Throwdown No.141

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.

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The 45th running of the Red Bull Hangtown Motocross Classic proved to be one for the history books, as the 2013 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship kicked off in Sacramento over the weekend. After missing the entire 2012 season due to injury, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto made a valiant return sweeping both 450 Class motos, atop one of the most stacked fields in the series’ recent history. Consistency seemed to be the key at Hangtown, as Villopoto went 1-1, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey went 2-2, Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart went 3-3, Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard went 4-4, and Canard’s teammate Justin Barcia went 5-5. Interesting, eh? The series moves to Thunder Valley this weekend for Round 2, where we can hope to see TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed back in the mix following his disappointing 15th place finish at the opening round.

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In the 250 class, it was Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen who claimed his first career Overall victory at Hangtown. In second was the 2012 series champ, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett, while in third was GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac. In the Women’s MX Championship, New Zealand’s Courtney Duncan went 1-1 to claim her first career Overall victory, too.

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The MX1 Overall victory at the fourth round of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals, held at Broadford over the weekened was claimed by Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Matt Moss – his first round win of the year. Moss scored his second consecutive GoPro Super Pole victory, before going on to win the round with an impressive 1-2 result. Winner of the second moto was CDR Yamaha’s Billy Mackenzie, who finished in second Overall after also taking third place in the opening moto. Rounding out the podium was Motorex KTM Racing’s Kirk Gibbs, claiming his first top-three result for the 2013 season after going 6-4. Series leader, Gibbs’ teammate Todd Waters finished in fifth Overall, maintaining a 27-point lead over Moss, while Mackenzie sits in third. The series continues June 2 at Conondale, Queensland.

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In the MX2 class, Serco Yamaha’s Luke Styke continued his dominance winning his third Overall round of the 2013 season. Finishing in a close second was Carlton Dry Honda Racing’s Josh Cachia, while Styke’s teammate, Luke Clout finished in third. Styke holds a 30-point lead ahead of Clout, while in third sits KTM-mounted privateer Brock Winston. These four look to be the main contenders vying for the title, as Zero Seven Motorsports’ Kade Mosig is out until Round 6 with an injury sustained at Round 3. Filling in for Mosig at Broadford’s round was Queenslander Dylan Peterson, who surprised many on his 2013 MX Nats debut, placing an impressive 8th Overall.

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In other MX2 news, we’ve been told that Dylan Long and Choice Motorsports KTM have parted ways for the remainder of the 2013 season. We’ll have more information for you regarding the situation soon.

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GYTR Yamaha’s Joel Dinsdale broke through for his first Overall win in the MXD (Under 19s) category with an emphatic victory at the Broadford’s MX Nationals round. Dinsdale made his intentions clear with a race win at the previous round in Wonthaggi, and that confidence boosting result had him primed and ready for bigger things. Well done, mate.

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Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Cole Seely raced BMX long before he raced amateurs, and he only did so to keep his family happy. But as soon as he could, he walked away from motocross and returned to school – he even held down a ‘proper’ job. The fact that he’s now back and racing towards the top of the AMA tree means there’s much more to this 23-year-old’s story. In order to flesh out the full story, Transmoto’s USA-based contributor, Cameron Baird, was tasked with uncovering the truth behind this moto enigma… You can read the entire feature in our June Issue, on sale now. Still not interested? Check out this awesome clip from Metis Creative, showcasing Seely’s skills at central California’s Zaca Station MX facility, and we swear you’ll want to know more about the kid.

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Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli won the Super Final, as well as the MX1 Overall at the the Grand Prix of Brazil over the weekend, the seventh round of the 2013 FIM Motocross World Championship. In the MX2 class, Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings took home the Overall victory – yet again! Australia’s Dean Ferris finished the round in fifth Overall with a 7-5 result. The Monster Energy Yamaha rider maintains a solid sixth place in the MX2 championship standings. Ferris also snagged the cover of this month’s Motocross Illustrated mag – nice work, mate.

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Speaking of the 2013 FIM Motocross World Championship, 18-year-old Meghan Rutledge has been given the chance to capitalise on her podium finish at the opening round of this year’s series. Rutledge will race the remainder of this year’s series for Team Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki on board a KX250F – go get ’em, Meg! More details can be found here.

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One of Australia’s most prestigious motocross events, the Manjimup 15,000 is set to take place at the Cosy Creek MX circuit in Manjimup, Western Australia, June 8-9. Confirmed riders for the 2013 event include Jamie Law (UK), Travis Freistat (USA), Weston Peick (USA), Todd Waters, Kirk Gibbs, Luke Davis and Louis Calvin. Other riders who may compete include Jay Marmont, Ryan Marmont and Dean Porter. With over $20,000 up for grabs, the Pro Open class is filling up fast. More information can be found here.

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Yewwww! It was a near perfect weekend for Australia’s Matt Phillips at Portugal’s round of the 2013 FIM Enduro World Championship (EWC), winning six special tests on the opening day in the Enduro Junior (EJ) class to claim a 33-second margin of victory. The EWC new-comer then went on to top the EJ class on day two, and in doing so, moves 17 points clear at the top of the championship standings. Check out this rad helmet camera footage of Phillips racing through the round’s Enduro Test en route to victory. Keep the momentum rolling, champ.

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In other EWC news, Australia’s Jess Gardiner was presented with victory on the first day of Portugal’s round, only to have it revoked the next day. Results from one of the special tests weren’t originally put towards the overall scores, however the decision was later made to re-instate the results, pushing Jess back to fourth place. Finishing Day 2 of racing with a second place finish, Jess was able to walk away tied for second Overall in the championship standings. The Sherco-mounted rider returns to Australia this weekend to race the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2013 Australian Off-Road Championship.

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Following some of the muddiest race conditions the series has seen in recent history, the 2013 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series experienced picture perfect weather and track conditions on Sunday for the Dunlop Limestone 100 GNCC. After three hours of intense battle, Charlie Mullins extended his points lead over the XC1 field by capturing his fourth win of the season at Round 6 of the 13-race series. Rocky Mountain ATV/MC’s Josh Strang finished in 11th, and sits fifth Overall in the championship standings. The series continues June 1-2 with the Wiseco John Penton GNCC.

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Factory FMF/KTM rider Kurt Caselli collected his fifth straight win at the Jericho Hare and Hound over the weekend. His teammate, Ivan Ramirez, joined him on the podium with a second place finish.

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The fifth and sixth rounds of the 2013 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) are set to take place this weekend in Corner Inlet, Victoria. These will be the first rounds that Motorex KTM Off Road Racing’s Toby Price will miss due to his injuries – a real bummer for the defending AORC Outright champ. His teammate, Chris Hollis and CDR Yamaha Off Road Racing’s Daniel Milner will be fighting hard to claim the No.1 spot, with the likes of Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green, Husqvarna Racing’s Glenn Kearney and more also posing a threat. The current AORC championship standings for all classes are as follows:

Champ E1:
1. Daniel Milner, 97
2. Tom McCormack, 82
3. Ben Burrell, 74

Champ E2:
1. Chris Hollis, 100
2. Josh Green, 77
3. Lachlan Stanford, 74

Champ E3:
1. Toby Price, 100
2. Stefan Granquist, 86
3. Geoff Braico, 80

Champ Women’s:
1. Emelie Karlsson, 97
2. Jessica Gardiner, 91
3. Kristie McKinnon, 72

Champ Vet’s:
1. Craig Wease, 78
2. Damian Smith, 72
3. Kirk Hutton, 47

Outright Top Ten:
1. Toby Price, 97
2. Chris Hollis, 91
3. Daniel Milner, 76
4. Josh Green, 58
5. Glenn Kearney, 54
6. Lachlan Stanford, 54
7. Jarrod Bewley, 50
8. Tom McCormack, 49
9. Stefan Merriman, 48
10. Scott Keagan, 41

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Blazusiak didn’t win? Yeah, Taddy placed fourth Overall in the Men’s Enduro X final at the Barcelona X Games after crashing heavily on the final lap of the race while battling for the win. Entering the event eager to repeat his winning performance at X Games Brazil, Blazusiak’s race ended in spectacular style when he parted company with his 350cc KTM in mid-air. The winner was KTM-mounted Mike Brown, followed by Colton Haaker and Cody Webb.

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Barcelona’s X Games stop went down over the weekend and it was a good one. Ronnie Renner claimed his fourth Moto X Step Up Gold Medal, and Jeremy ‘Twitch’ Stenberg didn’t win Best Whip – go get another 80,000 Twitter followers, bro. You can grab the full Moto X results here.

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Did you catch the story that Channel 7 ran on the late Tyrone Gilks? If you missed it, you can check it out here. “Young men risking everything for a shot at glory and the roar of the crowd. With stakes so high, it’s every parent’s worst nightmare, but for one man, it’s been a ticket to fame and fortune.” Blaming Robbie Maddison for Gilks’ tragic death, or simply trying to raise awareness of the dangers that come hand-in-hand with freestyle motocross riding? You be the judge.

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It’s officially been confirmed that 2014 will be the last year that the Swedish brand, Husaberg, will function independently before merging its state-of-the-art technology with Husqvarna’s rich heritage, under the Husqvarna brand name, for 2015 and beyond. Celebrating 25 years of commitment, passion and innovative off-road motorcycle design, Husaberg’s seven-bike 2014 model range has been improved and refined. 2014 represents a unique opportunity to own a ‘pure enduro’ Husaberg for the very last time. Click here and suss ’em out.

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James Rankin was the lucky winner of our Oakley Airbrake MX Goggle Instagram promotion – congratulations, mate! If you’re not already doing so, be sure to follow us @transmoto, as we’ll be giving away more goodies soon.

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Youthstream has announced that the 2017 FIM Motocross of Nations will be celebrated at the facilities of Beto Carrero, Brazil. The last time that the MXoN took place in Brazil was in 1999.

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We leave you with this. You may or may not be familiar with Kyle Loza’s signature Bike Flip – he attempted to land it in X Games Best Trick for a couple of years but couldn’t quite get there. Well, this is a landed Bike Flip, with a Back Flip, and a late Tailwhip. It’s on a BMX but we don’t really care – it’s freakin’ insane!

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