Welcome to the Weekly Dirt! Christmas is closing in and lights, trees and cheesy cardboard Santas are going up on homes all around the country, yet news is still popping everywhere we look in the off-road world. Here’s the latest:
Oklahoma motocross sensation Trey Canard suffered yet another setback when he broke his collarbone last week in a practice crash while preparing for the upcoming Supercross season. According to team manager Eric Kehoe, the Team Honda Muscle Milk rider will miss the opening few rounds of the 2012 season. Canard underwent surgery last week and his physicians estimate he will need a recovery time of four weeks at the minimum. Canard has had tough stretch of injuries since winning the East Lites Supercross Championship in 2008, including two broken femurs and a broken wrist — ouch. Hopefully the Treyster can get back into action in time for the Los Angeles race and lay down the finishes we know he’s capable of.
Photo by Shan Moore
Apparently, Antti Kallonen is hoping to follow in Roger DeCoster’s footsteps. The AMA has announced that Kallonen will manage the 2012 U.S. International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) team, as it seeks a world title, Sept. 24-29, in Saxony, Germany. Kallonen wants to bring the same type of success to the U.S. ISDE effort that DeCoster has brought back to America in Motocross of Nations competition over the years. Kallonen has been ultra-successful while serving as KTM North America’s off-road team manager, and he brings a wealth of experience to the ISDE effort, including organizational and logistical expertise, fund-raising support, and a first-hand understanding of the culture of European off-road racing. In his six years as KTM’s off-road team manager, the factory team has won 28 national off-road titles! The AMA is making it known that just as DeCoster works with riders from all teams, Kallonen will welcome and support riders regardless of what bike they ride. U.S. ISDE qualifiers will be organized by the Boise Ridge Riders June 2-3 in Idaho City, Idaho, and by the Appalachian Dirt Riders June 9-10 in Wellston, Ohio. More information about the Idaho event can be found at BoiseRidgeRiders.com. Details for the Ohio event are at ADROhio.org. More information about the U.S. ISDE team can be found at AmericanMotorcyclist.com > Racing > ISDE.
Photo by Shan Moore
The AMA Rekluse National Enduro series has seen its popularity explode over the last two years, evidenced by the fact that the online entries for the first two 2012 rounds each sold out in less that four hours! New riders and teams are jumping on the bandwagon, as well. Two weeks ago we saw the FAR Husqvarna team announce they would ride the series, with Andrew DeLong and Jason Thomas riding TE310s, and this week, American Beta stepped up, announcing that GNCC regular Chris Bach has committed to compete in all 10 rounds of the series on a 2012 Beta 450 RR.According to American Beta’s Tim Pilg, Beta will be preparing a bike built just for the enduro series. Ben Weathers from Powersport Grafx will be helping Chris out at the events. “This was actually Chris’ decision which shows us that he is 100% committed to put our Beta’s on top of the box,” says Pilg. “His attitude is stronger than ever and combined with our 450RR, we feel he will be a major contender. It also gives us the opportunity to test the Beta in an enduro atmosphere.” - Shan Moore
Dirt Rider’s newest toy is a little 4×4 truck that rips! We have some experience with these little race trucks and have plans to test the Traxxas Slash in the desert, at the indoor arena and on some home-made backyard tracks. Stay tuned for additional content on our awesome new toy!
There is a top-secret photo shoot going on in the Dirt Rider shop / photo studio and this is all we are willing to show at the moment. Your only hint for now is this: We are doing a product driven story that will show you the types of products us “know-it-all” magazine editors trust. - Chris Green
Fun news this week in the hard enduro world: Dates have officially been announced for the 2012 KENDA Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro. The first ever KENDA Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy took place last summer and was an absolute blast to ride (Dirt Rider was there in full force!). This week, the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee confirmed that the event will be back for 2012 on September 1st and 2nd during the Labor Day holiday weekend.
The top off-road racers from around the world will be invited to compete, and amateur riders can race on Saturday with the top finishers earning the opportunity to move on to the Sunday Expert Knockout rounds. On Sunday, the riders will compete in a very tough and spectator friendly four round format.Here is a peak at some of the action from the 2011 event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB6461AFVHk. For more information about the 2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy, please visit: http://tennesseeknockoutenduro.com/’
Have you been following our 25 Days of Pro Riding Secrets right here on dirtrider.com? If not, check the link for a full collection of awesome tips, tricks and secrets from the pros. What better way to start your New Years resolution of getting faster than with a few fun (and printable) PDFs? http://www.dirtrider.com/riding_tips/pro_secrets/141_1112_pro_riding_secrets_2011_collection/index.html.The AMA Supercross series is just around the corner, with the opening round going off on Saturday, January 7th. Our buddies at motocross.com posted a cool interview with Brett Metcalfe this week where he spoke very candidly about what a stacked field is racing the 450 class this season. No matter who ends up on the box, this is going to be one season that nobody will want to miss! Check out the talk with Metty here: http://www.motocross.com/features/interview-brett-metcalfe/.
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Want to see more mini testing content in the pages of Dirt Rider? We’ve just gotten our mitts on a cool new small-bore mini, and there’s whispers through the halls of the office of an upcoming issue of Mini Rider. But before we get too crazy with kid-sized testing, we’d love to hear what you, the young readers in the crowd (and you too, parents!) want to see in the mag. Shoot us an email at drmail@sorc.com and tell us what kind of mini content floats your boat!
-Chris DenisonOK boys and girls, get back to that Christmas shopping and stay tuned to www.dirtrider.com for more dirt!
