Throwdown No.264 – 27/11/15

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It’s been yet another interesting week for the guys from AME Management, who are promoting this weekend’s AUS-X Open – arguably the biggest and most prestigious supercross and FMX event in Australian history. Race fans welcomed the news that Americans Ricky Carmichael and Cooper Webb would replace James Stewart, who didn’t come clean until Tuesday (via his Instagram page) about the fact that he wouldn’t be racing. With all the talk of AME’s binding legal contract with Stewart, the issue is likely to simmer for some time yet. Our favourite turn of events this week has been the speculation that James intentionally injured his ankle at the Bercy-Lille Supercross two weeks ago. Really? Let’s get this theory straight, shall we. So James flew himself and his brother Malcolm all the way to France so his bro could T-bone him in the Main Event, injure his ankle and generate a legitimate excuse to get out of his contract to race in Australia this weekend, right? Call us skeptical, but that sounds like a stretch, even for the Stewart camp, around whom drama seems to continually orbit. In any case, the whole saga is likely to have put paid to any hope that James Stewart will ever throw a leg over a dirt bike in Australia.

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Speaking of AME Management, the guys behind the company – Adam Bailey and Ryan Sanderson – have been working hard behind-the-scenes for over two years putting the AUS-X Open together. Transmoto‘s Todd Jarratt caught up with Bailey on the eve of the event to discuss his exciting career path, the recent James Stewart saga and how the whole thing has come to fruition.

^ Ryan Sanderson (left) and Adam Bailey (right). Image: Jeff Crow/Explorer Media

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Yesterday, Chad Reed confirmed with CDR Yamaha’s Craig Dack that he will be racing on board a Yamaha in 2016 – however, the specific details are yet to be confirmed. “When I shut my TwoTwo Motorsports team down, one thing lead to another, and at that point in time, discussions were in play on actually trying to restart and take over the factory Yamaha US program,” Reed told Dack. “In my heart, that’s where I wanted to finish. I like the people over there a lot, and I’ve maintained a good relationship with them away from the races, so it meant a lot for me to come full circle. My deal’s not confirmed – I will be on a Yamaha, but where and how that all happens, I’m not quite sure yet, but we’re working on it. Good things are happening, and ’16 is going to be a bit of a limbo, but beyond that I think good things for Yamaha and the US will be real.”

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While all the AUS-X Open hype may be surrounding the likes of Carmichael, Webb and Reed, there’s still an Australian Supercross Championship title to be won. CDR Yamaha’s Dan Reardon claimed his third consecutive SX1 victory over the weekend at Jimboomba 2, and leads Team Motul Suzuki’s Matt Moss heading into round five. In the SX2 class, Victorian-based Privateer, Lewis Woods, stepped up and scored the win at J2, although it’s still Penrite Honda’s American import, Jimmy Decotis, that holds the red plate. To check out images from Jimboomba 2, shot by Marc Jones Photography and Wayne Marsh Images, click the links.

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Almost 25 years have passed since Stefan Everts joined his father, Harry, in delivering an FIM 125cc Motocross World Championship to Suzuki, and now, one of the most famous names in the rich history of this sport is making his return to the brand ‘where it all started’. Have a read of our exclusive interview with Everts, in which he speaks about returning to Team Yellow and becoming Ben Townley’s Team Manager for the 2016 MXGP season.

^ Image: Gary Freeman/RedEye Media

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Speaking of re-signing with Suzuki, Todd Waters made the official announcement at the weekend’s Sydney Motorcycle Show in Homebush that he will be contesting the 2016 MX Nationals in Australia with the new-look Suzuki outfit, after racing with the brand in 2012, following the scheduled closure of Team Motul Suzuki after the 2015 Australian Supercross Championship. To learn more about Waters’ deal and the brand’s new structure for season 2016, click here.

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Jeffrey Herlings, the 2012 and 2013 MX2 World Champion, will return to racing in the same class in 2016. The decision was reached at a meeting between KTM’s Motorsports Department and the rider. “After all the bad luck I had in the past seasons I want to race again in MX2 and go for my third world title in 2016,” said Herlings. “I want to thank KTM for putting their trust in me and giving me this opportunity to hopefully finish business in this class. It is not necessary for me to step up to MXGP because of the age limit, but if I win the title next year I would definitely move up to the big class the following year.”

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Youthstream, the organisers of the FIM Motocross World Championship, held a meeting in Spain this week, where a raft of suggestions for the 2016 season were discussed. Interestingly, many of the suggested tweaks to the series revolved around reducing the large number of rider injuries witnessed this year. To that end, one of the key things that Youthstream and the FIM agreed to was that the tracks need to be watered more thoroughly and ripped deeper in 2016, arguing that this will create softer terrain that will become rougher and more technical, thereby slowing riders down. Really? The idea that rougher tracks are likely to reduce rider injuries sounds counter-intuitive from where we sit.

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Speaking of Youthstream, the promoter announced this week that they’ve joined forces with Yamaha to create a YZ125 Cup in 13 countries in 2016 – the idea being that they help create an easy, cost-effective avenue into the World MX racing scene for teenagers who aim to reach the top in the EMX125 class. The best scoring riders in each national championship that signed up for the European YZ125 Cup will be allowed to participate in the Superfinale in Germany on October 8, 2016, in front of an expected 50,000 fans at the Veltins Arena. The top six riders in that Superfinale will win a multi-day Master Class with MXGP rider and 2008 MX1 World Champion, David Philippaerts – the last Yamaha rider to win the premier class in World Motocross until Romain Febvre did it this year (as a MXGP-class rookie!).

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The Honda Motorcycles Head2Head Endurocross events that took place on Saturday and Sunday at the Sydney Motorcycle Show in Homebush attracted large crowd numbers, and produced some great racing. Fans were treated to short, sharp, one-on-one races that kept everyone on their toes. On Saturday, Penrite Honda’s Peter Boyle took home the win and the $1000 up for grabs, and on Sunday, Yamaha-mounted rider Dylan Rees secured the victory and the cash. For images from Saturday and Sunday, click the links.

^ Image: Kurt Teague Visual

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RPM/KTM rider, Cody Webb, clinched the 2015 AMA EnduroCross Championship at the season finale over the weekend.

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The 2015/2016 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship will kick off on December 5 at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland. Check out this teaser video that showcases what can be expected from the thrilling season ahead.

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Enduro World Championship fans will be pleased to hear that the EWC’s 80-minute season review video – 2015 Best Of – is now available to buy on DVD. Check out the FIM’s website for details.

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Expect to hear a host of musical chair announcements in the EWC paddock in the weeks leading up to Christmas, including Matt Phillips’ widely expected move from KTM to the CH Sherco team. This week, Beta announced that 2013 World Enduro 2 Champion, Alex Salvini, would join the Italian brand for 2016. Salvini’s surprise move means he’ll join existing Team Beta riders, Johnny Aubert and Luis Correia, and recently signed young Brit, Steve Holcombe.

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Surely, the 2016 Dakar will boast the greatest depth of talent the race has ever seen. In addition to the always-strong contingent from KTM and the ever-improving team line-ups from HCR Honda and Sherco, it was officially announced this week that the Husqvarna Factory Racing Rally Team will field a strong mix of experience and talent. The new-look Husky team will feature veteran campaigner Ruben Faria (Portugal), two-time Enduro World Champion Pierre-Alexandre Renet (France) and recent addition Pablo Quintanilla (Chile).

^ Image: Husqvarna Motorcycles

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Prior to this year’s season, Australia’s Clinton Moore had never made a Red Bull X-Fighters final, then he went and won the first two rounds in Mexico City and Athens. The French machine, Tom Pagès, won the next two rounds, first at the Grand Slam of FMX in Madrid and then the stop in South Africa. Both riders went to the last stop in Abu Dhabi with 280 points in the Overall tour standings, but only one rider could become the 2015 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour champion. The final stop in Abu Dhabi was an action-packed affair, with Moore taking home the victory in the United Arab Emirates and the Overall tour win. Now, sit back and enjoy some of the highlights from the 2015 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour.

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Speaking of Pagés, this weekend at the AUS-X Open, he’ll be going up against Jackson Strong, David Rinaldo, Libor Podmol, Rob Adelberg and Taka Higashino in Australia’s first-ever FMX Best Trick competition. It’s been two years since an official Best Trick competition has taken place anywhere in the world, so it’s expected to be a wild one.

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Transmoto‘s 2015 November-December issue (#53) is on sale now (click here to purchase a copy and have it sent to your doorstep). A bonus 2016 KTM calendar is included.

In this issue, we analyse the 14-season rivalry between Chad Reed and James Stewart that will soon reignite Down Under, ask Ryan Villopoto about his European experiment (as well as his retirement), and get to know the 2015 MXGP champ that came out of nowhere, Romain Febvre. In the way of bikes, we compare Yamaha’s 2016-model 250cc machines, pick apart Antoine Meo’s E2-class winning KTM 350EXC-F, and take a look at Josh Sheehan’s Honda CRF450R that he Triple-Flipped into the record books.

CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis offers up some sage advice on racing enduro in Australia, and we explain how to get your bike’s footpegs, rear brake pedal and gear-shift lever properly adjusted for your big, booted hooves. We also applaud Team Australia’s winning International Six Days Enduro teams with a 14-page tribute in the form of a stunning pictorial.

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This month, if you purchase a 12-issue print subscription to Transmoto (for just $90) you’ll go in the running to win a 2016 Husqvarna FC450, valued at an RRP of $11,995, plus one year’s supply of Bel-Ray oils and lubricants (limited to a retail value of $2380). After being fitted with loads of premium-quality Husqvarna Accessories genuine parts, and undergoing a series of mods as a Transmoto project bike, this new-generation FC450 will get a factory freshen-up before being won by one very, very lucky subscriber.

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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 advertise what you’ve got to sell in front of a captive website audience, more than 360,000 Facebook followers and 19,000-plus Instagram followers. If you’re in the market to buy, there are loads of classified ad listings to flick through. Start buying, selling and swapping your unwanted bikes, gear, parts and accessories today for FREE!

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Well, the rumours were true after all. Ducati announced this week that two-time MotoGP World Champion, Casey Stoner, will return to the Italian manufacturer next year in the role of brand ambassador and test rider. In fact, it’s been a big week or two for Ducati, what with the announcement that Troy Bayliss would run its Aussie race team in the all-new MotoSBK superbike championship (which will be promoted by Troy Bayliss Events), and last week’s unveiling of the all-new Multistrada 1200 Enduro model – the brand’s first real foray into the off-road adventure market segment. Stay tuned for more about Ducati’s impressive-looking 1200 Enduro next week.

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Have you ever seen Robbie Maddison sit still for more than five minutes? Nah, neither have we. When your reason for being is conceiving and performing motorcycle stunts that stun even the most hardcore action sports fans into silence, sitting still tends not to be your forte. But at the Sydney Motorcycle Show, Maddo almost put down roots at Transmoto’s trade stand. He graciously hung around for two hours each day to sign Pipe Dream posters and Transmoto’s 2016 KTM wall calendar (which comes with our Nov-Dec issue, and Maddo’s on its cover), just to make sure he didn’t disappoint the huge turnout of fans who queued to get his autograph and have a quick chat with the man.

^ Image: Kurt Teague Visual

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