Welcome to Weekly Dirt, your place to find the latest in off-road news in a nutshell. Sit back and enjoy your serving of dirt for the week!
Las Vegas EnduroCross Live Webcast
If you’ve yet to hear about it, there’s some pretty exciting news coming out of Las Vegas leading up to this weekend’s final round of the 2012 GEICO AMA EnduroCross championship, presented by Lucas Oil. For the first time ever, fans who can’t make the Vegas round in person will be able to catch all the insane, rock-bashing, seat-bouncing, log-thumping action over the Internet thanks to a live webcast of the complete night show!
If you’ve been following the series, then you already know that the title is still up for grabs, so this is a good chance to see how the championship goes down… who comes out on top, and who gets lost in the dust… err, matrix. This race is also a “double main event” which means there’ll be twice the action and double the opportunity to see the EX stars in all their glory, including Taddy Blazusiak, Mike Brown, Cody Webb, Taylor Robert, Geoff Aaron, and the rest of the world’s off-road elite!
The webcast is also a great opportunity for fans overseas – or those who just plain live too far to travel to Vegas – to check out the action. And it’s not just any webcast—it’s a full on production with multiple cameras, cool bonus footage and some in-depth/ behind-the-scenes content, so be sure to check it out this Saturday, November 17th.
The Las Vegas event tickets are available at www.endurocross.com/buy-tickets/
For more information on the TV Coverage, check your local listings or www.motorsportshour.com.
For more information on EnduroCross and the Live webcast, go to www.EnduroCross.com.
Weimer Takes Bercy Supercross
Jake Weimer won the title of King of Bercy at this year’s Bercy Supercross. Photo By Pascal Haudiquert / Lariviere Organisation.
Jake Weimer claimed the coveted King of Bercy title over the weekend at this year’s edition of the Bercy Supercross just outside of Paris. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider went 1-1-2 over the weekend on the tight, rollerball-type course, beating out GEICO Powersports Honda’s Eli Tomac and JGRMX Yamaha’s Justin Brayton for the top prize.
The only drama all weekend came when Weimer crashed with four laps to go in Sunday’s final. The crash left him in third behind Tomac and Justin Brayton and if he stayed there the King of Bercy title would go to Tomac. However, with two laps to go Weimer got back around Brayton to ensure the title, to the delight of thousands of screaming French fans.
“The three nights here are nerve-wracking,” Weimer said. “I knew I needed to do well on the first night to have a chance at the win. Then on the second you want to continue the roll, but coming to the third night I knew only I could blow it. It’s like a little championship. It is not easy. It’s really awesome to be the King of Bercy because all my heroes came and raced and won here. This is my second year in Paris and I had fun in ’11, but did not give myself much of a chance, but this time I wanted it. It is amazing to be able to get on the plane tomorrow knowing I have this achievement chalked off.”
In the end, it was again an all-American podium with Eli Tomac – winner of the Sunday’s final – in second position and Brayton, who was third all three nights, third overall. Cedric Soubeyras was the best non-American rider with a fourth overall, after three consistent nights and the retirement of Kyle Chisholm, who suffered a leg injury. Christophe Pourcel didn’t enter this third night, as the French champion underwent surgery after his crash on Saturday.
Sherco Two-Stroke Sneak Peek
Last week we told you that Offroad US would be bringing Sherco off-road models into the United States in 2013. This week we have a sneak peak look at the 2013 Sherco two-stroke model from the recent EICMA show in Milan, Italy. All we know about the bike at this time is that it will come in 250 and 300 displacements. Stay tuned!
Video of the Week
For the best five minutes you’ve spent in a long time, checked out this video of the Red Bull Kluge, which features Sean MacCormac, Joey Brezinski, Rickie Fowler, Danny MacCaskill, Bryce Menzies, Rhys Millen and more. It’s definitely worth watching!
JGRMX and Pirelli Trackside at Mini-O’s
JGRMX and Pirelli will offer trackside support for racers at the 41st annual Thor Winter Olympics Nov. 18 -24 at Gatorback Cycle Park in Gainesville, Fla. A specially equipped JGRMX transporter will be on hand at the event where expert technicians will assist competitors in selecting and mounting Pirelli tires as well as supporting customers of JGRMX’s engine and suspension services.
Pirelli is the official tire of the JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha professional motocross team and winner of 58 world motocross championships, as well as coming off a second overall in series points during the 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
Riders of all skill levels are encouraged to visit www.jgrmxsupport.com and apply for special pricing on Pirelli tires. For further information about Pirelli please visit www.us.pirellimoto.com and www.getpirelli.com.
And now for something completely different: Monster Energy Announces World Speedway Invitational
Industry Racing has unveiled its plans for the ultimate global speedway battle with the inaugural Monster Energy World Speedway Invitational. The race will be held at The Grand Arena in the City of Industry, Calif., at 7:30 P.M. on Saturday, December 29.
The unique event will showcase the world’s best speedway riders, all on 500cc, single cylinder, methanol-burning, brakeless machines in a one-night, winner-take-all competition. In total, 16 riders will be invited for an international showdown between the best riders in America and the global elite from the Monster Energy FIM Speedway Grand Prix.
“Speedway is experiencing a resurgence in the U.S.,” said Industry Racing Track Director Kelly Inman. “The significance of this event for speedway racing in this country is incredible as these are the best riders in the world. This is a one-of-a-kind chance for fans to be introduced to a new caliber and level of racing like they’ve never seen before. The same can be said for the American competitors, who wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to race against their European counterparts.”
Foremost of the Monster Energy FIM Speedway GP riders who will make the transatlantic flight to America include California-born Greg Hancock, the 2011 FIM Speedway World Champion and third place finisher in the 2012 title fight; Two-time Grand Prix winner in ’12, Antonio Lindback of Sweden; as well as GP winners Freddie Lindgren of Sweden and Tomasz Gollob of Poland. Having competed in 12 GPs in such nations as Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Great Britain in 2012, this world class contingent of riders will certainly face a unique challenge in the form of the one-eighth mile layout of Industry Racing. Normally, the average length of the longer Speedway Grand Prix tracks of Europe are about a one-quarter mile in length.
And then there are the American racers. Recently crowned U.S. National Speedway Champion, and Monster Energy athlete, Billy Hamill, who won a World Championship of his own back in 1996, will headline the U.S. field, along with four-time National Champion Billy Janniro.
“To invite a number of the world’s best speedway riders – many who won GPs in the 2012 Monster Energy FIM Speedway GP series – to the United States and have them line-up against a host of highly competitive racers from America is unprecedented,” said Bruce Stjernstrom, Vice President of Sports Marketing for Monster Energy. “Speedway racing is really a global sport, with its largest fan base residing throughout Europe. However, the sport’s roots are very rich in Southern California, as well, which is why we made the decision to hold such a prestigious event here.”
The Monster Energy World Speedway Invitational will utilize the GP format that consists of 23 total races, including 20 heats, a pair of semis, and of course the main event. In the end, one rider will stand above the rest. Exciting Junior Speedway racing is also scheduled, showcasing the future stars of the sport in America.
Presale tickets for the inaugural Monster Energy World Speedway Invitational will be available for purchase from December 1st through December 22nd by visiting the event website at www.IndustryRacing.com. Tickets are priced at $18 and $10 for Juniors and Seniors. Tickets purchased the day of the event will be an additional $5. All kids under 12 are free with adult admission. Parking is $5 with motorcycle parking free of charge. The event will run rain or shine as The Grand Arena has a roof.
To get a rundown on the most recent Monster Energy Speedway Grand Prix season, log onto www.SpeedwayGP.com. —Shan Moore
Whibley Wins Last OMA In A Squeaker
Team Whibley, Paul and wife Katherine, travel back home to New Zealand today with not one but two prestigious U.S. off-road championships. It’s the second time they’ve been able to accomplish this formidable feat, mirroring their 2009 season. Photo by Mark Kariya.
Having earlier wrapped up the Parts Unlimited Off-road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) Nationals championship for a record fifth consecutive time and last week adding the GNCC title for a second time, you’d think Paul Whibley would be in the mood to celebrate and take some time off.
“It felt a bit strange coming in here [to the final round of the OMAs] because it’s almost like the season’s done and we still had a race to go,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to getting home [to New Zealand. I’m] not so much burned out but just looking forward to having a bit of a break and just chilling out for a while and getting home.”
Now the record-setting five-time and defending OMA champ, FMF/AmPro Yamaha’s Whibley chased Russell Bobbitt of the FMF/KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team for most of the Titan Cross-country National, the 10th and final OMA of the year.
Bobbitt was in the midst of his own mini-win streak, having knocked Whibley off the top spot of the podium two weeks ago at the Moose Run and following that by winning the AMA National enduro last weekend (incredibly, the first National triumph this year for the defending champ who credited some drastic setup changes to his 300 XC for the sudden turnaround).
But after some back-and-forth dueling over the final two laps, Whibley pulled out his ninth OMA victory of the year, ending the season just as he’d started it–on top of the box, flanked by Bobbitt (who was less than a second back) and Husaberg’s Nick Fahringer. (The finishing order also mirrored their spots in final series points.)
It’s difficult enough to win one championship, so to earn two in one year is doubly difficult. Yet Whibley has now achieved that feat not once but twice (2009 and 2012).
“Each championship is special for its own reason,” he shared. “It’s not any more [special this year], but it’s not any less either. It’s an awesome feeling to win both titles again. It’s probably something I’ll relish more and think about more in the off-season when I’m chilling out and when you look back when I’m older than I am now and think, ‘Man, that was pretty cool!’ ” —Mark Kariya
That’s all for this week, check in next week for more off-road news.
