Holy cow is all I can say.  Okay, it’s not really what I said in my head, or even out loud- but kids read this too, so “cow” it is.  But anyway, back to what has me so excited, AMA Supercross!  The East Lites just started a rivalry and showed some fast new talent after the West just left us with the point battle nearly tied and the Supercross class has been to fast consisent guys, one consistent quick guy and a fast crasher duking it out in one of the wildest seasons so far.

Last night in Dallas the Lites East Division got it’s start with a big win from Honda pilot Justin Barcia who rode with the maturity and poise of a number one plate holder.  Nice surprise was aggressive Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Darryn Dunham who scored a second after is ghetto to gangsta rise from last season.  Third was German phenom we have all been waiting to see- Ken Roczen who has only been on the bike for a couple weeks since breaking his arm in December.  Ken’s lap times were steady throughout, so my theory of him possible fading late in the moto were happily dashed.

Another dash on the night came from Chad Reed who went down hard in the sand whoops.  Chad went in nose first when he came up short tripling through. He got up slowly, favoring his left knee which looked like was wrenched.  His book looked caught on the foot peg, making him stay with the bike as it rolled over.  He would not finish and score one point.  That incident set him back to third, thirty points aft of leader and 2011 Champ, Ryan Villopoto of Team Monster Energy Kawasaki.  It’s only a bad race from RV away from the lead, but who knows how injured Chad is?  Speaking of RV, he was in an epic battle with Reed when the crash happened.  The two were once again putting on the race and show of a lifetime with perfectly executed passes without contact.  The two were pulling away and with Reed out, Ryan Villopoto sailed on adn away for another win and a thirteen point lead at 158 points.  Now sitting in second was the quick and consistent KTM of Ryan Dungey.  Dungey picked up second after a tooth and nail battle with Jake Weimer on the last lap.  Dungey found a groove and started peeling off some killer laps to reel in Weimer and the two nicest passers, who have taken ribbing for not being aggressibve enough, set to war.  Dungey stuffed through with a dumb lookback that allowed Weimer to get by again.  Dungey again carried huge outdoor style speed through the sand whoops/jumps and made a hard bike check pass stick with a finish leaving Weimers bike stuck in first gear.  Somebody is going to get fined eventually by the AMA officials, and I know a lot of fans are drawn to the sport by it, but I am kind of sick of the overly agressive contact.

So the series is still up in the air on all fronts and in all classes right now.  Catch more next week!

-Cory Stem

San Diego played host to Monster Energy AMA Supercross this weekend on a super fast track that seriously looked like a BMX track when it was groomed.  A ridiculous BMX track, but still.  The Lites riders, on their last race for nearly two months, were dipping into 46 second territory on a track that featured long flowy rhythm straights and 180 turns.

Eli Tomac and Dean Wilson took turns leading in practice with Tomac eventually winning the battle and becoming the top qualifier with a 46.450 lap time. In the heat races, there was lots of bar banging action on a track that favored the block pass with some moves being a little rougher than maybe was necessary!  All the true drama was in the Lites Main tonight.  Dean Wilson was a distant 20+ points behind leader Tomac for the West Lites title and with a long break ahead he came in charging, despite what he told reporters earlier in the day.  Dean, maybe playing a little mind poker, suggested he had conceded the championship to Eli Tomac by saying that he was just going to enjoy the weekend and let things fall where they may.  It was evident in how hard he fought to get a good start and into the lead that was not the case.  He jumped into a lead and opened up an early gap.

Eli Tomac got pushed on the start and battled up to third and that’s when things got hairy.  You know how they always told us in Little League or Soccer how it’s not over ’til the fat lady sings? Well, the fat ladies flight never even made it to San Diego to give her the chance.  Eli Tomac went down hard in the marquee feature Whoop section.  He snagged the top of one with his body while flying through the air and got hammered in by his Honda.  he got up and tried to continue but eventually left the race favoring his right shoulder.  That put the one time points leader now two points behind new leader and race winner Dean Wilson!  Had Tomac finished third or even second, he would have lost minimal points to Wilson and been in much better shape when the Supercross Series returns West in seven weeks.

The big bikes put on one a hell of a show and is just so full of talent, it reminds me of the late eighties and early nineties, when the races for the podium spots were the best on the track.  Ryan Villopoto put on a clinic in toughness to win his third Monster Energy AMA Supercross Main Event this season and help build a cushion in the points lead as the series heads the to the Lone Star State next week.

Coming into this one, I was leaning hard towards picking Two-Two Motorsports Chad Reed to win it in San Diego because of his past sucesss here and when I saw the track, I knew it was one that would favor him.  (Note: I thought it was kind of strange that the race that is closest to the ocean had no sand incorporated into the track.)  Chad would qualify third behind James Stewart who was fastest early on.  Ryan Villopoto studied between qualifying practices though and laid down a very low 46 to take the top seed. Justin Brayton, who has been improving every week got punked by his Muscle Milk Honda in a rythym section and caused a Red Flag while the Asterisk Medical crew scooped him away.  He would return and ride really well in the Main later in the night.  Guess that Muscle Milk works!

The talk of the night on the track was the viciously long Whoop section that the Dirt Werx crew had built in.  It was really giving the 250′s fits as they just didn’t have the torque to muscle across the tops for that long.  It was interesting to see the feature claim so many racers in the Main as the laps wore on.  Even Whoops master James Stewart, fell in them (Again! I swear he is not happy with his suspension right now. Has’t looked right all season.)  The real battle was up front with the points leaders dueling it out.  Honda Red vs. Kawasaki Green, just like the good ‘ol days!  It was a pleasure to watch two super talented riders, who aren’t afraid to take someone high and out, pass back and forth with force and respect.  A gentleman’s fight with bloody noses, but no scarring hits please.  The battle went on to the Checker’s with RV in the lead and Reed close behind.  Stewart crashed himself out of a battle for third with Dungey who took third over Bret Metcalfe.

The points chase is led by Villopoto, then Reed who is followed by Dungey and Stewart.  Only 32 points separate the four.

There is lot’s to be excited for in the future.  Be it modern medicine or moto- the limits are always being pushed as evidenced this year with at Winter X Games when Heath Frisby pulled a Front Flip on his sled.  But it’s fun to look at where we came from and get a glimpse as to how things were back “in the day”.  Fun is what I got when I discovered some old vid’s locked away in the FreestyleMX.com vaults.  The highlight of my finds?  Somewhere Between.

Somewhere Between was shot by Todd Odegaard as they followed the FreestyleMX.com tour around the country.  Being an old video, the scenes captured show the sport of FMX in it’s infancy when the Backflip was still a big deal.  Riders like Jim McNeil, Todd Potter and Mike Mason were just kids at the time and still trying to make thier way in the sport- while old schoolers John Distler, Wes Burr and Jeremy Carter taught ‘em the ropes, bar stools, and party moves.

The movie even includes Matt Buyten and Jeff “OX” Kargola in the “Rockstars” segment and the bonus section shows Eric Apple when he thought he was cooler than the dude that invented yoga pants for chicks-Oh, wait-he still does. But it is fun to watch him back some homies down in some dead end Rally’s parking lot!

The videography is a treat for you folks into shooting the vids.  To see just how far technology and technique have come in just a short time is incredible and you will see where many filmakers today get their ideas-right in this DVD.  Soundtrack is all original music from Indie bands and MC’s which usually means they hired the local garage band down the street.  Not this time though as I found myself thinking “When I watched this years ago I promised I would find that dudes cd…” and I promised again watching it the other day.  Good beats on this one youn Jedi’s.

Gotta say my favorite part is just seeing the old faces that may not ride much anymore, or who have left our reality for a far greater one having fun.  No, let me fix that F-U-N!  It brought home the fact that this sport, no matter how evolved, how big the tricks are and how big (small?) the purses are-at the end of the day, like life FMX is supposed to be fun and you can see it in the players faces while watching this video.

Now- I didn’t just find one copy of this.  I found a few dozen, still in the wrapper and stored in a cool, dark dry place.  I am making them available for $20 shipped in the USA (extra for international) with $10 from every sale going to the Athlete Recovery Fund and the rest covering expenses for shipping and handling.  At the end of the run-what’s left will go to the ARF as well!

Well it is a new year and a time for the moto industry to start fresh.  Fresh teams, riders, sponsors, events and rivalries will all nod to the past as they roost to the end of 2012 for fame and glory or agony and defeat.  Switch on the gas and kick it over-time to go!

The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series is all set to go for 2012.  The defending champion Ryan Villopoto will once again mount up on his Monster Energy Kawasaki 450F while holding off many riders who would try to keep him from repeating as #1.  You have Ryan Dungey who followed the man he feels has made him great in Roger Decoster to the KTM Factory team.  No one has made a KTM win a big bike SX Main much less a title so RD has a huge hill to climb.  Lucky for him, some Pro Hillclimber’s have made some awesome KTM’s.

FMX is hibernating for now with the exception of the Nuclear Cowboyz who have been rehearsing in Florida.  I’ll be getting you an update from Feld Motorsports this week to see how it is going! 

Updating the calendar for 2012 too-so find out when the best moto, FMX or other cool events we like are coming.  Want to list your event- contact me under the contact tab and let’s talk!

Those of you waiting for the RAD FMX pictures-thanks for the patience!  I had to replace a hard drive and lost all the pics!  Good news is that my computer was set to do random backups and I found them in one of them-so hopefully tonight or tomorrow.

Happy New Year and keep those resolutions!!

-Cory Stem

If you have ever been up close and personal with a Freestyle Motocross portable landing ramp, you were probably like me the first time.  I saw my first portable lander while it was still folded for trailering, and my first thought was “How the heck does this work?” and after watching it rise from dirty snow covered trailer like some awful creature rising from the lava in an old Godzilla movie I asked “Who the heck thought of this?”

There are a handful of ramp builders out there these days but only a couple I would ever spend our money on for our setups.  We have an awesome team that builds ours (and it’s a secret) but another guy who builds nice landers is Keith Sayers from Butte, Montana.  Keith doesn’t build these to sell very often because he still promotes and rides his own shows, but his builds are quality and his attention to detail on the bike shows just as much off of it.

Here are a couple of time lapse videos of a ramp being made by Keith in his home shop- ENJOY THEM!

VIDEO LINK ONE

VIDEO LINK TWO