to be back at the GPs as quick as possible but we cannot say which race yet until I get some riding time.

“I’m also able to step-up my cycling and swimming now. For sure we’ll miss the next three rounds and we also don’t want to rush things and risk a set-back.”

KTM vice president of off-road added: “It is good to see that Jeffrey is making progress and we can perhaps see the end of this unfortunate injury that was so disruptive to our 2019 plans. It will be a big boost for us and the team to have Jeffrey back, fit and happy in MXGP. He is a very important rider for an important team for us in MXGP.”

FIM confirms introduction of E-Bike Enduro World Cup this year

Inaugural electric-powered enduro sanctioned by FIM to take place in France.

The FIM has confirmed the introduction of the inaugural E-Bike Enduro World Cup that will take place on 1-2 June 2019, as part of the Trophee de France E-VTT Enduro at Privas, France.

The electric-powered series will include two categories: Enduro1 (E1) – bikes equipped with a motor with a maximum rated continuous power of more than 250W without exceeding 45kph, and Enduro2 (E2) – also boasting a maximum continuous rated power of 250W that does not exceed 25kph.

Saturday’s opening day will utilise an urban prologue in the centre of the city, while Sunday’s main race will unfold in the surrounding hills. The main race will include three laps of approximately 25km per lap – comprising of the liaison route that will link the three special tests, that will vary in length.

These will be located in a nearby forest and will incorporate the local rocky terrain that will present its own technical challenges. Overall the course will look to test the E-Bikes’ technology plus physical condition and skills of the riders.

“I am particularly proud to announce the launch of our first E-Bike competition,” said FIM president Jorge Viegas. “Power assisted bicycles and electric powered cycles are not recent products and have long been part of the history of the FIM, as the vintage Indian motorcycle on display in our headquarters confirms.

“In fact the early motorcycles were much based on a bicycle frame with the addition of an engine, so the story has really returned back to the beginning of our evolution.

Good dirt is expensive!

Why a scenic field in Hampshire is home to the British Motocross Grand Prix 

 

Motocross is one of the most exciting sports to watch, so it's no surprise that the British round of the World Championship is a hit with spectators        Credit: Ray Archer

Round two of nineteen in the 2019 FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship drops into the shallow ‘bowl’ of Matterley Basin, Winchester this weekend. The large site is a mud-splat away from junction 9 of the M3 and has been home to the British Grand Prix for the last decade.

It draws fans from across the UK and Europe to a location used once a year for motorcycle racing and a summer music festival. A (so far) stable weather forecast should see more than 30,000 people converge close to England’s former capital city come Sunday. They will crowd around a jump-laden and spectacular course with vast viewing potential for spectators, permitting full appreciation of a violent and perilous form of motorsport with a vast and unseen grass roots following.

Matterley Basin is epic in scale over its forty-four acres and was inaugurated in 2006 for the Motocross of Nations (a ‘world cup’ of the sport): a fixture that was blighted by rain in the build-up but did not deter an official crowd figure of 89,000. Since then the ground has been mined for the Nations again (2017) and has become the stable British stop on the MXGP calendar thanks to originator and driving force Steve Dixon.

Principal of the Bike it DRT Kawasaki team (that competes in the MX2 class of the series), local resident Dixon took a crash course in event-planning and all the regulations and permits required to make a world championship race occur to establish Matterley Basin. The venue is virtually unique on the Grand Prix agenda (that visits sixteen countries) because long after the bikes have throttled the English soil the circuit grasses-over and remains a quaint part of the countryside until the following year.

“Making the grand prix involves a ten-day build but it is a smooth process now,” said Dixon who has dealt with a myriad of problems and issues through ten editions of the British Grand Prix, ranging from parking, access, weather, communications, security, ticketing: all the imaginable head-aches of a major international occasion. Aside from running a Grand Prix winning team Dixon is now a venerable bank of knowledge when it comes to a large scale sanctioned sporting gathering.

 

He persists with Matterley Basin and a place that can welcome over 400 competitors, factory teams and race transporters once the support classes have made their way through the gates. “It’s a green-field site so everything has to be brought in,” he reveals. “That includes 7km of fencing, water pipes and temporary water structures, generators and other infrastructure to create the paddock.”

Matterley has clear advantages: size, uninterrupted views and a track that is widely rated amongst the grand prix riders as one of the best on the schedule. But the ‘temporary’ nature of the Basin does create hassle. The simple question for Dixon and his small organisational team, flanked by volunteers and other people enamoured by the sport is: why?

“To run a grand prix you need a lot of space and the established motocross tracks we know in the UK simply don't have the requirements or the specifications,” he reveals. “We’ve invested into Matterley with underground structure, communication lines and detailed traffic planning and management and a ton of small details such as flat-parking for trucks and lorries. A road racing circuit would have the facilities, but the costs of creating a motocross track inside are so high because you essentially need to close down the circuit from it’s day-to-day use and transport all the dirt into the site. Good dirt in order to make a Grand Prix track is very expensive and then you cannot control the rain or the drainage. It needs to be kept dry.”

“So Matterley is hard work but it is also fairly cheap and more sustainable,” he adds. “You also have to think that the distances for the fans from the track at a place like Donington Park or Brands Hatch will also have an effect on the atmosphere and we’d like to try and preserve that the best we can.”

This year Dixon took a gamble. He made a request to championship overseers Youthstream for the British Grand Prix to shifted from a traditional summer berth to earlier on the slate. The March date skirts closer to disaster with the weather but for something that costs upwards of a quarter of a million pounds to run the timing also has financial benefits (as well as possibly fishing for extra fans hungry for MXGP after a long off-season). “By moving the race to March I’d say we’ve saved 25% of the budget on infrastructure costs – a metre of fencing is 8-9 pounds instead of 15 – as it would be in the summer. There is a lot more means of transport available. It is a ‘feast or famine’ scenario compared to the summer and the music festival period. Having the race in March means we can cherry-pick our prices more.”

Dixon’s obsession with the grand prix has involved a lot of personal and professional sacrifice. It began in 2005 as an enterprise to support the promotion of his team and DRT is the only Grand Prix squad from the UK still in existence from the last century. “It was important for my team and the sponsors and there was a time when the race wasn't going to happen; we didn't have one in 2003,” he says. “I’ve run a race team for thirty years now so I know I am doing something right there!”

The British Grand Prix survives largely thanks to Dixon and his relationship with the Matterley landowner, local sponsors and companies and the support of the fans that still make the journey to Winchester. Getting people onto the grass banking is not getting any easier and this is a preoccupation that any motorsport – or sport – promoter can relate to.

“I still cannot really give an answer as to why I do it,” he admits. “I think if people were not prepared to give their time and their knowledge for sporting events like this then they wouldn't exist and that goes for pretty much any sport I believe.”

“MXGP is easy to see on TV and there are many other distractions for people today,” he adds. “So we cater for the ‘hardcore’ and have to make it work right for them. Compared to music festival goers that will buy tickets in just a few hours and well-in-advance, race fans tend to decide maybe a week before or even on the day, so it means cash-flow can be tight and it can be a stressful time.”

“I think if anyone came into this just for the money then there are too many variables for it to work,” he stressed. “It has to be driven by passion to make it happen. I’m at the point now where I don't want to give up and be seen to fail with it. When the first race starts on Sunday I still get a  good feeling: the hairs go up on my arms and I think ‘we did it again’.”

KR Struggles

Ken Roczen has always been one of the most open and honest racers in the pits, and so his short two-race slump of sub-par finishes has already resulted in a surprisingly candid response. After finishing eighth at the Indianapolis Supercross, which dropped him 27 points down from championship leader Cooper Webb, he could have just said he got a bad start on a track that didn’t offer much passing. No one would have noticed.

Instead, Roczen’s Team Honda HRC press release contained this quote: 

“There isn’t much to say about Indianapolis,” Roczen said in the team statement. “It just wasn’t a good weekend for us. I had some struggles during the week and over the past couple of weeks that have really held me back and have made it so I can’t ride and train to my full potential. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on and hopefully get some answers soon. I’ve just been getting tired and I’m not sure why. Right now I’m just trying to focus on getting my body and everything aligned so that I can fight back and ride like I was during the beginning of the season. I’m obviously not where I want to be at eighth, but if there’s a good thing to take away it’s that we’re physically healthy and heading to Seattle.” 

“Our goal is to get on the podium each week and we’ve been falling short of that, which is tough because we know both of our guys are capable of it,” said team manager Erik Kehoe. "Ken’s been consistent throughout most of the season but the last few weeks have been tough. Since he had been fighting the flu, he’s had a hard time bouncing back.”

 

Roczen has recently struggled with the flu, but a team statement revealed there might me more holding the #94 back. Rich Shepherd

Roczen finished inside the top five in all of the first nine rounds. Now he has back-to-back eighth-place finishes. 

“Tonight was kind of tough to watch,” added Roczen’s mechanic Oscar Wirdeman. “I’m not sure what happened, but there wasn’t a lot of progression throughout the race obviously, as Kenny started and finished in basically the same position. Bike-wise, he was pretty happy and we didn’t make many changes throughout the day, so that wasn’t the issue. He wasn’t happy so we just need to figure it out and go from there.”

What could be the problem? Surely Kenny will be subjected to some tests to try to figure out why he’s not feeling 100 percent, physically. Remember, this is the first season where Ken has made it out of the West Coast races healthy, which means he’s taken on the load of pre-season training and then 11 races in 11 weekends for the first time since 2016. Is he just feeling run down? Can he get his energy back in time to get that ever-elusive victory and make a title run? Time is running out, and stressing over it probably will only make things worse. 

There’s quite a bit of struggle over at Honda right now, as Cole Seely, Roczen’s teammate, has shown signs of speed all year but is still without a podium finish.

Seely has shown the speed to run up front in heat races but hasn't gotten the starts needed to run up front in the main events. Rich Shepherd

“Cole has been struggling to find his confidence this year,” said Kehoe. “He has the skill and talent but I think he really just needs to believe in himself.”

“This season has been a challenge and tonight was no different,” said Seely, who finished 12th in Indy and is 11th in 450SX points, with a high finish of sixth. “I’m really frustrated. I have the speed to do it but just need to put it all together. It’s definitely tough when you don’t put yourself in a good position off the start, which is what happened in the main. All I can do is keeping working and building forward.” 

“I think everyone is a little frustrated because we’re not sure what’s missing,” added Seely’s mechanic, Jordan Troxell. “I know Cole wants it, I know he can run up front, and he’s happy with the bike, but we can’t seem to get past whatever is holding him back. He’s been struggling with starts, which puts him in a bad situation from the beginning. That’s hard but he’s also still building himself up mentally.” 

For Seely, he’s still looking for that mental edge after his big crash and injuries last season. For Roczen, he’s looking for answers on the physical side. Either way, the long slog of a long season has taken a toll on Team Honda HRC. Can they find some answers? 

2019 The General GNCC Bike Highlights

Video highlights action from the third round of the 2019 GNCC Championship, The General GNCC in Washington Georgia. Russell takes the win but not without a fight with Bollinger and Duvall.

Favoured Matterley Basin circuit promotes optimism for Gajser

Factory Honda rider eager to build on runner-up performance from round one.

Image: Supplied.

Former world champion Tim Gajser is feeling optimistic heading into this weekend’s second round of the 2019 MXGP World Championship as he favours the Matterley Basin circuit in Great Britain.

The Honda HRC rider believes his liking for the venue will promote a sense of enjoyment, which can only lead to strong results according to the Slovenian.

Gajser was unable to challenge nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), finishing runner-up in both outings at the Argentinian stop.

“It’s great to get back to racing after two weeks off,” said Gajser. “I have been training hard and putting in a lot of work in preparation for this race and I can’t wait to finally get back on a race track again after having the break.

“I really like the Matterley Basin track so I’m really looking forward to having some good races over there and having fun, which I think is the most important thing because if I can have fun, I know that I will have had a good race and a good result.”

Round two of the MXGP World Championship marks the start of three back-to-back stops, with the series set to visit Valkenswaard in The Netherlands and Pietramurata in Italy over the following weeks.

David Thorpe Talks British GP

Dave Thorpe interview - British GP

No need for an introduction for Dave Thorpe, but I will do it anyway. Without question the greatest British motocross rider of all time. Three World 500cc championships to his name in an era when the 500cc class was at its strongest. 22 GP wins, a MXoN victory as team manager, and a respect in the sport that he has earnt not just through his racing results, but through his kind, polite manner.

Dave Thorpe is always a pleasure to talk to, and as he gets older, you can feel the emotion of his life in the sport. As a kid and growing up in a family with little money, he snuck into the motocross events. That young boy who sat in trees around the circuit, played in the sand, and just enjoyed spending time with his father grew into one of the toughest, and most admired motocross riders in the World.

We talked to DT about his experiences at the Grand Prix of Great Britain, as a young boy, as the pride of England, and also as a now retired legend, who still has motocross running through his veins and enjoys watching just as much as when he was a small lad.

MXlarge: Firstly, thanks for doing this Dave. British Grand Prix this weekend, that event must hold some great memories for you, as you were in an era, possibly the greatest British GPs ever?

Thorpe: I mean, British Grand Prix is always special. It tends to be more about the British rider, because obviously a lot of people come to see them. The atmosphere is always good and with Matterley Basin being early in the season, people tend to come and watch the early races, rather than the bits in the middle. It will undoubtably have a good atmosphere.

MXLarge: The weather last year around this time was horrible, like Valkenswaard something like -10 degrees, but this time around it looks like we are going to have really good weather, which is great for a motocross event. Matterley Basin with good weather is one of the best tracks in the World. What are you most looking forward to?

Thorpe: I am pleased the weather has changed for Steve (Dixon), because he puts his heart and soul into this. A couple of weeks ago we had torrential rain all week, and I was thinking it doesn’t look like it is going to fall right, but this week the weather looks good for the whole week. There is no better watering than natural watering, so I think the rain we had will be good for the venue. Once they prepare it, there will be a good level of moisture in the ground, so that should create some great racing.

MXlarge: There are three guys in MXGP from the UK that could all get close to the podium or on it, Anstie, Searle and Simpson and also three in the MX2 class with Watson, Sterry and Mewse, so there will be something for the British fans.

Thorpe: Absolutely. Max rode amazing at the des Nations, and a British guy with a little confidence and the crowd behind him, anything is possible.

MXlarge: What are your greatest memories of this event for you personally?

Thorpe: Obviously, the one everyone remembers is Farleigh Castle in 1985, when I had a good race with Andre (Malherbe) and then the second race when I went down in the start and came back to get to the front, to battle with Andre and we had a great race. The memories for me was the crowd running from one side of the track to the other. It was generally like being in a football stadium, with the roar of the crowd. So that fits in my mind, but another one on a personal level, was Hawkstone Park in 1984. In 84, whilst I had won a race in Sweden, I was still a relative new comer at winning a Grand Prix. I went to Hawkstone as a real underdog against all the sand specialists, and it was an extremely hot day, so the fitness really helped me. I came away from there with a double win, and the following week in Belgium I won both races and I also won both races in Italy, and that kind of set me up for 1985 and 1986, where I went into the winter training and really confident.

MXlarge: You were obviously good under pressure, otherwise you don’t win World titles and so many GPs, but what is it like for a British rider at their home Grand Prix?

Thorpe: For me, it was huge. I remember one year at Farleigh, going from the pit box, down to the start line on the bike, with the crowd cheering and people tapping me on the back. I had to sort myself out on the line, because I had tears in my eyes, because I wanted it that bad. When you are a Brit, and you have the people behind you. I know I am bias, but for a Brit doing well, with the crowd behind them, there is nothing better.

MXLarge: What was your first GP as a fan?

Thorpe:  When I was young, the first one I really remember was Donnington, my dad took me there, I remember watching there. Then, I went to Ladies Mile and I remember watching Joel Robert and Sylvain Geboers. As a youngster, in those days, my dad used to say to me, right, I see you back here at 4.30pm, as an eight-year-old child. In todays World that just wouldn’t happen. It was the norm and as a kid I used to climb trees and watch, and walk around and watch, then I would be back to where my dad said at 4.30pm. How the World has changed.

MXlarge: Yes, unfortunately. Did you ever see DeCoster race a GP as a kid?

Thorpe: Where I watched Roger a lot in the early years a lot, was they used to have a race called the Hans Grand International, always run on a good Friday. At Matchems Park, and a young boy, my dad used to get there at 5.30am, so we didn’t have to pay. Same story, we parked up and you be back here at 4.30pm.

MXlarge: Did you have to hide behind trees when the officials turned up?

Thorpe: As a child growing up my parents didn’t have a lot of money. And in those days, they didn’t have a lot of security and my Dad had worked out the people didn’t get there until 6.30am, so if we got there before 6.30am, we just rolled in.

MXLarge: I remember when we went to the races as kid, our Dad would put us in the back of the station wagon and throw a blanket over us until we were inside the track and past the payment area. Funny times, but it seems like back then it wasn’t considered that bad. Do that now and it is a police offence.

Thorpe: Yes, you would be hung dried and quartered.

MXlarge: I was speaking to Steve this week, and Matterley Basin has really become a circuit that belongs with Hawkstone Park, Foxhills and Farleigh Castle as Motocross royalty as far as circuits go.

Thorpe: Yes, I mean, it is an amazing venue for the spectators, and you can see it all. As for the riders, a lot of lines and it creates good racing. With a bit of good weather, we are good to go.

MXlarge: A lot of injuries already this year, a lot of guys, but still there seems to be a dozen riders in each class that can put on a great show. How impressed are you with the MXGP championship at the moment, with the amount of really quality riders?

Thorpe: I think the vision, that was set out very early, there were a lot of doubters, that MX2 was going to be a feeder for MXGP, but the quality in both classes is big now. I agree with the age rule for EMX250, because that class was designed to feed MX2, and it wasn’t always like that. Sure, some riders heard late, which was disappointing for them. The guys who were above age, I feel sorry for them, but as always Youthstream are never shy to make decisions and MX2 is quality and MXGP I love to watch it. There was a period of time I wasn’t that interested in some of the motocross going on, but it sure has reignited the fired to watch it on television or go and watch it live. The action in Argentina, was, just really fast. I haven’t been there, one of the fastest modern tracks I have seen, and I felt those boys were right on the edge.

MXlarge: I loved Argentina, and the technical sections in that track let the riders really show their skills, but it was wide open this year, which if course is good to watch, but pretty dangerous if you crashed. Seems like the jumps and corners were made perfect to show the riders skills. It was like supercross in fast-forward.

Thorpe: Sure. Matterley, you have the big jumps in the middle, but most of it is natural terrain, with off chambers and a lot of lines and opportunities.

MXLarge: Thanks again for your time Dave and see you on the weekend.

Thorpe: Always a pleasure Geoff, see you there.

Interview from MXLarge.com

E Bikes Use Growing

Will Electric Bicycle Manufacturers Overtake Traditional Motorcycle Manufacturers?

Yamaha already has an established Ebike business to complement its ICE-powered motorcycle business.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said “change is the only constant in life.” Change is certainly at the center of motorized vehicle industries at this moment, whether four wheels or two. Some major jurisdictions, in fact, are mandating a relatively rapid move to electric powered vehicles, and the increasing focus on climate change may force internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles off the roads sooner than we might imagine.

Of course, we spend plenty of time in the motorcycle industry talking about the rise in popularity of motorcycles powered by electric motors, rather than traditional ICE – with perhaps the largest issue being the relatively short range, and lengthy recharging time, associated with electric motorcycles.

A related trend might be even more important, i.e., the rise in popularity of electric bikes worldwide. Electric bicycles are the powered two wheelers that are exploding in popularity, even here in the United States. The growth rate in electric bike sales far outstrips that of motorcycles.

Here are some numbers for context. Before 2005, electric bikes were rare throughout Europe and China. Currently, there are over 200 million electric bikes in use in China, and annual sales of electric bikes in Europe are approaching 2 million units today. The U.S. has been lagging when it comes to the adoption of Ebikes, but U.S. sales are now roughly 300,000 Ebikes per year. Some forecasters expect worldwide Ebike sales to grow more than 60% by 2025.

Electric bikes, of course, have pedals by definition. In various jurisdictions they may be limited to 20 mph, or 28 mph, in order to permit their operation without a license, registration and insurance, as well as to make them bike lane legal. Some Ebike manufacturers, of course, are already moving into full fledged scooter and motorcycle production, while some traditional motorcycle manufacturers are making Ebikes.

Yamaha, Ducati, and KTM, for example are traditional motorcycle manufacturers selling or developing Ebikes. Yamaha Ebikes can be found on the same internet homepage occupied by Yamaha motorcycles here in the United States.

Our recent article regarding Harley-Davidson’s acquisition of a children’s’ Ebike manufacturer highlights the creation of brand loyalty by developing a customer base through the sale of Ebikes. That same type of brand loyalty is now being developed by Trek Bicycles, Specialized Bicycles and other traditional “pedal-power-only” manufacturers that have hopped on the Ebike bandwagon. Countless other Ebike-only manufacturers, and component suppliers, are growing in financial strength worldwide. Many of these electric powered two-wheel manufacturers will eventually embrace larger, faster scooters and motorcycles as their customer bases demand it.

Will Ebike manufacturers displace many of the traditional motorcycle manufacturers as the two industries eventually merge over the next 5 to 10 years?

Moto...Beats Sitting On The Couch

Waters and Roberts open MX Nationals season with Appin wins

Post: Alex Gobert

First MXD round belongs to Purvis as rain shortens race-day to single motos.

Image: Foremost Media.

DPH Motorsport Husqvarna’s Todd Waters has emerged victorious in the rain-shortened opening round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals at Appin, New South Wales.

Treacherous conditions forced an early cancellation of the opener, however not before the first motos of the MX1, MX2 and MXD season were completed in the muddiest of conditions.

It was actually Hayden Mellross (Raceline KTM Thor) who crossed the line first after leading the duration, however an infringement for going off-track resulted in a 10-second penalty that handed the moto and overall to Waters – both on return to racing in Australia this year.

Waters delivered a phenomenal performance on the factory-supported FC 450, recovering from an incident on the opening straight that saw him slice his way through the pack and put himself in the frame for victory. Only 1.449s separated them after Mellross’ penalty was applied.

Behind them came former champion Kirk Gibbs (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy), scoring a strong haul of points to round out the podium, directly ahead of fellow South Australian Brett Metcalfe (Penrite Honda Racing). Further back in fifth was Husqvarna-mounted Jesse Dobson.

American Justin Rodbell (KSF Suzuki) led the opening portion before eventually scoring sixth, leading premier class debutant Tomas Ravenhorst (KTM), Luke Clout (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy), Joben Baldwin (Yamaha) and Cody Dyce (SB Motorsports Ecstar Suzuki), who filled the top 10.

Image: Foremost Media.

In the MX2 moto it was Raceline KTM Thor’s Jy Roberts stole victory from long-time leader Jay Wilson (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) on the final lap to seal the round.

Wilson controlled much of the moto after leading from the opening lap, however it was the fast-finishing Roberts who caught the 2015 champion off-guard in the closing stages. Third was defending champion Wilson Todd (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna).

Isaac Ferguson (KTM) and Riley Dukes (Husqvarna) put forward impressive performances for fourth and P5. Sixth came Nathan Crawford (Serco Yamaha), as Cooper Pozniak (KTM), Dylan Wills (Davey Motorsports KTM), Wyatt Chase (Honda) and Aaron Tanti (Serco Yamaha) who was up-front early on.

Image: Foremost Media.

The first MXD moto of the year belonged to New Zealand’s Maximus Purvis (Bulk Nutrients WBR Yamaha), overcoming Rhys Budd (CRF Honda Racing) and Michael Murphy (KTM) to complete the podium. In fourth was Hugh Roache (KTM), with Caleb Clifton (Honda) fifth.

Early leader Regan Duffy’s debut with Raceline KTM Thor saw him lead in the mid-stages, but eventually dropped down the order to cross the line in position seven, behind Liam Walsh (KTM) in P6. Eighth through 10th were Lochie Smith (Yamaha), Jayce Cosford (Yamaha) and Dale Lyons (KTM).

The next stop for the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals will be at Wonthaggi, Victoria, in two weeks’ time on 17 March.