DIRTBIKE

THE GOOD OIL | HOT OFF THE PRESS

SIMMONDS WINS

DEEP WELL

Tye Simmonds has opened

his 2016 account with a win

at the Deep Well Motocross in

Alice Springs. Simmonds took

all three race wins to defend

his 2015 title.

The KTM rider piloted his

500EXC to victory in 38

degrees, beating local

favourites Damon Stokie and

Jack Dooley-McDonnell.

“The big 500 she was on

fire all day today,” said

Simmonds.

“I felt pretty good, my

fitness is coming along; we

did three, 30-minute motos

for the day.

“The Honda boys kept me

really honest in the first one,

but in the second one I got a

little bit of breathing room,

then in the third one I had a

fairly decent lead and got

through with the win fairly

easy.”

Held at Deep Well Station,

about 60km south of Alice

Springs, the event is a

favorite with motocrossers

and desert racers alike.

The name is somewhat of a

misnomer. While the event

uses a motocross format, the

deep red sand and the

searing temperatures,

coupled with a longer track

that weaves through the

desert, makes it more akin to

an enduro or desert race.

The Deep Well course is

within a stone’s throw of the

famous Finke Desert Race

course and Deep Well is often

used as preparation for the

Queen’s Birthday Finke

classic from Alice.

Simmonds took the

opportunity to do some

testing on the Finke course as

part of his efforts to improve

on his second last year.

SHERCO TEAM ANNOUNCED

The Motul Pirelli Sherco Factory

Team has been confirmed, with Justin

Carafa (top right) and Wil Ruprecht

making up the senior effort. Both

riders will pilot the Sherco 450SEF-R

in E2, while Ruprecht will also

compete in the U19 class.

Sherco will also operate an Academy

Team with Jai Wedlock and Baylee Davis

(bottom right) in the U19/E2 and E

classes respectively. Wedlock will race

a 300SEF-R and Davis a 250SEF-R.

All four riders will contest the

AORC, A4DE and Hattah Desert Race.

They’ll also be contesting their state

off-road titles.

“We have a very strong rider

line-up this year and we’re confident

of being right in the thick of the

action and in contention for

championships across every class we

enter,” Sherco Australia brand

manager Stephen Tuff said.

“We’ve completed some

early-season testing and all four

riders have made improvements to

their setup and their speed. Chad’s

Off-Road Setups and our team

operations manager Dave Suter work

extremely well with the riders and

have the bikes in good shape. We’re

all excited for a big year.”

The AORC starts on 19 March at

Kilkivan, Qld.

FERRIS FLYING

CDR Yamaha recruit Dean Ferris has made a

blistering start to the year, taking out the

New Zealand Motocross GP at Woodville and

then the opening round of the NZ

Championship at Pleasant Point, Timaru.

Riding under Josh Coppin’s JCR Yamaha

banner, Ferris took a hat trick in Timaru,

despite having never laid eyes on the track.

Ferris will battle it out with Australia’s best in

the MX Nationals.

KEEPING THE FAITH

As we went to print, Jacob Hayes from North

Carolina led Iowa’s Gavin Faith in the

AMSOIL Arenacross standings. Faith, whose

Penrite Honda CRF450R SX1 we test in this

issue, sat 19 points adrift of Hayes with eight

rounds remaining. Both are piloting

Kawasakis. Arenacross is held in smaller

stadiums to those used for AMA Supercross

and often bears similarities to Australia’s

indoor rounds.

TOWNLEY COMEBACK STALLS

Ben Townley’s MXGP comeback is in doubt

after the champion Kiwi injured his knee

during a round of the Italian championships.

Townley was tracking along nicely, earning a

podium at the Hawkstone International in his

debut with the Suzuki MXGP team. It is

unclear how serious the injury is, but there

are claims that the accident was the result

of an unfair move by Jeffrey Herlings.

FARM JAM

The popular Farm Jam has returned for the

first time in two years. Organisers Dan and

Brett Frew held the two-wheel action sports

extravaganza over the Waitangi Day long

weekend on the family farm in New

Zealand’s South Island with FMX, mountain

biking and BMX. Australia’s Ryan Brown took

out the FMX comp. Stay tuned for a full wrap

in the next issue of ADB.

QUEENSLAND TWO-DAY ENDURO

Josh Green and Beau Ralston were on top of

their games at the Queensland Two-Day

Enduro, finishing 1-2. Lachy Stanford

rounded out the top three for the event

which was the opening round of the

Queensland Enduro Championships. Jemma

Wilson took out the Women’s class.

20 | APRIL 2016 http://www.adbmag.com.au

YOUNG

TAMES

HELLS

GATE

Recent signing Wade Young has given

Sherco an extreme enduro victory,

triumphing in the Hells Gate Extreme

Enduro in Italy. The South African put

on a dominant display in the prologue

and main on his 300 SE-R to finish

ahead of Husqvarna’s Graham Jarvis

and Mario Roman.

“After a total of nine hours of

racing to be crowned the winner at

Hells Gate was an indescribable

feeling. [It was] also my first big

extreme race win in Europe,”

Young said.

A revised format and slightly

shorter course to what we’ve seen in

the past did little to change the

quality of racing and level of

difficulty. After winning the morning’s

prologue, Young was perfectly

positioned to take out the main event.

The Sherco rider got off to a good

start, establishing a healthy lead over

Jarvis. From there Young maintained

his lead and crossed the line first. 

Young has been one of the most

keenly anticipated international

riders after becoming the youngest

rider to win the Roof of Africa, at 16.

Young finished over 11 minutes

ahead of former Roof of Africa

winners Jarvis and Chris Birch. He

was the first South African to win the

event since 2007.

SPORTS

CORNER