On-Track Off-Road issue 58 by otormag

June 2013 No 58

O FFICIAL

TIMEKEEPER

Experience more at www.t-touch.com

TACTILE TECHNOLOGY Touch the screen to get the ultimate sports watch experience with 11 functions including compass, tide, chronograph split and lap.

IN TOUCH WITH YOUR TIME

compass

lap

split

MX Scrubbing up...

This Ray Archer image of Jeffrey Herlings scrubbing away seems like it has already been seen everywhere, but the inch-perfect technique from the Dutchman still warrants a view on a bigger screen. Maggiora was another playground for the KTM rider who chases win number ten in a row (three away from Stefan Evertsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 2006 record) this weekend in Sweden Photo by Ray Archer

MX Ladillo que puede ser largo

Eleces dolorrunda venda arum accatis dentium nis et velectotae. Nam, cumquat ditium, omniassint millame con resti nis magnisim volorroviti qui quod ma non coremol uptibeat volorerro volorunt utem hil ipsunt que vel id min repellore, quasperum fugiam derio. Ibus sus, cusdand elenditae nullab is aut ut vita qui ut que doluptiaerum.

Ladillo que puede ser largo

MotoGP Tarmac boiler...

Scott Redding broke three records with his victory at Mugello (first Brit to win back-to-back GPs since Barry Sheene in â&#x20AC;&#x2122;77, the first Brit to have two Moto2/250 wins in a single season since Mick Grant also in 1977 and also the youngest rider from the UK to take successive triumphs, deposing a stat held by Sheene since 1971). So a check-in with Marc VDS racer was timely Photo by Juan Pablo Acevedo

Fightback...

Tired of second place? Mindful of the accusations that MX is just another Villopoto show? Hard to know exactly Ryan Dungeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motivations to finally overthrow his Kawasaki rival at Budds Creek but if the KTM man can repeat the performance in the coming weeks then the Nationals could turn tasty heading into the second phase Photo by Simon Cudby

AMA-MX

There are only two peices of riding equip ment that can save your life in a crash, a helm et and a neck brace.

CERTIFIED AS PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

www.leatt.com

IS ALWAYS LEATT READY GPX Race

±790g / 26oz

GPX Pro Lite

±617g / 21,8oz

FOR BEST FI T

Both braces feature our n ew Coreex technology. This enable s the rear thoracic strut to move indiv idually for an extra comfort able t.

att C © Le

orpora

tion 2

012

AMA-MX

red bull budds creek n

budds creek, md 路 june 22nd 路 Rnd 5 of 12

450 winner: Ryan Dungey, KTM 250 winner: Blake Baggett, Kawasaki

nAtionAl

ama mx budds creek

ack in it... By Steve Matthes, Photos by Simon Cudby

an you believe we’re almost halfway through this American outdoor series? Five rounds down and seven to go over on this side of the ocean and both classes are shaping up with some clear divisions; as in those that can win if things go right and those that can’t. Of course, weather factors are always an issue but in the 450MX class there are two riders that have separated themselves as the top dogs. It’s going to be really, really tough for anyone to win a race this summer if you’re not named Ryan Villopoto or Ryan Dungey. Those two have captured all ten motos so far (8 for RV, 2 for RD). Red Bull KTM rider Dungey hasn’t quite been on RV’s level but when mistakes (Muddy Creek) or bad starts (Budds Creek) happen, Dungey can win races. In fact, as of this typing, we just saw Dungey’s best ride of the year in the second moto at Budds Creek and it has to give him some hope. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Villopoto got into second and Dungey was still putting time on him. Who knows, maybe in the 14 motos that are left, we’ll see a points battle out of this yet. After those two it’s a potpourri of riders that have stood on the box. Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard being the latest at Budds Creek and we’ve also seen Pro Circuit’s Tyla Rattray, James Stewart, Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia all finish with a 3rd overall this season and Barcia leads the ‘Non Ryan’s’ group with two podiums in the five races. Although not that strong at Budds Creek, Barcia’s probably been a tad better than the others but Canard and Motoconcepts’ Mike Alessi (two third place moto finishes) are right there. Yeah, that’s right- I didn’t say Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart. It’s a weird deal. We’ve reached a tipping point with the man that was once either win or crash and many, many times the fastest man on the planet. Stewart, one of only two riders with a perfect 24-0 outdoor season, came out at Hangtown with a nice 3-3 ride and looked like he wanted to build on it. Instead, it’s been worse and worse each weekend and at Budds his younger brother Malcolm, only five rides into his 450 career, caught and passed him both motos while James lay on the ground.

ama mx budds creek

A third win in four years for Dungey almost didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen after a first moto crash. Even the reigning champion admitted that he couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe he lost any positions, although Villopoto was able to escape

Elit nit utating estio odolorper alit essecte dolorperit

A decent-enough first race of the championship for Wil Hahn but there were smiles back in the Pro Circuit camp for the first time in quite a while...

ama mx budds creek

Privateer Phil Nicoletti of the N-Fab Yamaha team has been solid as has Rockstar Suzuki’s Ryan Sipes as they battle to get into the ‘best of the rest’ category. All in all the 450MX class in America is as deep as it’s been in years. Riders like Barcia, Alessi and Canard cannot climb the ladder and assume a rightful place inside the top five if they don’t get a start. At one point at High Point two weeks ago, eight of the riders running third to tenth were in the same second. And this was halfway through the moto! Where you start is more important than ever this summer and that’s why Mike Alessi could be a factor going forward as he seems to have his starts figured out judging by his two holeshots at Budds Creek. Of course, if you’re Villopoto or Dungey, those rules about bad starts don’t apply as they’re simply on another level right now. In the 250’s it’s been the same five riders in the top five overall at all of the first four rounds and thankfully, GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn knocked his team-mate Zach Osborne out at Budds with an impressive first race back from injury fifth overall. It’s truly been a question of whether or not Eli Tomac can get a start or not. We’re not saying he’d be winning if he got off the line but certainly he’d be in the mix each moto. Sometimes, much to Eli’s frustration, he doesn’t get out of the gate the way he’d like and he spends the entire thirty minutes plus two fighting to the front. Of course at Budds Creek, Tomac put in a breathtaking ride from thirteenth all the way to first in one of the best performances of the year indoors or out but it’s unreasonable to expect that from Tomac each week. Still, in the second moto we saw magic happen from the kid from Colorado. The way he caught and passed Blake Baggett and Darryn Durham was remarkable. Meanwhile the two World Champion Red Bull KTM riders Kenny Roczen and Marvin Musquin were spectacular in the first moto at Budds (as they have been all summer) but didn’t have much for the second moto with the heat and humidity of Maryland. The Frenchman Musquin flat out admitted on the podium he was tired and the German was reportedly sick before the race.

Both riders had their worst finishes of the year so far and as the temperature goes up, it will be interesting to see if the two Europeans can stay strong. Still, Tomac is nine points in arrears of Roczen and twelve up on Musquin with seven races to go. The defending champion, Monster Pro Circuit’s Blake Baggett, had his best race of the year at Budds with 1-2 finishes for the overall. Baggett’s wrist has been bothering him and the week off appeared to really help him out. Perhaps us media folks writing him off was a little premature. His first moto charge to first was so reminiscent of last summer, it was ridiculous. The 250’s have provided some excellent racing and another GP refugee named Zach Osborne has been a real surprise as he’s right there to win a moto if he can fix a few small things. Of course it looks like Hahn’s got the right stuff to do well and rookies like Star Yamaha’s Cooper Webb and PC’s Adam Cianciarulo will be able to get inside the top five as well. The racing over here has been fantastic each and every moto with the world’s best lining up each weekend. Yeah the 450MX title seems to be a forgone conclusion but Dungey was very good at Budds and the battle after that is fierce. In the 250’s it truly is up for grabs among five riders and it will be interesting to see who can emerge with the title as the weather gets hotter and the tracks get tougher. Onto the stretch run we go!

Blake Baggett’s recovery on the rough Budds Creek terrain is an indication that all is finally well with his wrist; tough news for his rivals but more depth and pressure now in the 250s

ama mx budds creek

With his tendency for holeshots Alessi can default into contention for a top five slot. Good form so far from 800 in arguably the toughest Outdoor field for a number of seasons

ama mx budds creek

Trey Canard goes third overall while Dungey helps the crowd battling the heat in Maryland. Villopoto sweats out another 25 points

ama mx budds creek

ama mx budds creek It seems like Budds Creek barely offers room to breathe...Marvin Musquin barely makes the top three (right) while another member of the Stewart family, Malcolm (right, below), shares the limelight

Not a bad start for rookie Adam Cianciarulo (292) but the teenager confessed his endurance was way-off for anything like a decent result. A learning experience chalked off

ama mx budds creek

Zach Osborne (this page) and Ken Roczen fight their own battles at Budds Creek. Roczen was apparently sick before coming into round five but still heads the points table

AMA MX Pro Motocross Championship 450MX result

250MX result

Riders

Ryan Dungey, USA

2 Ryan Villopoto, USA 3

Trey Canard, USA

KTM Kawasaki

Blake Baggett, USA

2 Eli Tomac, USA

Honda

4 Malcolm Stewart, USA

Honda

4 Ken Roczen, GER

Honda

Justin Barcia, USA

Marvin Musquin, FRA Wil Hahn, USA

450MX standings

250MX standings

(after 5 of 12 rounds)

Riders 1

Points

Riders

Kawasaki Honda KTM KTM Honda

Points

240

2 Ryan Dungey

224

2 Eli Tomac

211

179

199

4 Trey Canard

153

4 Blake Baggett

188

136

149

Ryan Villopoto Justin Barcia Mike Alessi

Ken Roczen Marvin Musquin Zach Osborne

220

ama mx budds creek

AMA

BLOG

rejuvenation.. By Steve Matthes

rett Metcalfe should be bitter. No doubt about it, the system that is American motocross has failed him. It’s not supposed to work like this for the veteran Aussie rider. Brett’s been working his way through the ranks over here and while he never captured a win on a 250 machine, he had a ton of podiums both indoors and out. Brett signed a factory Suzuki contract to be full-time 450s and had a good first season, one that saw him capture the Southwick 450MX national. Metty’s always been very fast in the sand and it was the pinnacle of his career along with riding for Australia all those times in the Motocross of Nations. Metcalfe’s second year on the Suzuki started off well also, in the mix for a top five supercross placing he had a rough last few races and ended up seventh. Still, for a rider that’s always been faster outdoors, a top ten in supercross points is nothing to sneeze at. And outdoors he was his usual fast self. And then it happened.

Metcalfe’s career (and in some respects, his life) changed at Glen Helen while practicing for an upcoming national. At that point Metcalfe had been solid as they come holding down top five in the points and of course, Southwick was coming up. Somewhere near the end of the practice session Brett ran out of gas and crashed heavily off a jump. It was a disaster of epic proportions. Metcalfe suffered wrist and leg injuries that immediately took him out for the rest of the summer. And it was a crash that could have been prevented as someone at Suzuki didn’t put the fuel tank on that was capable of going the full 30+2 moto. As a former mechanic, I’ve been there and mistakes happen. It’s entirely regrettable but in the end, sometimes crap happens.

What happened next was definitely not something that was the norm. Suzuki dropped Brett without so much as a second thought. This was a rider that gave them two years of dependable results, a model rider on and off the track and he got seriously hurt due to the negligence of a Suzuki employee and this is how you repay him? It’s not without precedence no, but there are also plenty of teams that promise a rider another year of a contract if it’s something mechanical causing injury. It’s not a guarantee but it is a courtesy that’s been extended in the past. But not for Brett and just like that, he was on the outside looking in with serious injuries and a need for a contract.

“The American motocross system has failed a rider like Brett Metcalfe...” Such poor timing combined with a pullback by many race teams left Metcalfe without a ride in the USA that would pay him a salary. That’s right, a national winning rider was unable to get any sort of guarantees just 18 months after theoretically being the very best rider in the world on a given Saturday. Yes folks, the professional dirt bike racer world isn’t always hookers and blow for these guys. Metcalfe took supercross off to heal a little better and spend some time with his wife and newborn son so it wasn’t much of a strain on him to not go indoors, after all, with the injuries, his lack of prep time and supercross itself being so gnarly, Brett bided his time to wait for the American outdoors. And guess what? Same thing, Metcalfe couldn’t find anyone willing to pay him anything to go racing.

Eventually a Rockstar Suzuki ride ‘down under’ or a Leading Edge Kawasaki Canada teams were the choices. Sure there would be someone willing to put Brett on a “B” or “C” bike in America but then what? His results would suffer, people would write him off and he might be in a worse place than he was now. No, Brett is taking the route back to the USA through the north and a ride with the Canadian Kawasaki team was his choice. A salary, bonuses for winning races and the title (all told, sources say Metcalfe can easily clear six figures for winning a bunch of races and the MX1 crown in the nine races) and a chance to rebuild was all-appealing for Metcalfe. I visited him this past weekend at round three of the CMRC nationals and he’s the same old guy. You wouldn’t notice any bitterness by Metcalfe or any sort of airs-and-graces that he was ‘better’ than where he was. Which was a field inside the city of Calgary, Alberta Canada. He’s a worldclass rider with perhaps three, four athletes that have any chance of being on his level. After that, it’s riders that have jobs to go to on Monday. This is where it all resets for Brett; this is where the rebuild begins. “Yeah I was a little bitter but I never got down” he said after the race, one where he went 1-1 for his third and fourth straight moto win and a nice points lead with six rounds left. “I tried to stay positive through it all and the biggest thing was my baby boy Nash being born. I can’t imagine not being there and being able to spend this time with him. I can’t complain.” Metcalfe’s one of the nicest guys in the pits and one would expect this attitude from him. He’s easy to deal with for a team, for the media and for other riders on the track. He’s been the same guy since I first met him, which was in the fall

of 2001 at some supercross in Germany when I noticed this crazy kid on a KTM125 wearing #123 and pinning it. Metcalfe’s going to race the Southwick national here in the USA this weekend and probably the last race to let everyone know that he’s the same rider he always has been. The idea behind the two nationals, behind going to Canada, behind all of this is to get back to where he used to be- and that’s one of the very best racers in America. “I can’t complain with this deal, everything’s been great and I’m happy to be here. I like my life right now but I’m very, very, very determined to get back to where I was and even be better.” Brett Metcalfe 2.0 is still under construction but don’t worry America, you’ll see soon what American motocross slept on. And I have no doubt he’s going to make it all the way back. He’s got no choice.

Feature

mxgP tracks

Playing fields By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer

terrain, mud, dirt, surface, layout; however you want to call them tracks are a big and shifting Part of any mxgP

rand Prix racing is akin to a whirlpool at the moment with opinions, thoughts and ideas spinning round on how and if the sport can transition. A subject that tends to rearup every season is the state and shape of the current race tracks. Even though there have been some more pressing issues in the paddock over the past few months the addition of rounds in Qatar and Thailand and the creation of the Superfinal matching 450s and 250s has again thrown the validity of what is being

prepared and sometimes created for Grand Prix. While the FIM Motocross World Championship enjoys fantastic diversity in the type of terrain and layouts spread across three continents the nature of the surfaces still can be a polemic theme. Are the new tracks too similar? Are there too many jumps? What can be done with a fifty year old course? Is there an agenda behind the fresh designs? OTOR decided to canvas some opinion.

Feature

Shaun Simpson, former British Champion, current MX1 Grand Prix rider: It is quite personal as a rider and everybody has his own take. I was at Kester for a Belgian Championship race recently. It starts on grass and the dirt was super-soft because there had been rain beforehand. It felt like there were eight or nine different lines everywhere, it was rough and technical and I found myself thinking as I came up to every corner. My brain was on overload assessing the lines. Even though it was a tight circuit there was scope for passing; you could go inside, outside and chop back up. I spoke to Davide Guarneri [Italian MX1 peer] afterwards…and he hated it! There is a contrast of where you are from and how you ride and what tracks you like.

Dean Ferris, Australian Monster Energy Yamaha rider in MX2: What I might say could be different to what the next guy thinks. Personally I like the tracks to be ripped and technical. Sometimes they might keep tracks sealed before a GP because they are expecting a lot of rain and that is the right thing to do.

Tony Cairoli, MX1 World Champion, Red Bull KTM rider: I think they should remove some of the tracks we use in Europe. Sometimes it is better to find the right field, build some jumps, tabletops and waves and then make the race. I have already talked with Giuseppe [Luongo, Youthstream President] about some of my ideas for trying to make the sport bigger and motocross needs to be closer to big cities or road racing circuits and the tracks can be made just for the event. Some places are just too old now. Youthstream: This being a world championship it has to offer a good variety of tracks. This variety reflects many aspects; one of the main ones is the local culture, not just motocross culture but also the culture in a wider sense.

mxgp tracks

Tommy Searle, MX2 World Championship runner-up, CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit MX1 rider We have such a spread of tracks in the GPs and that is one good thing about our championship; the locations as well because some of the landscapes are beautiful. Sometimes you might not have a good opinion of riding on a track but you look around at the scenery and think ‘wow, what a place to race’. Johnny Douglas Hamilton, revered track designer and builder of Gore Basin, Matchams Park, Sun City, Matterley Basin GP tracks: The GP tracks are incredibly diverse; in fact I find it hard to imagine a more disparate collection of landscapes and soil types. What I do see is there are more obstacles incorporated in tracks now and often they can appear quite

generic in the way they are built. There are only so many ways you can build a jump so the unique character of a track comes from its landscape. You can race over any obstacle but when you have a jump on every straight it spoils the balance of a track. On a straight where riders can reach a high speed of say 60mph you get a chance to see who are the really late breakers and you also get to see a different kind of pass taking place. One of the great strengths of motocross is that it offers more variation than any other motorsport. There are one or two GP tracks where there is a jump on every straight and I don’t think that’s a good thing.

Feature

the hardest job? Stefan Everts, ten times world champion, Red Bull KTM MX2 Team Manager: They are doing the job the best they can and if everybody is going to tell them what to do then it will end up being a madhouse. Youthstream: Tracks follow and suite the development of the bikes and of the ridersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; abilities for them to express themselves to the best of their abilities. We spend much time and effort watching ridersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; abilities. Hamilton: Having been a track builder I also appreciate that there are often many differ-

ent reasons that are out of your control as to why the end product may not turn out as you hoped it would. Searle: Some tracks are amazing. Matterley Basin is one of the best I have ever ridden but a lot of it has to do with the dirt and I appreciate that sometimes people have to work with what they have. Some people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t realise the state the place is in and what Justin Barclay [Youthstream track builder] has been given to work with when he starts building a track. Half the time the landscaping is probably most of the work.

mxgp tracks

Clement Desalle, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 rider: I usually see a big effort trying to make tracks better but it feels recently that we cannot use the power of the 450; there are just too many jumps. Motocross should be about the link between corners. It seems like we don’t have many normal sections of tracks that just link the turns. You see it more in the U.S. You have a standard corner – easy to do – but with four lines through it. At the National in Tennessee I crashed and had to come back through and there was one moment where there was a guy on the outside line, another taking the inside and I passed both by going through the middle! You can never do this here. I think they should look and learn to make things bigger and better.

Feature

fast or slow? Everts: In a way it is difficult to pass but for me the tracks before were slower and more technical with more natural aspects. The new tracks seem to be all the same; a big turn to the left, the same type of jumps and some places are too wide. It creates a lot of room on the track. In the past the tracks were tighter and created more bumps and lines. Recently in Kester – the last of the classic tracks in Belgium - that was the old type of racing I remember. No speed, very deep ruts and lines. All the takeoffs were bad and it was super-super technical and some guys were really struggling and others were flying. For me it is too fast now, too high speed. Maybe there are too many obstacles because there is a lot of air-time. People like jumps for good action but the best type of action is good racing.

Cairoli: The old style circuits still seem for what feels like a twenty-five year old bike. You wouldn’t have the same speed now but you could easily race a twenty year old bike around some of them. Maybe we need to go more in the direction of the U.S. with fast open turns, big ruts and braking bumps and stuff like this. With an old bike you wouldn’t even be able to think about riding there.

Searle: I think tracks need to be a little bit faster and lots of track have these stupid humps on the inside of corners and there is absolutely no need for them. You can see that they are normally not there and then suddenly installed for the GP.

Max Nagl, Honda World Motocross team rider: A few years ago they used to rip the tracks more and it was better. Now we’ve had too many situations where the track has been too dry on Saturday, needs watering for Sunday and then turns into a one-line mud race.

Desalle: To me the tracks feel too narrow and I don’t know why small bumps and jumps are put on the inside of turns. I think they need to flow more…take the obstacles out. If you have a fast and flowing turn then you can really prepare for it and attack the line to make a pass. To build a motocross track you need a lot of room and should use a lot of room. You don’t have to go to one extreme and build a track where you are permanently on the throttle. There can be technical parts involved. Matterley Basin is a good example because you have technical areas and fast and slow corners.

Hamilton: In my experience wider tracks provide more room for passing. I would say however that I have a very different opinion to most regarding the notion that a track is responsible for the quality of the racing. I believe this is nonsense. I would love to take credit for the great racing at Matterley between Everts and Stewart in 2006 or even at last year’s GP with Tommy Searle beating Jeffrey Herlings. The truth is it had nothing to do with me it and this was demonstrated clearly when Cairoli walked away with it in MX1 last year. Same track, same day, but the racing could not have been more of a contrast.

Simpson: Tracks could do with being more technical and I don’t mean with jumps. The ground needs to be more bumpy and able to produce lines. If you can carve a line with your bike after two or three laps then you will use it. At places like Ernee you could try it twenty times and you’d barely have millimetres of a rut because the ground is that hard.

mxgp tracks

Cairoli: I think the tracks need to be wider for better overtaking. You need at least ten metres if you want to have more lines. They also need to be more ripped than they are because at the moment there is one inside line and that’s the fastest and any other options on the outside are too muddy or are of hard-rock and you cannot even make the corner. The preparation needs to be better and the layout of some tracks mean that they shouldn’t even be on the GP calendar. They don’t have the possibilities for change or widening, for example. Searle: A lot of it is about the watering and I think the people that do it normally don’t make such a good job. How it dries can affect the racing and it is a bit of a shame that we have such different tracks but also such different levels of quality when it comes to that. When it is too wet one line dries out, and then it is watered again and the wet bits get wetter and you never go there. If it is correctly watered then you should be able to use the whole

track. If we don’t go there in practice and timed practice then we won’t go there in the race because it won’t be the fastest way. Ferris: It does seem like it has been hard to pass this year but I cannot say what they are like compared to five or ten years ago. I’d like to see some more change, maybe even some grass track because for me that’s really motocross. Youthstream: Tracks always have a one fast line for a one fast rider, therefore depending on the riders, these lines can be multiple as there are different fast riding styles. Plus riders are very fast and of course this makes it difficult to pass. Therefore there is not much to blame on the tracks; you can actually see that when a fast rider crashes and is the forced to recover positions he will find all possible lines and open doors to make that happen. A valid example is Herlings at the GP of Brazil when he had to recover positions in both races.

Feature Hamilton: Riders will tend to have a default position of saying that a track was hard to pass on; it’s an easy excuse to run for cover with after a bad result. Some tracks are of course hard to pass on but I don’t necessarily agree that easy passing makes for good racing. In fact very often it’s when tracks are hard to pass that racing can be most intense, depending on the order in which riders get out the gate. In France and Italy the tracks were very tight but there was good racing both times. In Italy Cairoli had problems and because he had to work so hard it went down to the wire. If Maggiora had more lines I think Cairoli would have gone 1-1 again. Simpson: Personally I think motocross is about making decisions on the bike, where to put the bike and to clear the bumps the fastest. Not about flatout-jump-flatout-corner-flatout-jump. I don’t know the best way to improve things. I mean at Mallory Park a few years ago it pissed with rain for three or four days before and everybody thought the GP would be a disaster but the track was perfection. When it rains the water soaks into the dirt that much that the

top layer then dries and cuts up and makes for great racing because the bike is still digging into that soft stuff underneath. There is a difference compared to watering the top section and then we cut through where it has been rotivated and we hit rock-hard. It gets pushed to the side, the sun dries it and you get one line. A contrast of course is that when a track is ripped really deep and left then it also creates one line and the terrain away from that is too slow and you get bogged down. Nagl: In some places the track needs to be wider or the turns more open. It is difficult to make those changes though. There should be fewer jumps. If there is a jump after every turn then it is much harder. It would be a case of ‘less is more’ in terms of the racing. Hamilton: Racing is always about the riders. It relates to the parity of the field and most importantly how they end up starting. If the fastest rider holeshots and the second fastest rider comes round in second and so on, then you are in for a boring race. It’s as simple as that.

mxgp tracks

new or old? Youthstream: How are new tracks built? First comes an inspection where the venue is fully checked. Then the venue is analyzed and a comprehensive plan is made, this includes the area where the track will lay and this area will be as spectator-friendly as possible, plus the logistics between paddock, track and pit lane is considered. Once this is done, the track is planned to have a length of about 1500m and within this length there is quite a lot of freedom concerning obstacles and this is basically adapted to the environment (valley, or flat land, or steep uphill/downhill etc). Everts: For the modern tracks we see too much similar stuff. In the beginning it is nice but after a few years we just see more and more of the same. Cairoli: I liked to go to the old places but I think the motorcycles and motocross has changed. Everybody loves the jumps and wide tracks with lines that cross. You should not need to hit somebody if you want to pass. For a more spectacular race we need to rebuild most of the motocross tracks in Europe. Matterley Basin is a good track for a Grand Prix

because you have more ruts and more lines compared to what we normally find. I know a lot of fans like the ‘old school’ tracks but if we want to grow this sport then we need to head in another way. Simpson: Every single person can do the jumps now and maybe a scrub will gain you tenths of a second but it’s hard to pass. The new tracks feel very similar. You don’t need to know about a new track before you go there… you know it will have big doubles, a wave section, an off-camber turn and it gets a bit tiring. It is nice to go somewhere with hills and able to use the natural layout of the ground instead of flat field with a lot of obstacles in it. Everts: Tracks used to be longer, over two minutes, I think they have been shortened for TV, the motos also. Motocross has changed. Is it good or is it bad? Searle: Many of the old tracks stay the same we just turn up and race them again. We find new challenges with the new places. A lot of tracks are a lot of fun, they just ruin them sometimes with the watering.

TEAM RIDERS:

SCOTT GOGGLES ARE THE ONLY GOGGLES I TRUST FOR MY TEAM” —MITCH PAYTON

>> | SCOTT-SPORTS.COM

MITCH P AY T O N

2013 PRO CIRCUIT

Feature

scott redding

rPowered edding catching uP with the moto2 chamPionshiP leader By Adam Wheeler, Portraits by Juan Pablo Acevedo, Action by Marc VDS

TOR spent some time with Moto2 title contender Scott Redding at pre-season tests and his vindication that he’d be challenging for honours in 2013 was pretty much spot-on. After turning plenty of heads with back-to-back wins at Le Mans and Mugello we again decided to seek out the 20 year old Marc VDS Team racer in the paddock at Barcelona to see and learn just how much the ‘winning feeling’ was having an effect. Aside from a searing experience sitting on the Montmelo asphalt for some photos (credit to the Brit for repeating the process a couple of times on a surface that could have fried an egg) we found Scott chatty and thoughtful and enjoying the slightly increased limelight…

Feature

So successive wins…that must have been a sweet period… Le Mans was a bit strange. The mixed conditions played a big part and a lot of guys crashed out. I just took my time and then the red flag came out. It wasn’t like the chequers was waved; it felt like a half race. Going to Mugello – where a few of my guys thought I would be weak – and backing it up like that was great. Even I wasn’t sure how I’d run there, so to take the pole position and victory was pretty special. What was going through your head at Mugello? I planned the race to go out and follow ‘Taka’ because I knew he was fast on the first few laps. I’d look to make a gap and lead for a bit to save the tyre but I didn’t really plan it all the way. Terol and Zarco were catching me by two tenths on the straight each time. When they went in front the next lap was four tenths slower than we’d been doing and I thought ‘why are we going so slow?’ and wondered if we were holding up for the guys behind. I thought “I’m gonna give them two more laps and then I’m going to go” and then he just waved me by so I pushed and made some good consecutive laps. I sort-of controlled if from there and I saw the others could not consistently make the times I had made it practice and that gave me a boost. Were you getting a buzz from that? Yeah, when you are trying to pull a gap and you know you can do it then it doesn’t feel long. A long race is when you are in fourth or fifth position and you are two seconds ahead and three seconds behind. It can be really hot and you think ‘oh, this is dragging’. When you are fighting like in Mugello then you are not thinking of anything else.

What are the emotions like to win a Grand Prix? How can you explain it? You see all the people on the side, your team and even others that are mechanics for others but still cheering you. There are not many times when you come down the straight first and you see everybody applauding…you feel… like you have some butterlies in the stomach and a real sensation of ‘yes! I’ve got it!’ It really means something to win a race, especially somewhere like that [Mugello]. It is hard to pinpoint the emotion actually. It is mixed. It is not like you are screaming and shouting and jumping around. In the beginning you are quite quiet. You think ‘yeah, I won’ but it takes a while to come around, normally two days later when you say ‘fuck me, that was really something’. I reckon it is the same for the mechanics because they were texting me the next day to say ‘that was really nice’. I’ll be chilling in the sunshine later in the week and will suddenly think ‘that race was something really fucking special for me’ and you feel it more. When you cross the line there seems to be so much adrenaline and focus. Is the cliché true that post-race it’s all a bit of a blur? Yeah. For me it feels like seasons turn into a blur. Somebody will ask me something and I’ll say ‘that was last year wasn’t it?’ when it was actually two seasons ago. You get flashbacks of crossing the finish line and I cannot really say what else happened. I remember the parc ferme and the podium. It is not like it is all ‘clear as day’. A Grand Prix win must chuck the usual postrace routine out the window… You’re not thinking about packing your stuff to go. This year I’ve been pushing for wins so I know I can’t be in a rush to leave and there are places to be. I don’t plan anything until the race is done now and I think that is better for me because I’m not thinking about anything else except doing my best on the track.

scott redding

Feature

“conﬁdence is the biggest thing a rider needs. i thought i’ve had it before but when you win a race at Mugello then tHAt is conﬁdence. that is when you ‘get it’...”

scott redding

Feature There has been a big heap of attention coming your way since France and Italy, especially on Twitter and stuff… I don’t use Twitter so much any more but people have told me that some like Lorenzo and Fogarty have written about me. Of course I appreciate it but they are racers and so am I and it’s the sort of thing you do to guys who are in the sport as well. Back in the UK bike racing is not as big as it is in somewhere like Spain. You can feel the following through social media but in reality, in the wider world, there is not much. I get more attention here [Spain] than I do at home and that’s a hard thing to take. It is not that your home country don’t support you, it is that that don’t know. I still find a lot of people say ‘what’s that?’ when you say you’re in MotoGP. When they discover it then they love it but England just seems to be really into their Formula One and football right now. Each country has their own priority for sports but when you see Moto3 riders in Spain on the labels of bottles it seems mad to think that the category is barely recognised in the UK. Even so, Silverstone this year…you should be busier than ever… Silverstone is good because the fans that go really know the British riders. For sure there will be people pushing for a win but that’s what we go out there for. It will be good to see what the fans say now after winning a couple of races…there might be a big atmosphere there. What about the change in mentality after winning? I don’t change as a person and I hope I never do. I don’t think I will because of the way I have been brought up. OK, you can do a good job but you are still a human being. You are just good at what you do. On the track it is a bit different. I go out there thinking I’m going to make a good result and I’m not as nervous. I know I usually have a good chance of winning and if I make a good race then normally I’m going to be top five or four. It takes a big pressure off your shoulders knowing that.

scott redding

Feature

Can you talk a bit about how confidence can affect you? You must be able to feel the difference from those two wins… Yeah, confidence is the biggest thing a rider needs. I thought I’ve had it before but when you win a race at Mugello then THAT is confidence. That is when you ‘get it’. Also after races like Qatar where I took a strong second. I’ve been on the front row a lot and this has been really good. It gives you a boost and now I know why when a rider wins a few races then he starts winning a lot more.

scott redding

So it is about belief…? It is not that you doubt yourself but how I look at it is that everybody cooks with water. Nobody is special. It depends on how they do it and what they do. Also how badly they want it. Once you realise that you believe in yourself then you can take a pole position and victory. And I don’t mean a flukey one because of the weather…in Mugello I didn’t expect it and it was with a brand new bike. When I put that on Pole I thought ‘woah…’. That was good for me and then backing it up in the race…that was a big package of confidence I got right there. Are you finding new ways of dodging questions about MotoGP and changing teams? A natural consequence of leading the championship is fresh waves of speculation... Dodge the question? If people want to ask it then they can. I can only tell them straight what I know. At the moment there is interest and I don’t know who with. My manager has said there are some good offers and some soso ones and after Sachsenring in the summer we are going to sit down and have a look at what we’ve got. I think it is a good way to do it because now I don’t have to think about it and there will be an organised time and place to make a decision.

Lastly…when you’ve got the red plate does the season suddenly feel a bit longer or do you have the feeling that you can’t wait to get to the next round? I do like to ride but if I had the chance to do it every day then I wouldn’t take it. I love having fun on a bike…probably more than racing. I come here and it takes so much out of you because you focus so much and want to do so well. It is almost like you are scared of failing. When you take a victory that’s when you get it all back. It is nice to do. A few years ago with the Suter and with the Blusens 125 that was frustrating and I didn’t even want to be here but now I enjoy to come racing. It sounds like I contradict myself but if I didn’t enjoy it then I wouldn’t do it. I’m just trying to explain where the enjoyment comes from. I like to have a little break from a 600 and train and tick all the boxes to get as ready as possible for the next race. I close the book after a GP and look to the next one and make the whole process about fun.

clean roland brown charges his battery with the new zero s

Photos by Diego Sperani/Albert Alsina

zero s

TEST

ero have been producing electric streetbikes since 2009, with an increasing rate of performance every year. This latest, 2013 version of Zero’s S model is more than simply the Californian firm’s most powerful and best bike yet: it’s the first to look and feel like a fullsized motorcycle. The S, propelled by the first motor Zero have developed themselves, has a top speed of 95mph and a claimed useable range of over 90 miles (for half city, half highway riding). The same is true of the closely related DS, a dualpurpose model with identical motor and frame. That performance is comparable to a conventional middleweight, but in other respects the electric bike’s statistics are dramatically different. ‘Refuelling’ takes almost eight hours, but costs a fraction of the price. Although the Zero is ferociously expensive to buy (costing £13,495 in the UK), in terms of running costs it almost lives up to its name. This S-bike is significantly changed from last year’s model. It’s much bigger and more substantial, and at 173kg almost 20kg heavier. With black plastic bodywork over its large battery box, which sits where a normal engine would be, it looks much like a conventional

middleweight roadster, rather than an overgrown dirtbike like its predecessors. That feeling of normality holds while you throw a leg across the fairly low seat, and turn the ignition key. The warning lights blink; the tacho bar flicks silently round its dial and back; a green light on the console comes on to say All Systems Go... Then you twist the throttle to be transported into an entertaining world of whistling soundtrack and turbine-smooth acceleration. With a power output of 54bhp at 4300rpm, the Zero produces less power than a typical middleweight such as Kawasaki’s ER-6n (which makes 72bhp). But that figure is misleading, because the S-bike delivers almost 50 per cent more torque than the 650cc parallel twin — and its electric motor puts out this amount all the way through its rev range. Transmission is single speed, with belt final drive.

zero s

TEST

zero s Acceleration from standstill is brisk rather than seriously quick, even when you’re in full power mode rather than the battery-saving Eco (set by pressing a button in the cockpit). But throttle response is excellent, unlike several previous electric bikes I’ve ridden. From 40mph the Zero answered a twitch of the wrist with an instant kick that sent it surging past traffic in fine style. It whirred from there to 70mph very quickly, and carried on to its limit of 95mph. Ironically this radical electric bike was rather let down by its relatively conventional chassis. The twin-spar aluminium frame seems strong but Zero’s roots in mountain biking show in the use of lightweight chassis parts. That was okay three years ago, when the Zero S had the power and weight of a 125, but less so now. The Fastace forks felt rather crude, and when we reached some bumpy roads the same Taiwanese firm’s rear shock gave a very harsh ride. Braking was slightly disappointing, as the single wavy front disc and twin-piston Nissin caliper couldn’t provide the bite of a good twin-disc system, and the small rear disc wasn’t much help. The IRC tyres didn’t fill me with confidence but gripped better than the knobblier Kendas fitted to the dual-purpose DS. Those whinges didn’t prevent me thoroughly enjoying riding the Zero. It steered well, tipping effortlessly into turns, and staying impressively stable — at least on the smooth bits — as that free-spinning motor sent it whistling off again at a very entertaining rate.

TEST

I completed the 75-mile test route with the digital ‘fuel gauge’ flashing empty. That’s not actually a huge improvement on last year’s Smodel but speeds were higher this time. Zero’s claims of 90-plus miles in mixed town and highway riding are believable, given a slightly slower pace. The Zero also has the option of a fast-charger, which allows it to refuel fully in just an hour via the CHAdeMO network. But there are still very few points outside Japan (most in Nissan dealerships), so it’s hardly worthwhile yet. The Zero’s bigger drawback is that it’s more than twice as expensive as conventional bikes of comparable performance. Reliability is unproven, too, and depreciation is likely to be high.

Against that, it should be very inexpensive to run. Road tax is free and there’s no need for servicing, apart from tyres, brake pads and occasionally a drive belt — the electric motor doesn’t require maintenance. Zero say the lithium-ion battery pack will last for over 300,000 miles. A high-mileage commuter rider with a big annual petrol bill could save half the S-bike’s purchase price within a few years, so for some people it could already make financial sense. This best-yet Zero needs improved suspension, brakes and tyres to do justice to its powerplant. But anyone who rides one is likely to be pleasantly surprised, if not actually blown away, by the electric roadster’s blend of lively performance and ease of use.

zero s

www.kiska.com

READY FOR MY

Do not imitate the riding scenes shown, wear protective clothing and observe the traffic regulations! The illustrated vehicles may vary in minor details from the series model and some show optional equipment at additional cost.

Photos: R. Schedl, H. Mitterbauer

NEW ADVENTURE

Pack the limousine and head off on a relaxed trip. Accelerate the sports car dynamically out of the corners. Pilot the SUV along dirt tracks and across wild streams. For this you need three cars or just one motorcycle – the new KTM 1190 ADVENTURE! Fully specced with high-tech equipment for all your adventures – no matter where in the world!

STANDARD EQUIPMENT:

THE NEW KTM 1190 ADVENTURE

facebook.ktm.com

150 HP (110 KW) / 230 KG INCL. 23 LITRES OF FUEL C-ABS / TRACTION CONTROL WITH 4 MODES + OFF 15,000 KM SERVICE INTERVALS COMPREHENSIVE TECHNOLOGY AND SAFETY PACKAGES

YOU CAN FIND ALL THE FEATURES AT WWW.KTM.COM KTM Group Partner

MotoGP

BLOG

counting power... By Gavin Emmett

n my last piece for this magazine, before the Mugello race, I threw down the gauntlet to Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha, after they failed to back up victory at the opening round of the championship in Qatar with success at either Austin, Jerez or Le Mans. On the face of it, they certainly seemed to have picked up that challenge, as the pairing took victory in the last two races to bring Lorenzo closer to Pedrosa in the standings and leave him on three wins out of six events. He then went on to finish as the fastest rider at the two post-race test sessions at Catalunya circuit and Motorland Aragon and will head to the Dutch TT this weekend brimming with confidence having bounced back strongly from a disappointing run of results. The questions remain however at what cost those two victories may have come at, as Lorenzo has now fitted engines three and four out of his allocation of five for the season. Of course he was in a similar situation following the Assen race last year, when he was taken out by Alvaro Bautista at turn one which destroyed one engine of the six allowed in 2012, but with the reduction in engine numbers this year, this could prove to be more of a stumbling block. Of course, Lorenzo can still return to the two engines with which he started the year, and it is possible that he may do so at tracks such as the next three meetings at Assen, Laguna Seca and Sachsenring. Those three do not require the all-out top speeds of the super-fast Catalunya and Mugello straights and may well be a factor in Yamaha’s decision to crack open the cases on the latest two motors, only to return to earlier powerplants which can be managed through the next races with the electronics.

It will still be a worry however, especially if some mishap like last year should befall the reigning World Champion. Added to that concern is the spectre of Honda’s dominance in the second half of 2012, as well as their performance in the testing sessions last week, in which both Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez got an early run-out on the 2014 version of the RC213V.

“At what cost did Lorenzo’s wins come? He has now fitted engines three and four of five.” The Spanish duo were both pleased with the updates to the new motorcycle, and rumours abound that they may even get to bring the bike early to the party by using it towards the end of this season. They are both also still on their first two engines, and these factors will undoubtedly be nagging away at the back of the minds of all at Yamaha. Lorenzo therefore needs to make hay while the sun shines, and continue his form from the last two outings into this weekend’s crucial Dutch race because he knows otherwise his grasp on the MotoGP™ crown could slowly slip away. Honda will almost certainly be better suited to the tracks in the second half of the campaign, which have brought them more success over the past few seasons. Last year after Assen, Lorenzo was tied with Stoner on points, and 19 ahead of Pedrosa. Currently he is seven ahead of his compatriot, so surely only another win will suffice in Holland this year.

GrAnd PriX oF itAlY

MAGGiorA 路 june 16th 路 rnd 9 of 17

MX1 winner: Gautier Paulin, kawasaki MX2 winner: jeffrey Herlings, ktM

the Paulin Pinch By Adam Wheeler, Photos By Ray Archer

Win number three of 2013 for Paulin and the sixth in just a season and a half in MX1. The numbers continue to build but this victory was the most impressive and the sense of occasion (plus beating Cairoli on home ground) clearly affected the Frenchman

MXGP italy/maggiora

Maggiora was simply magnificent. Nostalgia, expectation and atmosphere provided a vibrant sign that motocross is actually alive and well in Europe. Along with Brazil and France, Italy contributed the third spectacular event on the bounce in the FIM Motocross World Championship. After a fourteen year hiatus from the GP calendar Maggiora will already be one of the most anticipated meetings for 2014

MXGP italy/maggiora

No slowing Herlings as the stats continue to mount; nine GP wins, 17 motos from 18 in 2013. Despite being linked with virtually every other factory team for his next contract KTM also dismissed another popular rumour and the Dutchman will not be steering a new Husqvarna in 2014

MXGP italy/maggiora

Paulin has now seen the cheqered flag first in four of the last five Grands Prix. Cairoli still has that 51 point gap but this is unusual sustained pressure for the champion

A last gasp try for third position doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work out for the otherwise impressive Alex Tonkov in the first moto. Both the Russian and his Honda broke the timing beam but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it together and he lost a certain over podium by being classified down in 22nd

Such a shame for David Philippaerts who lives so close to Maggiora and ran this ultra-cool retro design on his Gariboldi Honda for his home event. A crash while chasing Paulin for Pole Position on Saturday left the Italian smashed about the head and face. He tried to ride Sunday - in typical style - but was clearly asking/wishing too much

mxgP italy/maggiora

Clement Desalleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Suzuki failed him for the first time since the final event of the 2010 season in Brazil. It robbed the Belgian of a strong podium - what would have been his seventh of 2013 - and also cast him even further adrift of the MX1 title race

MXGP italy/maggiora

Evgeny Bobryshev tried immensely hard on the factory Honda at his team’s home event but too many crashes were the Russian’s downfall. 777’s starts and speed were encouraging as he comes closer to full fitness. Ken De Dycker (below) continues his affection for Italian dirt and some consistent rides delivered his third trophy of 2013 and the first since round four at Arco di Trento

GP rookie Maxime Desprey can definitely handle the factory Monster Energy Yamaha. Some more ten top results perhaps were expected by the Dixon team but a mechanical problem forced him out of the first race at Maggiora

Yamaha used Maggiora for the European unveiling of the 2014 YZ450F, and also showed off Andrea Bartolini’s 1999 500cc world championship winning YZ400F alongside. Michele Rinaldi (left) and the Monster Energy Yamaha riders took part as Yamaha Motor Europe representatives explained about the new engine and profile of the machine that the company claim is one of the most tractable, manageable and raceable motocross products they have made. The model has even been given the commercial tag of being the ‘Ultimate’ YZ

Kiara Fontanesi (8) continues her perfect season in the third round of the FIM Women’s World Championship

Former GP winner (and still the only Brit to stand atop the MX1 podium) Billy Mackenzie made use of a summer break in the Australian Championship to fill in for the injured Steven Frossard. ‘211’ was back for one event though as Frossard is set for a comeback in Sweden this weekend

MXGP italy/maggiora

Cairioli is shouted on by the crowd, who lapped up the Sicilianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chase of Paulin in the final laps of the second moto. Check out the video link to see the action. Desalleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNF from fourth place meant Cairoli maintained his 100% podium record in 2013 and scans on a painful left knee thankfully did not show too much damage

MXGP italy/maggiora

Maggiora wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so memorable for Jeremy Seewer (this page) and Glen Coldenhoff (opposite) but the MX2 riders had fun trying to master the hills and ruts

clasSification & World championship MX1 Overall result

MX2 Overall result

Riders

Gautier Paulin, FRA

Kawasaki

Jeffrey Herlings, NED

2 Ken De Dycker, BEL

KTM

2 Jose Butron, SPA

KTM

Tony Cairoli, ITA

4 Jeremy Van Horebeek, BEL 5

Max Nagl, GER

Kawasaki Honda

Alessandro Lupino, ITA

KTM KTM Kawasaki

4 Jordi Tixier, FRA

KTM

Jake Nicholls, GBR

MX1 World Championship standings (after 9 of 17 rounds)

MX2 World Championship standings (after 9 of 17 rounds)

Riders

Points

Tony Cairoli

417

2 Gautier Paulin

366

2 Jordi Tixier

323

334

285

4 Ken De Dycker

319

4 Christophe Charlier

261

271

260

Clement Desalle Kevin Strijbos

Jeffrey Herlings Jose Butron Glen Coldenhoff

447

MXGP italy/maggiora

Photos: Taglioni S., Archer R.

Hat trick for Tony Cairoli!

Tricairoli Red Bull KTMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Italian factory rider Tony Cairoli takes his third consecutive MX1 World Championship title for KTM. The six-times Motocross Champion has won around half of all the races in 2012 on his KTM 350 SX-F and has taken more than 80 percent of the available points â&#x20AC;&#x201C; GRANDE TONY!

bloG

the outcome...? By Adam Wheeler

fter plenty of opinions, ideas, hopes - and even fears - the news that emerged from the crunch meeting in Switzerland between brands, the FIM and Youthstream wasn’t really that spectacular or radical after all. A shortening of the Grand Prix motos to 30 minutes and 2 laps means that the events follow the American format and this was something Youthstream had already been pursuing for a number of years but were waiting for the right timing. The re-branding of MX1 to ‘MXGP’ was not really surprising and is the first step towards establishing an authentic premier class for the sport after it dallied through favouritism to 250s and 500s in past years. The emergence of MXGP is really not that shocking with an observant glance around Grand Prix circuits this year showing numerous ad boards with social media tags already building up ‘MXGP’. It is not the first time motocross has been through this process and it will be curious to see who will be the second ever MXGP champion in 2014 after Stefan Everts scooped the crown (the forerunner to what is now MX1 with 450cc four-strokes and the odd 250cc two-stroke mixed) in 2003. That year Grand Prix was run with a single race per class; it was the third and final season of the unpopular programme and Everts actually made a unique stand of his own by winning not only most of the MXGP motos in the second half of the campaign but also those of the 125 category with a 250cc four-stroke Yamaha. I chatted with the Belgian at Ernee for the French GP recently about his historic achievement at the same venue for the 2003 season-closer when he entered the record books by winning all three divisions – 125, MXGP and 650 – on the same day. The Grand Prix scheduling is something that remains fixed at two motos. Speaking with KTM’s

Pit Beirer at Maggiora it seems the manufacturers had met in Italy and unanimously decided not to allow a wrecking ball to crack the hallmarks of motocross. Coupled with Youthstream President Giuseppe Lunogo’s (who celebrated thirty years of event promotion in Italy) assertion to the press a month previously in Portugal that he is tired of opposition and would not resist the majority opinion, it seems a foot had been firmly placed somewhere during proceedings in Geneva. Of course what we have yet to see is how the sport will be presented. The second moto could work as the definitive Grand Prix results-decider with the first perhaps even occurring on Saturday or carrying less significance in terms of ‘pointage’. Youthstream will attempt to package GP to try and reach new eyeballs and you cannot fault the willingness to try. A move in any direction will involve a degree of compromise, and the difficult part is finding a narrow ground that satisfies most. It is pleasing to see that MX2 will survive and remain part of the show but with the age limit of 23 years still in place I fail to see what discernible difference the class will bring compared to the competitive and popular European EMX250 series that pumps it. I still would like an effective explanation of this age ruling aside from the reasoning that it will force-feed MXGP. With Jeffrey Herlings informing via Twitter that he has no intention of ditching his 250 KTM for 2014 (and now he doesn’t have to after the double champion ruling was sensibly overturned) MX2 is in danger of coming a no contest again until this once-in-a-generation talent seeks pastures new and the category can perhaps really start to evolve in terms of developing young, exciting and experienced talent.

ProductS

answer The first pieces from Answer are starting to come through for 2014 and keen races fans will have already spotted some of the shades and designs worn by Jake Weimer on U.S. soil and Kevin Strijbos in Grand Prix racing. As usual Answer try to make you stand out from the pack and their option of going â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;head to toeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with the gear is good news for fans of the brand. Shown here are the Elite (white), Alpha (black) and Skullcandy. www.answerracing.com

Products

KTM To celebrate KTMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s double FIM Enduro World Championship E1 and E3 success last week in Greece (Antoine Meo with the 250EXC-F and Christophe Nambotin on 300EXC respectively) here is a selection of some of the wide enduro range available in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vast Powerparts catalogue. To see more visit http://www.ktm.com/service/ catalogue/powerwear2013en.html

Products

Yamaha With the 2014 YZs breaking cover just before the Grand Prix of Italy we thought weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d also use the newsworthiness of the fresh machinery to highlight the fact that Yamaha also have their own apparel line. www.yamaha-motor.eu has a wealth of accessories that will enable full customisation of the bikes but the same website also houses details of the licenced gear from One Industries, which means the Yamaha wares will be pretty good stuff. Here are the two versions of the colour schemes available and the clothing should be on sale at dealers.

BackPage 2013 Monster Energy MotoGP girls By Milagro

‘On-track Off-road’ is a free, bi-weekly publication for the screen focussed on bringing the latest perspectives on events, blogs and some of the very finest photography from the three worlds of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the AMA Motocross and Supercross series’ and MotoGP. ‘On-track Off-road’ will be published online at www.ontrackoffroad.com every other Tuesday. To receive an email notification that a new issue available with a brief description of each edition’s contents simply enter an address in the box provided on the homepage. All email addresses will be kept strictly confidential and only used for purposes connected with OTOR. Adam Wheeler Editor and FIM MXGP correspondent Ray Archer Photographer Steve Matthes AMA MX and SX correspondent Simon Cudby Photographer Matthew Roberts Television Presenter and MotoGP correspondent Gavin Emmett TV commentator/Presenter and MotoGP correspondent Núria Garcia Cover Design Gabi Álvarez Web developer PHOTO CREDITS Ray Archer, Simon Cudby, Juan Pablo Acevedo, Marc VDS, Sperani/Alsina, Mitterbauer Cover shot: Gautier Paulin by Ray Archer

This publication took a lot of time and effort to put together so please respect it! Nothing in this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the editorial team. For more information please visit www.ontrackoffroad.com and click ‘Contact us’.