A Little 2020 GNCC

2020 High Voltage GNCC Pro Bike Highlights

Herlings: I was paralysed from the neck down

Jeffrey Herlings has finally spoken out about his crash in Faenza and admitted he won’t be racing at Mantova in the next GP. The red plate holder at the time, he went down hard in practice at the Italian circuit and was airlifted to hospital.

He said: “It’s been pretty quiet around me lately and I am sorry for not giving an update to my fans since my crash. I can not describe how devastated it was being there on the ground temporarily paralysed and not having any feeling from my neck down for minimum half an hour. Eventually I ended up breaking my C1, C6 and T3.

“Doctors told me I got through the eye of the needle with not ending up paralysed. From the good side, I got 3 stable fractures with only small cracks in the bones and the healing process wont be too long luckily and doctors say I will get a full recovery from this injury.

“I was feeling I was more than 100% in control this season, accepting a 2nd place and felt more in control of the championship than ever. I feel like that I messed up for the 2nd season in a row, even I have the feeling there was nothing I can blame myself for, for this crash.

“I am sorry to all my sponsors and partners and fans for once again not being able to deliver a championship to them. And most of all I would like to thank my entire KTM team and crew for their patience and constant support towards me and their support through thick and thin. It’s been a very though last 2 seasons but I know I still got plenty to offer in this sport.

“For the moment the team and I have decided to sit out the next race in Mantova and look from there when exactly we will return to racing. I believe to become back healthy is the most important for now. Once again thanks to my team and partners for their great support. I will work hard to become back healthy again as soon as possible.”

Daniel Sanders Joins KTM Factory Rally Team

KKTM Factory Racing have announced the signing of Daniel Sanders, who joins the rally team with immediate effect.

The 26-year-old Australian will make his first competitive outing aboard a KTM 450 RALLY machine at the upcoming Andalucia Rally in Spain.

A former KTM Factory Racing rider in EnduroGP, Daniel Sanders has shown impressive speed in enduro both in the world championship and at home in Australia. Outright ISDE winner in 2019, Sanders also claimed the AORC (Australian Off Road Championship) E3 title in the same year. No stranger to high-speed sand racing, Daniel took the win at the demanding Hattah Desert Race in 2018 – an event previously won by compatriot and fellow KTM rally racer Toby Price.

“I’m really excited to join the KTM Factory Racing team and start my rally career. I have to admit it’s something I have always wanted to do but was perhaps planning to get into it a little later." Sanders commented.

"As it stands, with the current worldwide pandemic, there’s not that much racing going on, so when this opportunity came up to join the rally team, I grabbed it with both hands! I’ve had a few days on the bike so far and some time getting to grips with the road book and I think it’s gone pretty well.

"The bike is great and handles so well, it’s really stable at speed. I know I have a lot of knowledge to gain but Jordi and the rest of the team have been great. I feel like I’ve fitted in really easily and it’s obvious that everyone works really hard for a common goal. I’m looking forward to getting some more time on the bike and then my first race here in Spain next month.”

Currently in Europe, Sanders is spending time under the watchful eye of KTM Rally Team Manager Jordi Viladoms, in Spain. Familiarizing himself with the KTM 450 RALLY bike as well as developing his road book and navigational skills, Daniel is also getting to know the tight-knit rally team as he learns from Dakar winners, Price, Matthias Walkner and Sam Sunderland.

“It’s great to have a rider of Daniel’s skill join the team. Already he has shown he’s got really good pace on the bike but is also a very fast learner in terms of the road book and navigation." Jordi Viladoms – KTM Rally Team Manager said.

"It’s been invaluable to have him here in Spain to get him up to speed with everything and meet the whole KTM rally family. The plan is to take Daniel through the same teaching procedure we have been through with all of the riders that have previously come into the team from another discipline. He will ride for the KTM Factory Racing team in a junior capacity to minimize the pressure on him and allow him to develop his skills on the bike.

"Hopefully, he will contest the Dakar next January and then follow our full FIM Cross-Country Rallies program for the rest of the year. We’re really pleased to have Daniel with us and can’t wait to see what he can achieve with the team.”

Sanders will make his first competitive appearance for KTM Factory Racing at the Andalucia Rally, which runs from October 6 to 10, with the goal of qualifying for the 2021 Dakar Rally to be held in Saudi Arabia next January.

2021 Gas Gas Intro

A brief history of motocross racing

 

With a long legacy of short tracks, big jumps, and thrilling holeshots, the sport of motocross racing has grown into a worldwide spectacle with an especially American twist of the throttle.

By Mike BerardPublished on 09/21/2020 · 12:29 PM MDT

Motocross began in the United Kingdom at the turn of the century. In the early 1900s, automotive clubs hosted time trials, which turned into off-road versions called “Scrambles.” The very first official motorcycle Scramble went down in 1924, presumably with wool pants and a lot of British mud flying. For decades, the sport evolved lap by lap as bikes became more powerful and tires improved. There is no argument that the UK invented the sport, but to get to the real heart of modern motocross racing, you have to follow it across the pond to America. This is where MX truly took flight, if only for short, throttle-twisting durations between berms and whoops.

MX Jumps Across the Pond

Contrary to popular opinion, Edison Dye didn’t bring motocross to America. Motocross—the sport of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits—had been officially sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association as early as 1959. He did, however, have an ulterior motive when he attempted to popularize it. Dye worked for Husqvarna motorcycles and simply wanted to sell more of their lightweight motorcycles to Americans. It worked well. Whereas the scrambles of yesteryear had been loose and fast bomb runs worthy of the name “scramble,” European motocross racing (or MX has it is now often called) was athletic and dynamic, racers jockeying in a manner similar to car racing. In February 1966, at a desert race in Imperial Valley, California, Dye showed Americans what two-stroked bikes were capable of. Fast. By the end of the year, he brought world champion Torsten Hallman to America. He destroyed the competition. Spectators loved it.

Two Stroke Growth

American motocross racing—and by extension around the world—really blew up in the 1970s. Before Dye had brought racing to the U.S., the AMA had sanctioned only 15 motocross races throughout America. In the 70s, the throttle was pinned, with hundreds of races happening annually. Considered the “Golden Era of USA Motocross”, this era made MX accessible to people from all ages and every skill level. Southern California was the epicenter. Since then, motocross has grown to become a massive juggernaut in motorsports, with multiple sister disciplines like Supercross (SX) arena racing, freestyle motocross (FMX), ATV and SuperMoto. The world's fastest MX racers at the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship—the largest race series sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing—took home around one million dollars in pro purse money. But before then, it was all about partying and going fast.

The More Modern MX Era

The excess of the 80s pushed motocross into the 90s with a new bold image. Now aligned with what was then called “extreme sports”, MX went full-on party style. It was all about punk rock and skate-inspired culture. Every rider looked like a billboard and personalities began to shine brighter with every year, but that still didn’t stop races from being won simply by speed. Mike LaRocco, Jeremy McGrath, and the simply unstoppable Ricky Carmichael defined the sport in this era, while a faction of riders began to concentrate solely on Supercross and FMX. Travis Pastrana and James "Bubba" Stewart Jr. rose to the top shortly thereafter, and inspired a while new legion of racers who could not only race MX but SX too, all the while still throwing big ol’ backflips and whips in films like the iconic Crusty Demons of Dirt franchise. The modern motocross racer can do it all, from hole shots at Vegas SX to throwing Indian Air seat grab backflips at the X Games.

The Rules of an Unruly Sport

It’s pretty simple. Competitions consist of two races, each called a “moto” with a duration of 30 minutes plus two laps. Races begin with a mass start at a gate. The racers sprint to the first corner to try and gain the coveted first rider-to-the-corner position, which is called the “hole shot.” From there, racers skip over whoops (a line of bumps), “rail” berms, and, of course, jumps, jumps, jumps. First racer over the finish line jump wins the moto. There are a few unwritten rules in the sport. Do not look behind you, ever. You lose time, get distracted, and show weakness. Two, be prepared for the crash, not the podium. Wear clothing that will protect you, because you won’t win when you first get started, or ever for that matter. Next, know your gear inside out for race day. Don’t be taking chances when it comes to the racetrack. Test new gear midweek. Also, be nice to the slow riders. Whether you’re passing or lapping another racer, don’t be mean about it. And never take your goggles off. Motocross is infamous for flying dirt; having your eyes exposed is crazy dangerous. Finally, have fun. Motorbikes are fast and fun but can seem intimidating when many of them come together in a loud flurry of dirt and competition. The reality is the sport is super welcoming.

CONFIRMED | JUSTIN BARCIA TO GASGAS FOR 2021 Justin Barcia leaves Yamaha and signs with the factory GasGas team for 2021.

Justin Barcia has been with the Yamaha team since 2018. For 2021, Justin will be jumping ship to the newly formed GasGas team. Rumors of Justin Barcia’s potential ride options for 2021 have been going around for a while now. We’ve heard rumors of Justin going all the way to Europe to race in the MXGPs. This was thought to be coming from left field, but it was justified by saying “his wife is British and maybe she wants to be home again.” We’ve also heard rumors of him staying with Yamaha and moving from the factory blue tent to the Star Racing organization. Mixed in with those rumors were talks of Justin Barcia going to GasGas. After KTM purchased the GasGas brand, we knew it wouldn’t be long until we’d have a factory GasGas team racing in AMA Supercross and the AMA Nationals.

Now, we know that the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM team will be trading their orange shirts for red GasGas apparel and KTM will take their 250 program back under their Red Bull KTM umbrella (mostly likely with Max Vohland). Prior to Monday, September 21st, we didn’t have a lot of hard evidence to report on. But, on Monday morning we were forwarded a communication from an insider close to Justin Barcia, sent to an insider close to both Yamaha and MXA, stating that Barcia and GasGas had come to an agreement for 2021 (we aren’t naming either insider because they weren’t official sources inside GasGas).

Here’s a mock-up example photo with Justin Barcia’s number on the factory GasGas MC450 MXGP bike. 

In this rumor-fueled sport, we weren’t convinced that Barcia was, in fact, going to GasGas. We needed official confirmation about the Barcia/GasGas relationship. There is only one man who could confirm or deny if Barcia was going to race a GasGas in 2021. That man was Roger DeCoster, who is in charge of the three Austrian brand’s factory teams (KTM, Husky, GasGas). We called Roger and he confirmed that Barcia will be on the GasGas factory team in 2021 (we also talked to Justin Barcia after the post went up).

We can hardly wait to see Justin Barcia back in red again—only this time it will be on a GasGas.

Remembering Marty and Nancy Smith

If you haven't seen this it is worth a look.

This video was produced to honor Marty and Nancy Smith who tragically lost their lives in a dune buggy accident on April 27, 2020. Their memory will live on. Thanks to Road 2 Recovery, Honda, FMF, Fox, Thor, Matrix Concepts, Seven, John and Rita Gregory, The John Penton Family and many

FERRANDIS AND CIANCIARULO PERFECT AT SPRING CREEK

What a day it was for both Dylan Ferrandis and Adam Cianciarulo, each sweeping the motos in their respective classes. Ferrandis had a fight on his hands for that second moto win from Jeremy Martin, but it wasn’t enough to overpower the number fourteen. Cianciarulo had just about as perfect of a day as you can get at a Pro Motocross, aside from being the fastest qualifier. Two holeshots, two moto wins and the overall. The momentum he had built up from the last round at Red Bud obviously stayed with him over the weekend off. Here are overall results:

250 Overall

1 Dylan Ferrandis 1-1
2 Jeremy Martin 5-2
3 Alex Martin 4-4
4 Jett Lawrence 3-6
5 Justin Cooper 9-3
6 RJ Hampshire 2-11
7 Hunter Lawrence 7-5

450 Overall

1 Adam Cianciarulo 1-1
2 Blake Baggett 2-2
3 Justin Barcia 5-4
4 Chase Sexton 8-3
5 Eli Tomac 6-5
6 Marvin Musquin 3-10
7 Christian Craig 7-6
8 Joseph Savatgy 9-7
9 Max Anstie 10-8
10 Zachary Osborne 4-16

EnduroGP France 2020 - Highlights Day 1

Dungey Return Rumors

Comments: Ryan Dungey

Lewis PhillipsSeptember 19, 20200

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Rumours have been circulating at quite a speed recently, as paddock gossip suggesting that Ryan Dungey is looking at making a comeback has picked up. Now, for the first time since the reports surfaced over a month ago, Dungey has spoken out and confirmed that the fire that he once had has returned. The quote below is what he said when questioned on the NBC Sports Gold broadcast of qualifying at Millville today (September 19).

“Strictly being transparent: I have been looking at some options here, knocking on some doors and seeing what’s available. Kind of getting that fire back. 2020 obviously has been really interesting – budgets have changed and things are different. It’s not like there has been a lot of openings in our sport as it is. There are 450 guys fighting for spots as it is! If the right opportunity comes along and things look good, then we’ll seek it out. As of right now things are calm and there are really not a lot of opportunities out there. That is where we are at.”

Dungey retired following the conclusion of the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season, in which he clinched his fourth 450SX title. Dungey raced a Suzuki for the first five years of his professional career, then spent the rest of his time as a professional athlete on a KTM. The transition to Honda was made after his retirement, first as a co-owner of the GEICO Honda outfit and now he rides a CRF450R when he hits the track.

Words: Lewis Phillips | Lead Image: KTM Images