Another MX Track Reopens

Hungry Horse Moto Cross Back On Track!

Hungry Horse News 4/2/2014

After three years of hard work and labor, the Hungry Horse Motocross track is back in shape and ready to hold races.

Located a mile east of the Hungry Horse Ranger Station below the dam, the track was used by dirt bikes and ATVs from 1980 to 2007. Races in the past have drawn more than 500 riders in 33 events. Many riders consider it one of the toughest in the state.

The track fell into disrepair after the last race there in 2007, but through the work of Jeff Wentzel and the Flathead Dirt Riders Association, a sanctioned race will be held there this spring.

“The track was falling apart, getting degraded,” Wentzel said. “I approached the Forest Service about trying to do some work on it. The Forest Service was kind of apprehensive about it because they didn’t want someone to do some work and just leave it alone. They wanted a club to take care of it and take responsibility for it and do maintenance on a repetitive basis.”

Wentzel started the Flathead Dirt Riders Association and got the work started. Unable to get a state grant for the work, he landed a grant from the Yamaha Motor Co., which paid for not only repair of the current track but helped add a children’s track.

“A lot of smaller bikes, like 50 cc, can’t ride on the bigger track,” Wentzel said. “For less experienced people, too, so they have a place to ride and not get in the way of the more experienced riders if they didn’t want to run side by side.”

To reduce future maintenance costs, the association re-routed the track to improve drainage and prevent erosion. They repaired ruts, cleared rocks and added jumps to return the site to its former glory.

“It was pretty bad,” Wentzel said. “It’s a hilly track. So a lot of the hills had deep ravines. You get the snow runoff. People were circumventing the track and going into the woods on certain parts because it was washed out.”

In certain areas, he said, the track is 15 feet across but riders stuck to a 2-3 foot wide space.

“Then the water — you’d get huge puddles and have to ride around those,” Wentzel said. “With the ’dozer, we were able to make culverts and stuff like that to let it all run off.”

The High Country Motocross Association approached Wentzel this winter about bringing racing back to the track The first race will take place Sunday, May 4.

“Most of the tracks in the state are on flat ground,” Wentzel said. “They’ll bring in dirt and build up jumps and what not. Hungry Horse just follows a natural terrain. There’s a lot of steep uphills and steep downhills. You don’t really have that at a lot of the other tracks. A lot of people say it’s one of the harder tracks to ride — it takes a lot of physical ability.”

“I’m really amped up about it,” Wentzel said. “You go there on a weekend and there’s a dozen or so people on the track. They’re in and out of there all day long. It’s a big deal to the local riding community. They’ve had races for about three decades or so.”

Nanaimo, BC A Great Vacation Spot?

Mike Alessi To Race Canadian Outdoor Motocross Series

By Shan Moore | 3/29/2014 Cycle News

St. Louis, Missouri (March 29, 2014) – Tony Alessi let the cat out of the bag today in St. Louis, basically confirming rumors that Mike Alessi will be racing the Canadian outdoor series, at least for the first race.

According to Alessi, the entire Team SmartTop/MotoConcept team (Mike Alessi and Kyle Cunningham) will race the AMA Motocross opener at Glen Helen, and then regardless of their finish, the team will skip the following week’s round at Hangtown to contest the first round of the Canadian outdoor series in Nanaimo, in Western Canada.

“Glen Helen is Mike’s hometown race, that’s in our back yard, so we’re going to start the summer there, and then we’ll go to Canada and see how it goes,” said Tony Alessi. “After that, we’re going to evaluate our situation and see what’s best for the team and what’s best for the riders.”

Tony Alessi made it very clear that they were not “blocked” from the AMA series. “This is not like we are running away from the AMA series in any way,” Tony Alessi said. “We’re looking for new horizons, new choices, new options.”

Honda Factory Riders Ready For Brazilian Treatment

For round three of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the cream of the crop head to South America this weekend for the MXGP of Brazil.

Held at one of the nation’s largest theme parks, Beto Carrero, it’s a typically Brazilian festival of a grand prix. The Beto Carrero track is unique in that it’s the only event of the year based within a theme park, and the Brazilian passion for sport, in what is a significant sporting year for the nation, makes it a true spectacle.

Following impressive showings in both Qatar and Thailand, Team HRC’s Max Nagl will be looking to build upon his current standing of 2nd overall in this year’s championship riding the Honda CRF450RW.

The young German won the season opener in Qatar and currently lies just shy of championship leader Antonio Cairoli.

“I’ve been doing a little bit of training since Thailand and getting on the bike a bit, but I had pretty long jet lag after the race – for almost the whole week I was really tired." Nagl explained. "But now I’m fine again and looking forward to Brazil.

Last year was already going pretty good there. It’s a nice track with a stadium feeling and a lot of jumps that I like. This year it’s run earlier in the year though during their rain time.

It looks pretty wet out there already, but I hope not too much as it’s really difficult to ride if it’s too wet. But it’s always a fun place to go and the food is really good!”

Evgeny Bobryshev will also be looking to build on a solid start to the season, though his focus in Brazil will be on safely continuing the rehabilitation of his ankle following recent surgery.

"I like the GP of Brazil a lot." Bobryshev admitted. "It’s one of the best runs of the year, and it’s very good for the spectators too. You could call it a Honda event because Honda Brazil put lots of effort into it and the second round in Goiania.

"It’s a very good track for me – the compound and the design. It’s a technical track with lots of good jumps. It’s a busy lap – high speed with big jumps, and it’s really beautiful.

"I really enjoy riding this track. It’s usually very tight between riders with lots in the same second, so the start is very important. I have to get my ankle a bit better but I’ve started to train a little on it with some cycling and swimming.

"But after the operation I feel fine and am really looking forward to getting back on the bike."

The infamous Brazilian weather is set to play a part once again in 2014, particularly as this season the race is held earlier in the year, during the region’s rainy season.


Credit: Honda Racing

Another Track Opening...Sign of the Times?

Buckman motocross track nears opening, to delight of riders

Wednesday, March 26, 2014 5:50 pm 

By Edmundo Carrillo, The New Mexican 

Daniel Coriz loves motocross, and he wants to share that passion with the people of Santa Fe.

The 34-year-old has been riding motorcycles since he was a child, but he often didn’t have a place to ride. That’s why he has spent so much of his free time renovating and maintaining the Buckman Track west of N.M. 599, which is expected to reopen in the next few weeks.

The 55-acre track was carved out by users over the past four decades or so and was largely developed by volunteers such as Coriz, who has helped maintain the track since 2008.

The spot became so popular that the city completed major access improvements as part of its master plan for parks. In October 2012, a “grand opening” celebration marked the completion of more than $450,000 in city spending on a road, parking lot and perimeter fence.

But shortly after the opening, the track was closed because of safety concerns, and Coriz has done everything he could to get it reopened.

Coriz has competed in motocross, arenacross and bicycle motocross — and everything between. As he learned all the ropes, he found it was difficult to ride on a proper track, which is why he is so passionate about Buckman.

“I couldn’t afford to get out to the tracks in Moriarty and Albuquerque,” Coriz said. “That’s why I want to see [Buckman] open to the public, and I hope other places in New Mexico will follow.”

The track is owned by the city, which is rare, according to Coriz. People don’t usually have access to public motocross facilities, and that might entice people who don’t have the resources to ride dirt bikes to give it a try.

“Normally, only your privileged riders are riding tracks,” Coriz said. “For a track like this to be opened to the public is a big deal.”

The track was closed all of 2013 because of liability concerns. The city hired Great Outdoors Consultants out of Fort Collins, Colo., to make the necessary safety changes.

Work on the course is complete; all that’s left to finish are fencing that keeps different lines from intersecting with one another and a spectator area. Once those are done, city officials will meet with Travelers Insurance — the city’s liability policyholder — and the city’s Risk Management and Safety Department to determine if the track is fit to be opened.

While there is no exact date for the relaunch, people can expect the track to be open very soon.

“We are making an effort to finish it before the end of the month,” said Ike Pino, the director of the Public Works Department. “We are very close.”

Once the facility is reopened, it will have to be maintained, and that’s where Coriz steps in again. He doesn’t want Buckman to be like Montessa Park, a public off-road vehicle area in Albuquerque that is not managed regularly.

But maintenance takes a lot of time and money, as well as heavy equipment like loaders and backhoes. Coriz, along with Jason Perdue, the owner of Southwest Motorsport Resource, started a nonprofit called I Ride NM dedicated to maintaining Buckman Track.

In order to gather funds, Coriz and Perdue reached out to different shop owners around town for donations to rent all the necessary equipment.

The duo also needed the manpower to help out with the maintenance, but that wasn’t too hard to find. An army of volunteers has assisted with its own shovels, rakes and other equipment. The heavy equipment is normally used every once in a while to build jumps and other obstacles. Once that is done, the normal maintenance is to remove trash, shovel dirt, rake rocks and take care of other safety issues.

Cyrus Armijo, 21, is one of those volunteers. Like Coriz, he is involved in anything that has two wheels, and he can’t wait for the track to be reopened.

“It’s great because we all have a spot to come together,” Armijo said. “It’s nice to have a place to ride that is legal and has parking. If not, then you have people riding on private land.”

Armijo has been riding bikes since he was 14, and now he specializes in doing stunts. Like any daredevil on two wheels, he has had his share of injuries, including broken bones and concussions. But the real reason Armijo lives on a bike is because of all the camaraderie that comes with riding them.

“It brings people together,” Armijo said. “There’s a lot of fellowship that goes on. It’s more than just being a hooligan on a motorcycle.”

Armijo also said a public motocross track is important because it can keep riders from getting into trouble. A lot of people ride dirt bikes to escape their harsh realities.

“People use motocross as an outlet,” Armijo said. “You’d be surprised how many people who ride motorcycles have problems in their lives. It keeps us from riding in the street and doing drugs and other things that break the law.”

Soon, all of those “hooligans on motorcycles” will have a place to legally ride, just in time for the warmer weather. The track will be open to everyone, but Great Outdoors recommends that all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) do not ride the track due to how narrow it is.

Coriz also recommends that a beginning rider learn on flat terrain before taking on jumps and obstacles.

There's Tough and then There's Kiwi Tough!

Lamont bears the scars of title glory

ANDY MCGECHAN

Here's the short story . . . South Waikato's Kayne Lamont won the MX2 (250cc) title at this season's New Zealand Motocross Championships' final round in Taupo on Saturday.

The long version reads more like a fairytale, though, be warned, it's not for the squeamish.

Lamont and his Husqvarna Red Bull WIL Sport race team arrived at Taupo's fourth and final round of the 2014 New Zealand Motocross Championships with just three more MX2 class races on the programme to wrap up the series, but Lamont actually blessed with more than an entire race win up his sleeve.

The BikesportNZ.com-supported rider had done enough at the previous rounds to amass a massive 38-point advantage over his nearest rival, Dargaville's Hamish Dobbyn (KTM), and so the plan was to wrap up the title on Saturday with two good results in the early part of the day.

Lamont managed fourth and third placings early in the day, but it was a far cry from the convincing hat-trick of wins he'd produced at the previous round at Pukekohe and surely Taupo was his home track wasn't it?

What was wrong? Did it matter?

Those two results were enough for him to seal the MX2 crown for 2014.

However, when he peeled off his race shirt after that all-important second race, he revealed a mass of medical bandaging across his chest and abdomen.

Lamont had kept it very quiet, but he had been on an operating theatre table at Rotorua Hospital just two days earlier, there to undergo key-hole surgery to remove his appendix.

Heavily strapped and dosed up only with aspirin, he withstood the pain to achieve his results on Saturday and then opted out of the series' final battle, that race won instead by Mt Maunganui's Rhys Carter, and Lamont still won the title by 11 points from Dobbyn.

Australian visitor Jay Wilson finished third overall in the MX2 championship, 27 points behind Dobbyn.

The second incredible feature of Lamont's title win is that it signified the Husqvarna brand's first New Zealand title win in 14 years.

Not since Hamilton's Darryll King won the national 250cc title on a Husqvarna in 2000 has the brand finished on top of the podium.

However, the ease with which Lamont won the title this year suggests it might happen a little more frequently in the future, Lamont obviously hoping he can maintain the winning momentum and also enjoy success in Australia this season - the just-crowned New Zealand champion kicking off his 10-round Australian Motocross Championships campaign near Melbourne next weekend.

"I had just finished playing a round of golf on Thursday when I was driving home and had to stop by the road-side and vomit. I went to the doctor and he rushed me to hospital," Lamont explained.

"I was taken straight in for surgery at 9.30pm.

"The doctor said it would be okay for me to ride, so I just had everything strapped up.

"My legs felt like jelly in the second race on Saturday because I was trying to stand up a lot. I had to put a pretty hard pass on Jay Wilson in that race to push through for third place, to ensure I had enough points not to have to ride the final race.

"I went over and apologised to him afterwards for that.

"I was in a lot of pain and really glad I didn't have to endure another 20-minute race."

- © Fairfax NZ News

2 Strokes Thrive in the Off Road World!

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.

Central CA Motocross Draws Huge Crowd!

Porterville Recorder MArch 16, 2014 

MICHAEL LINGBERG

     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.

 

 

 

Benefit Ride Day for Brooke!

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.

Never Too Old To Learn

 In our world today change is constant even when it comes to cleaning your dirt bike.

Another Hall of Fame Honor for RJ

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.