Herlings wins 2021 Loon Plage Beach Race

MXGP motos or crazy beach race Jeffery Herlings keeps on winning.

Tortelli Talks Stark Development

As the impact of the new Stark electric motocrosser works its way across the globe, we sat down with test rider and two-time world champion Sebastien Tortelli and poked him with some questions…

DBR: What what were your thoughts when you were approached to do this? ‘Oh no, it’s another electric motorbike’?

“My first thing was a physical reaction. I know that the future is a matter of time, you know, and the second thing was, I know what is on the market, because I rode a bike in the past and I spent also time a little bit with Alta before they went down.”

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“So I knew what was the best electric motorcycle that we had so far. And I saw the development of people doing motorcycles, calling them motocross bikes, but they they are not very motocross bikes, they are more super-hype mountain bikes.”

“So when Anton approached me and he says, ‘You know, I want to build the motocross bike’, and my first reaction was, I would agree to join the company if it’s a real motorcycle. I’m a motocross guy and I’m not gonna go for halfway across and I know the project is not a group perspective.”

“So when I was asked about the project and that was basically what I saw was, and I’m like, I think it’s gonna be a big surprise, and we’re gonna see what comes up.”

DBR: Did you have you have input on every part of the bike from from the beginning or have you have you waited for the guys to design and build a prototype and then you go and say, we know we need to change this, this and this…

“It’s been a process you know, the first was to get the bike on drawings, finalise it and get the first situation of the plastics and then figure out what is comfortable for rider and not comfortable.”

“We’ve been working on together to solve the issues and everybody put their input into the company and then into the what is the best suited bike frame for the motorcycle. So, we work all together from the design point of view trying that out on the tracks and then the powertrain duration and progress through the engines and and all the technical costs at the same time.”

“So it’s not just here is a finished product. It was a progression from the whole team from the beginning all the way through.”

DBR: Did you in terms of things like suspension, have a recommendation or did you did you just go with Kayaba from the beginning?

“I think we will agree that that’s where we’re going to go and you know, that’s that was the best product that we had up there. So that’s fine.”

DBR: How does it really compare to a 450?

“People don’t realise it, but they will realise when they try it, but the power is a huge difference. Yeah. And you have to get used to it because it is different in a way. It’s when you switch from the 450 to the two-stroke or you feel like okay, you know, it’s great, it’s awesome.”

“And then you study in the lap times and you start to see the difference and you start to feel like okay, we are we are somewhere there and then you switch back to the 450 and then you realise really what is the difference.”

“Do the switch back and forth to see really, that’s what it is, and it’s much better than I was expecting, but the bike is so easy to ride at the same time that you don’t really realise.”

“When you ride it is so nimble and so easy that you don’t feel the weight, when you’re riding you feel like it’s a lighter bike.”

DBR: Will you be back to competition in the first couple of years of the bike or will you strictly stay testing?

It’s possible for a few races to introduce the bike. I’m still pretty active and I can still ride pretty fast. I think there is a lot of fun to have, so you know a couple of races here and there would be possible.”

Hair of the Dog

If you have never raced a true desert race you have to watch this. If you have raced to the smoke bomb you will really enjoy this film.

In the beginning they straddled hunks of iron called a Triumph or a Husky and sped across the desert wide open, ignoring the smell of death. They built traditions and became legends. They inspired us then and they inspire us still. We honor the guys who got us here today with this short film featuring Tyler Bereman, Vicki Golden, and the Checkers MC.

Catch Up With BamBam

It’s always a good time talking shop with the ever-present Justin Barcia and at this week’s 2022 Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas team intro, we were able to grab a casual, yet noisy – sorry! – First Person with him leading into Anaheim 1 in a few weeks.

Webb Talks 2022 KTM

Honda HRC 2022

Team Honda HRC Presents 2022 Lineup

During a media event held today at Southern California’s Blackmore Ranch, American Honda presented its 2022 Team Honda HRC roster – comprising Ken Roczen, Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence and Jett Lawrence – as well as team management and crew.

• Successful four-rider roster returns for new season

• Riders to campaign 2022 CRF450R, CRF250R

The veteran of the team, Roczen enters his sixth year as a Honda rider, and he’s coming off his most successful season with the brand – second in AMA Supercross and third in AMA Pro Motocross. The German, who has a 250 MXGP crown and two AMA Pro Motocross Championships to his name, is paired with fellow CRF450R rider Chase Sexton, the Illinois native who joined Honda’s factory team midway through 2020. A two-time AMA Supercross 250SX East Region Champion, Sexton scored three indoor podium finishes in 2021 (his freshman year as an AMA Supercross premier-class rider), six in AMA Pro Motocross.

Australian brothers Hunter and Jett Lawrence are embarking on their second season with Team Honda HRC, and both are armed with the all-new CRF250R. Last season saw Hunter win one AMA Supercross 250SX West round and finish second in points, while Jett topped three East Region races and was third in the final standings. In AMA Pro Motocross, Jett took home the title, with Hunter finishing third, making the Lawrences the only siblings in the series’ history to both finish in the top three in the same year. This season, the Lawrences will trade AMA Supercross Regions, with Jett campaigning West and Hunter East.

While the rider roster is the same as 2021, Team Honda HRC has undergone several personnel changes. As previously announced, Lars Lindstrom takes over as Team Manager. Shane Drew fills Lindstrom’s old position as 450 Crew Chief (while retaining his previous duties in Chassis R&D), and Grant Hutcheson has been brought in as 250 Crew Chief. In addition, Sexton has a new mechanic in Brandon Zimmerman.