Throwdown No.166 – 14/11/13

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The two-round Queensland Supercross Championship has been run and won, with Motorex KTM Racing’s Daniel McCoy taking out the Open class honours ahead of Campbell Mining Suzuki’s Jake Moss, while the the Lites title was claimed by Choice Motorsports KTM’s Brenden Harrison. Johnny Bonnar was kind enough to hook us up with images from both rounds for your viewing pleasure – be sure to check them out.

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It comes and goes so quickly, eh? One minute the 2013 Terex Australian Supercross Championship is kicking off in Darwin, and the next it’s concluding in Toowoomba, Qld. Hart & Huntington/InsureMyRide/DPH Motorsports Suzuki’s Josh Hill currently sits five points ahead of Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Matt Moss in the Pro Open standings, while in third is Matt’s brother, Jake, only two points behind. Carlton Dry Honda Racing’s Weston Peick and Motorex KTM Racing’s Daniel McCoy both still have a chance to sneak into the top-three Overall, so it’s anyone’s game at this point, really. In the Pro Lites class, the defending ASX champion Gavin Faith leads the charge, five points ahead of this year’s MX Nationals MX2 class champion, Serco Yamaha’s Luke Styke. Sitting in third is Raceline Pirelli Suzuki’s Ryan Marmont, eight points shy of Styke. We’re in for some wicked racing this weekend, we believe.

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As Kirk Gibbs is out for the rest of this year’s season, and Motorex KTM Racing Team Manager, Rob Twyerould, is injured himself (see Industry section in last week’s Throwdown), Crew Chief Danny Apro will be leading the team (well, McCoy) at this weekend’s ASX round. Enjoy, mate.

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Well, the rain came pouring down for Toowoomba’s ASX round last year, and it looks as though it’ll be doing the same this year… Can supercross in Australia ever catch a lucky break?! But wait, there’s more. Yamaha Australia is holding the Aussie launch of the all-new YZ250F in Queensland on Monday, at an extremely clay-based track. They’re currently seeking a sandy alternative, we hear.

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TM Racing Australia could be making an appearance at the Dortmund round of next year’s German Supercross Championship, an event very similar to the Bercy SX, which is set to take place January 10-12. “There’s an 80% chance that we’ll be attending the three-day event,” TM Racing Australia Team Manager, Andrew Franklin told Transmoto. “We’ve got bikes sorted – it’s just a matter of locking down plans for next year and checking out our priorities.” We’d be very interested to see 22-year-old Nick Sutherland racing a two-stroke TM over in Germany! Stay tuned for more.

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You’re still frothing over the video content that came from the Red Bull Straight Rhythm project, right? Check out this insane raw footage of Red Bull KTM riders, Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin, going head-to-head on the amazing half-a-mile-long SX track.

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Honda Australia has confirmed their support of the 2014 East Coast MX Series, presented by Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine, along with other sponsors including Teencee Grafix and Reality Design. “We are incredibly happy to be sponsors for 2014,” said a representative for Honda Motorcycles. The 2014 East Coast MX series is due to start in February, pending confirmation of dates and the release of the Pro Open calendar from Motorcycling NSW.

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Who follows Ryan Dungey on Instagram? If you do, earlier this week, you would have seen the image of himself he posted, wearing nothing but Fox boots, and probably thought to yourself, “What the f#@k,” right? That photograph is actually a re-make of an ad that Fox originally used in 1987, featuring Ricky Johnson. If you follow this link, you’ll read the statement, “Can you imagine Dungy doing this now? I don’t think so…” Well, there you go!

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This year’s Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro event took place over the weekend, and it was the “now-deceased” Husaberg brand that made its mark on the 2013 edition of the event, claiming every spot on the podium. 2011 winner of the event, Graham Jarvis would go on to take the win, ahead of teammate Alfredo Gomez and Husaberg Australia’s Mitch Harper, returning from injuries suffered earlier this year. Last year’s event winner, Matt Phillips, faced mechanical problems and wasn’t able to bring home another title.

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Dates and locations for the 2014 Australian Off Road Championship (AORC) have been announced. Next year’s series will introduce an all-new Under 19s class, and visit four states including New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. Click here and check out the calendar, as well as Motorcycling Australia’s entire provisional 2014 national calendar.

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South Australian rider, Ivan Long, has officially signed with Motorex KTM’s desert racing squad (which rumours suggest could be ran by Ben Grabham from next year onwards), for season 2014. Long will look to contest off-road and desert races throughout next year’s season. Stay tuned for further developments next week.

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Active8 Yamaha is yet to lock down plans for season 2014, but word on the street is that Team Manager, AJ Roberts, wants to run with the same set-up as this year, with riders Josh Green and Tom McCormack. When speaking to AJ, he told us, “At this stage, I can’t release anything solid.” We’ll have more AORC pit-paddock news for ya’ll over the coming weeks.

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It was recently announced that Alex Salvini, this year’s E2 class Enduro World Champion, re-signed with Honda for the next two years. Interestingly, his title was the only major win for Honda’s CRF450R in 2013. What made the Italian’s race bike so good? Pick up a print or digital edition of Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine‘s 2013 December (#38) Issue, which is on sale now, and find out.

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The 2013 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship is kicking off in Liverpool this weekend. Big names are set to contest the series, including Taddy Blazusiak, David Knight, Johnny Walker, Alfredo Gomez, Joakim Ljunggren, Mathias Bellino and more.

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Toby Price is overseas at the moment, attending the Baja 1000 that takes place on Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. The event kicks off tomorrow and runs for four days. Pricey’s not actually contesting the event – he’s just there to do some riding and help out where he can. He’ll also be heading to the 16th annual Red Bull Day in the Dirt, which he actually won last year. He beat Jeremy McGrath in a two-hour-long motocross race, and won himself a brand new Troy Lee Designs scooter by doing so. Have fun with it all, mate.

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This week, Travis Pastrana stepped down from the world of NASCAR racing. You can read his “official” statement on his Facebook page, which basically explains that his results this year weren’t good enough to secure sponsors to appropriately fund next season. Pastrana? Low on funds? Yeah, there has to be more to it. Travis wants to take a step back, to focus on his life as a father and a husband, and allow his wife, Lyn-z, to chase her own goals as a professional skateboarder. We can still expect to see plenty of rally and off-road truck racing from Pastrana in the near future, though. We’re looking forward to what comes next from the man.

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Why was Tom Parsons crowned this year’s Dirt Shark Biggest Whip winner? This is why… We can’t wait for the full-length clip being produced by our good mates at Vurb Moto to be released.

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Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine’s 2013 December Issue (#38) is on sale now! Click here to find out what’s inside, and be sure to grab yourself a print or digital edition.

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If you’d like to win a brand-spanking new 2014 KTM 350EXC-F, subscribe to Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine this month and you’ll be in the running. Remember, you’ve gotta be in it to win it!

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The Sydney Motorcycle & Scooter Show is being held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre this weekend, kicking off tomorrow and running until Sunday. Come say g’day to us at the Transmoto stall, and we’ll hook you up with a magazine and some lollies. Everyone likes lollies, right?

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Want detailed 2014 Husqvarna spec tables and comparative maintenance schedules? Find ’em here.

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Did you catch a glimpse of the supermoto-spec Husqvarna 701 prototype that was unveiled at the EICMA international motorcycle show in Milan, Italy a couple of weeks ago? Is this a visual indication of what we can expect to see future Husqvarna off-road models to look like? Who knows…

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The final instalment of Transmoto‘s three-part DIY series with Teknik’s Nick Dole, explaining the main tasks involved with a four-stroke top-end rebuild, is now online. First, we covered how-to check and adjust your engine’s valve clearances, and then we looked at how-to measure and inspect your piston, rings and bore. We’ve finished off the series by looking at how-to change your bike’s timing chain. If you’re not comfortable trying any of these things at home, be safe, and take your bike to a mechanic…

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Motul has announced the release of their all-new chain maintenance packs. The Motul chain maintenance packs contain either one can of Motul chain lube for on-road or off-road, plus a can of Motul chain cleaner and a chain cleaning brush. The packs are the ideal Christmas gift, priced at a mere $39.95. Motul products are imported and distributed in Australia by Link International, and are available at your local Motul stockist.

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It’s not as radical as previous clips, but Ken Block’s new Gymkhana video is pretty wicked… Catch you next week!

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