Words By: Mark Ackerman
Very hot conditions welcomed all of the racers to the final round of the DMX season on the 24th of April. The day was set for great racing in certain classes with some of the championships for the year still to be won or lost on the steaming day.
Starting with the younger riders on the Junior Track, the Juniors class championship was pretty set with Myles Sexson taking the championship. Behind in points but in a clear lead on the day was Mohammed Bin Laden who won both motos by half a lap over his rival competitors. Mohammed made a late season charge from finishing 3rd at most races, moving into second and then dominating the lead in the last few rounds. Gian Luca had an outside chance of finishing second for the year but despite some hard charging and great maturity shown by Myles, he was not able to clinch enough points for the day.
A fearless Yurajsinh who was not afraid to take on the biggest of jumps with the throttle pinned dominated the 65cc class all year. This kid has a way of taking the breath out of spectators with his “pin it to win it” riding style. Yurajsinh and his team travelled to each race day from India to compete, a very exciting lifestyle for a youngster and equally great for the DMX club. He will be spending the summer months at the Millsaps Facility in the United State and we expect big things when he starts stepping it up to the 85cc class.
Eugenio Barbaglia completed Round Seven with enough points to clinch the 85cc championship early, this left for less to watch for in arguably the most watched and exciting class of the season. Eugenio sat this round out due to a small crash earlier in the week which meant some other riders got to take a position on the podium for a change. Both Nicholas and Eugenio will be racing abroad in the summer months in Europe and we expect them to return next season ready to show their speed and nerve around the DMX track.
Dean Jullien had a big crash injuring a shoulder prior to Round Eight and had to grind his teeth with the pain and race to gather points. It’s the points gathered on a day when the hurt was at its highest which allowed Dean to take the championship ahead of the rookie in the class, Darren Berry. The two guys charged hard this year and showed that the MX2 season is due for extra depth and speed when they step up.
The Clubman class was the largest for the year with 24 riders gathering points over the year. Clinton Wyngard won five of the eight rounds but had to miss the final race due to work commitments. Cel Bray had a great day in the saddle to secure first position for Round Eight. Masters class was the closest championship in points for the season with the final round deciding who would finish in the top three positions. There was a big battle for second place with Shannon O’Connor getting the best of Janne Tuohino in both motos. Mark Ackerman needed to win both motos in order to win by a solitary point over Shannon, fortunately for him he was able to secure the prime spots in both motos.
Ross Runnals had a great season on his 250 this year whilst defending the MX2 title but unfortunately had a horrendous crash in Round Seven leaving him with multiple fractured bones forfeiting the last three motos of the season. This left the door open to Ryan Blair who has had an excellent first season in Dubai to take the title. Mohammad Jaffar raced well all year round to finish in third.
MX1 was a Jake Shipton show this year; he won every race he started, leaving everyone in the dust. It was exciting to see his relaxed style, never looking flustered whilst often being pressured in the early stages of the races by Ross Runnals. Jake was on a Factory Edition KTM for the final moto on the day, he clearly loved this great looking bike as he lay down some of the fastest laps of the year.
Ladies were welcomed to join Round 8 as a trial for the DMX club and what a good turn out it was. It was the largest class for the day with nine ladies entering on all sorts of bike sizes and manufacturers, the largest being Sune Schaffler’s 300XC and smallest being Ashley O’Connor’s 65cc. It was great to see the support and excitement shown as mums and daughters took on the DMX track. DMX will be adding this class to the program next year and all ladies are encouraged to come out and join the fun.
2014/15 Champions
o 125 cc – 1st Dean Jullien 2nd Darren Berry 3rd Nicholas Kefford
o 65cc – 1st Yurajsinh Kondedeshmukh 2nd Ahmed Alnulami 3rd Joseph Mortada
o 85cc – 1st Eugenio Barbaglia 2nd Nicholas Kefford 3rd Abdulla Alnuaimi
o Clubman – 1st Clinton Wyngard 2nd Robert Winkler 3rd James Thomas
o MX 1 – 1st Jake Shipton 2nd Dale Julian 3rd Ben Menzies
o MX 2 – 1st Ryan Blair 2nd Ross Runnals 3rd Mohammed Jaffar
o Masters – 1st Mark Ackerman 2nd Shannon O’Connor 3rd Janne Tuohino
o Cadets (4-6yrs) 1st Liam Sexson 2nd Craig Theron 3rd Hayley O’Connor
o Juniors (6-8yrs) 1st Myles Sexson 2nd Mohammed Bin Laden 3rd Gian Luca Holder
Family Championship
Shannon, Hayley and Ashley O’Connor won the overall “most points for a family” unofficial competition.
Interviews with DMX Riders
Nicholas Kefford (85cc)
OutdoorUAE – “You had an excellent season with some of the most exciting racing and results of the DMX club. What were the highlights of the year for you? “
NK – “My highlight for the 2014/2015 DMX Season was racing with Eugenio Barbaglia, he is a great competitor with the both of us pushing each other to our limits, this gave the spectators some great viewing and hair raising moments.”
OutdoorUAE – “Nick – What are your plans for next year, what will you be riding and are you planning any international racing?”
NK – “I will be racing in both 85cc and 125 cc classes again. Yes I will be competing internationally, I’m off to the United Kingdom to compete in the ADAC Series in Germany Belgium and France, and hopefully be able to qualify for the British National Championship. I would like to thank KTM UAE for all their support throughout the season. A special thank you goes out to Michael Winter for believing in me and his continued support for next season.”
Scott Kefford – DMX Club Chairman
OutdoorUAE – “Scott, by all accounts you ran one of the best seasons at DMX for many years. What made the difference and what can people look forward to at DMX for next year?”
SC – The success of the DMX 2014/15 can be contributed to a couple of things. Firstly our sponsors Fluor Construction for both the financial and general all-round great advise. Other major sponsors include KTM UAE, SRG Motorsports, Organic Cafe, Sunblast, Portable Shade UAE and Liberty Kawasaki.
The second is the committee this year. Just one family cannot run a club of this size. We have received great support from all committee members. I would like to thank the club members that helped with the race preparation and on Race Day itself especially Billy and Lynette Gaugain, David and Lacey Sexson.
Next season is going to be very different with the introduction of the 3 race format and hopefully, depending on cost, a night race series over the summer months, we are still negotiating with sponsors for that event. We have the Ladies Class being introduced next season; we run the ladies class on our last race this season and received great support from both rides and fans alike. So we are looking forward to a very exciting season kicking off in September 2015. Lastly but definitely not least the club could not exist with out the direction and support from both EMSF (Emirates Motor Sport Federation) and ATC UAE (Automobile Touring Club UAE). Their continued advice and leadership is how we expect motorsport in the UAE to continue to grow and expand.
Ryan Blair – MX2 Champion
OutdoorUAE – “Well done on winning the MX2 championship this year. You were a pretty unknown entity at the beginning of the season, tell us who Ryan Blair is”
RB – “I am 25 yrs old and from Scotland, I started racing when I was 15, competing in the Scottish and British national championships. My best achievement was winning the Scottish championship in 2007 and representing Scotland in the Junior MX of the Nationals. Winning the Bahrain championship in 2014 was cool for me too. I moved out to Dubai as a project engineer and was working in the new Abu Dhabi airport, however I got a great opportunity to become a desert motorcycle tour guide for Just Gas It and that’s what I’m doing now. I would like to thank my sponsors Balooshi Racing Academy, KTM UAE and Just Gas It.”
OutdoorUAE – “Talk us through the season and your plans for next year.”
RB – “I’m hoping to compete in the desert championship next year along with DMX. I also like doing the Qatar championships but no real plan yet.”
Dean Jullien – 125cc Champion
OutdoorUAE – “Hey Dean, You won the DMX 125cc class by 11 points by our calculations. What were the highs and lows?
DJ – Overall the season was tough, the highs of the championship was battling with Darren for the first place, it was tough and it ended up who was fitter on the bike, the lows of the championship was when I dislocated my shoulder on round seven from a fall on the start.
The final round was very tough for me as my shoulder was strapped up, I got 3rd overall and managed to win the championship.
My plan for next season is to race in the MX2 class, I need to do a lot of training and riding to do well for next season.
Jake Shipton – MX1 Champion
OutdoorUAE – “Jake, the first season in the UAE went very well with you taking the championships for Baja and MX1, please give us the rundown of the epic year. “
JS – “Yeah for sure the season went well for me considering I had to adapt to racing in sand and also the heat, I’ve trained harder than ever on and off the bike with physical training just to make sure I’m ready for all the races I enter. A high for me was for sure the first round, not knowing anyone and their speed and just coming off a major injury back in Europe where I punctured my lung, broken ribs, shoulder and a bad concussion. I was still trying to get 100% healthy and back to where I know I can be, with this I came to the first round and just threw what I had down and came away with two solid wins with a big gap to second.
OutdoorUAE – “What are your plans for summer and the next season?”
JS – My plan for the summer is to head back home to the UK and be mainly based in Belgium and ride a lot in the sand but also compete in the British championship, the Dutch, French, ADAC and hopefully a couple more Grand Prix’s.
I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without the support from KTM UAE, specifically Michael Winter and Benji Merlot, my mechanic. A big shout out to my buddy Sam Sunderland who brought me over to race here and finally to my fiancée, Chelsea, and finally the Kefford family have me helped a lot.
