Throwdown No.190 – 22/05/14

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Picking favourites in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship is easy — most just look down the list of past champions for their guide. When racing starts this weekend with the return (after a five-year absence) to Glen Helen Raceway, high expectations will be there for Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart in the 450 class, and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders, Blake Baggett and Dean Wilson, in the 250s, because these riders have already won those titles before. Australia’s Chad Reed would be an obvious favourite, too, if he wasn’t coming off of major shoulder work just a few months ago. This year, our man in the US, Jason Weigandt, is pinning Trey Canard and Jason Anderson down as the underdogs that could rise up to snatch this year’s titles. Read more in his USA Insider column. 

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Joining Reed on the Aussie contingent this year is Brett Metcalfe, who, as you know, will be riding Ryan Villopoto’s Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F this season. We’ve got high hopes for the 2013 Canadian Motocross Nationals champ. You can read more on what he expects to get out of this year’s season here. The other Australian that should have been lining up at Glen Helen Raceway this weekend is Queensland’s Dean Ferris. The 23-year-old Red Bull KTM rider injured his wrist earlier this year, and is yet to recover in full. He’ll be present at the season opener this weekend, cheering on his 250 class teammate, Marvin Musquin.

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The fourth round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals went down over the weekend in Murray Bridge, SA. KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Kirk Gibbs (click here for an exclusive interview with Gibbsy on his win) stepped up to claim his first-ever MX1 Overall, ahead of CDR Yamaha’s Billy Mackenzie and NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Moss. Team Motul Suzuki’s Matt Moss, who finished in fifth Overall at Murray Bridge, retains the red plate with a 13-point lead over Gibbs. In the MX2 class, Privateer Luke Arbon rose to the occasion to claim the Overall at his home-round. Serco Yamaha’s Luke Clout, who finished in fourth Overall at Murray Bridge, holds a 12-point lead over Husqvarna’s Kayne Lamont in the championship standings. In the MXD class, Nathan Crawford scored the Overall win, but it’s Egan Mastin that sits 1-point ahead of Jack Simpson in the championship standings. Detailed results from the event can be found here. The fifth round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals is going down this weekend in Wanneroo, WA.

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Check out Transmoto’s 25-image gallery from the fourth round of the 2014 Monster Energy MX Nationals, captured by Jeremy Hammer, owner and operator of PureMX.

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The 2014 Motocross of Nations (MXoN) is taking place at the end of September, but it’s never too early to get pumped up for it. The next four GPs are all taking place at venues that have either held the MXoN, or will hold it in the near future. Read all about ’em in this week’s MXGP Insider column, penned by David Bulmer.

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Real Media Productions has put together this short trailer to promote his highlights reel – that he’ll be releasing soon via Transmoto – on the third round of the 2014 East Coast MX series, that was held at Oakdale JMCC, May 10-11. Full results from the third round of the 2014 East Coast MX series, presented by Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine, can be found here.

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The 2015 Suzuki RM85, RM-Z250 and RM-Z450 models broke cover in the US this week. Click the links to find out everything you’d like to know on each model. And for footage of the RM-Z450 in action, click here.

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Motorcycling Australia (MA) has announced who will make up the Australian contingent contesting this year’s International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) to be held in Argentina, November 3-8. Check out the teams here. 

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The entry list for this year’s ISDE in Argentina has been released, with 567 riders expected to compete. Defending champions France have put forward a Senior Trophy and Junior Trophy team, and will be hoping to take home top honours once again. Unfortunately, Italy, who finished in third Overall in 2013 won’t attending the 2014 event (word on the street is that money plays a big factor in the decision), while Great Britain will send just a Junior Trophy team over to compete.

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Husqvarna will be showing their support towards riders at this year’s ISDE, with Husqvarna rental bikes, race service, spare parts and expert advice available. 2015 two-stroke models will be available to rent for just over $5000 and 2015 four-stroke models will be available for just over $5500. For more information, click here.

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The seventh round of the 2014 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series is going down this weekend, and it’s not just Australia’s Josh Strang that will be flying the flag for us over there. AORC front-runner, Active8 Yamaha’s Tom McCormack, has ventured over to the US to contest a couple of rounds. Best of luck, mate.

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The host towns have been chosen and a new competitive course has been devised – this year’s 2014 Australasian Safari will have over 100 local and international competitors, racing through some of Western Australia’s most breathtaking landscapes.

Bivouac locations for 2014:

Saturday, September 20: Leg 0 – Geraldton
Sunday, September 21: Leg 1 – Murchison
Monday, September 22: Leg 2 – Gascoyne Junction
Tuesday, September 23: Leg 3 – Gascoyne Junction
Wednesday, September 24: Leg 4 – Onslow
Thursday, September 25: Leg 5 – Exmouth
Friday, September 26: Leg 6 – Carnarvon
Saturday, September 27: Leg 7 – Kalbarri

The overnight stops and final details of the course are still subject to local authority and Government approval.

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This week, Frenchman Tom Pages found a way to push the sport of freestyle motocross one step further, landing the first-ever Bike Flip on a dirt bike. Check out the footage here. Word on the street is that Pages has asked Red Bull X-Fighters organisers to build a quarter pipe into this weekend’s course in Osaka, Japan specifically so that he can attempt his trick in front of thousands on the world stage. Best of luck, you crazy man… 

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There’s nothing cooler than traveling to another county with your mates and riding dirt bikes in front of massive crowds… All in the name of work! A few weeks ago, Australian Ramp Design (ARD) along with Cameron Sturtridge, plus a handful of freestyle motocross riders ventured across the seas to Shanghai, China for the Kia World Extreme Games, where they eventually swept the freestyle motocross podium. Read all about it and check out some awesome footage from the event in this week’s FMX Insider column, penned by Ben Heidrich.

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The 2014 Nitro Circus Live Australian Capital City Tour is well and truly underway. Five shows have already taken place in Perth and Brisbane, and three more shows are going down in Sydney this weekend, starting tomorrow night. Be sure to grab a ticket if you haven’t already got one.

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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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Lusty Industries & Distributors has announced that they are the newly appointed distributor of the Australian-made innovative product, FunnelWeb Filters. Check out all the brands Lusty Industries & Distributors stocks here. 

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Alpinestars has teamed up with Troy Lee Designs to offer a signature Bionic Neck Brace Support. The product is available here via Lusty Industries & Distributors.

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VMX’s Classic Dirt 10 is taking place this year on June 20-22 in Conondale, Qld. Check out our highlights reel from Classic Dirt 9 below – it’s a ripper of an event.

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Leigh Hutton’s debut novel, REV GIRL, is set to shine in the spotlight of the growing trend of girls swinging their legs over motorcycles and taking on the guys. REV GIRL will be launched this Saturday with a major book launch event in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD. The event is being held on the main stage of Queen Street Mall, and will feature girls doing stunts on motorcycles, fashion shows, an autograph signing with some of the REV GIRL ambassadors, book signing with the author, Hutton, and more. REV GIRL is the first book in The Go Girls Chronicles – a series of novels about the gutsy girls of action sports. For more information on the book, click here.

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Motorcycling Australia has announced that Braxton Laine was elected as President of the MA Board of Directors at the AGM this week. Laine replaced Stephen Foody, who has been President for the past four years.

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So you’ve had an MA Competitor Licence for years and you’re wondering why that fat little A5 Manual of Motorcycle Sport (MoMS) booklet never arrived in the mail this year? Well, if you haven’t been paying attention, the 2014 MoMS is only available in digital format. Actually, that’s not strictly true – you can now purchase the print-form MoMS for $20 from MA. Pity that. We were really quite enjoying the ridiculous spectacle of those track-side protests where riders, team managers and/or parents were doing their best to juggle their laptop, tablet or smartphone and flick to the appropriate page in the MoMS. Kinda like EFI mapping, but with protests!

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A small presentation took place at the National Motor Musuem in South Australia over the weekend, where Andy Caldecott’s VMX multi-time championship-winning 1974 Suzuki TM 400L replaced his Repsol 710 KTM, that was recently sold to avid collector, Craig Baills.

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GoPro released a filing dated May 19 that states plans to raise $100 million from its initial public offering. The POV camera and accessory company, which will list on the NASDAQ exchange as GPRO, said the $100 million is only a baseline, and may increase substantially depending on investor interest, according to its public filing. For more information, click here. 

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This week’s parting shot goes to professional BMX rider, Brandon Begin from the US. El Toro is an incredibly famous stair-set that many extreme sports athletes have performed stunts down before. Brandon didn’t nail what he was attempting, but he’s already recovered fully from this crash. Catch you next week.

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