Levi Kitchen Out

Welp, this blows. After coming off his second moto podium finish of the season on Saturday at the Southwick National, Levi Kitchen announced on Instagram this afternoon that he has suffered a broken wrist. Kitchen earned his maiden holeshot and led his first laps as a pro at the third-round Thunder Valley National in June. The #59 led all 15 laps in the first moto to earn his maiden moto win, then charged to a fifth-place finish in the second moto to claim his maiden overall podium.

Over the weekend, Kitchen jumped to a great start in the second moto and was right on the rear fender of race and points leader Jett Lawrence before finishing second. His 8-2 finishes gave him fourth overall on the day.

The Washington native finished eighth, sixth, third, twelfth, fifth, and fourth overall, respectively, in the first six rounds and sat fifth in the 250 Class points standings. He said he will undergo surgery tomorrow.

Kitchen grew up down the road from Washougal MX Park in Washington and was set to have a meet and greet with fans for his home race as a pro. Unfortunately, with the Washougal National on July 23, the local native will be on the sidelines for this year's event.

Eli's Coming!

Eli's Coming!

Fire Power Honda

Team to make first appearance Pro Motocross within 450MX class.

Image: Supplied.

Fire Power Honda has announced the signing of Max Anstie ahead of his debut with the team at RedBud in this weekend’s fifth round of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.

Anstie will ride 450MX at RedBud, Southwick and Millville, potentially as well as the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) at RedBud in late September.

“Being competitive is always my priority and I know that Fire Power Honda can give me what I need to chase my goals in the USA,” Anstie commented. “The first month with the team has been great and I cannot wait to get behind the gate at RedBud. It will be a great opportunity to show just how much work we have done!”

Anstie’s participation in the next three rounds of Pro Motocross marks the beginning of a new chapter for the team, however, didn’t indicate the terms of his contract at this point or whether it will span through 2023, as anticipated.

Following two seasons with HEP Motorsports aboard a Suzuki, Anstie was part of the BBMX-operated Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM team at the beginning of this year, but departed along with teammates Shane McElrath and Joey Savatgy when the team underwent immense changes mid-season and didn’t complete Monster Energy Supercross.

“Max was on our radar from the very start – his success in Europe speaks for itself,” said Martin Davalos, Fire Power Honda team manager. “Winning his class at the Motocross of Nations speaks to his talent and potential.

“Providing a platform for him to succeed in the United States is our priority now. We are entering the next three rounds of Pro Motocross with realistic goals, yet we know that he has already got the speed to be comfortably inside of the top 10.”

Fire Power Honda – owned by Yarrive Konsky – has previously been a Supercross-only team since entering the US in 2020, initially focusing on 250SX East in Supercross this season. Along with its US and Australian commitments, it’s also expected the team will enter the World Supercross Championship (WSX).

1994 HondaCR 500

MXA RIDES A 1994 HONDA CR500 TWO-STROKE RESTO-BUILD

Nathan Alexander, who was the team manager at the Muc-off Honda team in 2021, and is currently Mitchell Oldenburg’s mechanic at MotoConcepts Honda, was the mad scientist who brought the 1994 Honda CR500 to life. Jamie Ellis at Twisted Development was a part of making this project come to fruition and Yarrive Konsky, owner of the FirePower Honda team, is the owner of this CR500. Most of the MXA test riders prefer to race on dirt bikes with modern technology, but we don’t take for granted the days when we get to hop on old two-strokes like this one, to get some perspective for how gnarly the 500cc class used to be and for how far motorcycles have come in the last twenty years. Watch MXA test rider Ezra Lewis have some fun on the 1994 Honda CR500 as we explain how this bike came together and how it ran on the track.

Canard Tops Mammoth MX

Trey Canard made the trek up the mountain and came home with overalls in Open Pro Sport and 450 Pro

Webb Renews!

Cooper Webb renews with Red Bull KTM through next year

By Dan BeaverJun 28, 2022, 10:24 PM EDT

 

After struggling to finish seventh in the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross points, Cooper Webb will return to Red Bull KTM Racing through the 2023 season, giving him an opportunity to score a third championship with the team.

Joining KTM in 2019, Webb found immediate success, winning his first 450 race in Round 3 at Anaheim that season. He followed that up with another seven wins that season, which was capped off with his first championship by 18 points over Eli Tomac.

He failed to back up his title in 2020, this time losing to Tomac by 25 points, but Webb’s second-place ranking in the points kept the momentum intact as he rolled into 2021.

Webb won his second title that year in a fiercely contested battle with Ken Roczen and he entered this season determined to win consecutive titles. Despite Roczen keeping the pressure on, Webb scored eight wins that season.

That did not happen, as Webb struggled with KTM for the first time since they joined together.

A new bike design put him on the podium just four times. None of these were victories. There was also internal conflict at the team as Webb tried to prove that he was doing all he could do on that new bike.

“It has been a hell of a journey these past four seasons,” Webb wrote on Instagram. “KTM Factory Racing believed in me when not a lot of people did. It feels a lot like 2019 again. Excited to be back with KTM for 2023.”

Since joining KTM, Webb has accumulated 19 450SX wins, tying him with Damon Bradshaw for 12th on the all-time wins’ list.

To prepare for the 2023 Supercross season, Webb decided to skip the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season, which just completed its Round 4.

In the press release from Red Bull KTM, Webb said: “I am excited to continue my relationship with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team and I’m really looking forward to going after a third AMA 450 Class Supercross Championship together next season.”

Mammouth Vintage

Vintage Motocross | 2022 Mammoth Motocross | Vintage 2 Stroke Dirtbikes and Legendary Riders

MXGP of Indonesia 2022

Febvre Back On Form

Gating in tandem with the pole-setter to his inside at the start of race one at the magnificent facility on the equatorial island of Sumbawa the Frenchman was boxed-in slightly at turn one to emerge sixth. The tricky surface, an unusual mix of hard-edged ruts with a loose top soil of volcanic ash, demanded respect by anyone going off the main line in search of a passing move but by lap three the Kawasaki ace had advanced to fifth and set his sights on fourth. Pacing himself in the hot and humid conditions he maintained the pressure throughout the thirty-minute-plus-two-lap race, his final effort to pass on the very last lap being resisted as the rider ahead “closed the door“. A superb start in race two saw the Frenchman race top-three all moto with the leader in his sights to the chequered flag. The GP podium was within reach if he could have found a way around the rider in second but again a well-planned last-lap effort came up inches short. Nevertheless it was a superb effort to add fourth overall to the fifth place he secured two weeks ago on his return to action after a six-month enforced absence from racing.

Romain Febvre: “It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to miss the podium by just two points! I had a good feeling with the bike all weekend and I really liked the track; already on Saturday I had good lap times and a good Qualifying race. Today it was the first race that spoilt my day; I started well but Tim moved towards me in the first corner so that I had to brake and I was passed on the outside. I was fifth and I had to stay there for several laps; it was difficult to follow each other closely, and to carry out an attack your opponent had to make a mistake, especially as half of the track was made up of heavy dirt. In the second race I saved my challenge for the end of the race. I pushed with two laps to go to try to overtake Prado; I drew alongside him when he made a mistake on an uphill but I couldn’t quite make the pass stick. Maybe I should have started my challenge a lap earlier. I’m disappointed to miss the podium but this weekend has confirmed that the results are pretty good since my return and everyone in the team is happy. “

KRT’s Ben Watson made several decisive moves through the early laps of race one as he moved forward to thirteenth after hitting the start-gate before surrendering one position again mid-moto to finish fourteenth. Thirteenth in race two resulted in the same result overall and he remains twelfth in the series points chase.

Ben Watson: “I felt really positive when we arrived here and saw the track. It’s really special; they did a really good job and it was worth the long journey but I just didn’t feel physically strong enough all weekend. I don’t think it was the heat but I felt heavy from the start and struggled with the intensity. I saw some form of movement in the gate at the start of the first race and hit it. There were a couple of us who moved so I don’t think I imagined it; it was just one of those things. I tried to re-group between races and rode better in race two to make a couple of passes; I just wish I could ride more aggressively at the moment. “

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton showed good pace during the first half of race one as he advanced from eighth to sixth but the Australian ran out of energy in the heat during the final fifteen minutes to be pushed back to tenth at the chequered flag. The second moto was difficult from the word go but he persevered to finish fourteenth for twelfth overall. He remains seventeenth in the championship standings.

Jed Beaton: “The layout of the track looked really nice when we arrived even though it’s rocky underneath. I ran up front for twenty minutes in the first moto – that was really positive – but then the heat got to me so I went into the second race on the back foot as I’m still not back to 100%.“