THROWDOWN NO.247 – 24/07/15

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Entries are now open for this year’s 2015 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championships, which will be held from September 26 to October 3 at Bunbury’s Shrubland Park – in WA’s third-largest city, which lies 175km south of Perth. Throughout the week, KTM will have a massive supporting presence on the ground – from their Technical Service (a support centre for KTM owners requiring set-up advice and support for any mechanical emergencies) to the KTM Spare Parts centre. The WA-based company even offers a comprehensive “Competitors’ Preparation Guide”

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Understandably, last weekend’s racing at Shepparton for Round 7 of the MX Nats was overshadowed by Matt Moss’s gnarly run-in with a Bobcat during the reigning champ’s GoPro SuperPole hotlap – an incident that’s done the rounds on social media channels and drawn a lot of ill-informed commentary from those who, frankly, should know better. But now that we know Moss will be okay, focus has returned to what a great weekend’s racing it was. In the MX1 class, Kade Mosig answered the criticisms of his CDR Yamaha team boss, Craig Dack, the best way he would: with a win. In MX2, Caleb Ward nabbed his fourth consecutive Overall win, though it’s Jay Wilson, Luke Clout and Takeshi Katsuya who, separated by just 19 points, look like they’ll battle for the MX2 title. And in the MXD class, KTM’s Jayden Rykers finally got a win. He now sits within striking distance of Wilson Todd and Connor Tierney with three rounds to run.

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The 13th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place at this weekend at the old-school style circuit in Loket in the Czech Republic. Even this far into the season, picking a box-topper from round to round is next to impossible. Stay tuned for highlights from Loket early next week.

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Entries are now open for the final round of the 2015 Yamaha Australian Women’s Motocross Championship in Nowra, NSW, on August 2. Click here to find out more.

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The USA’s massive annual Amateur MXer get-together, Loretta Lynn’s, is set to kick of this weekend and will run though to August 1. Hosted at the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch, this event serves as the world’s largest and most prestigious amateur motocross championship; it’s the proving grounds for young rider looking to step into a professional racing career. Stay tuned for more.

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The inimitable Dirt Shark released an epic video today of Chad Reed ripping around his private motocross track. Take a Chopper Ride down to Dade City, Florida, and see the Aussie motocross legend shred up his outdoor track from up above in #Heli22. Click here to check it out.

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Behind the scenes, there is news that reigning AMA Outdoor champ, Ken Roczen, is not as fit as he was last season and is still not happy with his RHC Suzuki’s set-up. With the 450MX title defence looking bleak for Roczen, the team is getting back to basics, testing themselves stupid in SoCal. This week’s USA Insider goes into intriguing detail about K-Roc’s predicament, and reflects on other rider/team marriages that have either ended in divorce or reconciliation.

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Speaking of Roczen, Episode 3 of MX Nation, produced by Red Bull, surfaced today. And the latest episode doesn’t disappoint. Focusing on Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey both making the call to relocate their training to Florida, Clint Friesen (Roczen’s new trainer) rejects excuses and exposes some harsh truths about Roczen. Will Roczen be able to break through the mental block? Find out here. 

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In a season that started with so much promise, the MX World Championship’s premier MXGP class has now lost Ryan Villopoto, Antonio Cairoli, Max Nagl and Clement Desalle to injuries at different times, robbing us of such a potentially great championship. This is to take nothing away from Romain Febvre’s performance and he’ll have fully deserved this title – if he does indeed eventually win it. Click here for more inside information into the GP paddock and last week’s Junior World Championship.

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The crew behind WA’s Kickstarters Gascoyne Dash sound like they intend to have a red-hot crack at staging the event this year, and plan to offer better value-for-money for competitors. The “Gas Dash” – based in WA’s Carnarvon and Gascoyne Junction – takes place from October 22-25. Check out the event’s website  for more details.

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Most said the inaugural 2015 Transmoto 6-Hour was one of the wettest, wildest and most enjoyable two-wheeled events they’d ever experienced. Check out the pictures from the event.
For the die-hard competitive nuts, get ready to puff your chest up or hide in the corner in shame because the full set of Transmoto 6-Hour results are now online and can be found here.
The full highlights video of the event is live on the site and can be found here. 

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After a five-week break, the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) resumes this weekend for Rounds 9 and 10 of the series at Kyogle in northern NSW. And, believe it or not, KTM’s Toby Price (who currently holds a 42-point lead in the Outright standings) could roll out of Kyogle with a fifth AORC Outright title under his arm – that is, with two rounds up his sleeve. Active8 Yamaha teammates, Josh Green and Beau Ralston, both lead the standings in the E1 and E2 classes (and sit in second and fourth Outright), respectively. It will be a pivotal weekend’s racing for the Transmoto 19 & Under class, where four riders (Lyndon Snodgrass, Tom Mason, Peter Daniel-Allen and Wil Ruprecht) are all separated by a meagre 15 points. With wet conditions predicted for Kyogle, you’d have to think that Green and Ralston (who teamed up to win the mudfest that was Transmoto 6-Hour last weekend) will be a step ahead of their class rivals. But can the boys do enough to keep Price from amassing an unassailable 50-point lead in the Outright standings? In the interests of making the final two Monkerai rounds (August 15-16) interesting, here’s hoping they can. Then again, Price would love to wrap things up before he jumps on a plane to Spain next week to get started on his rally-bike testing with the KTM Factory Red Bull Rally Racing Team.

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Speaking of the AORC’s finale, tickets are now on sale for the 2015 Presentation Dinner, to be held at Riverwood Downs, Monkerai, on August 16. For more information, check out the flyer 

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Aussie Metal Mulisha rider, Truman Carroll, is known for his aggressive upright trick style. FMX Insider correspondent Ben Heidrich reckons he takes the cake for the largest Rock Solid on the planet! Heidrich caught up with Wagga Wagga’s ‘badass dude’ to talk about riding and his time in the foam pit this week. Click here to find out what Truman Carroll had to say.

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We got our first taste of the new 2016-model Japanese bikes this week with reviews from Chris Blose on Yamaha’s Refined YZ450F machine and David Pingree’s thoughts on Honda’s new CRF450F. Click the links to find out what each rider had to say.

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Have you ever wondered how the major motorcycle manufacturers go about testing future year-model bikes, but keep these prototype machines out of the public spotlight? Well, long-time KTM test pilot, Mike Sleeter, offered us an intriguing insight into KTM’s process and their bike camouflage tricks of the trade in this interview from the recent launch of KTM’s 2016 MXers in the USA.

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Sadly, the 2015 Speed Week at the infamous Bonneville salt flats in Utah, USA, has been called off due to excessive rain. It’s the first time ever that Bonneville has been canned two years in a row.

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Have you got your entry sorted for the 2015 Husqvarna Watagan Trail Bike Rally on August 15-16? If not, get onto it as we hear entries are filling fast. For more information, check out the event’s website

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Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine‘s 2015 July August issue (#51) is on sale now. Click here to find out what’s inside and be sure to grab a print copy from your local newsagents or a digital version via the Zinio App.

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Did you like the look of the Pro Series Moto Tool Kit, which the first 50 subscribers this month got for free? Well, it seems that lots of you liked the thing. Those 50 subscriptions and tool kits were lapped up in a matter of days. If you’re still interested in getting your hands on one, here’s some info about what it includes. You can pick one up via your local dealer or online at www.kenma.com.au

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Organisers of the Motul Pirelli Troy Bayliss Classic, presented by InsureMyRide and Garden Master, have confirmed that four-time Longtrack World Champion Joonas Kylmakorpi will join the illustrious rider line-up for the 2016 event at Taree Motorcycle Club on Saturday January 16. Reigning AMA Pro Grand National champion and 2015 Troy Bayliss Classic winner, Jared Mees, has also been confirmed as a starter. He’ll return to defend his title, along with the event’s 2014 and 2013 winners, Troy Bayliss and Michael Kirkness, respectively. The 2016 “TBC” will be the first major race meeting at Taree Motorcycle Club following upgrades to the track surface, fencing and speakers – made possible by a $100,000 funding grant from the NSW Government.

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