Matt Moss claims victory at Indian Supercross Round Two
Matt Moss dominated round two of the Indian Supercross Racing League, topping the 450 cc International ahead of Thomas Ramette and Paul Haberland in Ahmedabad.
Matt Moss – P1
“First place at Round Two of ISRL – Indian Supercross Racing League. What an experience it has been so far. One more round to go! Cheers for the support legends.”
In the 250 cc class Reid Taylor took the overall, Julien Lebau and Clement Briatte completing the podium.
Jordi Tixier topped the All-Stars, fending off Reid Taylor and Charles Lefranco.
Stephen Gall celebrates 50 years with Yamaha
Australian motocross legend Stephen Gall enters his 49th year with Yamaha Motor Australia in 2024 and has just picked up a range of the latest Yamaha products to commemorate the occasion. His first year on Yamaha was 1974, then just 12 months later, he started a relationship with Yamaha Motor Australia that is still going strong to this day.
A quick trip to the Yamaha offices in Brisbane saw Gall collect a 2024 50th Anniversary YZ450F, a Tenere World Raid and a 30th anniversary Moro E- bike. He then hit the road as fast he could and drive directly to QMP where Gall hit the track on the YZ450F like a teenager and could barely contain his excitement with the new machine.
All three bikes will be put to good use over the next 12 months as Gall is an avid mountain bike rider, will be involved in adventure riding in the future as a Yamaha Ambassador for Ride ADV which provides awesome multi-day adventure rides in most states and just loves cutting laps on a motocross track, all at the ripe age of, well, let’s just say over 60.
Stephen Gall
“I still have a love for motorcycles and dirt bikes to be specific. I might not be at the speed I once was, but the excitement and pleasure I get from riding hasn’t changed much in 50 years and to ride these modern bikes is just amazing to see and feel how far they have come. I aim to get on the motocross bike weekly as it’s a great way of staying in shape and it’s also a great way to spend time with mates, so if you see me out at the track, come over and say hello.”
Darrin Treloar wins inaugural Warren Monson Trophy
Report by Mildura Motorcycle Club
Darrin Treloar, the most decorated Australian Sidecar rider ever, has added the inaugural Warren Monson Trophy to his amazing collection of Championships at Mildura’s Olympic Park speedway on Saturday night. The Gardenland Landscape Supplies, 2024 Victorian Sidecar Championship was a tough and most competitive meeting conducted in great spirit by all teams in the crack field.
An elated, honoured and most humble Treloar with Blake Cox, was totally satisfied with his efforts against the best that Australia could offer as Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr took second place just ahead third placed, Byren Gates/Mick O’Loughlin, with Max Howse/Riley Commons taking the fourth place trophy. Some classy riding was seen during the course of the event which took place in front of an attentive and highly interested crowd.
The four best teams in the crack field finished close with Treloar/Cox being unbeaten on a maximum 15 points scoreline with Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr next with 13 points, having dropped a point to Byren Gates / Mick O’Loughlin in heat 5 and then to Treloar in the tough heat 15. Gates cost himself dearly in his heat 12 ride when he “bogged down” in a start rut and had to follow Josh Pascoe / Greg Black and Dean Hobbs/Dan Low, to an unexpected third place.
Gates and youngsters from Broken Hill, Max Howse/Riley Commons completed their heats on 12 points, but Gates took the third spot in the A Final, on count back, ahead of the Silver City pair, who had the hard fight to come through the “B” Final and ultimately get the last place available in the Warren Monson Final.
Treloar and Headland fought hard against each other from the two inside gates while the wily Byren Gates selected the outside, gate four position hoping to keep out of the way of any trouble on the inside of the track. The Gates strategy nearly worked as, once again, Gates got a brilliant start and was level with Treloar moving through turns one and two.
The inside run saw Treloar ride Gates up to the fence, forcing Gates to “roll off” the throttle and give way to the ultimate winner. There was no malice in the Treloar action, but just a necessary way to keep his ground. Meanwhile, once Gates had slowed, it allowed Headland to move under him and take over second place behind Treloar and that is how it remained until Treloar saw the “chequered” flag at the end of the journey. A tough “Championship” final which was enjoyed by all in attendance.
In the highlight of the night, the riders, officials and large crowd were stunned with the wonderful hand crafted Warren Monson Trophy, which was presented to Treloar and Cox by Full Noize Racing principal, Ray Tegart, who had worked as Pit crew with Monson for more than 20 years.
The newly crafted perpetual Trophy was made by local Jeweller, Ian Burrows, of Showcase Jewellers, whose work was considered to be totally appropriate for the occasion. The Trophy utilised a large piece of the former Olympic Park, “Red Gum” fence to which was attached an engraved Gold plate as the centrepiece of the trophy. The circular Red Gum block has room to have new Victorian Sidecar Champions have their names inscribed on individual small shields, which will note their winning status over forthcoming years.
Mildura Motor Cycle Club sought approval from Motorcycling Victoria to have Monson’s World, Oceania and Nine Victorian Sidecar Championships commemorated and acknowledged in perpetuity with this new Trophy. The Club will retain control of the permanent Trophy and will maintain the administration of the award into the future, whilst also ensuring that the permanent award will always be presented to the new winner each year. A separate award will be given to each winning team on an annual basis as the new Trophy will always live in Mildura.
The “B” finalists included the afore-mentioned Howse/Commons team with Josh Pascoe/Greg Black taking the second place available in the minor final. Nate and Jesse Headland were the third qualifiers.
With Chris Walker next, however, Walker was not able to take his place in the “B” as his passenger, Eric Melton, had taken a heavy fall in heat 17 and took no further part in the meeting, The Walker / Melton team therefore finished the event in seventh place, just behind the younger Headlands and Pascoe / Black.
An interesting group of Classic sidecars provided support to the State Title event and, once again provided some spirited and excellent racing.
Towards the conclusion of the meeting Club International rider, Justin Sedgmen was fare-welled as he embarks on another season of racing in Europe and England. Sedgmen had celebrated his last two domestic meetings with great success, as he won the Phil Crump Classic at the Club’s 75 Anniversary meeting and just last week had travelled to Perth, WA to compete in the Robbie Woffinden Memorial meeting, riding against local and three times World Champion, Tai Woffinden, who had also been at the “Crump” Mildura meeting. Justin has been successful in Perth with our other local International, Jaimon Lidsey. finishing one – two in the Pinjar Park, classic. Lidsey, like Sedgmen, will depart Mildura for their overseas summer riding in the next week.
Next meeting at Olympic Park will be the Sunraysia Riverland Refrigerated Services, Mildura Sidecar Spectacular which will be held on SUNDAY 10th March, where the annual Keith “Curly” Carmes Trophy will be presented to the winning team.
Gajser tops Mantova Internazionali d’Italia
Tim Gajser and Romaine Febvre battled it out at the second Internazionali d’Italia, held at the sandy Mantova track in typically-winter conditions. Gajser taking the overall win with his 1-2 result to finish two-points clear of Febvre who ran 3-1 on the final tally.
Rounding out the podium was Gajser’s HRC teammate Ruben Fernandez with a consistent 2-4 result, KRT rider Jeremy Seewer just missing out in fourth with his 4-3.
Liam Everts meanwhile won the MX2 overall running 1-2, Andrea Adamo the runner-up as the second KTM Factory rider on the podium, and Valerio Lata of the Beddini GasGas Factory Juniors team rounding out the top three.
Tim Gajser – P1
“Obviously, I wanted to win that second race as well, to make it a perfect four wins from four races, but I was still pleased to be able to come through the field and get close to winning before time ran out. And I still won the overall, so it was a good day and I’m glad we did these two events. Getting in some competitive races before the MXGPs start is an important step for me and it is nice to test out this new bike in a race environment. I’m very happy with how its going and I can’t wait to go to Villa La Angostura.”
Romain Febvre – P2
“It was a great day, especially as I went back home this week and didn’t ride my bike since last weekend. I got two good starts; in the first race I didn’t take any risks to pass Fernandez as there was mainly only a single dry line. The second race was easier as I got the holeshot and could ride my own race. It was another good weekend; I’m not at peak form yet but everything is going in the right direction. I’m enjoying racing after two months training in Spain and Sardinia and I have two more races this month before the opening GP; it’s always good to be behind the gate and racing is what I like best.”
Ruben Fernandez – P3
“I was much happier with my riding at this event than in Riola, so it is nice to improve and get another couple of gate-drops in before the MXGP season starts. We still have a few weeks to go until we head down to Argentina and I’m happy with how things have gone this off-season. The new CRF450R is working really well and having done four motos on it now, we are definitely making good progress and are heading in the right direction.”
Jeremy Seewer – P4
“We came here not knowing where we are compared to the opposition and I knew it would be a difficult race in the tricky conditions after the rain so I’m happy with fourth in my first race with Kawasaki. I know I was riding a lot better than fourth; everything is new, we have tested a lot and still have much to adjust before the first GP but I’m already there and rode relaxed. The preparation is already going better than in the past with no stress so it was a really positive start.”
Internazionali d’Italia Round 2 MX1 Results
- Tim Gajser – Team HRC – 1-2 – 47pts
- Romain Febvre – Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP – 3-1 – 45pts
- Ruben Fernandez – Team HRC – 2-4 – 40pts
- Jeremy Seewer – Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP – 4-3 – 38pts
- Alvin Ostlund – Honda – 10-5 – 27pts
Internazionali d’Italia Round 2 MX2 Results
- Liam Everts – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1-2 – 47pts
- Andrea Adamo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 4-1 – 43pts
- Valerio Lata – Beddini GasGas Factory Juniors – 5-3 – 36pts
- Simon Laengenfelder – Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing – 6-4 – 33pts
- Oriol Oliver – WZ Racing KTM – 3-9 – 32pts
Yamaha set to defend MXGP crown in 2024
Reigning MXGP and MX2 Manufacturer’s World Champions, Yamaha Motor Europe is gearing up for the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship campaign, with six riders across the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 teams, three in the MXGP and three in MX2.
Alexandre Kowalski, Yamaha Motor Europe Off-Road Racing Manager explains the line-up:
Alexandre Kowalski
“We’re looking forward to the upcoming season and the chance to defend Yamaha’s manufacturers’ world titles in MXGP and MX2, particularly with our new team structure that aims to get the most out of our six factory riders. While our line-up for 2024 remains familiar, with all six riders having been part of the Yamaha Family for the past few years, we’re looking forward to the MXGP debut of our MX2 star Jago Geerts in his rookie season. Alongside him, Calvin Vlaanderen, who has achieved remarkable results as a satellite rider and has long been on our radar, will step up to the challenge. Both Jago and Calvin will join forces with our current Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP title contender, Maxime Renaux, who is determined to fight for the crown. At the same time, MX2 holds its own promise of excitement this year, with Thibault Benistant, Rick Elzinga, and Andrea Bonacorsi leveraging the same team setup that propelled them to European Championship success. Thibault’s goal is crystal clear: we believe he has the best shot at contending for the title, while Rick and Andrea can utilize this season to steadily progress towards consistently challenging for podium finishes. Overall, we have full faith in our teams and the strength of our riders this season, and on behalf of Yamaha Motor Europe, I would like to wish them the best of luck in 2024!”
With a packed schedule of 20 Grand Prix events and 60 races in the FIM Motocross World Championship in 2024, the teams are all set for an intense year of racing. Over the next three weeks, all six riders will put the finishing touches on their pre-season preparations before making the journey to Argentina for the season opener on March 9th and 10th in Villa la Angostura.
Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Riders & Manager talk 2024
2024 marks the third season that the Scandinavian duo of Manager, Antti Pyrhönen, and team principle, Kimi Raikkonen, field the Kawasaki Racing Team in MXGP, alongside long time Kawasaki rider, Romain Febvre and new signing, Jeremy Seewer.
Supported by the Japanese manufacturer in terms of race machines plus technical and engineering personnel, it will field the widely updated KX machine in 2024; the very latest KX450-SR.
ine interrogation facility allowing riders to fine tune their machine and make records of their rides and settings.
Antti Pyrhönen
“Romain really understands the KX philosophy now. He tested and made suggestions to the Japanese engineers to aid the constant development of our new KX-SR race machine and was instrumental in the testing and cross-over of rider and technical features to the customer machine. Our optimism about the 2024 bike is based on how well Romain went during last season. I think both he and the bike are at the next level for 2024 and we are quietly confident going into the season.”
That confidence can only be bolstered by the introduction of new Swiss rider, Jeremy Seewer, who joins with an illustrious career already established. Consistent and fast, Seewer has an incredible string of race attendances to his name.
Antti Pyrhönen
“It’s quite a rider line up and I think other teams in the paddock see the combination of Romain and Jeremy as a real threat in 2024”, commented Antti. “Jeremy is super-fast and super consistent. He has a clinical approach, thinks about every aspect of the machine set up and is very precise. Allied to this, Romain knows the KX programme inside out and is a proven winner on our factory bikes. Certainly it’s a nice position for the team to be embedded for three years within the Kawasaki culture and to have two such talented riders for 2024 lining up at the gate hungry for success.”
Romain Febvre and the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP enter their fifth season together in 2024, aiming to secure the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship title they so narrowly missed in 2021 and 2023.
Romain Febvre
“This winter we only had to concentrate on some small adjustments to the bike so it was much easier than last year when we had to understand a completely new bike. And of course it makes everything much easier when you have already been working with the same people for a couple of years. I had a very good winter preparation and, even though I haven’t peaked yet because the season will be long, I’m very happy with my physical condition. We didn’t need to spend too long with testing as we already knew the bike, but every year there’s some new parts to test; we always need to keep on top of development as the level is very high in MXGP but I would say that the main novelty this year was the chassis as we now use the production one. We started testing straight away at the end of last season, and we soon found the best settings.”
“It’s always nice to be involved in the development of a new bike as you can request what you want; for sure it can sometimes take time for the new parts to arrive, so you also have to adapt your style to the bike at times, but the final result was very satisfying. Sometimes last year I was looking for solutions; it was a good experience and it’s great to see that the new chassis is really good for me, especially in the sand. I’m very happy with the bike.
“As always it is most important not to get injured during the season; last year I had the concussion in Spain and missed that GP, but apart from that I had no other injuries. It’s important because you can continue to progress from race-to-race and stay consistent. You keep your rhythm, you can train physically, and from race-to-race you improve your results. That’s what I did last year; I had the speed and it was a really good season so everything is in place for another great campaign.”
Jeremy Seewer begins a new chapter in his Motocross GP career this year; after six FIM medals in ten seasons of GP racing the twenty-nine year old Swiss joins the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP in search of the elusive Gold.
Jeremy Seewer
“You can’t start from zero on so many occasions in your career with a new bike that you need to get used to, with new people around you, with everything new but it’s been a good journey so far. There have been some ups-and-downs, which is normal, but I’m enjoying it and I’m happy!
“I’m not a guy who has to see new motivation in everything new, but of course it’s nice to discover new directions. Some of them are way better and sometimes you wonder why you never did them before; why nobody previously pointed you in that direction as it seems so natural. There can also be some other things which might feel more negative and I need to work on that, but for sure I’m really motivated to make everything work. Of course it’s easier to stay in your comfort zone because you know the package, you know you can win races, and you know what to improve to advance. But when you change like now, you have a new motivation but you start everything from zero. It’s more of a risk to move to somewhere new – it would be easier to stay where you are – but I’m happy and proud with what I have done and I think it’s the right direction for my career. Many people tell me that Green suits me, and when I see myself on some clips I say ‘wow, that looks nice’.
“Let’s say to 90% it’s straightforward because we top riders can ride fast on any bike, even a stock bike from any brand; I can ride fast and enjoy it but then to carry the speed to GP level is another story. To find the last 10% and then the last 5%, the final 3%, that’s where it gets more complicated and then you really need time to test and set up the bike, suspension, engine, chassis, brakes, everything; you have so many options in a factory team to make it right for you. In a few weeks I will know where I am; honestly the feeling is already good but racing up-front at the very top level will be the final confirmation.
“I’m not planning too far ahead; at the moment I’m just focused on setting my bike up and doing some pre-season races without any pressure. I’m just trying to enjoy it, to go through this normal process, fixing the evolution on the bike and then looking forward to the first races.”
Antti Pyrhönen justifiably has high expectations of success as he enters his third season as team manager of the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP in the FIM World Motocross Championship, which begins on the weekend of March 9-10 in Argentina.
Antti Pyrhönen
“I feel confident – the entire team feels good – and I’m really proud of our cooperation with Kawasaki. It’s amazing how quickly the years have passed and this will already be our third season with Kawasaki! I’m really proud of what we have already accomplished with Kawasaki, especially last year, with the highlights being Romain’s succession of GP victories and FIM silver medal in the MXGP and our role in helping to develop the new KX450. We are really looking forward to the new season; it’s going to be another long year with very strong competition. It will be exciting but also a very demanding year!”
FIM E-Xplorer World Cup Season 2 poised to launch
The second year of FIM E-Xplorer promises to raise the bar, following a successful inaugural season, and is set to begin its second season in Osaka, Japan, on 16-17 February. The world’s first off-road electric motorcycle series is ready to face new challenges with a revised calendar for Season 2, including three brand-new locations. The championship will also welcome a host of debutants alongside the returning teams and riders from Season 1.
One of the new destinations, Osaka, Japan, has been selected to host the season-opener. Osaka boasts a bustling cityscape with an array of historic venues and landmarks, all nestled within the energetic metropolis.
FIM E-Xplorer’s home for the weekend, Expo’70 Commemorative Park, lies north of the Yodo River that meanders through the city’s centre. The picturesque setting is home to over 5000 Japanese Cherry Trees beside the iconic Temple of the Sun in the Festival Plaza.
2024 FIM E-Xplorer World Cup calendar
- Round 1 – Osaka, Japan, 16-17 February
- Round 2 – TBC, Norway, 03-04 May
- Round 3 – Vollore-Montagne, France, 21-23 June
- Round 4 – Crans-Montana, Switzerland, 20-22 September
- Round 5 – Hyderabad, India, 29-01 November/December
The line-up for 2024 sees a combination of returning riders and teams, as well as some new faces entering the fold.
Honda has entered the championship as a manufacturer with Team HRC, taking over the licence of Season 1 champions MIE. The Japanese outfit has enlisted experienced riders Tosha Schareina and Francesca Nocera. Using their extensive motorsport experience, Honda aims to hit the ground running at their home venue.
INDE Racing, owned by Kankanala Sports Group, is another welcomed addition. Their entry marks the first FIM-sanctioned independent Indian motorsport team to join a global series. KSG’s exciting announcement —in conjunction with the Hyderabad finale—could position them as the team to watch this year.
Renowned motorcycle legend, Robbie Maddison, has also entered a team (RMR) for Season 2. Determined to succeed, the Australian-based team have selected the reigning E-Xplorer World Cup Champion, Jorge Zaragoza, and Swiss legend Virginie Germond.
