Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 3:43PM Monday, April 25, 2016 at 5:07PM
Be sure to check out the new website for Garrahan Off Road Training
Gear Up for Dirt Bike Summer Camp!
For information visit www.garrahanoffroadtraining.com
Friday, April 22, 2016 at 1:18PM By Nikki Carlson ncarlson@ncnewspress.com
A group of five motocross enthusiasts are coming to Nebraska City Sunday to dazzle the community to revive a historic sport. Great Plains Vintage Motocross LLC. Board member and racer Kent Taylor of Lincoln is hoping people of all ages will spend Sunday out at the Three Hills Event Center’s 1-mile motocross track to get their need-for-speed desire quenched.
Great Plains Vintage Motocross has set up it’s first of six Vintage Motocross races of the season in Nebraska City this Sunday to bring the classic sport to a town rich in history.
“I love Nebraska City and just think that it’s cool that we’re doing this historical thing in a city that is so full of rich, rich history,” Taylor said. “We are just excited to be a part of such a cool historical city.”
To Taylor’s knowledge, the last time there were motocross races in town was in the 1970s, however, Sunday’s races aren’t the typical motocross races of today. Taylor said vintage motocross races are different than today’s motocross races because of the style of dirt bikes and the race track itself.
The dirt bikes used in vintage motocross competitions are older. For instance, Taylor will be racing in Sunday’s event with his 1982 Husqvarna 250 dirt bike, which he said was built to last and easier to repair.
“It has a carburetor and drum brakes, whereas today’s bikes have fuel injection, you have to have a computer … ,” he said. “It was a simpler time.”
In today’s motocross races, the courses are created for spectator appeal where dirt is brought in and dumped onto flat areas of the track to create huge jumps for racers to fly through the air. Taylor said today’s motocross races are indoors as well.
Vintage motocross racers ride through the all-natural terrain. At Three Hills Event Center, which is owned by Bruce and Peg Kreifels, riders will zip through a disced track of rolling hills, pastureland and wooded areas. Taylor said Three Hills Event Center’s track is the “perfect” location for vintage motocross races because it allows for the sport to remain true to its roots.
“It’s laid out on (the Kreifels’) ground,” Taylor said. “We didn’t bring in any dirt to build jumps or anything like that and that’s really what distinguishes what vintage motocross is from current-day motocross.”
Vintage motocross allows racers to go back to the sport’s original roots, which began in Europe in the 1930s. Taylor said it’s a chance to relive and recreate history and vintage motocross is gaining in popularity across the country.
“The sport and the motorcycles have changed quite a bit over the years, but across the country there is a large contingent of fans and riders who are dipping back into the past and reliving the great old days of motocross,” he said. “This is what we will be bringing to the Nebraska City facility. Some of our motorcycles are more than 40 years old and each has a great story behind it.”
Taylor began motocross racing 40 years ago when he was 12 years old and he has been a vintage motocross enthusiast ever since.
“I remember learning how to ride a bicycle by myself and every time I get on my motorcycle I kind of get that same feeling,” he said, “just freedom, I’m moving under my own power, everything is around me and I like competition.”
Sunday’s Vintage Motocross event will begin with racers signing up at 8 a.m., followed by practice at 9 a.m. Spectators can watch the races, consisting of five laps per race, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In order to race, competitors must be at least 19 years old and need to wear helmets, googles, gloves, boots and other safety attire. Taylor said old and current dirt bikes will be allowed on the track, however, all of them must have number plates.
Classes will be divided up based on dirt bike size and manufacturer and the driver’s skill level. Competitors need to also pay the $35 fee in order to race.
Spectators’ admission is $5 for senior citizens and children 12 years old and under, and $10 for others. People can sip on Scooter’s Coffee in the morning and eat hot dogs and hamburgers from a food vendor during the afternoon.
If people can’t make to the race Sunday, they’ll be in luck because Great Plains Vintage Motocross will be hosting two more races at Three Hills this year on June 5 and Oct. 30. The sign-up time for riders at those two races will be at 8 a.m., practices will begin at 9 a.m. and the races will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For a complete schedule of the Great Plains Vintage Motocross races and more about the organization, go to www.greatplainsvintagemx.org. People can also go to Three Hills Event Center’s Web site at www.threehillsevents.com to learn more about the races.
Three Hills Events Center is located at 6251 G Rd. People can take business Highway 75 south of town, also known as 11th Street, and take a right at 19th Street near the Ambassador Wellness Center and follow the road north. Signs will be posted to direct traffic to the event. The motocross track is located behind the stage area.
Friday, April 22, 2016 at 1:00PM For nearly two decades, Josh Woods and his parents have been running the Georgia Practice Facility in Cairo, Georgia. Today, amateur training facilities are the norm. But when Josh, then an aspiring pro, and his father, along with other partners, opened GPF, it was a risky proposition. In Part II of the Untold Story of Cairo, GA we examine the history of GPF.
Repost from Racerx
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 3:02PM Reno Gazette Journal
Benjamin Spillman, bspillman@rgj.com
On race days everyone from octogenarians to local moms bond over a shared love for living out their motocross dreams
A racer takes a practice lap at the Fernley/Wadsworth Lions Club International Raceway in advance of the Old Timers International Moto-X which was held April 16-17.(Photo: Benjamin Spillman/RGJ)Buy Photo
Richard Lyons’ first motorcycle ride was a short one.
It involved riding a borrowed bike down the street far enough to realize he couldn’t stop it, going over a curb and crash landing between two homes.
Roughly six decades later Lyons, 80, has improved greatly.
The retired elementary school teacher from Phelan, Calif., was one of two octogenarians ripping around a Fernley motocross track during a recent race weekend.
Lyons, who has broken countless bones during his motocross exploits, doesn’t catch as much air on the jumps as he used to.
But his desire to push his body and his mind in competition hasn’t diminished.
“I can come out here now because I can get up in the morning, I’m healthy, I feel good and it is fun,” he said after taking his practice laps. “I do it for the fun.”
Lyons and James “Sonny” Neff were the two 80-year-olds among nearly 150 racers at the Old Timers Motocross Club Internationals.
Richard Lyons and James 'Sonny' Neff have been tearing up motocross tracks longer than many racers have been alive. They recently raced in Fernley, Nev. Benjamin Spillman/RGJ
It’s a racing circuit with events in the United States and Canada that caters to people of all ages ability levels who share a common desire to race motorcycles in competition.
“When you are out there on the track you can’t think about anything else,” said Sedanna Losey, 38, of Reno.
Losey, a former racer who gave up motocross while she was raising five children, recently returned to the sport she loves. She races through the Over the Hill Gang motocross club.
In 1998 Losey, who was raised in a family with six brothers and sisters and two parents who raced motorcycles, finished second overall in the women’s national series.
Now she’s riding with her husband and her own kids and rediscovering the adrenaline rush that comes with launching a 220-pound dirt bike airborne over distances of 40 or 50 feet.
Octogenarian racers James "Sonny" Neff and Richard Lyons line up in the starting gate at the Fernley/Wadsworth Lions Club International Raceway on April 15, 2016. (Photo: Benjamin Spillman/RGJ)
“You concentrate on what you are doing and try to do each lap better than the one before,” Losey said. “I like being able to be in control of the motorcycle.”
Although Losey comes from a racing background she says people who aren’t familiar with the sport have difficulty grasping the physical demands.
To get in shape for the track she takes aerobics classes and does strength training.
“They think you’re just riding a motorcycle, but you are making that motorcycle do every move it is making,” Losey said. “People can’t understand that until they ride one.”
The recent Fernley races were the second time back on the track for Jeff McCallum after eight years away.
“I didn’t do very well but I didn’t care,” said McCallum, 55, of Reno. “I’m healthy and that is the main thing.”
He described motocross racing as an addiction and said once people get a taste of the track the desire to ride again never disappears.
“It is something you just kind of have to do,” he said.
Watching the older riders helped inspire him to revive his own racing dreams.
“I have got no excuses, go ride,” McCallum says he told himself. “If they can do it, I can do it.”
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 8:20PM
Alfredo Gómez claimed a hard-fought victory on day one of the event in Brazil.
Red Bull Hard Enduro got its debut outing in South America started with a bang on day one of Red Bull Minas Riders, as the short 60km-long Time Trial put everyone through their paces. Throwing all the riders in at the deep end the opening day’s action was a sharp wake up call, and one that ensured the 2016 Hard Enduro season was definitely in full swing.
Alfredo Gómez was the man who immediately set the pace. Starting second on the trail – three minutes behind Graham Jarvis – the Spaniard put in a solid performance. Pushing hard to reel Jarvis in three-quarters of the way through the loop, the duo then rode to the finish together.
With the evening’s Prologue left to decide the outcome of the day, Gómez claimed the holeshot for the Gold class. Delivering a start-to-finish win, the KTM rider is now the early leader of the race.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 8:16PM
Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 4:55PM
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The Grand Prix of Mexico and the fifth round of 18 in the 2016 FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship this weekend means little time for reflection for Team Suzuki World MXGP and MX2 this week as the crew prepares to hike from Patagonia, Argentina and to the city of Leon and the Parque Metropolitano for the third year in a row.
After contesting a busy and temperate fourth meeting of the season at Neuquen last weekend, the Lommel, Belgium-based crew packed the RM-Z450 and 250 factory machines into freight for the journey north through the Americas.
General Manager Stefan Everts and his staff stayed in the picturesque region for a promotional event with Suzuki Argentina before exploring some of the local settings and then readying their own bags to travel out to Mexico on Wednesday.
“Normally the Grand Prix track is not open to the public so this was the chance to get out with around 15 guys, some on 250s, others on 85s and enjoy ourselves,” said Everts on the Suzuki ride-out. “We had lunch together and it was great. We’ve then found some time for a boat trip, some mountain-biking and also trekking because it is a beautiful part of the world here.”
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MXGP rider Kevin Strijbos will be looking for better form and starting prowess across the Leon cactus-lined hard-pack compared to a difficult event at Neuquen where the Belgian classified ninth overall. The 30 year old has decent previous form in Mexico. At Leon in 2014 he narrowly missed the podium with a 3-2 scorecard on the RM-Z450. He sat-out the 2015 edition due to injury.
“Kevin had a good race at Leon two years ago and finished fourth; with one more position in the second moto he would have made the podium so we need to learn and work from this,” said Everts. “The conditions should be a lot warmer, maybe closer [in climate] to Thailand, and there is also the high altitude that will affect the running of the bikes so there are a couple of other factors that will come into play.
“What has really been hurting us are the starts; it is where the problems begin and where Kevin is missing a bit of confidence,” the former 10-times world champion continued. “We’ll look at the set-up and be hoping for the best this weekend.”
Mexico will be the fourth flyaway from the first five fixtures of the 2016 series and while Team Suzuki has testing planned for its return to Belgium early next week - and will be keen to establish a working routine based around European meetings (Latvia, Germany and Italy in the next five weeks alone) - there are few precious hours ahead.
“In a way it will be good to get back but there is just one weekend off before we head into three back-to-backs and on that weekend, Jeremy Seewer will be racing in the ADAC German series and possibly BT [Ben Townley] as well, although we haven’t confirmed that yet. It will be a busy time and full-gas for all the guys. We can take some free time here in Argentina, but it is not the same as being at home.”
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On the subject of Ben Townley, the former World Champion has now flown back from his home in New Zealand and is making progress from the after-effects of a virus that ruined his Grand Prix of Europe and caused him to miss-out on the trip across the Atlantic.
"Ben should be arriving back in Europe now and will be having some more tests. He has improved and hopefully he can start riding at the weekend and maybe be in the gate for Latvia [round six]," Everts explained.
While Strijbos continues to search for the right path to results and rostrum contention in MXGP - and Townley makes a return to the form and fitness that carried him to Pole and the runner-up spot in the second moto in Thailand, -Team Suzuki World MX2 has reason for immense satisfaction in its division with Jeremy Seewer already matching his podium tally from all of 2015 with three trophies on the mantelpiece.
The Swiss is currently second in the standings behind runaway leader Jeffrey Herlings and has sprayed champagne at the last three events, including second place at Neuquen. The sight of the RM-Z250 scrapping for the lead and adding some ‘yellow’ to the front of the Grand Prix class has been one of the bright points for the team so far in 2016.
“It is great what he is doing and he has been very consistent so far,” assessed Everts. “It was a tough GP in Argentina but he really stepped-it-up in the second moto and I believe he can go right through the season with this speed and form.
“Jeffrey Herlings has been in a different league and it is hard to get close to him…but we have all seen what can happen. We will keep working hard and progressing and we have a few things to try with the bike when we get back to Europe that could help. So far I have to say it has been unbelievably good.”
Temperatures topping 30 degrees are forecast for the weekend in Leon and the time difference stands at seven hours behind CET.
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Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 5:51PM 
By Dale Spangler
With the second round of the National Hare & Hound Series coming to Murphy, Idaho recently, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to snap some photos and film the entire experience—all with just an iPhone. I made it a personal challenge to shoot and edit an entire race video using only an iPhone 6 Plus. Piece of cake, right? Was I ever wrong, and wow! did I vastly underestimate how difficult it is to do either of the above at a desert race.
First off, it's a bit of a free-for-all. This is both good and bad. Good because, for someone like me attempting to cover the event, we have unlimited access to go wherever we want. Bad because I quickly realized that everyone is spread out all over the place in a willy-nilly fashion (often in unmarked vehicles) so it can be hard to find someone in particular. Racers and spectators alike can come and go, park wherever, and basically sprawl out in the main pit area as they please. Ultimately, what this means is that it's up to the person covering the event (me in this case) to make it what they want because there is no such thing as a media credential or media center; no haves or have nots here when it comes to access. This is both refreshing and intimidating at the same time, especially if (like me) you come in with little experience and no plan. I quickly realized how vastly unprepared I was for the large distances these events cover. I showed up in my Subaru Legacy (scraping sagebrush on the way in worried about getting a flat) with a backpack to carry my equipment. A total rookie. No motorcycle; no ATV; no UTV. Just a backpack, a wide brimmed hat to stave off sunburn, and a pair of hiking boots.
For pictures and the rest of this interesting story visit www.dirtbuzz.com
Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 5:25PM 
