Throwdown No.137

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.

We’re guaranteed a thriller this weekend, as we head to Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium for the penultimate round of 2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto holds a 25-point lead over Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps in the 450SX Class, and can clinch his third straight SX title if he maintains that advantage following the 16th race of the season. A mere point behind Millsaps is Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey. In the 250SX Class, Dungey’s teammate Ken Roczen also has a shot at wrapping up the Western Regional title this weekend, as he sits 20 points ahead of GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac. Consistency has really paid off for Roczen this year, as he has placed either first or second Overall at each of this year’s races. Are we looking at two storybook endings, or is everything about to be flipped upside down in SLC? We’ll soon find out…

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And while the supercross begins to come to a close in America, we’re just getting into the swing of things here in Australia with the second round of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals set to place place in Murray Bridge, SA this weekend. Motorex KTM Racing’s Todd Waters will carry the red plate into Round 2 in the MX1 class, closely followed by Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Cody Cooper and CDR Yamaha’s Billy Mackenzie. “Murray Bridge is my favourite track and I enjoy riding it, so I’m glad we’re going back there and I can’t wait to see how we go,” said Waters. “I’ll do my best and if that gets me to the top step then so be it. Last weekend no one knew what anyone’s level was, so I’m sure there’s been a lot of hard training and testing going on and I’m definitely hoping for some great competition this weekend.” Can Waters back up his opening round effort and claim all 75 points up for grabs on Sunday?

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Yeah, it’s early, but Waters looks as though he’ll dominate in season 2013. Cooper and Mackenzie are right up there, and so are Matt and Jake Moss. Carlton Dry Honda Racing team riders Ford Dale and Daniel McCoy got off to a slow start, but will surely be heading into Murray Bridge with loads of determination. Four-time Aussie MX Champ, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jay Marmont, sustained a chip and crack in his collar bone at Raymond Terrace, and spent all of last week laid up with a bug that saw him having to visit the local hospital. He might not be heading into Round 2 completely healthy, but we’re sure he and his teammate, Adam Monea, will both be looking to land their green machines on the podium. Of course, we can’t forget about the likes of Lawson Bopping, Kirk Gibbs, Tye Simmonds and Cody Mackie, who’ll all be keen to sneak ahead. As we’ve previously stated, it’s a hard series to judge this year!

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While the MX1 class proves to be rather unpredictable at this stage, the MX2 class seems to be rolling out exactly as we had predicted. Serco Yamaha’s Luke Styke leads the way after winning both motos at Raymond Terrace, while Carlton Dry Honda’s Josh Cachia sits closely behind in second Overall, with two-stroke KTM-mounted Kale Makeham in third, a rookie in this year’s MX2 class. Styke looked seriously quick at Raymond Terrace, although Cachia was carrying some nerve damage in his right elbow, which was causing a numb throttle hand mid-moto. He had it operated on immediately, and while we were unable to get in contact with Cachia to see how he’s doing, it seems as though he’s quite keen to race in front of his home-crowd. “This is my hometown event and I am going to have a lot of people there supporting me,” said Cachia. This weekend, we’ll also be keeping a close eye on Styke’s teammate Luke Clout and Zero Seven Motorsports’ Kade Mosig.

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Speaking of Cachia, can you guess who just hooked him up with a nice little sponsorship?

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Don’t forget, you’ll be able to tune into www.mysportlive.com.au on Saturday for the second of the series’ Thor Bench Races, discussing the round ahead, and on Sunday, catch all the of the action LIVE from practice and qualifying. As always, make sure you’re following our updates from Murray Bridge on Facebook and Instagram @transmoto, too.

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Tumbulgum Farm in Byford, WA is ready to host the 2013 KTM Natural Terrain Motocross event this weekend, April 27-28. HSE Motorex KTM Desert Racing’s Ben Grabham will be competing at Tumbulgum this year, on board a desert-spec 450 SX-F in the Pro class. Although motocross isn’t Ben’s specialty, as a four-time winner of the Finke Desert Race and recently finishing 15th in the gruelling Dakar Rally, he is bound to shake up the field and provide some spectacular racing. The star attraction for the 2013 event, however, is Australian freestyle motocross sensation Matt Schubring, as he attempts to clear a whopping 250ft jump! Single day admission is $20 for adults, $10 for kids under 15 and kids under five free on Saturday, while it’s $25.00 for adults on Sunday, $15 for kids under 15, and kids under five Free. For more information on the event, click here.

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Sadly, extreme wet weather conditions resulted in the third round of the 2013 East Coast MX Series being cancelled for Seniors at Maitland, NSW on Sunday. The Junior racing went ahead, after which a decision was made to postpone the big boys’ racing to another date. At the moment, Round 3 will be continued on Saturday May 11, pending approval from MNSW – we’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

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Pricey’s home! If you’ve been following Toby Price’s recent updates via social media over the past couple of days, you’ll understand exactly how tough he’s been doing it. For those of you who haven’t heard, Price crashed at the fourth round of the 2013 AMA Hare and Hound National Championship near Lucerne Valley, California, and was hospitalised with serious neck injuries. Insurance problems began to surface, and Price was unable to be operated on in America. He was forced to wear a halo neck brace for days, left with nothing to do but pray and wait until he was stable enough to fly home where he could be operated on. The neck injuries the Motorex KTM Off Road Racing rider sustained could have quite easily paralyzed him, so it’s great to hear that he’s had surgery in Brisbane and is on his way to recovering. “Thanks to everyone getting me back, just at the hospital now and as you can see in the scans, I can now see how lucky I am,” posted Price via Facebook. “You can see the cord down the middle and I’m touching it…” Toby’s dad, John, couldn’t be happier at this stage. “Operation has been successful at this stage,” stated John via Facebook. “Aussie doctors rule! I’m heading out of Sydney at the moment and catching a flight to be with him in Brisbane. Will keep updates coming.” You’re doing well, mate!

To donate to Toby Price’s recovery fund, use the following details:

Toby Price Recovery Fund
BSB – 112879
Account – 431539059

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When the GHR Honda Australia Team made its inaugural trip to the Dakar Rally in 2011, team owner Glenn Hoffmann had the foresight (and financial tenacity!) to take the guys from Victorian-based company, Nalu Productions, along for the none-too-cheap ride. Together, they planned to create a documentary about their South American adventure (including the 12 months leading up to it), and hoped that the first all-Australian Dakar team’s assault would capture the imagination of TV execs. Finally, it has. “Dream of Dakar” is set to air on the National Geographic Adventure Channel, with the first of the four 30-minute episodes programmed for next week. For details, check your Foxtel guide, or the details provided in GHR’s press release about the exciting news.

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At this year’s Condo 750 Rally, held in Central NSW a couple of weeks back, competitors were given the opportunity to register for the Safari Challenge and win a free entry into the 2013 Australasian Safari. It’s an initiative loosely based on the Safari’s Dakar Challenge concept where Safari competitors can win a free-of-charge entry into the Dakar Rally if certain conditions are met. At this year’s Condo, Lee Stephens placed 12th and won the Moto entry into the Safari. Meanwhile, long-time Condo entrant, Jason Pearce, won both the Condo and the free entry into the Safari. It’s great to see event organisers work together on initiatives like this, and give privateer racers the opportunity to enter events they might not otherwise be able to afford. The 2013 Australasian Safari runs September 20-27 over eight days of 3500km mainly off-road tracks through the mid-west of Western Australia.

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In other Safari news, organisers announced this week that international rally champ, Alister McRae, has signed a deal with KTM Australia that’ll see him race a 500EXC in September’s 2013 Australasian Safari. After 20 years of professional rally driving experience, McRae’s move to the Moto category appears contrary to the Moto-to-Auto transition most racers make. But McRae reminded us that, “Most people don’t know my first foray into motorsport was at age 12 in motorcycle trials and motocross, though bikes have changed a bit since then! I’m really excited and slightly nervous about riding in this year’s Australasian Safari.”

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The long-awaited 2013 Yamaha King of the Enduro-X is set to take place at Gillman Speedway in Adelaide this Saturday, April 27. A whopping $10,000 is up for grabs – the Overall winner will take home $4000 alone. A few big names making the journey over for this year’s event include Motorex KTM Off Road Racing’s Chris Hollis, CDR Yamaha Off Road Racing’s Daniel Milner and Stefan Granquist. Last year’s champion Rhyce Ahola is set to battle it out, along with young-gun Luke Arbon. Jump on the official website, grab all of the details and get to it.

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Taddy Blazusiak secured yet another X-Games Gold Medal in the Enduro-X Men’s Final in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. Fending off some of the world’s best endurocross racers, the KTM Enduro Factory Team rider took a near start-to-finish win in the Men’s Enduro X Final, which marked the start of the four-day action sports event.

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Pfft, you think an off-road dirt bike is good for moving in and out of tight spaces when out on a trail? Try manoeuvring in and out of a few witches hats on a Harley – this could be the way to go in the future!

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Has X Games lost its once-magical touch? The dirt bike events didn’t seem to be all too special in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil over the weekend. Is it because ESPN is now running X Games in a tour-like format? Is it because they removed Best Trick from competition? Who knows, but Brazil’s stop just didn’t seem that great. Relative no-name competitors landed on the podiums in half of the events, and it was the BMX and Skate events that proved to be the rather exciting ones, where as dirt bikes were once the centre of attention. Australia’s Kyle Baldock actually claimed Gold medals in both the Park and Dirt BMX divisons – the best results of the weekend, we believe. The next X Games stop of 2013 is set to take place in Barcelona, Spain, May 16-19. Will that be more exciting? Time will tell… For full results from Brazil, click here.

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Maybe we’re just bummed a little because Jeremy ‘Twitch’ Stenberg won Best Whip… Again! Check out all of the action from Brazil’s Best Whip competition and tell us who you think should have won.

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Did you catch the drama that went down during Moto X Step Up between Ronnie Renner and Josh Hansen? That might have been one of the more entertaining parts of the weekend, actually. 29 year-old Hansen cleared twenty-eight feet without any effort at all, and the crowd seemed to side with his laid back style. Hansen played into the crowd and just seemed to be out for a good time, not taking it as serious as some of the other entrants. It was when Hansen rode through Renner’s line right before he was set to attempt the same height Hansen just cleared that angered the three time champ. Renner jumped off his bike and attempted to knock down Hansen, who dodged him at the last second. Hansen then continued to taunt Renner by revving his motorcycle right beside him. After Renner cleared the height, he rode back around to the pack of riders in the staging area and intentionally t-boned Hansen. The two riders exchanged words, eventually being separated by their teams. Funnily enough, neither of them won! 22-year-old Bryce Hudson made short work of Renner clearing the thirty-one foot mark, leaving Renner to fail on both attempts.

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Watch as the reigning Red Bull X-Fighters World Champ Levi Sherwood throws down one of his favorite tricks, the Shaolin Backflip, in super slow motion at his home in New Zealand. Pretty simple, eh?

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Motocross legend, Doug Henry, headed over to Travis Pastrana’s place last week for a foam-pit session. Doug’s paralyzed from the legs down, but he proved that you don’t need working legs to do a Backflip on a 450cc dirt bike! “He’s always been a hero to me on and off the track,” said Pastrana. Check out the rad clip here!

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Are we the only ones wondering why there’s been a complete vacuum of news since KTM’s Stefan Pierer (or at least his company, Pierer Industrie AG) bought Husqvarna from BMW (who owned it since 2008)? In the three months since, we’ve heard talk that the apparent conflict of interest for Pierer will prompt his stepping down as CEO of KTM Sportmotorcycle AG in order to run Husqvarna. Others said that suggestion was preposterous, given that KTM has been Pierer’s ‘baby’ for 20 years. But with Pierer having sold large slabs of KTM to massive Indian manufacturer, Bajaj, pundits still believe he may be set to leave KTM. The most recent rumours suggest that Husaberg and Husqvarna will pool their resources under the Husqvarna brand, leaving Husaberg’s future in doubt. The only inkling we do have about Pierer’s plans is his recent comments about making a two-pronged attack on the Japanese brands: “KTM will compete with the reds (Honda), and Husqvarna can take care of the other three chips on the table – green (Kawasaki), blue (Yamaha) and yellow (Suzuki).” Does that means that Husaberg will continue down it’s “Pure Enduro” path, with new-look Husqvarnas focusing strongly on the motocross market? It looks like we’ll all have to wait until the Milan Show in early November to see how it’ll all play out. Interesting times.

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No doubt a result of the KTM/Husaberg/Husqvarna corporate restructure, KTM’s PR and marketing guy, Paolo Carrubba, has recently taken up the same role with Husqvarna Motorcycles. Simultaneously, Husqvarna’s Martino Bianchi (who played a key role as Husqvarna’s racing and media liaison guy for many years), has announced that he’s left Husqvarna to take on the role of General Manager for Honda’s Team HRC Rally – who five-time Dakar Rally winner, Cyril Despres, is widely expected to ride for.

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Long-time Qld-based parts and accessories distributor, John Titman Racing (JTR), is now the Australian distributor for (Aussie-made) Motoz tyres and tubes, with JTR announcing plans for a massive relaunch of the brand. The move makes a lot of sense for JTR, who is already one of Australia’s leading distributors (and custom builders) of motorcycle wheels. JTR has also expanded their product lines for existing brands, RHK and Universal. Check out the official website for more details.

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Matty Eastburn, owner of The Tool Store in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire and his wife Kylie welcomed their son into the world on Tuesday. Born at 7.40am, Joel William Eastburn weighed in at 2.8kgs and 45cm. Congrats, mate!

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Dates for the 2013 Sydney Motorcycle & Scooter Show has been announced. It will be held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, November 15-17. For more info, check out www.motorcycleshow.com.au.

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