Gas Gas’s Danny McCanney has finished third overall in the 2012 British Enduro Championship after taking took two podium finishes – second and third – at the the Eelmoor Enduro at the weekend.

McCanney rode two steady days of competition mindful of staying ft and healthy for the upcoming final of the Enduro World Championship this coming weekend in France where he intends to challenge for the runner-up position in the World Junior championship. Nonetheless, McCanney was able to set times close to that of rival, and BEC championship victor, David Knight and take two confident podium finishes for third overall in the championship and second (to Knight) in the E3 class.

Danny McCanney: “This weekend I just wanted to stay safe, get some time on the bike and finish off my British season. It was a shortish course and test and so test times were critical, but at the same time I didn’t want to take any risks with so much hanging on the final of the Enduro World Championship this coming weekend.

“I still had a crash on the Sunday morning but recovered to set times within four of five seconds of David so my pace looks good for the EWC.

“I was happy to get third overall for the year as well, the BEC hasn’t been my priority this year and having missed a round due to the dates clash with the EWC – and losing two rounds due to weather in the middle of the year – I’m happy to take the number 3 plate into 2013. I’d like to add a big thank you to Steve Plain for this year, we won the Under 23 title and overall top performer at the British Sprint Enduro Championship and now a top three in the BEC, all without one mechanical issue. The Gas Gas EC300 Racing has been excellent as ever.”

Steve Plain, Gas Gas UK team manager: “Danny rode a sensible weekend, there was nothing to gain and everything to lose so he rode with his head and took what was available and made sure he’s 100% able to do the job at the French GP. It’s been a spectacular year with successes in the British Sprints, in the EWC and the ISDE and now the focus is on a big push for a great end to the season next weekend.”

Danny McCanney’s next race is the final round of the 2012 Enduro World Championship in France this weekend (October 20-21).

Auto Race 1:
Great start from the team autos with Carter second, Jordan third and Harvey fifth round the first corner and down the hill. Jordan moved up to 1st swiftly and battles with second but leaves him on the last lap to cruise to the win. Carter rides a great race keeping with the front pack and finishes 3rd. Harvey with a crash on the second lap and a few mistakes manages to put on a charge to cross the line 4th.

Auto Race 2:
This time its Jordan second, Carter fourth and Harvey eighth round the first corner. Jordan wastes no time moving into first. Carter moves to 3rd and chases the front pack trying everything he can to get 2nd, Harvey makes some good passes to move into 4th but by this time the front pack were too far to catch and would finish 4th.Jordan keeps 1st all the way to the line with Carter close behind in 3rd.

Auto Race 3:
Last race of the day saw the team autos draw a close to the 2012 EASSC summer season. A good start from Jordan would put him second coming down the hill with Carter third and Harvey sixth. Jordan quickly moves into first and leads the race to the flag. Harvey makes quick work to get into fourth and to catch the lead pack but a few mistakes would see them leave him but Harvey would hold 4th to the line. Carter was looking for a clean pass to take second at every opportunity but was held off and crosses the line 3rd.

Auto Results:
Jordan Gull 1st
Carter Howlett 3rd
Harvey Isborne 4th

AMX Race 1:
Sean got off to a good start seeing him fourth round first corner and down the hill. Some smart racing in the tough conditions kept him at a good pace, although losing a few places after getting cross rutted and crashing a few laps in, he re mounts and crossed the line 7th.

AMX Race 2:
Sean again with a good start sitting fifth down the hill, quick moves up to forth but drops back to fifth going into the second lap. Sean again trying to keep mistakes to a minimum ends up losing the front end on the last lap and loses a place to finish 6th.

AMX Race 3:
Sean gets a good jump out the gate in the last race putting him third down the hill. Sean made a small mistake a few corners later and dropped to fourth. Then another mistake saw him in fifth but he got his head down and pushed to regain 4th and hold it to the line.

AMX Results:
Sean Bardwell 5th

The world motocross championship came to a close at the fine Teutschenthal track in Germany. A below par Alessandro Lupino on the Husqvarna TC250R was unable to finish in the first ten final positions. The Husqvarna Motocross Team by Ricci Racing rider came in tenth and nineteenth places giving him an overall eleventh place in the final standings just a few points off the top ten. In the first event Lupino fought back from an initial seventeenth position getting ahead of Coldenhoff in tenth place in the overall standings.

Starting out from the rear in the second event jeopardized the entire race for the Husqvarna rider on a course on which it was particularly difficult to overtake. With two laps to go Lupino had even managed to pull back to twelfth place, but a mistake whilst attempting to pass Butron stopped the bike and he lost more than a minute restarting it, finishing the race in nineteenth place.

Monticelli put in his best performance so far in his first season in the world championship picking up seven points for finishes in fifteenth and twentieth place.

Next Sunday Alex Lupino joins the Italian national Motocross squad for the Motocross of Nations at Lommel in Belgium.

Alessandro Lupino: “A real shame! I made mistakes in both the starts. I felt good and had shown myself to be fast yesterday. In the first race I was picking up positions well but if I hadn’t started out so far back, I would have been able to finish much better. From the start of the second race I was unable to find the pace and concentration. I couldn’t get ahead and I made too many mistakes. Then two laps from the end the bike cut out on me. I really messed up everything. I’m sorry for Husqvarna and for the team that was rooting for tenth place in this world championship. The bike has improved so much this year and I’ve given my very best.’

MX2 World Championship Final standings: 1. Herlings (KTM) 694, 2. Searle (Kawasaki) 651, 3.Van Horebeek (KTM) 559, 4. Nicholls (KTM) 443; 5.Tixier (KTM) 434, 5.Roelants (Kawasaki) 367, 7 Anstie (Honda) 333, 8. Butron (KTM) 263, 9 Coldenhoff (KTM) 273, 10. Ferrandis (Kawasaki) 272, 11. Lupino (Husqvarna) 262………31 Monticelli (Husqvarna) 24.

Monster Energy Yamaha will again count on the speed and determination of 2011 FIM MX1-GP Motocross World Championship runner-up Steven Frossard for the 2013 campaign set to start next March. The factory team today unveiled the 25 year old Frenchman as the first fixed part of the rider roster for next year.

Frossard set the premier class alight with two Grands Prix victories and second place overall in his debut season in MX1-GP in 2011; also his first on the potent works YZ450FM. Number ‘183’ also claimed Italian championship titles in 2011 and earlier this year. The current GP term started in positive fashion with a podium finish at the opening round in Holland but an incident during the qualification heat in Bulgaria for round two led to right knee ligament damage. Frossard attempted to continue racing but finally opted for surgery in June with a view to full fitness and a strong attempt at the 2013 crown.

“I’m really happy to continue with Monster Energy Yamaha because I think it is one of the best teams in the FIM World Championship,” said the racer. “I’m also happy that Michele [Rinaldi] and Yamaha Motor Europe wanted to keep me and they trust me. It was an easy decision to sign another contract. We had already been talking since the start of the year and I feel like I have a home here.”

“Securing Steven was a priority for us because we all saw his pace and potential in a first excellent season with Monster Energy Yamaha,” said Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “I’m happy we have been able to announce the first part of our plan for the MX1 and MX2-GP classes for 2013 and we will have more news very soon on what we believe is a young, exciting and very competitive line-up for the new season.”

It was a weekend of frustration for KTM Enduro Factory Team rider David Knight at the
Enduro World Championship’s GP of Sweden. Hoping to build on his winning performance
at round five of the series in Italy, Knight instead endured a weekend of niggling technical
issues that hampered his progress throughout the sixth round of the season.

After making his customary winning start during the Friday evening super test, the KTM
rider soon developed problems during the opening lap of day one. Damaging the reed block
on his 300 EXC, Knight lacked power to perform to his best. Although still able to post the
fastest times of his class during the slow but highly technical extreme test, it was on the long
and bumpy enduro test that David struggled most. With no time to replace the part until the
evening work area at the end of day one, Knight soldiered on to place tenth.

With the mechanical issue rectified, Knight was determined to deliver a more competitive
performance on day two. However, although able to significantly improve his pace, the
Manxman was still troubled by jetting issues and eventually placed a frustrating fourth in the
Enduro 3 class. Knight’s results from the GP of Sweden now leave him fourth overall in the
E3 championship standings with two rounds remaining.

David Knight: ‘It’s been a disappointing weekend to be fair. Leading into this race I was

expecting a strong result as the conditions are similar to what I train on at home, but
unfortunately right from the beginning of day one things didn’t go to plan. I was running a
different engine for this event and during the pre-race test sessions everything felt OK, but
once the race began the engine lost some power. Initially it wasn’t a problem as the course
was still smooth but once conditions became rougher and bumpier I began to suffer and
dropped of the leader’s pace. It turned out that the reed block had broken and with no time
to change the part I carried on as best I could to score some points. On day two it took a bit
of time to get the bike re-jetted to suit the conditions but in the end I was able to improve
my speed. It’s disappointing as my pace was really fast in the extreme test and again on the
cross test, where I was able to keep a fast rhythm on the switch back corners. Unfortunately,
it was the critical enduro test that ultimately hampered my progress. It’s been one of those
weekends of unexpected problems but we’ll regroup and come back stronger next weekend
in Finland.”

Results – GP of Sweden, Day 1
Enduro 3
1. Christophe Nambotin (KTM) 1:05:32.82; 2. Aigar Leok (TM) 1:06:10.08; 3. Joakim
Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1:06:23.01; 4. Manuel Monni (KTM) 1:06:53.37; 5. Marko Tarkkala
(Beta) 1:07:18.18; 10. David Knight (KTM) 1:09:53.47

Results – GP of Sweden, Day 2
Enduro 3
1. Christophe Nambotin (KTM) 1:03:32.74; 2. Aigar Leok (TM) 1:03:46.44; 3. Joakim
Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1:04:24.85; 4. David Knight (KTM) 1:04:40.18; 5. Manuel Monni (KTM)
1:04:45.80

The Enduro World Championship continues with the GP of Finland on September 1/2.

The Rockstar Energy Racing teams announced their collective presence with authority at this weekend’s Unadilla
National. Putting in an impressive performance in the 450 class and picking up a slew of top-10 finishes in the 250 class, the Rockstar athletes were an impressive sight to behold at round 10 of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship series in New Berlin, NY, on Saturday afternoon.

Returning to racing after missing several rounds due to injury, Star Valli Yamaha’s Nico Izzi had plenty to celebrate in the 450 class. The Rockstar rider finished sixth in his first moto and eighth in his second moto to pick up a solid
sixth-place overall for the day.

“Today was really good,” said Izzi. “I felt amazing in both practices and I qualified well. I went into the first moto pumped and ready to go. But I missed our gate pick… I started all the way on the outside, so I had my work cut out for me. I rode so hard the whole moto and went from 35th to sixth. Then I regrouped and went out in the second moto, and the track was really rough so I backed it down and went at a comfortable pace to keep it on two wheels. Now, I’m just looking forward to racing at Steel City.”

Also in the 450 class, Star Valli Yamaha teammate Bobby Kiniry celebrated his best overall result of the season so far. The Rockstar rider put in two solid motos and finished 10th and 12th, respectively, which handed him his season’s best finish of 11th overall.

“All in all, it was a good day,” said Kiniry. “I put the Rockstar Yamaha up front in the first moto and got a top 10. In the second moto, I got a better start but rode terrible for a few laps and battled for that 10th position for the whole moto. I ended up 11th overall so I can’t complain and we’ll come back strong for Steel City.”

In the 250 class, Rockstar Energy Racing’s Jason Anderson led the proverbial charge. Completely recovered from the bug that plagued him last week, Anderson picked up his best moto finish of the season in the first race with a fifth-
place finish. In the second moto, he struggled a bit but still finished 12th. When the smoke cleared, Anderson finished the day in eighth overall.

“This weekend was decent,” said Anderson. “I had a good first moto. Then I crashed on the start of the second moto and came back to 12th. I have some stuff to work on and my plan is to come in to Steel City feeling good.”

Rockstar Energy Racing teammate Martin Davalos also recovered from his illness last week and finished right behind Anderson in the 250 class overall results. Davalos was the epitome of consistency in both motos, picking up 13th-
and seventh-place results to capture ninth overall for the day.

“In the first moto, I didn’t get the greatest start,” said Davalos. “I rode tight and did OK, I got 13th. In the second moto, I got a way better start and I was able to ride my own race, my own pace. I was pretty happy with my second moto and I finally felt like I was riding like myself again. So we’ll take a short break and come back ready for Steel City.”

Rockstar Energy Racing’s Blake Wharton started the day strong in the 250 class by finishing his first moto in a very respectable fourth place. In the second moto, Wharton suffered a crash and didn’t finish. All the same, he still finished a solid 11th overall.

Rockstar Energy Racing’s Hunter Hewitt remains out due to illness, but hopes to be racing before the end of the season. And Rockstar’s Jessica Patterson is on hiatus until the WMX class resumes at the final round of AMA Pro Motocross at the Lake Elsinore National in September.

Riding for the Rockstar-sponsored Star Valli Yamaha team in the 250 class, newest addition Cole Thompson was still recovering from the shoulder injury he sustained at Washougal. All the same, Thompson turned in a solid ride, finishing 15th in both 250 motos for 16th overall.

“It was a good day,” said Thompson. “I finished both motos 15/15. I just need to get more aggressive and work from there. My shoulder is still giving me some problems but this two-week break will be good for it. I’ll come back for Steel City and Elsinore a lot stronger.”

Star Valli Yamaha teammate in the 250 class Ryan Sipes suffered an early- moto get-off in the first race and didn’t finish. In the second moto, however, the Rockstar rider rallied to finish 10th. Sipes wound up 17th overall for the day.

“I’m OK with my results considering how things went,” said Sipes. “In the first moto, I started seventh and tried to pass for sixth and got tangled up with another guy and couldn’t re-start my bike for a whole lap. I tried to stay out there but I crashed again and that was it for me. So I had an awful gate pick in the second moto, but I tried to just pick off guys. Now I’m just looking forward to putting something together for Steel City.”

Former amateur phenom Jeremy Martin made his AMA Pro Motocross debut in the 250 class under the Star Valli Yamaha canopy. The Rockstar rider put in a valiant effort and ran in the top 10 in the first moto before finishing 18th. Martin had some bad luck in the second moto but still finished 27th. The rookie finished.

“This was my rookie debut and it was a rough one,” said Martin. “In the first moto, I got a pretty good start and I stayed in sixth until about the 25-minute mark, and then I started getting a little tired and dropping off and I had a tip-over. I was in 10th when I remounted and then I got tangled up with a lapper and ended up 18th. In the second moto, I got a fairly good start but I went down and I tried to remount and get going again but I got tangled with another rider and went down and was pretty sore for the rest of the moto. But I learned a lot today and I’m ready to work on some things and come back strong at Steel City.”

Finally, Kyle Peters returned to racing after missing several rounds due to injury. Not quite 100 percent yet, after a number of crashes and mechanical problems, the Star Valli Yamaha rider wound up with 33rd in the first moto and retired halfway through the second moto. Star Valli Yamaha 250 class teammates Gareth Swanepoel and Kyle Cunningham continue to recover from injury, while Rockstar 450 riders Nick Wey and Brett Metcalfe are out for the remainder of the season.

The next event for the Rockstar Energy Racing teams is the 11th round of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on Saturday, September 1st, at the Steel City National in Delmont, PA.

The thirteenth round of the MX2 world championship proved to be another unlucky one for the Husqvarna Motocross Team by Ricci Racing at England’s fine Matterley Basin track.

After finishing Saturday’s qualifying in twelfth, Alessandro Lupino aboard his Husqvarna TC250R began Sunday’s first race from the rear due to a fall at the start.

Lupino did well to fight back to a final fourteenth place, even clocking up some very fast lap times, comparable to those of the first five finishers.

As the day’s second race got underway, a fall by one of the riders on the first lap forced Lupino out over the perimeter netting to avoid hitting him. In doing so, the net got wound around the rear wheel. Lupino endeavoured to continue the race but the netting had got caught up in the rear braking system, blocking it completely and forcing the Italian rider to retire from the race on only the fourth lap.

In spite of this performance Lupino holds on to tenth overall place in the championship standings, but with Coldenhoff now just a few points behind in eleventh place.

Young Italian rider Ivo Monticelli put in a good race, coming in at nineteenth in the second event and picking up his first world championship points on Husqvarna.

The next round of the MX2 world championship is to be held in Holland on the sandy Lierop track on September 2nd.

Alessandro Lupino: “Today was a race to forget about. Nothing came out right. It was only in Saturday’s qualifying that I kept the pace of the leaders. Then on Sunday the race was a disaster. The first race had an awful start, then after the usual fight back. In the second the netting got wrapped up the rear wheel. Now I’m off to Holland to train on the sand for the Dutch GP which will be in two weeks time.”

Overall MX2 World Championship standings after 13 races: 1. Herlings (KTM) 572, 2. Searle (Kawasaki) 521, 3.Van Horebeek (KTM) 475, 4.Roelants (Kawasaki) 367, 5. Nicholls (KTM) 359. 6.Tixier (KTM) 340, 7 Anstie (Honda)274, 8. Ferrandis (Kawasaki) 261, 9.Butron (KTM) 257, 9, 10. Lupino (Husqvarna) 221.

It was once again Cairoli and Herlings that showed the rest who’s boss on the picturesque circuit of Loket. Christophe Pourcel and Clement Desalle put up some fight but it was Max Nagl’s maiden GP that suprised everyone with his 3rd overall.

Tommy struggled to keep the pace in MX2 and a bike problem left Van Horebeek off the podium, allowing American Zach Osborne to take his first podium of the year.

Watch our highlights here.

{Thomas Claireaux takes the holeshot in race one}

{Paul Holmes showed unmatched pace in race one}

Packing an impressive 33 strong lineup, race one began with a long straight into the first corner. Taking the holeshot was under 21 rider Thomas Claireaux with Lindsey Duke immediately taking the lead. David Wray was in third but crashed before the second corner. “I was fourth into the first corner but pushing hard I managed to take the lead a few corners later” explained Holmes as he began carving out a lead with the battle for second and third hotly contested just behind. By lap eight it looked like Bunce had it after he managed to pass a struggling Justin Reid who had lost his seat. Behind them, under 21 rider Smith was catching back up after coming off while Mitchell (now on a borrowed quad after suffering a engine problems in practice) had done an incredible job of moving from 17th to fifth.

{Connor Smith flying over the rough sections}