Monday, March 24, 2014 at 2:29PM Here is a short video from Dirt Rider Mag showing KTM is thriving in the two stroke world. The Japanese should never have abanded the two stroke. Their loss is KTM's gain.
EnduroCross rider Taylor Robert and GNCC rider Kailub Russell play around in the Arizona desert on their KTM two-strokes.
Monday, March 17, 2014 at 7:40PM Porterville Recorder MArch 16, 2014
Sunday’s Monster Road to Mammoth qualifying race at OHV Park in Porterville attracted so many motocross riders that the parking lots were overstuffed with mobile homes, trailers and dirt bikes. It was the third of six qualifying races and provided a homefield advantage to one rider in particular: Joshua Camarena.
Owner and CEO of Porterville-based 2X Promotions Myron Short said there was a total of 580 entries and estimated 3,000 people showed up to the races over the weekend. He also said it was about 15-20 percent larger than last year.
“We have a good, solid crew here today,” he said.
The race was also being filmed and streamed online by a film crew representing Insider MX. Short said the crew would make a short recap of the day’s action and put it on the website.
Besides Camarena, Ikua Hughes participated in the first two rounds of the Monster Road to Mammoth but competed at Oak Hill MX in Decatur, Texas all week where he had a couple decent results including a fifth-place finish.
Michael Scruggs also competed, but as a novice.
The classes present went from the powerful pro classes all the way down to small children riding screaming 50cc bikes.
Camarena, decked in an orange and black jersey and black helmet, competed in the 450 Pro, Open Pro and the 250 Pro. He certainly held his own considering he was racing against a big name in Jessy Nelson in his races. Nelson is sponsored by Lucas Oil, among other companies, and finished first in several races. He won the Open Pro race, though Camarena was on his tail and finished in second place.
He nabbed a fourth-place finish in the 450 Pro and a fifth-place finish in 250 Pro even though he used his brother’s 250 2-stroke bike. Camarena said he rode his brother’s bike because he wanted to give himself more race options when all is said and done. One would believe it would be tough to race on an unfamiliar bike, but he proved otherwise.
“He’s painting it today,” Short said.
One could say Camarena certainly felt confident racing in his hometown. He said the simple fact of knowing this track is an advantage because he knows how it will deteriorate and where he should ride as the races go on through the day. He even had the advantage of test riding the track right after it was constructed a few weeks ago.
“It’s a big advantage I would say,” he said.
And considering he was riding with some big-name riders, he was pretty happy with the way he rode over the weekend.
“You can’t complain too much,” he said. “It’s a good learning experience racing with Nelson.”
Camarena’s goal for the rest of the qualifying rounds is to be in front of the pack and a high finish, hopefully on the podium.
“A podium would be sweet,” he said.
The next round of the Monster Road to Mammoth will take place on March 30 in Turlock. These qualifying rounds lead up to Monster Energy Mammoth Motocross, an event in Mammoth, CA that lasts from June 20-29.
Sunday, March 16, 2014 at 5:17PM Some days you see something that just makes you proud to ride a dirt bike and be part of this great community. Today was one of those days for all who showed up at Prairie City OHV for the Brooke Ride day. What an absolutely fantastic day! The parking lot of the Hangtown track was full as riders and spectators showed up to give back to someone in need. The industry...what can you say the motorcycle industry stepped up in a big, big way. Hats off to Roseville Yamaha, Works Connection, Fly, Matrix Concepts, Fox, Atlas and many, many more for donating an awful lot of very nice gear, much of it autographed by pro riders from their stable. The track was in great shape on a beautiful warm sunny day. Check out the pictures in the Gallery section.
Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 9:43PM In our world today change is constant even when it comes to cleaning your dirt bike.
Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 4:45PM Joe Naiman - Valley News - March 7, 2014
Last PLace Finish Guided RJ's Career
In 1971 a seven-year-old motocross rider made his racing debut on the Lake Elsinore TT track.
"We went up there and rolled around for last place," he said.
The novice knew that the other riders had started faster.
"They were gone," he said.
The young rider thought that he was ahead of one racer he saw. Then he discovered that the image was matching his own moves.
"I realized that I was racing my own shadow," he said.
The rider was Ricky Johnson, who would eventually win 64 national-level races sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association including 26 Supercross wins.
Johnson won seven AMA season national championships including two Supercross titles. After a wrist injury ended his motorcycle racing career he switched to four-wheel racing, winning the Cajon Speedway’s Sportsman Stocks season championship in 1995 before an off-road career which included two Baja 1000 victories.
Johnson was inducted into the AMA’s Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2012.
On February 13 Johnson added another Hall of Fame honor, as the San Diego Hall of Champions inducted him into the Breitbard Hall of Fame during the annual Salute to the Champions banquet.
"It just was an honor to be recognized by the people of San Diego," said Johnson, who grew up in El Cajon and now lives in Orange County. "I’m very proud of San Diego, and to be acknowledged by the San Diego Hall of Champions means a lot to me."
The Lake Elsinore TT track closed shortly after Johnson’s debut there, but the experience of racing his own shadow taught Johnson a lesson.
"If I can match the best of me I’m doing good," he said. "No matter how fast you go, how slow you are, you’re always having to beat your own shadow."
The faster Johnson’s shadow went, the faster Johnson went, and Johnson adopted the mentality of racing against the best of himself.
"If I do that then there’s a chance that I can be a real good competitor out there," he said.
Although the last-place finish led to a break from racing for a couple of years, he returned to competition at the Four Corners track in Ramona.
"Once we went pretty much every weekend from then on we were at some motocross track," he said.
AMA Hall of Fame member Don Vesco lived in Murrieta during the last several years of his life but owned a Yamaha dealership in El Cajon during Johnson’s youth.
AMA Hall of Fame rider Broc Glover is also from El Cajon.
"It gave me every opportunity to do what I needed to do," Johnson said of growing up in El Cajon. "San Diego has a great bunch of guys for us to look up to."
Ricky Johnson is unrelated to current stock car racer Jimmie Johnson, although Jimmie Johnson’s father was Ricky Johnson’s mechanic and Ricky Johnson changed Jimmie Johnson’s diapers in the 1970s.
Ricky Johnson is also in Montgomery Middle School’s Hall of Fame.
"I wasn’t exactly a very good student," he said.
He did receive "A" grades in Terry Love’s physical education class.
"The one thing I could do was go fast, and Coach Love encouraged it," Johnson said. "Coaches play a very special role in our lives."
Johnson attended Valhalla High School but did not graduate. He received his AMA pro license when he was 16 and obtained his first national-level win at Carlsbad Raceway when he was 17.
"San Diego was perfect for a guy who wanted to grow up to race motorcycles," he said.
Johnson himself became a father figure to La Mesa’s Edward Muncey, whose own father was killed during a 1981 hydroplane race. In 1982 Bill Muncey became the first motorsports racer to be inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame. Johnson is the second.
"It’s a very motorsports-rich environment, but there’s just been so many other athletes as well," Johnson said of being the first motocross racer inducted.
"This means the world to me," Johnson said of his induction. "This is a great honor to me."
Johnson now teaches driving skills to military personnel during desert training exercises.
Friday, March 7, 2014 at 5:25PM Ever wonder what racing looks like in other parts of the world? Here's a quick look at racing in New Zealand. The Honda boys down under are lucky they have a pretty good teacher in Ben Townley. Take a look.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 7:50PM Motocross News - Fullnoise.com.au
Tyla Rattray Eyes Trentino, Italy Return From Injury
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Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing team’s MXGP rider Tyla Rattray will not participate in this weekend’s GP of Thailand or the upcoming GP of Brazil following surgery today on his injured right hand little finger.
Unable to compete at the FIM Motocross World Championship’s opening GP of Qatar due to severe pain from his broken finger, sustained at round three of the Internazionali d’Italia championship at Montevarchi, Italy, Tyla has successfully gone under the surgeons knife in Belgium having two pins inserted to stabilise the fracture.
Rattray will need to rest for three weeks before he can start any physiotherapy on his finger. Then, if all goes well, Tyla will be able to return to riding soon after as he begins his preparations for a return to the Motocross World Championship, most like round four in Trentino, Italy.
“This is seriously disappointing for everyone, but now I have to focus on getting my finger ready to return to racing." Rattray stated. "We knew my finger was broken after the race in Montevarchi when a rock hit my hand, but I was told by my doctor that I would be ok to race in Qatar.
"I guess that just wasn’t the case. The heavy landings in Losail were hard on my finger. Now I have two pins in the break, so it’s just a matter of time now before I can return to racing.
"I’ve been told that I can't do anything for three weeks, and then I can start my rehab and after that get back on a bike. When I’m ready I’ll then return to racing, hopefully for the first European GP at Arco di Trento," he added.
Rattray's Husqvarna FC350 machine will stay vacant in Thailand with the team being represented by Australian Todd Waters aboard his FC450.
Top Image: Tyla Rattray will miss this weekends race in Thailand.
Credit: Juan Pablo Acevedo
www.Fullnoise.com.au
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 7:40PM If you are from California this is hard to relate to. Just goes to show that guys will find a way to race motorcycles despite a little chill.
The start of the 2014 Fairview Motocross Association Six Hour Ice Race Marathon on March 1 at George Lake, about 20 km northwest of Fairview. The racers go off in groups, fastest machines first.
In spite of bone-numbing cold this past weekend there were still a respectable number of racers at George Lake March 1 for the Six Hour Ice Race marathon put on by the Fairview Motocross Association in partnership with Servus Credit Union.
One lone quad joined the motorcycles in a bid to see how many laps of the course they could do in six hours, all running studded tires to give them traction for both steering and acceleration.
The winning team was #13 Cycle West team with 41 laps they took home $500 donated by Dunvegan Inn and suites for the overall event winner
Average speed was around 80km/hr.
The track was 11.5km long and the fastest lap of the day went to team #170 Team Shrinkage with a time of 8min07sec.
Seventeen teams from across the province braved to cold to race on George Lake.
This race was the last race of the season of the AEIRA series. The event is a 6hr team marathon event.
Fairview Motocross Association spokeman Darian Armstrong said, "Thanks to all the volunteers who helped host the event and to all the sponsors for there support. Servus Credit union, L&J oilfield, Cat oilfield, D&M Contracting, Adventure automotive, Dunvegan Inn & Suites, C-Bone Contracting, GPRC, DC Oilfield, MCF Automation, Fairock oil field, Sivart Oilfield, Town Of Fairview and the MD of Fairview."
Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 12:37PM Vineland Daily Journal
2/26/2014
MILLVILLE — Area motocross riders are being advised to get revved up for a summer opening for Millville’s newest racing attraction.
Field of Dreams, an 85-acre off-road park, will be built across the street from New Jersey Motorsports Park on Buckshutem Road. An opening is planned for late June or early July, officials said Tuesday.
The motorsports park announced a $400,000 land purchase from the city for the motocross facility had been finalized.
Construction is expected to begin immediately and take nearly four months, according to Princeton-based designer Clayton Keeler.
Keeler will manage the construction process and oversee operations once the park opens. Event scheduling will be handled by General Manager Richard Schmidt.
“Our fans have been waiting for this announcement,” motorsports park General Manager Brad Scott said. “They’ve been incredibly supportive, and the Field of Dreams staff is ready to deliver on the plans for a world-class off-road facility.”
There will be three tracks within the facility:
• A 1,700-foot run for beginners.
• A 2,130-foot track for intermediate riders.
• A 1.2-mile track for advanced riders.
The motorsports park said the plans also include a half-mile “straight rhythm” course, but Keeler clarified that has not been finalized yet and said it possibly would not be constructed until sometime after the park opens.
A straight rhythm course has the features of a normal motocross track but is configured in a straight line.
Keeler said he’s glad the land purchase is complete.
“It was a long haul,” he said. “We’re really excited to get things started.”
The park will feature tight, narrow areas for motocross riders and wider areas for riders of all-terrain vehicles.
Individuals who don’t own an off-road vehicle will be able to rent one and train there.
Schmidt said the park already has scheduled a few racing events toward the end of the year, and plans a bigger race schedule for 2015.
Keeler said the park recently became a member of the American Motocross Association, making it eligible to hold amateur, professional and potentially national AMA events.
As far as recreational riding goes, the park will be open to all ages, Keeler said.
He added that he didn’t want to go the same route as the Mount Pleasant State Off-Road Vehicle Park in Woodbine that opened last year.
There, restrictions are in place that require state registration on all vehicles and headlights or taillights on all vehicles.
Riders at the Woodbine park also must be at least 14 years old.
Keeler said none of those regulations will be required at Field of Dreams.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 8:37PM 2014-02-25 16:21
For the second year running, the night sky around the Losail Motocross track, Doha, will be illuminated for the season-opening Motocross GP of Qatar on 28 February – 1 March.
The only night race on the calendar of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the event is also significant in being the first Grand Prix for the newly renamed Team HRC, the Honda works MXGP team formally announced on 7 February 2014 as the next chapter in Honda’s increasing support of world motocross.
As was the case with last season’s opener, the inaugural Motocross GP of Qatar, racing will again take place on Saturday night under the floodlights, as opposed to the usual Sunday afternoon slot. In under a month, Losail will also play host to the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship where the factory Honda team will be flying the Honda and HRC flags as reigning World Champions.
Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev ran well at the sandy Losail circuit last time around, finishing an overall fifth, although teammate Max Nagl’s illness hampered him from the start before a first lap collision restricted him to an 11th place Honda debut.
Bobryshev and Nagl have both enjoyed successful and fruitful off-season programmes with Team HRC in 2014, including extensive testing and development of the 2014 CRF450RW and fitness training at Team GB’s Olympic training base before Christmas.
After a string of podiums last year, including three from the last four rounds for Bobryshev and fourth for Nagl at the Motocross of Nations, the 2014 season is being started from a solid foundation.
Evgeny Bobryshev
"I really like the Qatar track and its design. The ground is good and it's a fun place to ride. I'm excited about the first race because, like the other riders, you don't really know where everyone is with performance until you get to Qatar and start the season. I'm going out a little early to do some training and get used to the hot conditions. The competition will be strong but we've had good preparation over the winter so it'll be interesting. After two months as Team HRC we have a good feeling, a lot of good support and one mission this season."
Max Nagl
“Testing has been very good, we’ve been improving every week, so I’m really pumped for the season and looking forward to going to Qatar. Last year it was a new experience riding under the floodlights, which was a bit difficult, but the biggest problem was the food poisoning I got that really wiped me out. So this season I’ve taken steps to make sure it’s a different situation. I’m feeling good and strong, my training has been good, and the team is working well so I’m feeling positive about Qatar and looking forward to getting the season started.”
Roger Harvey
“The season kicks off early in the year again which has given us a short lead to get everything ready, especially as it’s been a busy period of intense testing and development of the CRF450RWs with the increased support of Honda and Honda Racing Corporation. At this point though you always just look forward to getting started and putting all that testing into practice. Particularly this year too, with the Qatar GP being the first race for Team HRC. Although the true test comes when the racing starts, the early signs of performance from testing have been positive, Max and Bobby are looking strong, and we’ve all gelled well as a team with the arrival of several new engineers from HRC.”
Source: Team HRC
