Tuesday, October 31, 2023 at 12:56PM 
Wednesday, November 1st 2pm-8pm
Thursday, November 2nd 8am-8pm
Friday, November 3rd 6am-9pm
Saturday, November 4th 5:30am-9pm
Sunday, November 5th 5:30am-6pm
Sunday, October 29, 2023 at 8:52PM Team HRC completes a successful competitive debut for the CR ELECTRIC PROTO in Japanese Motocross
After a successful qualifying run yesterday, Sunday’s race day brought mixed fortunes for Team HRC but a race-leading demonstration of pace of the new CR ELECTRIC PROTO.
In the morning’s practice, Trey Canard followed on seamlessly from his Saturday pace to go second fastest on the all-electric #41, making its global competitive debut this weekend.
Then came the first ever race for Honda’s new prototype machine, in the form of JMX Rd.8 Heat 1. The opening race was smooth, with Canard starting strongly, settling into a rhythm and crossing the line second aboard the CR ELECTRIC PROTO. As learning, development and ultimately the pace continued to improve throughout the weekend, Canard closed to just 0.7s off the fastest lap and was looking fast.
In the second heat, Canard again started well and looked to be set to keep building on the weekend’s momentum, but an early crash with heat 1 rival Jay Wilson unfortunately ruled him out of the race.
Returning for the third heat, Canard made best use of the Honda’s instant electric torque and again started strongly, taking the lead exiting the first corner. In fact, Canard took two of the three holeshots on CR ELECTRIC PROTO.
Starting to stretch that lead from his weekend-long rival, the #27 of Wilson, it would have been the perfect culmination of the weekend’s learning and work on the CR ELECTRIC PROTO to take the machine’s first win in its first ever competitive weekend - but unfortunately, as the track continued to get ever more rutted, Canard crashed with 12 and a half minutes remaining of the 15-minute race.
Nonetheless, with the opportunity provided by racing to learn, develop and prove the prototype machine in the heat of battle for the first time, it has been a successful and encouraging debut for the CR ELECTRIC PROTO - a weekend which has provided valuable data for ongoing development of Honda’s all-electric motocross initiative.
Trey Canard, no.41 CR ELECTRIC PROTO
“This weekend was definitely a big challenge for me but it was a great race for our development. Each time I was on the track we improved the motorcycle and the CR ELECTRIC PROTO team adapted to the challenge.
“We had some shines of brilliance as a team, the starts being one of them with two of the three holeshots. There were also some sections on the track that were very impressive and that makes me excited for the future of this motorcycle.
“I’m disappointed to not finish all of the motos after all of the hard work the team has put in but I think we showed that the potential of the bike is quite high especially for our very first attempt at racing. I’m grateful to be a part of this effort and I’m very proud of each and every person who has worked so hard.”
Taichi Honda, Team HRC Team Manager
“First of all, I would like to thank the development team and everyone involved for preparing the CR ELECTRIC PROTO to be ready for competition in such a short time.
“I would also like to thank Trey Canard for showing his potential even though he has only had a few tests.
“We had three heats for the first time today and we will take what we learnt from each race and feed it back to the ongoing development of the CR ELECTRIC project.”
Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 5:01PM 
Honda press release
Team HRC’s Trey Canard got the Honda CR ELECTRIC PROTO off to a flying start at the opening day of Round 8 of the All Japan Motocross Championship 2023 at Off-Road Village, Saitama. This is Honda’s first participation in an official race with an electric motorcycle.
Making a wildcard appearance in the premier IA1 category of the series, performing in the heat of competition for the first time, Honda’s electric prototype off-road machine proved fast in both of today’s sessions.
In the opening official practice, Canard, who currently serves as team advisor for American Honda Motor Co. Inc., set the second fastest time of the session aboard the number 41 machine and finished second overall just behind multiple champion Jay Wilson.
In the afternoon’s qualifying race, Canard crossed the line in fifth, wrapping up a successful debut day for the CR ELECTRIC PROTO and giving him a good gate pick to carry that momentum into tomorrow’s three race heats.
Trey Canard, no.41 CR ELECTRIC PROTO
“It was a good day overall. I didn’t really know where I or the bike stacked up. I was happy to have a good lap time in practice one and a good start in the qualifying race from pick 24 which has given us a better pick for tomorrow’s races.
“There are some areas I can improve with my riding for tomorrow and we will adjust the bike to fit the track better as well. It’s exciting to race the CR ELECTRIC PROTO, and I believe it will really help the development of the machine. It’s also fun for me to be back racing after a long time away from the starting gate.
“The development team has done a great job adapting the bike in the last month and it’s been a very fun process.”
Taichi Honda, Team HRC Team Manager
“I am very happy that we were able to complete today’s competitive debut of the CR ELECTRIC PROTO without any problems, and that we could see that the bike’s performance is strong. It’s Honda’s first major competitive outing for an electric machine so we are very pleased for this milestone in bringing another new Honda initiative to the world stage.
“Today’s running revealed some small issues, which is normal for such a prototype machine, and we will adopt countermeasures for tomorrow’s races. It’s a valuable part of testing and learning in such a competitive environment, which is our main objective from this weekend.
“I would like to thank all the people involved in this project for their cooperation and hard work. The opportunity to learn and develop with the CR ELECTRIC PROTO is more important than outright results this weekend, but today the performance was strong, the results were good and we are looking forward to more track time in the heats tomorrow.”
Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 3:53PM The Big Four is no more! The motocross market place has grown and you don’t even have to cut the explosion of electric bikes to discover that lots of manufacturers wants to be in the motocross market—just not many Japanese companies. As for the Big Four, it is likely that in the next year or two that will jump to the Big Nine—all of the new editions from European (if you don’t look into where they are actually made). That list has now grown bigger than the Big Four and includes KTM, GasGas, Husqvarna, Triumph, Ducati, TM and Beta. It is an exciting time to be a motocrossers as Honda will have Trey Canard race their electric CRF in the All-Japan Championship this weekend and 2023 World Champion Jorge Prado flew to the USA to try out Supercross for a possible move to SoCal in 2025.
Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 1:58PM The Chain Gauge ensures that you are within spec in seconds thanks to a Minimum/Maximum measurement specific to your bikes Make/Model all in one essential tool.
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 1:57PM
KTM has won five of the last nine 450SX titles, so why is this a new challenge?
It was on October 07, 2011, that Red Bull KTM Factory Racing announced the acquisition of Ryan Dungey and embarked on a mountainous challenge in the United States, as they attempted to move from obscurity to prominence and exposed themselves. The signature amended the trajectory of the manufacturer to the point where no such questions exist.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing is arguably the preeminent race team in North America. Is it asinine to think that reaching the pinnacle of the sport with Dungey was, in fact, not their biggest test and that is yet to come? The concept behind this line of thinking is simple: Dungey was not expected to win a championship outright nor would he have been criticized for going winless. It is critical to remember that Dungey claimed one supercross win in his final foray aboard the RM-Z450 and so the bar was not extremely high in 2012. Expectations had already crashed since his maiden title in his rookie season.
It is often stated that Dungey had inked that deal with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing before 2011 Monster Energy Supercross had even begun, or his intent was clear at the very least. The way that the season that preceded the partnership transpired would have taken some of the edge off of those in 'orange' – it would be easier to appease the naysayers. That was done effectively, of course, as Dungey clinched twenty-eight indoor victories on the KTM 450 SX-F and won three titles once Ryan Villopoto vacated the championship. The partnership made the manufacturer desirable to free agents at the very highest level.
Cooper Webb made sure that KTM could count on more Monster Energy Supercross success, as he claimed two 450SX titles and twenty-one wins across his tenure. It is quite easy to forget that the acquisition was not earth shattering at the time: Webb was floundering in the premier division and not considered a threat for a championship at that point in time. The two years that he spent with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing caused his value to plummet from where it was when he moved up from the regional series as a two-time champion.
Simon Cudby
It was on October 07, 2023, that Red Bull KTM Factory Racing announced the acquisition of Chase Sexton. The multi-year contract ensures that he will be poised to deliver more championships to the Pierer Mobility Group and add to KTM's five 450SX crowns. That will be the immediate expectation of their new hire and that, dear friends, is not something that the squad has incurred in the United States. To put it simply, this is the first time that they will waltz into a new Monster Energy Supercross season with a new athlete and be expected to deliver in their first attempt.
Is it feasible that this will therefore be a more substantial test than what the manufacturer has encountered in previous seasons? Sexton was simply phenomenal indoors this year. There are so many adjectives that could be used to describe his seventeen rounds: exceptional, extraordinary, magnificent and the list goes on. The fact that he finished as the champion was simply the cherry atop the cake. It was his raw pace in practice that caused jaws to drop, as well as his ability to sprint away from previous champions that were hot on his heels.
Maintaining that level is all that will be considered adequate. Sexton has proven how high his glass ceiling is and if, for whatever reason, he fails to reach that next year then blame will fall on Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, rightly or wrongly. Matching the way that he has performed will be deemed 'passable' – even the smallest of dips will be judged harshly. There is simply no doubt that passersby will be analyzing the way that he dances around the track inside of Angel Stadium as soon as practice starts. The argument will be that such an occurrence is not uncommon at the opener. This, however, will be different.
Dungey had won a single 450SX race in the year prior to his freshman term aboard that KTM 450 SX-F and Webb had never won at the highest level, as mentioned above. Sexton enters his 'orange' debut with six wins last year alone and, of course, that boisterous number one plate speaks for itself.
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 11:17AM
The Bologna based manufacturer has been working for two years on a prototype that will make its debut next season in the Italian Motocross Championship, with the aim of validating the technical solutions made on the bike on the track. This strategy confirms the approach that distinguishes Ducati in the development of its sportiest and most high-performance models, i.e. starting from racing competition and then creating series products capable of exceptional performance for the delight of its enthusiasts.
This is a multi-year project that will see the creation of a complete range of off-road engines and motorcycles. The models will gradually become part of a family of knobby motorcycles branded Ducati, starting with motocross.
The Bologna-based company has signed an agreement with nine-time Motocross World Champion Antonio Cairoli as a high-performance test rider for the new project and, thanks to his talent, speed and experience, he will give important input for the development of the new motorcycle.
“I am proud to announce Ducati's entry into Motocross. A totally new world for Ducati in which we want to bring our talent in designing lightweight motorcycles, with excellent components and high performance and - above all - which can excite more and more motorcyclists. Just as we believe that the track is the best laboratory to develop and test the bikes that will then be available to customers and enthusiasts. This is why we have decided to cooperate with an undisputed champion like Tony Cairoli who, together with the passion and dedication of many of us here in Borgo Panigale, will contribute to making Ducati in off-road as capable in offering very high-performance products to its passionate customers as we have proven on the asphalt. The project is possible thanks to the company's excellent results in recent years and confirms our desire to extend our presence into new worlds, speak to new motorcyclists and therefore grow the Ducati Community.”
“I am extremely happy to become part of the universe of Ducati, which has always been a symbol of Italian spirit throughout the world, and to begin this exciting new adventure, in an all-Italian project. Being able to make my contribution to the development of the Borgo Panigale motocross bike is a dream come true and a source of great pride for me.”
Ducati has also signed a multi-year agreement with Maddii Racing, one of the most experienced teams in the motocross paddock, which will be the reference structure for the MX racing activities and will take part in the 2024 Italian Motocross Championship with Alessandro Lupino, eight-time Italian Champion and 2021 MXoN winner, also contracted to Ducati as racing and test rider.
The focus of the Ducati off-road project is a combination of the search for lightness pushed to the extreme, top-of-the-line components and engines characterized by a very broad power delivery curve. The latter is obtained thanks to the use of the Desmodromic system, used on all the sports bikes of the Bologna based company starting from MotoGP. Ducati is in fact the only company in the world that uses the same valve return system on its highest performing production motorcycles as it does on racing prototypes.
Entering the specialist off-road sector represents a very important and challenging strategic choice for Ducati, made possible thanks to the excellent results achieved in recent years. A decision that confirms the desire to expand the brand's presence into unexplored terrain today. New young motorcyclists will be able to get close to the Borgo Panigale brand and thus enter the large community of Ducatisti.
Performance is one of the three core values of the brand, together with Style and Sophistication. In Borgo Panigale there are many off-road lovers and we can't wait to see the Desmo in all its potential at work off the asphalt!
#Ducati
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 11:13AM
A long, fruitful collaboration comes to an end this year as KTM and Tony Cairoli will separate to pursue new professional goals for 2024.
The Sicilian joined Red Bull KTM Factory Racing late in 2009 and made an immediate impact in his first season in 2010; winning the MX1 (now ‘MXGP’) title with the KTM 350 SX-F and then added a further four crowns consecutively. He then claimed the 2017 championship with the KTM 450 SX-F and has been a popular ambassador for the squad, the company and the sport for twelve years and to his Grand Prix retirement at the end of 2021.
Tony transitioned into a Team Manager role for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for 2023 and has now decided to take his post-racing career in a different direction.
KTM and everyone at the Pierer Mobility Group wish to thank Tony for his energy and his excellence and for the unforgettable motocross memories.
