20 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.auSOIL SAMPLE HOT OFF THE PRESS
AORC
DATES AND LOCATIONShave been
announced for the Yamaha Australian
Off-Road Championship, with 11
rounds planned. The double-header
format will again feature except at
R7 in Broken Hill, which will feature
JuniorsontheSaturdayandSeniors
on Sunday.
Motorcycling Australia is
teaming up with Dirt2Ride Events
to run the Silver City Desert
Enduro round in the Red Centre, one
oftworoundsinNSW.TheAustralian
Four-Day Enduro in Cessnock slots in
betweenroundsoneandtwo,running
from 3-7 April.
CALENDAR
10-11 MarGympie, Qld
5-6 MayVic
28-29 JulDungog, NSW
2SepBroken Hill, NSW
22-23 SepSA
6-7 OctVicMXGP
YOUTHSTREAM HAS CONFIRMED
that the Motocross World
Championship will be a 20-round
series with stops in 16 countries.
The season will again start at
the picturesque Neuquen circuit in
Patagonia, before heading to Spain.
Later the series will return to Turkey
after last visiting that country in 2009.
An additional Indonesian round in
Semerang, dubbed the MXGP of Asia,
joins the one at Pangkal Pinang.
CALENDAR
4 Mar Neuquen, Argentina
18 Mar Valkenswaard, Netherlands
25 Mar Red Sand, Spain
8 Apr Trentino, Italy
15 Apr Agueda, Portugal
1 May Orlyonok, Russia
13 May Kegums, Latvia
20 May Teutschenthal, Germany
3 Jun Matterley Basin, UK
10 Jun St Jean D’angély, France
17 Jun Maggiora, Italy
1 Jul Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia
8 Jul Semarang, Indonesia
22 Jul Loket, Czech Republic
5 Aug Lommel, Belgium
12 Aug Uddevalla, Sweden
19 Aug Frauenfeld/Gachnang, Switz.
2 Sep Afyon, Turkey
16 Sep Assen, Netherlands
30 Sep Imola, Italy
6-7 Oct MXoN, RED BUD, U.S.SUZUKI PULLS PIN
BEATON
SIGNS
DEAL
JED BEATON HAS landed a
contract with F&H Kawasaki that
will see the young Tasmanian
contest the MX2 world title in- The deal comes off the
back of Beaton’s impressive
performance in the EMX250 class
where he fi nished fourteenth
overall, despite missing two
rounds due to injury.
Beaton got the chance to
display his speed in MX2 when
he was given the opportunity
to race three rounds of the
world championship. The 2016
Australian MX Nats MX2 champion
impressed at the fi nal round at
Villars Sous Ecot, landing on the
podium with a third overall.
Now he will be hoping to get
back on the podium in 2018 with
the Dutch team. “I’m really
excited about signing with the
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team,” said
Beaton. “It’s a very good team
and I’m keen to see how the team
and I can build coming into and
through the season.”
F&H Kawasaki Racing team’s
Harrie van Hout said he was
excited to work with Beaton. “I’m
really looking forward to start
working with Jed in a few weeks
when he is back from Australia. I
believe he has a lot of potential
since the fi rst day I saw him riding
last March in the sand. I think he
showed us and the world what he’s
capable off doing at the last MXGP
in France when he fi nished third
overall. We hope he can progress
further like this and we can have
great success together.”
Commercial team
manager Nathalie Fase was
impressed with Beaton’s speed
and is keen to see what the
Aussie can achieve. “The next few
months we will start to prepare
for the season and we hope that
Jed will continue to develop
and keep the momentum he had
towards the end of the season.”RUMOURS REGARDING SUZUKI’S
withdrawal from MXGP have been
confi rmed after Suzuki Motor
Corporation announced it was
suspending its involvement. The
news comes after a megabuck
effort led by former world champ
Stefan Evarts across all classes
and featuring Queensland’s
Hunter Lawrence.
Suzuki also has pulled out of the
All-Japan Motocross Championships
but says it will continue to actively
support various national MX and
SX titles, including those in the
U.S. The news came soon after
Lawrence confi rmed a deal with
Geico Honda for 2019, after one
more season in the MX2 world
championship with Team Honda 114
Motorsports to try and win the title.
Suzuki has promised it will
continue to develop motocross
machinery and participate in
Australian competition. “Evidenced
by the recent release of the
all-new 2018 RM-Z450, SMC shall
continue the development of
motocross machinery, supporting
this important global market by
providing valued products for
their customers using
experience earned through
numerous racing activities,” a
company statement says.
“Suzuki Australia wants to
reassure customers that it’s
business as usual with regards to
racing and motocross bike sales
here in Australia. We have recently
announced the 2018 Suzuki SupportRider (SSR) program which rewards
senior riders who successfully
compete on current-generation
RM-Z motorcycles in national/
state motocross and supercross
championships, and we are very
much looking forward to travelling
the country with our RM-Z customer
test ride days.”