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Moto News Weekly Wrap
February 25, 2025

What’s New:

• Fox Racing MX85 naming rights partner for ProMX
• Sanders leads after Stage Two of Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
• Romain Febvre goes 1-1 at Dutch MX opener
• Maximus Purvis dominates NZMX Round Two
• 2025 AMA SX Round Seven – Arlington rider quotes
• 2025 Racing Calendars

Fox Racing MX85 naming rights partner for ProMX

Fox Racing’s commitment to the nation’s elite teen motocross talent will continue into 2025, remaining the naming rights partner of the MX85 class in the Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores (ProMX).

The 2025 Fox Racing MX85 Cup will be held at the Wonthaggi (March 22-23), Appin (April 13) and Warwick (June 22) rounds of the ProMX Championship.

Todd Hickling – Fox Racing Australia GM

“Fox Racing Australia is proud to continue our partnership with the MX85 class in the ProMX Championship. Re-signing as a supporter of this incredible national platform reaffirms our commitment to junior riders and the development of future motocross talent. We believe in the importance of nurturing young athletes and providing them with the resources and opportunities to excel. By continuing this relationship, we’re not only investing in the growth of the sport but also helping to shape the champions of tomorrow.”

The class will be open to all riders in the 12-U16 age bracket (two-stroke 85cc Big Wheel), while those who meet the FIM age requirements (currently 12-14 years) will also be eligible for Team Australia selection at the 2025 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship in France on July 6.

The 2024 Fox Racing MX85 Cup was won by Seth Thomas, who edged clear of Heath Davy in the final round to claim the spoils.

The 2025 ProMX Championship begins in Wonthaggi on March 22-23.

Sanders leads after Stage Two of Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

Daniel Sanders finished Stage Two of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge almost four-minutes clear of his next-nearest competitor – Hero mounted Ignacio Cornejo, and top Honda HRC competitor Adrien van Beveren – which see a KTM 1-2 of Sanders and Luciano Benavides leading the overall.

HRC’s Tosha Schareina was third on stage two, having had the unenviable task of opening the day’s stage, which saw him drop to seventh, ending the day almost nine-minutes off winning pace.

Riders had gotten their their first taste of the expansive Arabian dunes the previous day – stage one – providing a true test of skill and endurance over the 243km special stage navigated from the first bivouac at Al Ain across the Liwa region and onto the finish line at Mezaira’a.

As the prologue winner, Schareina had mastered the sandy terrain and dunes to finish stage one nearly two minutes ahead of Ricky Brabec. This result had put him at the top of the overall standings with a 2’07” margin, heading into day two.

The Stage Two loop covered a total of 302 kilometres, including 228 kilometres of special stages in the visually spectacular southern fringes of the Liwa Oasis area.

Daniel Sanders took a comfortable win after leading the special from flag to flag. While Sanders took a comfortable ADNOC Distribution Stage 2 win, there were problems for others. Defending FIM World Rally Raid champion Ross Branch was forced to quit the rally when a clutch issues on his Hero 450 Rally could not be repaired.

Daniel Sanders – P1

“Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge day two winner! Today was a great day. We made up for a lot of lost time from yesterday, which now puts me into the overall P1. Tomorrow, I lead out, which means I have to focus hard on the navigation. Let’s go!”

Adrien Van Beveren – P3

“Today has been better than yesterday I would say. I started with good tracks to follow and although I didn’t feel so fast at the beginning with many chotts and not that many dunes, by the second part of the stage there were a lot of dunes so I could push better on a terrain I enjoy. Today it was also quite cloudy so the visibility was different, but it was the same for everybody. I’m happy I gave my best today.”

In the Rally 2 bikes category, SRG Motorsports’ Michael Docherty dominated the stage to remain unbeaten since the start of the event. The South African took victory 3m 37s ahead of teammate Tobias Ebster, with Duust Rally Team’s Konrad Dabrowski in third place.

Three stages remain for competitors, Sanders no doubt hoping to repeat his dominant Dakar performance, now he’s in the lead.

Stage Two Results

1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) KTM Factory Racing Team 3:01:35
2. Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio (CHI) Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 03:59
3. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) Monster Energy Honda HRC + 05:07
4. Benavides Luciano (ARG) KTM Factory Racing Team + 05:37
5. Howes Skyler (USA) Monster Energy Honda HRC + 07:12

Standings after Stage Two

1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) KTM Factory Racing Team 6:09:02
2. Benavides Luciano (ARG) KTM Factory Racing Team + 02:25
3. Schareina Tosha (SPA) Monster Energy Honda HRC + 02:43
4. Brabec Ricky (USA) Monster Energy Honda HRC + 03:00
5. Cornejo José Ignacio (CHI) Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 03:42

Romain Febvre goes 1-1 at Dutch MX opener

The Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP completed their preparation for next weekend’s opening round of the FIM World Motocross Championship with a two-moto victory for Romain Febvre at Lierop in The Netherlands, after competition in France was cancelled, while Pauls Jonass joined his teammate on the podium.

The KRT duo, with Jonass narrowly ahead of Febvre, raced more than ten seconds clear of the opposition in the first moto until the Latvian fell in the waves at half-distance and his French teammate, too close to avoid hitting his bike, also went down.

Febvre rejoined the race with a narrow lead and immediately raced clear again at the rate of two seconds per lap to claim his first moto victory of the season by seventeen seconds. Jonass remounted a distant third until a further slip on the penultimate lap saw him finish fourth.

Febvre took the holeshot in race two and enjoyed a thrilling race-long duel with local sand expert Glenn Coldenhoff which saw them out-distance the rest of the field by five seconds per lap; the Frenchman completed his two-moto sweep at such a high pace that he eventually lapped to sixth place.

Jonass was unfortunate at the start as he tangled with another rider and had to charge through from the back of the forty-rider pack. Posting identical lap times to the leaders he advanced to fourth by lap nine; third place was already twenty seconds away but the Latvian showed his fighting spirit and dug deep through the remaining six laps to claim third in moto and overall on the day with a last lap pass.

Romain Febvre

“When Sommières was cancelled we had to change our plan; my thanks to the team who had to cross France through heavy traffic yesterday to be on time at Lierop! They also had to work on the settings of the bike as Sommières would have been hard-pack and Lierop is a sandy track! I haven’t practiced in the sand during the last two weeks, but I wanted to do another race before the first MXGP so I was happy to be here. I didn’t take any risks during the timed practice session; in fact I simply rode as many laps as possible to find the good flow in the sand. In the first moto I got a good start in the top four, and I was second behind Pauls when he crashed in the waves section; his bike landed in front of me and I couldn’t avoid a crash! Luckily there was a good gap to Coldenhoff and I could re-start still in the lead to win that moto. In the second race I got the holeshot; Coldenhoff was close behind me during most to the race but I again won the moto. I’m happy to have finally won races after podiums in Hawkstone and Lacapelle. I had a great feeling and felt comfortable today; I feel ready for Argentina.”

Pauls Jonass

“The results could have been better but the riding and feeling were both good so I can take many positives to Argentina. Unfortunately I crashed in the waves in the first race when I was leading, and another rider collided with me at the start of race two. I didn’t even crash, but his handlebars were stuck in my rear wheel so I was last to leave turn one. I found a really good flow and had good speed to come back to third. I’m ready now as we head to Argentina.”

 Maximus Purvis dominates NZMX Round Two

The halfway event of the four-round Yamaha New Zealand Motocross Championship saw Maximus Purvis extend his MX1 lead, while Madoc Dixon topped the MX2. Taylah McCutcheon took top honours in Women’s, Travis Taylor won the MX3 and Levi Townley took out the MX125 class.

Purvis took out the overall from Hamish Harwood and Josiah Natzke, and now sits 19-points clear of Natzke.

Dixon took out the MX2 win ahead of Cobie Bourke and Soya Nakajima, and now leads Bourke by 11-points, James Scott third in the overall a further nine-points in arrears.

McCutcheon collected 72-points in an almost perfect effort, Karaitiana Horne the rupper up and Mikayla Griffiths third, mirroring the current standings top three for the Women’s class.

Travis Taylor had a perfect weekend in the MX3 class winning all three races, mirroring his race one efforts, Mitchel Gleeson and Mokey Vining tying on 58-points in second and third respectively.

Levi Townley won the MX125 overall, Hayden Draper second and Delton Manson third. Townley now leading the standings on 143-points to Draper’s 131.

The Yamaha New Zealand Motocross Championship takes a two week break now before the Pukekohe Motorcycle Club-hosted penultimate round on Saturday March 8. The final event is a week later, back at the Rotorua Motocross Track on Saturday March 15.

MX1 Round Two Overall – Top Three

1. Maximus Purvis – 72
2. Hamish Harwood – 65
3. Josiah Natzke – 62

MX2 Round Two Overall – Top Three

1. Madoc Dixon – 67
2. Cobie Bourke – 63
3. Souya Nakajima – 54

Women’s Round Two Overall – Top Three

1. Taylah McCutcheon – 72
2. Karaitiana Horne – 69
3. Mikayla Griffiths – 58

MX3 Round Two Overall – Top Three

1. Travis Taylor – 75
2. Mitchel Gleeson – 58
3. Mokey Vining – 58

MX125 Round Two Overall – Top Three

1. Levi Townley – 68
2. Hayden Draper – 65
3. Delton Manson – 62

MX1 Standings – Top Three

1. Maximus Purvis – 147
2. Josiah Natzke – 128
3. Hamish Harwood – 123

MX2 Standings – Top Three

1. Madoc Dixon – 132
2. Cobie Bourke – 121
3. James Scott – 112

Women’s Standings – Top Three

1. Taylah McCutcheon – 147
2. Karaitiana Horne – 135
3. Mikayla Griffiths – 116

MX3 Standings – Top Three

1. Travis Taylor – 150
2. Seaton Head – 117
3. Mitchel Gleeson – 112

MX125 Standings – Top Three

1. Levi Townley – 143
2. Hayden Draper – 131
3. Jack Ellingham – 110

2025 AMA SX Round Seven – Arlington rider quotes

See the full report and race by race results here:
Blow by blow reports from AMA SX Round Seven – Arlington Triple Crown

250 Race Reports

Jo Shimoda scored the holeshot when the Arlington Triple Crown got underway on Saturday night in AT & T Stadium. Schock got away well also, along with Jordon Smith, while Haiden Deegan and Julien Beaumer were seventh and eighth. Deegan had a brief topple on lap two, folding the front in the deep sand, but didn’t lose much time. Shimoda had a handy 1.5-second lead over Schock as they started lap three.

Smith forced his way past Schock with a forceful move to steal that second place from the Yamaha man. Smith then quickly reeled in the still injured Shimoda and took the lead just before half-race distance.  Shimoda then went down in a carbon copy of Deegan’s early mistake. At this halfway juncture Smith led Schock by two-seconds and Mosiman was a further four-seconds back in third. Smith then made a mistake which opened the door for Schock to take the lead once again.

Further back Deegan was getting really wounded up and made short work of Mosiman to move up to third place with four-minutes left on the clock.

Deegan then closed in on Smith and Deegan in no time. Nothing separated that trio with two-minutes left.

Deegan took second place from Schock on the next lap before then taking the lead from Smith with two laps to run.

Smith retaliated but went down in the whoops and needed medical assistance. Deegan swept through to the lead and pulled away to a clear victory ahead of Coty Schock. Mosiman rounded out the podium after managing to hold young Kiwi Cole Davies at bay over the closing laps.

Michael Mosiman scored the holeshot in the second 250 bout ahead of Lux Turner, Garrett Marchbanks and Coty Schock.  Cole Davies went down pretty hard at the first turn after being hit by Cole Thompson.  Jo Shimoda was sixth early on while Haiden Deegan was outside the top ten.  Jordon Smith didn’t start after suffering a minor concussion in the aforementioned race one incident, as well as a possible rib fracture.

Deegan was up to fourth by half-race distance, seven-seconds behind race leader Mosiman. Deegan went on to make short work of Schock before reeling in Marchbanks with apparent ease. It took Deegan a little longer to dispense with the Kawasaki man than he would have preferred.  Once he had sniff of victory Deegan let fly on the final lap to eclipse Mosiman and take the win.

Coty Schock away well again in the third and final bout of the night ahead of Cole Davies, Julien Beaumer, Haiden Deegan and Jo Shimoda.

Schock held on to the lead until lap four when Cole Davies got the better of him.  Beaumer pushed Schock further back to third on lap six then Deegan relegated him further down the order on the following lap.

Davies had a clear five-second lead and the speed to stay there.

Beaumer and Deegan tussled over second place for sometime before the Yamaha man made his move and pulled away.  Jo Shimoda then chased down Beaumer and relegated the KTM man to fourth with a decisive move two laps from the end.

Cole Davies the winner by more than four-seconds over Deegan while Shimoda rounded out the podium.

The clear round winner though was Haiden Deegan which sees him pull six-points clear of Beaumer in the championship chase.

Coty Schock stoked with second for the round ahead of Michael Mosiman.

Jo Shimoda – P4

“Overall, I’m happy that my fingers are healing. Each weekend I have a better performance. I’m not really worried about the fitness or the speed; I think fixing the finger is the first thing. The West class has a week off again; that’s going to help, and I’m looking forward to Indianapolis.”

Garrett Marchbanks – P5

“The day started solid, but I struggled in qualifying. In Race 1, a bad start put me toward the back, but I worked up to seventh after finally hitting a key rhythm. Race 2 was much better–I ran P2 for most of the race but made a few mistakes, finishing third for my first triple crown podium in a while. Race 3 was solid but tough. The top five guys were pushing hard, and the track got more technical and one-lined. I managed to finish P5 overall. We’re making progress, and the bike felt great.”

Julien Beaumer – P6

“Tough night in Arlington. A crash in practice dislocated my shoulder and I just had to manage things from there. My riding wasn’t the greatest, but all we can do is shift our focus and get ready for Indy. We’ll get the shoulder checked out this week, get back to work, and come out swinging.”

Jeremy Coker – Triumph Racing America on Jordon Smith

“Jordon was riding very well throughout the day and was having a great race. He was on track to win the first race and would have been hard to stop. Unfortunately, he had a crash in the whoops with two laps to go, which resulted in a slight concussion and a possible rib fracture. This will be a very small bump in the road for Jordon. The team will do everything we can to get him healthy and back on track for the next 250SX West race.”

250 Round Points

250 Championship Points

450 Race Reports

Justin Cooper scored the holeshot ahead of Ken Roczen, Chase Sexton and Aaron Plessinger. Cooper Webb down in tenth place early on.

Ken Roczen used his mastery of the whoops to chase Cooper down but it took the Suzuki man 13 laps to forge his way to the front where he stayed until the chequered flag, despite some determined challenges by Cooper over the final two laps.

Sexton was almost ten-seconds further back in third ahead of Justin Hill and Justin Barcia while Cooper Webb took sixth.

Justin Cooper scored the holeshot by a fraction over Cooper Webb but Chase Sexton was aggressive early on to steal second place from Webb on the opening lap. Justin Hill and Jason Anderson also right there early on while Ken Roczen was way down in the pack.

Cooper continued to lead as Webb hounded Sexton and looked to be doing it a little easier than the KTM man. Sexton got it together though and chased down Justin Cooper to grab the lead momentarily but then had a topple that shuffled him back down to fourth and into the clutches of Jason Anderson.

Cooper Webb took the lead from Justin Cooper just after half-race distance. At this juncture Justin Hill was third, Sexton fourth and Ken Roczen had forged his way throug the field to fifth.

Sexton went on to get the better of both Justin Hill and Justin Cooper to move back up to second place with around three laps to run.

Cooper Webb took the chequered flag two-seconds ahead of Sexton while Justin Cooper rounded out the podium a further eight-seconds behind.

Aaron Plessinger and Shane McElrath both away well but Ken Roczen made short work of both of them to move through to the lead early on. Chase Sexton sixth and Cooper Webb seventh on lap one.  Jason Anderson and Chase Sexton pushed McElrath further back to fourth three laps in and Cooper Webb pushed McElrath further back to fifth on the following lap.

Cooper Webb did an amazing job to not collect Sexton in mid-air after the KTM man got a bit untidy and cross-jumped which caused Webb to wash off speed and negate a jump in order not to collide with Sexton.

Sexton chased down Jason Anderson and took that second place on lap six. Webb pushed the Kawasaki man further back to fourth two laps later.

With five minutes left on the clock, Roczen and Sexton were in close combat for the lead while Cooper Webb was three-seconds behind that battle. The front pair started tripping each other up which allowed Webb to reel them in.

Sexton took the lead from Roczen on lap nine as little separated that top trio with five laps to run. It took Webb a couple of laps to find a safe way to sneak past Roczen, but once past he left the Suzuki man in his wake. Up front Sexton now had a two-second lead but two laps later the KTM man stalled it!  Cooper Webb swept past and when Sexton got going again he had Roczen and Anderson in close company.

Sexton recoverd well to pull clear of Roczen and Anderson once again and started to reel in Cooper Webb. The gap down to just over a second with two laps to run. Sexton didn’t need to pass Webb for the round win but ultimately his aggression got the best of him when he ran into the back of Webb as they negotiated lapped traffic which resulted in Sexton hitting the deck and losing places…

Cooper Webb the race winner while Jason Anderson and Ken Roczen were promoted onto the podium as Sexton slipped to fifth.

That gave Cooper Webb the round win ahead of Ken Roczen as Sexton slipped to third.

The round victory gives Cooper Webb a five-point lead over Sexton heading to Daytona next weekend.

Ken Roczen – P2

“Of course, out of three starts there has to be one bad one. That start in Race 2 really hurt my overall,” said Roczen. “I did the best I could today and I’m happy with that. This dirt is probably my least favorite of the year. It looks good, it looks tacky, but it’s not… It was super fun being in that battle at the end, and overall, I’m happy to be on the podium. The championship is long, so we’ll keep getting on the podium and doing the best we can. Hopefully we can close the points gap.”

Chase Sexton – P3

“I’m excited to get on the plane out of here and leave that performance in Dallas. I’ve been grinding pretty hard over the last couple of weeks, and maybe it’s time to hit the reset as it’s three weeks in a row of these costly mistakes. Really frustrating, although it’s only Round 7, so plenty more time to fight for this championship.”

Justin Barcia – P6

“The Triple Crown in Arlington was a step in the right direction for us. First race was good, second race was going good before I got tangled up with another rider while battling inside the top five, which was a real bummer. I regrouped for the third race and finished fourth in that one, which was the ride of the year for me as I started right at the back! We’re moving in the direction where we want to be, and I’m stoked to be heading into Daytona next, that’s for sure.”

Aaron Plessinger – P7

“In the first practice of today, I hit someone’s handlebar, and my right arm swelled up like a balloon. I struggled a little bit with that for the day as it was sore, but in Race 1 I got off to a great start but didn’t capitalize – I rode tight and finished up seventh. Second race was not a great start and worked my way up to seventh. Then I holeshotted the last race, was leading for about half a lap, and then swapped out in the whoops and went into the tuff blocks. Not a great day, but we’re working our way upward.”

Malcolm Stewart – P9

“Arlington is always a mystery,” reflected Stewart. “The dirt seems really good, but then it has a weird, hard bottom. A lot of carnage happened during the Triple Crown, and to be honest, I just felt a little off all day, like I didn’t have the tempo quite right. I struggled to match the pace tonight, but I’m not overly disapointed about my riding, as you have those ups and downs sometimes in racing. Another hometown race in Daytona coming up – I have always ridden well there – so I am looking forward to it.”

Jason Anderson – P11

“Overall, my day had its ups and downs. Practice went pretty well—I was feeling decent on the track and ended up qualifying fourth, which put me in a good spot heading into the night show. In the first race, I was running inside the Top 5 early on, but I went down in the sand section and had to remount, which set me back to 12th by the finish. In the second race, I got another solid start and was battling in the Top 5, but I tangled with another rider and went down again, which was frustrating. I had to fight my way back but could only manage 17th. Going into the final race, I just wanted to put in a clean ride and finish strong. I got a great start, made some quick passes, and worked my way into second while trying to stay out of the chaos around me. It felt good to end the night on a high note, but overall, I know I have more in me, and I’m looking to put it all together next time.”

Colt Nichols – P15

“I qualified with my best qualifying spot of the year and made a lot of steps throughout the day that I was really proud of,” reported Nichols. “I ended up crashing in the last Race. I finally put myself in a good position inside the top 10 and then had a little crash. But that’s okay, it’s part of racing. We will dust it off and come back next weekend.”

Kyle Chisholm – P20

“I had a really good week leading up to this race and then just didn’t execute on Saturday in qualifying. So, I headed to the LCQ, and if you’re going to be in it, you might as well win it, I always say,” reported Chisholm. “In the first Race I worked my way up to 16th, but I wanted more. In Race 2 should have gotten up to about 15th but I got my front wheel over a berm and fell. The berm was really steep, and it took me a while to get going. In Race 3 I was making some good passes, I felt really good, and then on about the second lap had a big crash in the whoops. All in all, I’m happy with my riding; I was going for it, and I just made a couple little mistakes.”

450 Round Points

450 Championship Points – Top 20