Travis to Daytona 500...Of Course!

Legendary motocross champion Travis Pastrana to enter 2023 Daytona 500 for 23XI Racing

Action sports superstar Travis Pastrana is expected to enter the 2023 Daytona 500 as the driver of a third car for 23XI Racing, according to a report by The Athletic. That report states that an official announcement is expected next week.

Pastrana, 39, will attempt to qualify for his Cup Series debut after previously having raced in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Pastrana has made 42 career Xfinity starts, including in 2013 when he ran the full season for RFK Racing. Pastrana won a pole at Talladega and earned four top 10 finishes with a career-best of ninth at Richmond on his way to a 14th-place finish in points. Pastrana also has five Truck Series starts, with his most recent coming in 2020 at Las Vegas.

On Friday evening, 23XI Racing's social media channels teased at an announcement.

Pastrana will serve as a teammate to Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, but he will have to earn one of the four Open qualifying spots in the Daytona 500 field available to non-charter cars. Pastrana can qualify either by being one of the two fastest Open cars in time trial qualifying, or by being the highest-finishing Open car in his Duel qualifying race the next day. Other drivers seeking to qualify for the Daytona 500 in Open cars are expected to include Jimmie Johnson for Legacy Motor Club, Austin Hill for Beard Motorsports, and Zane Smith for Front Row Motorsports.

The majority of Pastrana's racing success has come in rallycross, as Pastrana has four Rally America titles, the 2017 American Rally Association championship, and the 2021 Nitro Rallycross title to his name. Pastrana also won championships in AMA motocross and supercross early in his career.

KEVIN BENAVIDES WINS 2023 DAKAR RALLY

After taking the win on the last two stages, Kevin Benavides has won the 2023 Dakar rally. The start order was reversed for the final day of racing from Al Hofuf to Dammam, so the Benavides and Toby Price set off back to back at the tail end of the pack with Benavides leaving three minutes ahead of his teammate. American Skyler Howes started in front of them both, but could not make up the time he needed to take the big prize. Although the final timed special had been regarded as a relatively simple sprint to the finish, the 136 kilometers of gravel tracks, sand, and dry lake beds threw up a considerable challenge to all riders.

Kevin Benavides: “It’s been an amazing day! I just focused on every kilometer from the first to the last. I didn’t think about the position or the result I just gave my 100 percent over the whole stage and tried to enjoy the day. The special was really fast and tricky, and so muddy – thankfully I didn’t make any big mistakes, but it would have been easy to have an issue out there today. I have worked so hard for this. This year’s rally has been one of the closest ever and there wasn’t a single day where you could afford to ease off. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my team, and all my family and friends. It’s going to take a little while to sink in, I can’t describe this feeling right now.”

A couple of issues early in the stage cost Toby Price the valuable seconds he needed to stay in front, and despite clawing back close to one minute on the latter half of the special, it wasn’t quite enough to overhaul the flying Benavides.

Toby Price: “The first point is disappointment. We’ve come so far, but look, Kevin’s done a great job. Just a little frustrated that, on the last day, they played with these 20-metre rules for the waypoints, and I had to turn back and get three of them. Yeah, hard to take at the moment, but at the end of the day I’m going home in one piece and we got a Dakar trophy. It hurts a little bit. Kevin said he only had to turn back for one waypoint, I think the two waypoints I missed kinda cost us the race. 2023 has definitely kicked off a lot better than 2022.”

Coming into today’s 14th and final stage, Howes trailed the leader by just one minute and 31 seconds – an incredibly narrow margin after well over 43 hours of racing. As the third-to-last competitor to set off into the special, Skyler had a comfortable advantage over the fourth-placed rider and knew, with the two front runners fighting it out behind him, a smooth, calculated ride to the finish was all that was needed to secure his podium result.

Completing the final stage as fifth fastest, Howes was overjoyed with his overall result of third place on what was his fifth Dakar Rally appearance. In just a few years, the 30-year-old has gone from promising privateer to top-three Dakar racer. His podium at this year’s event added to his excellent 2022 season results bode well for Howes as he now looks ahead to the rest of the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship season.

Skyler Howes: “I am so happy! It’s been an incredible race with highs and lows, and it’s come right down to the wire on this final day. I knew the guys behind me would be pushing so hard today, and to go into this final day less than two minutes behind after well over 40 hours of racing is incredible. I arrived at the finish safely, and it feels like a dream come true and such an honor to share it with two legends like Toby (Price) and Kevin (Benavides). Everyone knows what you have to go through to get to this point, and after all that hard work, it makes this moment feel so sweet. Of course I want to come back and see what the other two steps of the podium feel like. But to now be one of five Americans to reach the podium at Dakar, it feels amazing.”

Dakar Stage 12...KTM Retakes Lead

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price has retaken the lead of the 2023 Dakar Rally following a strong ride to third place on stage 12 – the second leg of the event’s Empty Quarter marathon stage. Kevin Benavides placed fifth to successfully retain his third-place position in the overall rally standings, less than three minutes behind Price. Completing today’s special just seconds ahead of Benavides, Matthias Walkner carved his way through to fourth place on his KTM 450 RALLY. Completing the second leg of the marathon stage without issue, Toby Price covered the 185-kilometer timed special on stage 12 in just under two hours. More importantly, Toby not only made up time on his closest rivals in the race for victory, but he also regained the overall rally lead and will have two other riders to chase down on tomorrow’s penultimate stage 13. Racing at the front of the field remains incredibly close with Toby leading the general rankings by a narrow margin of just under 30 seconds. The two-time Dakar champion will draw on all his experience and skill to ensure good, solid finishes over the final two stages of the race as he has his sights set firmly on securing his third title at the world’s toughest rally-raid. Dakar Rally 2023 ----

Tony C

Dakar Best of the Day Bikes

Dakar Stage 11

Stage 11 Bike Results

Jan 12, 2023 #dakar #rally #bearnews

This is the third time that the two HVA riders Luciano Benavides and Skyler Howes have achieved the feat! The Argentinean has won his 3rd special on the Dakar while his American team-mate has regained control of the general rankings, making it his 6th day on at the summit of the Dakar 2023. Daniel Sanders finishes with the second best time of the day, 1'38’’ behind the winner and Toby Price concludes the stage in 3rd, 1'56’’ behind. In the general rankings, Howes leads in front of the 2 KTM bikes. Toby Price is only 28’’ behind and Kevin Benavides trails by 2'44’’. The Hondas ridden by Pablo Quintanilla and AVB are some way off the podium, respectively 15 and 15 minutes behind. You can see the results of all races on our Bear News channel. Thank you for your attention.

Matthes On Anaheim 1

Anaheim 1 is done! Lots to get into as the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship kicks off at what some would say is the home of supercross. We saw some great racing in the 450SX class. Like, seriously! The track conditions helped for sure, but if we get some more racing like that this year then this could be a 1990-ish year, as in, an all-time season. I mean, we had four different leaders in the 450SX main, people!

Anaheim 1 is always stressful for the teams and riders, I always think back to my days as a mechanic and remember this is the first day you’re wearing new team shirts and pants, the bike is all new, the rider is complaining that it feels too stiff, you have pesky media guys wanting to take photos of your bike, there are new rules to figure out, and more. Many of the sponsors come by to say hi and you still have to focus on the race. It’s a lot. Many Anaheim 1’s are just a blur, really, and this one felt like that as well.

Well, Eli Tomac showed everyone what was, up didn’t he? Very impressive ride by the champ and one that perhaps showed everyone else they’re in trouble? In a race full of mistakes, Eli made the fewest and captured the first Anaheim-one win of his career. Well, he crashed, but that was his only major mistake, he was cleaner than most through the rhythm sections, so he overcame the crash and won! Wild, right? We’ll have more on ET1 below.

Cooper Webb looked good on his own comeback for second. We had Cooper on the PulpMX Show Monday and he really dove into how hard he was on his team this off-season in trying to get his bike better. He said one of the things he regrets last year is not being hard enough on his guys to get the bike where they need it to be. He mentioned that yes, they tried the production 48mm WP forks with factory lugs on them, but they didn’t work as well as he needed them to (Aaron Plessinger ran these in MX last year for a bit). Webb mentioned that getting beat in Paris this year was a good thing, it made everyone get back to work and realize they weren’t where they needed to be.

 

Cooper Webb

For more insight go to https://racerxonline.com/2023/01/11/observations-anaheim-1

MXGP Insight: HRC Maestro Marcus Pereira De Freitas

After a couple of very stressful seasons, involving last race championship battles, one-day formats, title-wins and COVID-19 affected travelling, the 2023 MXGP championship has the possibility of getting things back to some sort of normality. And if that ‘new normal’ means that reigning champion Tim Gajser is able to win his sixth title in nine years, HRC General Manager Marcus Pereira de Freitas would be very pleased indeed. Here is an interview with the likeable Brazilian, giving an update on what’s been happening with Team HRC these last few months.

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How has the off-season been for the team so far?

Even though we haven’t had any races, there is still a lot of working going on, making sure we are in the best position possible for the 2023 campaign. There are always things to improve, to organise and things we learnt from last year that can be implemented this coming season. Right now, there is a bit of a hold up, as we don’t have a finalised calendar, so we can’t fully nail down how we will approach the first few rounds, but once that comes out, it will be all systems go.

And how are things looking for 2023?

It’s all very positive! We have a great group of sponsors who are a pleasure to work with, and we had good productive meetings for this year, which is always an important part of the process of running a successful team. And then on-track, both Tim (Gajser) and Ruben (Fernandez) have both been doing their training over the winter, on and off the bike. They are very impressed with the improvements we’ve made with the CRF450R and are excited for the season to begin. Obviously, they are still working their way into race-shape, having had a bit of a break but, overall, they are doing exactly what they need to be doing to come into the season at the highest possible level.

Ruben is new to the team, so how has he been adapting to the new environment?

So far it has been very easy for him, and for us! He rode for Team Honda 114 Motorsports last year, so he already had a good relationship with some of our team and that made the transition to Team HRC easier. Things run a little bit differently, and he has some extra things that he didn’t have to do before, but overall, it’s been smooth and he has adapted and learnt very quickly. He is very happy with the bike and we can’t wait for him to show everyone what he’s capable of. Last year was a bit of a learning experience for him, he had some ups and some downs but it was good for those to happen and I believe he will come into this year a lot stronger.

And what about Tim’s preparations?

For Tim, he is so focused and prepared that we don’t have to worry that he is doing what he needs to do. We keep an eye on everything, of course, but he is a model professional and we know to trust him and let him do figure out what works and what doesn’t work. Having Tiga243land was such a big step for him, because he is fully in control of when and when he rides. He doesn’t have to worry about any other riders, or if tracks will be open or not. He is able to do exactly what he needs to do, and is completely focused on making it happen. He has had a busy off-season with the trip to Japan and various awards that come with being a five-time world champion, but we are proud of how he has handled it, and know that when the first gate drops, he will be in exactly the right position.

Last weekend was the first Supercross, is this something you pay attention to?

Of course, I think everyone in the team watches as much as they can, certainly the first few rounds. We like to support our fellow Team HRC guys, and see how they are doing and how the bike is performing and also because we are fans of the sport. It was great to see Jett winning, and Chase leading for a little while, and also new rider Colt Nichols doing well on his Honda debut. While Supercross is a different discipline from motocross, it is still important for Honda and we always want to support their efforts.

KTM Takes Lead At Dakar

Posted on January 11, 2023

 

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Kevin Benavides has placed fourth on today’s stage 10 of the 2023 Dakar Rally and moves into the provisional lead of the overall standings. Toby Price completed the day in 19th but still lies third overall, just two minutes back, while Matthias Walkner enjoyed a solid day on his KTM 450 RALLY, placing fifth.

Ross Branch started the special in 28th place and quietly posted the fastest time at each checkpoint. In the end, he won the stage by 21 seconds over Van Beveren, adding a second victory to his tally in this Dakar and landing Hero MotoSports its third stage win ever. It will have little impact on the standings, as a slew of mechanicals in the early part of the race knocked the Botswanan out of contention for the title. Docherty came in third, 30" back, with Kevin Benavides at 1 minute.

Riders left the bivouac at 3:30am this morning to cover the 467-kilometer liaison that led them to the start of today’s timed special. Although short at 114 kilometers, the route raced against the clock was predominantly made up of rolling dunes, making navigation difficult and proving a real test of endurance for all competitors.

As the seventh rider into the special following his strong performance on stage nine, Benavides was in contention for the stage win right away. Carrying good speed over the sandy terrain, the 2021 Dakar winner was just 10 seconds down on the leader by kilometer 84. Losing a little time in the closing stages, Benavides dropped to fourth place as he crossed the line, one minute from the win. However, with times tight across the top 10, Kevin’s solid ride moved him into the lead of the rally, where he enjoys a one-and-a-half-minute advantage.

After losing time in the desert yesterday following a navigational error, Matthias Walkner bounced back in style on stage 10. Posting the fifth fastest time on the demanding special, Walkner moves back inside the top 10 overall and will be aiming to elevate himself even higher over the remaining four days of racing.

Toby Price was the second rider to enter today’s special, and again, using his skill and experience to good effect, chose to navigate carefully through the dunes to minimize any costly errors. With the leaders’ times extremely close over the short special, Toby ultimately completed the day in 19th, but only eight minutes down on the leader. As such, the Aussie remains very much in contention near the top of the overall standings where he now lies third.

Winner on day nine, Luciano Benavides had the unenviable task of leading out into today’s 10th stage of the 2023 Dakar Rally. The Argentine racer did an impeccable job however, opening the stage from start to finish to ultimately post the 13th quickest time. Teammate Skyler Howes took a conservative approach to today’s special, minimising the chance of any navigational mistakes and ensuring an advantageous start position for Thursday’s first half of the marathon stage.

Continuing to deliver solid and calculated rides at this year’s Dakar, Luciano Benavides confidently took on the challenge of opening the first stage that entered the dunes of the Empty Quarter and excelled. Riding alone up front for the entire 114 kilometres, Benavides lost the minimum time to his rivals while also ensuring a strong start position for tomorrow. Completing the day in 13th, six minutes down on the eventual winner, Luciano retains his top-10 placing in the overall standings and is in the perfect position to attack tomorrow’s first leg of the marathon stage.

Also putting in a considered ride through the dunes today, Skyler Howes took some time to reacquaint himself with the Empty Quarter terrain and to ensure he made very little in the way of navigational errors. With Thursday’s stage 11 coming in at around twice the distance of today’s special, Skyler is fully aware of the importance of delivering a solid, mistake-free result on the way to the temporary bivouac of the marathon stage. Although Howes dropped down to second in the overall standings, he lies just one and a half minutes from the lead – time he hopes to make up tomorrow.

That’s stage 10 at the Dakar done and dusted for Daniel Sanders. With times at the top incredibly close due to today’s special being the shortest of the entire event, Sanders posted the 12th fastest time, finishing just over six minutes down on the stage winner. Perhaps not a great result on paper, it’s the overall time that matters most, and today Daniel clawed back vital seconds from the provisional leader while securing a perfect starting position for tomorrow’s first leg of the marathon stage. The race to the finish is just getting started.