[News]

Throwdown No.95 – MX Nats are back!

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

Four-time reigning MX champ, Jay Marmont, is forced to sit out Hervey Bay due to post-surgery infection to his knee delaying his recovery, effectively ending Marmont title defense. “I’m obviously disappointed,” said Marmont. “It’s no secret that I’ve been riding injured and fighting through pain all year so I guess this is nature’s way of telling me to let it go for this year’s MX Nationals. We’ve reassessed our goals though and we’re now very eager to get out there and win as many motos as possible in this championship.” Marmont hopes to return for Round 7 at Horsham on July 15.

The 2013 Kawasaki KX250F is now available from Kawasaki dealers around the country and will retail for the same 2012 RRP of $10,999. Major upgrades include a slimmer ergos, revised ECU settings and interchangeable EFI couplers, wider and straighter intake and revised Separate Function Fork. We detailed the full updates last month when Kawasaki first unveiled their 2013 models.

After a two-week break, the World Motocross Championship will resume in Sweden. MX1 leader, Antonio Cairoli, will look to defend his 47-point lead over second and third place riders, Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Clemant Desalle and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel. While in the MX2 class, Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings remains in first, with Tommy Searle and Jeremy Van Horebeek 24 and 56 points off, respectively. If you’d like a better insight into the past Swedish motocross legends, read this week’s MXGP Insider.

Entries close on July 4 for Round 3 of the East Coast MX Series, taking place in Canberra. A few riders missed out at Round 2 at Nowra because they tried to register too late, so if you’re in the points running get in early.

Sam Martin won the Victorian MX Championships over the weekend.

GYTR Yamaha’s Sam Martin won the A Grade Open Victorian Motocross Championship after the final round was wrapped up at Horsham over the weekend. The 17-year-old became one of the youngest riders to win the championship. “I really enjoy racing the YZ450F and this is a result I’m proud of,” said Martin. “I have never won a major championship before, so this is pretty cool.”

WRD Yamaha racer, Wade Hunter, won the Pro Lites series during the penultimate round of the Queensland Sunshine State Series at Leyburn Park over the weekend after taking third. “Winning this series was one of the goals I had at the start of the year,” said Hunter. “It’s good that I can tick this one off and keep moving forward, especially one round early.”

If you loved Dream Ride, this next clip is something to be excited about. JDR Motorsports are at it again, with this epic heli shoot at James Stewart’s compound. The vid will drop on July 3.

Victorian-based motocross team, Zero Motorsports, has restructured their rider line up ahead of Hervey Bay. The 16-year-old MXD class rider, Dion Picard, will move to the MX1 class to spearhead their MX campaign, filling in for the injured Ross Beaton. The multi-time New Zealand Junior Motocross Champion is confident he has what it takes to be competitive. “I’ve raced some of the top MX1 riders in New Zealand previously,” said Picard, “so I know how fast and consistent they are. Racing 30 minute motos is definitely going to take time to get used to but so far I feel really good on the RM-Z450.” Team Owner, Mark Haughton, has also introduced a new addition to the team, Tyson Cherry, to take Picard’s place in the MXD class. Keep your eyes on Picard this weekend.

Did you miss the USA Insider this week? With a three-week break between motocross rounds, Jason Weigandt has taken a much-needed break from his usual hectic schedule to recharge the batteries. Fear not; he’ll be back behind the keyboard next week to update us on the latest rumours floating around the pit paddock.

Enduro

It’s been a while since those blurry online spy pics emerged of four-stroke KTM EXCs in Husaberg clothing. The assumption was widely made that they were pre-production 2013 Husabergs, but when pressed for details, KTM and Husaberg went conspicuously quiet about the matter. That silence will finally be broken in early August when Husaberg hold their recently-announced world launch for the 2013 models in Spain. Details of the new machines remain very thin on the ground, and all the KTM-owned Swedish factory has said publicly is that: 1) it’s time for them to renew the technical basis for the machines, 2) they will expand the model range, and 3) they’ll focus on enduro models. Reading between the lines, here’s what we reckon can be expect at the launch: a careful explanation/justification about why the 70-degree forward-sloping engine configuration has been dumped, and KTM’s more conventional powerplants embraced; no direct-injection for the 2013 TE250 and 300 two-strokes, despite all the speculation; no motocross models at all, to reflect Berg’s leaning toward “Pure Enduro”; and a large-capacity four-stroke rally bike. As the proud design team at Husaberg know they’ll be accused of re-branding KTMs again (which is exactly what happened when their two-strokes were first released in 2011), we’d expect to see some interesting new technology appear across the 2013 Husaberg range to reinforce Berg’s boutique brand values. If they simply reveal yellow and blue Katos (two- and four-strokes), but with an up-specced twin-chamber WP fork, Husaberg risks losing their reputation for innovation for good!

After 10 consecutive Australian 4-Day Enduro podiums, three International Six Days Enduro podiums, an Australian Safari class win and 10 years racing, Yamaha rider, Alison Parker, is retiring.

After an injury riddled 2012, Australian enduro star, Josh Strang, claimed his first WORCS win of the season on the back of eight months recovering from a broken leg. Strang also finished the two-day event second overall. Not bad for his first race back! “I’ve been riding since early May,” said Strang. “It was a technical off-road race on the weekend but it was really fun. I got third on Saturday and won Sunday.” He’ll now head to Ohio to race in this weekend’s GNCC. Oh, and if the challenges of racing weren’t bad enough, Strang’s even preparing his own race bike at the moment because his team is currently lacking a mechanic. Here’s his KTM 450SX-F with FMF exhaust:

Australian Women’s enduro rider, Jemma Wilson, is set for the final two rounds of the Women’s EWC championship in Italy this weekend riding for Johansson MPE Honda. Joining her on the EWC battlefield will be rival, Jess Gardiner, who has hooked up with Yamaha O’MPS. Stay tuned for Wilson’s third, and final, exclusive blog instalment in two weeks time detailing her EWC adventures.

FMX

X Games 18 starts in Los Angeles tomorrow and the Moto X Freestyle event will kick off the 2012 event. Saturday will see the Best Whip, Step Up and Best Trick events performed, with Women’s Moto X and Speed and Style following on Sunday. Finally, the Enduro X wraps up the epic weekend on Monday. Read up on which Australian athletes will be head-to-head with the world’s best in last week’s Throwdown. Oh and don’t forget, the X Games will be aired live on ESPN. Check your TV guide for times.

Aussie FMX rider, Luke Stojanovic, seriously injured himself last week while attempting a Superman Seat Grab over a 75ft ramp-to-ramp gap at Jackson Strong’s Lockhart training facility. Stojanovic, who’s close friends with Jackson Strong, was knocked unconscious and was airlifted to Canberra with serious head and neck injuries. He’s stabalised, but remains in a coma. Strong postponed his flight to the US for the X Games to be there for Stojanovic and will consequently miss Moto X Best Trick practice.

In typical Josh Hansen style, he’s rocking some bad-arse skulls on the back of his X Games lid. Hanny will go toe-to-toe in the Best Whip competition on Saturday.

Industry

Iconic New Zealand moto and lifestyle brand, ilabb, has just turned five. Initially focused on designing and printing high quality bike decals, the Auckland-based company quickly grew in popularity and size throughout the local racing scene. While still offering one of the most advanced online custom bike graphic design suites, perhaps the brand’s best selling is now their apparel range. Congrats on the feat boys!

Central West NSW’s Louee Riding Park is rumoured to have sold for a cool $17 million. Word is we’ve all been blithely roosting the topsoil above huge coal seams and deposits of gold! But a quick check on their official website revealed a notice saying: Rumours that Louee has sold are not true and if you want it from the horse’s mouth call the owner, Tom. Looks like we’ll get to keep on roosting the ground at Louee… But while you’re there it can’t hurt to keep your eyes peeled for signs of gold!

Have a squiz at this wicked quadcopter built by Pixel Pig’s Jorden Bethune!

Shout-out to Central West Forbes local, Carly Wren, who busted her leg at Goanna Tracks over the weekend. We hope you have a speedy recovery, Carly!

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