Motocross Supercross Engine Ice Daily News

Tonight Rodrig Thain and Caterina Elliot will get married in California. They met this year when Thain was signing autographs at a shop before Washougal. Both went to Bercy this year and after that they travelled Europe for more races.

Mat Mladin is the 4th nominee for the AMA/Speedvision athlete of the year award. The winner will be announced Dec 7 at the AMA banquet in Palm Springs. The other nominees are Chris Carr, Eric Bostrom, and Ricky Carmichael. Also the details of AMA Pro Racing's 2003 Supercross series should be out by then.

American Honda's Motorcycle Division is deeply saddened to report the death of Peter John Fassnacht, Manager of Rider Education. Mr. Fassnacht passed away Saturday, November 24 of complications resulting from bacterial meningitis. He was 46 years old. Fassnacht, born and raised in Ottawa, Canada was a passionate motorcyclist and a dedicated advocate of motorcycle rider education.

MC has left No Fear, but the split was just business and friendly enough. MC and Jeff Surwall are still partners with Spy.

Barcelona Supercross results: 250: Pichon, Lalloz, Sorby. 125: Thain, Boniface, Ristori.

The word is last night a deal was signed for MC to use AST by Thor. Big money. Press release going out today. It sounds like a name awareness thing for AST (see press release on them in Business section). I don't know if its a line of gear you can get. The reason you heard about "something" on RX's site was YOT was considered for the deal too but Fox already had them signed.

www.racerxill.com reports New Zealand's Josh Coppins will race the first few 125 west Supercross events on a Honda before returning to Europe for GPs in March.

There are a lot of rumors flying around about gear right now, but here is one that is not a rumor: Lusk to Thor: THOR signs on to be the official racing apparel of factory Kawasaki's Ezra Lusk. THOR and Ezra are committed to being number one in 2002. It's a new beginning for Ezra who, signed on with factory Kawasaki after spending 4 seasons at factory Honda, Ezra now joins the THOR team bringing with him 14 career 250 wins. " THOR is very excited to be working with such a great spokesperson for the sport of motocross," said Bob Maynard marketing Director at THOR. Ezra is determined to drop one of his numbers from his number plate in 2002, making his trade mark #11, simply #1. Lusk is one of the few riders that have won in the past few years and is eager to put himself and THOR on the top spot of the podium in 2002.

Andrew Short update: He has a broken collarbone and a specialist will be looking at his knee this week. Wish him well. He is on the Motoworld racing Suzuki team. Today is his birthday, so he is having a birthday dinner in California before going back to Colorado to see the Dr.

Kelly Smith's official web site, found at www.wrmweb.com, confirms he will go with Moto XXX in 2002. This was a close call because we last saw him riding a 3D Racing YZ250 at the Worcester Arenacross.

Andrew Short crashed hard in practice in at California's Suzuki test track, and hurt his shoulder and knee. He went to the Dr to get checked out. (from mxtrainer, who will update us later). Mototalker Destry Abbott, who also races dirt bikes or something, is Short's #1 fan.

CCE's media blitz continued today with news of it's Supercross points fund going from $325K to $500K in 2003. "We are pleased again to demonstrate our commitment to the riders," said Roy Janson, vice president of operations for Clear Channel Entertainment's motor sports division. "The half million dollar mark is a major milestone in supercross history, and this is something we definitely set out to do five years ago." A press release should be posted tomorrow.

What's the real story of the AMA/CCE split over Supercross, and what is Honda doing making decisions about it and what is everyone thinking? Check out this bit in the Business section..

The barrage of press releases from CCE about Supercross seems to never end. The latest is about CCE making an agreement with Sam Boyd Stadium as the place to end Supercross for another 4 years. It's a pretty safe bet to comment on what is going on with all these. Since the AMA announced it's intentions of going with JamSports to promote Supercross starting in 2003, CCE has decided it will run a Supercross series with or without the AMA. They are doing this to send a message they are serious about staying in Supercross long term.

Bored? Check out this site with satellite imagery and find all 12 national MX tracks! www.terraserver.com.

Josh Woods ruled the well-attended "Mini-Os" in Gainesville, FL last week. He won the 125 A Expert/PROAM STK, 125 A Expert/PROAM MOD, 250/500 A Expert/PROAM STOCK, and 250/500 A Expert/PROAM MOD classes.

Press Release: JOHNSON, GOERKE AND WMR COMPETITION PERFORMANCE CLEAN UP AT 2001 WINTER OLYMPICS

At WMR Competition Performance, �Winning is Everything.� As the staff prepared and set out to the 2001 Winter Olympics in Gainesville, Florida, only one goal was in mind. To dominate the competition. That is exactly what the riders and staff did by winning Four Olympiad Championships, the Scott Golden Goggle, the Fox Bronze Boot and 16 Individual Event Championships. Click here for the full press release...

Motonews confirmed the following with Clear Channel's Eric Peronnard, VP of International Stuff.

-The Leipzig round of the National Arenacross Series, Nov 30-Dec 1 is cancelled.
-The Arenacross tour will not participate in the race that takes place the following weekend in Bologa, Italy.
-The Arenacross in Geneva, Switzerland will take place as scheduled, Dec 14-15.

Flights are being rescheduled for the week of Dec 10. They will leave a little earlier than Wednesday to give people a little more time to relax and get ready (and check out Switzerland-nice place).

CCE's Mike Kidd, Kyle Baker, and Peronnard will re-group tomorrow, Sat Nov 24 and call all of the participants directly about the changes.

Eric said the promoter was in the hospital with a heart-related problem and no one can see him today or for the next few days. Wish him good luck and a healthy recovery, OK? It is almost unheard of for a race to be cancelled but in this case the guy who is doing contracts and paying people is out of the picture for now.

Its a crazy day. CCE offices are closed and the web sites are down. Info will be hard to get. If you are affected, expect a call tomorrow. See ya in Geneva!

Nick Wey won't be racing in Barcelona this weekend. He broke his big toe practicing and hurt his hand a little. He will be going for a checkup tonight somewhere in EuropeLand.

The Supercross results from the "Mini-Os" at Gainesville are up! Click here. Thumbs up to Alessis, Josh Woods, Nick Adams, and WMR Competition Performance's Bryan Johnson.

Happy Thanksgiving, football is boring, and SX wars are more interesting! CCE has fired off press releases in response to the AMA/Jam and CCE split over Supercross. Also, message boards have been talking about the interviews om Motoworld's TV show last weekend-same subject? Who's winning the war of words and PR? Take the latest Mnews poll!

The Leipzig Arenacross/Supercross (depends on he country for the name) will have plenty of extra riders, including Jason Thomas, Matt Shue, Doug DeHaan, Mathieu Lalloz, and more talent. The complete list is on www.mxlarge.com.

Stephane Roncada and Chris Gossellar both came back from France (Bercy) sick. Ronron is riding again and Gosselaar is training with just his legs since he broke a clavicle in that crash on night 2. At least when he crashed out he had an impressive lead-extra points for that.

Chris Carr, winner of the 2001 AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships, joins Eric Bostrom and Ricky Carmichael as the third nominee for the 2001 AMA/Speedvision Pro Athlete of the Year Award. Carr, 34, of Fleetwood, Pa., won his third AMA Grand National title this year after having a spirited early and mid-season battle with 2000 champ Joe Kopp and the late Will Davis. Carr clinched the championship with three races left on the schedule. In 2001 Carr tallied an impressive nine wins, the most ever for him in a single season. Carr now has 54-career AMA Grand National victories making him the winningest active rider in the series and second on the all-time list to former Harley-Davidson teammate Scott Parker.

Carr continued his domination of the Peoria (Ill.) TT this year, winning the historic race for the 13th time. He also won all three nationals on the Springfield Mile this year and finally earned his first victory at the Hagerstown (Md.) Half-Mile. "It's quite an honor to be nominated for the Pro Athlete of the Year," said Carr. "I've been nominated three times before and haven't won it yet, so maybe this will be my year. I have a lot of respect for all of the riders who are nominated. Over the years it's been a pretty impressive list. Whether I win or not, I'm still proud to be a part of this select group."
As Carr mentioned he was nominated three times before – 1992, 1995 and 1999. In addition to his three AMA Grand National titles, Carr is a former AMA Rookie of the Year in both Grand National dirt track and AMA Superbike. He also earned a record seven AMA 600cc National Dirt Track championships. The 2001 AMA/Speedvision Pro Athlete of the Year will be announced during the 27th annual AMA Pro Racing Champions Awards Banquet Dec. 7, 2001, at the luxurious Desert Springs Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Springs. To purchase tickets to the awards banquet, contact AMA Pro Racing at (614) 856-1900.

Don't just sit there eating turkey tomorrow waiting for something interesting on the web to jump out and grab you, check out this site about the former "Evil Empire." http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/

Arenacross' top freestyler Mike Mason just got back to Nevada Tuesday morning after driving straight through from Worcester. Mechanic Dustin Turner was with him on the drive back.

Aussie import Chad Reed, who crashed out of the third night at Bercy with a suspected broken jaw, is in the US and OK. He has aloready ridden at Yamaha's test track and Sunrise in Southern Ca.

For all you So. Cal Moto XXX fan's, Moto XXX will be premiering their 5th video "Free For All" at the Palace in Hollywood Ca. Dec. 4th. The event will include two heavy hitter surprise special guest band's. One from Epitaph and one from Fat Wreck Chords. For those that have been to previous Moto XXX premiers...this will be one not to miss. Tickets available through ticketmaster.

Ohio has two riders going to Europe with the AX series, Gavin Gracyk and Tom Kelly.

Damien Plotts will ride a CRF450R for Crossroad Powersports/RRP. More on the Teams 2002 list in the Business section. They were talking to Paul Carpenter but he is reportedly going to ride for KTM Canada.

Here's a list of Arenacross racers that were in Whoo-sta packing their bikes for the great European Great Arenacross Adventure:

Damon Bradshaw, Josh Demuth. Jiri Dostal , Brian Edwards, Gavin Grayck, Pedro Gonzalez, Brad Hagseth, Tommy Hoffmaster, Rusty Holland, Chad Johnson, Tom Kelly, Darcy Lange, Benoit Milot (alternate and jump contest guy), Denny Stephenson, Jeff Willoh, Tiger Lacey was on the list but his bikes weren't packed (??) Most of the travelers will leave Atlanta Nov 28th for Germany, then after the Leipzieg race they will do some touring, then a race in Italy, then more touring, then the Geneva round. Motonews is going and will send frequent updates to www.arenacross.com.

Bradshaw won both mains Saturday at Worcester, Snoop won the Dash for Cash. The 250 main was an incredible battle between Lange, Bradshaw and Demuth. Another crowd pleasing race was the 65cc final, where Colton Harrison jumoed his KX65 past Henry Rojas in the fast section. Harrison was jumping a section no one else was, then Royas would pass him back, then another air pass...

Doug Henry jumps above everyone in the whoops Friday at the Worcester AX. (Gundy photo)

CCE has reportedly hired Jeff Emig to join the TV crew of DC, Art Eckman, and David Bailey.

New Poll: Do you think Mototalk should stick with the old wwwboard message board software? Or should it have one of the newer types like Ultimate Bulletin Board that are now more common on the web? Take the poll now.

Our own photohound Extreme Ray shows Doug Henry a photo of him crashing in the Mnews digicam. Henry was impressive Friday night at Worcester. He won his heat and got second in the 250 main. (He just rode one class, one night) After his heat win he called John Dowd to tell him he sure be here racing!

This weekend there is a special addition to Motonews, the "Tuf Racing Arenacross Report!" It's a photo emag report just like you get on the "Members" section, but this one is brought to you by Tuf so its a freebie. Here's the linky. Tuf runs two Arenacross teams: Tuf Honda, Jeff Willoh, Chad Johnson and Jiri Dostal, and Tuf Kawasaki, Denny Stephenson, Darcy Lange, and Brandon Bartz.

Honda Red Rider Johnny Campbell made history in the 2001 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Not only did he and partner Tim Staab win the overall race, giving Campbell a record-breaking fifth consecutive 'long' Baja victory, their feat also made Honda the most successful motorcycle manufacturer in Baja, with a similarly record-smashing 12 overall wins in the 34-year history of the race. At the end of the day, Honda XR650Rs took the top five motorcycle positions.

Campbell and Staab covered the 667-mile course on their Honda XR650R in a time of 13 hours, 51 minutes and 40 seconds. They averaged 48.8 miles per hour over the rugged, technically challenging terrain to also win the Class 22 title. Their dominating performance resulted in a victory margin of over 54 minutes.

McGrath Racing is still hammering out details with the new title sponsor. Expect the official announcement to be made Dec 14th.

Mnews is on the way to Worcester, MA for the 3rd weekend of the National Arenacross Series, presented by Speedstick. Demuth has pulled out a points lead after 2 rounds (8 mains).

If you haven't checked out the MX Rider game for the PS2, its worth it. MX Rider is the best serious vid game that takes you through the GP series! If you are an MCM2 addict and you are still waiting for a game that has bike motion as good as that one, you will be disappointed. Still it's as good as what's out there and it pretty fun. A few euro bits are added like pompoms, and the freestyle courses are relly sick. The funniest part is flaggers stand in the track and if you ride close to them they dive for cover behind a haybale.

Racer X's site has news that Sobe will sponsor Team Suzuki's 250 effort next year. Both Windham and Pastrana are No Fear riders. Sobe is a great addition to MX, and the drinks are good. It's just not a degreaser. Use Simple Green for that.

"Pure adrenaline motocross music" is what Vanilla Ice said to VH1 about his latest release.

Save this site if you think you or someone you know may need help with a visa, www.sportsvisas.com.

Mad Mike Jones injured: from PACEFMX.com: "Mad Mike Jones miscalculated on a Suicide to No-Handed Lander and went down hard. The crowd was quiet as a library with concern, but erupted to loud cheers when he walked off the course." He has two fractured vertebrea in his back..Ouch!

Mototalkers were shocked to hear MXGEOFF wants to lay off! Take the new poll Should MXGEOFF Go Away?

The last poll was about the AMA/CCE split over Supercross. Voters said it was not a good thing by about a 2/3 majority.

Mullet alert! Matt Walker with a mullet wig in the pits at Bercy (Eckman photo). Walker is in Holland testing for 2002 with a GP team. If all goes well for him he will ride Europe next year.

Arenacross manager John Thode abruptly left his spot at Clear Channel. That's all the news we have.

KTM has its eye on Arenacross series leader Josh Demuth for a factory ride in 2003.

Nick Wey, mechanic Steve Matthis, and Jason Thomas are on the way to Germany in a rental car to race next weekend. Rodrig Thain and his American fiance are on the way to, its her first trip to Europe.

DV was, for the second year in a row, completely untouchable here in Paris. He won every heat, every moto for three nights in a row. MC put in his best rides of the trip on Sunday, but he still wasn't quite as fast as DV.

Wey was third overall! Consistency paid off when he bumped Roncada off the podium for the three nights.

Chad Reed went down hard today and has a suspected broken jaw. We may get an update later tonight. Other than that I don't know of anyone else hurt. Thain rode his the last 250 moto too.

In 125 racing, Sellards squeaked in as "Prince of Bercy," due to consistency. Rodrig Thain started out right with 4 straight wins, then his luck ran out when he crashed and DNF'd. Ivan Tedesco started slow but dominated at the end, but the overall went to Sellards.

Motonews has a celebrity guest photohound today, and it was none other than ESPN/RX's Art Eckman! Art is here covering the race for Racer X and he was a little bored watching in press. He got a photo vest, a quick photo lesson, and he worked the spare Nikon D1 digicam all night. Some of the stuff is awesome. I will make a special section just for his stuff.

Vuillemin continues to sweep the three-night Supercross at Bercy. He is well on his way to a third straight "King of Bercy." crown. Ivan Tedesco topped the 125 class, which has a three-moto format with no heats. Thain won the first moto, but his Yamaha of Troy teammate won the second two. That means Yamaha of Troy has taken every moto so far, and Yamahas are sweeping the event. Brock Sellards is ahead in the contest for "Prince of Bercy," (125 class winner.)

Albany AX results: 125: Demuth, Hoffmaster, Kelly Smith. 250: Demuth, Bradshaw, Pedro Gonzalez. Bradshaw had a mechanical problem in 125s, according to Gary Kidd on Mototalk. Regional results for Madison (AX regional): 125cc: 1st Jim Chester, 2nd Todd Dehoop and 3rd Nick Metcalf 250cc: 1st Jim Neese, 2nd Nick Metcalf and 3rd Justin Brayton. That's heavy duty. Even the regional AX has heavy-hitters.

There is one more day of racing at Bercy. Sunday's racing finishes early and the gang will hit the Hard Rock Cafe. Motonews will be there!

Mnews asked Jendro about plans for 2003, and would CCE do a Supercross series. Jendro smiled and said "I want to assure the motorcycle community we will be producing a 16-round Supercross series in 2003, starting with Anaheim." Then I asked him about the Q&A articles on Racer X by Hollingsworth and Mancuso, and he said, "I think people should go over to the Racer X's site what they think for themselves." As far as 2002's Supercross series, he said "We have a great working relationship with the AMA feild workers and officials at the events, and things will continue as usual."

Bercy first night: DV 1-1, Reed 2-2, Roncada 3-3. MC was 4-4, first moto uneventful, and he was second in moto 2 until Reed took him out on the last lap. Reed's SX speed is real. He will be one to watch in US Supercross next year. MC's No Fear gear and his helmet showed up in time for the show.

Racer X (www.racerxill.com) has a Q&A with both the AMA's Scott Hollingsworth and CCE's Charlie Mancuso on the anticpated split between over SX in 2003. Both are a must-read.

Damon Bradshaw took everything at the Albany Arenacross Friday night. He won both mains and the Dash for Cash. That was a nice comeback from getting shut out in the first night last weekend at Des Moines.

DV proposed to his girlfriend Erica Harbaugh on the Eiffel Tower. DV's new web site URL is www.davidvuillemin.net. Please update your links page. URL pirates got his last addy and he told them to keep it.

Europe's No Fear rep brought MC a complete set of gear when his stuff didn't make it, dang airlines!

The Racing section has interviews of the top finishers from the Des Moines Arenacross, check it here.

Great news for MX game fans: Cycle News first-string photographer Jeff Kardas sent this link to a news item about THQ buying MCM2 designer Rainbow Studios. Here's the link. If you have ever played MCM2 or ATV Fury and then tried a moto game you know how disappointing it is to have someone besides Rainbow doing the bike movement. Let's hope the Rainbow style movement works its way into next year's THQ MX game. Where can I buy stock?

Mike Kidd from CCE reported the regional Ft Wayne Arenacross is cancelled this weekend due to safety problems discovered in the building. This does not affect the national AX in Albany or the regional in Madison, WI.

James "Bubba" Stewart got his first track time at the Kawasaki test track this week.

Motonews had new sections planned for 2002. "News" will be replaced by "Business," and "People" will be replaced by "Life." The new section went up early since the news from the AMA this week is big news, and it needs a real Business section to keep up with it.

Mnews is in Paris, France for the annual three-night Bercy Supercross! Racing takes place in the wild and crazy Omnisports de Bercy stadium, which is wired year-round for lights and sound like no other venue in SX. David Vuillemin has won the prestigious "King of Bercy" trophy for 2 years in a row. He squeaked by in 2000 when MC had a freak bike problem with a carb clip, but last year DV completely owned all three nights. MC fell twice trying to keep up with him. DV will have to face a tougher MC this time. America's best SX racer ever proved at the US Open that he hasn't been sitting around in the off season. Last year at Bercy MC said he hadn't been racing much, and the important race would be in Anaheim. After MC lost the title to RC this year, he said he wasn't ready for Anaheim. He's ready now. Everyone expects a great rematch this year, except MXGeoff who will tell you Chad Reed will take it. He would know, he's the guy who called Langston as the west 125 SX champ.

The AMA dropped a bomb today. They announced JamRacing as the promoter of Supercross starting in 2003. Many in the moto biz expected a battle between the current promoter (Clear Channel) and the AMA in the coming months before Anaheim. The announcement that JamRacing would replace CCE entirely was a surprise. Here's the press release on the new emag Business Section.

The AMA's announcement will affect riders, spectator's and sponsors. The cel phones were on fire all day asking about what next. One thing is likely, CCE will organize their own Supercross series in 2003.

From Denny Hartwig at CCE: Seven-time supercross champion Jeremy McGrath, who was dethroned by Ricky Carmichael in the 2001 EA SPORTS Supercross season, continues to work his way back to the top. This weekend McGrath will travel to Europe for the Bercy Supercross to compete against the stars from abroad. McGrath's never-say-die attitude was apparent at the U.S. Open when he rallied back from bad starts and left his heart on the track. Don't count McGrath out for 2002.

Professional motocross racer Jonathan Long landed a new sponsor for 2002. Holeshot Tattoo, out of Amherst, MA is stepping up to the plate and lending a hand to Jonathan and his racing career. Holeshot Tattoo specializes in custom tattooing and they dig racing. They can be contacted at (413) 259-1710 They have a website in the works. Stay tuned for more information on the hottest place to get inked up.

Des Moines had a celebrity racer on Amateur day, Rich King, who has wins in Formula USA dirt track, raced a KTM.

John Dowd is confirmed for 125 east Supercross and outdoor nationals on a KTM520. There is still no silly season news for Thomas, Currie, or Kelly Smith. Here's the Teams 2002 page.

Maxxis Tires got their first Arencross win Saturday night when Darcy Lange won the 250 main. He autographed the jersey he won with for Maxxis, and wrote "To Maxxis: Thanks for sharing our first's together."

Breck Bonnell, graphics guy and hangaround at Sprockets Karting, and Amy. Lou Lopez of Sunstar won Saturday morning's kart race.

Isaiah Johnson won the 125 main and is just one point behind Lange for third in series points. Johnson will do more AX to get ready for 125 west Supercross, and he will race a 250 in the east. Josh Demuth leads the series.

Tommy Hoffmaster and Josh Demuth are tied for points after Friday's Arenacross. Bradshaw crashed out of qualifying for both mains. Gonzalez and Holland crashed really hard in the Dash for Cash but they are OK. Here's Friday's photos.

Good news in the silly season mess: Steve Matthes did get the job with Moto XXX wrenching for Nick Wey.

Press day notes: Bradshaw rode, Tuf Kawasaki was 2/3 there, Whitley's Suzuki team looks sharp, Willoh rode long enough to knock the catapult down a little (its pretty tall). The track dirt was too wet and track floor boss Rigg Hipps had the dirt folks take out most of it and bring better dirt! They will put in some long hours before practice Friday. Who got the most TV time? Local hero Jeremy Riesenberg, who rode Press on a Honda CRF450R.

Honda's first 4-stroke Arenacross contender Riesenberg will be running Motonews stickers! He's our man!

New Logo! This excellent new logo is by King Jr, aka Breck Bonnell, of Des Moines, Iowa.

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