Around The Grounds with Sam Hall No.4 presented by One Industries

Words: Sam Hall

Welcome to our brand new web-exclusive weekly column: Transmoto’s Around The Grounds with Sam Hall, presented by One Industries.

MXN

CDR Yamaha’s Josh Coppins has established a handy buffer in the MX Nationals Championship following a gritty overall win at the weekend’s penultimate Moree round.
Coppins secured himself a 14-point advantage over the rest of the MX1 field with 2-2-1 results, while Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Todd Waters remained second in the championship picture with second overall on the day (1-3-2).
The battle for third will also be decided at the final stop in Coolum this weekend, with Brad Anderson and Lawson Bopping both in strong contention.
Bopping (currently third in the standings) managed fifth overall at Moree, while Anderson reduced the CDR Yamaha rider’s gap to six points with fourth overall.
Kiwi Cody Cooper finished the day in third. There is now a 117-point margin between the top five riders and the rest of the field.
The retiring Coppins will be eager not to allow any complacency in his preparations this week, after being in an identical position heading into the matching final round last year, only for Jay Marmont to grab the championship from his grasp.
Speaking of Marmont; it was another mixed round for the defending champion. He has steadily progressed from an injury-ravaged opening to climb into sixth overall in the MX1 standings.
In the competitive MX2 category, it was a truly forgettable day for Luke Styke. Despite carrying a 31-point series lead over Ford Dale heading into the weekend, three disastrous races meant Styke was forced to walk away from the round 21 points in arrears.
The Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha Racing rider finished 13th overall, after suffering a flat in the first, stalling at the gate in the second and then failing to finish the final moto.
Dale needed no invitation to jump at Styke’s series red plate, storming to three comprehensive wins at the challenging Moree circuit.
JDR/KTM’s Josh Cachia finished the round second (2-2-3), while Styke’s teammate Kirk Gibbs took home third (9-3-2).
Meanwhile, in the MXD class, young gun Luke Clout put the rest of the field on notice with a clean-sweep in all three motos.
Clout, who has just returned from a lengthy stint in the US, put his new-found skills to practice with three convincing performances. All in his debut round!
Axis Motorsports Kawasaki’s Dylan Leary strung together three second-place finishes but was no match for Clout’s speed. Pirelli Raceline Suzuki’s Jay Wilson finished the weekend in third (3-5-5).
Series leader Kayne Lamont rode to a strategic fourth overall to hold a 32-point lead in the standings.
Team 07 Motorsports Adam Monea suffered an unfortunate crash at Moree. Monea was taken to Newcastle hospital and put in an induced coma for a few days, but the team tells us he will be fine. He has a number of broken ribs and a broken scapula (shoulder blade), but has no fractures in his neck or back at all.

AMAMX

Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey has captured his second AMA title after a cleansweep at the weekend’s Unadilla round.
Continuing his dominance in the 450 class, Dungey rode well to clinch an unassailable championship lead with two rounds remaining.
The 22-year-old rode from 10th place to slowly work his way to the lead with two laps remaining in the opening moto. Dungey was helped by the misfortunes of Australian rider Michael Byrne, who was poised to grab a breakthrough win until injury forced him out of the race.
Byrne had been battling with James Stewart and then Jake Weimer earlier in the race, until both opponents crashed out of the lead.
Dungey slowly grafted away at eventual leader Broc Tickle, to take hold of the race with two laps remaining.
Championship contender Mike Alessi suffered a DNF four laps into the opening race to virtually gift Dungey the title.
The proceedings were far more straight forward for Dungey in the second moto, grabbing the lead in lap three and running away with the win.
In the 250 class, French rider Marvin Musquin made it a double victory for Red Bull KTM, by taking the Overall.
Musquin rode consistent 2-3 finishes to take the day ahead of Eli Tomac (6-1) and teammate Ken Roczen (1-6).
Points leader Blake Baggett finished fifth overall but still maintains a 24-point lead in the championship.

MXGP

Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli bolstered his bid for a sixth world title at the weekend with two convincing moto wins in Britain.
Racing a picture-perfect Matterley Basin circuit, Cairoli stormed away to extend his overall lead to 55-points over Belgian rider Clement Desalle, who finished sixth overall with a swollen right hand (6-11).
Second overall was Max Nagl, while Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin rounded out the podium with 4-3 results.
In the MX2 class, Tommy Searle won an emotion-charged event in front of his home crowd of 35,000 screaming fans.
Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings finished second for the weekend, despite crashing in the final lap of both motos.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Zach Osborne took his second consecutive podium after finishing third overall (3-4).
Herlings now holds a 51-point advantage over Searle in the MX2 championship.