Throwdown No.188 – 08/05/14

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That’s it! Supercross is done and dusted in the US for season 2014! Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto claimed the 450SX Class win at the season finale held in Las Vegas over the weekend, ending his season on a high note as he had already claimed his fourth consecutive AMA SX title one round earlier. In the 250SX Eastern Regional Class, it was GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle who claimed the title (Mitch Payton’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders, Adam Cianciarulo, Martin Davalos and Blake Baggett, who were poised to sweep the series all suffered season-ending injuries), while in the Western Regional division, it was Rockstar KTM Racing’s Jason Anderson who scored the crown, defeating Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda rider, Cole Seely. One of Payton’s last men standing, Justin Hill, was the winner of the East Coast vs West Coast Shootout. Detailed results and highlights from Las Vegas can be found here. 

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Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart might not have ended the 2014 SX season the way he would have liked to (injuring his knee at New Jersey and pulling off early during the Main Event at Las Vegas), but one couldn’t say that he didn’t have an epic season. JS7 raced to five Main Event victories and 11 Heat race wins, and now sits in second Overall on the all-time AMA Supercross wins list. It’s going to be very interesting to see how he performs throughout this year’s Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

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Returning to racing at Glen Helen’s season opener will be Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports rider, Chad Reed. CR22 was everyone’s favourite guy when he won at Anaheim 2 earlier this year, and then again at Anaheim 3. Sadly, his come-back season was cut short when he crashed in the whoops at San Diego, one round later. He’s been in recovery mode for a quite a while now, preparing himself for a full-on assault on the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. We’ll be cheering for you come May 24, mate.

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Two days after the SX season came to an end in the US, Villopoto announced that he would be sitting out the 2014 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship to have knee surgery. With the not-so-shocking news came the announcement that Australian rider, Brett Metcalfe, has been given the opportunity to contest this year’s outdoor series with Monster Energy Kawasaki aboard RV’s KX450F.

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And with the announcement that Metcalfe would be racing motocross in the US this year (instead of defending his Canadian MX title) also came the announcement that Josh Hill (who contested this year’s Supercross series with RCH Suzuki) would be taking over Brett’s spot at Leading Edge Monster Energy Kawasaki. A little more on Josh Hill’s future plans can be found inside this week’s USA Insider.

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Three decades on, 1983 Mister Motocross winner, Ray Vandenberg, has a surprise birthday present in the shape of his title-winning RM500. There’s a bit more to it than that, though. Check out this article that originally appeared in Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine‘s 2014 January (#39) Issue… 

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Not sure what to do for Mother’s Day this year? Why not treat your mother to a great weekend of outdoor racing with the family – with no spectator gate fee! The third round of the 2014 East Coast MX series, presented by Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine, is heading to Oakdale this weekend, May 10-11. For more information, click here.

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Jeffrey Herlings is a freak. These are his victory margins for the two MX2 motos he contested over the weekend in his beloved Valkenswaard sand: 1:07 and 45 seconds! Seriously, the Red Bull KTM rider is on a whole different level! The seventh round of the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship is taking place this weekend.

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Red Bull Ice One Husqvarna Factory Racing rider, Australia’s Todd Waters, offers up his thoughts on his debut year racing motocross in Europe. For more information on the crash that de-railed Waters’ 2014 season, click here.

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Meghan Rutledge impressively went 2-2 at the Valkenswaard round of the 2014 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship to capture the Overall over the weekend, and now sits two points off the championship lead. Chiara Fontanesi sits on 121 points, followed closely by Natalie Kane on 120. Rutledge, the 19-year-old, is now on 119 points heading into the fourth round of the 2014 season, to be held at Saint Jean d’Angely in France, June 1.

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The fifth and sixth rounds of the 2014 Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship (AORC) took place over the weekend at Corner Inlet, Victoria. KTM Enduro Racing’s Toby Price walked away with the Outright lead, followed closely by Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green and Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Glenn Kearney. On Saturday, the first Cross Country format of the year was used. With the absence of championship leader, CDR Yamaha Off Road Racing’s Daniel Milner, Price took the opportunity to claim his second Outright and E2 class win of the season. The E1 class was won by Active8 Yamaha’s Tom McCormack, and the E3 class was won by Kearney. On Sunday, Price backed up his efforts, clinching the Outright win and the E2 class victory, along with the championship lead. The E1 class victory was claimed by Price’s teammate Peter Boyle, while the E3 class victory was again handed to Kearney. Detailed results from Corner Inlet and championship standings for all classes can be found here. The seventh and eighth rounds of the 2014 Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship will take place on June 21-22 at Coonawarra in South Australia. The return of reigning champion, CDR Yamaha Off Road Racing’s Daniel Milner, will certainly make for some interesting racing.

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Daniel “Chucky” Sanders has proved he’s the man to watch in the all-new Transmoto 19 & Under class of the 2014 Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship, as he’s claimed wins at all six rounds of the 2014 season so far. Impressively, he sits in seventh Overall in the Outright standings. 

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Ballard’s Offroad is auctioning items off on eBay to raise funds for New Zealand’s Rory Mead, who was seriously injured while contesting a Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) round last month. The highlight is the headlight off of Rory’s bike that he used while contesting the 2009 Australian 4-Day Enduro (A4DE). Click here to place a bid on the item, and to find more pieces up for auction, click here.

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The sixth round of the 2014 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series, the Limestone 100, is going down this weekend. Cross your fingers for Aussie rider, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC’s Josh Strang, who’ll be gunning for the top step of the podium in the XC1 class.

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The 2014 Enduro World Championship (EWC) moves to Greece this weekend, for the third round of this year’s series. Click here to read about how Australia’s Matt Phillips feels his debut season racing in the Senior class is going so far.

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Click here to find out what’s inside Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine’s 2014 June Issue (#44), and be sure to grab yourself a print or digital edition.

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Kawasaki Motors Australia has announced the addition of an all-new, affordable, entry-level motorcycle to its existing model range. The learner-approved Kawasaki KLX150L is available now at Kawasaki dealerships across Australia, at the special introductory price of $4899 ride-away. Click here to read all about it. 

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On the back of Ryan Villopoto winning his fourth consecutive AMA Supercross title, Kawasaki Motors Australia has announced a massive $2,500 cash-back offer on the model that RV won his championships aboard – the Kawasaki KX450F. They’ve also announced a $2,000 cash-back offer on the KX250F. Hit up your local dealer to take advantage of these offers while you can.

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Transmoto‘s brother mag, Transfer Snowboard Magazine, just went on sale with its first issue for 2014. If you’re a fan of snowboarding, click here and get amongst it.

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