Swedish MXGP

Works Connection in the Beginning!

"I Just Wanted to Advertise Some Stuff and Sell to the Average Joe" | Eric Phipps Discusses the History of Works Connection We talked to the man behind Works Connection to learn the history of the iconic brand. From homemade skid plates to holeshot devices"

Published in Vital MX

Jamie Guida - Vital MX: Works Connection is an iconic brand in moto. How did it begin?

Eric Phipps: We've been in business now going on 33 years, which is a long time. The years flew by. I've always loved dirt bikes. I remember going camping and we'd take the bikes camping. I've always been an enthusiast. I just love everything about dirt bikes. I did race a little bit, just on an amateur level and I realized I'm never going to make a living at it. I wasn't striving to get into the motorcycle business by any means. My dad had an opportunity back in 1988 in Southern California to build some street rod parts, hotrod parts out of his house. He says, “hey, I'm getting busier. I could use some help”. I was 20 years old, and I thought, “why not”? I decided to take the plunge and move down there. I thought, “oh, this would be cool. I’ll take my bikes, I can go ride Saddleback, I can go ride Glen Helen, and I can ride all these cool tracks and work for him”. And so, I did that. During this process he would design a product and I was in charge of going to the machine shop and dealing with that side of things. Or going to the chrome shop or the platers or stamping company. I learned the day-to-day stuff of how you put a product together. Right down to learning the photography side of it, the marketing side of it, so on and so forth. I did that for about a year. But I missed NorCal and I started kicking around products for bikes. In about that same time, I was looking for a skid plate for my ‘88 KX250. I wanted the one that Jeff Ward had on his supercross bike. I could only find bigger versions, like kind of off-road. I won't call them snow shovels, but big and bulky. So, I made one. I hacked it up out of some materials we had laying around and just put it on. It was rough and it was not ideal. But I'm like, I think I could improve this and I could get some brackets made. It just kind of got the wheels rolling. My dad encouraged me to try this. He said, “You might be on to something. It might be enough to make a few extra bucks on the side”. So, I made a couple of prototypes and just started down that road.

Vital MX: As I recall Steve Lamson and some other guys started using the product. Is that how the ball started rolling?

Eric: I met Lamson through a friend of mine. Eddie Reed introduced me when I moved back from Southern California. I started making some prototype parts and I was talking to Eddie and his dad had some metal equipment. He was about 45 minutes away from me, and I'd use his shop area to build some of the prototypes and work on things. I was talking to Eddie one day and he goes, “Well, I know Steve Lamson pretty well. I can introduce you”. So, we kind of struck up a friendship. And he was the first guy that started using our skid plates on his bikes.

Photo Works Connection 

Vital MX: How did you get involved with the Team Peak, Splitfire, Pro Circuit team in ’91?

Eric: Steve went to Team Peak in ‘91 and that opened that door. We were on the team bikes in 91, which was amazing, getting that first championship with McGrath. Backing up, we won the West Coast title on the 125 with Ty Davis in 1990. He gave us our first championship. Then, when Steve moved on to Suzuki, we were able to get the parts on the Suzuki. Steve was a huge part in it. I still am very appreciative of what he did. He opened a lot of doors for me back in the day for sure.

Vital MX: Back in that time frame, there was no social media, there was no internet. It was really word of mouth to become successful.

Eric: Yeah, absolutely. I'd be scared to start something today to be honest. Back then I was young enough and maybe dumb enough. At the time if I could sell two or three skid plates a day, I could quit my day job and just do that. It would be enough. I wasn't really focused on the big picture. I didn't have a big business plan. The first six months I did well. And every month was getting a little more solid. I was able to quit my daytime job and do it full time. It was pretty cool. I was putting ads together and doing different things. In the Fall, bikes started coming out and things started picking up. This was about nine months in. We're not setting the world on fire, but it's enough. It's paying my bills. I'm generating a little bit of income, and everything I'm making is going right back into the business. 

Vital MX: Were other teams and consumers starting to take notice?

Eric: When we worked with these teams it seemed like it would snowball. Other teams thought, “they're on the Pro Circuit bikes, so it must be pretty good”. I had no business plan to get on the factory bikes. I just wanted to advertise some stuff and sell to the average Joe. The more teams that you get, the more confidence in the product there is. Things were changing rapidly. We started adding some new products around that time and slowly gaining and doing different things.

Vital MX: What were some of the other products that you were working on?

Eric: When we first started skid plates were the main thing. We also did front and rear caliper guards. Those were the three products that we made from the get-go. And then the frame guards got really popular around ‘93. Team Honda had frame guards on their bikes, and we made some replica looking ones. Those were super popular. That probably put us on the map more than even the skid plates did. In ‘96 we came out with radiator braces. We had a lot of guys bending radiators without even falling. Just from squeezing the bike so hard. That was a good product for us. And then we moved into building clutch perches, probably around ‘97 to ‘98. Every couple of years we were at that point of coming up with a new product.

Vital MX: With new products and growth comes the need for more space and new equipment. How was that?

Eric: When I started, I just had a spare room or makeshift garage that I converted into an office in my mom's house. She had a garage in the backyard where I stored all my skid plates. I built everything. I'd bring it up into the house to package it, meet the UPS guy, and ship it off. I was there for a couple of years. Then I moved in with a buddy and we rented a place that I used. But again, we're growing. I need a little bit more space. I still wanted to keep it small, and home based. A few years later I rented my first commercial location. At that point I needed about 2000 square feet. We added stands at that time, too. Stands are bulky, so we needed more space. Then we built our first building which was 5000 square feet. We thought, “we'll never outgrow this place. It's forever”. Things were evolving quickly and gaining a lot of momentum in those years for sure. We just purchased some new equipment. I've got a new design guy who's very efficient with all the CAD programming. It's exciting moving forward. 

Vital MX: Where did the Pro Launch Start Device come from? I would have to assume that's one of the top two or three best-selling products you have.

Eric: I believe it was 2002. I got a call from Mike Gosselaar, who was at Honda at that time. He said, “hey, we're working on this thing. I think you should look at it. And I think it's going to be a good product”. To back up a little bit, Chad Reed had come from Europe and was racing for Yamaha that year and he brought over from Europe, it was a little bit crude, but they literally just had a hook that attached to the fork tube, and they had a hole drilled in the fork guard. The mechanics would compress it and push the fork guard back. And this hook would just pop through the hole in the fork guard. All of a sudden, the Honda guys caught onto it. That's when they first decided they needed to build something. They couldn't do a hook style because they didn't have the clearance between the fork guard. They created a spring and pin kind of like you see nowadays. Mike let me know about it. We've changed the design due to a patent lawsuit. We started seeing that if we change it, this works better and it's easier to latch and it's more consistent. It was one of the best things that happened because the new design now is the lightest one on the market. It perfectly engages every time. And it's just been a game changer for us. Our goal all along was to provide the average Joe with the same products that the factory guys use.

WHEN GIANTS ROAMED THE EARTH & IRON MEN RODE THEM

MXA On Aug 6, 2022

By Terry Good and Tom White

When Edison Dye and Torsten Hallman first introduced motocross to the U.S. in 1966, one of the most interesting and important eras in motocross history had already come and gone. Since the sport was so young in the United States, very few teenage Americans ever heard of the Monark/Lito/Husqvarna four-stroke era. Considered the golden era of motocross, it only lasted from 1957 to 1965.

After having suffered through two World Wars, economic depression and tyranny, Europe was rebuilding at an exponential rate through the 1950s and 1960s. Motocross was growing in popularity all across Western Europe and was quickly becoming one of the premier sports of the working class. To capitalize on this growth, a World Motocross Championship was established in 1957, and crowds as big as 100,000 spectators came to watch the Iron Men of Motocross muscle their giant 500cc four-strokes. Motocross was a big deal.

To win the World Championship was a major accomplishment, and motorcycle manufacturers like Belgium’s FN and Sarolea; Britain’s Norton, BSA, Rickman, AJS and Matchless; and Sweden’s Monark, Lito and Husqvarna designed and built very expensive handmade works machines in their quest for the championship.

The riders of this era were household names among the fans. To ride these giant Grand Prix bikes (often exceeding 300 pounds) at competitive speeds, you had to be almost superhuman. Les Archer, Jeff Smith, Brian Stonebridge, Auguste Mingels, John Draper, Rolf Tibblin, Gunnar Johansson, Rene Baeton, John Avery, Victor Leloup, Bill Nilsson and Sten Lundin were just such human beings.

THE BIKES THEY RACED WERE NEVER INTENDED TO BE SOLD TO THE PUBLIC. THEY WERE THE FIRST
TRUE WORKS BIKES, AND ONLYA HANDFUL WERE EVER BUILT

The bikes these men raced were never intended to be sold to the public. They were the first true “works bikes,” and only a handful were ever built. The surviving bikes from this 1957 to 1965 era are among the rarest and most expensive motocross bikes on the planet. Highly coveted by collectors and in extremely short supply, these machines can easily fetch $100,000 on the open market. Amazingly, there is even a cottage-industry that builds copies of the originals (and the replicas can sell for astronomical amounts — upwards of $50,000 — for a fake).

MXA wants to introduce modern American motocross racers to the three most important motocross bikes ever made. These handmade, one-off works bikes ushered in the modern motocross era. They were the harbinger of factory teams, professional riders, corporate competition and works machinery. These booming, 500cc, single-cylinder, four-stroke giants roamed the earth for less than 10 years, and they never numbered more than 50, but they left an enduring legacy. Travel back 50 years to meet the Monark 500, the Lito 500 and the Husqvarna 500.

1960 MONARK 500 (1957-1960)

The Albin-powered Monark has the most varied history of any motocross bike ever made. It was an incredible machine and spawned its own competition. Monark was the first Swedish manufacturer to get involved in Grand Prix motocross, starting in the late 1950s. They built a total of five GP Monark works bikes from 1957 to 1960. As each of these bikes was used and abused, the parts from the original bikes were taken and used on the newer bikes. Each bike was individually designed by Monark; no two bikes were the same. Years after the factory shut down in 1960, a couple bikes were built from leftover parts. No bikes were ever sold to the public, and all that survived are accounted for today. There will never be a barn find of a Monark 500.

This is a very interesting history of early Moto. There is much more info and some great pictures at the MXA website, go there for more;

https://motocrossactionmag.com/when-giants-roamed-the-earth-iron-men-rode-them/

Monster Energy Kawasaki confirms AMA riders for 2023

Monster Energy® Kawasaki and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki are geared up for yet another full year of world-class racing in 2023. The Kawasaki racing teams will compete against the premier supercross and motocross talents from around the globe as they seek to contend for the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and the groundbreaking SuperMotocross World Championship.

Monster Energy Kawasaki will continue its two title favorites of Kawasaki Team Green™ graduate and 2020 Pro Motocross runner-up Adam Cianciarulo who will compete for his fourth year aboard the KX™450SR alongside 2022 AMA Supercross runner-up Jason Anderson following an exceptional 2022 season. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki will also continue with its roster of proven race winners with Jo Shimoda, Austin Forkner, Cameron McAdoo, and Seth Hammaker in addition to nine-time AMA Amateur National Champion Jett Reynolds and upcoming Kawasaki Team Green rider Ryder DiFrancesco.

“We are confident with our team roster for 2023,” said Kawasaki Racing Senior Manager, Dan Fahie. “The success we shared with Jason in both supercross and motocross is promising as we look to the upcoming unified SuperMotocross World Championship. We’re also very optimistic about Adam’s return to the starting gate as he’s proven to be a top contender at the premier level. We are in a great place with the development of our KX450SR and look forward to continued success through this next evolution of professional motocross.”

Anderson and his KX450SR proved a winning pair through the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, earning seven Monster Energy Supercross Main Event wins and leading 135 Main Event laps; nearly twice as many laps led as his closest rival. Anderson carried his success into the Pro Motocross Championship where he claimed his first 450 Class overall win at Round 2 and asserted himself as a staple podium finisher. Looking to the Monster Energy Supercross Championship, Pro Motocross Championship and SuperMotocross World Championship in 2023, Anderson aims to continue his fight for premier class supremacy.

“My first year racing the KX450SR with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team has been awesome,” said Anderson. “I’ve won more races this season than any other in my career, so it’s clear the program and the team environment we have are working well. Next year there will be more up for grabs than ever before, so we are focused on making another strong push for the championship.”

Cianciarulo will line up with Monster Energy Kawasaki in 2023 to continue his illustrious 18-year partnership with Kawasaki as he enters his fourth year of 450 Class racing. The No.9 KX450SR rider graduated through the Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green program on his way to the 2019 AMA Pro Motocross 250 Championship, was crowned 2019 Monster Energy Cup Champion, secured 2020 Pro Motocross runner-up honors and has a total of 21 combined professional wins. Cianciarulo is geared up to capitalize on a full off-season of preparation with the team ahead of his 2023 Championship efforts.

“I’m eager to get back to racing at the top level again this year,” said Cianciarulo. “With a thorough recovery period behind me, I’m in a great place physically and mentally to excel when we go racing. I’m really enthusiastic about what’s coming with the new developments to our sport and I’m doing everything I can, along with the whole Monster Energy Kawasaki team, to be the best when it comes time to drop the gate.”

Herlings Future?

Herlings - What Will We Get in 2023?

Posted on August 04, 2022

One of the saddest things from the 2022 MXGP season, or in fact, from 2022 in general when it comes to motocross or supercross is the fact we won’t see World MXGP champion Jeffrey Herlings race. We had all hoped he might be able to squeeze in a GP or two, maybe the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations, but now, we know that isn’t the case. Hell, at one point we all thought he would race the AMA Nationals, so seeing nothing of the KTM factory rider hasn’t been easy.

With more than 15 months out of racing (once the 2023 season begins) he will have been away from the track for the longest time in his career.

After his November 10, 2021, performance, where he not only went 1-1 to take the Mantova GP victory, but also scored his fifth World motocross championship, you have to wonder what type of “The Bullet” we get in 2023?

For many years we have all seen Herlings as the fastest rider on the planet, and the fact he has five World championships with his injury list, well, that is just astonishing. He has probably missed out on at least another five championships in years he was the fastest, but also sat in a hospital bed mid-season.

Now, with 15 months of not racing, once the 2023 season started next February, you have to question will he still be the fastest man on the planet. I say yes, because at 27 years of age, and turning 28 on 12 September, you have to think he is still in his prime. Can he get better, I am not so sure, because what we saw in 2021, was the man who once dominated the World battling hard with Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser. So easily winning GP’s might be a thing of the past for the Dutchman?

I could be wrong and maybe with a streak of GP victories in 2023, he might once again dominate, however that is one of the big question marks that awaits us next year. I have always been a believer that he might just be the fastest Grand Prix rider ever, and maybe even the fastest rider including AMA ever. Better than Stefan Everts, better than Ricky Carmichael and better than anyone else who has thrown their leg over a motorcycle, but of course, statistics are also something I believe in, and for that, obviously nobody beats the Belgian and American legends in that regard.

I like everyone else want to see him back, I see in my website stats that the MXGP championship had less eyes in 2022, just because Herlings wasn’t racing and while Slovenian legend, Tim Gajser walks away with this years MXGP title and enters the 2023 also as a five-time World champion really makes for an interesting 2023.

It would be the first time in the sports history that we enter a GP season with two five-time World champions going head-to-head. Back in the 2004 season, when Stefan Everts a seven-time World champion went up against Joel Smets a five-time World champion. Everts was the MX1 World champion and Smets the 650 World champion, but that is another story, for another day.

I am as excited as anyone to get this somewhat boring 2022 season out of the way and look forward to yet another classic battle as Gajser vs Herlings already begins to make my mouth water.

Factories within SuperMotocross

Input: Factories within SuperMotocross championship

Share

Section: Regulars Post: Alex Gobert

Manufacturer involvement in unified series to launch from 2023.

It was officially announced today that Feld Motor Sports and MX Sports Pro Racing will unite in 2023 to create the SuperMotocross World Championship, which will follow Monster Energy Supercross and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross to culminate in October at the LA Coliseum. While a lot of detail is still to follow, one of the major factors is that the series has attracted factory participation and a group of North American representatives from those brands commented on the announcement in this latest Input feature.

Roger De Coster (KTM Group):
The creation of the SuperMotocross World Championship is the biggest and most positive step to ever happen in our sport. Supercross and motocross racing in the US is very strong right now and this investment from Feld Motor Sports and MX Sports Pro Racing will bring the next generation of fans to motorcycling.

Chris Brull (Kawasaki):
The SuperMotocross World Championship is an important and necessary step forward for our sport. The collaboration between Feld Motor Sports and MX Sports Pro Racing further strengthens Kawasaki’s commitment to this new world championship and to the already well-established and successful supercross and motocross championships.

Brandon Wilson (Honda):
As a manufacturer, it’s great to see two of our valued partners collaborating to bring something new to our sport. Considering that this has been in the works for more than two years, we are excited to now finally be able to share this significant news. The SuperMotocross World Championship is going to add a lot of intrigue for everyone. Fans will have more opportunities to see their favorite riders and the most competitive racing, plus we’ll now see who the best overall rider is.

Image: Octopi Media.

Derek Brooks (Yamaha):
As the current and reigning champion in both Supercross and Motocross, we’re extremely proud to have earned those titles battling the best competition on the planet. The SuperMotocross World Championship is a unique, yet also natural next step for the sport as we work together to highlight the immense talent of the athletes who compete on our class-leading product.

Chris Wheeler (Suzuki):
We are inspired to see this new partnership and the creating of the SuperMotocross World Championship. Suzuki is looking forward to racing in this new championship and competing at the highest level in supercross, motocross and now the SuperMotocross World Championship.

Old Guys Fast at Loretta's

The 41^st Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship is officially up and running. Day one from Loretta Lynn Ranch took place Tuesday, August 2, with the first of three rounds of motos playing out, which will eventually determine 36 AMA National Champions by the end of the week.

So far, the weather is typical here—hot and humid but no rain so far.

Ryder DiFrancesco got his Loretta Lynn’s week started with a win in Open Pro Sport. Photos: Align Media

The Open Pro Sport class was one of the highlights of the day. Unfortunately, the highly anticipated showdown between rivals Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Ryder DiFrancesco and Team Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas didn’t quite pan out. Hymas had a bad start and would later fall, letting DiFrancesco focus on leader Heath Harrison on the Phoenix Racing Honda.

DiFrancesco eventually found his stride, got out in front, and led the way to the finish. Hymas finished deep in the field.

Gage Linville (Pure Outlaw Yamaha) later worked his way into second, where he would finish the moto ahead of Gavin Towers (NSA Yamaha Factory Amateur Team), Cole Martinez (Monster Energy/SlamLife Racing Honda) and Patrick Murphy (Yamaha).

In 250 B, MJ Racing KTM’s Matti Jorgensen took the win, followed by Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Preston Boespflug and NSA Yamaha Factory Amateur Team’s Evan Ferry.

Mike Brown was a double winner in 40+ and 50+.

Monster Energy/Star/Yamaha Racing’s Haiden Deegan was in this one, as well,  but was forced to retire early with a mechanical when he and Ferry got too close, and Ferry’s footpeg destroyed Deegan’s rear spokes.

Former Pro Motocrosser Mike Brown came away with a pair of wins in the Senior 40+ and Masters 50+ divisions. Kris Keefer was second in Senior 40+ and John Grewe took runner-up honors in Masters 50+.

Jett Wins Again!

Consistent Jett Lawrence takes Washougal victory

Share

 

Hunter Lawrence and Justin Cooper claim the two moto wins.

Despite not winning a moto, Team Honda HRC’s 250MX series leader, Jett Lawrence, took another round win at the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship after a close day of racing at Washougal.

Lawrence was joined by Justin Cooper (4-1) and older brother Hunter (1-4) on the round podium.

Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence claimed first blood in the opening 250MX race.

Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s Jo Shimoda leapt to the front of the first 250MX moto, followed by team-mates Hunter and Jett Lawrence, and fastest-qualifier Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha).

Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker quickly dispatched of Cooper but would gradually lose touch of the front-runners.

At the 10-minute mark, and after a prolonged period of pressure, Hunter forced his way past the Japanese rider and tried to sprint away, leaving Shimoda in Jett’s sights.

Their battle whittled down Hunter’s three-second lead and as the race wore on the pressure between the three continued to ramp up.

Late in the race Jett stood Shimoda up entering the whoops, but Hunter would control the closing laps to take the win, with Jett second and Shimoda third.

Cooper made a late move on Hammaker to reclaim a distant fourth. P

ierce Brown (TLD Red Bull GasGas), Max Vohland (Red Bull KTM), RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna), Jalek Swoll (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) and KTM rider Josh Varize would complete the top 10.

Justin Cooper put in a controlled wire-to-wire moto two victory to take his first race win of the 2022 Pro Motocross Championship.

Cooper took the holeshot from Shimoda and Hunter, with Jett in fourth.

Cooper progressively stretched out a comfortable lead as Shimoda and the Lawrence brothers again went deep into the trenches.

After several laps of pressuring Shimoda, Hunter laid his bike over in a corner, dropping him to fourth.

With 11 minutes to go, and after a prolonged period of pressure, Jett found a way past Shimoda into second and the round overall position and was content to stay there and bank the points.

Hunter Lawrence put in some furious final laps to close back on Shimoda but ultimately ran out of time, finishing a hard-fought fourth.

Cooper took a five-second race win, while Jett’s 2-2 result was enough to take a one-point round win over Cooper and Hunter.

Vohland would complete the moto top five, ahead of Hampshire, Nate Thrasher (Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha), Hammaker, Brown and Varize.

Jett now holds a 28-point lead over Hunter (355 to 327 points) in the championship points chase, with Shimoda third on 306 points.

The ninth round of the Pro Motocross Championship will be held at Unadilla, NY on 13 August.

Belgium Selects MXofNations Team

National coach Johan Boonen today announced the team for the 2022 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations, set for RedBud in America. Liam Everts, Jago Geerts and Jeremy Van Horebeek will lineup in the Belgian colours on 24 and 25 of September.

Lommel... MXGP of Flanders 2022