Top 10 For JWR Honda Racing Team At The MXGP Of Portugal

Round 5 - Agueda - 4th - 5th May 2024

Our Supported MXGP Team - JWR Honda Racing - competed in the MXGP of Portugal last weekend, at the International Motocross Circuit of Agueda. Weather and track conditions were unprecedented! The usually sunny venue and dry track was instead peppered by severe downpours, making track conditions some of the muddiest and wettest seen at a GP in recent years! Team rider Alvin Östlund faired better than most on his Honda CRF 450 R, riding superbly in the challenging conditions.

Umbrellas were up the majority of the weekend in the usually sunny Agueda. Ph. Niklas Hampinen

RAM Qualifying Race - Saturday 4th May

On a very slippery track, Alvin put in a very strong performance on his CRF 450 R, picking off a lot of riders to take P8 and with it, 3 World Championship points. That gave him and JWR confidence for Sunday's Races. Click here to see a video of Östlund's Start Practice on the Friday before the rain came in.

MXGP Race 1 - Sunday 5th May

A couple of minutes into the first race, on an already waterlogged track, the heavens opened and the rain was torrential! Chaos ensued, with all riders finding it extremely difficult to control their bikes in the severe mud and water, even finding it hard to ride up the face of what would normally be simple jumps! The track in this condition would not be out of place in an extreme / hard Enduro event. Östlund rode brilliantly under the circumstances and picked his way round and through stricken riders for P11! Click here to see a video of Östlund after the first race.

JWR Honda Racing's Alvin Östlund rode a controlled race in the treacherous conditions. (You can see a rider on the deck in front of Östlund). Ph. Niklas Hampinen

MXGP Race 2 - Sunday 5th May

Östlund carried on in Race 2 from where he left off in Race 1, his confidence high as he ran in P7 for a lot of the race. He unfortunately lost a few positions towards the end, but brought it home in P11 again. This gave Östlund and the JWR Honda Racing Team P10 overall for the weekend and a great haul of 23 World Championship points! What a race weekend, congrats to the whole team and we look forward to the next round in Lugo, Spain, next weekend!

This shot puts into perspective how atrocious the conditions were. Ph. Niklas Hampinen

MXGP of Portugal Top 5 Overall

MX2 Top 5 Overall

Other Supported Rider News

Podiums for Beta Australia at Rd 3 & 4 QORC

Last weekend saw our Supported Beta Motorcycles Australia Enduro Race Team riders take to Manar Park, QLD for Rounds 3 & 4 of the Queensland Off-Road Championship. Conditions were untypically very wet and muddy! Round 3 on Saturday saw riders compete in a Cross Country format over 3 hours on an very wet track, with deep mud and holes. 2023 QORC champion, Fraser Higlett gained a good lead on his Beta 390 RR and pushed well throughout the first hour and a half of the race. Unfortunately, Higlett lost a few places later on in the race and ended Round 3 in 3rd place.

Round 4 on Sunday saw the format change to Sprints because of the uncharacteristic conditions, with a total of 5 sprints over a quick track that featured rocky river crossings and far less mud. It was very tight racing for the top three riders in the A Pro class, with Higlett alternating from 2nd to 3rd throughout the 5 sprint race. He rounded out Round 4 with a 3rd place finish. Congrats to Higlett and the whole team!

After Rounds 3 & 4, Fraser Higlett sits 2nd in the A Pro Championship. Ph. Troy Pears

In Round 3, Ebony Nielsen, aboard her Beta 300 RR quickly gained positions from the start, making a pass for 1st place and continued to lead her class right through to the end of the race. On Sunday in Round 4, she dominated the day in her class, winning all 5 sprints! She commented on the weekend: "The conditions on the weekend reminded me of what I’ve seen in GNCC races overseas - wet and with plenty of mud making racing extremely difficult. It was a treacherous race where plenty of riders got bogged and with the holes on the track continuing to get wider as the race went on. It was a very different weekend from the dry, dusty conditions we normally see in Queensland but I am happy to walk away with the win in on both days in class." Congrats to Nielsen and the team!

Ebony Nielsen currently sits in 1st place overall in the I Ladies Class. Ph. Troy Pears

Our Supported Junior Motocross Rider Arthur King competed in Round 1 of the Nora British Cup at Landrake last weekend. In the 85cc Class, King qualified P1 and then went 1-1-2-2 on his KTM 85 SX for P1 overall. The "track was tricky as kept changing due to weather conditions being raining and warm sun". He adapted to the changing conditions extremely well and leads the Championship by 12 points before Round 2 at Culham. Well done to Arthur on a fantastic result!

Arthur King on the way to P1 overall 2024 Nora British Cup, Landrake

Our Supported Fast Eddy Racing Team Enduro Rider Jack Edmonson competed in Round 1 of the Welsh Sprint Championship at the weekend. Racing on a Husqvarna FE 350, Edmonson took P4 overall. Congrats to Jack and the team on a great result! Click here to see a video of him in action at the event.

Our Supported Junior Enduro Rider Tommy Rowan raced in Round 1 of the Welsh Youth Hare and Hounds last Saturday. Rowan took 5th place in the 65cc One Hour Class on his Husqvarna TC 65. On the Sunday, he raced again at Mamble in a WOR events Enduro, where Rowan took the holeshot and led the 1.5 hour race from start to finish, wining the 8-9 year olds Class. Well done to Tommy on a brilliant weekend's racing!

Tommy Rowan on the way to P1 at Mamble. Ph. @docopod