[Features]

Throwdown No.231 – 27/03/15

9 years ago | Photos: Cover Image: Pixel Pig

Short and sharp Throwdown this week, as we’re in the Transmoto van heading down to Batemans Bay for the fifth annual Transmoto 12-Hour, taking place this Sunday…

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Red Bull KTM’s streak of dominance came to an end over the weekend in Detroit, with GEICO Honda riders, Eli Tomac and Justin Bogle, stepping up and defeating Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin. With Suzuki’s Ken Roczen yet to make a return to racing, this year’s 450SX title belongs to Ryan Dungey. As for Bogle, we reckon he’ll probably get a few more Eastern Regional wins, but Musquin’s still the man to beat in the 250SX Class this year.

Speaking of Eli Tomac, have you noticed how many strange crashes he’s been involved in this year? Transmoto’s man in the US, Jason Weigandt, breaks them down, with reasoning, in this week’s USA Insider column.

After busting his arm at the Detroit round of the AMA SX and being sidelined for what could be the rest of the season, Trey Canard has got to be questioning the mysterious ways of the “The Man Above” he so often refers to. Did you see the look on Canard’s face as he got carted off the track by the Asterisk quad? There wasn’t a lot of Man Above compassion going on there, but you’ve got to feel sorry for the injury-prone redhead. He’s one of only a handful of riders this season who’ve shown the ability to come back from a poor start in the stacked 450 class and still score podiums or wins. Next season, Trey!

In Australia, the MX Nationals kicks off in Horsham, Victoria this Sunday. Heaps of teams have been releasing pre-season videos in the lead-up to the opener (no doubt you’ve seen them all over Facebook and Instagram), and boy, some dudes are looking fast right now. Of course, Matt Moss and Luke Clout (the 2014 champs) will be the men to beat this year, but they’re going to have riders coming at them from left, right and centre in 2015. For everything you need to know about the MX Nats, visit the official website: www.mxnationals.com.au

Our favourite MX Nats pre-season video is definitely this one, from Fox Head Australia. The boys did a mint job putting it all together. Honourable mention goes to Alpinestars Australia for their 2015 MX and Off-Road launch video.

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As always, heaps of Kiwi riders will be contesting the MX Nats this year. Leading the way will be three-time reigning New Zealand MX1 champ, Cody Cooper, who is seeking redemption after a disastrous opening round crash ruined his season in 2014. After destroying the Aussie competitors in the recent NZ Nationals, he’ll be a serious title contender in 2015. More in this week’s NZ Insider column.

The big FIM Motocross World Championship news at the moment is the banning of Jordi Tixier for a month, for attacking the FIM Medical Director at the GP of Thailand, causing him to miss the third round to be staged in Argentina this weekend. This should have been a major talking point, it really doesn’t seem to have caused too many ripples. You would have thought that the current MX2 world champion being banned would have sent shockwaves through the paddock, but really, it hasn’t got too many people agitated. Why? Find out in this week’s MXGP Insider column.

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Did you take note of the test times at the opening two rounds of the 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) last weekend in Queensland? They were as close as we’ve ever seen, especially the top five to six riders in each class, and it augers for a super-competitive season with such talent-stacked fields. Literally, fractions of a second split these blokes for most of the event’s gnarly 7km-long off-road loops. Props to guys like Beau Ralston and Daniel Sanders for bagging their first Outright test wins; to Chris Hollis and Ralston for coming back so strongly from injury; to Lachy Stanford for his first Outright podium; to Josh Green for finishing so strongly on such a fast track aboard a 250F; and to Tommy Kite for his pair of podium finishes in the Pro E1 class. Toby Price was at his consistent best with a 1-1 over the weekend, but he’s the first to admit that it’s going to be harder than ever to retain his AORC title this year.

Speaking of Pricey, did you catch this footage of him flying through the Australian outback? Hit play – you won’t be disappointed.

Shout-out to Peter-Daniel Allan (Damian Smith’s hand-picked apprentice from the 2013 Transmoto Master and Apprentice program) and KTM-mounted ripper, Tom Mason, on winning the opening two rounds of the Transmoto 19 & Under Class at the season opener in Queensland over the weekend.

As mentioned at the top of this article, we’re currently on our way down to Batemans Bay for the 2015 Transmoto 12-Hour (yes, doing wheelies along the freeway and typing on a laptop is tricky). Here’s the highlights from 2014. If you hit play and start feeling sick in the stomach because you’re missing out on all the fun this year, stay tuned to Transmoto‘s website over the coming months. Word on the street is that a second 12-Hour could be taking place in 2015. As we said, stay tuned.

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Check the screenshot below. These are from Detroit’s AMA SX round, not a Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour stop. Check out the footage by clicking here.

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If you’re familiar with Instagram, you should know all about the popular #whipitwednesday hashtag. Every Wednesday, dirt bike riders rejoice and share their best whip photos. Old or new, big or small, riders upload their efforts of turning the bike sideways. Transmoto‘s Ben Heidrich analyses the riders who #whipitwednesday best in this week’s FMX Insider column.

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Click here to find out what’s inside Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine’s 2015 March-April issue (#49), and be sure to grab yourself a print or digital edition. You can grab a print edition at your local newsagents, or a digital version via the App Store or Zinio.

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Got a dirt bike you want to sell? How about some used gear, parts or accessories? Thanks to the Transmoto Trader, you can now advertise what you’ve got to sell in front of a captive audience of over 100,000 unique website browsers per month, more than 330,000 Facebook followers and 12,000-plus Instagram followers. Create an account via Transmoto’s website (it’s quick and easy to do, and you can even log in using your Facebook account) and start posting. Start buying, selling and swapping your unwanted bikes, gear, parts and accessories.

WEB_ROTATOR

It’s positively raining moto-bambinos this week. And all of them, girls. Desert racing supremo, Todd Smith, and his wife Amy are celebrating the birth of a baby daughter, Ted Allen Smith. Meanwhile, long-time Transmoto contributor/testers, Garry Blizzard and Grant “Goba” O’Brien are both besides themselves with the birth of their first child – for Blizzard and his wife Leah, Eden Jay Blizzard, and for Goba and his wife, Andrea, Matilda O’Brien. It’s crazy to think that Blizz and Goba grew up together and have been lifelong friends, only to have their first groms born within two days of each other.

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