Throwdown No.71 – AMA Supercross season officially open

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.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto took the early lead in the AMA Supercross after dominating at Anaheim 1. TwoTwo Motorsport’s Chad Reed even said, “Villopoto showed us we all need to step up,” after he finished second, more than 12 seconds behind Villopoto in the main event. We got AMA SX expert, Jason Weigandt to discuss further.

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Australia’s Matt Moss finished a solid 11th at his debut ride in the AMA West Coast Supercross Lites Championship at Anaheim 1 over the weekend. While teammate, Ryan Marmont, finished 17th but pulled the holeshot in the heat race. Check this cool shot of both Moss and Marmont side-by-side at A1 that you can download as a wallpaper.

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Got a spare 25 grand on hand? You could be the proud new owner of Chad Reed’s 2011 Las Vegas Supercross bike that’s being auctioned on eBay at the moment.

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Rumour has it former Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing’s Michael Phillips has done a deal with MX Factory and Accessories store on the Gold Coast to ride the MX Nationals this year. Phillips rode the Pro Opens class in 2011 and finished sixth overall.

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Speaking of former Carlton Dry Honda team riders, Cheyne Boyd has joined forces with Victoria’s Dale Hocking and his son, Boyd, to ride Honda in the Lites class for the MX Nationals this year. “I’ve joined a local team,” explains Boyd. “I got support from Honda personally and they’ve since decided to become a sponsor of the team. Monza Imports also came onboard and we’re in the midst of signing a major sponsor now.” Boyd went on to say they are looking at hiring someone to compete in the Opens class too, “We’re keen to bring Ross Beaton on board and get him to run in the 450 class.”

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Along with new gear sponsors (swapping from Fox to Alias), the Geico Honda team have revamped their website. You can check it out at GeicoHonda.com.

Distributor of Gas Gas in Australia, Solo Imports, has released prices for the 2012 range. The two-stroke 250 and 300 electric-start models will arrive in late February, while the all-new EC250 four-stroke and the R range will be available in mid-March. We’re advised a 2012 EC450 won’t be available as Gas Gas has put all their development work into the 250 four-stroke model, but 2011 450s can be bought while stocks last.

EC200R: $9999.00
EC250 ELC: $10599.00
EC250R: $10799.00
EC300 ELC: $11399.00
EC300R: $11599.00
EC250 4T: $10699.00
EC450 4T: $11995.00

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Top women’s enduro rider, Jemma Wilson, is off to conquer the Enduro World Championship this year and will compete in the Portugal and Spain rounds in May. If all goes well, she hopes to ride the Italian and French rounds, too. We’ll be following Wilson while in Europe so keep your eyes on Transmoto.

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Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road’s Matt Phillips has been living it large over in the US as he prepares for the opening round of the WORCS series at Glen Helen next weekend. “Yamaha hooked us up with a neat setup; bikes, parts and truck,” Phillips said. “I’ve been doing some testing this week and I got to ride Lake Elsinore Motocross Park yesterday which was sick!” Go smash em, Phillips.

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One of our readers sent in this cool shot of his mate railing a berm somewhere on the South Coast. We recently did a beach ride over the holidays and can attest to the fun you can have tearing it up on the sand!

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Multi-time Australian Enduro Champion Kirt Hutton sent this shot while reminding us about his up and coming Adventure Ride Coaching School on February 19 – email king01enduro@hotmail.com for more details.

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The 2012 Dakar is moving into the final five days and Red Bull KTM riders, Cyril Despres and Marc Coma, have been closely battling it out, sitting only 21 seconds apart in the general standings. Meanwhile, the Aussie battlers have been making ground with Dean Nuttall moving up one spot to 37, Dave Schwarz hitting 44th and Jamie Chittick gains eight spots in 61st. Let’s hope they can hold it together and finish the grueling event.

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Word is Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road Racing’s Stefan Merriman has got his hands on the 2012 WR450F and the team has already started testing and development work. But with Ballard and Phillips in the States and Merriman unavailable to comment we can’t verify anything.

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Australian owned company, Safari Tanks, have designed a 15L fuel tank for the EFI-powered 2012 Yamaha WR450F – due to be released late February. It’s been engineered to keep the weight low by relocating the fuel pump near the starter motor and trail blazers will love it as it’s expected to do 200km off a single tank of fuel. There’s no official release date but we’ve been told it will go on sale the first half of 2012. A 5.5L rear tank and a 30L rally version will also be available.

Motorcycle Industry identity, Rosco Holden, is gathering information to find out the viability of establishing an Injured Riders Foundation to help provide assistance to people who’ve had a motorcycle injury or major trauma. If you complete the online survey you’ll have a chance to win a signed Ryan Villopoto jersey. It’s for a good cause so why not enter (all info submitted is strictly private and confidential).

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Get a look at these cool custom iPhone 4 decals by Kustom MX. You can get your name and rider number printed on the decal, slap it on your phone and be the envy of all your mates. Give Oz distributor, A1 Accessories, a call on 07 3806 1800 or visit their website for more details: A1accessory.com.au.