[News]

Throwdown No.84 – FMX to new heights

12 years ago

What’s this “Throwdown”? It’s a digital home for rumour, fact and innuendo, delivered on a weekly basis. Covering a broad spectrum of the off-road world’s news, the Throwdown will touch on everything from racing to trailriding; from industry tidbits to issues facing the sport. It’s about delivering you timely information all in one place so you don’t have to scour the internet looking for it.


MX/SX

Todd Waters went on to win the opening round of the NSW MX Championship. Pic: iKapture

Don’t be quick to discount Suzuki’s Todd Waters for the national motocross title this year. Last weekend, Waters won the opening round of the NSW MX Championship at Moree, beating MX heavy-hitters Jay Marmont, Jake Moss, Tye Simmonds and Craig Anderson in the 450cc class. Remember, back in 2010, Waters convincingly led the 450cc class at the MX Nats, relinquishing the series lead only when he busted his collarbone in a mid-season crash at Toowoomba. Check out the full report and results from the weekend’s action.

Round 2 of the NSW Motocross Championship will take place at Lake Macquarie on June 9-11, with the final at Coonabarabran’s Goanna tracks on July 6-8.

Townley will line-up and race the Coonabarabran MX Nationals

The Monster Energy MX Nationals heads to Coonabarabran’s Goanna Tracks this weekend for Round 2 of the series. With the announcement that Ben Townley is heading to the US to race for TwoTwo Motorsports in the Outdoors, many speculated that his Conondale performance would be his lone Australian appearance. However, Carlton Dry Honda has confirmed this week that BT will line up at the Coonabarabran round.

Alongside the pros at the MX Nats this weekend will be the Veterans motocross class and the ATV competitors. This will be the first of two rounds for the Vets, with the class split into Over 30 and Over 40. As for the ATVs, the three-round series will be held at two rounds of the motocross nationals, while the final ATV round will be a standalone event.

Heading into the second round of the MX Nationals, JDR Motorsports’ Ryan Marmont will look to better his 12th place finish at the opening round of the season in the Pro Lites class. The question is, has Marmont recuperated from his wrist injury sustained pre-season? It was still affecting him at Round 1 and with only a two week break between rounds it’s still likely to be plaguing his performance.

JDR have confirmed that Marmont’s teammate, Brenden Harrison, will again sit out this weekend after undergoing surgery last month to remove a screw from his femur/hip. He’s expected to return to racing for Round 3 of the Nationals.

Here’s a fun fact: with four races still remaining in the AMA Supercross, there have only been five racers who’ve been consistent week-in week-out and qualified for the main event. The Supercross champion, Ryan Villopoto, third-in-the-class, Davi Millsaps, Australia’s Brett Metcalfe, KTM’s Mike Alessi and 12th-in-the-points, Kyle Chisholm.

After making his 200th career start at the Atlanta supercross, Kevin Windham’s 102nd consecutive start streak ended when he crashed in his heat race and was unable to race the main event.

Enduro

Price hit this track up in the US this week.

Motorex KTM Off-Road’s Toby Price has flown over to the US to race Round 4 of the GNCC this weekend at Union, South Carolina. Turns out the airline lost his suspension on the way over there. We haven’t confirmed if he got it back but he’s since posted ride shots. In any case, good luck this weekend, Toby!

The Great Australian Ride’s Stuart Ball is at it again and will make the epic journey from Byron Bay, NSW, to Steep Point, WA, on August 4, 2012. Once again raising money for the Children’s Health Foundation, Ball has invited fellow adventures to join him. For more details get onto his Facebook page.

CPW KTM’s Matt Fish finished in 9th Outright at the first round of the World Rally Raid Championship held in Dubai. Fish turned heads with the factory teams during the five-day event after finishing Day 4 in fourth Outright. Fish had some small mechanical issues during the rally that set him back and also suffered from seasickness while navigating the dunes during Leg 1 – a problem that apparently happens to a lot of first timers – but some anti-seasickness pills resolved the issue. Fish will stay in the Middle East and head to Qatar for Round 2 of the championship.

We’ve released the updated competitor information pack for the April 21/22 Transmoto 12-Hour, presented by Insure My Ride. Click to download.

Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing’s Ben Grabham has broken his wrist, shoulder and three vertebra after a high-speed crash with a kangaroo during the Condo 750 over the Easter long weekend. There’s no permanent damage but he’s expected to be off the bike for a number of months.

Todd Smith won the Condo 750 over the Easter long weekend. Pic: Ross Briggs

Speaking of the Condo 750, reigning Australasian Safari champion, Todd Smith, won the event, followed by Shane Diener and brother, Jake Smith. Looks like the two brothers are hot for a podium finish at the Finke, and with doubts about reigning champ, Ben Grabham, recovering in time, we might just see a Honda reclaim the crown!

Live in Sydney and thinking about buying the 2012 Yamaha WR450F? Book a 30-minute ride with TeamMoto Blacktown and get down to the Clarence MX Track on April 29 to try the WR-F out. All test riders must pre-register by calling (02) 9421 0675.

FMX

The opening round of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour kicks off in Dubai this week. Taking place on Jumeirah Beach in front of Dubai’s breathtaking skyline, the world’s best FMX riders will be chasing $1 million in prize money this season. The Spaniard, Dany Torres, is the favourite to win but expect Aussie, Josh Sheehan and Robbie Maddison, to have something to say about that. And let’s not forget about the 2009/10 champion, Nate Adams, and Norwegian, Andre Villa. And to get you excited about the opening round we leave you with this spectacular shot of Torres on a helipad 828-metres above sea level:

That’s a long way down…

Round 1 of the 2012 Underground FMX Championship takes place on May 26 at the Precise FMX Compound at Mt Jukes in Mackay, Qld. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for kids, with a fully catered licensed bar. Gates open at 9am with the main event at 11am. For more info call (07) 4953 5353.

Hart and Huntington have announced a new member to their FMX crew: Dean ‘Matho’ Matheson. The H&H crew were down at Matho’s complex a few weeks back with Luke Urek, Brodie Markham and Chris Camilleri doing some freestyle. Check it:

Industry

Dunlop unveiled the all-new Geomax MX11F front wheel sand tyre at Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, over the weekend. Honda World Motocross’ Rui Goncalves and Evgeny Bobryshev both played critical roles throughout the testing process, giving feedback to Dunlop’s engineers for the last 18-months to refine the product. The tyre is available in Australia now and can be bought through Monza Imports.

Queensland-based company, A-One Accessory Imports, will take over Cycle Products West’s (CPW) wholesale business. The move leaves CPW’s Don Macgrath to focus on specialist rally parts manufacturing and his retail outlet at Bibra Lake, WA.

Facebook has been consumed all week by a bloke now widely regarded as the king of the goon riders; Ronnie Mac. The “Goon GOAT”! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3VI0gvfYxY

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has released figures for the first quarter of 2012. It shows that off-road sales have increased by 8.7% to 7,489 units while the total motorcycle sales for the quarter were up 9.7% to 25,526 units. Take a look at the top 10 off-road model sales figures and the manufacture sales breakdown.

Kawasaki Australia has announced $1000 Ka$h Back with any purchase of a new KLX450R until May 31.

Ray Owen receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Broadford Bike Bonanza

Motocross doyen, Ray Owen, shed a tear when presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the Australian motorcycle community at the Broadford Bike Bonanza (BBB) this weekend. Take a look at photos of the BBB.

Triumph Australia has extended their dealer network to include Trooper Lu’s Garage, in Moorebank Sydney. Trooper Lu’s will stock the full range of Triumph models, plus parts, accessories and apparel. For contact details head to http://www.trooperlu.com.au.

APL Performance Bikes launched their new range of custom Harley Davidson’s over the Easter long weekend. Known as the Tuff Cycles, these custom machines look slick. Get a load of their promo video (if strong language offends, don’t watch).

Marmont and Mackenzie at the opening round of the MX Nats. Pic: iKapture

Did you notice the new lids the Monster Energy Kawasaki team were repping at the opening round of the MX Nationals? Turns out they are the all-new M2R X4, custom painted by Browns Grafix. Stay tuned for more details in the next issue of Transmoto.

Fly Racing Australia has set up their own Facebook page. If they hit 1000 likes they’ll be giving away a set of Kinetic Gear (worth $239,85) and at 2000 likes they’re handing out a set of Evolution Gear ($309,85). http://www.facebook.com/FlyRacingAustralia

The bloke on the left looks awfully similar to Transmoto tester, Garry Blizzard.

Barry Glizzard makes a controversial appearance once again. Sent to us by one of his mates (the one responsible for his bucks party stubby coolers that featured him at the Summer Nats), it looks like a bit of Photoshop work has gone into getting Blizzard at last night’s One Direction (the popular British boy band) frenzy in Sydney.

And here’s something we found that’ll offend all the ATV riders out there:


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