THROWDOWN NO.249 – 07/08/15

CDR Yamaha’s Craig Dack rarely flares up, but when he does, you can rest assured there’s method behind the madness. So, after Dack’s outburst three weeks ago – where he unreservedly criticised his Kade Mosig and Daniel Reardon for making race-day mistakes they simply shouldn’t be making. Is it just a coincidence that his riders have clinched Overall wins at the two rounds since? Absolutely not! There’s a reason Dack has notched up 36 national titles in 20 years. As a former champ, he knows when to keep quiet and when to put a rocket under his riders’ arses. Sadly, it’s little late in the season for he CDR boys as KTM’s Kirk Gibbs, despite riding the past two rounds with a bung shoulder, appears to be sitting pretty with a 65-point lead in the MX1 class with two rounds to run. And that’s over his KTM teammate, Luke Styke.

As a result, much of the MX Nats’ attention will turn to the MX2-class battle, where Jay Wilson will be doing everything in his power to maintain his 3-point leader on Serco Yamaha’s reigning champ (and former teammate), Luke Clout.

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Speaking of Gibbs and Styke, eyewitnesses have reported that the KTM duo have been spotted testing the 2016-model 450SX-F this past week. But will they decide to jump on board the new (and much lighter) machines for the final two rounds of the 2015 MX Nats? We doubt it. There’s little to gain, and too much to lose, by doing so.

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Have you seen Transmoto’s hot shots from the Nowra round of the Mx nationals? Courtesy of Fifty Six Clix.

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There’s growing evidence that Jay Marmont will return to the racing fray later this year aboard a Husqvarna FC450 for the Australian Supercross Championship.

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MX apparel giant, Fox Head Australia, has been confirmed as the official ‘Holseshot Partner’ of the Aus-X Open event this coming November 28-29, with $500 and $250 cash incentives for first-corner winners in the MX1 and MX2 classes, respectively. Fox has also confirmed that, any ticket purchasers to the event (who are smart enough to enter “FOXHEAD’ as the promotional code), will enter the drawer to meet Chad Reed and take home a Fox helmet.

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Wow, is there a curse on the Penrite Honda team? Every rider and fill-in rider the team has hired in the past two or three years seems to end up on a meat wagon, and Ben Townley’s bizarre qualifying lap incident (explained in this week’s NZ Insider) is yet another chapter to the sad saga. Fingers crossed the injury doesn’t affect BT’s MXoN aspirations in France this September.

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Youthstream has officially confirmed that the 2016 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship will take place in Russia … so long as Vlad Putin doesn’t get any weirder in the next 12 months and drop bombs on the The West to remind us all of Russia’s glorious past.

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Is there such a thing as a race at the infamous Lommel track that isn’t memorable? Nope! And last weekend’s instalment of the MXGP from the Belgian sandpit was not different, with many calling it the gnarliest track in the past 25 years – since Lommel first hosted a round of the World Championship in1990. Check out our highlights videos of the racing action. In which Australia’s Todd Waters went 8-6 for a very credible 7^th Overall.

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Maddy Brown has been crowned the 2015 Women’s MX Nationals Champion for the 2nd consecutive year. Click here for more on the story and the Women’s results.

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Does Great Britain have a chance at the MXGP MX2 title? Max Anstie is closing in on the title hunt. Click here to find out more in this week’s MXGP Insider.

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So, what was the upshot of last weekend’s meeting between MA, WEM and reigning MX Nats champ Matt Moss; the enquiry into Moss’s fourth-gear collision with a Bobcat at the Shepparton round of the MX Nats? It’s all very hush-hush at the moment, but we’re hearing that Moss is looking for compensation (from MA, WEM and/or the Club) for his MX Nats wins and the potential lost earnings (and contingency payouts) for the upcoming Australasian SX Championship that the reigning champ looks like he’ll be forced to miss.

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AMA Outdoors commentator Grant Langston seems to be hoping like hell that his “diesel” nickname for Ryan Dungey will stick, but just stop a moment and consider Dungey’s results stats in the lead-up to this weekend’s Unadilla round. Dungey’s Overall win two weekends ago (his fourth Overall for season 2015) made him the winningest rider of all-time at Washougal track. The KTM rider has now notched up seven Washougal victories, beating Ricky Carmichael’s six, and his 42 Overall wins elevates Dungey into second on the all-time Outdoors wins list. Interestingly, Washougal was the track Ryan Dungey posted his very first AMA win, five years ago in the 250cc class. “If he’s a diesel, he’s a turbo diesel”, Grant.

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Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Motocross Championship is the end of the rainbow, the pot of gold. It’s where you get discovered, it’s where you make it. In this week’s USA Insider, Jason Weigandt highlights the importance Loretta’s has on the future of American Motocross.

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Cairns Coconut Resort Honda Racing’s Jake Smith and Jake Hadrill have posted a 1-2 result at last weekend’s 2015 Yellow Mountain Cross-Country – the 440km race between the townships of Condobolin and Tottenham in western NSW. Sherco-mounted Broc Grabham – last year’s winner – came in third, just five weeks after breaking his shoulder in a practice crash.

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Feast your eyes on the second round of images from the Transmoto 6-Hour. In the gallery ‘up-high & in-deep’.

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Do you want to be part of a tough off-road race that oozes atmosphere? Take a look at WA’s Gascoyne Dash here.
WA’s Kickstarters Gascoyne Dash is famous for its varied terrain, hometown hospitality and fantastic atmosphere. And if you get in before August 31, entry only costs $500.

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If you ride a bike with knobbie tyres, then you really ought to know how to change the things. In fact, tyre-changing is a badge of honour in dirt bike circles; a rite of passage. Check out our Dunlop tyre hanging challenge we hosted at the recent Transmoto 6-Hour. 

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In the Motonomad blog post: Central Mongolia, Adam Riemann and his two companion’s 7-week journey is drawing to a close as they taper back to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. They have immersed themselves in the terrain – literally – and absorbed each Mongolian encounter with curiosity. Stay tuned for more on the final chapter of the journey.

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What on earth do you say about Robbie Maddison’s Pipe Dreams video, which dropped earlier this week? It’s yet another example of Maddo’s innovative nature as both a rider and film producer – to instigate next-level, sponsor-funded stunts that mainstream media seems to lap up. Word on the street is that, prior to Tahiti being chosen as a location, the Pipe Dream stunt was originally set to take place on the fickle wave that breaks under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

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Speaking of which, the historic bike that Maddo used in the Pipe Dream stunt (salty and a little worse for wear) is up for sale through Wollongong performance workshop, MX R&D. Its owner, Ryan Marmont, intends to post the now infamous bike on Transmoto Trader later this week.

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After a year’s hiatus the legendary action sports competition ‘Farm Jam’ hosted in the beautiful New Zealand will return bigger and better than ever in 2016. Click here for more information.

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In this week’s FMX Insider Ben Heidrich caught up with West Aus FMX rider Daniel Ford to talk about the local FMX scene and his return from injury.

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Revised chassis; mass-centralised 250/350/450cc engines; an all-new 125cc two-stroke donk; totally new frames, updates shock, swingarm and linkage; massive weight savings … any of that ringing a bell for you? KTM’s 2016 MX range, right? Well, yes. But the mods also apply to Husqvarna’s 2016-models MXers, which Transmoto’s Andy Wigan is testing at the iconic AMA MX track, Budds Creek, literally as you read this. Interestingly, the new Husky’s also get completely new bodywork (which differentiates them visually from their KTM cousins) and an all-new carbon fibre subframe that saved 1kg). Stay tuned for feedback about our first ride on the new-generation 2016 Huskys.

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Last week we gave you a ‘sneak peak’ look into the 2016 Sherco machines. This week is even better with the full details released we fill you in on the finer details about the new bikes.
With completely new two-stroke machines in 2014 and an all-new 450 four-stroke released just last year, Sherco’s 2016 range sees more refinements than reinvention. The engines on both the two- and four-stroke models come in for some significant upgrades. To find out more click here.

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Speaking of Sherco, the Australian importers of the brand, Mojo Motorcycles, have confirmed that they have now taken on the official distribution of Italy’s SWM motorcycles in Australia. According to Mojo, the arrangement involves enduro, adventure and road motorcycles.

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Two weeks ago, we mentioned that fact that long-time Fox/Shift/Oakley/PodMX product manager Mick Sinclair had announced his departure from Melbourne’s Monza Imports. Since then, Sincs has confirmed he’ll be taking on a gig as Business Development and Marketing Manager with multi-door Harley Davidson franchise, Harley Heaven. Taking on Mick’s role at Monza is James Wintle.

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Have you seen our latest giveaway? Thanks to Oakley you have the chance to win yourself a set of the new O2 MX Goggles. To go into the running to win click here.

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KTM has announced that their highly successful, new-model demo program, “Dirt Days” will be taking place across five states of the country during September and October. All you have to do is register and pay your $50 fee at an authorised participating KTM dealership. For more info, visit www.ktm.com.au.

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Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine‘s 2015 July-August issue (#51) is on sale now. Click here to find out what’s inside and be sure to grab a print copy from your local newsagents or a digital version via the Zinio App.

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Got a dirt bike you want to sell? How about some used gear, parts or accessories? Thanks to the Transmoto Trader, you can advertise what you’ve got to sell in front of a captive audience of over 100,000 unique website browsers per month, more than 350,000 Facebook followers and 15,000-plus Instagram followers. Start buying, selling and swapping your unwanted bikes, gear, parts and accessories for FREE!

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