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PRODUCT NEWS

News: Triumph Testing

Lewis Phillips June 1, 2022 

The greatest motocross rider of all time, Ricky Carmichael, and five-time enduro world champion Iván Cervantes, spent the last week with the Triumph motocross and enduro team in the UK.

Receiving a warm welcome from Triumph employees, Ricky and Iván took the time to meet some passionate Triumph fans, before deep diving into development workshops with the design team and testing the latest prototypes, continuing in their unique role of providing invaluable feedback and input into the project.

Ricky Carmichael: “It has been a pleasure to finally come to the Triumph headquarters. Meeting everyone in all of the departments, seeing how it all works and getting to put the names to faces of those that I have been working with for so long. I have been incredibly impressed throughout the project, right from my first test with the team in the US, and it’s great to see how much progress they made to this point. To see the masterminds at work, and the dedication and motivation from everyone has been absolutely incredible. The sky is the limit and I believe everyone’s hard work on this project will mirror the level of the Triumph brand. It is an exciting time to be a part of this historic project!”

Iván Cervantes: “For me, this is a huge moment. We have tested the bike many times, but it was wonderful to ride with Ricky in person, and so satisfying to see how happy he is with the set-up we have developed. We have made some very big steps and some very productive changes, and I’m very happy with where we are. I have worked for a long time on this project with an amazing team, who all share the same goal: To be competitive from the very beginning. I cannot wait for the next steps.”

Steve Sargent (Chief Product Officer): “It was a pleasure to have both Ricky and Ivan with us for a whole week and to continue to take full advantage of their experience with the development of our off-road prototypes. Having both legendary motorcycle racers together to contribute to such a crucial phase of the bike’s development is invaluable. Together we share a single-minded ambition to launch motorcycles that are 100% capable of winning, that bring something new and different to riders in both worlds, that encompass all of Triumph’s expertise and capability, and that leverage everything Ricky and Ivan know about winning and developing bikes that deliver consistently race after race.”

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Forkner Out...Shoulder Injury

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki announced today that Austin Forkner will need to miss some time of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship as Forkner will undergo a "reparative" procedure on his shoulder. The team stated that Forkner sustained the shoulder injury in preparation for the 2022 Pro Motocross campaign and will remain on the sidelines until he makes a full recovery.

Forkner had fared well at the opening round last weekend at Fox Raceway where the 23-year-old finished sixth overall in the 250 class after going 6-6 in the motos. Forkner had broken his collarbone earlier this year during Monster Energy AMA Supercross when he and Jett Lawrence collided at the Arlington Supercross in February, but Forkner returned to racing before the season was over and even won the Foxborough Supercross. 

No definitive timetable has been placed on when we might see Forkner return to racing, but we hope for the best as he recovers and will provide further updates when they are available.

Is Honda Back on Top?

HONDA’S A FAST STARTER (JASON WEIGANDT)

I can’t really make any sense of this data. Team Honda’s glory days, with Dave Arnold and Roger De Coster at the helm, began in 1982 and essentially ended when the last dominant rider of that generation, Jeremy McGrath, left at the end of 1996 (by then Arnold and De Coster had already moved on, but McGrath and company were keeping winning traditions alive). The brand signed Ricky Carmichael for the 2002 season and Ricky, being Ricky, won just about everything in front of him for his three seasons on red, but beyond RC, who proved he can and will win on anything, Honda has tried and tried to get back to the promised land, but can never quite get there.

Here’s the data that is so weird: in season after season, Honda gets off to a hot start. Ezra Lusk winning early in ’98. An entire army of Honda riders getting off to a hot start in ’99 (Lusk won the first two AMA Supercross rounds, and Honda went 1-2-3-4-5 at the AMA Motocross opener, led by Sebastian Tortelli’s incredible 1-1). Carmichael’s success after that was end-to-end, but after that Honda enjoyed the riches of the GEICO Honda 250 program, getting riders like Trey Canard, Justin Barcia, and Eli Tomac into the mix. Again, those guys would win early and often. Like in 2013 when Canard nearly won the supercross opener after a huge battle with Davi Millsaps, and then a rookie Barcia won round two. They were arguably the two best riders at the start of that season, they couldn’t maintain it. Two years later, Tomac crushed the start of the 2015 Pro Motocross campaign, but he crashed out of it at round three. Then came the Roczen era, with many early season wins and lots of time with the red plate, but no titles. That includes this very season itself, when Roczen and Chase Sexton pulled away from the field at Anaheim 1. They only ended up with one race win each. Now we have another early-season Honda show, with Sexton and Roczen again pulling away from the field at Fox Raceway. One of these years has to be the year, right? Honda hasn’t won a 450 title since Carmichael left at the end of ’04.

It’s a strange thing. Honda has rotated through many bikes, team managers, technicians, mechanics, riders, and all during the last 18 years. You really can’t point to any one thing that leads to early-season success but no title at the end of the year. It’s just the way it goes, usually, and it’s a reminder to never get too excited or call the dawn of a new era too soon. We’ve been there before. So with Sexton and Roczen way ahead at round one (and the Lawrence brothers equaling it with a 1-2 in both 250 motos) things are certainly looking good for the Red Riders right now. Will we finally look back at this opener as the one where it finally turned around for good? Or is it just more of the same? It all makes this second round this weekend at Hangtown very important. 

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Honda had a huge day at the opener. Can they keep it rolling?

Hangtown Amateur Day

Bobby Austin from the Polka Dots MC flys the skys over the Hangtown track on a clear, cool day perfect for moto.

2022 DUBYA WORLD VET NEWS! ALL-NEW THREE-DAY, THREE-MOTO RACE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

The 2022 Dubya World Vet Championship will take place on November 4-6 and every amateur rider will get in more track time and a chance to save money below.

The 38th Annual Dubya World Vet Motocross Championships will take place November 4th through the 6th. This is one of the sport’s most popular events with over a thousand riders traveling from every state in the union and over 20 different countries to compete for a prestigious World Vet Championship title. For 2022 we are looking forward to having more countries participate (given that the pandemic in 2020 and Visa restriction in 2021 stopped most foreign racers from showing up).

After a successful, but very busy race last year, we listened to your suggestions and we are excited to announce an all-new race format. The 2022 Dubya World Vet Motocross Championship will have a new three-moto format where riders will have one day of practice (Friday) and two days of competitive racing (Saturday and Sunday) to crown the World Vet Champion of each class. By changing to this format, we should be able to keep from cutting any laps and even have time to clean up the rougher sections of the track between motos.

Racing will begin Saturday morning with all amateur classes racing. We will race halfway into the second motos and then finish the 2nd and 3rd motos on Sunday. The Over-40 Pros, Over-50 Pros and Over-30 Pasha 125 Pros will race two motos for the championship on Saturday. On Sunday the Over-30 Pro class and Over-50 Pasha 125 Pros will race. The World Vet Cup of Nations will be held again this year with the first moto on Saturday and a second moto on Sunday. Be on the lookout, a tentative race schedule will be posted a few weeks before the event.

EARLY BIRD JUNE SIGN-UP SPECIAL

Take advantage of our early bird June special and save up to $100 by pre-registering online starting on Wednesday, June 1 .

Pre-Entry Fees:
$50 First Class | $40 Second Class June 1st to June 31st
$60 First Class | $50 Second Class July 1st to July 31st
$70 First Class | $60 Second Class August 1st to August 31st
$80 First Class | $70 Second Class September 1st to September 30th
$100 First Class | $90 Second Class October 1st to November 3rd

Post-Entry Fees:
$150 First Class | $140 Second Class

Make sure to register early on www.GlenHelen.com

French GP - Preview

Next on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar is an old favourite among the paddock, as this weekend Ernèe is set to host this year’s Monster Energy MXGP of France.

It has been a while since MXGP visited the legendary venue, in fact the last time a Grand Prix race took place in Ernèe was back in 2017 which featured Clement Desalle, Antonio Cairoli and Gautier Paulin on the premiere class podium.

Over the course of the last three decades, Ernèe has hosted MXGP numerous times, the first being in 1990 when American Donny Schmit won the 125cc GP on his Suzuki.

This year big things can be expected from the French Grand Prix, as the ‘Circuit Raymond DEMY’ has always provided some of the biggest races in motocross history, take for example the epic 2015 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations that saw Team France top the podium in front of tens of thousands of passionate French fans who proudly sang the ‘La Marseillaise’, along with the legendary 2003 Grand Prix that saw the ten-time World Champion Stefan Everts become the first ever rider to win the triple crown (winning three classes on the same day).

Alongside the regular MXGP and MX2 action, we will also see rounds of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing and EMX250 which are currently led by Fantic Factory Team Maddii's Cas Valk and Cornelius Toendel.

There is no doubt that all eyes will be on last weekend’s Grand Prix winner Maxime Renaux of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing who is heading into his home race as the favourite to win. Securing his first ever overall victory in the MXGP class is no doubt going to be a big confidence and motivation boost for the Frenchman to put on his best performance in front of his home fans.

In addition, he is also in the title fight with Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who is 66 points ahead of Renaux. Gajser has struggled in the last two GP’s and has failed to make it onto the podium on both occasions. The French GP will be an opportunity for the Slovenian to get back to winning ways that he showed in the first half of this season and put his illness behind him. For Gajser, it will be the first time that he will race in Ernée since the Monster Energy FIM MXoN in 2015 when he won the B final, as in 2017 he was injured and did not line-up for the Sunday races. 

Also needing to make up some valuable points and looking to get back on the box will be Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who missed out on the top three at the Spanish Grand Prix. Prado was looking strong in both races, running at the sharp end before a couple of mistakes and a crash in race two took him out of the running for the overall victory. Prado remains fourth in the standings but we’re still at the halfway stage and there is still time for the Spaniard to claw back some points and get back in the title fight.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff and Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Brian Bogers had a good weekend in Spain as they finished second and third on the podium. Both riders now have two podiums each this season and hopefully they can continue in this direction this weekend and deliver another solid result. Colenhoff was also the qualifying race winner, making it his second this season (Portugal and Spain) and he is clearly showing that he is strong also on the hard-pack tracks.

Looking back at the previous results in 2017, Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer were on the box back when they were fighting for the MX2 title. Jonass won the GP, while Seewer finished third, with Benoit Paturel of Team Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz separating the pair as he finished second on the podium. Jonass and Seewer have some podiums under their belt this season already and this could be another opportunity for them to get back on the box. Meanwhile, for Paturel this will also be a weekend to deliver strong result!

Other names to look out for this weekend include JT911 KTM Racing’s Jordi Tixier, Riley Racing’s Christophe Charlier and Pierre Moine who will all look to put on their best performance at their home round.

MXGP - World Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 404 points; 2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 338 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 292 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 290 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 272 p.; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, HUS), 243 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 242 p.; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 196 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 194 p.; 10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, BET), 189 p.;

In MX2, the favourite will no doubt be Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle who was victorious last weekend with the perfect 1-1 score card. Vialle also won the French GP last season in Lacapelle Marival, so pressure will be on the Frenchman to deliver his home fans the top step of the podium.

Vialle also enters the 10^th round of the series with the red plate and a 10-point advantage over Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jago Geerts who had a couple of big crashes, which made for a difficult weekend in Arroyomolinos last week. Though Geerts is known to bounce back when he needs to, so of course we can expect him to be a serious threat for the win this time around.

Team Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Stephen Rubini is a rider to look out for this weekend, as the Frenchman has a real shot of finishing on the box at his home GP. Rubini already has a podium under his belt which he achieved in Maggiora and was close again last weekend in Spain after an impressive third in race one. There is no doubt that Rubini is strong in hard-pack conditions, so Ernèe should be a track suited to him and it will be interesting to see what he can deliver this weekend.

Another favourite for the podium this weekend is Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Simon Längenfelder who finally got back on the box in Spain with a consistent 2-3 result in the races. It was his first podium since his mega performance in Matterley Basin where he won the qualifying and both races, so should give him a confidence boost heading into the weekend and hopefully we will see more of the German at the sharp end.

Diga Procross KTM Racing’s Liam Everts turned some heads at the Spanish Grand Prix as he delivered two very solid results to finish fourth overall and just one point shy of the podium. Everts has been building his confidence this season, during what is his rookie year in the MX2 class. It’s been nice to see him build-up his results and hopefully a podium will soon be coming for the young rider.

F&H Kawasaki Racing’s Kevin Horgmo and Big Van World MTX Kawasaki’s Mikkel Haarup both showed promise in Spain, but some mistakes and crashes proved to be costly for a top overall score. Both riders can be expected to be fast this weekend and it will be interesting to see whether they can challenge Vialle and Geerts who are currently the front-runners of the field.

Of course, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Thibault Benistant will be looking for top scores at his home round and will be fighting for a chance to stand on the box again, as will Pierre Goupillon and Tom Guyon of Team VRT KTM Veritise who will once again line-up for the MX2 races this weekend.

MX2 - World Championship Classification: 1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 382 points; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 372 p.; 3. Simon Längenfelder (GER, GAS), 287 p.; 4. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 266 p.; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 259 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, GAS), 227 p.; 7. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 211 p.; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 210 p.; 9. Stephen Rubini (FRA, HON), 207 p.; 10. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 183 p.;

2022 Hangtown Motocross Classic - Animated Track Map

Dunge Returns To Hangtown 6 Years Later

It all looked too normal. Ryan Dungey doesn’t look like he aged one bit. He looked as fit as usual. He was running all of his old logos and gear. His style looked the same on the bike, and, then, the clincher, is that he almost logged his same old results! When Dungey started to catch Eli Tomac for third in the first moto of the day at the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross opener at Fox Raceway, it was as if he had swapped his 2022 KTM 450SX-F for a damned time machine. There might not be a rider more notorious for podiums than Ryan Dungey. There he was, about to do it again, hitting 88 mph with a flux capacitor on the handlebars. This was a time machine. This was vintage Dungey.

In the end, he couldn’t quite hold onto that spot, as a determined Christian Craig came through and bested Dungey, as did Jason Anderson. He finished the first moto in fifth, and took fifth in moto two, as well. It wasn’t a podium, but no one is complaining. Dungey has not raced motocross in six years and retired completely in 2017. This is an insane performance after being off that long. Because it’s Dungey, and because he looked the same, it didn’t seem as shocking as the numbers suggest. But let’s take a step back and realize what this was. Shocking. Amazing. Incredible. This is an athlete coming back five years after retirement and performing within percentage points of his old level. This does not happen in any sport. Dungey made it look routine.

“It was nice to get on the track in practice just to honestly get the nerves out and get going,” Dungey summed up via a Red Bull KTM team statement. “I was just anticipating the day, waiting for it to come, and so it’s here. We had two good practices, chased the bike setup a little bit but we ended up coming to a good spot. Going into the first moto, I got off to a decent start actually, probably 5-6-7 in the pack, and for me it was just important to let it come to me. Don’t rush, don’t override, hit your marks and find good lines as the race goes on. I was able to make some passes and I was actually pretty happy with fifth at the end of that one.”

In the second moto, Dungey started with the leaders to further complete the throwback theme. Nothing looked weird or out of place. Heck, Dungey was even there with Ken Roczen, his old racing rival.

“I got a really good start in the second moto, almost holeshot, and that was nice because I got to run up there with Chase and Ken and get a feel of that pace that I need to work towards,” he explained. “I ended up fifth overall, so I’m not mad. I’m actually really happy with the day and the bike too. We made some changes going into the second moto and that really helped. For me, it’s the best outdoor bike I’ve ever ridden at KTM, so that’s really pleasing. The cool part is I see the areas I need to work on and that’s the challenge and the motivation, so moving forward.”

Yup. You can only imagine Dungey will get better from here, and the podium is close.

It is easy, in hindsight, to know it would go this way. Because it’s Ryan Dungey! We’ve probably all harbored the thought that he could just roll out of bed and get a podium anytime, anywhere. He didn’t quite land there at the end of the day, but this was far from an embarrassment or a tarnishing of his legacy. In fact, he did something athletes making comebacks hardly ever do: he actually enhanced his reputation! Ryan Dungey was already one of the legends of the sport, but in just one race, he already made this a legendary comeback.

World SX Grows!

Additional two World Supercross Championship teams announced

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Section: Competition Post: Alex Gobert

Craig Dack Racing and Rick Ware Racing the latest to be confirmed.

Image: Foremost Media.

Powerhouse Australian team Craig Dack Racing (CDR) and American-based NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA SportsCar owner Rick Ware Racing (RWR) have been announced as the latest organizations to secure team licenses for the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX).

With MotoConcepts, Pipes Motorsports Group, Bud Racing and Team GSM already confirmed last week, CDR and RWR now make it six teams of the 10 that have been revealed ahead of the pilot series later this year.

As the factory Yamaha 450 team in Australian motocross and supercross, CDR has long been recognised as a world-class operation with an extensive list of championships in both disciplines. A former racer himself, Dack also spent time managing Yamaha of Troy in the US two decades ago and was instrumental in Chad Reed’s early career.

SX Global, the Australian company spearheading WSX, announced CDR together with American team RWR, which also has experience in operating a supercross program in the late 2000s. It currently competes in a range of top-tier motorsports series within North America.

“Aside from operating and competing at the highest levels of the sport, the addition of Dack’s Monster Energy Yamaha team expands the international relevance to our backyard where we have a storied history of popular supercross events in Australia,” said Adam Bailey, managing director – Motorsport of SX Global.

“While also bridging across the broader realm of prominent American auto racing through Rick Ware’s history in NASCAR and IndyCar racing. It’s incredible to see the intensive demand for these exclusive licenses with teams at the highest levels of competition, and with the sophistication and commitment to support and sustain a truly global championship.”

SX Global president Tony Cochrane commented: “Our ambitions and plans have faced incredible skepticism, but for those that have doubted us or continue to do so, we hope this line-up of credible, powerful teams and owners speaks volumes to our ability to bring this championship to fruition at the level necessary to give fans across the world a truly top-tier global supercross offering.

“What may be most valuable to us is the strength that each of these teams brings our series through their spirit of partnership – that shared vision and commitment to global success is extremely powerful and will drive us forward in the years to come.”

Over the coming weeks, the WSX four remaining licensed teams will be announced, completing the exclusive 10-team field. A schedule for the four-round pilot series due to drop the gates in September 2022 is yet to officially surface.