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.

Interview: Justin Bogle

08.19.2011 // 3 Comments

GEICO Honda’s latest amateur prospect, Justin Bogle, made his pro debut at Unadilla, and it was a good one. He ran near the front much of the day and finished with a strong, and more importantly consistent, 6-6 score. We caught up with him quickly after the race.

Interview: Jake Weimer

08.18.2011 // 0 Comments

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer also benefited a ton from the team’s switch from the 2011 Kawasaki KX450F to the 2012 model before Unadilla. At Unadilla, he was competitive with the top group of racers, including Ryan Dungey, Chad Reed, and the rest. We caught up with him after the race about his improvement.

Interview: Justin Barcia

08.17.2011 // 4 Comments

It seems like, over the past couple of years, Team Honda has been borrowing a lot of riders from the GEICO Honda satellite team. Last year, during supercross, Trey Canard was called up for a half-dozen races, and then outdoors Kevin Windham filled in for a while. This year, Windham filled in for a while outdoors again, and now that Trey Canard is hurt again, GEICO Honda’s Lites East SX champ Justin Barcia got called up to try his hand at 450cc racing. And he went 3-3 for third overall in his first try.

Unadilla Wallpapers

08.16.2011 // 0 Comments

Here’s a large gallery of wallpapers fresh from the Unadilla AMA National.

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.

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.