Welcome to The Weekly Dirt, the place to go each Wednesday to get the inside scoop from the world of off-road. This week we’re checkin’ out the news from around the globe and keepin’ an eye on the sky for Santa Claus sightings!
Attention: Honda Riders!
Attention Honda riders! If you’re looking for some CRF-specific content, you’re in luck: Dirt Rider has just released a Honda-Only Digital Special Issue. Available on the iTunes store, the free Dirt Rider app gives you access to all digital editions of the magazine, including the Honda-Only issue. Packed with Honda motocross and off-road bike tests, CRF-specific product tests and tuning secrets as well as a few surprise features, this issue will surely satisfy your craving for all things Honda.
The February 2013 issue of Dirt Rider landed on newsstands this week, with Justin Barcia leading the charge with a huge whip shot on the cover. February is a special month because it contains our 2013 450 Motocross Shootout, which ranks the top five machines in the premier segment. Which brand won? We can’t tell you that here, but we can point you to our series of 2013 450cc shootout videos which break down each one of the bikes and discuss its strengths, weaknesses and overall positioning among the class. Head over to www.dirtrider.com now and give these a look, and don’t forget to pick up a copy of that February issue! —Chris Denison
Supercross Preview On TV
Photo by Shan Moore
Don’t forget to catch this weekend’s airing of the 2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season preview show on Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The 60-minute preview show will provide fans an inside look at the highly anticipated 2013 Monster Energy Supercross season that opens Saturday, January 5, 2013 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
CBS Sports will broadcast a total of nine hours of Monster Energy Supercross in 2013, including five 450SX Class races, the season preview show, the midseason show, the year-end show and a special on two-time defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto.
Then the following week you can watch a special 30-minute TV show of the 2012 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations will be aired for four times through the upcoming Holidays on CBS Sports Network.
Starting with two airings, right at the peak of Christmas, on December 25th (at 10.30PM EST/7.30PM PST) and 26th (7.00AM EST/4AM PST) and followed by another two broadcastings on December 29th (6.00PM EST/3.00PM PST) and 30th (9.00AM EST/6.00AM PST) the US and Canadian motocross enthusiasts will have the chance to re-experience the adrenaline-filled moments of an unforgettable 66th running of the ‘Olympics of Motocross’.
The epic 2012 edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, held in Lommel, Belgium on September 30th, delivered all and even more than it anticipated. With a stunning performance for Team Germany that brought home the Chamberlain Trophy as overall winner, with outstanding sand-riding lessons by 6-time FIM World Champion Antonio Cairoli and by 2012 MX2 World Champion Jeffry Herlings and with a dramatic outing for Team USA, the most prestigious motocross race in the world once again provided unmatchable ingredients and excitement.
More Racing On TV!
While we are on the subject of racing on TV, Feld Motor Sports® and SPEED recently released the 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross television package that features two live telecasts in addition to eight next-day-air programs for a total of 10 hours on SPEED.
The opening race of the 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross season from the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., will kick off the championship with a live broadcast on Saturday, January 5, which will serve as the lead-in to the live broadcast of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season opener in Anaheim, Calif.
The second live broadcast of the 2013 AMSOIL Arenacross season will be from the sixth race of the championship inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes Barre, Pa., on Saturday, February 9.
The remaining eight AMSOIL Arenacross tour stops will all feature exclusive next-day telecasts, scheduled to air the Sunday following each respective race. This is the first time that each stop of AMSOIL Arenacross will be seen within 24 hours of the checkered flag.
2013 AMSOIL Arenacross SPEED Broadcast Schedule
| City | Venue | Broadcast Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester, Mass. | DCU Center | January 5 | 8:30 p.m. ET** |
| Baltimore | 1st Mariner Arena | January 13 | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| Grand Rapids, Mich. | Van Andel Arena | January 20 | 6:00 p.m. ET |
| Tulsa, Okla. | BOK Center | January 27 | 6:00 p.m. ET |
| Cedar Park, Texas | Cedar Park Center | February 3 | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| Wilkes Barre, Pa. | Mohegan Sun Arena | February 9 | 9:30 p.m. ET** |
| Little Rock, Ark. | Verizon Arena | February 17 | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| Wichita, Kan. | INTRUST Bank Arena | February 24 | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| Kansas City, Mo. | Sprint Center | March 3 | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| Denver | Denver Coliseum | March 17 | 1:00 p.m. ET |
2013 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour
Photo courtesy Red Bull
New Zealand’s Levi Sherwood will be looking to defend his Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour championship title in an expanded 2013 tour after prevailing against Thomas Pages of France in the most riveting battle in the 12-year history of the world’s most prestigious and progressive freestyle motocross competition. The Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour will be going to the four corners of the planet next year with new stops in Osaka, Japan and Pretoria, South Africa. Japan is represented by two star athletes in the series – Eigo Sato and Takayuki Higashino.
The soaring popularity of the sport in Asia and Africa has prompted the expansion of the World Tour to Japan and South Africa. The locations on Dubai’s sandy beaches, in Madrid’s Las Ventas bullfighting arena and on Glen Helen Raceway’s cavernous track in Southern California, will be back on the calendar as well. The sport, which features the world’s top riders pushing the laws of physics with their motorcycles, will also return to Mexico City, a host for six years for the first time since 2010.
Sherwood, 21, was the youngest champion in the history of Red Bull X-Fighters in 2012, winning three of the five stops but needing a victory in the season finale in Sydney, Australia against his hard-charging rival Pages. The Frenchman turned the world of FMX on its head in the second half of the season with a breathtaking array of new tricks that pushed the sport to the next level. Pages finished a close second, just 20 points behind Sherwood’s 335 points, while the 2011 champion, Dany Torres of Spain, was third. Chile’s Javier Villegas claimed a career-best fourth while Japan’s Eigo Sato took fifth.
2013 Red Bull X-Fighters Schedule:
March 8, Mexico City (MEX)
April 12, Dubai (UAE)
May 11, Glen Helen (USA)
June 1, Osaka (JPN)
July 19, Madrid (ESP)
August 31, Pretoria (RSA)
For more information, visit www.redbullxfighters.com. —Shan Moore
KTM Uber-fan Len Faltyn Reaches Milestone: 40 Years and Counting
Len Faltyn sits proudly on his new 2013 KTM 300 XC. This makes 40 years of buying at least one new KTM for the 75-year-old dirt-riding enthusiast. Photo by Jeff Cox
Len Faltyn recently celebrated a historic anniversary: He’s purchased a new KTM every year since they were introduced and sold on U.S. soil, thus making 40 years in a row of buying at least one new KTM. His latest acquisition? A 2013 300 XC that he picked up from Action Motorsports in Decatur, Texas.
If you’re a regular reader, you may recall the story on Mr. Faltyn from two years ago that detailed his orange obsession, which started with his purchase of a brand-new 1973 Penton 175 Jackpiner, though that wasn’t his first dirt bike.
After taking delivery of his latest mount, Faltyn, 75, wasted little time in personalizing it. Before delivery, Action Motorsports lowered it an inch, then he added a Sicass lighting kit, various Bullet Proof guards, a Rekluse auto clutch and Fasstco’s Flexx handlebar. “It’s going to be a pretty nice trail bike when I’m done with he,” he says proudly.
Asked why he picked the 300 this year, Faltyn replies, “If I never buy another bike, I started with a two-stroke and I thought I’d end it with a two-stroke–but I’m not ending it!
“I bought an XC this year and I’ve always [bought XC-]Ws [before], but in ’11 I bought a 300 XC with PDS and I was amazed at how well that transmission worked, even in Colorado, so I kind of came to the conclusion that the W, that low [first] gear kind of got you in about as much trouble as it got you out of.
“So that’s why I took an XC this year, and I hadn’t tried a linkage bike so I thought I’d do that.
“They’re so innovative and I like whatever they do new
After picking it up and running half a tank of gas through it then getting some pictures taken, Faltyn then jumped into a local TORO race in Boyd, Texas, on his new 300 and loved it.
Don’t think it’s KTM or nothing for him, though, as he also added a Beta 300 Evo trials bike to his stable last year and finds that adding trials training to his repertoire has renewed his enthusiasm for riding in general. “It’s just amazing the different confidence thing it gives you about doing stuff, attacking stuff you never even thought about doing [before]. It’s pretty cool. It’s taken some age off my riding ability.”
But being a KTM guy is what he’s best known for, though he hasn’t kept meticulous records of all the bikes he’s owned since that first Penton: “I have had–and I’ve lost a bit of a count–but I’m well over 60. There were some years it would be a two-stroke and a four-stroke, and then there were years, in the Penton days I remember I’d buy two 250s. One, I’d run the crap out of and then one I’d use for racing.
“I’ve had a lot of bikes. I guess I could be the loyalist customer in the world–I don’t know for sure.”
And you’ve got to believe there are at least a few more in his future. As Faltyn notes, “I don’t anticipate quitting [riding] anytime soon so I’m thinking something kind of adventure maybe next time around.”—Mark Kariya
That’s all for this week. Be sure to check on next week for more Weekly Dirt!
