Cycle News - 24 May 2011

QUICK LINKS FIRST LOOK: 2012 KTM SX MOTOCROSSERS 26

HANGTOWN MOTOCROSS CLASSIC

REED, BAGGETT GET THINGS ROLLING Cover.indd 2

5/23/11 2:07 PM

26

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

FIRST RIDE

APRILIA TUONO V4R

A NAKED SUPERBIKE

INTERVIEW

LARRY PEGRAM

Cover.indd 3

5/23/11 2:07 PM

Vance&Jines.indd 2

5/23/11 11:36 AM

Vance&Jines.indd 3

5/23/11 11:36 AM

CONTENTS INTRODUCED 26 FIRST LOOK: 2012 KTM SX MOTOCROSSERS Orange and new.

P4

30

RACED 30 HANGTOWN CLASSIC How about that Chad Reed? 56 BLUE WATER GRAN PRIX David Pearson continues to have the hot hand. 60 NATIONAL ENDURO Charlie Mullins wins the Train Robber. 66 QUAL-FIRE ENDURO Kendall Norman leads a Honda sweep. TESTED 42 APRILIA TUONO V4R A streetfighter based on Biaggi’s beast. INTERVIEWED 50 LARRY PEGRAM Team owner, racer, reality TV star. DEPARTMENTALIZED 6 CAPTURED 8 CAPTURED 10 CAPTURED 12 VOICES 13 THE INSIDE TWEET 14 IN THE WIND 68 NEW STUFF 70 BIKES OF THE STARS 72 ARCHIVES 74 IN THE PADDOCK 76 WHAT’S NEXT

QUICK LINKS FIRST LOOK: 2012 KTM SX MOTOCROSSERS 26

FIRST RIDE

APRILIA TUONO V4R

A NAKED SUPERBIKE

INTERVIEW

LARRY PEGRAM

HANGTOWN MOTOCROSS CLASSIC

REED, BAGGETT GET THINGS ROLLING

4-5 TO .indd 4

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

On The Cover: Chad Reed opened the National Motocross Championship with an overall victory after posting a 2-1 tally at the Hangtown Motocross Classic. PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER

5/23/11 2:25 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P5

n overall the

4-5 TO .indd 5

5/23/11 2:25 PM

P6

CAPTURED

Broken Man Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa underwent surgery on his broken right collarbone last week in hopes that he can be fit to race when the MotoGP World Championships resumes with the Catalunyan Grand Prix on June 5. The Spaniard was battling with Marco Simoncelli for second place in the French GP when the two collided and Pedrosa crashed. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE

6-7 Captured.indd 6

5/23/11 7:13 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

6-7 Captured.indd 7

P7

5/23/11 7:13 AM

P8

CAPTURED

Tomac-Shot Eli Tomac (19) got the 2011 250cc Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Pro Championship started with the firstmoto holeshot, ahead of outdoor rookies Malcolm Stewart (139) and Gannon Audette (533). Unfortunately for Tomac, he could not repeat his 2010 Hangtown victory but did leave with a fourth-place finish. Photography Kit Palmer

8-9 Captured.indd 8

5/23/11 2:20 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24 , 2011

8-9 Captured.indd 9

P9

5/23/11 2:20 PM

P10

CAPTURED

Sicilia Spray Cristobal Guerro charges hard in a special test during the Enduro World Championship series staged in Francavilla de Sicilia, Italy, on the island of Sicilia. The Spaniard found his way onto the E2 podium on the second day of competition. Photography by Jonty Edmunds

10-11 Captured.indd 10

5/23/11 2:21 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

10-11 Captured.indd 11

P11

5/23/11 2:21 PM

CN III VOICES

P12

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

“Make it a cheap way for lots of fans to get together and party on the hillsides while motorcycles race around and you have a winner.” SMALL FORTUNE

I have just read your article about how to make a Small Fortune (Friendly Fire, Issue 14, May 17). As a lifelong motorcyclist, decades long reader of Cycle News and a student of life I have the following suggestions.  1. Tickets for a motocross race should be no more then $10. Okay, maybe $20 for a grandstand seat if it has shade. The appeal of watching an outdoor race is about five percent excitement and ambiance and 95 percent hot and boring. Even as a kid making the long drive to Carlsbad with my buddies to get a glimpse of Heikki Mikkola or Ake Johnson, and the very trick exotic machines that they rode, only lasted a little while, while most of the day was spent walking up and down dirty dusty hills not really seeing much racing.  The real excitement is watching scantily clad women and generally drunken (or stoned?) young people laughing and having fun. The trick to any successful sporting event is to attract a large crowd. At $50 a head, plus parking, who in his right mind

would spring that kind of cash just to piss your wife, girlfriend or kid off by dragging them around while you reminisce about the good old days? Earth to the U.S. GP promoters... Seen one U.S. GP and you have seen them all. Make it a cheap way for lots of fans to get together and party on the hillsides while motorcycles race around and you have a winner. Having a large crowd also helps TV justify wanting to show it. And if you had TV, because of big crowds, you would also have the riders, sponsors and manufacturers. See how this all works? It all starts with reasonable prices for the public then everything else will follow. Don’t feel bad for failing. NASCAR and Major League Baseball have both made the same mistake. They think people go to watch racing or baseball when people really just like to get together and look at each other. It is kind of like taxes. If you want more revenue, lower the rates and more people won’t cheat. Want more revenue from a sporting event, just lower ticket prices and more

people will take a chance on wasting an afternoon working on their suntan. Hope this helps.

JD Potts Claremont, CA

GLEN HELEN BLUES

I’ve been going to the Nationals at Glen Helen for several seasons. I’ve always looked forward to the race, whether it was the first race of the season or the last. I even went to the U.S. GP last year and had a good time. This year we all knew the AMA Superstars would not show. Ticket prices were around $50 and it was raining Sunday morning. I saw online that the track was also completely changed. So for us folks in the Los Angeles area, the closest AMA Motocross National is down in Pala, two hours South - to see a “quickly made for Casino regulars crappy track.” Wow, we had it so good for so long here in Southern California. Congratulations to the AMA and FIM for messing up a good thing, again. I never question why I don’t have an AMA membership.

Joe Nevis Garden Grove, CA

Letters to the editor can be sent to [email protected]. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Letters should not exceed 150 words and are subject to editing. Anonymous letters won’t be considered for publication and each letter should contain the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number… Editor

12 Voices.indd 12

5/23/11 7:17 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

America’s Motorcycle News Source

Volume XLVIII EDITORIAL PAUL CARRUTHERS EDITOR [email protected] KIT PALMER OFF-ROAD EDITOR [email protected]

P13

The Inside tweet…

CONTRIBUTORS

WilHahn31 Wil Hahn R.I.P Lynn Nickerson sad day for the MX community. You will be missed.

HENNY RAY ABRAMS CONTRIBUTING EDITOR SHAN MOORE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ALAN CATHCART EUROPEAN EDITOR

motogpmart Martin Raines 20th May 1973: Monza: Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini. Let’s never forget the GP riders who have paid the ultimate price.

COPY EDITORS MICHELLE BAIRD COPY EDITOR MARY KETTLES COPY EDITOR

ADVERTISING SALES SEAN FINLEY GM, AD SALES MANAGER [email protected] SUZZIE SMITH NATIONAL AD SALES MANAGER [email protected]

ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN SUNJU KWON ART DIRECTOR/ART MANAGER [email protected]

OPERATIONS DOUGLAS BRINEY OPERATIONS SPECIALIST [email protected]

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

chazdavies Chaz Davies Little jealous of all the boys riding at Miller next week. No Supersport there this year. Ahhh well, got a few toys at home to play with. mikealessi800 Mike Alessi Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes! I had a great day! Rode press day then had a nice dinner with family, friends, and my team! CRtwotwo Chad Reed Did press at the capital rode at the track went to dinner now I’m locked out of the track and can’t get to the motorhome #perfect quinncody Quinn Cody Tomorrow I will be lucky enough to ride one of the lead motos for the Tour of California Solvang time trial; stoked best seat in the house!

17771 Mitchell North, Irvine, CA 92614 949-863-7082 P.O. Box 16121, Irvine, CA 92623

Make sure and follow @CycleNews on Twitter and also on Facebook.

13 Tweet .indd 13

5/23/11 7:17 AM

P14

IN THE

WIND

PHILIPPAERTS GETS HIS FIRST

S

unshine, a full-capacity attendance, a short, twisty and jumpy Indaiatuba circuit and a gripping tussle in the premier MX1 class. It’s fair to say the Motocross Grand Prix of Brazil, the fourth of 15 rounds in the FIM Motocross World Championship, was the opposite to the U.S. round at Glen Helen in numerous ways. The sight of a modern and well-equipped venue struggling to hold the 26,000 attendance – a hefty chunk of whom were already lining up at the gate at 8 Monster Energy Yamaha’s David Philippaerts a.m. on Saturday morning - was won the Brazilian MX1 Grand Prix on Sunday. refreshing to behold after the degree of indifference in CaliforIn MX2 Red Bull Teka KTM maintained their unnia. Of course the Brazilian event counted on an relenting grip on the series but it was the turn of extremely healthy quota of local riders and teams Jeffrey Herlings to taste success as Ken Roczen even if the level is a million miles from the AMA and flew to a first race win, but fell twice in the second the Brazilian calendar can’t compare. moto, allowing his Dutch teammate to pull even as The sun shone all weekend and amidst the inthe pair now have two wins apiece. ferno in the air and on the track it was Monster A new face finally made it onto the MX2 podium Energy Yamaha’s David Philippaerts who went as CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s toe-to-toe with World Champion and Red Bull Teka Tommy Searle could only reach (admittedly imKTM’s Tony Cairoli. The Italians shared motos and pressive) fourth after being demoted to last place points, as they had done in Brazil in 2010, but on on the gate after getting nailed for outside assisthis occasion it was the Yamaha man who claimed tance in the qualification heat on Saturday. Monthe second moto for his first MX1 victory since the ster Energy’s Gautier Paulin was the new man on French GP last year. the podium after a steady ride to a pair of thirds. Philippaerts faced a tough job to earn his spoils American Zach Osborne displayed typical grit through two entertaining races in which Steven in putting aside pain from an injured wrist (not beFrossard, an error-prone Clement Desalle and lieved to be broken, although further checks will Steve Ramon also played a big part. MX3 World take place this week) and the distractions of vomitChampion Carlos Campano even briefly turned ing through pain and anxiety before the motos to heads at the beginning of the first race with a very finish fifth overall. The Bike it Cosworth Wild Wolf unlikely holeshot on a stock Yamaha after his race- Yamaha rider circulated just outside of the leadbike was delayed at U.S. customs. ing quartet and is now impatiently awaiting his first

14-24 Wind.indd 14

5/23/11 2:19 PM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM WHEELER

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

visit to the podium as he sits fourth in the MX2 points standings. After back-to-back ‘flyaways’ the Grand Prix circus heads back to Europe and a busy schedule awaits when the French GP at St Jean D’Angely – the host venue of the 2011 Motocross of Nations – starts the first of three races; Spain and Portugal following the Gallic contest. Adam Wheeler

RAGA, BOU SPLIT WINS IN FRANCE

G

as Gas’ Adam Raga proved that reigning World Champion Toni Bou won’t have it all his way this season as he managed to win the first of two days at the French Grand Prix. But Bou bounced back from his third-place finish on day one to win the second day in Breal-sous-Montfort on May 22. Toni Bou bounced back from a loss on Saturday to win day two of the French Grand Prix on Sunday.

15

Briefly...… Infront Motor Sports, the promoters of the World Superbike Championship, have signed a deal with Yakhnich Motorsport of Russia to hold a round of the series in Russia as early as 2012. In addition to being the promoter of the Russian round, Yaknich also acquires the TV and marketing rights for the series in their country. Alastair Seeley won the sole event in an incident-hit North West 200 road race in Northern Ireland on Saturday, May 21. The local rider won the Supersport 600 event and was leading the main Superbike race when it was cancelled in a day struck by atrocious weather, oil spills and even a bomb-scare.  Team RidersDiscount.com will sponsor Jake Holden’s efforts in the AMA Daytona SportBike Series for the remainder of the season after Holden’s original team, owned by Robbie Roberson, opted out of the series. Holden will continue to ride a Ducati 848EVO. The Yamaha Champions Riding School, based at Miller Motorsports Park, will offer a supported rider program for any racer under the age of 18. “Kids get a lot of advice… most of it isn’t much good,” said lead instructor Nick Ienatsch. “The Yamaha Champions Riding School’s Youth Racer Program asks for young racers to make a monetary commitment to our program up front, but then offers three years of attendance for free. This program allows a young racer to attend any of our schools that fit his/her schedule. They have to bring their own bike and they won’t be treated like a “student,” but more like a guest who can participate in the classroom, run laps and do drills with the gang. Think of it as a refresher course in how to win championships.” For more information, visit www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com. MotoCzysz, the reigning TT Zero champions, have confirmed that they will be returning to the Isle of Man with two bikes and riders to participate in the 2011 SES TT Zero Clean Emissions race.
The MotoCzysz E1pc was ridden to victory in the 2010 race by Mark Miller. He will be joined in the Oregon-based team this year by TT star Michael Rutter.
 The special summer exhibit, Collection X: Weird, Wild Wonders of the Harley-Davidson Museum, is set to open on June 11. The motorcycles, leathers, and accessories for which the Company is known make up just a continued on page 19

14-24 Wind.indd 15

5/23/11 2:19 PM

P16

IN THE

WIND

It is Bou, however, who leads the World Championship by seven points over his rival Raga after two rounds. Bou and Raga were locked on 15 marks apiece at the end of the first lap of 15 dry sections on day one. Both riders dropped two fives on their opening tour, with Bou recording his second failure in section 11. The reigning champion then started his closing lap with another mistake as he added five more marks to his total in only the second hazard, which he had cleaned earlier in the day. Knowing that he was in with a chance of winning, Raga looked strong during his second lap, until he lost five marks at

the seventh hazard. But the Gas Gas man held tough to finish two marks in front of Ossa’s Jeroni Fajardo with Beau suffering one more disaster in section nine to drop to third. Following his win on Saturday, Raga was forced to ride at the front of the pack on Sunday, and this seemed to bring extra pressure. With mistakes early in the first lap, he was struggling and Sherco’s Albert Cabestany emerged as the new leader by dropping one mark in the initial five sections. By the halfway point on day two, Cabestany held a singlemark advantage over Bou. But Bou stepped up his game and

was perfect on his final lap to claim the win. “Yesterday I made too many mistakes, my riding was okay, but my concentration was not good especially during the second lap. Like everyone I made some fives just for touching the flag. Of course, I felt some extra pressure today, as Adam [Raga] rode well yesterday, and was close to me in the standings. My first lap today was not perfect, but it was still okay. In the final lap even I can say that my riding was incredible. It is a good way to finish and to keep my lead in the championship.”

SPIES GOES RED/WHITE FOR LAGUNA

B

en Spies and his World Champion teammate Jorge Lorenzo will race in special 50th Anniversary Edition livery for the Dutch and Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix rounds in Assen, Holland and Monterey, California, respectively, to celebrate Yamaha’s 50th year in Grand Prix racing. The pair will unveil the new colors on Wednesday, June 22, close to the Assen circuit in Holland. The red and white livery design pays homage to the iconic Yamaha Factory Racing colors of the past with a modern twist. A special 50th Anniversary logo is also being used this season.

14-24 Wind.indd 16

5/23/11 2:19 PM

RIDER: Ryan Dungey • Photo: Jake Klingensmith

RIDER: Tony D

HIST O the M RY in

AKIN G

May 21 } Celeb Hangtown rat M o May 28 } Ameirng 40 Y Freestone tocross Classic↗ Sa e Rac ican cra June 11 } Motoars of High Point eway↗ Wortham, T mento, CA* July 1 X* 6 } Spring cross Ra June 18 } C r e Budds Cre ceway↗ Mt. Morris, e k M J u o ly 23 } Wa t ek M PA June 25 } shougal M ocross↗ Millville, M Thunder Va otocross↗ Mechan A X N* u Park↗ Wa g. 13 } Un ics lle July 2 } R s a h d o il u la g edBud↗ B y Motocross↗ Lake ville, MD a ↗ l, WA New Berlin Aug. 27 } wood, CO* uchanan, M , NY M * Also Fea o t o -X I* 3 tures WM 38↗ Sout Sept. 3 } X Series hwic Steel City Raceway↗ k, MA* Sept. 10 } Delm Pala Racew ay↗ Pala, ont, PA* CA* facebook.com/AmericanMotocross @AmericanMX

Q

☞ FOR TICKETS AND INFO VISIT:

Q MX Sports.indd 1

5/13/11 3:04 PM

P18

IN THE

WIND

CASELLI AGAIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK KARIYA

Kurt Caselli rode a patient race and when leader Kendall Norman fell on loop two, he took full advantage to take the win and practically seal the championship heading into the summer break.

F

MF/KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team’s Kurt Caselli played a patient waiting game perfectly, taking advantage of a loop-two spill by Johnny Campbell Racing Honda’s Kendall Norman to ride to his fifth win in the AMA Racing/Kenda National Hare & Hound Championship Series. Norman, the leader for most of the race and the winner of round six, settled for second while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Destry Abbott put in another podium performance for third. Unlike round five run a few miles east, conditions for the 51st Annual Cherry Creek National on May 21, hosted by the Sugarloafers Motorcycle Club,

14-24 Wind.indd 18

couldn’t have been much better. Rain most of the week leading up to race day left the two loops in prime condition with minimal mud and a slight breeze to carry away what little dust cropped up. At first, it appeared that Norman was on his way to his second consecutive triumph since returning to the series following a knee injury earlier in the season, as he built up a sizable lead over the mostly fast 65-mile first loop. The more technical 45-mile-long second loop higher up in the trees would prove pivotal. “I knew it was going to be kind of a long race and maybe these guys would get a little tired at the end,” Caselli said. “I came up to a

check and they told me I was only 15 seconds behind Kendall. I think in the pits, I was about a minute or less [behind]. So I caught up and was just trying to ride patiently and eventually caught up to Kendall. He made a little bobble and I was able to get around him.” Caselli’s win strengthened his hold on the series points lead, giving him 187, unofficially, while Purvines Racing Honda’s David Pearson - fourth after a tough day - remains second with 159, unofficially. Abbott made up a little ground but remains third at 146, unofficially. Concours Auto Body’s Robert Underwood stormed to fifth followed by Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna’s Nick Burson, Northland Motorsports Kawasaki’s Jeff Truelove, 250cc Expert winner Lane Buchert, Purvines Racing Honda’s Carl Maassberg and Utah’s Preston Hannifin. Mark Kariya

5/23/11 2:19 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

FMF GOES ENERGY

F

MF Racing has made it official: They are producing an energy drink, FMF Power Beverage, that is already available in selected stores in the Los Angeles area and is already creating a stir on many levels in racing, most notably within the factory Kawasaki team – a team that uses FMF exhaust systems and is sponsored by Monster Energy. The drink has been formulated in conjunction with Lance Collins, the founder of Fuze Beverages and NOS High Performance Energy Drink. “With NOS we hit a vital nerve in the automotive community,” Collins said in an FMF release. “I believe we again have such an advantage featuring a timeless brand like FMF. FMF has always been surrounded by world-class athletes, so this is a real opportunity to bring a real performance product to a category oversaturated by brands surviving solely on show over go.” FMF Racing owner and founder Don Emler said: “We got into building performance

P19

Briefly...… small fraction of the hundreds of artifacts that will be on display in the 10,000-square-foot Garage exhibit space at the Museum through August 21. The season-long search for the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI) Jeremy McGrath Scholarship winner came to a conclusion at the Las Vegas Supercross finale with Randy Cardwell of Granby, Connecticut, selected by McGrath to receive $10,000 for MMI training. After contemplating his options for a few days and talking further with his doctors, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa opted to undergo surgery to repair his broken right collarbone, the result of the crash he suffered in the French GP on May 15. Pedrosa’s participation in the Grand Prix of Catalunya on June 5 remains uncertain, according to his team. Will Roeder, the 1984 AMA Battle of the Twins Overall champion, and part of the famous Roeder racing clan of Monroeville, Ohio, died early Sunday morning, May 15, in Stein Hospice Care Center, in Sandusky, Ohio, as a result of ALS. He was 52. Roeder was a member of one of the most famous families in American motorcycle racing. His father George Roeder was one of the leading AMA Grand National riders of the 1960s. Will, and his brothers Jess and George II “Geo”, carried on their father’s legacy in racing. While his younger brothers were best known for flat track racing, Will made his name in road racing. Roeder is survived by his wife of 22 years, Julie A. (Moore) Roeder, his children, Jessica L. and Scott Benfer and Brooke A. Roeder; his grandchildren, Logan, Evan and Addison Benfer, his mother, Jessie Roeder; and his brothers and sisters, Paula Roeder-Fox and Steve Fox; George II “Geo” and Constance Roeder, Jess Roeder, Katherine “Kami” and Chris Luers and his half brother, John Best. He was preceded in death by his father, George Roeder in 2003. Road racer John Hopkins has launched his redesigned website at www.johnhopkins21.com. Hopkins is currently competing in the British Superbike Series on a Samsung-backed Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Exhausts and energy: FMF is now producing an energy drink: FMF Power.

14-24 Wind.indd 19

Supercrosser/motocrosser Ian Trettle, who suffered serious head injuries in a crash at Daytona International Speedway in March, has announced his retirement in a heartfelt letter to his fans, sponsors and friends. The letter can be read at http:// www.cyclenews.com/articles/motocross/2011/05/18/letterfrom-ian-trettel/ 5/23/11 2:19 PM

P20

IN THE

WIND

parts because we love to ride and race motorcycles. Maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle is key to racers and action sports athletes, so we felt strongly about bringing FMF Power to market as

an all-natural energy alternative that can enhance a rider’s performance out on the track. Developing FMF Power is just another opportunity for us to give back to the sport we love.”

STONER AND THE 1000

F

rench Grand Prix winner Casey Stoner was able to throw a leg over the 2012 1000cc Honda prototype last week, the Australian riding the bike on which he will attack the 2012 MotoGP World Championship at the Jerez Circuit in Spain. HRC test riders Kosuke Akiyoshi and Shinichi Ito have been testing the bike since April in Japan, but this was the first time the bike was ridden outside of Japan with Stoner doing laps at Jerez in Spain. Stoner’s teammate Dani Pedrosa was supposed to join Stoner at the test, but the Spaniard suffered a broken collarbone when he crashed in the French GP last Sunday. Stoner completed 50 laps on the first day of the test – May 17 - using the same Bridgestones that he’s been using on his RC212V in addition to new prototype tires being built for use in 2012. And he followed that up with a second day of testing Each manufacturer is allowed eight days of testing during the season with contracted riders on the 2012 machine. “Everything has gone very well, very positive,” Stoner said after the first day. “It’s just nice to ride the 1000cc again, to feel the engine and the power.

14-24 Wind.indd 20

I had a lot of fun, I enjoyed the first day because everything we’ve tried seems to be working, so no complaints. The biggest disappointment is that Dani [Pedrosa] is not going be Casey Stoner tested the 1000cc Honda MotoGP here to test, as prototype at the Jerez Circuit in Spain last week. he is important to the development of this bike. I hope that dent Shuhei Nakamoto was also soon HRC can get his input as pleased with how the test went. “I think we had a good day well because we need as much of testing, the machine worked data as possible, in order to be well as we hoped, without any ready for next season. We didn’t focus on anything special today, specific issues,” he said. “Of just tried to understand what the course, it’s just the first day so bike is doing, how it reacts on we will need to improve but we the brakes and things like that, tested many things and everyalso considering some the is- thing was okay. Casey is happy sues we have with the 800cc with a more powerful engine, right now. The braking point also drivability was okay and seems to be stronger, stability on the chassis side we need to in the front going into the corner keep progressing. Unfortunateseems to be very good, and of ly, Dani is not here and it would course we want to understand be better to have both riders’ how the power delivery is, and it is very smooth so no problem. feedback. Casey’s comments In general, we haven’t changed are very similar to the ones we too much from the set up we received from the test riders, have on the 800cc right now and this is good. Hopefully we and the feeling is very similar, so can get Dani’s impressions soon to keep working on the developit’s pretty good.” HRC’s executive vice presi- ment.” 5/23/11 2:19 PM

Shop the Web’s Largest Selection of

OEM PARTS!

Shop Our Memorial Day Sale!

Huge Savings on Parts & Gear This Weekend Only! Sale Starts 6am PDT 5/27!

Bike Bandit.indd 1

5/23/11 9:51 AM

P22

IN THE

WIND

BMW WINS 8 HOURS OF ALBACETE The BMW Motorrad France 99 team won the Albacete 8 Hour this past weekend in Spain.

E

rwan Nigon and Sébastien Gimbert team up on their BMW S1000RR to give BMW the two-year-old Superbike its firstever World Championship victory, the pair earning the win for Team BMW Motorrad France 99 in the 8 Hours of Albacete, the second round of the 2011 Endurance World Championship, on Sunday, May 22. Nigon was the quickest rider off the line after the traditional Le Mans-style start and led the race into the first turn. Consistently quick laps saw the reigning French Superbike Champion open a gap at the front of the field, which he and Gimbert were able to increase with each. By the halfway point in the race, Team

14-24 Wind.indd 22

BMW Motorrad France 99 had a 42-second lead over the GMT 94 Yamaha in second place. Team BMW Motorrad France 99 continued to dominate in the second half of the race, with Gimbert eventually taking the win by 31 seconds from the GMT 94 Yamaha, ridden by David Checa, Kenny Foray and Matthieu Lagrive, after eight hours and 306 laps of racing. The win moves Team BMW Motorrad France 99 up to second place in the championship standings, two points behind the leading Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT). SERT’s efforts were thwarted by a stop-and-go penalty in the opening half of the race. The

reigning World Champions were penalized at 9.30 p.m. on Saturday for not switching off the lights of the GSXR1000 Suzuki during a scheduled pit stop. Riders Vincent Philippe, Freddy Foray and Daisaku Sakai battled hard throughout the night session, but couldn’t catch the leaders. “The race was perfect,” Nigon said. “We knew from the start that we’d have to do an extra fuel stop compared to the other teams, so the plan was to push as hard as possible to make up 10 seconds every hour. I got a good start and was able to build a good gap in the first hour before handing over to Sébastien [Gimbert]. Both of us were pushing in every stint until, with 90 minutes of the race left to run, we knew nobody was going to be able to come back at us. Taking this first win for the team, BMW and Michelin is a great feeling, especially given how hard they’ve all worked to make it happen.” American Jason Pridmore and his Maco Racing Team Yamaha R1 finished fifth in the race with 301 laps. Pridmore was joined on the team by Gregory Junod and Gregg Black. 5/23/11 2:20 PM

ay at rack D ions T n e Op hamp FREE aha C GET A ith Any Yam hase w l Purc MMP Schoo g in Rid

s n o i p ham

C n w o r We C e USA perbik

u

S World

435

h le, Uta e o o T / k .com tsPar Park / r s o t p r s o r rsp Moto Moto Miller . w Miller w /w EED / .27.SP

s n o i p ham

C n i a r We T

es finish nnual a e e r ort ch ings, perSp top-th enats I , four Willow Spr A 600 Su s k ip c i h in AM pions from tor: N Cham ne plates d podiums struc n o I n tional r a a d e N A b a R s Le WE num eam uperT etition, two nships with MA S Two A 0GP comp l Champio na 25 AMA rand Natio G e e thr

Miller.indd 1

5/9/11 4:53 PM

P24

IN THE

WIND

EUROFILE: A CZECH V-SIX

T

he former Czechoslovakia had a proud tradition of quality motorcycle engineering even under Communist rule, when the stateowned Jawa and CZ companies produced a succession of innovative designs. It’s worth noting that it was CZ, not Honda, that invented the high-performance V-four, four-stroke concept, with its 500cc GP design that raced between 1969 and 1972. Besides winning serial World Speedway titles, Jawa was always the best of the rest in 1960s 350/500cc GP racing with its DOHC parallel-twins and later V-four two-strokes, behind the inevitable MV Agusta and later Honda and Benelli multis. Now, for the first time after the country’s The FGR 2500 V-six Midalu. post-Communist partition into two separate countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, that heri- finalized the design. tage has been revived with the launch of the FGR The Midalu’s liquid-cooled 2442cc four-cam 2500 V-six Midalu - an admittedly massive-looking, 90-degree, V-six engine (weighing 234 pounds) multi-cylinder Czech streetfighter. The culmination measures 90 x 64 mm, runs on regular unleaded of a six-year design project involving 44 compa- gas - thanks to a 9.9:1 compression ratio for the fournies in the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy, the valve cylinders - and is expected to deliver 240 hp Midalu’s presence comes thanks to its transversely at peak revs of 8500 rpm, with more than 200Nm located DOHC 24-valve, 90-degree V-six engine. of torque. Czech engineer Miroslav Felgr first had the idea Fitted with Öhlins suspension, 320mm Brembo of producing the largest-capacity motorcycle in the front discs with four-piston radial calipers, and forged world (employing a dedicated two-wheeled motor, aluminium OZ wheels carrying Metzeler tires, the not a transplanted car engine like in the V-eight Boss complete Midalu weighs 590 pounds dry, with the Hog) in 2004. But the first motorcycle he built was a very different one - the FGR 125GP rotary-valve, engine wrapped in a tubular-steel trellis-style frame two-stroke that has been competing in Central Euro- carrying the self-supporting carbon fiber structure comprising the seat and 18-liter fuel tank. pean road racing events since 2008. Dyno testing of the engine has already begun, After enlisting the support of the Czech government‘s Ministry of Industry and Commerce, which with a thorough road test program scheduled for provided him with financial backing for the Midalu the summer before production of the bike. Limited project, Felgr began initial design work in 2005. He numbers are expected to be sold at the the end of eventually held a competition involving 45 different this year with the first six bikes being built with a engineers, each of whom submitted a proposed de- projected retail price of 1.0 million Czech crowns, sign for the entire motorcycle, including an outline equivalent $55,000. For more information, visit of its V-six engine. Of these, Stanislav Hanus was www.motofgr.com named the winner early in 2009, and he has since Alan Cathcart 14-24 Wind.indd 24

5/23/11 2:20 PM

Presented By

2011 Schedule – Mark Your Calendars! June 19th June 26th July 9th July 10th July 17th July 24th July 31st August 6th August 7th

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9

Rovers MC Desert Daisies* Taft MC (Night) Taft MC Four Aces* Prospectors MC District 37 RHR So Cal MC So Cal MC *

Comp Edge, Big Track, Hesperia Comp Edge, Big Track, Hesperia Honolulu Hills, Taft Honolulu Hills, Taft AV Motoplex Quail Canyon, Gorman Racetown 395, Adelanto The Ranch, Anza The Ranch, Anza

RHR event is a benefit fund raiser for the District 37 Riders Helping Riders fund *Indicates Double Points Paying Round

Look for the new DESERT CLASS! Who will be crowned Desert King of the Track? CLASSES FOR EVERY BIKE & EVERY PERSON! Including, Youth, Women, Classes for Ages Over 30, 4-wheel ATV and the Return of the Old Bike Classes at Every Round.

Thank you 2011 Host Clubs

COME GET YOUR #1 AMA PLATE THIS SUMMER! For Complete Series Info, Please call (661) 917-5565. Visit Our Website www.amasocalmotocross.com

We Thank & Support The Organizations That Support Us!

AMASoCalMXSeries - follow us!

SOCALMXindd 1

5/23/11 7:54 AM

NEW BIKES

P26

2012 KTM SX MOTOCROSSERS

Two-Stroke Tune-Up KTM revamps SX two-strokes, fine-tunes four-strokes.

250 SX 26-29 New KTM.indd 26

5/23/11 7:15 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P27

K

TM unveiled its SX line of 2012 motocrossers and most of the news this year comes from the new two-strokes, which now feature linked rear suspension systems, like the four-stroke SXs got last year. To accommodate the linkage design, the frame, swingarm and shocks are all new on all of the of two-stroke models, including the 150 and 125 SXs, which KTM is bringing back to the U.S. again. The 125 has been on hiatus for a couple of years. All of the two-stroke SXs also get a new head-stay and intake boot, while the 125 and 150 SXs get new kick-starters. The 150 is also fitted with a new exhaust pipe. The 250 SX gets the latest reed-block assembly from V-Force. Bodywork has also been changed on the SXs, as they now feature

26-29 New KTM.indd 27

5/23/11 7:15 AM

NEW BIKES

P28

2012 KTM SX MOTOCROSSERS a new white airbox and a new white, restyled rear fender, which is said to be stronger, too. The handlebar pad is also new. Perhaps the biggest news from the SX four-stroke is the 250 SX-F getting an electric starter like the 350 had (as well as the 450, of course). Both the 350 and 250 SX-Fs receive new mapping, while the 450 SX-F gets a new clutch and new clutch master cylinder. The 450 SX-F, which is still carbureted, features

a new fork guard that has a holeshot device attached. All of the SX-F four-strokes are now fitted with Dunlop MX51 rubber, while the SX twostrokes are fitted with Pirelli Scorpion MX tires. The KTM 50 SX Mini, 50 SX, 65 SX and 85 SX will be back as well with significant upgrades. The SXs are expected to be available in June.  CN

450 SX-F 26-29 New KTM.indd 28

5/23/11 7:15 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P29

250 SX-F

2012 KTM SX Price List 50 SX Mini............ $3299 50 SX...................... $3699 65 SX...................... $4399 85 SX...................... $5199 125 SX..................... $6299 150 SX..................... $6399 250 SX................... $6899 250 SX-F............... $7699 350 SX-F............... $8499 450 SX-F............... $8799

26-29 New KTM.indd 29

5/23/11 7:15 AM

ROUND 1/MAY 21, 2011 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA/RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA

MOTOCROSS

P30

LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

ROUND 1 MAY 21, 2011 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA

Reed, Baggett fire first at Hangtown

Rough Start 30-39 Hangtown.indd 30

Chad Reed attacked the rough Hangtown track and came away with a hard-earned win.

5/23/11 2:23 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P31

Briefly...

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KIT PALMER

C

had Reed might say that he “doesn’t like this place,” but the Hangtown track has surely treated him well of late. For the second year in a row, Reed opened the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship with an impressive win, this one coming at the 43rd Rockstar Energy Drink Hangtown Motocross Classic and on what everyone described as a brutally rough track - even by Hangtown’s standards. Defending 450-class Champion Ryan Dungey beat Reed in the first 30-minute-plustwo-lap moto, but that only seemed to fire him up for the second moto. In moto two, Reed came back and turned the tables on Dungey (not to mention everyone else) by

30-39 Hangtown.indd 31

winning the tie-breaking moto for the overall victory on his TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Honda. Reed’s 2-1 will put him in the record books for having won, but Dungey‘s 1-2 at least keeps him at the top of the point standings as he shares the lead with the Australian going into round two in Texas next week. Another 2-1 performance was enough to register an overall win at Hangtown as Blake Baggett stormed to the 250-class win for his first career National victory. Not only did Baggett win, but he also led a Kawasaki sweep, as he was joined by his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit teammates Dean Wilson and Tyla Rattray on the 250 podium. The word of the day was preparation, which so many of the outdoor title contend-

Red Bull KTM’s Mike Alessi suffered a huge disappointment at Hangtown. The outdoor specialist had been waiting all year for the Nationals to begin and was on the 450 KTM that he so much wanted to ride. He had set the fastest qualifying time after the first session, but crashed in the second session. His foot caught the ground and came off the footpeg as he was going off a fast jump and went down. He was knocked out, forcing the stoppage of practice so medics could attend to him. He eventually came to and staggered off the track with the help of the medics. Alessi, who suffered a concussion just two weeks earlier at the Las Vegas Supercross and also hit his head at the Salt Lake Supercross, was not allowed to race that afternoon, nor will he be allowed to race next week at Texas. Alessi wasn’t the only rider who hit his head on the day, so did Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Travis Baker. Baker crashed in the first 250 moto and suffered a minor concussion, forcing him to sit out the rest of the day. During the week leading up to Hangtown, former 450 National MX Champion James Stewart announced from his Twitter account that he was not going to race the outdoor series opener, citing, “we just aren’t ready.” His San Manuel Yamaha team followed up with an official release saying, “Team San Manuel’s James Stewart and company [including Kyle Regal] have decided to indefinitely postpone their entry into the race series.... the team will continue to evaluate the remainder of the 2011 schedule before any decision is made regarding what events they will participate in.” continued on next page 5/23/11 2:23 PM

ROUND 1/MAY 21, 2011 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA/RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA

MOTOCROSS

LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

ROUND 1 MAY 21, 2011 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA

Dean Wilson (15) tries to fight back Blake Baggett (57) in the second 250 moto.

ers said they had little time to do prior to the opening round of the 2011 National MX series. Having just come off nearly 17 straight weeks of Supercross racing and with just two weeks between the last Supercross round and first 30-39 Hangtown.indd 32

P32

outdoor, many of the riders had no time to relax and catch their breath, but instead had to spend every precious moment training, testing and practicing for Hangtown. And to make matters worse,

the racers ended up facing one of the roughest and most brutal tracks they’d ever seen. A deluge of rain a few days before the weekend had turned much of the track into a lake, but the Dirt Digger MC crew somehow managed to get everything ready for Saturday’s race. Still, with the addition of sand and sawdust, the track was soft, much softer than usual, and deep ruts and huge bumps formed all along the long and hilly racecourse. So, not only did they have little time to prep for Hangtown, they also set up their bikes for a track they didn’t get - a track that is normally hardpacked, dry and filled with square-edged bumps. During the two short morning practice sessions, racers scrambled to find the right suspension settings. As you can imagine, there were a lot of worn out, sore and exhausted bodies at the end of the day. “It was a brutal track,” said Reed. “Normally we see hard-packed and choppy. It was pretty nasty.” They did have one thing in their favor, though - the weather. Many times, the Hangtown race has been held in scorching heat, but not this year. Racers were treated to a cool morning and 70-de5/23/11 2:23 PM

P33

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

gree daytime temperatures under blue skies. Reed’s win, however, was certainly hard earned. He first had to out-duel Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto in the first moto before he could work up to challenge leader Dungey. Although he got close, he couldn’t get close enough to mount a serious attack. In the second moto, Reed found himself at the tail end of an exciting three-rider battle for the lead. Reed watched Dungey fight his way around Villopoto for the point for the first six laps, and then he went after the Kawasaki rider, getting Villopoto two laps later. This set the stage for a showdown between Reed and Dungey for the overall win. The two went at it like they had so many times during the Supercross series, and Reed finally got around Dungey after two laps, but Dungey stayed right with him. When the two-lap board came out, Dungey was latched onto Reed and was thinking about making a move, but when Reed countered, Dungey backed off after he bobbled. Reed said of Dungey’s late charge for the lead: “Getting close is one thing, but getting past is another. I was going to fight.” “He got by me and I saw some good lines that he was taking,” Dungey said. “I was able to get on his rear bumper, but at the end there, I just kind of made a little mistake up top. He rode a 30-39 Hangtown.indd 33

good race - no excuses.” Villopoto was obviously not on his game at Hangtown. The recently crowned Supercross champ says he’s even more comfortable outdoors as he is in Supercross, but didn’t look like it today. Even though he finished third in both motos and even led the second moto for six laps, he would drop way back of the two front-runners by the time the checkered flag came out. Afterwards, Villopoto admitted he had been feeling under the weather the week leading up to the race, but felt it was a good first ride back nonetheless. “It was a good comeback,” he said. “It’s been two years and you forget how tough Hangtown is. I felt a bit rusty, but it’s no big deal. There are a few things we can change on the bike, but, even though I wanted to take the win, it just wasn’t there. I’ve been a little bit sick this last week - fever, sweats and chills - but everyone has to deal with little things like that. It’s no excuse.” Baggett’s win in the extremely deep 250 class was also hard earned. He started off the first moto in eighth place but climbed up to second before it was all over, having to pass some stiff competition along the way, including Rattray, Kyle Cunningham, Cole Seely, Malcolm Stewart and last year’s continued on page 37

Briefly... While everyone seemed to come into Hangtown a little unprepared, no one could have been more unprepared than Kevin Windham who had it in his mind that he wasn’t even going to ride the outdoors at all just a week earlier. “We weren’t prepared coming into this race,” said Windham who is filling in for Honda’s injured Trey Canard and Josh Grant. “I talked to [Erik] Kehoe [Honda team manager] the Saturday before [Hangtown] and asked him, ‘can we make this happen?’ At Vegas [Supercross two weeks earlier], I was feeling good then had that crash, the internal bleeding and some things, and pretty much counted myself out [for the Nationals] I didn’t even really consider it, but later in the week, the bleeding quit, my CT scans came back that I was okay, and I just felt like it was right to do it, but I knew I was under prepared. The first time I rode my factory Honda bike was here on Thursday on press day. The rest of the week I was riding the GEICO bike with Supercross suspension, just trying to get the eyes ready and go fast and move forward. But to finish fourth today is pretty good. Those guys up front were riding great. I essentially did nothing but lie on the bed the week after Vegas and didn’t think in a million years I’d be here today.” Marvin Musquin, the 2010 MX2 World Champion, was a serious threat to win his first National. The Red Bull KTM rider from France had the fastest time in qualifying, but couldn’t quite put it all together in the mains. A bad start in the first moto had him in 10th place after the continued on next page 5/23/11 2:23 PM

ROUND 1/MAY 21, 2011 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA/RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA

MOTOCROSS

P34

LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

ROUND 1 MAY 21, 2011 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA

Villopoto (2) leads Dungey, Kevin Windham (14) and Reed at the start of the second 450 moto.

30-39 Hangtown.indd 34

5/23/11 2:23 PM

P35

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

Briefly... first lap, but he climbed to fourth by the finish, saying he rode a “safe” race. In the second moto, he and a couple of other riders went down in the second turn. He got up in 30th place and charged all the way back up to sixth in an amazing ride. His 4-6 gave him fifth overall. South Africa’s Gareth Swanepoel of the DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha team made his National debut a good one. He made up for a 22nd-place start in the first moto to finish ninth and ran as high as fourth in the second moto before finishing fifth. His 9-5 gave him sixth overall. Swanepoel’s teammate Ryan Sipes had a tough day. He was behind Malcolm Stewart when he got out of shape, causing him to highside off his bike, injuring his wrist. Sipes got up and took off but was forced to pull off because the wrist was hurting so bad. He will have the wrist examined on Monday. The day didn’t start off well for Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer. Two crashes in the first 450 moto left him in 20th place when it was over, but he rebounded in the second moto and got sixth for 12th overall. Red Bull KTM’s Andrew Short ran as high as eighth in the first 450 moto when his 350 started overheating. He managed to nurse the steaming bike in for a ninth-place finish but wouldn’t be so lucky in the second moto. The bike over-heated again, but this time his team manager Roger DeCoster pulled him off the track for safety concerns. continued on next page 30-39 Hangtown.indd 35

5/23/11 2:23 PM

ROUND 1/MAY 21, 2011 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA/RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA

MOTOCROSS

P36

LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

Pourcel Returns

Former MX2 World Champion and 250 Supercross Champion Christophe Pourcel was another ROUND 1 rider going through the preparation MAY 21, 2011 blues at Hangtown. Having sewn PRAIRIE CITY SVRA RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA up his new deal with MotoConcepts Yamaha just a few weeks ago, the super-fast Frenchman had little time to get used to his new bike, new class and new team before the gate dropped for the first moto. Plus, he hadn’t raced since injuring his shoulder at the final National round last year at Pala. Kawie, so I got to get used to it. There was a lot on his plate going into Hang“I just have to get comfortable on the bike,” he town, but Pourcel rode a commendable race. Af- said. “It’s a new one, it’s just been two weeks that ter qualifying fourth quickest, Pourcel went 7-11 for I’ve been riding it, so I just have to set up everyninth overall. thing and we should be all right.” Afterwards, Pourcel said he was glad to be racPourcel’s first priority is getting the power just ing again. the way he likes it. “It’s been a long time and it’s good to be back,” “We’re going to test on Tuesday and it’s going he said. “I’ve got a new bike, new team, but it’s to be all about the motor. I’m super complicated going to take a lot of work to get everything set [when it comes to] the motor, because I want up for me.” something super smooth and everything on top, Even though he’s not used to finishing outside because I just use the top and no bottom. Right the top five, Pourcel seemed content with how the now, it’s a little too aggressive. The motor on the day turned out. Yamaha is super abrupt and I need something su“We had an okay day, it was fine. We were just trying to make everything work for this race, so we per smooth. “Suspension is good. But you have to get the know what’s wrong and what’s not. Like I said, it’s a new team and we’re going to try and get better motor [dialed in] first and then adjust the suspenand better every weekend. I’m pretty sure we’ll get sion to the motor, but it’s pretty close where I want to be right now.” on top, it’s just going to take a little bit.” Pourcel says he likes his new team. He admitted that he’s not totally comfortable on “I’m happy; the team is good, everything is new. the Yamaha YZ450F yet but isn’t worried about What I want is to feel more comfortable on the that not happening.” bike and have fun with it. It was pretty rough today “I know I can be fast, like this morning, but we need to do something on the bike. We have to and didn’t really enjoy the bike. We have a lot to adjust the motor and everything; we have to adjust do - it’s just been two weeks. But I’m pretty happy everything for me, what I usually like. I’m just not because I know what we need to change on the used to the Yamaha. It’s not the same thing as the bike and that’s a good point.”

30-39 Hangtown.indd 36

5/23/11 2:23 PM

P37

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

winner Eli Tomac. The only rider he couldn’t catch was winner Dean Wilson. Baggett started the second moto a little better in sixth but eventually found himself battling it out with his teammates Wilson and Rattray for the moto win and overall victory. He needed to pass Wilson for second if he wanted the overall and got a break when Wilson fell, handing him just what he wanted.

But Baggett wanted more - the second-moto win. Baggett charged after the former World MX Champion Rattray, who had been leading since lap four after having gotten around a fallen Justin Barcia. When Baggett came calling, Rattray admitted that he didn’t have anything for him and surrendered the point to Baggett, who rode out the last four laps in the lead for the

Ryan Dungey (left) had to get around a stubborn Ryan Villopoto before taking the first-moto win.

Briefly... DeCoster believes the over-heating might’ve had something to do with new radiators they were using. Former WORCS Champion Ricky Dietrich finished in the top 10 overall in the 450 class on his Valli Motorsports Yamaha. He fell on the first lap in the first moto and went from 28th to 11th. Dietrich got off to a 13th-place start in the second moto and found himself battling with another former WORCS Champion Mike Brown. Dietrich finally got by the KTM rider and went 11-9 for ninth overall. Eli Tomac was hoping for the same winning success he had here in the 250 class last year, but had to settle for fourth instead. But he started off on the right foot by jumping into the early lead in the first moto but couldn’t hold it. “I locked up,” he said. “That was the roughest track I’ve ever ridden! The second moto went better, but I got beat.” Tomac ended up going 3-4 for fourth overall. Hangtown Notes: DNA Shred Stix Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson won both the Women’s MX motos for the overall win… The Hangtown track was so rough that 250-class rider Tyler Futrell reportedly had his shock snap in half… Rockstar/ Makita Suzuki’s Brett Metcalfe returned to racing after an injury and rode well, going 5-5 for fifth overall… Justin Brayton did not race due to the ankle injury he suffered at the Vegas Supercross… The DNA Shred Stix Yamaha team added Kyle Partridge to its outdoor roster.

30-39 Hangtown.indd 37

5/23/11 2:23 PM

ROUND 1/MAY 21, 2011 PRAIRIE CITY SVRA/RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA

MOTOCROSS

LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

My Own Race: 22

P38

CHAD REED 

1ST (2-1) 450

giving him fourth overall. “Unbelievable, this made the weekend worth it,” Windham said. “I showed that I could do it, but on the flipside I faded way back.”

“That was one of the better outdoors rides that I’ve ever had,” BLAKE BAGGETT  1ST (2-1) 250 Reed said of his second moto. “You had to be careful with 57 Blake Baggett seemed the most prepared for the outdoors the track; you had to pick and choose your lines. In between ROUND motos, I watched the 250 race from the bus 1and watched at Hangtown. He came from behind in both 250 motos to go 21, 2011 what he 2-1 for the overall win, but getting there wasn’t easy. He sur[Blake] Baggett and his line selections.MAY I watched CITYlike SVRA was doing and learned some lines fromPRAIRIE that. I felt I had vived a couple of crashes and won many small battles along RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA the way, including one with Justin Barcia, who he passed on some better lines [in the second moto]. It was a long race, felt like we did a lot of laps. It was an exciting day for us. I’m the last lap of the first moto, and fierce ones with his teamproud of the team. We are at a comfort level that we’ve never mates Dean Wilson and Tyla Rattray in the second moto. “I really had before, especially at the first race where we had rode as hard as I could,” he said. “I got into second and just put my head down and went as fast as I could go. I was usvery little preparation. That excites me.” ing anything [lines] I could, inside, outside, trying to stay out 1 RYAN DUNGEY  2ND (1-2) 450 of the roost. I was using all of the track. I was patient at the Ryan Dungey came out swinging in the first 450 moto. He beginning and towards the end I knew where I needed to completed the first lap in third behind holeshotter Kevin be to get that win. I just tried hard, I was sidesaddle coming Windham and his Suzuki teammate Bret Metcalfe. Dungey down the hill one time and thought I was going down, but I took his time getting around Metcalfe and then Windham. saved it. I knew I had to be patient and find some extravagant Once he had the lead, he was uncatchable. “I felt really lines. I had a good battle with Tyla, he’s a big rider and an aggood that moto,” said Dungey. “We didn’t have much time gressive rider and is stronger than me, so I had to find some to prepare, but we had a pretty good base setting coming in smoother lines and keep my momentum going.” and didn’t do too much to the bike, last year we had some kinks with the bike. The second moto was a little tougher. 15 DEAN WILSON  2ND (1-3) 250 I was able to get into the lead, but couldn’t hold off Chad. Dean Wilson chased down and passed Eli Tomac for the When he got by me, I was able to see some of the lines first-moto win and was in contention for the overall win in the he was taking and I was able to pick up on some of them. second moto when he went down while dicing with Baggett. I came up the hill with two laps to go - I made a mistake. I “To be honest, I didn’t really expect to win the first moto,” made a hard attempt and was riding on the edge a little bit he said. “I didn’t get the greatest start and had my work cut and decided to back it down a bit. Chad was riding strong. out for me. The first lap I made some good passes. Once I No excuses, Chad rode a great race.” got into the lead, I felt good and then my stomach started tightening up really bad, every bump I hit my stomach was 2 RYAN VILLOPOTO  3RD (3-3) 450 killing me, but I got through it. The second moto, I gave it Despite sitting out the entire outdoor series last year with 100 percent. There were bumps I didn’t see and had some his broken leg, Ryan Villopoto rode well at Hangtown but sketchy moments for sure. Going up the hill [while dicing looked to be riding more defensively than aggressively. He with Baggett in the second moto], my front wheel washed gave both Dungey and Reed a race in both motos before out and once it got traction I went into the hay bales. I came falling well behind the two at the finish. “It was a good start here just wanting to get on the podium, but after the first to the season considering that was my first outdoor in a long moto, I wanted to win. But I’m happy.” time,” Villopoto said. “I was a bit rusty. It was a battle to get by Windham in the first moto, and Hangtown gets oddly rough TYLA RATTRAY  3RD (5-2) 250 and wears you down more than any other track we race all 28 year. I was a little under the weather this week, but that’s not Tyla Rattray put in two solid rides. He came from ninth to fifth an excuse. Everything is good, got some work to do on the in the first moto, and took the lead in the second moto when Justin Barcia went down. He led for the next eight laps but bike, but it’s all good.” couldn’t hold off Baggett. “I just didn’t have anything for him,” 14 KEVIN WINDHAM  4TH (6-4) 450 Rattray admitted. “After Barcia went down, I just wanted to If there was one rider who really wasn’t prepared it was Kev- put in some solid laps. I had some stomach cramps, which in Windham. He rode his outdoor bike for the first time on got pretty bad. It was tough today, the track got really tough, Thursday, but you would never have known that by the way and I’m happy to get out of here with third. This isn’t one of he rode on Saturday, where he led the first six laps of the first my favorite tracks on the circuit, but I don’t mean any disremoto, and finished fourth in the second moto. After getting spect to the organizers, it was a lot better than last year. It got passed by Dungey, Reed and Villopoto in the first moto, he really rough but that’s how a motocross should be. Overall it rode through some engine problems to finish sixth, his 6-4 was a good day for our team.”

30-39 Hangtown.indd 38

5/23/11 2:23 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P39

moto win and overall. Wilson’s 1-3 gave him second overall, and Rattray’s 5-2 gave him third overall, making Mitch Payton one very happy team owner. The fourth rider on the team, West Supercross Champion Broc Tickle, finished ninth overall after suffering a first-moto crash and bike problems in the second moto. He went 13-7.  CN

Baggett went 2-1 to collect his first career outdoor victory.

30-39 Hangtown.indd 39

5/23/11 2:23 PM

BTO_CYCLE_NEWS_05_24_11.indd 2

5/23/2011 11:39:47 AM

FIRST RIDE

P42

2011 Aprilia Tuono V4R

SUPERBIKE

STREETFIGHTER

The new Aprilia truly puts the Super in Streetfighter BY ALAN CATHCART PHTOGRAPHY BY THOMAS MACCABELLI/MILAGRO

A

prilia redefined the Streetfighter category with the introduction of the V-twin Tuono 1000R back in 2002 – a bike that was such fun to ride, it earned both critical acclaim and showroom success. The Tuono was based on the RSV1000R, the Superbike that Troy Corser used to often defeat the previously dominant Ducatis in World Superbike races to prove that there was another company in Italy that knew how to build fast four-strokes capable of winning races. Aprilia’s title-winning two-stroke expertise goes without saying. Lots of time has passed since, with a lot of water passing under the bridge – including a somewhat unwise decision to take part in the MotoGP World Championship with the RS Cube triple – but now, under Piaggio ownership, Aprilia is on a roll again. There’s the RSV4 with its 65-degree V-four engine designed by legendary Ferrari progettista Claudio Lombardi, leading in due course to the 2010 World Superbike title, courtesy of Max Biaggi. And now Aprilia has built on that platform, just as it did a decade ago with the Corser RSV1000R, to build a real-world ride that sets new standards for the Naked bike category, making the new Tuono V4R a true Streetfighter supreme.

42-48Aprilia Tuono.indd 42

5/23/11 7:10 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P43

ER

The Aprilia Tuono V4R – a naked version of the Aprilia RSV4 Superbike that Max Biaggi rode to last year’s World Superbike Championship. 42-48Aprilia Tuono.indd 43

5/23/11 7:10 AM

FIRST RIDE

P44

2011 Aprilia Tuono V4R The author rode the bike on the street and also on the Adria racetrack in Italy.

Yet at a price of $19,400 for the base model, with an extra $2850 for the all-bells-and-whistles APRC version complete with the same eight-stage traction control, three-stage anti-wheelie control, AQS powershifter and ALC launch control as on the RSV4 equivalent, the new Tuono is practically a bargain. Compare that price to the 10 horsepower less powerful $26,700 Ducati Streetfighter S that’s devoid of any of the APRC programs, except a less efficacious traction control ($21,400 for the basic version), or the Euro $26,650 for the MV Agusta 1090RR producing a massive 21 horsepower less, and it begins to be clear what an attractive package the new Aprilia represents. Maybe this time around it’ll get the commercial success it merits. Aprilia’s engineering team, led by Romano Albesiano, didn’t simply strip the bodywork off Bi42-48Aprilia Tuono.indd 44

aggi’s RSV4 and stick a high-rise handlebar on the fork to come up with the Tuono. Instead, they redesigned the chassis from the ground up, and reworked the title-winning Superbike motor to deliver a different kind of riding experience. They also altered the exhaust note. Now it’s impossible not to smile when you hear the throaty, lilting roar from the airbox when you gas the Tuono hard down low, and you may even chuckle out loud as it lives up to its name with a boom through the single exhaust silencer as you accelerate hard in the gears – tuono means “thunder” in Italian. While the 78 ���������������� x 52.3 mm���� architecture of the 999.6cc V-four motor remains unaltered, there have been several detail changes aimed at altering its character and power delivery. So there are heavier flywheels on the crank to increase torque and deliver a smoother pickup down low, and the variable intake system

of the RSV4 has been jettisoned for the same reason. Instead all four intake trumpets are attached in a fixed position to the 48mm Dell’Orto throttle bodies. They’ve also been increased by 20mm in terms of overall length, in order to fatten low-rpm pickup and midrange performance. The single counterbalancer that is mounted low, down in front of the front cylinder block, and gear-driven directly off the crank, has also been reweighted, and while the pairs of 32mm titanium inlet and 28mm nimonic steel exhaust valves for each cylinder are unchanged (sitting at an ultraflat 22° included angle to each other), the valve timing diagram has been altered. Again, this is for more torque. The six-speed gearbox retains its slipper clutch, but the bottom three ratios have been shortened to improve acceleration, while the new 4-2-1 stainless steel exhaust is subtly different from the RSV4’s – as well as a hefty some four pounds lighter, as is the combined weight of the Tuono’s cast aluminium wheels. The exhaust carries a single oxygen sensor and three-way catalyst, as well as a reed valve that admits air to the system when the engine is cold, to help counter start-up pollution issues. In addition, as on the RSV4, there’s an ECU-controlled powervalve fitted, to further optimize bottom-end performance, as well as to cut down on noise in urban situations. And the new Tuono is 5/23/11 7:10 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

already Euro 4-certified. Yet the revised motor still delivers a hefty claimed 167.3 hp at 11,500 rpm and 111.5 Nm of torque at 9500 rpm – each the most powerful by some way in the Streetfighter class (the Ducati produces a ‘mere’ 155 hp). The new Tuono makes just 13 horsepower less than the RSV4, but with a broader spread of torque, and there’s a 12,300-rev limiter in all gears for the Tuono’s ride-by-wire/RBW throttle, 1000 rpm lower than the RSV4. This evolved version of the reigning World Superbike Champion motor is installed 5mm lower in a visually identical but sub-

tly re-jigged aluminium twin-spar frame - in order to reduce the center of gravity for easier corner entry and and to counter the risk of wheelies, according to Aprilia R&D boss Mariano Fioravanzo. You can’t alter the location of the engine in the chassis as you can on the RSV4 Factory, he says – but the whole bike is set 10mm closer to the ground, resulting in a lower 32.8-inch seat height versus the RSV4 (10mm higher). The well-positioned footpegs are a total of 15mm lower than on the Superbike, while in terms of steering geometry the fully adjustable 43mm Sachs forks are mounted in a steering head that’s

P45

10mm further forward, resulting in a longer 56.8-inch wheelbase. This in turn sees the Tuono’s claimed 403-pound curb weight evenly split 50/50 front to rear, against the 52/48 percent distribution of the RSV4’s 394 pounds, while head angle and trail are set at 25º/107.5mm on the Tuono, against 25.4º/105mm for the Superbike – a subtly sharper difference on the Tuono that improves the handling for a Naked bike, said Fioravanzo. After arriving at Aprilia’s Noale headquarters, I found the keys of an APRC version of the Tuono V4R awaiting me, strikingly painted in yellow and black – it’s also

The Tuono V4R – at home in an Italian village.

42-48Aprilia Tuono.indd 45

5/23/11 7:10 AM

FIRST RIDE

P46

2011 Aprilia Tuono V4R The bike is available in both black and yellow.

available in all-black, and grey. Climbing aboard, I found a great riding position via the flat one-piece taper-section handlebar mounted to the upper triple clamp, which showed every sign that the people who created this bike actually ride motorcycles themselves. While inevitably a tadge sporty, but with more room than on the RSV4 thanks to the lower footpegs, the Tuono’s stance doesn’t inflict too much weight on your arms and shoulders, and in a full day ride I never got tired. In fact, Aprilia tester Carlo Zuin led me on a full 185-mile day that showed to best advantage the new Tuono’s astonishing 42-48Aprilia Tuono.indd 46

all-round abiltities, as he led me first south from Noale through the network of dykes making up the Po river delta, to the Adria race circuit where I put in 40 laps in a track-day session. Then we headed to the Colli Euganei volcanic hills south of Padova for a satisfying ride through their twists and turns, interspersed with a bit of street work while sightseeing in some of the scenic towns along the way. Then it was the autostrada back to Noale So what did my day on the bike prove to me? Only that the Tuono V4R is quite possible the best all-round real-world sportbike I’ve ever ridden. It’s a totally ver-

satile, comfortable motorcycle with phenomenal performance. It’s a motorcycle that has been developed to be completely at home in all kinds of riding conditions, from bumbling in third gear through city streets at low revs, to cutting a series of fast laps on a racetrack with two fourth-gear straights and three hard stops per lap, to blasting along at an indicated 150mph on the extremely legible and informative digital dash (no fuel gauge, though, just a warning light – tut, tut), with the analogue tachometer’s needle parked at 11,000. That leaves another 1300 revs to go to redline, where you’ll find a surprisingly 5/23/11 7:10 AM

w.

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

hard cutout that just… well, it just stops accelerating. There’s a choice of three engine maps just as on the Superbike, with the T (for Track) delivering the full 167.3 hp of engine performance via an immediate throttle response that will have you clicking up the traction control to stop the rear 190-section dual-compound Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP (a 200-section rear

“

impossible to find yourself unable to dial up a combination of engine map and APRC settings to suit the riding conditions and even the mood in which you find yourself. It’s versatile and accommodating – and effective. But of course, that doesn’t work unless you have the basic engine package right, and Fioravanzo and his colleagues have definitely achieved this in adapt-

P47

end power that will send you rocketing forward as the engine heads for the revlimiter in a way that’s totally satisfying and definitely dramatic. Among comparable Naked bikes, even the Superbike V-twin engined Ducati Streetfighter doesn’t have this level of acceleration. “We adopted three different strategies in mapping the engine for power delivery,” admitted

…the Tuono’s stance doesn’t inflict too much weight on your arms and shoulders, and in a full day ride I never got tired.

”

is also homologated) spinning up on – I ended up using level three out of eight (the most intrusive) on the track, and level four on the highway. R (for Road) reduces power by 25 percent all across the rev range, but since it didn’t rain and the roads were in good condition, I only tested it long enough to prove to myself that it’s pretty intrusive and thus presumably effective on a damp surface. Just as on the RSV4, I really liked the intermediate S (for Sport) map best for real-world street riding. It gives you maximum power, but with a smoother delivery and limited torque in all gears. But I couldn’t really tell how much grunt had been removed, and it actually felt better using this map than T-mode on some sections of the Adria circuit, especially in the tighter turns and hairpins. But the bottom line is that it’s 42-48Aprilia Tuono.indd 47

ing the RSV4 motor to use in the Tuono. The clutch is very light and progressive to use in slow traffic or urban conditions. It’ll pull from as low as 2800 rpm in top gear without a hiccup, so really this is an exceptionally friendly Superbike Streetfighter whose V-four motor starts delivering serious performance as the tach hits the 5000 rpm mark, and engine acceleration starts to pick up faster. From 7000 rpm upwards acceleration becomes vivid, and with peak torque delivered at 9500 rpm, I found that was where the front wheel started to pop up lazily off the tarmac exiting the last turn at Adria in second gear, and again when I hit third, making me glad I had the Sachs steering damper mounted as standard on this APRC bike (not on the base model). Hold the gear and at 10,000 rpm there’s another dose of top-

Fioravanzo. “We established the thresholds of each new strategy at 3000, 7000 and 10,000 rpm, and altered all the engine parameters – especially the ignition curve – to suit each strategy.” The result is a degree of realworld rideability that’s literally intoxicating - especially when combined with the four-way APRC rider aid package. You really can’t help appreciating the smoothness of the perfectly dialed-in powershifter, which allows you to just tap in one gear after another with the throttle wide open in a flawless manner worthy of a factory Superbike racer. The comparable stock system on the Triumph 675R seems crude and jerky in comparison to the Aprilia’s, and the Tuono’s gearbox is so perfectly set up that I found I didn’t need to use the clutch shifting down the gears from sixth to fifth, or fifth to 5/23/11 7:10 AM

FIRST RIDE

P48

2011 Aprilia Tuono V4R fourth, either. Do that any further down the ‘box and you’ll get some mechanical noise, so it’s best not to – but in the higher gears that already helps make the Tuono even easier to ride. In spite of the subtly altered chassis geometry, I found the new Aprilia’s handling on a par with the RSV4’s - excellent. The one-piece handlebar gives enough leverage that you can soon forget about the longer wheelbase in terms of compromising agility, but the big surprise was how rock-solid stable the Aprilia Streetfighter was at terminal velocities up to 150mph. No handlebar waving in the wind, no speed shimmy even when you hit a bump - just totally planted. “We were very aware this could become a problem with a Naked bike that has such a high potential top speed,” said Fioravanzo. “So we made extensive wind tunnel testing in designing the cupolino [the ducted nose fairing with twin polyelliptical headlights and LED indicators that gives the Tuono a distinct personality], and we especially made sure it’s mounted to the frame, not the forks. The result is the stability you experienced.”

“

The Sachs suspension was a little stiffly set up, but both the piggyback nitrogen rear shock with variable-rate linkage off the RSV4, and the 43mm upside down fork is fully adjustable, so with more time I expect I could have dialed them in better. I equally appreciated the good braking from the 320mm Brembo front discs and radial calipers, even though for cost reasons these are not the Monobloc one-piece numbers that have lately become increasingly commonplace. And there’s not a radial master cylinder that’s seemingly become equally de rigueur. The Aprilia stops hard and well, and even if there isn’t

perhaps quite the same degree of bite as on a spec’d-out bike, I certainly couldn’t complain about the brakes, especially with some residual engine braking still left dialed in by the setting chosen for the slipper clutch. In fact, I found that with the taller handlebar it’s best to ride the Tuono through turns without hanging off it – you’re faster if you just use the leverage from the handlebar to steer it, with a bit of help from your knees. And it’s less work as well. So there you have it: The Aprilia Tuono V4R – quite possibly the new benchmark in this type of motorcycle.  CN

I really liked the intermediate S (for Sport) map best for real-world street riding. It gives you maximum power, but with a smoother delivery and limited torque in all gears.

42-48Aprilia Tuono.indd 48

”

5/23/11 7:10 AM

p49 Ads.indd 1

5/23/11 8:42 AM

INTERVIEW

P50

LARRY PEGRAM

A DUAL

PERSPECTIVE Larry Pegram is a team owner and a racer in the AMA Superbike Series. BY PAUL CARRUTHERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA WILSON

L

arry Pegram has a different perspective on things than most riders in the AMA Superbike paddock. While the majority of the factory stars show up and rely on the team to do their job so they can put 100 percent of their focus into the task of racing, Pegram is torn between at least two jobs. In addition to thinking about brake markers, 50-55 Pegram Interview.indd 50

gearing, bike setup and racecraft, the veteran racer also has to worry about how much gas the truck used getting to the race, tire allotment, paying mechanics and other crew members, etc. He’s the team’s rider. But he’s also the team owner and the team manager. We caught up with the Foremost Insurance-backed BMW

team owner prior to racing action getting started at the Infineon round of the AMA National Guard Superbike Series. Pegram is busy – busier even than in past years. Pegram has finished fourth in the AMA Superbike Championship in each of the past two years, winning one race last year (Auto Club Speedway) and three the season prior (Road Ameri5/23/11 11:32 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

Larry Pegram: Superbike racer, Superbike team owner.

ca and a sweep of the Topeka doubleheader), but the 37-yearold Ohioan faces his toughest task yet in 2011. After spending the two years on Ducati V-twin Superbikes, the Pegram team has switched to the four-cylinder BMW S1000 RR and he’s hard at work getting him and the bike competitive in just their second race together. 50-55 Pegram Interview.indd 51

Is your long-term goal to hire another rider and evolve into just being the team owner rather than multi-tasking? I’d love to have another rider right now – with me. I’d like to have a two-rider team right now but there’s just not a budget to do it. But it’s really difficult to develop this bike by myself, basically. It would be awesome to have another rider, but there’s just not a budget to do it right now. I’m also not going to put somebody on the bike that I think can’t beat me. I’m not going to pay someone who can’t beat me and I think there are only a few guys out there who can beat me in a heads-up fight more times than I can beat them. I think I can win a race – any race we go to – on even equipment with everybody, but maybe a Josh [Hayes] or a Tommy [Hayden] could beat me 60 percent of the time or something like that. Those are the guys… I want a guy who can win. But I won’t pay a guy I can beat 75 percent of the time to go out there and ride. And I still love the racing and I love riding motorcycles and I’m still really fast. At the end of the day, I can still get the job done. Where does your program stand now compared to where the Ducati program ended? As far as personnel, budgets and all that kind of stuff, it’s really similar. It’s just we’re at the baby stages with a new motorcycle for us. We showed up here [Infineon Raceway] with no idea of what

P51

gearing to run. So we spend the first practice trying to figure out gearing… the biggest thing is that we are developing our whole electronics system – in house and by ourselves, basically. It’s just taking time. We’d probably be farther ahead right now if we were just using the stock electronics, lap-time wise – but in the long run we could never get to where we need to be with the stock stuff. The other guys [Chris Peris, Steve Rapp and Jeremy Toye] are using the stock stuff. Whether we are even with them or sometimes ahead and sometimes behind, in the long run my goal isn’t to run with or beat those guys, my goal is to win races. And we have to get our electronics equivalent to the other guys, the other teams, to be able to win races. It’s important for you to beat the other BMWs though, right? It is. I know coming in they have a year on the bike and they are all good riders. It’s home tracks and stuff like that. I knew they would be fast here, but in the race I think we’ll be fine. You offer a unique perspective on things in that you are team owner. Right now is the series better for a rider or better for a team owner? The problem with the series right now is with a lack of funding, but you can go down the line and every series in the world and every sport in the world are probably saying the same thing. That’s the nature of the beast right now 5/23/11 11:32 AM

INTERVIEW

P52

LARRY PEGRAM with this economy. Right now the series is a lot friendlier than it was before, but I don’t know if it’s any better or worse for me. I think as a team owner, we still need to cut costs more, so I can survive. How do you do that? One of the things is the very thing we are trying to develop – the electronics. It’s a big dollar amount to build these things and the amount of testing you need to try and dial them in. We basically… as much as some say we are dumbed down and how bad our bikes are, these are full World Superbikes with stock forks and stock swingarms. The electronics that Josh Hayes and Tommy [Hayden] have are the full electronics they have in World Supebikes – $60-70,000 electronics. And that doesn’t include the programming. That’s where the money comes in – dialing it in. So you wish that was gone? Yes, I wish it was gone. Absolutely. Case in point: I’m racing a BMW and I’m building the electronics. Once I get the electronics built to a quote, unquote World Superbike-spec electronics, where I can really use it, I’ll be another half second to a second faster. Right now you look at these stock BMWs and the stock Suzuki electronics and they are a second off, which they should be. We would be a little bit slower [without them], but it’s more rider-oriented and way more cost effective. Can you call BMW and get what they have in World Superbike? 50-55 Pegram Interview.indd 52

No, because BMW’s system is proprietary that they built. It’s not a Magneti Marelli or a MoTeC – they built their own system and they don’t sell ‘em. So I can’t run that. I couldn’t take a BMW World Superbike and put a stock swingarm and fork on it, but you can do that with the Yamaha or the other companies. And that’s what we did with the Ducati. We had a World Superbike Ducati with stock forks and stock swingarm… well, we didn’t have a stock swingarm because the tire wouldn’t fit. It made it a lot easier. I’m trying to race and we need a lot more testing, but that costs money. The answer is to drop money from the trees or cut costs. It’s the same as the government – do we tax higher or cut costs. We have to cut costs. Do you see AMA Pro Racing making changes to the rules as far as the electronics go? No, because there are a few people who really have their electronics really dialed in and they would say, ‘We spent all this money and you can’t change it.’ Even though I’ve spent all the money now, buying mine, I’d still rather see them change it in the long run. I think it will make the racing better and will definitely cut the costs. Then you get the guys saying, ‘well the bikes come stock with traction control on them now.’ So let’s say Yamaha can get into their stock box and adjust it differently. My answer is I’d rather line up next to Josh [Hayes] with

a stock ECU on his bike that they adjusted, then line up next to Josh with his $60,000 Magneti Marelli system they got from World Superbike. I know the haves are always going to have a little bit more, but if we all ran stock stuff it would definitely be a little bit better. I think the rules, other than that, are good. And I think if the money was good, the rules would be good the way they are. But with the money the way that it is, we need to cut costs and that’s one thing we could cut really quick. How do you feel about shortening the program… maybe going to a two-day format? I was thinking about that today because we were in that meeting yesterday and they [AMA Pro Racing] were talking about how the people can’t come now for three days. Some can, but not a lot of them. They can come for Saturday and then they want to head home on Sunday. The motocross now runs on Saturday and they’ve seen a good turnout. Maybe we should show up Thursday, setup Friday, practice, qualify and race on Saturday and Sunday go home. It would certainly cut our cost – a big chunk. We’d use less tires, less hotel rooms. But I don’t know if it would hurt the promoters if we cut a day out of their deal. I’m not even sure if we need two Superbike races – MotoGP doesn’t. I think we need more of a spectacle. I think the biggest thing we are lacking right now is making a show out of this sport. 5/23/11 11:32 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P53

Pegram is working hard at getting his BMW up to speed.

The fan walk is a step in the right direction, but the overall show value and making celebrities out of the riders is something that definitely needs to be done. I think the weekend is a bit long now for the average fan. I don’t think they are showing up on Friday morning and leaving Sunday evening. I think there are very few who are doing that. I don’t know if we get more fans by taking a day away, but it would help a fan to know – to say, ‘Hey, Saturday is the day we need to be there.’ Right now they don’t know what to do – come Saturday or come Sunday because there are races on both days. I don’t know the answers, I just know we need to

50-55 Pegram Interview.indd 53

do a better job of promoting what we have. I think we have a great product now. I think we used to have a boring, predictable product and now we don’t have that. You had a good relationship with Ducati, what is your relationship like with BMW? I have a good relationship with BMW. They are very supportive, they are keen to win and they are getting their infrastructure better to support teams like mine. I’ve got a good relationship with both BMW USA and with the German World Superbike team – more so than with BMW Germany. They give me a lot of technical information; and BMW here in the U.S. is helping with the pro-

gram. I just keep telling myself not to get discouraged because it’s only our second weekend and we’re close. We’re not there, but we’re getting closer every time. I told myself before the season that I wasn’t going to be showing up right away and winning races. It’s not possible. When Yamaha showed up with their new bike… no matter who shows up with a new bike, they don’t win right out of the box. It takes awhile to get the thing dialed in. We are on the right track. We just have to continue to plug away. When do you think you will have the bike where you need it to be? I don’t know. I hope it doesn’t

5/23/11 11:32 AM

INTERVIEW

P54

LARRY PEGRAM The battle: Pegram (72) does the racing part of his job at Infineon Raceway.

take much longer. I think we’re not that far off, but sometimes… half a second, or .3. Sometimes you can get that the next weekend; sometimes you can never get that half-second. It is what it is. We know it’s a great bike in street form – it won every Superstock race last year. We know in Superbike form, it hasn’t won a race in two years; it’s gotten on the podium a few times. So it’s that gap between those two. If we raced Superstock here in the U.S., we’d be on the best bike out there. But we don’t. We basically race World Superbike rules with stock forks and stock swingarms. We still have a gap to make up. We just have a little ways to go and I have to keep my head up and not get discouraged. I knew this would be our toughest weekend. If we can be close here, we’ll be much closer at the big50-55 Pegram Interview.indd 54

ger tracks. We’re starting to learn the bike. Is it a lot different to ride than the Ducati? Yes… it’s a lot different and part of it is me. It takes me longer to get acclimated and get going when we get to these tracks on the new bike. It’s just a slower process and we’re always playing catch up with it. How much time do you spend during the week being the team owner vs. being the rider? I think 90 percent of my time is team owner. It’s hard to say because I train a couple hours a day, on average. That part is obviously not team owner, but the majority of my days at home or away from the track are just team owner stuff. At the track I’m probably 50/50. I’ve learned how to deal with that and it’s not a problem for

me. Sure it would be nice if I had a bigger budget and I could hire a team manager and a this and a that and not have to do as much, but at the end of the day I’m pretty efficient at doing what I need to get done. I haven’t had a manager for a long time. I haven’t had a guy that does anything for me for a while, so I’ve been doing that stuff on my own for a long time. We’re doing some stuff with Pegram Racing with some retail stuff so that’s more things we’ve got going. I’ve got a lot going on. I’m always busy. Right when things start to get a little easier, I add something else to it. Do you have any dirt track plans this year? I’d like to, but it’s one of those deals where I have to ride a BMW and I’m not going to build a bike to do one race. I can’t do the Springfield races this year so I’m not going to build a bike just to do Indy. I want to go to those things and do well. I can go and make the mains, but I can’t win just showing up and running two or three of them a year. It’s fun, but for me if I’m not at the front it’s not as much fun. Usually by the end of the main event I’m running lap 5/23/11 11:32 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

times where if we started over… you get three four-lap practices and you have to race. I miss dirt track for sure. I just really wish they had something… wish there was more money in it. I can’t spend money on it just because I love doing it. Here I can say that I’m going to spend money now, but make money in the future. I don’t see that there [in dirt track]. How did things go with your reality TV show – “The Superbike Family”? I think we did a good job promoting the show. I think the motorcycling community loved the show, but didn’t do enough to promote it to the non-motorcycling community. The time slots weren’t good and it was a lowbudget deal, but I was hoping it would get more fanfare than it did and help the sport grow. I think it’s an avenue for us to educate people about motorcycle racing. People that think whoever is the craziest guy who turns the throttle the hardest wins the race – when that has nothing to do with it. But that’s not the case. It’s very technical. It’s similar to the deal with UFC. You’d think it was a bar brawl in a cage, but then you find out it’s a really technical sport and it takes a lot of skill. And I found out about it from watching a reality TV show about it. You’re not going to watch something that you’re not educated about and you can’t talk to your buddies about it if you don’t know anything. If someone says, ‘Oh, 50-55 Pegram Interview.indd 55

Pegram chose too soft of a tire last week and that’s why he faded last week,’ the guy is going to go, ‘Yeah, I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Are you doing the TV show again this year? On May 22nd they re-ran all six episodes from last year in a marathon deal – 10.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Six half-hour episodes. We’ve been filming for a second season, but we are still going back and forth on some of the details. Is the TV show something you enjoy? Absolutely not. That’s not my deal and Chet [Burks] does a lot of it. I don’t mind them being there with the cameras… it’s funny, after they’ve been there for a couple of days with the cameras you forget they are there. Then you realize… oh, I just said some things I probably shouldn’t have said and that guy just filmed it. I think the show got better the

P55

more we did it because… show one we were nervous, but by the end I thought it was really good and Chet did a good job of putting it together and I started just saying what I wanted to say. You start talking to the camera like it’s your buddy… I think it was a good show to bring in people who weren’t motorcycle enthusiasts. We’re always going to have the hardcore motorcycle enthusiasts, but I had a guy that came up to me and said, ‘Man, I was watching your show and my wife walked in and she was watching your show and the commercial came on so I changed the channel because she doesn’t allow me to watch racing cause she hates it. Then she said, ‘No, turn that back on because I want to see what happens.’ So his wife was interested in the show because it was a family deal. That’s where we need to bring in the new group of people.  CN 5/23/11 11:32 AM

ROUND4/MAY 14, 2011 BLUE WATER RESORT & CASINO /PARKER, ARIZONA

OFF-ROAD

P56

BEST IN THE DESERT AMERICAN OFF-ROAD RACING SERIES

PEARSON

AGAIN

David Pearson wins Blue Water Gran Prix.

David Pearson soloed to victory at the Blue Water Gran Prix in Arizona.

Runner-up Nick Burson (N4) pulled the holeshot and led for a mile or two before surrendering to Pearson (N7).

56-59 Best in Desert.indd 56

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARK KARIYA

D

avid Pearson followed up his win at last month’s Bilek Racing Silver State 300 by cruising to a comfortable victory at the Epic Racing Blue Water Gran Prix, round four of Best in the Desert’s American Off-Road Racing Series. That gave the Purvines Racing Honda rider three W’s in the six-race circuit, but his DNF at round two leaves him 5/23/11 7:12 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P57

ES

Briefly... After both the THR Motorsports Parker 250 (bikes/ ATVs/UTVs only) and Blue Water Resort & Casino Parker 425 (trucks/buggies only), some feared that the GP course would hit some extremely torn-up sections, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, Casey Folks had much of the course bladed and watered in the areas close to the casino.

It took a few kicks for Shane Esposito to get his bike started, leaving him last off the start, but he quickly made up ground to finish third.

just short of the series points lead to defending series champions Jerry Parsons and Robert Marshall. The RPP Racing duo ended up fourth on the day behind Pearson, Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna’s Nick Burson and THR Motorsports’ Shane Esposito. Promoter Casey Folks laid out 11 miles of sand, silt, hard-pack, rocks, pavement, a water hole, high-speed straights, tight turns and even a short jaunt inside an abandoned building--in other words, what any gran prix worthy of the name should offer and then some. Taking advantage of the host Blue Water Resort & Casino property, he once again placed the pits on the banks of the Colorado River where overheated riders (especially in the later races) could take a dip. After a single practice lap for all full-size vehicle classes and a minibike race, the Pros and Experts got first crack at that course, and it was Burson adapting best to the dead-engine, straddle-the-front-fender start to pelt the rest of the group out of the rocky first turn. “I wanted to get out front and I knew it was important,” he said. “I nailed it for once. I like this race. We’ve done it the last two years and we won last year.” The lead was short-lived for the Motorex/Dunlop/ AXO-backed TXC 449 rider, though. “Dave was going just a little faster than me in the beginning and got me,” Burson said. “I knew he was going to be tough to beat today so I just tried to hang onto him and I didn’t push too hard; I wanted to get a finish.” 56-59 Best in Desert.indd 57

After a single practice lap at 6:15 A.M. and a race for kids, the Pros and Experts were the first of four six-lap races, starting at 8:00 a.m. when it was still relatively cool and the course comparatively smooth. All ATVs competed in race two; all Amateur-class motorcycles in race three and all UTVs in race four when temperatures were in the high 90s. Though they found themselves unable to stay in touch with the leaders and finished fourth Open Pros, RPP Racing KTM’s Robert Marshall and Jerry Parsons managed to keep their series points lead, though they saw it slashed to just two points over David Pearson, 192-190. Shane Esposito has 172 for third in points with two rounds left. After winning Open Expert and finishing fourth overall at Silver State, the THR Motorsports duo of Garrett Osteen and Tyler Renshaw had to settle for second at Blue Water on their Hoosier Precision Machining/Precision Concepts/Dunlop KLX450R that they’d had since just before Silver State. “It was pretty upsetting, but overall I still get to hold my points [lead in the class] because we finished second place,” Osteen said. “It was hot and it was a new bike we’re trying to get used to. We haven’t had time to really test suspension on that bike.” Purvines Racing once again sweetened the pot for the overall winners and for the second race in a row, team rider David Pearson earned the $2500 bonus. Originally slated to team with Silver State partner Trevor Ricci, he opted to solo and thus kept all the winnings. Due to not having at least three teams, the $1000 winner’s bonuses from Purvines Racing for 250cc Pro, Over 30 Pro and Over 40 Pro went unclaimed.

5/23/11 7:12 AM

ROUND4/MAY 14, 2011 BLUE WATER RESORT & CASINO /PARKER, ARIZONA

OFF-ROAD

BEST IN THE DESERT AMERICAN OFF-ROAD RACING SERIES

Justin Morrow (shown) teamed with Trevor Ricci and not only won Open Expert in his BITD debut, but the pair finished fourth overall.

Berkeley Honda/Countrywide Estate Planning/ O’Neal CRF450R-mounted Pearson said, “After I got a pretty decent lead - I think I had about a minute - you could kind of see where the guy behind you is,

My Own Race: 347  

P58

JUSTIN MORROW/TREVOR RICCI 1ST OPEN EXPERT/4TH O/A

Normally seen on the AMA hare & hound circuit, Purvines Racing Honda’s Justin Morrow made his BITD debut a winning one. Thus, he had such a good time, he rode all but one lap of the race aboard the Dunlop/Hinson/Moose-backed CRF450X he shared with Silver State 300 co-winner Trevor Ricci. “I was having a lot of fun out there; I wasn’t getting tired and I just wanted to keep going, and plugging away!” Morrow exclaimed. “I was second off the start and after that just chasing dust, chasing people down and going for it. This race is kind of more laid back to me [compared to hare & hound Nationals], in a sense. There’s nothing too gnarly so it was no sweat; kind of go for it and hold it wide open.” Ricci added, “I got on the bike on lap five, the lap before the last lap. I think I made the mistake of leaving the pits with Dave Fry right behind me so I pushed right off the bat to stay

56-59 Best in Desert.indd 58

Tyler Renshaw (shown) and Garrett Osteen kept it close, finishing 14 seconds behind their Honda rivals for second in class and fifth overall.

so I just toned it down a little bit, made sure to keep the bike running and just took care of the bike.” Unlike those two, Esposito had his work cut out for him after a last-place start aboard his Hooout front of him and my arms tightened up super-bad and I couldn’t hold onto the bike.”

P7  

DAVID FRY/JASON TRUBEY 1ST 30+ PRO/6TH O/A

Jason Trubey got things going for the Purvines Racing Honda duo that’s dominated Over 30 Pro all season and reported, “I was second into the holeshot and I got splashed pretty good by [Nick] Burson. It kind of messed my goggles up and that allowed [Dave] Pearson to go by me, and then when he went by me he roosted a big rock up right at my goggle lens. It popped the right side of my lens out so about four or five miles in I had to stop because I was getting too much dust from Esposito who’d gone by. Luckily, I was able to pop the lens back in and no one got by me so after that I was just riding smooth.” Partner David Fry added, “We switched at the halfway point--three and three--and then I had a couple Open Experts pass me - Justin Morrow and Ty Renshaw but I ain’t mad about that. Two rippers right there.”

5/23/11 7:12 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P59

ES

sier Precision Machining/Precision Concepts/KLeN Laundry KX450F. “By the time I got my bike started, they were going into the first turn, and I got into third [place pretty quickly] and I was only 15 seconds if that behind Nick,” he reported, “but I pumped up and couldn’t hold on. I actually pitted to relax, but he already had the gap so I just cruised around so nothing would happen.” Pearson would end up completing six laps on his own in an hour, 38 minutes and 24 seconds to win comfortably over Burson’s 1:39:57. Esposito’s time was 1:42:16. Ironically, all three of them rode solo while one of the tightest races took place just behind them involving Open Experts Garrett Osteen/Tyler Renshaw, who won the class at the Bilek Racing Silver State 300, and X55  

Justin Morrow/Trevor Ricci. The nod this time went to Purvines Racing Honda’s Morrow/Ricci by just under 15 seconds, 1:43:18 to 1:43:33, giving them fourth and fifth overall as well. Although BITD now takes a break until the TSCO Vegas to Reno in August, Pearson and the others have plenty of other events to tackle, like the AMA

JESSE CANEPA/MATT CANEPA 1ST 250CC PRO/8TH O/A

RPP Racing’s Jesse and Matt Canepa won 250cc Pro at Silver State aboard a Cycle Gear/Rocky Mountain ATV/ FMF-backed YZ250, but for Blue Water they rode Matt’s RM-Z250. Why? “Somebody forgot to put oil in it last weekend before we went riding,” Matt revealed, nodding towards his cousin and laughing. “Jesse got a good start and we just had fun.” Jesse said, “The start’s bad with all the rocks everybody complains about. We got the [class] lead and tried to keep it smooth. I gave the bike to Matt and he picked off some guys to work our way up overall.”

207 JOHN HARBAUER/RYAN MCMANUS  1ST 250CC EXPERT/10TH O/A “My partner, John Harbauer, got the [Expert line] holeshot and came in, I think, third overall Expert,” Ryan McManus recounted. “We were up there doing good, then I got off [on

56-59 Best in Desert.indd 59

Hare & Hound National in Utah next weekend. Pearson concluded, “We’re doing both series so a couple races are back to back. Hopefully we can do good next weekend and keep this winning streak going.”  CN

the fourth lap] and broke the throttle tube; the throttle stuck. Then we ran out of gas [on the fifth lap] - I forgot to put the reserve on - so we had some ups and downs, but overall we did a really good race.” The class winners at Silver State as well, they improved on their 13th overall at that race aboard their RPP Racing/FMF/Dunlop KTM 250 XC.

506 DONALD CAMPBELL/ZACK DODSON/  SCOTT JACOBSEN 1ST 30+ EXPERT/12TH O/A “We had a good race with the other teams and we got lucky-got out of the dust and had a good ride,” Zack Dodson said of the team’s winning effort aboard their THR Motorsports/ Corona Motorsports/GPR Stabilizers-sponsored CRF450X. “I kind of got a crappy start--it wasn’t a great start; my foot got caught up on the seat--but after that I just had a good ride, just had fun and kept the wheels on the ground and my feet on the pegs.”

5/23/11 7:12 AM

ROUND 5/MAY 22, 2011 TRAIN ROBBER NATIONAL ENDURO/BISMARCK, ARKANSAS

OFF-ROAD

P60

REKLUSE/AMA NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES

BY SHAN MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHAN MOORE

C

harlie Mullins capitalized on a fast start to take an impressive win at a wet and muddy Train Robber National Enduro, the fifth round of the Rekluse/ AMA National Enduro Series in Bismarck, Arkansas. Three days of off-and-on rain left the rocky Arkansas terrain slippery and unforgiving. However, Mullins was nearly perfect in the opening section, finishing the seven-mile test 19 seconds faster than Husaberg’s Michael Lafferty. That cushion would grow over the course of the 76-mile event, and at the end of the day Mullins held a 30-second advantage over FMF/KTM teammate Cory Buttrick, who edged out Lafferty for the runner-up position with an impressive ride in the final test. Overall, it was a good day for the Ohio-born Mullins, who moved into the lead in the series standings with the Arkansas victory.

MULLINS ROB Charlie THE TRAIN wet one 60-65 National Enduro.indd 60

5/23/11 2:24 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P61

Briefly... Russell Bobbitt wore a brace on his left wrist at the Train Robber National Enduro in Arkansas as a result of a crash two weeks before at a Family Fun ride. The three-time National Enduro Champion fell during the ride and hyperflexed his wrist, tearing a ligament. “We thought it was a small fracture at first, but we got an MRI and it showed up as a small tear in the ligament on top of the wrist,” said Bobbitt. “It’s feeling a lot better, one week has made a big improvement, plus I got a cortisone shot last week, and some other therapy, which helped.” After riding a 450 and even a 290cckitted Yamaha, Thad DuVall was back on a 250F at the Train Robber Enduro. “I’m back on the 250F for this race; I’ve been playing around on one at Randy’s [Hawkins] and I decided I liked it. I could have used the 450 in some of the road sections but in the woods I was glad I was on the 250,” said DuVall. Charlie Mullins moved back into the series points lead with his win in Arkansas.

OBS

lie Mullins wins a ne in Arkansas 60-65 National Enduro.indd 61

5/23/11 2:24 PM

ROUND 5/MAY 22, 2011 TRAIN ROBBER NATIONAL ENDURO/BISMARCK, ARKANSAS

OFF-ROAD

P62

REKLUSE/AMA NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES

A now healthy Cory Buttrick finished a strong second.

“It was raining real bad at the start and that first test was pretty much flawless for me; I hit my lines pretty good and everything just went right,” said Mullins. “I know it’s a long series and every race counts so you have to be consistent, but it’s good to get a victory and get the advantage in the standings. It makes things a lot easier going forward.” Buttrick moved into the hunt with a strong second test, edging Mullins by a single tick of the clock and cutting into Laf60-65 National Enduro.indd 62

ferty’s overall time by seven seconds. However, Lafferty still held a nine-second advantage over Buttrick when the third test was thrown out due to several riders getting lost. Buttrick picked up the pace again in the fifth test and then overtook Lafferty in the final test when Buttrick went for broke in the muddy conditions. “In that last test I knew it was pretty much all or nothing for me if I wanted to catch Mike,” said Buttrick. “I was hanging it out

pretty good and I ended up scaring myself a couple of times but I was able to make up some time on him and get the runner-up spot.” In the end, Buttrick finished the event 26 seconds faster than Lafferty for second overall, leaving Lafferty to round out the podium. “The last test wasn’t as good as I wanted,” said Lafferty. “That 570 has so much boost and it’s hard to keep it contained and I think I got a little excited and pushed a little too hard. You can’t 5/23/11 2:24 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P63

Mike Lafferty got off to a fast start but had to settle for third on the day.

Nick Fahringer won a couple of tests en route to a fourth-place finish.

60-65 National Enduro.indd 63

5/23/11 2:24 PM

ROUND 5/MAY 22, 2011 TRAIN ROBBER NATIONAL ENDURO/BISMARCK, ARKANSAS

OFF-ROAD

P64

REKLUSE/AMA NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES

My Own Race: 21A

CHARLIE MULLINS 

1ST

Charlie Mullins was impressive in the opening test, building a quick lead that he built on for the remainder of the race. “I think I had a strong test in the beginning which allowed me to get a good lead and then from there I was able to ride my own race and be steady,” said Mullins. “I had one front-end washout the whole day and that was the only mistake I made, which was good considering how muddy it was out there. The course was kind of weird; some places were slippery and some places were pretty good. It was pretty rocky out there and I think that helped with the amount of rain they got. The transfers were kind of confusing and I struggled with the arrows, but the course itself was pretty good. Wyoming is next and I like that place, so hopefully I can make it two in a row because we still have five rounds to go and there’s still a lot of racing left.”

22A

CORY BUTTRICK 

2ND

After several weeks of dealing with stomach issues, Cory Buttrick was finally feeling up to par at the Train Robber and his results showed with a well-deserved runner-up finish. “I really felt good today and I really want to thank Dr. Steve Thaxton for all he’s done to get me healthy,” said Buttrick. “It’s been a long, tough road and this has been the first enduro all year that I’ve been healthy. We got a lot of rain last night and I knew it was going to be muddy and speed wasn’t going to be that big of an issue. It was one those races where you just needed to be smart and just keep putting in sections and I think I rode a smart race. I got lost in the third test and it was very confusing with the way the arrows were set, but they ended up throwing out that test. I wanted it to keep raining because the traction was better when it was raining. It was really fun when the rain was coming down and when it stopped raining the trail got kind of sticky. Overall it was a good race for me and I’m really happy to get second.”

24A

MICHAEL LAFFERTY 

3RD

Normally known as a slow starter, Michael Lafferty was second fastest in the opening test and that set the stage for a podium-finishing day for the eight-time champ. “We started off pretty good; we were a lot better in the first test than we’ve been in a long time. I didn’t get pumped up and the bike set-up was great,” said Lafferty. “In the last three weeks I rode some local races and I ran my enduro setup and I think that helped me be prepared for the first test. I felt real comfortable on the bike and we made very few changes as the race went on – I wasn’t pushing the envelope and it seemed effortless because the setup was so good. I ended up losing

60-65 National Enduro.indd 64

second to Cory in that last test. My hat’s off to him, he was riding real well. I think I pushed a little too hard in that test and I was off the mark a little.”

25A

NICK FAHRINGER 

4TH

Nick Fahringer surprised a lot of people by winning the last two tests, which helped the factory Husaberg rider overcome a poor showing in the opening test. At the end of the race, the Indiana rider moved past Thad DuVall to claim fourth overall. “We had a pretty crazy rain storm going on in the morning tests and I knew it was going to be a lot like the Missouri race last year where it was raining and rocky and I did well at that race so I was hoping to repeat the performance,” said Fahringer. “In the first test I was about a minute-anda-half off the pace. I felt real tired and lethargic from doing too much –riding three series and trying to keep the bikes going. The second test wasn’t that much better but I think by the third test I was starting to get comfortable. I had been doing some massaging of the bike setup to get it working a little better in the conditions and that was starting to help. I ended up coming back and winning the last two tests and in one of those I dumped the bike pretty hard and still won it, so I guess I was in the zone in that test. I know I have it in me and I can win one of these things, it’s just a matter of putting a whole day together. I really struggle in the mornings, so I need to work on that.”

26A

THAD DUVALL 

5TH

Thad DuVall was in the hunt early on in the race, but was about two minutes off the pace in the fifth test, which dropped him from fourth to fifth at the finish. It was the AmPro Yamaha rider’s first race back after a nasty crash in April that broke his wrist and injured his hip. “I rode good all day, I just had some problems in the fifth section and dropped some time in there,” said DuVall. “I ended up fifth which was pretty good for my first race back. Nothing bothered me all day and my wrist and hip felt good. It helps that we go about 20 minutes and then get a break in enduros and maybe I can get stronger as the season goes along.”

37A

RORY MEAD 

6TH

New Zealander Rory Mead is in the United States trying out a few races and making a plan for a full season in 2012. Mead borrowed a spare Yamaha from a friend and former GNCC champ Paul Whibley and finished sixth in his first-ever “American” enduro. “I just wanted to come over and see how it works over here, and hopefully I can line something up,” said Mead. “It was pretty wet and the track was pretty rough. It was quite different from back home; it was really tight and I was riding a big 450, but I really enjoyed it. I ride

5/23/11 2:24 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

do that on the 570, especially when it’s tight and rocky.” The final two tests were won by Lafferty’s Husaberg teammate Nick Fahringer, who came on strong at the end of the event but not enough to make up for a poor performance at the start. Despite his brilliant finish, Fahringer was still almost a full minute behind Lafferty at the end of the day. “I just gave up too much time at the start,” said Fahringer. “I need to work on riding in the morning, because I always have fast times in the afternoon.” Fifth went to Am Pro Yamaha’s Thad DuVall, who was making his return to racing after fracturing his wrist six weeks before at a GNCC. Meanwhile, visiting New Zealander Rory Mead rode a 450 Yamaha borrowed from former GNCC champ Paul Whibley and finished a respectable sixth, something the flashy rider was

hoping might garner some attention from potential sponsors. Russell Bobbitt, who came into the race holding the series points lead, was forced to ride the event pretty much one-handed after tearing a ligament in his left wrist just two weeks before the race. The three-time series champ rode with a brace on his wrist,

P65

but was in too much pain to ride at anything close to the pace of the leaders. Bobbitt was still able to salvage a seventh place finish and stay in the hunt for the title, although he is now three points behind Mullins in the standings.  CN

enduro back home, but it’s different over here. We ride more of the World Enduro format. The hardest thing was the tight bush you had to navigate, but I’m quite pleased with how I finished.”

wrist; it’s kind of like riding one-handed. I couldn’t use the clutch as much as I wanted to, but I guess I salvaged a few points. We’ve got a month until Wyoming and hopefully I will be healthy by then.”

23A

29A

RUSSELL BOBBITT 

7TH

Russell Bobbitt tore a ligament in his left wrist two weeks before the Train Robber enduro and rode the event with a brace. “The wrist was pretty painful all day, I had limited range of motion and it was tough to take all the jarring and still be able to hang on,” said Bobbitt. “I could only go so fast and I just rode up to that level and tried to use the rest of my body to make up for it. As for the conditions, I don’t know if it was dryer if that would have been better for me because then it would have been faster, so it is what it is. I fell down in the first test, but for the rest of the day I really wasn’t riding fast enough to make huge mistakes. I was just trying to ride as fast as I could and not put a lot of pressure on my

60-65 National Enduro.indd 65

ANDREW DELONG 

8TH

For Andrew DeLong, the Train Robber was a lot like the rocky terrain near his home in Pennsylvania and the KTM privateer made the most of it by posting the fourth-fastest time in the first test. “I had a pretty good day today,” said DeLong. “It was actually pretty fun with the rain and all and I had a really good first test. In the second test I made a few mistakes and dropped off the pace and then I fell in the fifth test a couple of times, but I’m happy with an eighth. I just tried to be smooth and not make a mistake because it was real slimy out there. But I’m just trying to improve each race and get up there near the front.”

5/23/11 2:24 PM

ROUND 3/MAY 15, 2011 HUNGRY VALLEY OHV/GORMAN, CALIFORNIA

OFF-ROAD

P66

CHECKPOINT ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY FASST CO Kendall Norman carded the overall win at the VCMC Quali-Fire in Gorman.

Norman, Kamo, Blais make it a Honda sweep at Gorman.

SEEING BY RYAN SANDERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN SANDERS

T

he Ventura County Motorcycle Club hosted its annual AMA District-37 Quali-Fire, named after the cancelled event from four years ago. Round three of the Fasst Company Checkpoint Enduro Series

66-67 D37.indd 66

RED

saw one of the largest turnouts of the year as nearly 350 riders took to the start line, but only one rider would come away with the win and that would be who else but Kendall Norman. He led a trio of Honda riders to the podium, with David Kamo finishing second and Chris Blais third. With a 12-hour soaking of

rain of the entire Hungry Valley OHV area, the stage was set for a showdown between some of the fastest desert racers in the country, only this time they would be duking it out up in the trees of the Angeles National Forest. As the only competition event of the year to utilize the entire Gorman OHV area,

5/23/11 2:53 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P67

ASST CO. the VCMC event draws crowds of racers that might not normally attend a District 37 enduro. After all was said and done, it was JCR Honda’s Norman who stole the show. It wouldn’t be all fun and games for Norman, however, as his new teammate, David Kamo, would debut his new colors and match nearly every special test of Norman. Arriving late Saturday evening with a brand new JCR Honda CRF450X, Kamo made out like a bandit on the bike, posting some of the fastest times of the day on a machine that the former Husqvarna rider had only ridden previously for two hours. Joining the two Hondas up front midway through the twoloop qualifier format was Ryan Smith and his Zeman Racing Yamaha, and he was matched by an almost identical score by fellow 250-class racer, Three Brothers KTM’s Nick Hamill. Running in the top five all day, the battle would continue on through each of the special tests on loop two. Getting a taste of the National Forest, the second loop provided for a difficult and tight experience, as the fastest riders worked their way past the slower riders. Riding on minutes 11 and 21, respectively, Norman and Kamo each had their own set of slower riders to power through on each of the special test sections. The 11-second margin which he held into the start of loop two would continue to hold as Kendall physically set the fastest time on each of the four second-loop special tests. 66-67 D37.indd 67

In the end, it was all he could do but wait, as he watched his newly signed teammate wiz around the motocross track for the final special of the day. It wasn’t all about Team JCR, though. Early on, Nick Burson and Gary Sutherlin both hoped to have winning rides of their own. Unfortunately for Burson, the day would be over before he could settle into a grove. Midway through the first special test, he would suffer another devastating bike malfunction that forced him to withdraw from the event. Gary Sutherlin was off to an impressive start after physically winning the first special. Beating Kendall by a full seven seconds, Sutherlin hoped to record his first overall win of the year, but issues of his own would see him out of the competition before checking into the second special test. With dashed hopes for a victory, Sutherlin returned to camp alongside Burson to watch as Kendall and Kamo put on a show.

About 45 seconds separated the two, as Kendall took his second win in as many years at the VCMC event. Being the only rider to finish within a minute of the leader, Kamo made his new JCR team proud, finishing on the podium in his first full day on the Honda. About a minute and 30 seconds off the pace of the front runners was Nick Blais who put his Mid-Cities Honda on the final spot of the podium, making it a Honda sweep. With the battle raging on in the 250 class, Ryan Smith was able to hold on to take the win only four seconds ahead of Hamill. The story of the day, however, was the sixth overall racer, Kevin Barbosa, who not only took the win in the 250 B class, but was also the only B rider to finish within the top 10.  CN

Having little time to adjust to his new Honda, David Kamo still finished second overall.

5/23/11 2:53 PM

CN III STUFF

P68

SIXSIXONE MX3 KNEE BRACE Price: $249.95 Phone: 858.485.6686 Website: sixsixone.com

The 2011 MX3 knee brace from SixSixOne is constructed with a laser-cut aluminum frame and has a replaceable compression-molded-foam liner. The floating ABS kneecap is also replaceable, while the Velcro straps include extra padding to keep the brace lightweight and comfortable. They are sold in pairs, in sizes small, medium or large.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON DETACH DEPOT WALL RACK Price: $199.95 Phone: 800.258.2464 Website: harley-davidson.com

De-clutter the garage with the new Detach Depot Wall Rack for storing detachable accessories from HarleyDavidson Genuine Motor Accessories. This heavy-duty rack mounts to wall studs and has five coated rods that can be positioned in adjustable mounting slots to hold windshields, backrests, luggage racks and Tour-Pak luggage in almost any combination.

68-69 Stuff.indd 68

5/23/11 7:17 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

P69

TT LEGENDS COLLECTOR SIGNS

Price: £40 Centenary; £25 Milestone Phone: 07518 281 782 Website: ttlegends.com TT legends, maker of officially licensed Isle of Man TT replica signs, has two new offerings for 2011: the Centenary Sign and the Mountain Course Milestone Sign. The orange Centenary sign has a map of the Mountain Course on it. The blue Milestone replicates the TT’s distinctive milestone markers and is customizable with any number from 1 to 37. They are made from lightweight aluminum and come with pre-drilled 2mm mounting holes. For prices in U.S. dollars, e-mail TT Legends at [email protected].

TAG REBOUND GRIPS

Price: $12.99 Phone: 858.485.6686 Website: tagmetalsracing.com TAG used the concept of motorcycle suspension in the design of its Rebound Grips. TAG explains that it uses a DNA-modeled molecular structure and strategically placed cushioning and vibrationdamping material along the shaft of the grip, which acts as suspension for the hands, allowing for longer and more comfortable riding. They are available in black, blue or red and are sold in pairs.

68-69 Stuff.indd 69

5/23/11 7:17 AM

BIKEs OF THE STARS

P70

GAS GAS OFF-ROAD RACING

GAS GAS XC 250- ENDURO

Rider: Cole Kirkpatrick Mechanic: Richard Kirkpatrick Products: Leo Vince, Ohlins, Enduro Engineering, Maxxis, K&N, Rekluse, Renthal, Excel, RidePG, TM Designs.

BOS.indd 70

5/23/11 2:59 PM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

BOS.indd 71

P71

5/23/11 2:59 PM

CN III ARCHIVES

P72

BY LARRY LAWRENCE

THE SPIRIT OF ’76: PART II (The second installment of a special two-part Archives, we look back at the classic 1976 AMA Grand National season)

T

he first half of the 1976 AMA Grand National season was one of the most contentious and exciting in series history. Defending Camel Pro titleist Gary Scott left Harley-Davidson, taking his number-one plate with him and spent the ’76 campaign doing everything he could to get under the skin of his former employer, including claiming one of the winning factory motors for $3500. After 12 rounds Scott and first-year Harley-Davidson factory rider Jay Springsteen were locked in a high-spirited championship battle with 95 points apiece. In one of the amazing stats to come out of half of a season, 12 different riders won the 12 Nationals! The Grand National circus spent the nation’s Bicentennial in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the Mile it was so hot and dusty that the race was called after 16 of the scheduled 25 laps. It was Springsteen leading the pack at that point and he became the first two-race winner of the season and took over the points lead. Even though Springsteen earned the win, the best ride of the day was turned in by his rival Scott. Scott suffered a heat race crash that pulverized him and his bike and he had to win his semi just to get in the main. In the final, starting from last, Scott blasted through the field to fourth. Had the race gone the full 25 laps he likely would have won. The San Jose Half Mile mixed up the standings. Springsteen blasted the hay bales into oblivion when he crashed in the main. Scott and Kenny Roberts battled to the flag, with Roberts making a daring inside pass in turn one late in the race to secure victory. Scott was back in the points lead with Roberts second. Springer’s crash put him back to third. At Castle Rock it was time for local riders to shine. For the third time in four years Chuck Joyner

72-73 Archives.indd 72

First-year Harley-Davidson factory rider Jay Springsteen took everything Gary Scott and Kenny Roberts could throw at him and came out the winner in ‘76.

won the TT on an old, but finely-tuned Triumph. Another Pacific Northwest hero Randy Skiver took a podium finish in third. The championship picture didn’t change much as all three of the series leaders had off nights. Laguna Seca was up next. Only the third road race of the year and it was here that Roberts was expected to make up major ground in the points. He did, but not as much as he might have hoped. A red-hot Steve Baker stole the show by taking the victory. Roberts had to settle for second overall in the race, ran in two legs, and closed to within eight points of the series lead. Scott had won the Ascot TT the previous two seasons on a Harley-Davidson, but he elected instead to race a five-year-old Triumph in the ’76 race saying the bike would be less fatiguing in the 25-lap final. The calculation paid off. Scott won the race over Roberts after Steve Eklund, who led most of the race, made a slight error.

5/23/11 7:10 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

At the Santa Fe Short Track National Eklund won, but Springsteen was the surprise performer, taking second on an Aermacchi-built two-stroke Harley short tracker. On the rough Terre Haute Half-Mile, Roberts edged Springsteen in one of the closest races of the season. He also regained the series lead for the first time in over two months, by a single point over Scott. Going into the final third of a season it was already a three-rider battle for the championship and it was anyone’s guess as to who would emerge holding the number-one plate. Springsteen had the Peoria TT won before his knee inadvertently hit the fuel petcock shut-off valve and his bike sputtered out of gas. Eklund took his third win of the year. There was drama again at the Indy Mile doubleheader. Mike Kidd, subbing for injured Mert Lawwill on the factory Harley, came out of nowhere to win the first night and Roberts’ rare factory Yamaha OU-72 was claimed by local racer Sam Ingram. Roberts was distraught, thinking he wouldn’t have a bike for Sunday’s race, effectively putting him out of the championship chase. But he commandeered the team bike of Skip Aksland and took third in Sunday’s final to stay squarely in the hunt for the title. Scott took fourth on a bent Harley after crashing with Ted Boody with his mechanic Carl Patrick’s frantically getting his bike fixed for the restart. Meanwhile it was Springsteen winning the second leg and he was ready to launch a winning spree that would ultimately make the difference in the championship. A week after Indy, on a short track in Talladega, Alabama, rookie Terry Poovey won. Springsteen moved to within three points of Scott for the series lead and Roberts had a sub-par performance and dropped back 11 points down. At Syracuse the pressure was mounting and it showed. Protests flew. Rex Beauchamp, thinking he’d won the photo finish with Springsteen, protested the results; and Scott protested Roberts for knocking him off the line, but in the end it was all thrown out and Springsteen was the first four-time

72-73 Archives.indd 73

P73

winner and new series leader. Then Springer really poured it on winning the Toledo Half-Mile (where Hank Scott, running second, controversially waved his brother Gary by late in the race) and San Jose Mile on his Bill Werner-tuned Harley, giving him a nearly insurmountable lead. At the always dramatic San Jose Mile, Springer even had to ramp over fallen Gene Romero’s bike to win the National. The only problem for Springsteen going into the final two rounds was that one of them, Riverside, was a road race. That’s where Scott and Roberts might be able to catch him. Roberts did his part. With Springsteen watching from the stands, Roberts won easily over Japanese rider Takazumi Katayama. As if he didn’t have enough enemies in the paddock already, Scott, who finished 11th, claimed the motor from Roberts’ factory Yamaha for $4000, leading to an ugly fracas between Scott and Roberts’ crew chief Kel Carruthers. After all the Riverside fireworks, Springsteen still had a big enough lead coming into the season finale at the Ascot Park Half-Mile that all he had to do was finish seventh or better in the National to earn the title. It should have been easy for Springer, but it wasn’t that kind of season. Springsteen got caught up in a crash in practice; his hand was badly swollen and Werner even had to do a little shade-tree medical work before the night’s program. Springsteen said that once he was racing again he forgot all about his battered hand and went on to win his heat. He then outdueled Alex Jorgensen to win the National. For the record, in the end Scott and Roberts did not lose the race for number one in ‘76 Springsteen won it. In spite of missing the road races and not having a competitive short tracker, Springer earned seven wins, just one shy of the record set by Joe Leonard in 1954. His total prize and bonus monies topped $100,000 and it was the start of a dominant run by the young Michigander that would see him win three straight Grand National titles.  CN

5/23/11 7:10 AM

CN III IN THE PADDOCK

P74

BY MICHAEL SCOTT

RACING LOVES A HERO

S

orry to go straight back to the subject of Marco Simoncelli, but Mr. Big Hair does rather have a habit of thrusting himself to the forefront of attention. The scriptwriters have given him a leading role in the current fraught MotoGP soap opera. The plot development, four races in, already has nerves twanging, riders openly exchanging insults, and several showing severe stress. Super-sized Super-Sic, bullish 250cc World Champion of 2008, hit the headlines at Le Mans for a second race in a row. After a few weeks of name-calling and controversy concerning his roughriding tactics, he went out and knocked down Spanish darling boy Dani Pedrosa. Then stamped on him (so to speak), breaking his collarbone. Punishment was immediate. Race direction, with pomp and promptitude, called him in for a ride-through penalty. A secure first rostrum was wrenched away. He was in disgrace yet again. But did the punishment fit the crime? The immediate paddock reaction was split. As many (it seemed to me more) were for Simoncelli than against him. And there were serious questions also of favoritism, political expediency, proSpanish bias, and simple wrongheadedness about racing, from the control tower downwards. The circumstances were clear enough. Pedrosa was second, well beaten by teammate Casey Stoner and losing pace in the last

74-75 Backpage.indd 74

third of the race. Simoncelli had been up to two seconds behind him, but now the big feller was speeding up as the little feller slowed. He was closing on the factory rider hand over fist. He caught him on a looping right-hander leading onto the Le Mans Bugatti circuit’s back straight, and flew straight past. But Pedrosa gave a world-in-action demonstration of the advantage a light rider has over a heavy one, pulling back alongside and slightly ahead down the straight. But Pedrosa braked earlier, on a tight, defensive line for the approaching left, and Simoncelli swept past outside him with some authority, then took his usual aggressive late-braking line. He left some room at the apex. It might even have been enough for a motorcycle. Or maybe not. Having looked at it frame by frame, it is certainly very aggressive. But then Simoncelli is the man who, in

his own words, “doesn’t give any presents”. It is debatable, but given cumulative criticism from other riders, there is some justification for punishment. Along with Simoncelli’s history: he was censured more than once in the 250cc class for his bullish overtaking style. As he said later on TV: “If the same thing happen without me, they penalize nobody.” Certainly if the same thing had happened between (say) Karel Abraham and Cal Crutchlow, it would surely have been passed over as a simple racing incident. As it had been when another Spanish darling, Marc Marquez, took out Scott Redding in the Moto2 race two weeks before. And again at Le Mans, where Jorge Lorenzo pulled a shocking move on Dovizioso, clattering into the side of him in the early laps. For there is another factor. If the incident had been without 5/23/11 7:11 AM

VOL. 48 ISSUE 15 MAY 24, 2011

Pedrosa, would Simoncelli have been punished? Mutterings about “Spanish mafia” do no credit to anybody; yet the taste of the influence of both Dorna and big-time sponsors Repsol lingers in the mouth. It takes two to tango. What was Pedrosa’s part in all this? One can’t help remembering the way he ran inside teammate Nicky Hayden at Estoril in 2006, out of control under the brakes, and took both of them down. But bear in mind also the dilemma facing this generally careful and thoughtful triple 125/250cc World Champion, now riding for his life against superfast new teammate Stoner, in the year the Honda has finally come good. He’s also under pressure at home, outflanked and outranked by compatriot Lorenzo and striving to avoid being written off as a follower rather than a racer. Caught between expectation and actuality, he made the wrong choice. Frame by frame, you can see he was ahead when he hit the brakes, taking a tight defensive line. Does he release the brakes again as Simoncelli sweeps alongside? In any case, as he approaches the corner with Simoncelli now ahead, his back wheel is in the air. On the limit. There is an inch or two of room for him at the apex, but he doesn’t even try to take it. Instead he lifts up, tags Simoncelli’s back wheel (thereby proving that the other guy was clearly in front), and tumbles. Simoncelli also runs wide and off track, but gets back on safely. Doesn’t seem to me that Dani was blameless. Why did he pick up? Had he run out of room? Run out of talent? Had he misjudged it by letting off the brakes, rather than conceding what was already lost? Or was he even trying to deliberately take out Simoncelli? Sadly it panned out badly for Pedrosa. Only just recovered from breaking his left collarbone, he has now broken his right one. His best-ever chance of a World Championship is in tatters. He is physically fragile as well as small. He has all my sympathy. So what happens next? Will Simoncelli abandon his proven title-winning tactics, of passing hard and true? Will overtaking be banned? Or as Rossi had wondered before the race, “will we have to show an arrow when we want to overtake?” One thing, as they say, is certain. Racing loves a hero. And the only one to come out of this looking like a hero is… Marco Simoncelli. Let’s hope he survives long enough to stay one. CN 74-75 Backpage.indd 75

P75

LOOKING BACK 30 Years Ago June 3, 1981 A photo of Scott Pearson was on the cover of Cycle News 30 years ago to accompany our interview with the dirt track racer… The 250/500 National MX visited High Point Raceway in Pennsylvania where Broc Glover and Kent Howerton came away with the big wins… Sixteen-yearold Russ Nyberg won the Pro Stock class at the Sunshine Nationals drag races.

20 Years Ago June 5, 1991 We featured a photo from the World Superbike Championship to accompany our preview of the 1991 series… We covered Ricky Graham’s win at the Springfield Mile breaking a five-year winless streak… Jeff Stanton and Brian Swink took top honors at the High Point National MX… Steve Hatch led the way at the Michigan Two-Day Reliability Enduro.

10 Years Ago May 30, 2001 Jamie Hacking and Mat Mladin rode their way onto the cover of Cycle News 10 years ago for splitting wins at Road Atlanta Superbike… Sebastien Tortelli and Doug Henry won the National MX shootout at Hangtown… Destry Abbott claimed the National Hare & Hound win at Jericho, Utah… Chuck Woodford won the dreaded Moose Run off-road race in Illinois.

5/23/11 7:11 AM

P76

WHAT’S NEXT CALENDAR OF EVENTS World Superbike Championship Round 5 Miller Motorspor ts Park Tooele, Utah May 30, 2011 The World Superbike Championship heads to the U.S. for a race on Memorial Day at the immaculate Miller Motorsports Park on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, Utah. This year’s race will not only feature World Superbikes, but the AMA classes as well. Last year Max Biaggi won both races at Miller en route to winning the World Superbike Championship. For more information, visit: www.bigmweekend.com Grand National Cross Country Series Round 5 Patton, Pennsylvania May 28-29, 2011 The Rock Run GNCC in Patton, Pennsylvania, will see a battle between the top two men in the XC1 Pro class with Charlie Mullins and Joshua Strang separated by just two points after four rounds and a long layoff because of rainouts. You also can’t count out Paul Whibley, with Mullins, Strang and Whibley the only winners thus far in the four rounds. For more information, visit www.gnccracing.com AMA Lucas Oils Pro Motocross Championship Round 2 Freestone Raceway Wor tham, Texas May 28, 2011 One thing you can usually count on for the Texas round of the series is heat. Lots of it. If there’s one round on the calendar that truly tests a rider’s fitness, this one is it. Last year Ryan Dungey and Christophe Pourcel won the 450 and 250 class overalls, respectively. Those who fared well in the series opener will be hoping to continue their hot hand… those who didn’t fare so well will be looking to rebound in round two. For more information, visit: www.allisports.com For a comprehensive schedule of events, visit www.cyclenews.com/calendar

76 What's Next.indd 76

5/23/11 3:07 PM

Durhamtown.indd 1

4/29/11 1:52 PM