Southwick Bullet Points

08.28.2011 // 3 Comments

All the happenings at the Southwick round of the AMA Motocross Championship.

Southwick Practice Report

08.27.2011 // 0 Comments

The way the qualifying practices go, things normally favor the top guys. The 450 non-seeded guys go first, and then the seeded guys, which means the lines in the turns and stuff get cut in by the first guys, and many times the mud is soaked up, and then the stars hit the track.

At Southwick, though, that’s frequently not the case. And this weekend, local boy Michael Sottile set the fastest time in the 450cc class by putting in a time of 1:55.581 early in the first practice session, when the Southwick sand was still smooth. Still, it’s quite a feat.

Southwick Weather/First Practice Update

08.27.2011 // 1 Comment

The rain is coming and going in the early hours of the day here at Southwick. During the first seeded 450cc qualifying session, the rain got very heavy for a short period of time, as Hurricane Irene is already over the track. It’s not raining as this is being posted, but the size of Irene [...]

Southwick MX National Preview

08.24.2011 // 1 Comment

Anyone who has been to the sand tracks in Europe – like Lierop (no longer on the GP schedule), Lommel, etc. – will notice big, key differences in the “sand tracks” there versus the one and only sand track here on the AMA schedule – Southwick.

First, the European tracks are very technical. The sand tends to hold water really well, and the tracks are slow-speed, rutted, gnarly affairs where line choice is the biggest key of all.

Southwick, on the other hand, is normally much more high-speed, and line choice is never as big of an issue, as there are normally one or two good lines in any turn, and a few more on any straightaway.

French MXoN Team Controversy

08.23.2011 // 0 Comments

Around the blogosphere, a lot is being made of a supposed controversy surrounding the 2011 French Motocross of Nations team. Being that the race is being held in France this year, perhaps this is fueling the supposed controversy.

The team, announced at Loket, is slated to consist of Steven Frossard (MX1), Marvin Musquin (MX2) and Gautier Paulin (MX3). Even prior to this past weekend’s British GP, some people felt that former MX2 World Champ Chris Pourcel should’ve been on the team in the MX3 spot, considering that Paulin is an MX2 racer full-time.

Performing In The Heat

08.22.2011 // 0 Comments

Heat is a subject we’ve talked quite a bit about this summer, as the early rounds of the 2011 Lucas Oil/AMA Pro Motocross Championship seemed, as a whole, to be hotter than usual, when taking heat index into account. Well, heat isn’t only a concern for motocross racers, obviously, but in athletics in general.

We can’t change the weather. We have to work with what Mother Nature gives us. I’ve already made the suggestion in past columns that the AMA create a rule – a rule in black and white – that will put together guidelines about the heat, such as when the heat index is over X amount, shorten the motos to 25 minutes, and when it’s over Y amount, shorten the motos to 20 minutes, etc. I think this would go a long way toward solving the problem.

Ryan Dungey To New Team In 2012

08.15.2011 // 24 Comments

Since a few rounds into the 2010 AMA Nationals, rumors have been floating around that Suzuki and Ryan Dungey weren’t getting along. Why? At the time, the rumor said it was money. According to the rumor, Dungey wasn’t getting paid his win bonuses (including his seven-figure championship bonus). Back then, I talked to Suzuki’s Roger Decoster about it, and he denied the rumor, saying then (a couple of months after the rumor had started) that Dungey had been paid.

Bullet Points: Unadilla

08.14.2011 // 0 Comments

The Unadilla AMA National is in the books, and this is what you need to know.

Dubya USA now Exclusive US Importer of Kite Performance Products

08.12.2011 // 0 Comments

Dubya USA is proud to announce they have been named the exclusive importer of Kite Performance Products in the United States.

Interview: Grant Langston

08.08.2011 // 0 Comments

The plan had been put in place for weeks that Valli Motorsports Yamaha’s Nick Wey and Ricky Dietrich would both take part in the Super Lite class at the Glen Helen rounds of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series with backing from team sponsor Rockstar Energy Drink, but at the last minute Wey – who was only going to be able to race Saturday’s round anyway because of sponsor commitments to sign autographs in Texas on Sunday – decided to sit the race out because his back was bothering him. And in stepped Grant Langston.
Langston is a versatile racer. In addition to AMA Motocross and World Motocross championships, Langston used to race speedway back home in South Africa, and he has a Super Moto title to his name as well. It’s hard to think of a guy better suited to do what he was asked to do, which was to jump in and race a truck having never even driven it before. His hot lap before the race was his first time ever jumping a four-wheel vehicle (on a closed course, anyway).
We caught up with him today to get his take on things. Here’s what he had to say about his first time auto racing.