Metge Wins Dakar Stage Ten

Frenchman Michael Metge won stage 10 of the 2017 Dakar Rally on Thursday.

The Honda rider covered the 449 kilometre timed special between Chilecito and San Juan in Argentina in five hours and 48 minutes.

Spain’s Joan Barreda was second following the day’s test.

Also riding a Honda – he crossed over at 55 seconds.

Slovakia’s Stefan Svitko rounded out the stage ten podium on his KTM.

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Svitko was one minute and 19 seconds behind the day’s winner.

Britain’s Sam Sunderland retained his position at the summit of the overall motorbike standings.

The KTM rider now holds a 30 minute lead over Austrian Matthias Walkner after Pablo Quintanilla suffered a crash was taken to hospital.

Breakthrough 33 : The Braxton McGee Story | Episode 2

In Episode 2, Braxton McGee gets to work with his pre-season training in preparation for his move from amateur to the GNCC XC2 pro class.

“Breakthrough 33: The Braxton McGee Story” is a multi-part series where FLY Racing attempts to answer the question: What does it take to make the move from the amateur to pro ranks in GNCC racing? How much hard work, dedication, and teamwork is required for an emerging offroad racer and his family to make the transition from amateur to the XC2 pro class in the 2017 GNCC series?

Barreda Wins Stage 8, Sunderland Still Leads Dakar

With one hour and 10 minutes to make up on Sam Sunderland in the general standings, Joan Barreda went on the attack claiming the stage win into Salta.

• Barreda took his 15th Dakar stage win
• KTM’s Walkner and Sunderland were 2-3
• Sherco’s Pedrero rode well for fifth.
• Sunderland comfortably maintains the overall lead
• Stage 9 has been cancelled
• It’s the 2nd stage of 2017 to get the chop

Dakar left the high plains and headed towards Argentina along a route initially comprising off-piste and crossing of fords combined with negotiating dunes. However, the competitors were once again victims of the weather and the rain of the previous days caused rivers to swell and flood, forcing the organisers to change the route with a neutralised section at the end of the Bolivian part of the special.

With nothing to lose in the general standings, Barreda is on the attack. This is a state of mind that he especially likes and one that allowed him to pick up his second special stage victory in 2017 with a considerable lead over the official KTM bikes ridden by Matthias Walkner and Sam Sunderland, who again increased his lead in the general standings. 

“The stage up to the first checkpoint was a bit about tactics because that was to decide the starting order for Stage 9, so to be fourth at that point was okay,” told Walkner. “Then I tried to make up some time over the last 250 km and it was good enough for second place. 

“It was very cold and it rained and there was a lot of fog in the early morning. We could only see about 10-15 meters. There was also a lot of flooding and in some places deep mud.” 

Sunderland leads Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla by almost 21 minutes with Yamaha’s Adrien Van Beveren third.

Barreda’s team-mate Michael Metge had another enjoyable romp behind the bars, posting fourth spot amid the chaos.

Ricky Brabec had it tough today, having to open the track after yesterday’s win. The American was overtaken by Paulo Gonçalves and followed his team-mates trail to conclude the special without any serious loss of time.

Attacking the second part of the marathon stage, Yamaha’s Xavier de Soultrait was the highest placed Yamaha rider. Involved in some great battles, the Frenchman wrapped up the stage in ninth to retain his impressive sixth place in the provisional overall standings.

Walter Nosiglia is enjoying himself on his first Dakar. The Bolivian rookie continues to make progress behind the handlebars of his non-official Honda, finishing the day's stage in a fine fourteenth place, only 15 minutes behind Joan Barreda, who stood out from the pack. It is a performance that is promising for the end of the second week.

Toomas Triisa still maintains the Malle Moto lead over Lyndon Poskitt and Julian Kozac.

With 110 bikes starting Stage 8, 108 finished.

Stage 9 has been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions:

While the leading group of riders competed the stage, many riders, support teams and vehicles were stranded and eventually Dakar vehicles, competitors, assistance and logistics were diverted over a much longer route and some were not due to reach Salta in time for the start of Stage 9.

The plan is now to regroup the Dakar caravan in time to start the nineth stage on Thursday from Chilecito to San Juan.

Photos: DPPI/E.Vargiolu, Marcelo Maragni/Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

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New Zealand MX

Cooper Wants to Win the Greatest Show on Turf

Tuesday, 10 January 2017, 9:22 am
Press Release: Bikesport NZ

Cooper Wants to Win the Greatest Show on Turf

JANUARY 10, 2017: The past couple of years have been classic Aussie versus Kiwi battles, but Bay of Plenty's Cody Cooper is determined to reclaim the top spot and win his third NZ Grand Prix motocross title this season.

The man from Mount Maunganui is the current national MX1 motocross champion and he arrives in the Manawatu on the weekend of January 28-29 as the firm favourite to win what is regarded as the biggest stand-alone event on the Kiwi racing calendar – the Honda-sponsored New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville.

He has won there twice before – the first time in 2007 and then seven years later in 2014 – and he would like nothing better than to win once more and become a rare three-time winner of the iconic Woodville event when he lines up at this season's 56th annual running.

But that is easier said than done and Cooper was denied that honour last year for a second consecutive season, deprived both times by Australian visitors.

Cooper was stopped in 2015 by Australian Kirk Gibbs and in 2016 it was another Australian, New South Welshman Dean Ferris, who rose up to claim the main trophy on debut at Woodville.

Cooper had lived up to his star billing when he again won the MX1 class at Woodville last year, but it was a case of Cooper winning the battles but losing the war, with Ferris leading from start to finish in the gruelling Invitation Feature Race and becoming the 28th different main event winner at Woodville since the inaugural running in 1961.

Cooper won the MX1 class last year with a 1-2-2 score-card, finishing the day four points ahead of Ferris, and Otago's just-turned 20-year-old Courtney Duncan stunned the testosterone-fuelled MX2 (250cc) class to snatch that class win with an outstanding 1-3-2 score-line, while Feilding's Tony Cvitanovich did enough in finishing 4-4-3 to be crowned 125cc class champion at Woodville last year.

Not only did 15-year-old Cvitanovich win the 125cc class, but he was also rewarded with the Roddy Shirriffs Memorial Trophy as the highest-placed senior 125cc class rider under the age of 22.

The winner of the spectacular river race class was Palmerston North's James Galpin.

The founder of the iconic event 56 years ago, Palmerston North's Tim Gibbes, has expressed enthusiasm that the Woodville motocross would live on forever.

"I'm not surprised that it's still a major event. I remember back in the beginnings when we had 5000 tickets printed but the call came back from the entrance gate at one o'clock in the afternoon that they'd sold out. The crowds just kept coming," said the now 83-year-old former world championship rider.

"I'm very proud of this event but it's not all about me ... there has been a lot of work done by a lot of people over the years to make this a continuing success," said Gibbes, who had also twice won his own Woodville event in the past (in 1962 and 1964).

"When this first became an international event, nobody in New Zealand knew what motocross was."

They certainly know all about it now and Cooper will again have some huge heavy-hitters lining up against him this year.

Kirk Gibbs will not be back this year, but Ferris will again be crossing the Tasman and, with his recent Australian MX1 championship win, he should be expected to feature.

Kiwi internationals such as Waitakere's Hamish Harwood, Mangakino's Kayne Lamont, Taupo's Brad Groombridge, Rotorua's John Phillips, Rangiora's Micah McGoldrick, Waitakere's Ethan Martens, Hamilton's Josiah Natzke, Mount Maunganui's Rhys Carter and Queenstown's Scott Columb, to name just a few, also have good reason to fancy their chances.

Racing over the two days at Woodville caters for minis, juniors, women, veterans and seniors, with the novelty river race on Sunday always a crowd-pleaser.

HRC, Roczen, Seely...New Year

Team Honda HRC is excited to drop episode one of its new REDefined video series, featuring Ken Roczen and Cole Seely. In this episode, we follow the progress of the Honda Red Riders and their crew as they prepare for the highly anticipated 2017 AMA Supercross series.

Debut Stage Win For USA’s Ricky Brabec

Becoming the first American to win a stage of the Dakar Rally since Kurt Caselli, Honda’s Ricky Brabec won the opening leg go the marathon stage.

• Ricky Brabec won his debut Dakar stage
• He’s the first American rider since Kurt Caselli to win
• Stage 7 marked the opening leg of the marathon stage
• Sam Sunderland still holds the overall lead

Back to business after rest day, the stage 7 saw a revised route due to weather conditions. 

Leaving Bolivia’s La Paz, the highest capital city in the world, and the warm welcome given by its inhabitants to head towards another world renowned venue, the Salar d'Uyuni salt flats. 

The stage was shortened due to the poor weather conditions, but once again boasted sandy tracks that were liable to create big gaps. The seventh day especially rhymed with the marathon stage, which could leave its mark on competitors who have to work alone on their machines at arrival to the bivouac.

Ricky Brabec had been there or thereabouts for a while. On stage 7 the official Honda rider was finally rewarded for his efforts and paid back the trust shown to him by HRC with triumph on stage seven, ahead of his experienced team-mate Paulo Gonçalves. 

“It was the first day of the marathon after the rest day,” told Brabec. “The track was good and the navigating went well. There was more off-road than on-road, which is more my style. 

“I’m happy to be here at the finish-line in spite of my slide out in the grass where I went swimming. These bikes are pretty slippery in the mud. I’m happy to come away in one piece, healthy and ready to go tomorrow.

In third, Sam Sunderland (KTM) did all that was necessary to limit the damage and even increased his lead in the general standings over Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna). 

“It was a lot harder a stage than we were expecting – there was a lot of navigation,” explained Sunderland. “I lost some time today because it was a sandy stage and the guys from the back can see the tracks cleanly. 

“I'm really happy with everything on the bike. It's the first stage of the marathon day and the tyres are good so we'll just keep ticking along.”

Joan Barreda came home in fourth with Xavier De Soultrait fifth. Third overall in the rally Adrien Van Beveren was 11th.

Placing 20th on the stage, Joakim Rodrigues is still the top rookie in 11th. But with Franco Caimi (Honda) in 12th it’s still all to play for that honour.

Laia Sanz is still 25th overall and two places behind Ivan Cervantes in 23rd.

Ever changing the Malle Moto category is now led by Toomas Triisa. Fifth during rest day, Lyndon Poskitt is up to second position with Julian Kozac third. All three are inside the top 46 overall.

There was only one retirement from the stage, with 110 bikes still in the rally.

With the 2017 Dakar Rally starting its descent from the Bolivian uplands to the Argentinean plains, tomorrow's stage eight includes a 492km-long timed special before its finish in Salta. Reaching the end of the two-day-long marathon stage, competitors will have the chance to meet up with their mechanics and support crews tomorrow afternoon in the Argentinean city.

Dakar Stage 5

Sunderland takes control

Dakar Rally organizers promised competitors an edition difficult in navigation and altitude and at the end of the first this two-week, almost 9,000 km offroad trek through Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia, that is exactly how it has been.Red Bull KTM Factory Racing go into the second week with Sam Sunderland as the overall leader but the first week has brought the team challenges and the exit through injury of reigning champion, Australia’s Toby Price.

British rider Sam Sunderland won a shortened Stage 5 on his KTM 450 RALLY to be the fifth stage winner since the rally kicked off in Asuncion, Paraguay. The Dubai-based rider has never been out of the top four overall so far in this edition. This solid and consistent result is a confidence booster for Sunderland. He has already much improved on his two previous starts in the Dakar and after various injuries is mentally and physically very strong.

Sunderland: “It’s been a hard time with a lot of crazy things – temperatures of 45 degrees to 5 degrees here in Bolivia and altitude of 4,500 meters. The navigation has been heavy and very physical riding as well. It’s good to arrive here in the lead but at the same time I know it doesn’t mean much because we still have a long way to go. I need to stay focused until the end.” Asked how he has spent the rest day, he commented: “We’ve been busy organizing things for next week and I went to see my friend Toby Price and it was nice to see him in good spirits and on the road to recovery. For next week I am expecting a lot more rough times to come. We’re heading back into Argentina but first we have the marathon stage, which is always interesting. We’ll be on our own in the desert, so that will be a bit rough. I think the organizers have in for some rough times with the navigation, the riding, and lots of riverbeds, dunes and camel grass. I’ll just be trying to focus each day because this year I really want to see the finish line.”

Red Bull KTM factory rider Matthias Walkner is overall fifth at the half way mark after a stage win in the fourth stage, when he moved up to overall second. Like most riders he experienced some difficulty with the navigation in the following day’s Stage 5, the first full day in Bolivia. He was ranked 21st in the stage, which was shortened because of weather conditions. It is Walkner’s third Dakar start. His pre-race goal was to see the finish line in Buenos Aires and hopefully achieve a top five in the general rankings.

At the half way mark Walkner said he was quite satisfied although he had been ‘up and down’ in the first week. “I won one stage and I was second in one other so that was pretty good. I try to ride on the limit but when it comes to the navigation it’s extremely difficult. I just hope I can find my rhythm and ride fast.” Asked about the level of difficulty of this year’s rally he commented: “The extreme altitude, combined with very long days. We start each day at around 4.00 a.m. so we get up about 2.00 a.m. But it’s the same for everyone.”

KTM factory rider Laia Sanz of Spain remains resilient and determined to improve on her present 26th overall. As the most outstanding woman in the field of the remaining 111 riders, Sanz still plans to aim for a top 15 finish.

Riders were spared Saturday’s sixth stage, which was to be the longest and probably the most difficult was completely washed out. After the official cancelation, riders and teams traveled to La Paz for the rest day along the liaison route, only to receive a brilliant welcome from the fans on their arrival in the capital.

Sanz said however that despite difficult conditions, she would have preferred to contest stage six. “It wouldn’t have been possible to contest the stage but I would have preferred to do it. It was long and hard and many things could have happened. The more stages there are, the more chance I have of improving my position.”

While his teammates prepare for the second half of the rally, Australian Toby Price is in La Paz, recovering from a compound fracture of his left leg after hitting a stone and crashing hard in stage four. Price was desperately disappointed to have been denied the chance to defend his title but is a resilient athlete who has the ability and mental strength to bounce back from the injury setback.

On Monday riders turn south to travel from La Paz to Uyuni, the marathon stage of the rally where they bivouac overnight and are denied any access or assistance to and from their teams on the way to Salta (in Argentina) on Tuesday. They have three long and difficult rides on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as they head east to Buenos Aires. Saturday is the final day with a short 64 km timed special, but a total distance of 786 km to reach the finish line.

Standings Dakar 2017 after 6 of 12 stages
1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, +15:22.05 h
2. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Husqvarna, +12:00 min
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, +16:07
4. Gerard Farres Guell (ESP), KTM, +20:57
5. Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM, +29:01 (5 min penalty)

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