Fly Racing Presents The Hangtown Experience

Vet Motocross Racing in Austalia

Flying past 40: Veteran motocross rider shares lifelong passion for sport ahead of national titles at Murray Bridge

ABC Adelaide   By Brett Williamson

Most people might think at 47 it is time to slow down, but for Gumeracha's John Platt it is time to go full throttle.

Mr Platt was given his first motorcycle at the age of six and began competitive riding shortly after.

Over the years he has finished third in the 1985 Australian titles, represented South Australia and placed in the top 10 riders of the state on many occasions.

"There is a saying in motocross that you will never understand it until you do it," Mr Platt said.

Each weekend Mr Platt races or competes in major meetings, but the Monday mornings have changed over the years.

"Every Monday is a slow day," he said with a laugh.

Few things have come between Mr Platt and his love of the sport, with the financial commitment of starting a family and buying a home sidelining him for a few years and breaking his arm at a Supercross also putting him out of the sport for a year.

"I was never going to not ride again," he said.

"It was just as soon as the doctors would sign the piece of paper to say I could ride I was back on the bike.

"As one of the old fellas from our club says — you always come back."

With the veterans' class including riders aged into their 60s, Mr Platt believes it is a strong feeling of unity that keeps most of the riders coming back.

"We rub a bit of plastic, but we all get along fairly well," he said.

Racing runs in the family

 

Motoring memorabilia hangs on the walls of Mr Platt's shed.

His family lines are rich in drag and motocross racing, with his own family even beginning trackside.

"I met my wife through motocross," he said.

His fellow competitor and brother-in-law's girlfriend introduced the two, and true to form, their son now also races motocross competitively.

"My son stands over six foot and the local footy club wants to know when their ruckman is coming out, but he is just not interested," Mr Platt said.

"From the day he could talk, it was, 'when can I ride a motorbike?'"

Although the top riders can make a living out of riding, Mr Platt said the lifestyle requires strong commitment, both socially and financially, for the family to stay in the sport.

One of my close friends is 61 and travels the world racing motocross — I would love to be in that position.

John Platt

"The reality is the cost of buying parts, entering events, travelling, accommodation — we have taken up tenting to just to save a few extra dollars," he said.

Oil changes that cost up to $40 per litre are required every five hours a bike is ridden.

The pace of the sport and demands on the machinery means it is preferential to replace the entire motorcycle each year at a cost of about $10,000.

"As the bike gets older the maintenance costs go up, so it's a catch 22," Mr Platt said.

Mr Platt also spends several hours in a gym each week to ensure he is as well-maintained as his bike.

"Motocross athletes have heart rates that are up to the end of cyclists in the Tour de France, so your cardiovascular fitness is comparable to the top-end athletes," Mr Platt said.

When asked when he may consider finishing up in the sport, Mr Platt said he hoped to be competing for years to come.

"One of my close friends is 61 and travels the world racing motocross — I would love to be in that position," he said.

"Physically I reckon I could, but I don't know if I could financially.

"I hope to be doing something in years to come, I just don't think I will be doing as fast as I am today."

Mr Platt will compete at the Motocross Nationals in Murray Bridge this weekend.

Ontario Ski Resort Adding Moto!

Motocross trails being developed at ski hill  

By Alan S. Hale, The Daily Press

Tuesday, May 12, 2015 10:22:40 EDT PM

TIMMINS - It may seem a stretch – but the jobs of security personnel at local mining quarries and tailings sites should get a bit easier now that Timmins is getting a motocross track.

The track is being built as a new summer feature of the Kamiskotia Snow Resort.

It will be operated by a local motocross company 705MX.

Neal Neamtu, the owner of 705MX, said having a proper place for motocross will not only give Timmins residents another outdoor activity to enjoy, it should help put an end to the dangerous practice of individuals who take their bikes onto mining sites because there is nowhere else to go.

“We want to get the kids off the streets, out of the pits and off the mining properties,” said Neamtu. “They’re always excavating, and it’s dangerous,” said Neamtu. “We want to get the kids out of there and into a controlled riding environment where everyone is going the same direction in a safe manner.”

Neamtu has been trying to establish a competition-level motocross track in Timmins for almost a decade, but has never seen his project come to fruition.

When he proposed the idea to Kamiskotia last summer, they leapt at the chance.

Monique Koski, who has been appointed as the project’s director by Kamiskotia, a motocross track fits perfectly with the resort’s long-term goals.

“Kamiskotia has always wanted to be a four-season resort,” she said. “It’s always been one of our action items to have something happening here in the summer time. We were approached by Neil, saying he would like a location for a track, and we thought it was a no-brainer. We already have facilities with the restaurant, the bar, the bathrooms and we have the property. So it was just a matter of getting permission.”

After some bureaucratic wrangling, the ski hill received permission from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to log a 10-hectare plot on their property located just off the main road leading up to the ski lodge. Local logging company DeBastos & Sons donated their equipment and personnel for the job.

Presently, most of the future site of the track has been cleared of trees, and Borèal Collége has agreed to bring in some of their forestry students to remove the stumps once logging is complete. But before they can start to build the track, they will need another round of permits from the MNRF, and no one is sure how long that process will take.

Neamtu said he envisions a track that will be the envy of the rest of the province.

“The plan is to have the one of the best – if not the best – track in Ontario,” he said. “There will be all the regular elements such as doubles, triples, tabletops, and we hope to bring enough material in to build some nice big berms. We’ll be providing some nice racing and practising areas so kids can fine-tune their skills, and parents can come out, watch and have a coffee.”

Plans for the track also include a motocross school, and Neamtu’s welding company will be fabricating a bank of bleachers for spectators.

Once the track is complete, the Kamiskotia plans to get it certified by the Canadian Motocross Racing Corporation, which will allow it to host sanctioned racing events.

Because of the uncertainty in the required permitting process, there is no opening date set for the new track, but Kamiskotia hopes construction will be complete by the end of the summer.

McQueen...Six Days...Too Cool

Snapshot, 1964: For me, it’s raining Motocross trophies

In September 1964, Steve McQueen travels to Erfurt for the Motocross World Championships to take part in the ‘International Six Days Trial’. But the Hollywood star seems to be quite unhappy with the rather damp East German weather. Is the ‘King of cool’ asking for assistance from above?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Hollywood icon, one thing you can’t control is the weather. Even a realist like McQueen, must look to the heavens to ask for dry weather. We know from first hand accounts that for the first two days of the Erfurt trial, it rained heavily. Although more used to dry, desert conditions, the rain didn’t seem to affect McQueen’s team of fellow American riders including Cliff Coleman, Bud Ekins and brother Dave Ekins too much, for they were leading their class at the end of the second day. Sadly and quite ironically, the team were eliminated on the third day following a spate of crashes and mechanical failures, once the rain had stopped. Coleman and Dave Ekins continued to ride for an individual Gold Medal however, which they both achieved.

41st Fools Gold Enduro

I think I’ve said this before but I rode in and wrote an article for a long gone dirt bike magazine for the 3^rd annual Fools Gold Enduro.

Well, I rode in and I’m writing an article for the 41^st   version held May 3^rd in the OHV riding area outside of Georgetown. One of the neat things about riding this event is you get to ride some trails you normally don’t ride. With the help and cooperation of the Forest Service they open up what’s called event only trails. There aren’t a whole lot of them but they are a welcome relief from the normal beat up trails you ride on.

The weather was just about perfect from a temperature stand point. Even though it had rained about three inches the week before the event it was dusty to very dusty in some places. But some of the trails were just about perfect something we wouldn’t have had without the rain. The club also helped out by having only two riders per row, at least that’s how it was with the “A” riders.

I enjoyed the course layout, it is what it is, well used beat up trails for the most part. You can  ride this event for years and they always put you through some of the same sections, some are very gnarly and for those of us who know the area we know what’s coming.

It’s been a few years since I’ve ridden this event and I don’t remember the last time I rode through what could be called the Manzanita tunnels. Anyone who has ever hit a Manzanita bush knows the last thing you want to do is even touch one of those things, so riding through tunnels of them is a little intimidating.

 It seemed to me there was a lot of friendly looking, but official looking people out there at various places on the trail not sure what that was all about. The gas check had water for all of us to enjoy and even had an EMT station that unfortunately looked busy.

For us older slower riders it seemed like we didn’t do a whole lot of time keeping in that you didn’t ride for miles just putting a long time keeping. Most of these events are set up to challenge the top “AA” riders who can zero a lot of the checks that we mere mortals can’t. But that’s the way it is, the club had free time in places that allowed you to get back on time just in time to test you again. Here we go, but in the old days it seemed to me the clubs didn’t do that as much and you just continued to carry and add to being late.

I ping ponged off a couple of trees just before the last gas check that sort of detuned me for the rest of the event and I’m pretty sore as I write this. But I enjoyed it, but also remember why I don’t ride these events much anymore, five and a half hours on a motorcycle is more than my prostrate can handle.

As I was writing this I realized I didn’t have time during the event to talk with my friend Pete whose minute I was on and the reason I rode this event. Usually, not always you’ll have enough time to talk about a particular section you just rode through, sort of a mini bench racing session while still on the trail. In some of the sections where we were late enough the free time barely allowed us enough time to clean goggles, take a leak or have a quick snack let alone talk about the last section and the big rock, log, or branch that almost got you.

The results for the enduro on Sunday were just posted today (Tuesday) which is very fast for an enduro. I was anxious to see how I did for several reasons, one I knew I was the oldest rider out there and even though I wasn’t competing in the same class as my friend Pete and John I wanted to see how well I fared against them and everyone else for that matter. I won my class, but I was the only one in it so all I basically had to do was finish but how did I do against them. Well they both beat me, well actually no I beat myself, I had left them (My time keepers) behind and like a dummy rode into probably the easiest check of the eleven checks to zero three minutes early and promptly lost twelve points for being early. Two points for the first minute and five points for every minute after that. Enduro’s are full of I could have done this if only I had done that stories and my story is the same. I could have won the sixty “A” class and finished 41^st overall out of the 122 of us who started, but instead I ended up 54^th overall still not bad for an old man. I’m happy with that.

Doug 21J

5 of the biggest bike races where you can join in

Ahead of Red Bull Knock Out, the biggest beach race ever seen, here’s more motorcycle madness.

Date 30 April 2015AuthorJoseph Caron Dawe

If you're into mass participation motorcycle races that deliver adrenaline, hundreds of enthusiastic competitors, and an unforgettable event experience, then you might want to start making plans for a trip to the Netherlands this coming November.

That's when Red Bull Knockout returns to Scheveningen in The Hague for an event that will redefine the very nature of what it means to race big.

Billed as the largest and toughest motocross beach race in the world Red Bull.com  has decided to get you in the mood for it by running down five mass participation motorcycle events that don't just get the crowd going, but riding too!

© Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool

1. Erzbergrodeo 

Run every June up a mountain known as the 'Iron Giant' in Austria, and billed as "four days of full throttle", the Erzbergrodeo delivers a heady mix of motorcycle chaos and party atmosphere. Around 1,500 participants take part in the Iron Road Prolog, with just 500 making the cut for the showcase Red Bull Hare Scramblehard enduro. Of those, only a handful make the finish-line, in a race against the clock.

Ready for action at Erzbergrodeo© Jean-Christophe Dupasquier/Red Bull Content Pool

2. Bonneville Speed Week

The Bonneville Salt Flats – and Speed Week – have gained global recognition and fame as a breath-taking setting and event thanks to its 30,000 acres of stretching salt plains. The flats have been hosting land speed record attempts since the end of the 19th Century, and participants are attracted from around the world to take part. The motorcycle speed trials have provided some eye-watering top speeds through the years.

© Nuri Yilmazer/Red Bull Content Poo

3. Hangtown Classic

The longest running motocross outdoor national in the United States, the Hangtown Classic is a festival of motocross. It's the opening round of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, but it's not just for the big guns. A range of amateur categories make the weekend a veritable feast of MX action and downright fun, with tens of thousands of fans and riders turning up for a memorable experience.

 James Stewart throwing down at Hangtown© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool

4. Weston Beach Race

Now into its fourth decade, the Weston Beach Race brings an estimated 100,000 spectators to the west coast of England for a spectacle to behold. Hundreds of competitors of all ages take part in categorised races, with the main adult solo event attracting some of the UK's top motocross and enduro names. Last year's winner was MXGP World Championship rider Shaun Simpson.

Things getting messy at Enduropale© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

5. Enduropale du Touquet

Just under 2000 riders from 20 countries, and around 200,000 spectators turn out in force each January on the north-west French coast for the mother of all beach races. Wet sand flies, pile-ups happen, and elbows are out as riders fight for positions. It all started back in 1975, when Dakar founder Thierry Sabine launched the Enduropale, and it's gone from strength-to-strength every year ever since.

Things getting messy at Enduropale© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

If you're revved up and ready to race, you can enter Red Bull Knockout now.

Max Nagl Taking MXGP by surprise

No one predicted Max Nagl would take MXGP by storm in 2015. He reveals what life is like at the top.

 May 1, 2015 Author Paul Keith

The 2015 MXGP world championship was supposed to be a clash of titans as Tony Cairoli squared off with Ryan Villopoto. The scene was set for a magnificent showdown, only someone forgot to tell Max Nagl

The German has been the surprise package so far and at the MXGP of Europe in Valkenswaard, Holland, the Ice One Racing star took the lead in the MXGP championship. We caught up with Max Nagl to get to know the man behind the helmet…

You’re at the elite level of MotoX, how has your life changed?
It changes your life in a nice way. You’re a bit more relax because you’re less stressed, but you are more motivated to train even harder to maintain your level. It’s a good feeling.

If you had to thank one person for helping you get where you are, who would it be?
First of all, my dad because he started it all. Then Stefan Everts, he gave me a lot of advice when I was young. He is just a great person. I’d still like to train with him but I’m now in a different team. Yes, he is just a great person who helped me a lot in the past.

Do you have an ambition you have yet to fulfil?
Well, winning the world title either this year or the next. That’s the plan!

You’re on a high right now but your MotoX career has had its setbacks as well. What was your lowest point?
I injured my back in 2011 and almost had to give up motocross. To stop doing my sport would have been really hard. I was in bed for weeks and almost couldn’t move. But in this sport you have to be really strong mentally. I realized that you should never give up. You have to fight to keep doing what you want to do. So I kept on fighting now I’m back. 

If you had the time to take up a new hobby, what would it be?
Car racing. I really love it. When I stop racing in motocross, and I don’t know when that will be, I want to start racing cars. Even now, when I get a bit of free time, I like to play with RC cars.

What is more important – money or glory?
In my sport? Glory!

What items do you pack in your bag every time you head off to a race?
Comics, I read comics books. And loads of photos of my son.

What do you do to recover from a race and prepare for the next meet?
There’s not much time off from one MXGP to the next. Firstly I just try to recover which takes three or four days. I’ll stick to cycling until Wednesdays, when I get back on the motorcycle. On Thursday you usually have to travel to the next Grand Prix. I also really like trials riding on a motorcycle. So if I have any free time, I like to do that.

What’s the best thing about training?
Coming home after a good day’s training, especially when the weather is good and the track is in good shape. You can’t beat that feeling.

What’s the best circuit you've ridden?
Bellpuig, I like it a lot. It’s great. It’s a shame it’s not in the GP calendar anymore.

What always makes you happy?
A good result always makes you happy. It’s even better if you all get to the podium as a team. That way, everybody’s happy.

Rockingham County May Change Rules for Motocross Courses

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) -- Motocross is a widely popular sport here in the Valley.

But if you have a course, even in your own private property, you might soon be required to ask for a special use permit.

It's all a part of a new ordinance introduced to the Rockingham County Planning Commission.

"Motocross is all I've known, ever since I was 4 or 5 years old. So the sport means everything to me. It's my whole life," explained Issac Harper.

It isn't the most quiet of sports, which is why neighbors are complaining to the county government and hoping to make it harder for tracks to exist by requiring a special use permit.

"We pay taxes on this land, I believe that we have the right to do what we please within reason," continued Harper. "You always want to be respectful of your neighbors, which we have been doing for 14 years since we've had the track."

The worries extend further than private, home property.

"It's going to definitely impact our business when customers come in to buy something like that but yet they have no where locally that they can ride it and enjoy it," explained Carter Wood, the co-owner of Blue Ridge Powersports.

Isaac said he's always civilly worked out complaints with his neighbors face-to-face since motocross isn't something he can stop.

For Isaac and other motocross enthusiasts, they're going to fight for the right to ride.

"The motorcross community as a whole is not going to let them just walk over us. We're going to stand up for what we believe is right and motorcross. I don't see anything we're doing wrong," said Isaac. "We're not just going to lay over and let them take this."

Isaac will attend the planning commission's public hearing on Tuesday to discuss his concerns.

© Copyright 2015 WHSV / Gray Television Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Legends and Heroes Tour to Salute Roger DeCoster

Legends and Heroes Tour Press Release:

The list of motocross racing heroes is long and storied, but no other rider can match the lifetime of success quite like “The Man” himself, Roger DeCoster. As a racer, team manager and guiding light the U.S. Motocross of Nations effort, DeCoster has been “the man” at the forefront of motocross for more than half a century! The Legends & Heroes Tour salutes The Man at the Monster Energy Supercross season finale in Las Vegas Saturday, May 2, 2015 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

From his earliest days as an amateur 50cc class racer near his home in Uccle, Belgium, and continuing for more than half a century, DeCoster has exemplified the true essence of the word “Champion.” His spectacular professional career resulted in five World Motocross titles and 36 premiere class 500cc victories. DeCoster also credited with increasing the popularity of motocross in America by coming to the U.S. to compete in the Trans-AMA Series, which pitted the best American riders against the top Europeans.

He won the Trans-AMA title four years in a row (1974-1977), cementing himself as “The Man” for a legion of America fans. Later, his ABC-televised appearances at the Carlsbad USGP were legendary (although he never won Carlsbad). Despite a USGP win eluding him, he did cap off his racing career characteristically by winning his final 500cc GP at Luxembourg in 1980.

However it was after 1980 that DeCoster’s legend really grew! As a team manager for the Honda,Suzuki and KTM factory teams, he’s worked with and inspired the careers of many top names including Carmichael, Bailey, Johnson, O’Mara and every Trophee and MX des Nations team since the early 1980s. In 2015, he led Team Red Bull KTM riders Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin to their own 2015 Monster Energy Supercross titles. There remains no question  when Roger DeCoster is on duty, winning is in the air!

Saturday evening during a special pre-race ceremony on the Monster Energy Supercross Podium Roger DeCoster will be presented with the Legends & Heroes award and personally monogrammed Rockwell timepiece.

For more information: www.legendsandheroestour.org

Fly Racing At VCGP

Fly Racing gives you an up close look at one of the more grueling cross country races in the west...the Virginia City GP. This race is lengendary and has been around for many years. VCGP always draws a big crowd. The racing is always intense and so is the post race party.