SX: Crash Reel 2010 video

Enjoy this little teaser of things coming for us Motocross fans. It is Saturday January 8th 2011 and it is the long awaited opening of the 2011 Supercross season at the legendary Angel Stadium in Anaheim. A1! It's on and it's mega packed. I think we need to go back to 1985 or 1986 to have 4 to 6 riders who can potentially win races and the title, all healthy and lining up behind the gate. It's been a while that when walking the pits you ask someone who's their pick for a win tonight, people take time to think about it and are not sure, even if we all have a favorite, who will win.

From here on, things are going to change, riders are going to crash, some are going to get hurt, the stronger ones are going to establish a new - or a renewed - hierarchy, the weaker ones are going to settle towards the bottom 10 places. Things will become more predictable for the fan.

I am enjoying the moment, enjoying the next hours, from arrival at Angel stadium this morning, the track walk, the vibrant pits, the full house stadium trepiding in anticipation at opening ceremonies this evening when 7 pm comes. The roar of the first gate drop.

Here's a little video crash compilation from last season. Interesting to note how much Ryan Dungey, on his way to his first SX title as a rookie, and Ryan Villopoto crashed.

High Point 2010

This is one motocross race I try to never miss. The weekend in Morgantown, WV, is our favorite of the year. It's not only a great MX race to attend, it's also a very nice town, with cool little restaurants. In the end it is a great social weekend and one of those where the industry as a whole has a good time, socialize, talks business and is overall happy.

After having a great first AMA Outdoor National at the opener at Hangtown, Davi had been a bit hot and cold, always in the Top 5 but not as fast as he was in Sacramento. Our AGV dude did well at High Point though and was on path for another podium finish, when he went down during a good battle with Mike Alessi.

i just want to have a shout out for DM18 who got hurt the following weekend at Buds Creek. Davi crashed pretty hard in the first moto and ended up getting pretty badly hurt, almost fully loosing a kidney, breaking a few ribs, collapsing a lung, fracturing a finger. Of course his kidney injury is the most worrying and we all wish him a seriously good and prompt recovery.

I drove back from Morgantown to Lake Zurich and this was truly one of the nicest drive, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio are truly gorgeous states.

Here's a quick slideshow from High Point 2010.

Ashley's helmets for Red Bud

Here are the 2 AGV MT-X, painted by AirTrix, for Ashley. I got them right before Red Bud. Our star went 1-1 so... :-)

of we go again

Packed all my necessary magazines, loaded the iphone with PulpMX and Racer X podcasts, got all my AGV and Dainese necessary info and off we go, I'm on for another transatlantic return trip. Going via France to Italy for the yearly sales meetings and presentation of the new 2010-2011 Dainese collection. Exciting. Are we going to "AIR" it out? ;-)
Crossing finger that the special one will be part of it this year.

So, for those who never check the internet and don't read magazines :-) the AGV Dainese guys have been doing well lately, even though, because I had to prepare this trip and take care of my clients before I left, I didn't attend 3 important race events on the US soil: the opening round of the AMA Motocross National series at Hangtown/Sacramento where AGV's Davi Millsaps score a 3rd overall with 3-2 moto finishes and a 2nd overall for Ashley Fiolek in the AMA Women MX race; the FIM Motocross US Grand Prix at Glen Helen/San Bernardino this past weekend, where both AGV/Yamaha Rinaldi riders had a challenging time with   David Philippaerts finishing 15th overall in MX1 and Gautier Paulin going 10th overall in MX2; and finally the World Superbike Championship U.S. round at Miller Motorpoark where Dainese's Max Biaggi scored two perfect race wins and took over the points lead in the 2010 WSBK series.

Instead, I enjoyed great time with the family and friends, riding my Triumph Tiger 1050 to work, spending time on the Fox River playing with wave-runners and riding our MTB's in the forests of Wisconsin. It has to be fun at times and not always "work, work, work."

Sitting in the Air France lounge at ORD right now, waiting for my flight to Nice, France, then it'll be a short one to the beautiful city of Venice and 3 days of hard, but fun, work at Dainese in Vicenza.

OK, I'll try to remain the moto-tourist that I am and will try to update as much as I can.

Cool pic of Gautier at Glen Helen, by Michael Rigdon.

Video flashback on Valkenswaard MXGP 2010

Awesome photography and editing by Mikey Neale from Moto mag.

MX2


MX1 with the incredible Cairoli on the KTM 350cc

Last Week in St Louis Dungey won the 2010 SX Title

 Top photo by Steve Giberson - Vitalmx.com

So it was St Louis SX for me and not the cool trip to Monterey for the 2010 Sea Otter Classic. Oh well, one can't always do what he would like to. Too bad, the Sea Otter trip wasn't only for the fun part of the MTB industry but also because it is an industry I enjoy working in.
My plans were therefore set for the weekend, with visits to dealers, including to the very cool Moto Italia in quaint Edwardsville, Illinois, and a couple St Louis shops.
The long drive went pretty good and fast thanks to a couple of Matthes and Racerxonline podcasts - I have to say that Steve's interviews are really good and Kenny Watson is a funny guy.

My Friday evening was booked with the Parts Unlimited showcase before a few drinks at the hotel's bar with friends. I was pretty pumped by my hotel choice since Suzuki and Honda teams were there too (this hotel has a big parking enough to park the rigs and rebuild the bikes on Sunday before hitting the road to Seattle). There was this very interesting documentary on President Lincoln assassination by Booth and the latter's escape towards the South where he thought he would find help and shelter. It was very interesting, but kept me up pretty late.

Saturday in St Louis started as a good day, with what looked like a good track, despite one or two sketchy jumps. The dirt was good, would develop ruts. But it turned into a crazy night with too many injuries for my taste. Davi has been riding hurt for a while and is bothered by a bad elbow that needs to be drained almost on a daily basis but he rode hard at the start of Heat 1 before crashing twice and going to the LCQ. Chad was back, looked fast, but not trying to kill himself for nothing. In the Main, again, despite his 2 crashes and a bummed body, Davi looked good at the start, running in third but he locked up pretty quickly and got arm-pump by lap 4. He salvaged a Top 10 finish which isn't bad looking at the ambulance and surgeries that both Ryan Villopoto and Ivan Tedesco had to endure that night. bad mojo in St Louis, with pretty poor track management despite strong voices in the riders and team managers' camps.

I have to admit that I really didn't like the view of Ivan on a stretcher, waiting for an ambulance, with oxygen mask on. It was a bad feeling. One of those wake up call that our sport has some pretty dark sides.

The 250F race got boring very quickly when Chris Pourcel took himself out in the 2nd turn, handing over an easy race win to Justin "Phenom" Barcia. Behind JB17 who had a 5-miles lead on 2nd, we had some good battle between Davalos, Sipes and Dean Wilson.

I left the Dome pretty fast, wanting to get to the hotel to enjoy a fresh beer instead of going out downtown. Bad calculation! Traffic turned into a nightmare and by the time I reach the hotel, the bar was closed and I ended up just hitting my bed with a bottle of Vitamin Water. Not cool!

Sunday mornig I was back on the road to Chicago at 5:30 a.m., enjoying a beautiful sunrise of the morne Midwest plains.

Congrats to Ryan Dungey, the Rookie, for his 2010 SX title. Wonderkid strikes again!

DM gets 5th at Indy SX

Davi looked very good in practice, despite a small crash on a tuf box and really fast in Heat 1 when he came back from a holeshot crash he almost saved and dead last to 8th.
With a 16th gate pick on the outside, DM managed to pull out an incredible holeshot in the Main, giving us a great battle with K-Dub before ending 5th. Positive nights.

Faces of Supercross - Indy 2010

a few shots I took this weekend. Just people, nothing fancy :)

K-Dub looked really close to taking it home.

Doc Bodnard and the Ambassador of Corsica, Vince!

Wilbur representing TLD

The current West Coast Lites leader

Ivan The Terrible

Reardon

Rookie Blake Baggett, 11th for hi first pro SX

Martin in the Middle

The Twins From The East are back at it.

NYK

Waiting for Heat 1

The Man in Indy

The Man in AGV

New A1 photos for AGV helmets

Thank you very much to Pietro Ambrosioni for the title photo - it was time I revamped a bit the layout of this blog.

Below are some of the photo Pietro shot for AGV on Saturday night.

On my way to the first Supercross of 2010

I’m half-way through my American Airline flight 1425 from O’Hare to Orange County-Santa Ana Airport and listening to Steve Matthes’ podcast of Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andre Short.

I think that I was pretty lucky to get out of Chicago this morning, ahead of the heavier part of that huge Winter Storm that’s hitting the city. My drive to the airport was pretty slow but not too bad despite the 2 inches of snow that blanketed the roads in some parts. Of course our plane was late at the gate and we departed late, after 2 series of de-icing but it’s been pretty smooth up here at 38,000 feet.

So Steve and Shorty are previewing the SX season, talking a lot about the #15 of course (just kidding) and it made me think about Kevin Windham a bit. What is K-Dub going to do this season? He has been one of the greatest motocross and supercross riders in the US, has come so close so many times to win a major title, won many Outdoor Nationals and Supercross races but never got consecration. He is back riding the 450 Factory Connection Honda and will line-up again for the AMA SX series but what can K-Dub really do? It’s hard to say, and hard to accept that someone of his level and class cannot fight for podiums or titles anymore, but I think that his chances are gone. Of course Windham is fast and of course he has what it takes to make Top 5, but it is going to be very hard for him to beat RV, Josh Grant, Josh Hill, Shorty, Millsaps and even support-Yamaha guys like Reardon and Tedesco on a weekly basis.

Like I wrote before – and like everyone has been saying – the2010 450 class is stacked up! There’s no shortage of fast guys and talented rookies like Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey (who will be wearing the #5 that he stole from Johnny O’Mara, Ricky Johnson and Mile Larocco!). It’s going to be tough for the #14 and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is his last SX season.

(Just done listening to Shorty, now on Rich Taylor’s podcast)

It will be good watching him ride though; K-Dub - who’s one of my wife’s favorite riders after RC, Stewart and our friend DV934 - is one of the smoother riders out in the recent history of SX and MX. For the 4 or 5 of you who are reading this, make sure you go to some SX races this year to watch him race.

 (Rich Taylor is actually a very interesting guy, and I can never respect enough someone who has the courage to start his own company in 21^st Century USA, and a motocross goggle brand at that, probably one of the most saturated segment in the off-road market.)

2 days before the first race of the year.  Josh Grant took a big digger this week, breaking his nose but nothing else and should be on for A1 although he might not be 100%. Apart from Stewart and Reed, I still think that Davi Millsaps, Josh Hill, Ryan Dungey, Josh Grant and RV will be the guys fighting for Top 5. I do not see Tedesco racing in that Top 5 and I don’t think that Reardon122 will consistently get in there. I know that a good amount of people believe  Justin Brayton is going to be a threat, as strong as those I previously named, but I am not convinced he can be there this season. No doubt JB114 is very fast, matured a lot, has become a stronger racer and will benefit a ton from the move to the JGR Yamaha 450. But I don’t think that he has that killer instinct, constant starvation for victory you see in JS7, Reed, RV, Grant, Barcia, and De Coster, Lackey, Hannah, Bailey, Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, JMB, Stanton, McGrath or RC before. Andrew Short is bit like Brayton actually.

I still believe in Hill and Millsaps and see them doing very well this season.

                As soon as I land, grab my Ogio back and my Alamo rental car, I have to rush to Angel Stadium and the AMA Supercross press-conference to work on Davi’s helmet and arrange his cheek-pads. Unfortunately his race helmets only got painted yesterday and couldn’t be used for the Red Bull rider intro, which I am a bit upset about. We’ve rushed to get things going but after the first 2 races, all should be smooth and tuned.

Gautier Paulin has already been practicing with his AGV AX-8, which is pretty cool. I just need to add an AGV sticker on the front, somewhere.

Darn! 2 more hours to go before touchdown. 46 minutes to go in Rich Taylor’s podcast after that I’ll be back reading Racer X and the last Powersport Business newspaper.

5 Days til Anaheim 1, 2010

Thinks are getting heated. We are 5 days before the first SX races and still rumors are flying around. Apparently Josh Grant crashes hard this afternoon while praticing for A1 and was sent to the ER.
Yesterday the Nike MX boots finally came out in the open with confirmation that both Ryan Dungey and James Stewart will be wearing them at A1. very surprising for JS7 since he was under contract with an Italian brand until 2011.

On our side, we are getting there Davi Millsaps' AGV helmets are being painted and Gautier Paulin has received his. GP21 has actually been giving us some good exposure recently with a mag cover in France, a video and a few super good shots from French photog Stephan Lebig.

The Motoverte.com video by Lebig.

On all of those GP is wearing the MTX.

He has since received his AX8 painted and ready for his first American Supercross.

MX photo of the day

This is one of those photos that make you want to go ride.

2010 Teams Thoughts or Opinions

jhn145 at mxinsiders.com posted a good thread on the upcoming season. This is what I replied.

Great subject John. I think that the upcoming season is a very important one because it can be the beginning of serious changes in the landscape of US supercross. We are seeing bigger, stronger, factory-support teams with potential Top 7 riders (IT at Valli, Reardon at MotoConcept, Hahn and Moss at Motosport, Hill along JS7 at L&M and the duelists at JGR, GL8 at JLR). Is this the last year that Honda and Kawasaki will be factory-run teams? maybe not, if the title sponsors have enough $$, like the Fiat Yamaha and Repsol Honda teams of MotoGP, some factories will still be able to run their own structures.

It's hard to bet against the trio of Stewart, Reed and still somehow, RV, but behind the horde is hungry, will be very aggressive and in contract year motivation for some (the Honda boyz). I believe that, as much as JS7, CR22 and RV2 are strong and solid, anything can happen (as we've seen in the frantic 2009 SX series) and the Outsiders, the mega pack of outsiders, can do anything and surely score podium spots.

I can see DM18, Shorty, Ryan Dungey, Hill, Reardon, Moss, Hahn, IT, Josh Grant and JB114 play hard and race good.

DM is motivated, he is feeling good right now and seem to be happy with the 2010 450. Short for sure will be on it. IT has "revenge" tattooed on his knuckles. Dungey The Rookie will be on the gas on the 450, as he showed it in '08. all are strong racers, all can jump on any opportunity given by RV, JS and CR. This season, it's all going to be about the starts because lots of those guys are hard to pass and won't let any door open too long.

Is RV overrated right now, or is the hype justified? Is he back to his top form, is he 100% able to tackle James Stewart and Chad? is he good with the 450?

The season is looking good (although we've said that a lot, every December)
:)

Motocross dei Campioni

If there's definitely an MX safari I missed this Fall, it's the Motocross dei Campioni (Motocross of Champions) organized by Valention Rossi as a fundraier for kids leukemia, 30 years after his dad Graziano and friends organized theirs.
All of Vale's friends and more came, along which Marco Melandri, Marco Simoncelli, Kevin Schwantz, Andrea Dovizioso.

Very cool little video by Gianluca Alessandrini:

Souvenirs from Chile

One of my friends is also one of the guy I enjoy reading the most. In the last years, his Thursday Rev-Up column on Racerxonline.com has been a weekly favorite. but Andy doesn't only write and before being a Fox rep, an MX journalist and recently work for his successful Nascar-driver-brother Clint, he was also one of those gnarly nutters on the Fox Terrafirma videos.

Andy's most (in)famous moment, Chile 1997. (at about 3:15 on the vid')

Parts Unlimited Dealer Showcase

This afternoon I'm at the Parts Unlimited Dealer Super Showcase at the Las Vegas Sportcenter. Got the booth and the lids all set up. I'll be back at the MGM fir the race later this evening.












-- Posted from my iPhone

Las Vegas, Nevada, in for the US Open of SX

After a nightmarish security check-in that took 45 minutes at Chicago Midway, we ran to our Southwest flight with laptop in hand, belt around the neck, Nike Jordan no tied. Sweaty. Off for a peacefull easy flight to Las Vegas.
Spent most fo my time listening to some of Matthes' podcasts (Metcalfe, Barcia, Leisk) a bit of the last DMXS show, especially Josh Hill who's always good in those interviews. Also watched a few DH videos including the Commencal Atherton Project. All good.

In Vegas Baby. Ready to do some constructive work, trying to plan the 2010 season as much as possible, attend the Parts Unlimited Dealer Supershowcase and of course have fun at the SX. It's one of the best race to attend. All central, in the MGM, the industry is all around, it's easy for meetings and fun.

It appears Reed is out because he has no confirmed ride yet, even though he's been practicing on a green machine. JS7 is here, ready and fitter than ever, RV2 and Millsaps are in the game. It could be a good weekend.

Off to explore the Sin City.

Laguna Seca MotoGP weekend

Landed in San Francisco last night for the Laguna Seca MotoGP weekend. Will try to keep updates up.