Throwdown No.199 – 24/07/14

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At the eighth round of the 2014 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, the Spring Creek National, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac went 1-1 to claim his first-ever 450 Class Overall, ahead of Red Bull KTM riders, Ryan Dungey (3-2) and Ken Roczen (2-4). In the 250 Class, Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin went 1-2 to secure the win ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin (2-4) and teammate, Cooper Webb (9-1). Round 9, the Washougal National, is taking place this weekend. 

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Thursday’s a good day for three reasons. The first, is the fact that tomorrow’s Friday, and who doesn’t love that? The second, is the face that we publish this Throwdown article on Thursdays, unless we’re super busy doing other important business-related things (checking out the surf over the road from the office, anyone?). The third, is that fact that GoPro releases their AMA MX clips on Thursdays. Check out Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen tearing the Spring Creek track a new one in the video below.

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While we’re on the subject of awesome GoPro footage, Romain Febvre wore the Vurbmoto hel-cam during the one-lap “Americano” races at the 2014 Stefan Everts Charity Race, which saw him go up against legends of motocross such Ricky Carmichael, Stefan Everts, Jeff Stanton and many more. This is where the much-talked-about Jeffrey Herlings incident happened earlier this week…

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We’ve all heard about it by now. Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings fractured his femur while racing at 85SX at the 2014 Stefan Everts Charity Race. As a result, he won’t be wrapping up his third consecutive MX2 World title this weekend as the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship moves to the Czech Republic. He also won’t be contesting Unadilla’s AMA Motocross round later this year – a huge bummer for spectators all around the world. We don’t know if Jeffrey will be able to represent Team Netherlands at this year’s Motocross of Nations event, either. You can read more on Herlings’ unfortunate situation in this week’s MXGP Insider column. 

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The man now standing in the way of Herlings securing his third consecutive MX2 World title is his teammate, Jordi Tixier. At the moment, Tixier sits 145 points behind Herlings in the championship standings with eight motos remaining, meaning he needs to score 18.25 points every race to secure the title. Or in real-terms, third or better in every race will be enough. Do you think Tixier can step up and ride confidently enough to claim the 2014 MX2 crown? We’ll have to wait and see…

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We ran into Meghan Rutledge a couple of weeks ago at the 2015 Fox and Shift launch, and asked the 19-year-old Bud Racing Kawasaki rider how her nerves were ahead of the sixth and deciding round of the FIM Women’s MX World Championship in the Czech Republic in two weeks’ time. “Well, I’m finally feeling healthy again, so that helps the nerves,” she said, explaining that she’d spent the past month fighting a mystery gastric virus that’s forced her to repeatedly visit hospital for intravenous re-hydration. “The doctors haven’t been able to work out what it was exactly. But I’m feeling much better now and have been able to get back on the bike again and train. I haven’t raced in the Czech Republic before, but it’s a hardpack and rocky track so I think I’m going to like it,” she went on to say. After already taking three Overall wins from five rounds (mixed with some rotten luck and a few injuries), the outwardly shy, but fiercely determined, Rutledge sits just four points behind series leader, Italy’s Chiara Fontanessi, in the WMX standings, and has every chance of becoming Australia’s first Women’s World MX champ this weekend. Best of luck, Meg!

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Click here to watch Josh and Justin Hill shredding some secret MX spots in Southern California.

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KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Toby Price has tightened his already vice-like grip on this year’s Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship (AORC), going 1-1 Outright at Kyogle’s ninth and tenth rounds over the weekend. Price’s fifth win from ten rounds has set him up to clinch his fourth AORC crown in September, needing only a second place if his nearest championship rival, Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Glenn Kearney, were to win the final two rounds. Now ahead by 28 points, even Price conceded that he was now on the verge of taking the title. The final rounds of the 2014 Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship (AORC) will take place at Heathcote in Victoria, September 6-7.

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Most of the attention is usually focused on front-runners at AORC rounds, and often the punters go un-noticed. So here’s one entire sentence dedicated to 77-year-old Laurie Alderton, who completed the same technical tests the front-runners did at Kyogle’s AORC rounds over the weekend. Well done, mate.

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The second round of the second annual WA Desert Racing Tri-Series, the Doorawarrah 500, is taking place this weekend. With last year’s Overall winner, KTM Desert Racing Team’s Ben Grabham out with an injury (he’s being replaced by WA’s Louis Calvin this weekend), expect last round’s winner, Toby Price, to step up to the plate and secure his second win of 2014.

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After contesting his first Red Bull Romaniacs event in 2013, KTM’s Jonny Walker said, “For me they were the toughest days on a dirt bike ever.” And he was devastated that he did not make it onto the podium. In 2014, just after having nailed the Erzberg Rodeo, Walker returned to Romania and came well prepared. “I have put in a lot of effort to prepare for this race and my focus is different from last year,” he commented. Walker won two of the four off-road days, and finished third in the prologue, to be crowned the 2014 “King of the Carpathians”, ahead of Husqvarna’s Graham Jarvis. Check out highlights from all days of competition here. 

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This week, Transmoto exclusively presented to you God’s Country – the all-new FMX video from Lensman’s Andy Richards and Pixel Pig’s Jorden Bethune, that has been co-produced in association with Swarm UAV. The clip features Aussie rider, Truman Carroll, Jackson Strong, Rob Adelberg and Cam Sinclair. Be sure to check it out. 

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This past weekend’s Red Bull X-Fighters competition in Munich was all about pontoons, Double Backflips and waterlogged bikes. 18,000 roaring spectators watched on as riders from all over the globe came together for a world class competition. Australia’s Josh Sheehan was the eventual winner, claiming his first stop win since 2011 – an awesome result. If you’d like to grab a recap of the results, or check out the highlights from the event, view this week’s FMX Insider column.

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Click here to find out what’s inside Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine’s 2015 July-August Issue (#45), and be sure to grab yourself a print or digital edition.

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Kawasaki Motors Australia has announced that the 2015 Kawasaki KX250F and KX450F models will be priced $1000 lower than previous models. The 2015 KX450F is available now at Kawasaki dealerships across the country at an RRP of $10,999 and the KX250F will be available for $9,999 with stock arriving soon. Click here for more detailed information.

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Designed to reign supreme in the dirt, the A2 is the newest addition to the AXO footwear range and is backed by the endorsement of SX and MX riders all over the world. After two years of development, AXO has released a boot that strikes the perfect balance between technology and comfort, for the ultimate in rider confidence. Click here to read all about it.

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Complete Transmoto‘s 12-question subscriber survey and you could WIN!The first three questions simply require you to tell us your gender, where you live and how old you are – seriously, this survey’s nothing like your Year 12 Mathematics exam. We’re just collecting bits of information that will help us help you in the long run. Click here to complete the survey! One lucky entrant will win a Transmoto T-Shirt, a KTM/OGIO backpack, Scott goggles and a copy ofTransmoto Dirt Bike Magazine‘s first-ever issue.

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