Throwdown No.93 – Finke Madness!

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.

There are rumours floating about that the FIM is proposing a dedicated 125cc junior series, with competitors restricted to riding two-stroke machines. Bring back the two-bangers we say!

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Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey took his second win of the AMA Motocross season at High Point over the weekend. The KTM rider went 1-1, backing up his Thunder Valley performance. And while Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart did roll up to the gate for Moto 1 and finished fifth, he chose not to race the second moto after struggling to ride with his injured hand.

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JDR J-Star KTM’s Matt Moss had his first race back on the bike since undergoing minor surgery a month ago. It wasn’t his best performance, but he managed to finish 17th in the AMA Motocross at High Point with an 18-17. “I had my first race back and it wasn’t too bad,” said Moss. “I was a little rusty but I’m working hard at it so I should keep improving every round.” We look forward to seeing you get back at the front of the pack Mossy! Good luck.

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KTM have slapped Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings with a fine after his poor behaviour at the last two rounds of the World Motocross Championship. The issue culminated when the 17-year-old dropped the F-bomb on live television, ranting about how lapper, Mel Pocock, wouldn’t get out of his way. It’s poor form on Herlings behalf, and he has since apologised for his his actions.

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The FIM Junior World Championship, initially scheduled for August 12, will now be held on August 26 at the Sevlievo track in Bulgaria.

Dutch off-road magazine, Noppen Nieuws, has unearthed details of the 2013 Husqvarna enduro range. There’s news that an all-new block has been developed for their two-stroke WR250R and WR300R, with rumours suggesting they’ll be equipped with direct injection. While in their four-stroke range, the TE449 says goodbye to the BMW block, receiving an all-new engine that’s said to be a combination of their old TE450 and TE310 X-Light motor. The TE250 and TE310 also get a new cylinder head. Australian Husqvarna distributor, Paul Feeney Group’s Joerg Hoffmann can’t confirm any of the details, saying, “I have no information on the 2013 models yet so I can’t confirm or deny those claims.”

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The 2012 Finke Desert Race was wrapped up on the weekend and Toby Price was crowned King of the Desert. It was a perfect run for Price this year with no issues during the event. “I was giving the run down to Finke a good go and had a few moments where I nearly came unstuck, but other than that it was a clean run,” said Price. “I had a comfortable lead heading into Day 2 and it was a great run to the finish. Overall, it was a trouble-free weekend for me and I had no dramas.”

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HSE Motorex KTM’s Matt Fish took fourth at the Finke over the weekend, but between the dust and an incident with a spectator it wasn’t all smooth sailing. “Between the start and the 110km mark on Day 1 I was just sitting in dust until the whoops section, where it cleared out a bit,” said Fish. “And then from the 180km mark into Finke I sat in Bewley’s dust. I’m sure the only person that didn’t have a problem was Toby Price! The last four years we’ve been so lucky with rain before the event, but this year it was definitely the dustiest Finke I’ve ridden.” Fish actually had a close call on Day 2 where he ran into a spectator after getting out of shape at high speed. Thankfully the bystander didn’t sustain any serious injuries. “I actually had an incident on Day 2 where I crashed into a spectator who was too close to the track on the outside of a turn. He was okay but it gave us both a fright. I got out of shape in the corner and ran off the track. The whole crowd of spectators separated, but he just went the wrong way. By the time I hit him I had washed off most of my speed. He got up, dusted himself off and was thankfully all right, but it really shook me up for the remainder of the race.”

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Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing’s Jarrod Bewley finished fifth at Finke despite injuring his shoulder a few days out from the event. His Team Manager, AJ Roberts, explains. “We’ve got a love-hate relationship with the Finke Desert Race,” said Roberts. “Everything was going well, but Jarrod had a crash while practicing for the event and injured his shoulder. We strapped him up and he managed to come home strong with a fifth. It made it hard for him but he dug deep and had a really good result. It’s a shame really because, the way he was riding before he was injured, he would have podiumed. But that’s the nature of the beast.”

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Queensland rider, Caleb Auricht, put in a stellar performance at Finke. Auricht crashed and injured his shoulder during prologue, which meant he would have to start in 484th place for the run down to Finke. Pushing on, the born and bred Alice Springs local amazingly worked his way up to 36 place, passing 448 riders on the dusty run down and back. Now that’s determination!

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The Erzberg Rodeo was held over the weekend, with British rider, Jonny Walker, taking victory after completing the course in 1:42:22. So how tough is the iron mountain? There were 1800 starters and only seven finishers. That’s a 99.7% crash out rate!

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Motorcycling NSW have taken over the Nowra Motorcycle Complex and are proposing an ambitious plan to extend the facility to cater to nine competitive motorcycling disciplines, as well as go-kart competition, speedway racing and all levels of car racing. The facility is adjacent to the Nowra Airport so the main problem associated with motorcycle facilities – noise – is negligible. MNSW held a media launch last week to announce their plans and we’re currently looking into more details about the new complex and what that means for the existing Nowra & Districts Motorcycle Club. Stay tuned.

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Word is that the new 2013 Husabergs will arrive in Australia at the end of July and speculation is rife about what the boutique manufacturer will unveil. Since the start of the year we’ve heard whispers that the Bergs will scrap their 70-degree engine in the four-stroke models, in favour of KTM’s motor. But this would mean both their two- and four-stroke models would be rebadged KTM’s. Bergs have always been positioned as an exclusive brand and, with KTM and Husaberg suspiciously quiet about the 2013 Berg range, we can’t help but think there’s a surprise in store. Direct injected two-strokes (the same thing Ossa is doing with their enduro and trials bikes) perhaps? Or maybe a new big-bore capacity machine…

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Last week it was rumoured that a four-time Baja 1000 champion would be racing the Australasian Safari with CPW KTM. We’ve since confirmed that US enduro star, Quinn Cody, will in fact race alongside Matt Fish at this year’s event.

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The Australian Trails des Nations team has been announced. On the Men’s Team is Tim Coleman (Vic), Kyle Middleton (NSW), Neil Price (WA) and Boyd Willcocks (Qld). While Ina Halls (Vic), Felicity Harvie (Vic) and Kristie McKinnon (NSW) will represent the Women’s Team.

The Red Bull X-Fighters will head to Istanbul, Turkey, for the third stop of the six-stop world series. Unfortunately, just days out from the event, the Turkish authorities revoked permission to hold it at the original location – Yedikule Dungeons – so it’s been moved to Kazlicesme Square, on the shores of the Marmara Sea – next to the ancient walls of Yedikule Dungeon. “It was a challenge to design and rebuilt a new competition course in a few days,” said Red Bull’s Tes Sewell. “Our track builders are the best in the world and this new expanded course will allow some fierce competition between the elite FMX athletes.”

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We’ve never seen an upside-down whip taken to this level. It’s FMX rider, Destin Cantrell, throwing down:

Happy Birthday to Monza’s Marketing Coordinator, Mick Sinclair, who turned 30 today.

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Motorcycle gear and apparel company, Scott, have released details on their 2013 range. They’ve expanded their offerings this year, moving into off-road accessories, including bum bags, adventure jackets (with a built-in neckbrace cover) and gearbags. And there’s a brand you chest protector called the Commander Body Armour. Take a look at this video from the official launch:

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TwoTwo Motorsport’s Chad and Ellie Reed have taken the US Oath Ceremony this week, making them official US citizens. But don’t worry. They’ll still retain their Australian citizenship.

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Metal Mulisha are having a massive clearance sale at their Gold Coast store. Going from June 21 to 23, head down to 8/10 Kingston Drive, Helensvale, to get up to 80% off merchandise.