Throwdown No.75 – Extraordinary comeback

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.

JDR J-Star KTM’s Matt Moss is continuing to turn heads in the US after making a charge from dead last to seventh in the AMA Supercross West Coast Lites championship at Anaheim 2 last weekend. Moss stalled in the first corner and was involved in a crash during Turn 2 that left him two straightaways behind. No one can ever accuse Mossy of not having heart!

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Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing has moved to Pirelli tyres (previously Michelin) for 2012. Team Principal, Yarrive Konsky, confirmed Monster Energy as a sponsor, and rumour has it they’ll also be using a new brand of pistons for the upcoming season. Team rider, Brad Anderson, came out and said the MX Nationals are a world class series this week: “In my opinion, the MX Nationals is the second-best national series in the World – behind the American series. Looking at all the top names in this year’s championship, it’s going to be hard to win.”

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Speaking of Carlton Dry Honda, Brad Anderson and Ford Dale were spotted testing out at Frankston yesterday.

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The US-based Star Valli Yamaha team has suffered a serious setback after team rider, Ryan Sipes, broke his hand and separated his shoulder in a practice crash this week. On Twitter, Sipes said he’d be out of action for at least six weeks.

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TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed has his signed Anaheim 2 jersey up for auction on eBay right now. If you think $1000+ is a bit steep for some Reed memorabilia, we’re offering a chance to win signed Chad Reed Skullcandy headphones just for joining Transmoto.com.au (it’s free). Take a look: http://www.transmoto.com.au/signup

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Melbourne’s Nunawading & District Motocross club is celebrating its 40th anniversary on November 17. Put it in the calendar, boys and girls. This will be one to remember. Head to http://ndmx.com.au for more details.

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LKI (Loose Kid Industries) has become the official ‘casual wear’ of the MX Nationals series for the next three years. One of the new sponsorship benefits mean marshals will receiving LKI MX Nationals tees at national rounds.

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Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Troy Carroll tweeted the team had big news to announce this week. We gave him a call today to find out more: “We’ve done a handshake deal with a new sponsor. But it hasn’t been finalised yet, so I can’t announce anything,” Carroll told Transmoto. “What I can say is there are some big changes this year. We’ve swapped from Tag to Renthal handlebars, moved to Dunlop tyres and are planning to expand our pit set-up to make it bigger and more comfortable for our VIPs. Unit has also continued supporting the team and they’ll be doing films with team riders and publishing it on their YouTube channel.”

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The Motocross of Nations and World Motocross Championship will return to Maggiora, Italy, in 2016 and 2021 and 2013 to 2020, respectively. Last year at the French MXoN, Australia’s Chad Reed, Brett Metcalfe and Matt Moss posted our best ever finish, placing third.

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Former Aussie MX and SX champion, Cam Taylor, has become the Victorian Team Manager for Yamaha Junior Racing (YJR). Also a Y-Aim (Yamaha’s motocross training program) agent, Taylor hopes to use his experience as a professional racer and coach to help take YJR to the next level.

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Rumour has it Victorian-based company, Choice Suspension, will be stepping up and fielding a two-man race team for the 2012 MX Nats. Word is Jacob Wright will run in the Pro Opens class on a KTM 450SX-F while Dylan Long will compete in the Under 19s class. Stay tuned.

Man, the hardworking crew from the Dungog Motorcycle Club just can’t cop a break. In June last year, they had to cancel the round of the AORC they’d finally been allocated because of flooding. Then, the rescheduled AORC event they ran in October was rained out, forcing them to cancel the final day’s racing. And now, just weeks ahead of the opening round of the 2012 AORC (which the Dungog club is set to host), torrential rain looks like it make force their hand yet again. According to the Dungog Club’s Trent Lean, “Yeah, it’s very wet up here. The rivers and right up and the forestry won’t be keen for us to run in these conditions. If it dries up now and stays dry, we might be alright. Our plan is to talk to some local farmers, look at the long-range forecast and then make a call next week.” The club and series does have a fallback dates of March 10-11 at Bulahdelah (currently a NSW state round), but with many of the AORC’s top pilots already planning trips to race in America or head Alice Springs to pre-run for Finke over that March 10-11 weekend, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Stay tuned.

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It was a spectacular inaugural event for the Melbourne Enduro-X over the weekend, with Motorex KTM Off-Road’s Toby Price walking away with the $5000 prize in the Pro class, while teammate Chris Hollis following closely behind and Jack Field (riding a Beta trials machine) rounded out the podium. 404Shots’ Ken Roche was in attendance and sent as these cool pics from the weekend’s action. You can also view the full results here.

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Ballard’s Yamaha Offroad’s Matt Phillips was set for a crack at the $5000 prize money on offer at the Melbourne Enduro-X over the weekend – that is, until he got cleaned up on the first corner during the final. Phillips says, “I tried hard to get a good start and got taken out by an unknown rider while I was in the air. I hit the ground hard, bruised a few muscles and tweaked my wrist but I got back up and finished.” Phillips crossed the line in 12th.

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Confirming rumours that the Ballard’s team already has the 2012 Yamaha WR450Fs, Matty Phillips mentioned he was out testing the EFI-powered bikes this week in central Victoria. “We had the entire Ballard’s team testing the 2012 WR450F this week,” said Phillips. “The bike feels light and nimble, has fast, smooth power and I think it has a lot more punch than last year’s model. I’m looking forward to racing it in the up-coming off-road season.” We’ll have more on Yamaha’s new model after the Australian launch in two weeks time, just days ahead of the opening round of the 2012 AORC season.

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The Tatts Finke Desert Race has reached their 550-entrant limit for 2012. Kicking off on June 9-10 (the Queen’s Birthday long weekend), reigning King of the Desert, Ben Grabham, is looking to defend his title and take his fifth win for his 2012 desert-only program with Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing. But last year’s second- and third-place podium finishers, Jarrod Bewely and Ryan Branford, won’t make it easy for Grabbo, with both confirming they’ll once again be on the startline. And don’t forget 2011 winner, Toby Price, who DNFed while leading last year, and a host of local Alice Springs talent.

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Remember former 125cc MX GP racer, Antti Kallonen? Hardcore enduro aficionados probably will. He was the long-time spannerman and ‘man-friend’ to the great Finn, eight-time EWC champ Juha Salminen. Kallonen decided to return to America a couple of years ago to take up the job of Off-Road Team Manager for KTM, and it’s just been announced that the savvy Finn has accepted the role of Team Manager for Team USA’s ISDE effort in 2012. Kinda suggests the Yanks are finally getting deadly serious about winning the ISDE. Could Kallonen be set to do for American enduro what Roger DeCoster did for American MX back in 1981 when he took Team USA to their first of many MXdN wins? If Team USA’s Kurt Caselli has anything to do with it, you betcha!

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KTM’s David Knight and Johnny Aubert will join Husqvarna’s Ricky Dietrich and KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak to battle it out in the 2012 British Sprint Enduro Championship. With big names like these, it shows just how much work Event Organiser, Transmoto’s European Correspondent Jonty Edmunds, has put into making a world-class series.

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Women’s enduro rider, Jemma Wilson, may be set to race alongside reigning Junior World Enduro Champion, Jeremy Joly, in the Enduro World Championship (EWC) for INA TV Yamaha Racing. “They offered me a support package so the team will get my bike to the races and maintain it but there’s a price tag,” explains the reigning Women’s AORC champion. “I’ll fly over for each race then come back to race in Australia. That’s the plan anyway.”

Russell Brothers Films (RBF) – who shoot Transmoto.com.au’s featured videos – shot action footage of Australian FMX daredevil, Josh Sheehan, which was aired on Channel Seven News this week. RBF’s Lachlan Russell said, “The footage they ran was actually of Josh in September last year because he’s currently recovering from injury. He actually injured his shoulder at the shoot, which is why he had surgery two months ago.” Take a look at the segment: http://au.sports.yahoo.com/motorsport/videos/watch/28169386/

What a pity the reigning Transmoto 12-Hour champions, Team Husqvarna’s Damian Smith, Glenn Kearney, Tom Kite and Luke Bussa won’t be defending their ‘crown’ when the second annual Transmoto 12-Hour kicks off on March 3. It turns out that Kearney is obliged to head to Queensland for a Husqvarna-sponsored state enduro round. But the other three’s excuse? Didn’t submit their entries in time! Yep, enduro riders don’t change. In a reprieve of sorts for Transmoto test rider, Damian Smith, he had already been included in one of Transmoto’s ragtag teams. So he’s in. But there’ll be none of this four-man Pro team trophy hunting this year, it seems.

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Kawasaki Australia has appointed Brady Bowring as the Victorian and Tasmanian Regional Sales Coordinator, who says, “I’m really looking forward to assisting Kawasaki dealerships meet their goals and increase market share within our region.” Bowring will work alongside Kawasaki’s Tas/Vic Sales Manager, Darren Holmes.

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Entries now open for the 2012 Thumb Pump 300 ATV Festival, taking place over the Easter long weekend (April 6-9) at Pinnaroo’s Scorpion Park on the border of SA and Vic. Along with an array of classes, thousands of dollars worth of prizes are up for grabs. Head to http://300.thumbpump.com for more details.

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100%MX has become the sole Australian distributor for Japanese-based manufacturer, Mishimoto radiators. The radiator is claimed to give 20% greater cooling efficiency over standard equipment due to an increase in the radiator thickness, which allows a 35% greater coolant capacity. And due to its built-in corner bracing, it’s said to be five times stronger than standard. Available for $274.95 each, or $549.90 a pair, they’ll fit on standard mounts for Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and KTM. High-temperature silicone hose kits are also available from $89.

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Gas Imports has become the official distributor of Cosworth pistons. Gas’ Sean Gallagher tells us more: “Cosworth just released their ProMax motorcycle piston series and word is they are extremely good,” said Gallagher. “Cosworth pistons and cylinder heads are designed to reduce noise and increase engine life and performance. They’ll be available for Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and KTM with Piston Kits retailing for $290. Complete cylinder heads start from $1500.”

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There’s plenty of news from the JDR Motorsports camp this week. Former Kawasaki wrench, Iain Southwell, has recently joined the JDR team as Crew Chief. He’ll oversee team mechanics, Danny Apro, Luke Sanderson, Lyle Blunden, and Ryan Deckert, as well as the team’s R&D programs. Team Manager, Danny Ham, has left the team after two successful years. His replacement is yet to be announced. Lites rider, Brenden Harrison, has had operations to both his leg and hand to correct unsuccessful surgeries a few months ago. He says he’s be right for the MX Nats opener on April 1, but won’t be 100%. Meanwhile, Ryan Marmont has stepped out of the heat of the AMA West Lites SX battle and into the tropical waters of Fiji, where he’ll marry long-time partner, Chelsea. Last up, Lites rider, Josh Cachia will head to the States tomorrow for a month with the US-based JDR team.