Thursday Throwdown No.43 – Ben Townley heading home to NZ

What’s this “Thursday 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, Thursday Throwdown will touch on everything from racing to trailriding; from industry tidbits to issues facing the sport. It’s about delivering you timely information that can’t wait till the next issue of Transmoto magazine, and stuff we’d like to hear your immediate feedback on.

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Former World MX champion, Christophe Pourcel, has been let go from the MotoConcepts Yamaha Racing team this week. MotoConcepts announced the termination of their contractual agreement with “The Crafty Frenchman” for the 2011 MX series because Pourcel was allegedly not meeting the contact’s demands and obligations. According to team owner, Mike Genova, “Unfortunately, Christophe was not able to get where he needed to be to feel confident and competitive, and for whatever reason, he was not willing to put in the necessary homework and effort to get there”. Weigandt has more in this week’s USA Insider piece.

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The sixth round of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals takes place this weekend in Coonabarabran in central NSW. It’s the first time the series will be run at the track, which locals affectionately call “Goanna Tracks”, and will feature the last-minute inclusion of two of Australia’s top off-road pilots. With the postponed AORC round, scheduled for Dungog this weekend, Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha rider, Chris Hollis, and Husqvarna Racing’s Glenn Kearney are locked in to race at Coonabarabran. “Even though the Dungog AORC round was postponed, I really wanted to go racing this weekend,” says Hollis. “So I rang WEM’s Kevin Williams and he slotted me straight into the program.” Kearney says it’s all about the love of racing: “I love racing motocross. With the AORC round postponed, it was a good chance to go out and have some fun and work on my speed in preparation for the A4DE in July.” Let’s hope the boys do Shane Watts proud and run headlights!

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With flights from New Zealand in doubt because of the ash cloud, several NZ-based riders have been scratching to get flights for this weekend’s round of the MX Nats. CDR Rockstar Yamaha’s Craig Dack confirmed that Josh Coppins got out on one of the last flights before Auckland airport was shut today. But travel plans for some other Kiwi Pro riders and media remain in limbo.

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CLS Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ben Townley decided not to compete in the Portuguese GP last weekend. This week the 2004 World MX Champion announced his return home to New Zealand to work on his physical and mental fitness, with the ultimate goal of returning to World Motocross racing. Townley has been struggling this year after suffering serious injuries while preparing for the 2011 race season and says, “Right now, I am putting plans in place to get myself back into a position where I can race to my potential again. I’m not sure of a timeline to return right now.”

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If Chad Reed’s name wasn’t already cemented into Australian motorsport folklore, it sure is now. During the Queen’s Birthday Honours List announced on Monday, Reed received an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in recognition for his outstanding achievements and service to motorsport. At just 29, Reed is the second youngest Australian to receive an AM. He joins Peter Brock, Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner and Geoff Ballard on the prestigious list. See what he had to say about receiving the prestigious accolade.

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The pinnacle of Vintage MX get-togethers in Oz, the annual Suzuki VMX Classic Dirt 8, was staged last weekend in Queensland and it turned out to be a wet one. But that didn’t dampen the spirits of the classic dirt bike enthusiasts. Here are a few shots from this year’s event.

Australian Husqvarna importers, Paul Feeney Group, released information about their 2012-model enduro bike line-up today – for both two- and four-strokes. With major updates to the 2011 bikes, it comes as little surprise that the 2012 TEs and WRs receive only relatively minor upgrades. What is surprising, though, is that the announcement came out of the blue, and that it comes several months ahead of the brand’s traditional new-model unveiling. Could it be a bit of strategic marketing to take the wind out of KTM’s sails? Check here for more information and pics of the 2012 Husqvarna range.

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The 2011 Tattersall Finke Desert Race winner, Ben Grabham, badly injured his hand during Leg 1 of the race, but rode through the pain to win his fourth Finke (shades of his Safari win a few years back when he rode the final two days with a busted collarbone!). Preliminary reports say Grabbo has broken his scaphoid in two places, and further tests are being done today to check the extent of the damage to his wrist. It looks like the injury will sideline the Motorex KTM Off-Road rider for both the A4DE and Hattah Desert Race in July. In fact, he may even be off the bike until the Australasian Safari in September.

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Speaking of Finke, did anyone notice Husaberg’s standout performance this year? There were three Bergs in the top 10 Outright. Former Honda rider and King of the Desert, Ryan Branford, led the Swedish charge, placing third on his FE570. Finke vet, Mark Sladek, ran ninth and Jarred Ewin came home in 10th. KTM posted four top-10 results (Ben Grabham, Jarrod Bewley, Brad WiIliscroft and Matt Fish placed first, second, sixth and eighth, respectively). Honda, traditionally a Finke powerhouse, had a forgettable weekend with only two riders in the top 10. A few of their strike riders were injured before the event even began, while GHR Honda riders, Todd and Jake Smith, suffered from fuel and/or mechanical issues in the race.

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The July 7-10 Australian 4-Day Enduro (A4DE) is now just three weeks away, after being postponed from its initial Easter long weekend slot as a result of torrential rain in Mackay in FNQ. Transmoto Off-Road Editor, AJ Roberts, has confirmed that he will be racing on a CRF250R instead of his usual 450cc-powered machine. And after training hard and losing 15kg to race the 4-Day back in Easter, KTM head honcho, Jeff Leisk, looks like he won’t be able to make the July event because of work commitments. Something tells us reigning Masters-class champ, Geoff Ballard, might be breathing a sigh of relief there.

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Round 5 and 6 of the 2011 Yamaha AORC, which was to be held in Dungog, NSW has been postponed. The new round will now take place on October 1-2 in Salisbury, which is about 40km north-west of Dungog at the foot of the Barrington Tops. The event will be run in conjunction with the existing NSW State Championship round, and staged on an 800-acre private property that was used for the John Hall Memorial Challenge at last year’s state round. Let’s hope the rain holds off for the crew at the Dungog MCC this time around!

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The 2012 Dakar route has been released and will travel through three South American countries in January. After starting in the city of Mar Del Plata in Argentina, the rally runs through the centre of the country before hitting Chile and, then finishes in Peru’s capital, Lima, some 9000km later. The 2012 Dakar features 14 legs, and Dakar pundits are claiming that the additional time spent in Chile’s high-altitude Atacama Desert is likely to make the 2012 Dakar one of the most gruelling on record.

This is just a bit of fun. Want to be the third rider in the Honda World Motocross team, racing alongside current team riders Evgeny Bobryshev and Rui Goncalves? Make it happen.

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The increasingly addictive Mad Skills Motocross game for Apple’s i-range now features two new free tracks. No App Store update required; just tap the ‘More Tracks’ button in the main menu and then hit ‘Free Tracks’. You’ll find Mad Mox and Crest waiting for you. Don’t have the game? Head to the App Store and take a look.

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Last week we mentioned Husaberg Hot Laps demo days. You can now register for any one of the five demo days on KTM.com.au.

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FMF Racing might be known best for their performance exhaust systems, but the USA-based company has now entered the energy drink market in the US. FMF advocates healthy ingredients such as antioxidants, green tea, electrolytes and other nutrients that “top athletes need to perform to the fullest”. There’s no word yet on whether it’ll be available in Australia.

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Helmet cameras are now being mounted everybloodywhere. Take for instance the The Impact Series HD Camera MX Goggle. It has an integrated HD camera in the goggle for true point-of-view footage without having to wear a slew of extra equipment. The goggle contains a 136-degree wide-angle lens, it records 720P and utilises a Micro SD card, which can store up to 32 GB of video.

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Need some new tyres? Well, it’s a great time to go shopping in Oz. In a bid to counter the increasing threat of aggressively priced online hoops, Australian distributors of Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone and now Dunlop knobby tyres have all made significant RRP cuts in recent weeks.