2014-11-21

RYAN VILLOPOTO’S GP BIKE (WITH CARBON SUBFRAME)



Here is a close up look at Ryan Villopoto’s Kawasaki KX450F shot at the Santa Coloma de Farners MX Track in Spain. Photo: Jana Sanghez

IF YOU’RE A HINSON USER, HASHTAG “#HINSONDOMINATION”

Matt Moss in Australia.

Hinson Clutch Components support athletes across the globe. Just recently Hinson riders Matt Moss and Gavin Faith both claimed titles in the Australian Supercross Championship. At the 89th ISDE in San Juan, Argentina, Pela Renet won the individual overall and led France to a FIM World Trophy Team title. Meanwhile, life-long Hinson rider Justin Jones won the overall individual title in the Junior Trophy class. At the Paris-Lille Supercross Eli Tomac dominated both nights. And to wrap things up, Team THR Motorsports’ Ricky Brabec, Robby Bell, Steve Hengeveld and Max Eddy Jr. took home the win at the SCORE Baja 1000. We’d like to congratulate each of these riders for their efforts and also for putting Hinson on top. Hinson components have won 282 National and World Championships in our 22 years of business.

Pela Renet in Argentina.

And, if you happen to be dominating your division of racing whether it is on two wheels or four, we’d love to hear about it.  Use hashtag #HinsonDomination on Instagram or Twitter so we can keep up with your madness.

THE LAST REM RACE WILL BE ON DECEMBER 29 (BUT ALSO ON DEC. 6, 13 & 20)

This REM race poster is one month early, but if you want to race the final race of the year this is for you. However, since REM has a race every Saturday in December, the “Last REM Race” is really just one of four. Plus, they will race 40 times in 2015. For more info go to www.remsatmx.com.

THE LAST SILLY SEASON MOVES: THE LITTLE TEAMS

Metty will be on a Suzuki for the first six AMA Supercross races—then he will go to Canada.

For obvious reasons everyone focuses on the big teams, but it would be a very small sport without the up-and-comers, privateers and hard working support riders. These riders and the men who support them are the backbone of the sport and have been for the last 43 years. Here is a quick, and by no means complete, list of the “little teams.”

DIRTY CANDY GRAPHICS

Ronnie Stewart

Robert Lind

Brett Metcalfe

MAFIA MOTO CREW

Nick Wey

MOTOSPORT.COM TEAM 100

Josh Hansen

ROCKWELL WATCHES

Nico Izzi

Ben Lamay will stay at the Cycle Trader team for 2015.

CYCLE TRADER ROCK RIVER YAMAHA

Ben Lamay

Alex Martin

Gregory Gehrer

Luke Renzland

FMF/ORANGE BRIGADE/KTM

Dakota Alix

SMARTOP MOTOCONCEPTS RACING

Mike Alessi

Vince Friese

GURRNAID ENERGY/AG MOTORSPORTS

Kyle Cunningham

Kyle Peters

Cade Clason

JAB MOTORSPORTS

Matt Lemoine

51 FIFTY ENERGY DRINK

Austin Politelli

TEAM TEDDER

Dakota Tedder

Fredrik Noren proved himself outdoors in 2014, now the pressure is on to prove that he can ride Supercross.

MOTOSPORT.COM/GPI/HONDA RACING

Fredrik Noren

Tommy Hahn

STRIKT SLATON YAMAHA

Scott Champion

Zach Freeberg

Cole Martinez

TEAM RSR

Zach Williams

Jesse Wentland

EXEO ENTERTAINMENT

Justin Starling

BARN PROS HOME DEPOT YAMAHA

Conner Elliott

Chris Howell

BLUE BUFFALO SLATER SKINS YAMAHA

Killy Rusk

Ryan Zimmer

JEREMY MCGRATH BECOMES KAWASAKI’S BRAND AMBASSADOR

The last time anyone saw Jeremy on a Kawasaki was when he was an MXA test rider back in 1990.

There is nothing incredulous about a press release from Kawasaki that says, “After nearly 25 years, “Showtime” is coming back to Kawasaki.  Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. announced today that Jeremy McGrath has entered into a role as brand ambassador.” MXA loves Jeremy, he was an MXA test rider before he was a Superstar, and, as the Greatest Supercross racer of all-time, he deserves whatever the industry has to offer, but…

…Jeremy hasn’t ridden a Kawasaki since 1990 and we doubt that anyone working at Kawasaki today knew that Jeremy ever raced a green machine in the past. Plus, if anything, Jeremy has been Honda’s Brand Ambassador for the last 10 years. Okay, we are up for starting a new era of Jeremy in green.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS RYAN VILLOPOTO?

Ryan surrounded by his European crew during winter testing in Spain.

Spanish racer Xavi Costa sent us a photo of Ryan Villopoto at the Olvan track near Barcelona, Spain, earlier his week. Costa said that the KRT Kawasaki team was busy doing suspension testing and planned to go to the Bellpuig track after Olvan.

Xavi Costa was just in the USA to race the World Vet, but he had to go home to run into Ryan Villopoto.

KENNY ZAHRT RIDE DAY AT LACR ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22

A MOTO PHOTO TIME WARP MOMENT: KETCHUP & JODY

George Kohler (57) and Jody Weisel (22) at the World Vet. This is the first time Jody’s photo has appeared in Cycle News since he left the company and they sued MXA to get him back. The suit was dropped.

“Cycle News” ran this Ketchup Cox photo of Jody Weisel (22) racing at the 2014 World Vet Championship in last week’s issue. The photo is unique because Jody and Ketchup are both Texas racers, they met in 1972 when Jody was a test rider, both of them worked at “Cycle News” in the early 1970s and when Jody left “Cycle News” for MXA in 1976 he brought Ketchup with him. Now. 42 years later, they are reunited for one brief moment on the pages of their old newspaper. Just sayin’.

YAMAHA DIRT DEMOS AT MILESTONE FRIDAY & SATURDAY

For more info go to www.milestonemx.com

BIRTHDAYS OF THE STARS: JOEL ROBERT, STEFAN EVERTS, RICKY CARMICHAEL & MARTY SMITH

Nov. 22…Ron Turner

Nov. 22…Trevor Vines 1972

Nov. 23…Mike Katin

Nov. 23…Joel Robert 1943

Nov. 24…Joel Albrecht 1972

Nov. 24…Gareth Swanepoel 1984

Nov. 25…Michael LaPaglia

Nov. 25…Stefan Everts 1972

Nov. 25…Zach Bell 1994

Nov. 26…Travis Hodges 1971

Nov. 26…Steve Boniface 1982

Nov. 26…Kyle Partridge 1986

Nov. 26…Marty Smith 1956

Nov. 26…Travis Hodges 1971

Nov. 27…Karsten Butler

Nov. 27…Brent Brown

Nov. 27…Ricky Carmichael 1979

Nov. 27…Casey Lytle 1978

Nov. 28…Andrew Short 1982

Nov. 28…Jeremy van Horebeek 1989

START MAKING PLANS FOR THE 2015 RACING SEASON NOW

The Supercross season starts on January 3, 2015, at Anaheim Stadium.

2015 AMA SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Jan. 3………………….Anaheim, CA

Jan. 10…………………Phoenix, AZ

Jan. 17…………………Anaheim, CA

Jan. 24…………………Oakland, CA

Jan. 31…………………Anaheim, CA

Feb. 7……………,…….San Diego, CA

Feb. 14…………………Arlington, TX

Feb. 21…………………Atlanta, GA

Feb. 28…………………Atlanta, GA

March 7………………..Daytona, FL

March 14……………..Indianapolis, IN

March 21……………..Detroit, MI

March 28……………..St. Louis, MO

April 11………………..Houston, TX

April 18………………..Santa Clara, CA

April 25………………..East Rutherford, NJ

May 2…………………..Las Vegas, NV

2015 AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
May 16……………Hangtown, CA

May 23……………Glen Helen, CA

May 30……………Thunder Valley, CO

June 6……………..Muddy Creek, TN

June 13…………….Mt. Morris, PA

June 27……………Budds, MD

July 4………………Red Bud, MI

July 18……………..Millville, MN

July 25…………….Washougal, WA

August 8…………Unadilla, NY

August 15………..Miller Motorsports, UT

August 22 ……….Crawfordsville, IN

2015 FIM WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

Feb. 28…………………Losail, Qatar

March 8………………..Si Racha, Thailand

March 29………………Neuwuen, Argentina

April 19………………..Arco di Trento, Italy

April 26………………..Valenswaard, Holland

May 10…………………Talavera, Spain

May 24…………………Matterley Basin, Great Britain

May 31…………………Villars Sous Ecot, France

June 14………………..Maggiora, Italy

June 21………………..Teutschenthal, Germany

July 5…………………..Uddevalla, Sweden

July 12…………………Kegums, Latvia

July 26…………………Loket, Czech Republic

Aug 2…………………..Lommel, Belgium

Aug 16…………………Trinidade, Brazil

Aug 30…………………Assen, Netherlands

Sept 13…………………Leon, Mexico

Sept. 20………………..Glen Helen, USA

2015 AMSOIL ARENACROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

Jan. 10-11……………Cincinnati, OH

Jan. 16-18……………Grand Rapids, MI

Jan. 23-25…………….Colorado Springs, CO

Jan. 31- Feb. 1……..Nashville, TN

Feb. 6-8……………….Wilkes-Barre, PA

Feb. 21-22……………Tampa, FL

Feb. 28- Mar.1………Kansas City, MO

Mar. 6-8……………….Council Bluffs, IA

Mar. 13-15……………Southaven, MS

Mar. 21-22……………New Orleans, LA

Mar. 28-29……………Austin, TX

April 11-12……………Spokane, WA

April 18-19……………Tacoma, WA

April 25-26……………Fresno, CA

May 1-3………………..Las Vegas, NV

2015 GEICO ENDUROCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 6……………….Daytona Beach, FL

March 21……………..Salt Lake City, UT

April 25……………….Sacramento, CA

May 1………………….Las Vegas, NV

May 30………………..Phoenix, AZ

June 5…………………Austin, TX

Aug, 22………………Atlanta, GA

Oct. 3…………………Denver, CO

Oct. 17……………….Everett, WA

Nov. 7…………………Boise, ID

Nov. 20-21………….Ontario, CA

2015 WORCS WORLD OFFROAD CHAMPIONSHIP

Jan. 18…………………Taft, CA

Feb. 8………………….Primm, NV

March 1 ………………Peoria, AZ

March 29 …………….TBA

April 19……………….Hurricane, UT

May 24 ……………….Cedar City, UT

Aug. 2 …………………TBA

Sept. 27 ………………Glen Helen, CA

Oct. 18 ………………..Prim, NV

2015 WORLD SIDECAR CROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

April 6…………………Switzerland

April 12………………..France

May 10………………..Ukraine

May 17………………..Germany

May 25………………..Holland

June 7…………………Latvia

June 14……………….Czech Republic

July 5…………………..France

July 12…………………Belgium

July 19…………………Germany

Aug. 2…………………Estonia

Aug. 9…………………Latvia

Aug. 16……………….Ukraine

Sept.13………………..France

Sept.20………………..Germany

2015 AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 29……..Horsham, Vic

April 12……….Appin, NSW

April 26 ………Broadford, Vic

May 17 ……….Murray Bridge, SA

May 31………..Coolum, Qld

July 5 ………….Raymond Terrace, NSW

July 19 ………..Shepparton, Vic

August 2 ………Nowra, NSW

August 23 ……Toowoomba, Qld

August 30 …….Coolum, Qld

2015 WMX WOMENS MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

Feb. 28…………………Losail, Qatar

March 8………………..Si Racha, Thailand

May 24…………………Matterley Basin, Great Britain

May 31…………………Villars Sous Ecot, France

June 21………………..Teutschenthal, Germany

July 26…………………Loket, Czech Republic

THE YEAR IS ALMOST OVER, BUT YOU CAN STILL RACE SOME MORE?

2014 GEICO ENDUROCROSS  CHAMPIONSHIP

November 22………………Ontario, CA

2014 DAY IN THE DIRT GRAND PRIX

November 28-30…………..Glen Helen, CA

2014 CANADIAN ARENACROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

November 28-29……….Chilliwack, BC

December 5-6……………Chilliwack, BC

2014 REM GLEN HELEN MOTOCROSS SERIES
November 22…………..Glen Helen, CA

December 6……………..Glen Helen, CA

December 13……………Glen Helen, CA

December 20…………..Glen Helen, CA

December 27……………Glen Helen, CA (Double points)

YOU CAN GET MXA FOR YOUR PHONE, IPAD, TABLET, COMPUTER OR MAILBOX

Do you subscribe to MXA? You should. we know that you think that print magazines are dead and that the internet will fill the void, but most of the stuff in the current issue of MXA won’t appear on the web for several months. Luckily, you can get all of MXA on iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Android by going to the Apple Store, Amazon or Google play, but better yet get thee Digital desktop version at https://hi-torque.com/product/motocross-action-digital-edition/ or click on the link below to get the print version delivered to your door for only $15.99 (plus you get a free $25 Gift Card from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC just for subscribing). There is a profit to be made in this deal for you. For the Print magazine go to: http://hi-torque.com/product/subscribe-to-motocross-action-magazine/

MEMORIES OF THE WAY WE WERE: CAN YOU SAY “UNCLE?”

Pat Richter (47) finished 7th in the 1977 AMA 125 National Championships. The men in front of him were Broc Glover, Danny LaPorte, Bob Hannah, Warren Reid, Steve Wise, Mark Barnett and Gary Ogden. His best finish was a second overall at the 1977 Hangtown 125 National. What don’t you know about Pat? He is the uncle of a rider named Ryan Villopoto.

2010 TO 2013 YAMAHA YZ450F IGNITION/FUEL MAPS

Although the MXA wrecking crew has moved on to working on and testing newer model bikes, we get lots of requests for the maps we ran on the 2010 through 2013 YZ450F’s. In truth, we vastly preferred the “LESS HIT” maps at the bottom of the chart, but we have included all of the maps and what they do.

Show more