Throwdown No.151

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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Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart captured the Overall win at the Red Bull Spring Creek National over the weekend – his first of the 2013 season – while finishing in second was Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard, followed by Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey. 450 Class leader, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto finished fifth Overall with a moto score of 4-6 for the day, marking the first time this season that he hasn’t finished atop the Overall podium. In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac went 1-1 to claim the Overall and steal the red plate away from Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen, who went 35-2. Round 10 of the 2013 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship heads to New Berlin, NY for the Built Ford Tough Unadilla National on Saturday, August 10.

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Who actually paid attention to the racing that went down between Stewart and Canard in those last few laps of the second moto at Spring Creek? Check it out below – it was freakin’ intense.

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BTO Sports KTM has announced the re-signing of Andrew Short for the 2014 and 2015 racing seasons. He’ll be lining up on board a 450SX-F, contesting both AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross Championships.

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Alrigthy, MX Nats. CDR Yamaha’s Billy Mackenzie claimed his first MX1 Overall on Sunday, using a GoPro Super Pole victory and a pair of third places to clinch the round. A mere point behind Mackenzie was Motul Pirelli Suzuki’s Matt Moss, who took second in the GoPro Super Pole and scored 6-1 moto results. Moss now holds a two-point lead over Motorex KTM Racing’s Todd Waters in the championship standings with three rounds remaining. Campbell Mining Suzuki’s Jake Moss went 2-2 at Hervey Bay, and although he did score the fastest GoPro Super Pole lap time, he was relegated back to fifth after jumping off the track, and was forced to finish in third. Stay tuned for an interview with the Moss brothers, online later today.

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The Motul MX2 ranks saw Serco Yamaha’s Luke Styke race to his sixth Overall round win of the season with another clean-sweep, ahead of two-stroke KTM-mounted Kale Makeham and ZeroSeven Motorsports’ Kade Mosig. Makeham qualified first and scored 3-2 moto results, while Mosig claimed an impressive 2-3. Styke now enjoys a 91-point advantage over Makeham in the championship standings. In the Pirelli MXD class, GYTR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson won his first Overall of the season going 1-2. Championship leader, KTM-mounted Hamish Harwood finished in second Overall, while Wilson’s teammate, Joel Dinsdale, was third. The 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals will continue at Swan Hill in Victoria on Sunday, August 11.

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After hearing a few whispers at the start of the year, WEM’s Kevin Williams confirmed with Transmoto this week that for season 2014 and beyond, the MX Nationals’ MXD class will remove the Under 19s age limit, and instead enforce an Under 18s restriction. The class will remain compulsory for all racers to compete in once they have completed Juniors, and you must be under the age of 18 come January 1 to be eligible for the class. For further details, click here.

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It was announced this morning that South Australia’s Luke Arbon will fill the seat vacated by Luke Clout on the Serco Yamaha team for the 2013 Australian Supercross Championship, to race on board a YZ250F. “We looked through the results over the past few seasons in Australia and also at some overseas riders, but we decided to continue to invest in Australian talent and Luke’s supercross ability as well as previous results impressed us,” said Serco boss, Gavin Eales. “He already knows the bike extremely well, is within the Yamaha program and I’m sure he will be a great fit for the team and post some great results for us this year.” In 2011, Arbon finished the Super X Championship fourth Overall in the MX2 division. He was unable to contest the 2012 series due to injury, but is now 100% fit and ready to get back into it.

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Instagram official. As previously speculated here at Transmoto, Daniel McCoy will join the Motorex KTM Racing team to race the 2013 Australian Supercross Championships on board a 450SX-F. Does this mean Waters will ditch the series to focus on gaining a place at Team Australia to contest the MXoN this year, and race in Europe for season 2014? Stay tuned as we bring you updates…

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Round 14 of the 2013 FIM Motocross World Championship is set to take place this weekend at the historical track of Loket, and thousands of Dutch fans are travelling to the Czech Republic as it’s very likely that Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings will claims his second FIM MX2 World Title this weekend. In the MX1 class, Herlings’ teammate Antonio Cairoli holds a comfortable advantage over Clement Desalle and Ken De Dycker, but the Italian may need to wait until the following Grand Prix to claim his next crown. For more news on what’s going on in Europe at the moment, have a read of this week’s MXGP Insider.

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This weekend’s Maxima Racing Oils Conondale Classic has attracted the biggest field of motocross machinery from the 1960s through to the 1980s ever seen in Australia, with riders including the likes of 1996 World Motocross Champion Shayne King and his brother, Darryl, Glenn Bell, James Deakin, Dave Armstrong, Geoff Ballard, Andrew Bailey and Darren Smart. The Conondale facility is just 20 minutes away from Maleny, and there will be a full program of racing on Saturday and Sunday. To see the full program and rider list, click here.

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Defending champion, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jay Marmont, is set to take on this year’s Manjimup 15000 winner, Todd Waters, as well as the likes of Kirk Gibbs, Dean Porter, Cody Mackie, Luke Davis, Louis Calvin, Michael Addison and more, at the King of the Cross this weekend. The event is held in Southern Cross, 360 kilometres east of Perth. There will be a minimum of 450 riders competing over the two days, with the Seniors chasing a share of the massive $45,000 in prize money over the weekend. The “King of the Cross” for 2013 will take home $10,000 for his weekend’s work. This year, the meeting will also be catering for Pro Lites, Clubmen, Vets, Women’s Queen of the Cross and Quads. For further information, click here.

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The 2013 Swann Insurance 24-Hour Reliability Trial turned out to be one of the toughest held in recent years, mainly due to the rain and fog encountered by the competitors, making a slippery course even more difficult. Sean Throup came out on top aboard his City Discount Tyres Yamaha WR450F, triumphing over his twin brother, Tristan, and Rowan Pumpa who took third Overall. From the 200 starters, only 84 managed to make it through to the finish, highlighting how difficult the event was.

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Romaniacs = Mental… That is all…

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The news broke last week that Australia’s Chad Reed will line up to race when the final stop on the 2013 X Games calendar kicks off in Los Angeles next weekend. The 31-year-old will contest the recently re-introduced Men’s Moto X event, and will be up against the likes of Mike Alessi, Justin Brayton, Josh Grant, Wil Hahn, Josh Hansen, Josh Hill, Jason Anderson, Weston Peick and more. Everyone’s favourite bad-boy, Jason Lawrence, is set to compete as well. Other Australian athletes invited to attend the 2013 edition of X Games LA include Rob Adelberg, Robbie Maddison, Meghan Rutledge, Jackson ‘Jacko’ Strong and Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams. Transmoto‘s men on the ground, Monster Energy’s Eric Johnson and Steve Cox, will be keeping track of Reedy and Bilko over the weekend for an upcoming magazine feature – stay tuned.

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This is sick. Russell Brothers Films’ Lachlan Russell has been following Australia’s Rob Adelberg all over the world recently to create this film, titled ‘Immersed’. At the ripe age of 24, Adelberg is only gaining momentum. Check out the clip and gain an insight into his life as he travels behind the lines of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour, and prepares for X Games LA.

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Josh Hansen’s bike will be flying the Los Angeles Lakers’ familiar purple and gold colours when he competes at X Games this weekend inside the Staples Center. Click here to browse through a gallery uploaded by ESPN for a closer look at Hansen’s ride. Pretty sick, eh?

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20 professional and amateur freestyle motocross riders will tackle the biggest, toughest FMX course in the country at the second round of the Australian FMX Championships at Coonabarabran this weekend, for the JetPilot Invitational. With the first round on the Sunshine Coast cancelled due to bad weather last month, the riders are eager to get into the thick of the action. The AFMXC Jetpilot Invitational is unfortunately closed to the public, but there will be video highlights released after the event. For more information and updates, click here.

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Who’s giving away a 2014 KTM 350EXC-F? That would be _Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine_. Click here and find out how you could easily become the lucky winner.

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Want to win yourself a 2014 Fox V4 helmet? Go follow us on Instagram @transmoto, as well as @foxheadaustralia, and repost the image below and tag @transmoto, #transmoto and #foxheadaustralia and you could win! Winner will be announced August 9.

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Feld Motor Sports has announced the schedule for the 2014 AMSOIL Arenacross season, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross. The season kicks off on Friday, January 3, with two nights of racing from Worcester and the DCU Center. From there, the championship travels throughout the US, across 11 additional states before crowning a champion. For the full schedule, click here.

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A round of applause for Ryan Dungey! His Minnesota River-to-River Ride took place on Sunday, raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and was a huge success. Ryan worked with long-time sponsor, Target (who is also a big contributor to the Hospital), to organize the event, combining his passion for cycling with finding a cure for cancer – a cause that is very close to his heart. This year, the Ride raised an incredible $104,472.70 – triple the amount it raised last year. Ryan also matched the first $50,000 that was raised through donations.

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