Where Will Barcia Land?

Barcia for Europe?

As he always does, Eric Johnson continues to get the interviews that make stories. His recent interview on RacerXonline (here), he asks Justin Barcia about racing in Europe.

Any thoughts on what might happen for you after the Monster Energy Cup? Do you have anything significant in the works or is it maybe too early to tell right now?

Yeah, it’s tough right now. I can definitely race in Europe. I already have a couple of, I wouldn’t quite say offers, but I have some things in the works. I have a couple of teams I’ve been talking to in Europe. It’s hard right now because I really want to ride for a factory team, but there are no factory rides in Europe or America right now. I’ve just kind of been talking with some teams. If it came down to it, I could probably do it myself. You know if I need to put my money in, then that’s what I’m going to do to go racing. That’s just what I’ve got to do right now. That’s how it worked out. I’ve had a tough couple years and I’ve just kind of got to restart and build back up. I think that will give me the confidence in knowing that I did it myself. I just have to get out there and pretty much get my own thing going. The sport is tough right now, for sure. There is not a lot of money out there, there are not a lot of teams. It’s very unique. Will I be racing in 2018? Yes, I’ll be racing, for sure. I’m not 100 percent sure what I’ll be doing right now. You never know what can happen in a season, if a guy gets injured or something and has to miss some races, I could do a fill-in thing. There are a few rides out there that I could do, but I’m just kind of keeping the door open and seeing what’s going to happen. Worse comes to worse, I think I can do it on my own for a little while and be in it for the fight. I know I’m still fast enough and if I stay healthy and get me training right, which I haven’t been able to do with the injuries the past few years, and if I can get a good bike, I’ll be good, for sure.

Sipes Wins GNCC

Ryan Sipes Wins First Career GNCC at Mountaineer Run

 

MASONTOWN, W.Va. - The 2017 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship, spent the weekend at Marvin's Mountain Top in Masontown, West Virginia, for the sixth annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Mountaineer Run GNCC.

Ricky Russell jumped out to the early lead on his N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha-backed machine once the green flag waved and earned the $250 All Balls Racing XC1 Pro Holeshot Award. Mason Atherton was in tow, but as they entered the woods Coastal Racing/Husqvarna's Ryan Sipes led the way onto the dusty 12-mile course.

After dicing it out in the woods and settling into a pace, Sipes maintained the lead as they emerged in the first open field section with FMF/KTM Factory Racing's Kailub Russell sitting 30 seconds behind him. As the opening lap came to a close it was Sipes, K Russell and JCR Honda's Trevor Bollinger sitting in podium contention.

Ricky Russell earned the $250 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award in addition to finishing third overall. Ken Hill

Sipes continued charging and as they completed the second lap, he sat over a minute ahead of K Russell who was accompanied by Bollinger who was on his rear wheel. Bollinger secured the second-place position on the next lap right before the FMF PowerPoint rock garden, but K Russell quickly worked his way back by him.

All eyes were on K Russell and Bollinger who had cut the gap on Sipes to only 30 seconds as they set out on lap four of the seven-lap race. Sipes' struggled through a pit stop where his quick fill gas can malfunctioned, followed by a machine that wouldn't fire back up, but even with the added time he kept a comfortable gap over K Russell.

Ryan Sipes lead every lap from start to finish, winning his first-ever GNCC in a commanding fashion. Ken Hill

At the mid-way point of the race, a change-up occurred for the final podium position where Bollinger fell back to fifth and R Russell and SRT/KTM's Stu Baylor moved to third and fourth.

Sipes still had command of the lead once the two-lap card came out, while K Russell tipped over just before checking in timing and scoring. K Russell quickly remounted his bike, but the gap remained the same as the white flag came out.

Kailub Russell remains on the hunt for his fifth consecutive GNCC championship after finishing second overall. Ken Hill

Sipes continued his dominance on the last lap, while R Russell began closing the gap on K Russell. Sipes raced his way to the checkered flag 33 seconds ahead of K Russell, earning his first ever overall win. R Russell cut the gap to only five seconds by the time he crossed the finish line in third.

S Baylor was accredited fifth overall, while Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/KR4/Husqvarna's Grant Baylor and Bollinger finished sixth and seventh.

When it was time for the second line to take off, Coastal Racing/Husqvarna's Layne Michael earned the $100 Hot Cams XC2 Holeshot Award. Michael lead the first two laps of the race, until N-Fab AmPro Yamaha's Josh Toth took over the lead. Toth stayed consistent in the lead until the finish, where he was awarded with the No. 1 plate for the XC2 250 Pro class championship. Coastal Racing/Husqvarna's Craig Delong followed in second, while Michael followed his teammate in third.

Overall Podium: (2) Kailub Russell, (1) Ryan Sipes, (3) Ricky Russell. Ken Hill

N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha's Paul Whibley snagged the $100 Wiseco FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class holeshot, but Jason Thomas was able to get in the early lead and maintain the front position until the checkered flag flew. Whibley and Coastal Racing/Husqvarna's Jack Edmondson rounded out the class podium. Thomas' win vaulted him to the top of the points standings where he was presented with the National Championship.

Alex Teagarden secured top amateur honors with 18th overall, while Cole Mattison and Hunter Bush filled the rest of the amateur podium in the 1 p.m. pro race.

Jason Thomas wrapped up the inaugural FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class championship at the Mountaineer Run GNCC. Ken Hill

The WXC ladies topped the 10 a.m. overall podium, where Fly Racing/Maxxis/Seat Concepts/KTM's Becca Sheets claimed her second win of the season. Bonanza Plumbing/Trail Jester KTM"s Mackenzie tricker followed in second, while The Motorcycle Shop/Kenda/Bell/V3 Off-Road's Brooke Cosner rounded out the podium in third. Randall Ervin was awarded the Overall Amateur award after his 125 B/C class win and tenth overall.

After a hard fought battle, MXTire.com/Cernics Racing/Sidi-backed Ryder LeBlond grabbed his first-ever youth overall win over Shawn Myers and Tely Energy's Peyton Whipkey.

The 1 p.m. pro bike race was broadcast LIVE in its entirety on RacerTV.com and can be viewed as archived video online by visiting the GNCC LIVE page. A highlight show featuring the event will air on NBC Sports Network on Sunday, November 11 at 6:30 p.m.

The 2017 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series travels to St. Clairsville, Ohio in two weeks, October 7 and 8, with the Polaris Ace Powerline Park GNCC.

Round 11 – Mountaineer Run - Masontown, WV

XC1

OVERALL FINISH	RIDER	BIKE
1st	Ryan Sipes	Husqvarna
2nd	Kailub Russell	KTM
3rd	Ricky Russell	Yamaha
4th	Stewart Baylor	KTM
5th	Grant Baylor	Husqvarna
6th	Trevor Bollinger	Honda
7th	Russell Bobbitt	KTM
8th	Mason Atherton	Husqvarna
9th	Chris Back	KTM
10th	Josh Strang	Husqvarna

Electric MX ?

The Future Of Motocross May Well Include E-Bikes, But The Future Is Not Now

Photo: AltaMotors.com

E-bikes are an expensive, quickly evolving technology from which the industry can profit. And this is starting to seem reminiscent of when two strokes were killed off by four strokes.

That, funnily enough, is probably the biggest danger electric bikes like the Alta Redshift pose to the sport of motocross. If the inclusion of e-bikes in racing is not handled with delicate care, it could spell the end of significantly cheaper combustion bikes and result in a further decline of bike sales and rider participation.

For years, motocrossers have heard that electric bikes are the future. Most riders know intuitively that it's true, due to the very nature of racing. Every racer who has been around for more than a few months has their own story of an angry neighborhood association taking out the friendly local motocross track. Typically, the main complaint cited is the supposed noise nuisance.

To racers, the sound of a powerful motor is as pleasant as listening to a Mozart symphony. Hearing the roar of 40 bikes on the starting line fills them with joy, excitement, and the racing spirit. But it is rare that the new housing development next door shares that opinion.

Electric motors are supposed to be the solution but are often met with mixed feelings from riders. The smell of race fuel and exhaust, the sound of a high-revving engine, the vibration of a powerful 450 -- these are all huge sensory components to the allure of racing.



Bike reviewers and magazine writers often celebrate the electric bikes unilaterally, praising the manufacturers for their torque, and curiously omitting any remotely negative points. For a group of people that can find the faults in a factory bike, this is a particularly suspicious phenomenon.

No doubt the reviewers have the best interest of the sport at heart when they talk up the e-bike, but it is potentially a short-sighted measure. When people ride the bike for themselves or buy one for themselves, they will overcome the thrill of instant torque, begin to notice the flaws, and might be turned off by the machines altogether. A healthy dose of reality would be wise to include with the electric bikes.

Let's start with the main problem: An e-bike cannot finish a moto right now. At best a pro rider might be able to finish a supercross race, but that's no guarantee. And that's with a bike that is an additional 20 to 40 pounds heavier than the competition, depending on how close they want to cut it with the battery life.

Battery capacity is the main limiting factor for electric vehicles as a general rule, from the Tesla to the Alta. Lithium-ion batteries have opened up a massive door for electric vehicles, as their energy-to-weight ratio is drastically better than old lead-acid batteries. And with modern production techniques, they are becoming relatively affordable and pretty much ubiquitous for anything battery-powered in the modern world.

But could they last a 35-minute moto at pro-level power output? Unfortunately, the technology is not there yet. Without having a bike that weighs as much as a MotoGP machine, it just isn't going to happen until some substantial progress is made.

That might sound like a pretty small feat, as progress is made daily in the fast-paced, hi-tech world of today. But batteries are really pushing the limits of our ability to improve on them, and it's not likely that they'll be able to squeeze twice as much energy into a LiPo without making enormous sacrifice on safety, reliability, and, of course, cost.

Safety is a huge issue for a sport like motocross. Motocross bikes take a beating that no other racing machine in the world can handle. Even rally cars and trophy trucks would crumple up into a ball if you tried to hit a 70-foot triple and a set of fourth-gear stadium whoops. Rarely can a MotoGP rider remount his bike after cartwheeling it down the track, but that's a regular occurrence at the motocross park.

Racers are often baffled at how certain parts are broken during the course of a race. Physics-defying rocks can crack what were supposed to be solid metal components. It's really impossible to know if a new part is capable of lasting through moto after moto of rigorous abuse, unless it has actually been through those real-world stressors.

And that's not to mention what happens to a bike during a crash. Experienced racers have all seen crashes result in broken subframes, punctured engine cases, flattened exhaust pipes, cracked frames, and everything else under the sun.



Needless to say, it would be a very unfortunate outcome if a lithium battery pack was punctured on a $15,000 motorcycle. Aside from the risk of becoming engulfed in the flames emanating from between the legs, the fire would be almost impossible to put out, and if the other cells caught on fire it would mean the end of that fancy machine at best.

Even if a bike didn't succumb to fire, there are other glaring issues with electric bikes. First, servicing a battery pack or motor is going to be impossible. There is no chance that a manufacturer will open themselves up to that liability, if it's even possible to fix. Which means, the only alternative is to purchase an extraordinarily expensive additional battery pack to swap out. In fact, if racing is the goal for an electric motocrosser, at least one or two additional batteries would likely be requisite to keep on hand.

There is little information on what the battery costs, but considering it is a proprietary, high-capacity battery with cutting edge technology involved, one may assume it is probably very expensive. Somewhere in the realm of $4,000-5,000 would not be surprising for a retail price.

With lithium-ion batteries, there are a number of factors that can affect the lifespan and health of a battery. Vehicles like the Alta will have computer protection systems in place to manage the battery, but as with any electronic system it can fail. Batteries are to be kept at 50 percent when in storage to maximize their lifespan, not held at 100 percent for very long, and never discharged to zero percent (or even close to it). Even under perfect care, given the rigors of motocross, batteries will probably need replacement relatively often.

It is easy to get swept up in the excitement of e-bikes, with charismatic brands like Tesla and Alta working the media up into a frenzy. But the sanctioning bodies involved in motocross need to keep a level head and not make decisions that will adversely affect the participants of the sport.

E-bikes are great, but let's not get carried away.

Idaho Gets New Riding Area

New OHV park opening

September 23, 2017 at 2:30 pm | By KEVIN TREVELLYAN

As a result of safety risks and damage posed by unauthorized riding on private land, eastern Idahoans will soon have a new public space for their off-highway vehicles — complete with maintained trails and educational areas.

An OHV park officially opens to riders Friday at the city-managed Idaho Falls Raceway, 8433 W. Arco Highway. It represents several years of collaboration between the Idaho Falls Trail Machine Association, Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation Department and Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.

The park will have more than 6 miles of trails, both developed and relatively primitive. Much of the space will be accessible to beginner riders, which makes the park a family resource, Idaho Falls Trail Machine Association member Tim Thomas said.

“This is designed to get people out of the vacant lots and ditch banks, and give them an area where they can ride close to Idaho Falls that’s somewhat controlled where they aren’t trespassing or breaking laws,” he said.

Thomas, who spearheaded the project, grew up in eastern Idaho. From age 9 onward he rode through the foothills east of Idaho Falls, but much of that land has since been developed.

Thomas and other association members approached parks department officials in 2014 to repurpose unused land at the Idaho Falls Raceway 7 miles west of the city. He wanted his daughters and granddaughters to enjoy trails similar to the ones he used as a child.

“It was one way to give back. I wanted to give other families the opportunity to experiment how we did,” Thomas said.

Parks department officials saw an opportunity to keep recreationists from generating law enforcement attention riding through canal banks and private property, Director Greg Weitzel said.

The new park is wrapped around the Idaho Falls Raceway’s motocross and stock car tracks. It was built with state parks department grants totaling more than $46,000, as well as coordination between a handful of local, state and federal agencies.

To build the trails, city officials had to secure permission from the U.S. National Guard, which has frontage land near the park. The National Guard then had to gain permission from the Bureau of Land Management to authorize the city’s request due to convoluted property ownership in the area.

Archaeologists also had to sweep the area for Native American and homesteader artifacts.

“It’s been educational for me to hop through these hoops,” Thomas said. “That was a process itself, but it all worked out.”

Association volunteers and parks department employees built a gravel parking lot and 7,200-foot fence around existing raceway tracks. A bathroom and more than 70 signs were added, while litter and other debris was removed.

Meanwhile, more than 500 volunteer hours went into the new trail system, which was created partially from endurance racing ruts dug years ago into the 375-acre Idaho Falls Raceway footprint.

Volunteers used a state parks department trail building machine to cut new paths through the sagebrush, where riders are liable to see badgers, jack rabbits and deer. At certain points Taylor Mountain and the Lemhi Range can be seen peeking over the desert.

The park allows families to ride without making a day trip to a national forest or other public lands, Thomas said.

The main trail loop is accessible to beginners. There’s also more primitive offshoot trails.

“Those are a little more challenging,” Thomas said. “But there’s nothing out there too difficult to navigate. It’s somewhat of a training area to go use an off-road motorcycle or ATV and get acclimated to the terrain and how the machine operates.”

The park will be open from dawn to dusk until snow closes it for the season. Vehicles can’t be wider than 50 inches. No fee is required, though riders must have state OHV stickers and helmets. Riders also will have access to a training site where they can take the official state OHV safety training course.

“There was a lot of people riding where they shouldn’t have been, now there’s a good place for new riders to get the safety training they need,” Weitzel said.

The Idaho Falls Raceway, formerly Noise Park, has made strides in recent years. Idaho Falls Lions Club members gave up their lease on the land in 2013 due to declining membership, at which point city officials, including Weitzel, had a meeting.

“We had a decision to make,” he said. “What do we do? Do we go forward or do we walk away and let the park continue to deteriorate?”

City officials decided to rebuild the motocross and stock car racing tracks. Now, Weitzel said each motocross practice averages more than 60 riders, and there’s eight to 10 stock car races per year.

“It’s been one of those things — if you build it or invest in it people will come. Now here we are in this third phase; I think there’s been a huge turnaround. It’s been good for our community and economy,” Weitzel said, emphasizing the work of volunteers and funding partners.

There’s plenty of open land still available at the Idaho Falls Raceway. Depending on ridership and stewardship of the initial trails, more could eventually be on the way.

“We’re talking about that. We’ll keep a close eye on how this goes,” Weitzel said. “People should be safe and follow the rules. We’ll probably continue to see improvements out there as long as people continue to take good care of it.”

Endurocross Round 2 ...Reno

Round two of the two-wheel mayhem known as Endurocross. Live 10:30 ET/ 7:30 PT from the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center in Reno, Nevada 2016 Super Enduro World Champion and current reigning AMA Endurocross champion California’s Colton Haaker leads an impressive lineup of riders including two-time Endurocross champion Cody Webb, multi-time trials champion Geoff Aaron and three-time Endurocross junior champion Ty Tremaine to name only a few of the off-road stars on hand.

MXoN – Saturday?

As I see it, there are seven teams with three solid riders in this year’s Monster Energy Motocross of Nations. Defending champions France, Great Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland and USA all have a serious shot at victory. Don’t be surprised if four or five teams are in contention as the racing comes to a close on Sunday afternoon.

Anything can happen in the MXoN, as we have seen many times in the past. As always we give how we think the Saturday qualification races might finish, and if our prediction is anything like what it will be, then its Team Great Britain who have a slight advantage over many of the others.

I have given the home team 4-2-5 results in the MXGP, MX2 and Open classes. In total they score 11 points on the Saturday from the three motos. I had France second with 13 points, as they go 2-9-2, but Christophe Charlier might find it tough in the MX2 class, fortunately the depth in the MX2 class isn’t really deep, and with some luck he might get even closer to the front. Come Sunday it might be another story though.

Third in my list for the Saturday races are the Belgians, with 14 points. They go 6-5-3 in my books, but both Van Horebeek and Strijbos are often good at the MXoN, so don’t be surprised to see them arrive as the pole sitters come Sunday morning.

Team USA, with their young team are fourth in my opinion, with 10-1-4, but that tenth place by Seely is just a guess, as I haven’t seen him race before, he was handled easily by Herlings and Ferris when they raced, so it’s hard to place him too close to the front guys. Will the MXoN rookie be able to deal with the pressure and tough MXGP riders? I have my doubts, thus a 10^th in his class. I might end up with egg on my face though. Team USA scored 15 points in my tally.

Other teams to do well are Team Netherlands with 7-8-1, Team Australia with 5-3-8, with both teams on 16 points. I really think the Aussies will surprise a lot of people, and Team Holland could also finish much higher in MXGP and MX2 with both Coldenhoff and Bogers in good form at the moment. Herlings in the Open class should be the king of the weekend.

My final team that has three strong candidates are Switzerland, with 8-7-6 results and 21 points.

Of course with the worst result thrown out on Saturday, France look the strongest, but Sunday Charlier will need to do something special. Sunday it will be about the most solid team winning, and in my opinion, that could be Team Great Britain, or Team Netherlands.

MXGP

MXGP is always the toughest class, and this year is no different, with 11 GP winners in this class. It will be hard to go past Antonio Cairoli winning this class, but Gautier Paulin and Tim Gajser won’t be making it easy for him.

If I had to pick my top ten from this class I would go Cairoli, Paulin, Gajser, Anstie, Ferris, Van Horebeek, Coldenhoff, Tonus, Nagl, and Seely 10^th.

Contenders: Paulin, Coldenhoff, Seely, Van Horebeek, Cairoli, Tonus, Anstie, Ferris, Ratsep, Facciotti, Bobryshev, Butron, Bengtsson, Starling, Larsen, Neugebauer, Cooper, Edmunds, Goncalves, Nagl, Gajser

MX2

MX2 is a little thin on the ground in my opinion, but there are five guys who could be important for their nation. I would go with Osborne winning it from Searle, Lawrence, Olsen, Lieber, Prado, Giullod, Bogers, Charlier, and Sanayei 10^th.

Contenders: Charlier, Bogers, Osborne, Lieber, Cervellin, Guillod, Searle, Lawrence, Kullas, Prado, Ostlund, Olsen, Natzke, Barr, Jacobi, Sanayei, Savaste

Open

Open class has some big guns, and Herlings is hard to go past on his current form. Herlings, Febvre, Strijbos, Covington, Wilson, Seewer, Irwin, Gibbs, Leok, and Lupino 10^th.

Contenders: Febvre, Herlings, Covington, Strijbos, Lupino, Seewer, Wilson, Gibbs, Leok, Noren, Irwin, Ulrich, Bradshaw, Weltin, Haavisto

Saturday Qualification (our tips)

1. Team Great Britain 11pts
2. Team France 13pts
3. Team Belgium 14pts
4. Team USA 15pts
5. Team Netherlands 16pts
6. Team Australia 16pts
7. Team Switzerlands 21pts

Brayton Down Under!

Brayton begins AUS Supercross defence with Jimboomba win

Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

American import Justin Brayton’s first step of defending the Australian SX1 Supercross Championship was a dominant one at Jimboomba X Stadium, Queensland, to open the 2017 season tonight.

Early in the night, former multiple-time champion Dan Reardon (MEGA Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki) made a strong return to the KX450F by leading SX1 heat one from start to finish.

He was trailed by Kade Mosig (DPH Motorsport Yamaha) directly over the finish line at the end of eight laps, while in a lonely third came Todd Waters (Crankt Protein Honda Racing), followed by rookie Nathan Crawford (MEGA Fuels Monster Energy Kawasaki) and Joel Wightman (Penrite CRF Honda Racing).

Penrite Honda Racing’s current SX1 champion Brayton rode away to a seven-second advantage in heat two, going directly into the main event after topping standout newcomer Luke Clout (Crankt Protein Honda Racing). He was straight ahead of Dylan Long (CDR Yamaha), while another import in KSF Racing Suzuki-mounted Daniel Herrlein led Jesse Dobson (Penrite Honda Racing) to complete the top five.

It was a non-event of sorts for outdoor champion Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha), going down in the first turn and then riding to seventh out of the eight riders on track.

As he did one year ago, Brayton proved the class of the field once the gates dropped on the SX1 main event and essentially led from start to finish across the 20-lap duration.

The popular American guest ultimately won ahead of MX Nationals champion Ferris by 5.360s, as Reardon crossed the line third to mirror the opening round podium of last season. Ferris made his way by former teammate Reardon in the mid-stages and the pair ended up crossing the line just a second apart after an entertaining battle.

Top rookie was a charging Clout in P4, moving past teammate Waters for position, as Crawford also put in a positive 450 supercross debut in sixth. The top 10 was filled by a mixture of talent, led by Long after he led half the opening lap and crashed, a returning Cheyne Boyd (Park4MX Yamaha), a fast-starting Wightman and Mosig, who had to recover after a mishap on the opening lap.

The 2017 Australian Supercross Championship will continue with round two at Bacchus Marsh in Victoria on Saturday, 14 October.

Is Susuki Pulling Out?

IS SUZUKI PULLING OUT OF THE WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS?

 

September 24, 2017

Stefan Everts in happier times this season when he signed Hunter Lawrence and Zach Pichon for the future of the Suzuki GP team.

MXA has confirmed with Britain’s Motoheadmag.com that Suzuki will most likely pull the plug on its official 450 GP team as well as its 250 GP team for 2018. Although there has not been an official Suzuzki announcement yet, several sources have revealed that Suzuki’s GP team boss told his employees of the news on Thursday.  The Belgian-based Suzuki team, run by Sylvain Geboers for more than 20 years before being taken over by Stefan Everts two years ago, has always had direct support from the Suzuki factory — who used the GPs as a testing ground for new technology following the USA’s adherence to production-based bikes. The new 2018 RMZ450 was tested for a full season in the GPs in 2017, as it couldn’t legally be raced in the US.

Arminas Jasikonis.

It seems Suzuki would still be keen to support the team with bikes and spares, but Everts would need to find major outside backers to fund it. Even with a legend like Stefan Everts at the helm the Suzuki factory team has survived without title sponsorship. Rockstar Energy pulled out at the end of 2015, but their funding was known to be nowhere near that of Red Bull or Monster Energy that rival teams had. If Everts can find a big sponsor, he will be able to continue to race, with bike and parts support from the Suzuki factory, but it takes a lot of money to fly to far-away places, pay salaries and build for the future.

Jeremy Seewer.

It’s possible that the national Suzuki distributors would be willing to support a private team — especially if there is a link with a rider that is important to their market. For example, Suzuki Germany was a very important partner to the Geboers set-up in the past. With Everts already signing up Arminas Jasikonis and Jeremy Seewer for the 2018 GP season, the pair could be asked to race the German national series as well as GPs, for example. And there is always the possibility of a “Hail Mary,” since it is still September, Suzuki’s top brass could reverse this rumored decision. Although they would have to hurry to keep the team intact before they have another plan.

The news comes as Kawasaki revealed it is pulling the plug on its factory-backed 250 GP team, and Honda is set to scale back its 250 squad to just one rider for next year.

California's OHV Still Alive

Good news for California Off-Highway Vehicle program

 

Legislators in California have passed two bills that extend the state's nationally renowned off-highway vehicle recreation program.

The bills will provide increased stability for the program's future.

The first bill, S.B. 249 extends the operation of the California Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program indefinitely, eliminating a provision that historically had required periodic reauthorization and making the program permanent within state parks. S.B. 159 provides funding for the program. Without these key pieces of legislation, the program would have ended on December 31st this year.

The American Motorcyclist Association was part of a broad coalition that defended the OHV program against opponents who sought its demise. The group worked with legislators for months to rework the originally introduced version of S.B. 249 into an acceptable piece of legislation.

The bills now go to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has until Oct. 15 to sign them into law.

"The California OHV program is a model for the nation," said AMA Western States Representative Nick Haris. "In its original form, S.B. 249 would have dismantled decades of work and ended the most important parts of this critical program. Our revisions provide quality, sustainable, family oriented recreation for citizens and visitors, emphasize environmental sustainability and protection and public safety and include partnerships with federal government agencies that provide OHV opportunities."

The Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program was created in 1971 out of the critical need to better manage growing demands for off-highway recreation, while at the same time foster respect for private property rights and protect California's natural and cultural resources. Today, this program, a division of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, is the largest and most successful program of its type in the U.S. The program continues its commitment to provide safe, enjoyable recreation while balancing the need to protect the state's resources.

In addition to providing accessibility to off-highway recreation for everyone from hikers to bikers to bird watchers, the program provides a variety of services and benefits to California's residents and visitors, including resource management of state lands, wildlife habitat protection, youth development and law enforcement.

Program funding comes from fuel taxes which are attributable to the recreational use of vehicles off highway, off-highway vehicle registration fees and fees collected at State Vehicular Recreation Areas.

Some Husky History

CHRISTER HAMMARGREN: HUSKY GOOD OLD TIMES

Swede Christer Hammargren never dominated the motocross world, but he was an avid racer with several championships and titles to his credit. The lanky rider from the Smaland district had his best seasons from 1967 until the middle of the 1970s, during which time he mostly enjoyed factory support from Husqvarna.

From a young age, Hammargren had an early interest for the motoring world. He was born in Vaggeryd on October 5^th, 1944. Living a mere 30 kilometres away from the Husky factory, Christer soon took an interest in offroad racing, which at this time of course was dominated by motocross.

In his teenage years Hammargren went from being a keen fan idolising the country’s most well-known names such as Torsten Hallman, Bill Nilsson & Rolf Tibblin, to starting to race himself. He soon found that one of his specialties was racing in deep sand. Hammargren felt at home on most kinds of circuit and was always capable of good lap times on any ground. There was just something special about his pace in the challenging and gruelling sand.

After a few years of competition, Hammargren had gained some experience and had a go at the national junior championship. The year was 1964 and the event was organised on the very famous Ulricehamn motocross track. On a muddy circuit Christer had the upper hand already in the early stages of the race. He was being chased hard by his opponents but managed to hold them off, winning his first big victory.

Happy and content, he went on training even harder than before. Unfortunately, he had a bad crash which resulted in severe back injuries.

Doctors told him it would take considerable time before he would be back in the saddle when they learned that Christer was determined to make his comeback in motocross. After several months in plaster, Hammargren could finally start practising again, but it took a lot of determination and a long time before he was back on track.

“I went to my chiropractor maybe fifty times before my back healed and recovered,” Christer remembers.

Christer Hammargren’s international breakthrough came in 1967 when he managed to finish second in the Swedish 500cc Grand Prix round. As ever he was riding Husqvarna, who by this time had opened their eyes and closely followed the talented rider from Vaggeryd. In Hammargren’s first world championship season the Swede managed to finish in seventh position overall in the final 500cc standings.

His biggest success came when Hammargren took part in the 250cc team championship, this year held in Payerne, Switzerland.

“I was teamed up with Bengt Aberg and Bengt-Arne Bonn and we managed to beat all other nations,” told Hammargren. “It was quite a feeling being able to say that I was a world champion…. sort of…”

In the following season Christer had a really good year in the national 500cc championship. Always smiling and never far from telling another joke, Christer was a popular face in the paddocks among his international competitors. He now enjoyed full support from Husqvarna, which together with a good performance rendered him second place in the national championship standings. In the world series, he came home 10th.

Despite his breakthrough two years earlier, it was in 1969 that Hammargren really got noticed in the world of motocross. Not only did he win the Swedish 500cc championship, but he also came eighth in the top international series (the World Championship). The season started at the right level and Christer won a spring race held in Strängnäs, 80 kilometres from the capital of Stockholm.

“It was a tough race,” said Hammargren afterwards. “The muddy track made me almost blind and my shirts and riding-pants were so heavy that my trousers almost fell off!

“My girlfriend Ann-Charlotte would have some work to clean the equipment,” he laughed.

25-year old Christer won both motos in grand style, well ahead of all his competitors. He had a good season to look forward to.

In 1970 Hammargren made his best ever world championship performance coming fifth following top rider Bengt Aberg, who won his second outright 500cc title for Husqvarna. Both riders, together with Arne Kring and Ake Jonsson, also took the prestigious win in the MotoCross des Nations in the team 500cc class. The event was organized in the town of Maggiora, Italy. Christer Hammargren was at the top of his career, but it did not end there.

In 1971 he was once again selected to represent Sweden in the big-bore class team race. This time the motos were held in Vimmerby, not so far away from Christer’s home turf of SMK Värnamo. Again he was teamed up with Aberg, Jonsson and Olle Pettersson, the latter usually a 250cc rider. In Vimmerby the quartet were victorious in front of the Swedish crowd, who were cheering for their home team. Once again Christer also won the national championship for Husqvarna. This was his second local 500cc title in just three years.

Before retiring, Christer Hammargren competed for another five years on other machinery, but he never gained any bigger success before packing up his career. Later on in his life, Christer began racing in veteran motocross.

“This was of course just for fun,” said the lanky rider from Smaland, who can now look back at many successful years for the Husqvarna factory.