Welcome to The Weekly Dirt, the place to go each Wednesday to catch up on the latest happenings in the realm of off-road motorcycling. This week: from Paris to Iowa, and point in between.
Photos by Anthony Sansotta
The AMA Arenacross series kicked off this week in Des Moines, Iowa, and Monster Energy Babbit’s Kawasaki rider Tyler Bowers is proving once again that he is the man to beat. The defending champion rode to a dominant main event win, but there were definitely some good competitors in the mix with Chad Johnson, Josh Demuth and Zach Ames all throwing down in the first round of the series. I don’t know why Arenacross isn’t getting the love that it once did, but in my opinion this series is still as cool as ever and the racing is absolutely incredible. If you’re interested in checking one out or even getting down on the track and throwing some block-passes of your own down, check out the following schedule and make it happen:AMA ARENACROSS SERIES SCHEDULE
| Date | Venue | City | Regions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30 | Wells Fargo Arena | Des Moines, IA | North |
| Nov 6 | First Mariner Arena | Baltimore, MD | East |
| Nov 13 | Alliant Energy Center | Madison, WI | North |
| Dec 11 | Mohegan Sun Arena | Wilkes Barre, PA | East |
| Jan 8 | Van Andel Arena | Grand Rapids, MI | Central |
| Jan 15 | KS Expo Center | Topeka, KS | South |
| Jan 22 | Ervin J. Nutter Center | Dayton, OH | Central/East |
| Jan 29 | Cedar Park Center | Cedar Park, TX | South |
| Feb 5 | TBD | TBD | Central |
| Feb 12 | Save Mart Center | Fresno, CA | West |
| Feb 19 | Livestock Events Center | Reno, NV | West |
| Feb 26 | Target Center | Minneapolis, MN | North |
| May 4 | South Point Arena | Las Vegas, NV | ANAC |
| May 5 | Sam Boyd Stadium | Las Vegas, NV | ANAC |
| May 6 | South Point Arena | Las Vegas, NV | ANAC |
Photo By Drew Ruiz
In EnduroCross news, Lucas Oil’s Colton Haaker ended up breaking his thumb in Boise, but the young gun is still planning on racing the finals in Las Vegas, which will be a double main event format for all the chips. Can Mike Brown knock Taddy Blazusiak off his throne? It’s not impossible, but at this point we’re not sure what (if anything) can stop Taddy’s momentum!
Photo courtesy of GEICO
I’ll admit it: I don’t have a TV, so I didn’t watch the Bercy Supercross this year. But I did see this video on YouTube of Justin Barcia getting into it with France’s Gregory Aranda in a qualifier. I’ll bet the French fans went nuts when they saw that one! In the end, it was cool to see Kyle Chisholm bag the King of Bercy title, with fellow Americans Eli Tomac and Jake Weimer on the box with him. Well done boys!Finally, I was pretty psyched on seeing Jonah Street’s 2012 Dakar gear from Klim. If you missed that this week, check the link out here. It’d be killer to see Street grab another strong finish in South America, but at the very least we know he’ll look like a pro! -Chris DenisonIf you can believe what you see on Twitter, then it sounds like Davi Millsaps will be back with Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2012 season, joining newcomer James Stewart on the team’s highly modified and super trick Yamahas. It also looks like Josh Grant is inked, and depending on how you interpret his cryptic tweet, you can make the assumption Grant is going to be with Jeff Ward at L&M, perhaps on a Kawasaki. -Shan Moore, Rogue ReporterThe SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show is going on in Las Vegas and there is a ton of cool stuff for any gear head. This industry-only convention takes over the entire Las Vegas Convention center and I’m here checking out a few things that crossover to our two-wheeled world.
A lot of what you see here makes no sense to a dirt biker; or a rational person for that matter. Where do I put the bike?
I could put my dirt bike in this radical custom van/bus but it might get a little cold driving from the roof!
Want to rally to the races? This Geico/CRFsonly.com “tube” trailer was definitely unique and looked slick. And the tube looked to have an attachment for high-pressure air.
I ran into some really famous dirt bike racer who has switched to four wheels. The GOAT, Ricky Carmichael, was standing next to the new Chevy Sonic concept car that has some of his signature stuff attached to it. The seats, for instance, were made from Fox board short material. And from talking to him, and knowing how competitive he is, he is burning up inside looking for that first big win. Look for an in depth interview soon.
Toyota and DC teamed up to show what was called the Ultimate MX Truck. It was coated with a bed lining so you can’t scratch it and the coolest part was the flip-up fenders that housed a pressure washer and a toolbox area. There was also a gas storage tank for bike fuel and an on-board air compressor.
Now I’m a Dodge or a Ram guy ever since I won a scholarship from them when I was racing motocross to help me go to college. So that is what I drive. Now I want to drive one of these because it will go way faster down dirt roads than my current truck. In fact the MOPAR kit that is installed in this truck (the kit is $18,000) lets it eat Ford Raptors for lunch. Or at least that’s what I was told… Maybe I will have to find out. Think this is cool, want more? Throw me some tweets at @jimmydirtrider cause I’m seeing and saying crazy stuff all day. - Jimmy Lewis
We know how hard it is to decide on the right pair of goggles if you’ve only got the budget for one pair. We broke the bank and ordered up as many as we could from pretty much every goggle company. In the hunt we even found some companies that we had no idea made goggles! Can you imagine that? We are currently testing each and every pair, so keep an eye out for a massive Goggle Buyer’s Guide in a future issue of Dirt Rider.
If you are worried about safety and keeping those scratches down to a minimum, then we have found the perfect protection unit for you. Designed by Leatt, the Body Protector Adventure is wrapped in armor and includes a kidney belt and is ready for any model Leatt-Brace. If you are looking to upgrade in the protection department, then this hunk of body armor deserves your attention. Protect your torso for that next big skid for $229. -Chris Green
Photo: GoPro
A week ago GoPro uploaded a promo video for their new Hero2 helmet camera, which we posted here on DirtRider.com, and the video already hit over 1.2 million views on youtube. A promo video getting over a million views in a week? That means it has got to be good. Go watch it for yourself here. Looks like they’re on their way to making GoPro a household name and not just a helmet cam company known within the action sports and motorsports industries. While the reel is rolling, keep your eyes peeled for Ronnie Renner and Myles Richmond flying over the Glamis sand dudes. Beware, there are some surfer girls in skimpy bikinis that some mothers may not want their little boys to know about just yet.
Who do you think defines perseverance? Can you guess? Think you guessed right? Find out for yourself today inside Word Up Wednesday at Motocross.com. -Lindsey LovellThat’s a wrap for this week. Keep tuned in to www.dirtrider.com for more killer content!
