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Red Bulls Presents MX Nation!

'MX Nation' Series Premiere: Roczen Switches Teams

Ken Roczen is confident, but his former team manager questions the German's move from KTM to Suzuki. When a rider makes it to the top of the motocross racing world, all eyes rest on him. Although the sport requires loads of support from mechanics to trainers, the pressure to perform ultimately rests on the shoulders of the person twisting the throttle out on the track.

In the series premiere of "MX Nation," German-born Ken Roczen discusses his switch from the Red Bull KTM team, the team that helped him in his move from Europe to the United States. To leave an outfit that brought Roczen to the pinnacle of racing not only put doubt in the eyes of his fans, it also cast uncertainty among his former team members including his old team manager and mentor, Roger De Coster.

A Look Back At The Moto Episode 21...Ryan Dungey

 Here is a quick look back at Ryan Dungey and the attitude that he brings to the races.

Alaskan MX on the Kenai Peninsula

State motocross at Twin City Raceway all about family

By Jeff Helminiak

Peninsula Clarion

The flash of vibrant colors bouncing through the woods and over the jumps, and the ripping sound trailing them, makes it easy to overlook what the State Motocross Races at Twin City Raceway this weekend are really all about.

Family.

For Lacie Kelly, the secretary and treasurer of the Kenai Peninsula Racing Lions - Motocross Division, families arriving Tuesday to camp out for the weekend and kids playing at the track at midnight are as much a part of the event as the dizzying swirl of bikes and dust during the races.

“They come from all over,” Kelly said. “It’s a big family. Everybody knows everybody.”

The 60-plus riders at Twin City Raceway on Saturday andState motocross at Twin City Raceway all about family today come mainly from the Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage area and Fairbanks.

There are four state weekends throughout the season, two in Anchorage and one apieceState motocross at Twin City Raceway all about family in Fairbanks and Kenai. KPRL also hosts eight city races during the summer at Twin City Raceway.

Kelly’s family is heavily involved in racing. Her husband, Jesse Kelly, races, as does Jesse’s father, Mike Kelly. Lacie’s daughter, 9-year-old Danica Farrar, recently got a bike and is not racing yet, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her out there before the season’s end.

Lacie is in her second year on the KPRL board, while Jesse just became president this year. Along with Phil Celtic, vice president, they are trying to grow motocross numbers in the area again.

“It can be difficult,” Lacie said. “Sometimes it’s hard to make everybody happy. We try our best, especially since it’s a family sport.

“Over the last number of years, we’ve lost a lot of people and we really want to try and get that back. We want there to be two rows of racers at the start.”

Jesse, now 29, started racing when he was 14 and can remember when state races had 150 to 200 riders. He hungers for those days.

Jesse was in the Pro and 450 Expert classes this weekend, and said riding with less riders is not as fun.

“In my last race, there was nobody around me,” he said. “I was in fourth place, and the top three were way up there. The fifth-place rider was way behind me.”

Jesse rode until he was 21 before taking a break and getting back into the sport three years ago.

While he guesses the economy had something to do with the drop in numbers, his father, Mike, confirms that fact.

“The attendance dropped in half when the economy crashed in 2008,” Mike said.

Jesse said the plan is to make riding appealing to younger riders.

“It keeps them active instead of sitting inside all summer long playing video games and using their phone,” he said. “All the kids have a tablet or iPhone these days.”

Thus far, the plan seems to be working. The state races this weekend had 16 riders on 50cc motocross bikes, which is the kind used by the little kids.

And Mike says the little kids are where it ball begins.

“Each of the little guys has to have their family here,” he said. “After they’re old enough to be here by themselves, the parents keep coming anyway.”

But the parents mostly keep coming to watch. Very few get on a motocross bike themselves and start tearing up the track.

But that’s exactly what Mike did, at the age of 41, after watching his son have all the fun for years. At 54, Mike is still at it, competing at Vet Intermediate and Senior Vet this weekend.

Why?

“That’s a good question,” Mike said. “I have no idea. I still enjoy it.”

Isn’t that rough on the body?

“You just get used to it,” he said. “It becomes second nature. All summer long you are sore, bruised and hurt.

“I don’t know how to explain it.”

Mike says riding keeps him in shape, and it also gives him goals to chase. Jesse said his father is faster than ever.

“I was moving up at the end of last year, but this year I’ve started at the end of the pack again,” Mike said. “I’ll get faster.”

Jesse said his dad is part of the reason he got back into racing. He said the sport also gives him motivation to keep fit, and he lost 40 pounds this winter.

“They’ve been doing it for so long,” Lacie said. “They just love it.

“They’re not really in it to be No. 1. They’re in it for the love of the sport itself.”

‘We Feel Like We’re Still Kids’

2 Brothers Racing Vintage Motocross Team Is Based in Franklin County

By Karen Cernich, Feature Writer The Missourian -  emissourian.com

It had been more than 35 years since Terry Larson, Union, had lined up his 1974 Hodaka 125cc Super Combat motorcycle in a race, but in fall 2011 when he and his brother, Mike, discovered the sport of vintage motocross (VMX), the two dusted off their old bikes, pulled on their gear and took off.

By the end of 2012, the brothers had each won their class in Missouri VMX Championship, and now three years later they have built one of the most recognized teams in the industry.

Last year, 2 Brothers Racing Vintage Motocross swept all three classes in many of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) events, including Diamond Don’s Riverport Nationals, considered the “super bowl” of VMX.

The 2014 race attracted 1,165 riders from all over the world — Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa . . . — and 2 Brothers Racing swept the 100cc division (a first for riders on the same bikes and the same team) as well as a couple of races in the 125 classes and in the open classes. 

“We dominated in the 100cc and 125cc classes throughout the year, finishing with 14 national No. 1 motocross and cross-country titles in AHRMA and AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) Vintage series,” said Larson, who manages the team.

And this year 2 Brothers Racing is looking to expand its race schedule even more.

“Our goals are to defend our titles and to increase our skill levels in other classes,” Larson said.

The team’s next race will be June 27-28 at Sky High MX Park in Old Appleton, Mo., between Perryville and Cape Girardeau on Highway 55.

Vintage Motocross has two classes — vintage, which is bikes from 1974 and older, and post-vintage which is 1975-’83.

With 2 Brothers Racing, vintage also describes many of the riders. Of the 10 members, six are in their 50s or older. The two youngest are youth riders, ages 12 and 11, sons of two of the team members.

Larson is the only team member from Franklin County. Others are from O’Fallon, St. Louis, Jackson and even as far away as Dripping Spring, Texas.

All of the bikes that the team members ride are Hodaka, a brand that was manufactured in the ’60s and ’70s.

“These are all bikes that have been refurbished,” said Larson. “They were found in barns, wherever. We actually have one on our team that was found buried in the ground in Ste. Genevieve.”

The 2 Brothers Racing team competes in both AMA and AHRMA races all over the country. Last year the team put more than 13,000 miles on its trailer driving to races as far away as New York and Texas, said Larson.

The team races in between 10 to 13 national races a year, plus local races. In 2014 the team attended 27 events, Larson noted.

Motocross to Drag Racing to Vintage

Larson started his racing career in 1972 racing out of South County Hodaka in St. Louis. Later that year his father, Richard Larson, opened his own shop, Arnold Cycles.

Larson’s two younger brothers raced mini cycles all over the country, and he raced AMA District 18 races throughout the Midwest.

“Our father opened the shop basically because of us,” Larson remarked.

Then in 1976 Larson had a really bad accident, and decided he was finished with motocross racing. He was engaged to be married, and it just seemed like the right time.

To feed their need for speed, the brothers got involved in drag racing.

“We raced sand funny cars and alcohol funny calls,” Larson recalled.

But in 1992, he decided to sell his car and quit drag racing too.

Nearly 20 years later, in 2011, a phone call from his brother Mike got his racing motor running again.

“He said, ‘They’re racing vintage motocross.’ There was a national event in Bourbon. I didn’t even know they were doing that,” said Larson.

“We went out there and within 15 minutes we’d met a bunch of people we used to race with, and they were all, ‘Oh, the Larson boys are here. Are you guys going to ride?’ So in 2012, we bought some bikes. I actually had one of my old bikes from the ’70s. We called ourselves 2 Brothers Racing, and got back into it.”

In some ways, it felt like they had never left.

“It was fun. Our wives said when we were at that race in Bourbon we were like two kids left overnight in a candy store. We were ooing and ahhing just seeing all the old bikes,” Larson recalled.

“We got our father involved in it again. He’s 80 years old. He’s gone to almost all of the races with us.”

The more the brothers won, the more they were recognized, and it wasn’t long before they decided to expand the team.

“We figured the more riders we had on the team, the better presentation for our sponsors, and we ended up picking up all of these sponsors in 2014. We ended last year with 14 national titles, so we are going for 15 this year,” Larson said with a laugh.

This year, ARHMA featured Larson’s brother Mike on the trophies it handed out at races.

Highly Recognized Team

The 2 Brothers Racing VMX team includes the Larson brothers, Terry, age 60, and Mike, age 55, O’Fallon; along with Brian Miller, 54, Lee’s Summit; Tim Borgfield, 53, and Reed Borgfield, 12, Todd Rapp, 47, and Jordan Rapp, 11, all of Jackson; Greg Pacini, 60, St. Charles; Laurie Shelton, 39, Dripping Spring, Texas; and Kevin O’Brien, 58, St. Louis.

The team’s only female rider was added this year, and so was the national cross country champion, O’Brien.

The team members, who mostly live in various places around Missouri, don’t practice together. They meet at the races and correspond through Facebook, said Larson.

The team’s mechanic is Dave Rozier of Hodaka Dave’s Vintage Services in Berger.

In Franklin County, people may start to recognize the team’s logo. The team wants to be involved in the community, said Larson, noting the team is currently Business Partner of the Month with U.S. Bank in St. Clair. The team has a display featured in the branch’s lobby.

Riding Vintage Vs. Modern Motocross

The main differences between vintage and modern bikes are suspension and power on the bikes, said Larson.

“Our bikes have only 4 inches of travel in the back and 7 in the front. That means the amount the bike can move up and down on the shocks,” he explained. “Modern bikes probably have 10 or 12 inches in back, and 14 to 18 in front. So they can jump more and higher.”

The vintage race tracks are simpler for that reason.

“We couldn’t do these modern tracks with our bikes. They’re just not set up for it,” said Larson.

Vintage tracks have smaller jumps and more flat areas, he said. It’s more about turns and twists.

Vintage races are in natural outdoor settings, like the side of a mountain or on a ski slope compared to modern motocross courses which are built using heavy equipment inside stadiums.

While the bikes and the course may be as they were in the ’60s and ’70s, the gear the riders wear is all modern.

“Back then all we had were chest protectors, open face helmets and a mouth guard,” said Larson.

There are no cash prizes for winning vintage motocross races, although winners do receive plaques, trophies and ribbons. There are entry fees to pay, but really the travel costs are the biggest expense, said Larson.

Life Comes Full Circle

Terry Larson moved to Franklin County from Arnold back in 1996. He and his wife own 28 acres near Birch Creek Golf Course in Union. He built a small motocross track on his property, which he thinks annoys many of the golfers, but his track was there before the golf course, he said, smiling.

Larson is retired from a career as an operations manager for an automotive company. Vintage motocross racing is now his main hobby, just as it was when he was a kid.

In fact, the thrill is the same.

“We feel like we’re still kids,” Larson remarked, grinning.

A Day At The Races...MXGP Style!

Update:

Apparently the US National MX series is not the only championship suddenly affected by injury. Today MXGP points leader Max Nagl crashed in his qualifing race and broke his ankle. He will not be able to race his home event in Germany tomorrow. This throws the MXGP series wide open.

These are the conditions that can lead to big changes in a championship series. This picture is from the MXGP in Italy last week. Check the short video below this picture to see how chages can happen.

This Is A Hard Enduro!!!

4 Winners of the 2015 Red Bull Hare Scramble

Battle abandoned, teamwork prevails as four riders share the top spot at Erzberg.

In the history of hard enduro or offroad motorcycle racing in general, never has a major race come down to teamwork between four competitors. But at the 2015 Red Bull Hare Scramble, Alfredo Gómez, Jonny Walker, Graham Jarvis and Andreas Lettenbichler were declared joint winners when they teamed up to take on a nearly impossible Erzbergrodeo course.

Amid amazing scenes on the Iron Giant, the four riders were all declared winners of the 21st and toughest-ever edition of the Erzbergrodeo after being forced to abandon a heated head-to-head race and work together to drag their bikes out the treacherous new forest section christened "Downtown" that all but defeated the world's best hard enduro riders.

Mario Roman also beat the odds, riding through the pain barrier of an injured knee, to complete the race just seconds before the four-hour deadline.

In an incredible show of sportsmanship and camaraderie, the foursome and Wade Young, who was subesquently DQ'd for missing a checkpoint earlier in the race, teamed up after getting stuck on the sheer, gripless virgin climb almost two hours into the race, pulling each bike to the top and then riding the final 15 minutes of the race side-by-side to cross the finish together, with just two minutes of the four-hour time limit to spare.

Following Jonny Walker's sprint to victory in just 1 hour 37 minutes last year, Erzbergrodeo boss Karl Katoch set out to make the 2015 course more challenging. The newly uncovered Downtown proved to be a step too far, as a 100 meters of the section turned what had been a perfectly poised battle among Jarvis, Gómez and Walker into a battle for survival that resulted in the extraordinary finish.

Walker had led from the very first climb out of the start after emerging unscathed from a tangle of bars with five-time Erzberg winner Taddy Blazusiak, ending the Pole's attempt at a sixth win. Both rider and bike crashed back down the hill, sustaining race-ending damage.

The defending Red Bull Hare Scramble champ made the break as his rivals took evasive action around the stricken Blazusiak. Walker had stretched his lead out to as much as 4 minutes 30 seconds before a fall punched a hole in his radiator, and Jarvis and Gómez closed the gap to under a minute as they reached the infamous Carl's Diner.

As the riders exited the woods following the iconic boulder field and entered the new section, Jarvis and Gómez passed Walker and his overheating KTM to set up what was looking like a thrilling finish. However, no one had counted on Downtown — which was quickly renamed "Green Hell" — from stopping the race dead in its tracks.

As pathfinder Jarvis ground to a halt, Gómez, Walker and later Lettenbichler and Young formed a traffic jam behind, all unable to make forward momentum

And then there were five... Red Bull Hare Scramble© Robert Lynn / Future 7 Media

It would take an incredible 90 minutes for the five riders to pull themselves clear of the treacherous section and, with just 30 minutes of the four-hour time limit left to run, it guaranteed that the smallest number of finishers in Red Bull Hare Scramble history would cross the line: five.

With Young agonizingly pulled over just yards from the finish line, that fifth finisher was the gritty Mario Roman, who overcame a serious knee injury and having to scale Downtown without the support of fellow riders, to reach home with just over 60 seconds to spare.

www.redbull.com

More Erzberg Rodeo

Fun in the Sun Ahead of the Red Bull Hare Scramble

Mark Webber joins the hard enduro party before the serious business of the Red Bull Hare Scramble.

www.redbull.com

Ceduna Ready To Host Round Two Of The Peter Stevens SAMX Championship

The West Coast Motorcycle Club will host the second round of the 2015 Peter Stevens South Australian Motocross Championship this Saturday and Sunday the 13th and 14th of June The event will mark the first time South Australia’s premier Motocross Championship has headed to the coastal town since 2012 when the club hosted an extremely well ran and popular event on a track that put the states best riders to the test. The club has continued to work hard and develop both their track and facilities in the lead up to this years event and is looking forward to welcoming riders from all parts of the state to the Eyre Peninsula this weekend. “The track is coming together nicely now which has allowed us all to heave a huge sigh of relief.” Kelli Hoffrichter from the West Coast Motorcycle Club commented. “Ceduna is a largely a farming community and we have had a lot of helpers busy on their tractors seeding. At any given time we only have half dozen helpers around, so to achieve what we have is a great feeling. “As for the weekend we couldn’t do it without all the other officials and helpers from other clubs. The way we all help each other is what makes this sport so amazing and we are forever grateful. “We’ve had nice steady rainfall for the last month so the track has been great to work with.” In a bonus for riders making the trip across for the second round of the state championship, the club have more than a few surprises in store. “For those that have raced our track before you will be in for a surprise as we have changed it a lot since our last State round in 2012. “ Hoffrichter explained. “We have added another 10 start gates and our start gates have shifted to the old pit area. We’ve also added a 3 bay wash down area. “Our track surface is unusual as it is a mixture of soils. We have sand, shell grit and clay areas so it will prove a fun challenge for all.” Along with showing the wider motocross community just how great their local town and club is, the West Coast MCC is also looking forward to the opportunity to show the region just how great motocross racing is in South Australia and the great sportsmanship that comes along with such a great sport. “West Coast is a small club but we have on average 12 members representing us at all state rounds. It’s a feeling of pride to share our club and track with others and to provide a different sort of track. “I’m always raving on how good MX is and how even though it’s an individual sport everyone, even the fiercest of competitors, help each other in any way they can and I can’t wait to show that to our local community the sportsmanship that is MX.” Hoffrichter concluded. Motorcycling South Australia’s general manager Chris McArdle echoed Kelli’s thoughts and can’t wait to showcase the sport of motocross to Ceduna and the surrounding region. “The opportunity to bring the 2015 Peter Stevens Motorcycles SA MX Championships to Ceduna is great for the series and the region.” McArdle commented. “ Sport based tourism has significant benefit for regional economies, with most visitors staying for longer, and spending more than usual tourists. “Ceduna, its surrounding areas, and indeed the whole Eyre Peninsula has outstanding natural attributes to visit, see and enjoy. There is so much to do in the region, it is sure to be a fun trip for all that visit. “Riders will get to experience a different type of track, which is important to get diversity through the series, providing another challenge to determine the 2015 SA Championship. “The West Coast MCC always put on a great weekend, with true country hospitality and the whole community gets behind the event. “Everyone who has made the trip to Ceduna in the past has loved it, so I am sure another great weekend will be had by all.” McArdle concluded. Saturday will see the states junior motocross competitors take to the track with riders from as young as four years of age in the 50cc Demo class all the way through to 16 year old competitors in the 250 four stroke class doing battle. Sunday will see the state’s best riders hit the track in the two Expert classes along with classes for Intermediate, Clubman, Vets and Women. Practice will commence at 8.30am on both days with racing to commence at the conclusion of practice. For further information about this weekend’s event, please call Kelli Hoffrichter on 0488 198 278

www.fullnoise.com.au

Erzbergrodeo...Need We Say More!

Qualifying for the Red Bull Hare Scramble on Sunday kicked off with the driest Iron Road Prologue in years. Searing heat, clouds of dust and slippery tracks meant it was tough going for the riders