Matrix Honors MXoN

LET'S HONOR OUR MATRIX CONCEPTS MXON ATHLETES

RedBud will host the 72^nd running of the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations on October 6-7, 2018.
 
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), in conjunction with MX Sports Pro Racing, named Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, Matrix Concepts Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia, and Matrix Concepts Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger as the three riders that will lead the host country into action at Michigan’s famed RedBud MX on October 6-7.

Danny "Magoo" Chandler - MXoN

In the autumn of 1982, around this time, some 36 years ago, the greatest motocross race in the World got to witness something very beautiful. Danny “Magoo” Chandler, considered to this day one of the most flamboyant riders in the history of the sport put a masterclass on his opposition. Beating the Worlds best and doing something that will never be achieved again.

Chandler was part of the American team for the Trophies and Motocross des Nation international team events. On the smooth and fast racing circuits of Gaildorf, Germany, and Wohlen, Switzerland, Chandler came through and won every moto in both the Trophies des Nations for 250cc bikes in Germany and again a week later in the Motocross des Nations (then for 500cc bikes) in Switzerland. Chandler became the only rider ever to win both motos of both events in the same year. Chandler returned to America a hero in the eyes of motocross fans everywhere.

Chandler was injured in a practice crash during the off-season after 1983 and, while not fully recovered, managed two top-10 finishes in the AMA nationals in 1984. Chandler was dropped from Team Honda after the ’84 season. During the winter, a call came from Europe and he was given the opportunity to race in the Motocross World Championships for the 1985 season. He first rode for a British Kawasaki team, but after disagreements with the team over team orders to finish behind his teammate, Chandler quit and was quickly picked up by KTM.

With the Austrian manufacturer, Chandler came through to win the French GP. He was solidly in contention in the world championships before a serious crash in Italy halfway through the season ended any chance he had to earn a world title. While recovering from his injuries, an Italian-based Kawasaki team signed him to race in the world championship in 1986. Unfortunately for Chandler, his racing career was about to come to a heartbreaking end.

At the Paris Supercross, Chandler suffered a crash in a heat race that broke his neck and left him paralyzed forever.

After the accident, Chandler went through a tough period. Within the span of a few years after the accident, he went through a divorce and then suffered even further when both his parents died within a few years of one another.

"In the long run the accident has left me a richer and fuller person," Chandler says positively. "Had it not been for that I would just be another guy walking around. Now I have an interesting and compelling story to tell the kids."

Chandler would visit the Motocross of Nations again in 2009, a guest from Youthstream, and a popular guest, who was constantly asked questions about his amazing career.

Unfortunately Chandler passed away on May 5, 2010, following an extended illness.

Gaildorf, Germany - September, 1982

Moto One

1. Danny Chandler (USA/Honda)

2. Dave Thorpe (Great Britain/Kawasaki)

3. Jeremy Whatley (Great Britain/)

4. Harry Everts (Belgium/)

5. Johnny O’Mara (USA/Honda)

Moto two

1. Danny Chandler (USA/Honda)

2. André Vromans (Belgium /Suzuki)

3. Johnny O’Mara (USA/Honda)

4. Rolf Dieffenbach (Germany/)

5. Georges Jobé (Belgium/Suzuki)

Overall

1. Danny Chandler (USA/Honda) 1-1

2. André Vromans (Belgium /Suzuki) 6-2

3. Johnny O’Mara (USA/Honda) 3-5

Team Overall

1. USA (23 points)

2. Belgium (34)

3. Germany (64)

Wohlen, Switzerland - September, 1982

Moto One

1. Danny Chandler (USA/Honda)

2. André Vromans (Belgium /Suzuki)

3. David Thorpe (Great Britain/Kawasaki)

Moto two

1. Danny Chandler (USA/Honda)

2. David Bailey (USA/Honda)

3. André Vromans (Belgium /Suzuki)

Overall 

1. Danny Chandler (USA/Honda) 1-1

2. André Vromans (Belgium /Suzuki) 2-3

3. David Bailey (USA/Honda) 4-2

Team Overall

1. USA (Bailey , O'Mara , Chandler , Gibson)

2. Belgium (Everts, Vromans , Jobé, Laquaye)

3. Great Britain  (Thorpe , Hudson , Whatley , Watson)

Scenes from High Point on PAMX – DC Vet Homecoming Saturday

Short video clips of motorcycle and ATV racing late Saturday afternoon 9-22-18 at High Point during the DC Vet Homecoming and PAMX weekend. Track looked to be in great shape for Sunday racing!

The world's biggest retro motocross festival - the VMXdN 2018

Rick Johnson, Ivan Tedesco, John Dowd, Mike Brown, Billy Mackenzie, Kurt Nicoll, David Pingree, Stephen Sword, and a cast of hundreds star in the Farleigh Castle Vets MXdN:

Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship

The Usual Suspects Reign Supreme at Kingston SE Yamaha AORC Day 2

Daniel Milner. Photo: John Pearson Media

In the battle of the sprints at Round 9 of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Kingston SE, South Australia it would be Daniel Milner (E3), Daniel Sanders (E2), Fraser Higlett (E1) and Michael Driscoll taking the victories on Day 2.

After battling it out on the YZF450 test yesterday, the riders were shifted on to the Total Earthworx KTM test today. The conditions proved to be quite physical for the riders as the soft sand formed big ruts and the technical sectors which included logs proved to be quite a task for the riders.

E3
The E3 class was once again the Milner show, despite putting his bike down in the first test, he composed himself and got back to his usual speed, taking the win with a time of 54:29.417.

Milner was made to earn the win here today with the tough conditions; “My first run today I pushed too hard into the corner and tucked the front end and lost a bit of time there. There was a log section that had us all struggling and I was definitely struggling with it but once I sussed out a line I managed to overcome the logs. The track was awesome it was rough, technical, hard and something we haven’t seen in AORC in a long time, credit to AORC for not taking it out and letting us battle through,” finished Milner.

Backing up his second place in yesterdays sprint it was once again Lachlan Stanford, who pushed through the conditions to record a 58:46.646.

Taking the final spot on the podium and showing great improvement from yesterdays results was Thomas Mason. Mason made some slight adjustments today and they payed off for him, with a time of 1:00:05.087.

Daniel Sanders. Photo: John Pearson Media

E2
Daniel Sanders has continued his stellar season, taking his ninth win in as many starts since returning from Enduro GP. Sanders found a way to navigate around the tricky conditions that took a toll on the rider’s fitness, but the Victorian rider stayed consistent to register a 54:58.946.

Sanders was happy to take the win but will look to improve at the final round; “The track was pretty rough today but I got off to a good start, but a few mistakes and crashes set me back from the times I was after today. All in all it was a good weekend for us and the team did really well to adapt to the conditions and help me achieve the win,” said Sanders.

After missing the podium yesterday, Joshua Green bounced back here today to grab second place on his Yamaha with a time of 55:54.471. Green is one of the smoother riders in AORC and today it showed as the track became rough and he still looked cool and calm out there.

Lyndon Snodgrass made it a pair of third place finishes at Kingston SE, ended the day with a time of 56:46.015. Snodgrass leaves Kinston SE in second place in the E2 championship race.

Fraser Higlett took out the E1 class. Photo: John Pearson Media

E1
After a second-place finish on the Saturday, Higlett has turned the tables to record his second race win of the season in the E1 class. Higlett has been known to enjoy the dusty and rough conditions and today was no exception as he stopped the clock at 58:30.922.

Frenchman Jeremy Carpentier grabbed his best finish down under, claiming second position to cap off a solid rounds riding with his third place on Saturday. The best result also comes on his 25th birthday, not a bad birthday present for the Yamaha rider.

Jack Simpson missed the previous round at Broken Hill, but he bounced straight back upon his return this weekend to snare the last spot on the podium. Simpson recorded a 1:01:07.670 to show he has found the speed again on return.

Luke Styke received a five minute penalty for deviating off the course, pushing him to fourth position with a time of 1:02.14.246.

bLU cRU Yamaha Off-Road Team's Michael Driscoll was on top in the EJ class. Photo: John Pearson Media

EJ
The rider who continues to dominate the EJ class is defending champion Driscoll, who battled the rough and technical test here at Kingston SE to register his ninth win of the season. The Yamaha rider stopped the clock at 57:24.799.

Driscoll took the win, but it wasn’t the easiest weekend for his team; “It was definitely a technical track today and I was happy with how I rode and to take the class win again is great, big thanks to the team as it wasn’t the easiest weekend for us, as I had a few spills throughout but we got it sorted and took the win,” said Driscoll.

What a ride it was from Callum Norton, yesterday was his first go at AORC and today he has leaped into second position. Norton normally competes in the motocross format and was riding a Husqvarna in MX Nationals this season, but he jumped on a KTM and tried off-road and he adapted well, collecting a time of 57:51.715.

The podium was rounded out by Joshua Brierley to back up his second place yesterday, his time of 1:01:12.612.

The final rounds of the AORC will see the riders venture to Omeo, Victoria on October 6-7, with a Cross Country on Saturday and then sprints on Sunday. There will also be the AORC Night of Nights on Sunday night, you can buy your ticket

s here.

Webb Wins Reno EnduroCross – Alta make history

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Cody Webb wins Reno EnduroCross from Colton Haaker, while Ty Tremaine makes AMA history putting Alta on the podium.

FMF KTM’s Cody Webb rebounded from a disappointing round two to win the Reno EnduroCross. Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker, Webb’s primary championship rival, finished second to keep the championship points tied at 73 apiece after three of six rounds.

Ty Tremaine rounded out the podium on the Alta Redshift electric bike to earn the first-ever AMA professional podium for an electric powered motorcycle.

Haaker started the day strong by edging out Webb for the fastest hot lap time. SRT-Husqvarna’s Kyle Redmond set the third fastest time with his teammate, Trystan Hart, fourth. Cooper Abbott rounded out the top five on the RPM KTM.

Haaker dominated the first of the two pro class heat races but forgot to take the No Joke Lane and, therefore, had to go to the Last Chance Qualifier instead of the main event. GasGas backed Noah Kepple moved up to take the heat one win, the first of his career. Redmond, Ty Cullins, Cristobal Guerrero, Abbott and Ryan Wells finished second to sixth respectively to earn main event spots.

In the second pro heat race, Webb took the win over Tremaine. Dustin McCarthy, Geoff Aaron, Giacomo Redondi and Mason Ottersberg finished third through sixth respectively to earn slots in the main event. 

The top four riders from each of the above heat races faced off in head-to-head bracket races. The winner earns a bonus point and first gate pick for the main event. With the points leader Haaker not in the brackets, it was Webb’s opportunity to gain a point. But Tremaine, who is from nearby Gardnerville, Nevada managed to beat Webb when they faced off in the final. 

 

 

In the main event Cody Webb pulled it out the bag with some mid-week practice sessions paying off to get himself back on point. Solid riding, particularly through the 'matrix section' of the track, allowed faster overall lap times and to keep Cody ahead of main challenger, Haaker. 

“Reno was much better than last weekend.” Said Webb after the race. “With the injury earlier in the year, I was behind and trying to rely on talent and that wasn’t enough. So I spent all week with Trystan Hart, Cooper Abbott, and Cody Miller riding motos to get my intensity back and that helped. I hope Trystan is okay since he was riding so good, so it is a bummer to see him hurt his wrist or arm.”

 

 

For Colton Haaker it wasn’t quite enough on the night but second position keeps the championship points close as the series takes a month break until Denver, October 20.

“The mistake I made in the heat race (missing the No Joke Lane),” said Colton. “It was easy tonight and I was so focused on the track that I just forgot to hit it. In the main, I got an okay start and got to second pretty quick and tried to close on Cody. He was so good in the Matrix and jumping into the rocks that he was putting a couple of seconds on me there. I think I was making up time on the rest of the track but not enough.”

 

 

Meanwhile Ty Tremaine not only made the podium in front of his family and friends at his hometown race but made AMA history! Ty’s third place will go down in the history books as the first time an electric motorcycle made the podium of an AMA professional class race.

Speaking after the main event, Tremaine said: “I didn’t get the best start so I took the ‘No Joke Lane’ right away, and then from there, I just started picking guys off one by one. I got into third and then rode my own race. We made history tonight with the Alta, which is crazy. And I did it with all of my family and hometown crowd here, which was so great. 

2018 Reno, Nevada AMA EnduroCross main event results:

1. Cody Webb, KTM
2. Colton Haaker, Husqvarna
3. Ty Tremaine, Alta
4. Geoff Aaron, GasGas
5. Kyle Redmond, Husqvarna
6. Noah Kepple, GasGas
7. Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha
8. Ty Cullins, Beta
9. Benjamin Herrera, Beta
10. Cooper Abbott, KTM
11. Giacomo Redondi, KTM
12. Dustin McCarthy, Yamaha

IDAHO “FREECROSS” ON OCTOBER 12-14 IN CASCADE