Monday Morning Coffee
By Billy Rainford
Good morning and welcome to your Monday Morning Coffee. I finally had one of those weekends where I hit two different motocross venues in the same weekend. It’s been a long winter here and it just felt great to have the option!
We have a friend whose son woke up to a Honda CRF50 Christmas morning last year and has been chomping at the bit to get out on a track. We heard he was going to be at the TVR track called ‘Swiona MX‘ in Iona Station, Ontario, on Saturday so we jumped in the car to have a look.
Swiona MX Park in Iona Station, Ontario. – Bigwave photo
It was a practice day for the Thames Valley Riders and there were a number of riders of very different abilities circulating the big track when we got there. Over on the mini track we saw young #55 Ryan Lyras putting in laps as we drove through the property and over to the small track which sits within view of the busy 401 highway between London and Windsor.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t really get on a bike very often these days but I’m pretty sure I have enough knowledge to help the young upstart. We stood in the warm 20-degree sunshine and watched Ryan put in lap after lap. He would probably still be there if his mother hadn’t threatened to leave without him!
Ryan took his lumps but always hopped up immediately and kept trying. – Bigwave photo
After watching a few laps I had a few tips for him like, get your elbows up into a more controlled position, don’t stare down at the tip of your front fender, and try to stand up more. To my surprise, he immediately put the input into practice and started to look better right away! It’s great when a 6-year-old is that open to instruction and is actually willing and happy to listen. He’s a great kid with a refreshing attitude. With those ingredients, I warned his mom to be ready to be involved in this crazy sport the rest of her life! She comes from a horse background and I’m not so sure how she took the news.
Ryan and his mom, Shannon, going over some new line options. – Bigwave photo
While Ryan was busy working on his technique, his sister, Charlotte, was busy with a little mud hole. – Bigwave photo
I taught him that the outside might look better but it’s not always the fastest! – Bigwave photo
That’s right! Leave that inside open and be ready to accept the consequences. “Who was that guy???” – Bigwave photo
Meanwhile, back at the mud hole… – Bigwave photo
Sometimes you have to stop and smell…the weeds. – Bigwave photo
You looked great out there, Ryan. Keep working on those three things and we’ll see you on the Pro podium in 2030! – Bigwave photo
I grabbed a bunch of shots of the other riders there too. I’ll throw them up on there own later here on the site. Thanks for the hospitality Swiona.
MXGP – Trentino, Italy Race Report
Here is the Race Report sent out by MXGP from this past weekend in Trentino, Italy. It might just be the best-looking GP in the world.
RACE REPORT
NAGL AND GAJSER TAKE TRENTINO
PIETRAMURATA (Trentino), 19 April 2015 – “Seeing is believing!” and only those that were here in Pietramurata for round four of the FIM Motocross World Championship can tell you how incredible this race was. It will definitely go down in history as one of the best motocross races ever. The atmosphere was beyond electric which just added to the amazing show that was bought forth this weekend as Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl took his third MXGP round victory of the season while Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser claimed his first ever grand prix victory in MX2.
Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl is proving to be all business this year. Just when we thought MXGP couldn’t get more exciting, we are fast learning that if Max holeshots, he is untouchable. After taking a solid second place in race one, the German took his fourth FOX Holeshot of the season and ran away for yet another meritorious race victory which handed him his third MXGP overall and has moved him up to second place in the championship, just one point shy of the series leader Clement Desalle.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli seemed extra fired up this weekend, which he confirmed with his hair-raising victory in race one. Obviously a victory for the Italian on home turf just caused all sorts of pandemonium in the paddock, which added to the already electric atmosphere. A second place in race two landed TC222 on the second step of the podium here in Trentino. The Italian later confirmed he was a little angry this weekend, but for a humorous reason, “I fell in the shower this week and had to go to the hospital for stitches. I couldn’t believe that I race motocross and then I crash in the shower and hurt my head, so this made me a little bit angry” he laughed.
Meanwhile Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP’s Clement Desalle is keeping the momentum flowing. The Belgian still embraces that beautiful effortless style where it seems obvious he is riding with the bigger picture in mind. Although with Ryan Villopoto in his sights during the final race, we saw another side to the number twenty-five where he was relentless on his mission to the front of the field. After narrowly escaping the carnage of Villopoto’s crash, which happened along side him, he later fell on his own but managed to remount for fourth in that race. In combination with his third from race one The MX Panda rounded off the podium for his fourth consecutive podium finish of the year.
Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre continues to creep closer to the podium and has definitely confirmed his position as the fastest young prospect in the MXGP class.
Team HRC’s duo of Gautier Paulin and yesterday’s top qualifier Evgeny Bobryshev were wedged off the start in both races. With the track being so gnarly and the depth of talent in the MXGP class being stronger than ever, making up ground was always going to be difficult which meant the pair finished fifth and sixth overall respectively.
Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Ryan Villopoto had the opportunity to steal the thunder from the MXGP regulars. In race one he came close as he was a solid player in an epic four-way battle for the win, yet in race two he was lucky to walk away from one of the most bizarre and gnarliest crashes of the season.
Meanwhile the other two Italian fan favorites, TM Factory Racing Team’s Davide Guarneri finished eighth while DP19 Racing Yamaha’s David Philippaerts finished ninth.
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:01.846; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:00.900; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:01.597; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), +0:04.118; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:11.219; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:16.093; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:27.399; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:43.842; 9. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:46.520; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:47.263
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), 34:09.426; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.091; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:09.612; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:25.068; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:26.912; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:28.030; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:50.778; 8. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:53.748; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:57.020; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:57.366.
MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 47 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 38 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 32 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 28 p.; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 26 p.; 8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 22 p.; 9. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 20 p.
MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 171 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 170 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 170 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 129 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 128 p.; 6. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 124 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 100 p.; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 78 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 75 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 70 p.
MXGP Manufacturers: 1. Husqvarna, 174 points; 2. Suzuki, 171 p.; 3. KTM, 170 p.; 4. Yamaha, 134 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 129 p.; 6. Honda, 129 p.; 7. TM, 70 p.
It was an emotionally charged victory for Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser who in race two passed the defending champion Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jordi Tixier and resisted a brief challenge from The Bullet Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings for his first MX2 race win of the season and his first ever MX2 Grand Prix overall.
Meanwhile The Bullet was more than impressive in race one as he did what he typically does and annihilated everyone. But, race two sang a different song for the championship leader as he got off to a terrible start and was forced to do the slice and dice through the pack. After chopping down the ten-second lead of Gajser, with half a lap to go, he lost traction and had a mini high side, which killed all chances of both the race and overall victories.
Rounding off the podium, Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jordi Tixier had to settle for two thirds as he was out-classed by Gajser and Herlings. Meanwhile teammate Dylan Ferrandis made life difficult for himself with two poor starts, from which he bounced back for two top five finishes.
Fifth overall went to Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie who put in a solid performance in race one to take fourth, followed by a seventh in race two which was made more impressive by the fact he came back from a crash early on in the race.
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:14.247; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:15.868; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.967; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:21.346; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.219; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:31.955; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:45.882; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:48.126; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:55.332; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:59.371.
MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:27.396; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:16.199; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.041; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:44.825; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:45.962; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:53.212; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:58.979; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +1:03.117; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:09.210; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:12.304.
MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 34 p.; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 32 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 29 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 21 p.
MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 172 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 159 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 133 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 126 p.; 5. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 101 p.; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 101 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 99 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 95 p.; 9. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 86 p.; 10. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 75 p.
MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 194 points; 2. Kawasaki, 165 p.; 3. Honda, 135 p.; 4. Yamaha, 129 p.; 5. Suzuki, 99 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 98 p.
MXGP TRENTINO – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1660m
Type of ground: Hard Pack
Temperature: 21°C
Weather conditions: sunny
Crowd Attendance: 32,000
Amsoil Arenacross Results
Santa Clara SX Results
Season Opener at Gopher Dunes
Racing got underway for another season at the site of the 5th round of the Rockstar Energy MX Nationals. Gopher Dunes was the site of the inaugural AMO event. As I pulled onto the property the grounds looked pretty busy as Ryan Gauld is working hard to bring amateur racing back to its glory days. It look like he’s off to a pretty good start, but it won’t be easy.
The Gopher Dunes track was in fine form with its infamous tank-deep sand berms. – Bigwave photo
The issue will be getting the races and the titles back to prominence and importance on the local scene. There are a few other clubs running events throughout the region – and that’s great – but we still need that one series that is for more competitive racing if we want the sport to keep progressing here in Ontario.
I believe Ryan told me there were around 280 entries. He would have been very happy with 300, but it’s a good start. The weather was OK but not as nice as it was the previous day – 16 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud and strong winds that made it look like a scene from The Mummy at times!
When the wind gusted, we all wished we’d thought of this. – Bigwave photo
We will have a full photo report up later on the site as well as some video of the action that saw motocross hero #30 Honda Canada TLD GDR rider Kyle Keast take a spectacular fall going up the face of the big finish line tabletop and, what looked like, collect the flagger. I looked over just after the dust had settled and Kyle was sitting up and preparing to be helped off the track. The flagger was fine and actually jumped off the hill to avoid the collision, but Kyle didn’t return to race the final motos.
We spoke with the Lindsay, Ontario, rider this morning and he said nothing was broken but that he was pretty bruised up around his hips and quad muscles. In true Kyle Keast fashion, he said he’d be back in action at Motopark this coming weekend. He also clarified that he didn’t actually hit the flagger but that he had to jump off the top of the hill to avoid being smashed into. Kyle ended up at the top of the jump and commented that it’s really not great to be crashing up the face of that huge jump at those high speeds. That’s an understatement!
Heal up, Kyle, and we’ll see you up in Chatsworth, Ontario, this weekend.
Kyle Keast confirmed he’s bruised but not broken after his spectacular crash up the face of the finish line tabletop at Gopher Dunes Sunday. Watch for him to line up this weekend at Motopark. – Bigwave photo
OK, thanks for having a look. I hope that got you through a delicious cup of of coffee this morning. We’ve got lots of things to work on today, so we’ll leave it there. Have a great week, everyone, and happy birthday to Brad Nauditt!
