Red Bull Megawatt 111 2016

GNCC...Round 10 Unadilla

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Smarty’s Motocross of Nations Preview

 

126 riders making up 38 teams have entered the 2016 Motocross of Nations being held at the famous Maggiora Park circuit in Italy over the weekend of the 24^th and 25^th of  September and as you would expect, the most anticipated motocross event in the world is set to be a dead-set cracker!

MXGP 2016 Americas – Charlotte

The Motocross Of Nations is an event like no other and every year since 1947 over 100 riders from all over the world meet at one venue to represent their country and see which nation is the best in the motocross world but here is the kicker, in 2016 the host team of Italy with Antonio Cairoli as captain has absolutely no chance of being the champions and it is likewise for Germany with Max Nagl and Slovenia with Tim Gajser. One great rider does not make a winning team so which teams do have a chance of standing on top of the podium when all three motos are completed?

Before we go much further here is the way the MXoN points are calculated

• First place in each class equals 1 point, second equals 2 points and third equals 3 points and so on.
• It is the team with the LEAST amount of points that wins.
• There are three 35 Minute motos – Moto1: MXGP & MX2. Moto 2: MX2 & Open. Moto 3: MXGP & Open.
• Each team has three riders riding two motos which equals six points scoring rides.
• Each team dumps their worst results with the final points calculated from the best five rides.

And let’s look at each class and who the contenders are

MXGP

The MXGP class is filled with the team leaders and potentially the best rider on each team but when push comes to shove there are really only five riders who have what it takes to win a moto or the class this year and they are 2015 MXGP Champion Romain Febvre (France), multi AMA Supercross and Motocross Champion Cooper Webb (USA), multi World Motocross Champion (and local hero) Antonio Cairoli (Italy), 2015 MX2 World Champion and 2016 MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser (Slovenia) and multi GP winner Max Nagl (Germany) while Kevin Strijbos (Belgium), Glenn Coldenhoff (Netherlands), Tommy Searle (Great Britain), Valentin Guillod (Switzerland), Todd Waters (Australia), Cody Cooper (New Zealand) and Kaven Benoit (Canada) will be battling hard to keep themselves as close to the leading pack as possible.

MXGP 2016 Americas – Charlotte – Cooper Webb

OPEN: The big interest in the open class is three time MX2 World Champion Jeffrey Herlings on the KTM450SX-F and many would have you believe that the young Dutch star has the measure of his fellow riders in this class but multi GP winner Gautier Paulin (France) is a proven MXoN moto, class and championship winner while Jason Anderson (USA), Clement Desalle (Belgium), Shaun Simpson (Great Britain), Evgeny Bobryshev (Russia) and Dean Ferris (Australia) all have the speed and determination to be at the pointy end of this field.

MXGP 2016 Americas – Charlotte – Jeffrey Herlings

Hamish Harwood (New Zealand), Tanel Leok (Estonia), Arnaud Tonus (Switzerland) and Tyler Medaglia (Canada) will be the best of the rest and will play a key role in their teams overall placing on the day.

MX2

Even though the MX2 class looks stacked there is only a handful of riders who can win this class and they are 2016 Vice World MX2 Champion Jeremy Seewer (Switzerland), AMA Motocross Championship number two Alex Martin (USA) and multi GP winners in Max Anstie (Great Britain) and Jeremy Van Horebeek (Belgium) while the likes of Benoit Paturel (France), Brian Bogers (Netherlands), Jed Beaton (Australia), Josiah Natzke (New Zealand), Shawn Maffenbeier (Canada), Harri Kullas (Estonia), Henri Jacobi (Germany) and Vsevolod Brylyakov (Russia) will all be battling hard throughout their two motos to finish as close the front as possible.

MXGP 2016 Switzerland Josiah Natzke

Just as a point of interest, the last time Maggiora hosted a round of the World Motocross Championships was in 2015 and it was Romain Febvre who won the overall in the MXGP class ahead of Kevin Strijbos and …. Wait for it …. Todd Waters!! For what it’s worth Tim Gajser won the MX2 overall from Herlings and Seewer.

So, who will win the 2016 Motocross of Nations?

Putting luck (good and bad) aside, winning the MXoN comes down to the team who is strongest across all three classes and for mind if Cooper Webb (MXGP), Jason Anderson (Open) and Alex Martin (MX2) ride to their full potential without crashes or mechanical failures Team USA will win the 2016 Motocross of Nations – even if it is by the slimmest of margins. And let’s not forget, in the last 31 years Team USA have won the event 22 times under the on-going guidance and management of Roger DeCoster.

My thinking is that in the form he is in right now you can put Webb down for two top three rides so for the exercise let’s put him down for six points in the MXGP class while Anderson in the Open class is also a top three runner so again, let’s put him down for six points and that leaves Alex Martin to put in one podium ride in the MX2 class (A-Mart is more than capable of that) which will see Team USA end up on 15 points – is that enough to win? Read On!   

Team France has won the last two MXoN BUT their down fall this year could well be Benoit Paturel who at the time of writing is sitting third in the MX2 World Motocross Championship and will be participating in his first MXoN. I am buggered if I know why they didn’t pick Marvin Musquin to ride the MX2 class (perhaps MM didn’t want to go back to the smaller bike?) because if you put Musquin beside Romain Febvre and Gautier Paulin (like last year) and it is three in a row for France on a track like Maggiora!

The Paturel, Febvre and Paulin combination is still a strong team but can they get below 15 points to win the title? Well, they scored 14 points to win the 2015 MXoN and 17 points to win the 2014 MXoN so it is touch and go whether Team France has a sub 15 point performance in them for 2016.

The Netherlands has a good chance of winning if Herlings can score two moto wins (as he expects to do) and Glenn Coldenhoff can garner two top five rides and from there they need their MX2 rider in Brian Bogers to have the ride of his life and get at least one podium in the MX2 class. Not inconceivable as Bogers scored two third places for second overall at the GP of The Netherlands recently so if Herlings goes 1-1, Coldenhoff goes 5-5 plus a third from Bogers that is also 15 points. 

Team Great Britain have won the event 15 times and this year the Poms have Tommy Searle, Max Anstie and Shaun Simpson on deck with Anstie and Simpson both capable of podium finishes and could well jag a moto win in the their respective classes so Team GB will definitely have a chance if Searle can step up to the plate and score one top five finish in either of his motos.

Team Belgium has always been strong at the MXoN and with recent GP winner Clement Desalle being backed up by the experienced duo of Jeremy van Horebeek and Kevin Strijbos, Belgium could well be in contention if all three riders fire on the day. Add the fact that all three of these riders have won the MXoN in the past you have to put them in the mix.

So you can see, the fight for the win could well come down to the team that can get to the score of 15 points or less and all teams mentioned above could well do that if everything falls into place on the day so let’s take a look at the winners from the last 10 Years and how many points they scored to achieve that goal:

• 2006 – USA: 15 Points – James Stewart, Ivan Tedesco, Ryan Villopoto (No wins on the day)
• 2007 – USA: 8 Points – Ricky Carmichael, Villopoto, Tim Ferry (RC two moto wins and RV one moto win)
• 2008 – USA: 26 Points – Stewart, Villopoto, Ferry (Stewart one moto win, RV one moto win)
• 2009 – USA: 22 Points – Ryan Dungey, Ivan Tedesco, Jake Weimer (Dungey one moto win)
• 2010 – USA: 23 Points – Dungey, Andrew Short, Try Canard (Dungey two moto wins)
• 2011 – USA: 26 Points – Dungey, Villopoto, Blake Baggett (RV two moto wins)
• 2012 – Germany: 25 Points – Max Nagl, Ken Roczen, Marcus Schiffer (No wins on the day)
• 2013 – Belgium: 27 Points – Ken DeDycker, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Clement Desalle (No wins on the day)
• 2014 – France: 17 Points – Dylan Ferrandis, Gautier Paulin, Steven Frossard (Paulin two moto wins)
• 2015 – France: 14 Points – Romain Febvre, Paulin, Marvin Musquin (Febvre two moto wins)

You can see that the 15 points mentioned above will win the MXoN more often than not but there is something about this event that creates high drama and it usually comes down to an outstanding individual performance from at least one of the winning team riders.

So, what about Australia? Well, here are our results over the last ten years:

• 2006 – 11^th – 102 Points: Brett Metcalfe, Cheyne Boyd, Dan Reardon – (Best Finish: Boyd 18^th in Moto 3)
• 2007 – 20^th – 79 Points: Chad Reed, Michael Byrne, Andrew McFarlane – (Sharky DNS – Reed 2^nd in Moto 1)
• 2008 – 6^th – 55 Points: Metcalfe, Reed, Byrne – (Best Finish: Reed/Byrne 8^th in Motos 2 & 3)
• 2009 – 7^th – 73 Points: Metcalfe, Reed, Byrne – (Best Finish: Reed 2^nd in Moto 1)
• 2010 – 6^th – 54 Points: Metcalfe, Dean Ferris, Jay Marmont – (Best Finish: Metcalfe 3^rd in Moto 1)
• 2011 – 3^rd – 44 Points: Reed, Metcalfe, Matt Moss – (Best Finish: Reed 1^st in Moto 1)
• 2012 – 10^th – 83 Points: Todd Waters, Lawson Bopping, Luke Styke – (Best Finish: Waters 8^th in Moto 2)
• 2013 – 4^th – 40 Points – Waters, Ferris, Metcalfe – (Best Finish: Ferris 4^th in Moto 1)
• 2014 – 14^th – 108 Points – Reed, Moss, Luke Clout – (Best Finish: Reed 14^th in Moto 1)
• 2015 – 7^th – 77 Points – Waters, Ferris, Clout – (Best Finish: Waters 12^th in Moto 3)

For the sake of easy maths let’s say that Dean Ferris, Todd Waters and Jed Beaton all earn 8^th in class in each of their motos – that is 6 x 8 which equals 48 points, drop one moto as is mandatory and Team Australia finishes the day on 40 points.

Over the last ten years 40 points would have put any team third overall four times (44 points did it for Team Australia in 2011), fourth overall five times and fifth once so what does Team Australia need to do to get on the podium?

• Dean Ferris to come close to emulating his MXoN performance of 2013 (4-5 for 9 Points).
• Todd Waters to come close to repeating the performance that earned him a MXGP podium at Maggiora in 2015.
• Jed Beaton to get his Yamaha home in the top ten in at least one of his motos.

Finally, the circuit: 30 years ago Maggiora hosted the Motocross Des Nations and the ‘Dream Team’ of Johnny O’Mara (125), Ricky Johnson (250) and David Bailey (500) completely dominated all three races on the wide, undulating, jump infested circuit. In fact, O’Mara beat the best 250cc and 500cc riders in the world on his production based CR125 on the day but Maggiora has changed quite a bit since 1986 but it still features steep hills, long floating jumps with a plethora of switch back turns with plenty of passing opportunities so a poor start will not be a complete disaster if the rider is chasing a top ten in his class.

Smarty’s Prediction? So all that aside, it is Team USA for a narrow win ahead of The Netherlands, France, Belgium, England and I will cross my fingers for Australia to be in the mix when the chequered flag drops for the final moto, nothing would make me happier for Team Australia to prove me wrong and bring home a podium finish. Good luck to all 126 riders.

Find Out How Ken Roczen Is Going So Damn Fast

Ken Roczen's switch from Red Bull KTM to the then-unproven RCH Suzuki team was a major head-scratcher at the end of 2014. Ken had just won his first AMA National title against the perpetually strong Ryan Dungey in something of an upset, so it seemed ludicrous that he would switch bikes and teams coming off of such a dream season. But Roczen had a desire to change things up, and he was comfortable moving to the Suzuki. Of course, in 2015, Roczen was far from dominant. Though he still had winning speed, inconsistency and crashing characterized most of his season. After splitting pro motocross super trainer Aldon Baker, Roczen seemed to fall off the results. He spent most of 2015 doing damage control.

Applying the brakes to the Hard Enduro season

The latest Hard Enduro Series has already served up plenty of breathtaking action, as fearless riders tackle some of the most challenging courses ever dreamt up.

It all started in April, when the inaugural edition of Red Bull Minas Riders brought the best and bravest bikers to Belo Horizonte in Brazil. Spaniard Alfredo Gómez came out on top, but there was there were plenty more riders celebrating as Hard Enduro planted its flag in yet another continent.

Watch the clip above to see action from Brazil as well as Austria and Romania in stunning slow-motion.

Coming Soon!

YZ Big Bike Build

Can you turn an old YZ two stroke into a competative race bike, capable of running with the 450 four strokes? Stay tuned and we will show you how!

Promising debut for all-new 2017 CRF450RW in the USA

Evgeny Bobryshev gave the all-new Honda CRF450RW a promising debut today at the MXGP of the Americas, held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Whilst race one proved something of an acclimatisation run for the Russian, who was using the new machine for the first time in anger at an MXGP event, in race two Bobby was right in the podium fight for the duration of the race.

From the start, Evgeny Bobryshev launched towards the front with a strong start and was quickly fighting for second position. As the race progressed, that fight became for third, but Bobby and the team were very encouraged with the promise and potential the new bike showed on its maiden outing.

“I really enjoyed my day today – the track was great and riding the new 2017 CRF was fantastic. In the first race I needed to understand the bike in a race condition so it took us a little time to get really used to it, but the second race was way better,' Bobryshev explained.

'I had a good start and sat in fourth place for the whole race pushing for third. The speed was the same so I couldn’t make a pass unfortunately, but we definitely had podium pace here with the new bike. I really feel comfortable on the bike and I really enjoy to ride it – I know that there are many more positive results coming.”

Meanwhile on the number 21 machine, Gautier Paulin started the day strongly and was attacking the front of the field in the opening free and timed practice sessions, but sadly it wasn’t to be his weekend. Two bad starts left him in the melee, and his day was cut short when he caught his foot in a rut in the second race, crashed and twisted his knee.

“It was a really good venue and a really good track here in Charlotte, and I enjoyed riding it a lot. They did a lot of hard work since the rain yesterday and the condition of the track today was good. Unfortunately though I had two bad starts today which made it hard,' Paulin said.

'My riding was good but I’m not happy with myself about the starts. The track was really technical and had some nice flow, and I think with good starts we could have been in the mix today.

'In the second moto, I also twisted my ankle badly which is why I had to stop. On the inside of one corner I got my foot stuck in the mud so I lost the front end because of that, and when I crashed it twisted my ankle. The team have worked on it already tonight and it’s feeling better, but at first there was so much pain I couldn’t continue," the Frenchman concluded.

KTM Recalls 250 SX-F

KTM North America Recalls Motocross Competition Off-Road Motorcycles Due to Crash Hazard

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2016/KTM-North-America-Recalls-Motocross-Competition-Off-Road-Motorcycles/

Recall Summary

Name of Product: Motocross competition off-road motorcycles

Hazard: The connecting rod in the crankshaft assembly can fracture, causing the operator to lose control of the motorcycle and crash.

Remedy: Repair

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled motorcycles and contact an authorized KTM or Husqvarna Motorcycles dealer to schedule a free repair.

Consumer Contact: KTM North America/Husqvarna Motorcycles North America toll-free at 888-985-6090 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.ktmusa.com or www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com and click on "Service" and then "Safety" for more information.

Recall Details

Units: About 920

Description: This recall involves model year 2016 KTM brand and Husqvarna Motorcycles brand motocross off-road motorcycles with 250cc, 4-cycle engines. Recalled KTM 250 SX-F motorcycles are orange and black with the KTM logo on both sides of the shrouds covering the fuel tank. The engine size is printed on both sides of the rear fender below the rear of the seat. Recalled KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition motorcycles are orange and blue with the KTM and the Red Bull logos on both sides of the shrouds covering the fuel tank. The number "13" is printed on both sides of the rear fender below the rear of the seat. Recalled Husqvarna FC 250 motorcycles are white with blue and yellow markings. The Husqvarna logo and engine size are on both sides of the shrouds covering the fuel tank. Model year 2016 motorcycles have a letter "G" in the 10^th position of the vehicle identification number (VIN), located on the right side of the steering head.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received five reports of the rod cracking. No injuries have been reported.

Sold at: 2016 KTM Motorcycles were sold at KTM authorized dealers nationwide from October 2015 through March 2016 for between $8,400 and $9,100. 2016 Husqvarna Motorcycles were sold at Husqvarna Motorcycles authorized dealers nationwide from October 2015 through March 2016 for about $8,400.

Importer/Distributor: KTM North America, Inc., of Amherst, Ohio

Manufactured in: Austria

About U.S. CPSC:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction.  Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.

CPSC Consumer Information Hotline
Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:
800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)
Times: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime
Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.

Media Contact
Please use the phone numbers below for all media requests.
Phone: 301-504-7908
Spanish: 301-504-7800

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030904/USCSCLOGO

SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Collie Shire Council moves to secure track lease

Collie Shire Council moves to secure track lease

Thomas Munday | thomas.munday@fairfaxmedia.com.au

THE SHIRE of Collie has passed a motion to secure the future of one of Collie’s most popular sporting facilities. 

The council approved the lease renewal of the Motor Cycle Scramble Course at Stockton Lake at the meeting of Tuesday, August 2. 

The council is set to lease the track from the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW) and sub-lease it to the Collie Motocross Club for the next ten years. 

The council confirmed it would be a community built and operated sub-lease with the additional requirement for the club to be responsible for reinstatement ahead of the lease’s termination.

Shire of Collie chief executive officer David Blurton said the renewal ensured the club and community’s continued use of the area. 

“The Collie Motocross Club has operated from the Stockton Lake Scramble Track for many years,” he said. 

“There has been no change to the lease conditions or the lease area, so the main benefit of the lease renewal for a longer term is that it will provide security of tenure for the club. 

“Now that DPAW have provided a lease renewal, the Shire will prepare a sub-lease to the Collie Motocross Club.”

Mr Blurton said the move aligned with the Shire of Collie’s push for sporting and tourism-related facilities in the longer term. 

“In the recent Reimagining Collie community survey and consultation participants were in favour of a strong tourism focus providing diversification for the local economy and employment opportunities,” he said.  

“This aligns with council’s adopted Strategic Community Plan which includes strategies that aim to grow the local tourism industry. 

“The club has indicated that it will proceed to expand its events calendar and upgrade the infrastructure at the grounds.”

Collie Motocross Club president Paul Bevan said the council’s decision has secured the Collie Motocross Club’s future for an extended period. 

“It’s a big deal for the club, it gives us assurance going into the future and with the up-keep and renewal of assets and infrastructure it gives us the ability to have confidence going forward, continue to grow the club and grow our infrastructure,” he said. 

“It’s something the club has been asking and searching for for the past 10 years, we’ve got 170 members were a valuable part of the community, we provide a controlled environment for motorcycle enthusiasts so for us to grow as a club, and to have that assurance too, it’s a big deal.”

Mr Bevan said the track was one of numerous facilities that highlighted the town’s passion for sport, entertainment and tourism all year round. 

“We complement the Collie Motorplex, we support like-minded clubs – we’ve have the quad club and vintage motocross come and ride – all that brings business to town through fuel, accommodation, food etc.,” he said.

The Collie Motocross Club has announced plans to expand its events calendar for the upcoming season.