Monthly Archives: April 2012
A New Race
In my relatively short lifespan I have heard the “another boring season” one too many times. Supercross was boring when McGrath was dominating, everything was boring when Carmichael was putting the smack down on the competition, and once the main contenders were injured, things got boring again with Villopoto winning nearly every race.
Well, as we all know Villopoto had an unfortunate accident ending his 2012 run (luckily he already locked down the 2012 Supercross championship), but after his crash did things get a little more exciting?
The crash in Seattle opened the door for great opportunities for some deserving riders. Andrew Short and Ken Roczen (who had stepped up to the big bike class aboard a KTM 350) put on an awesome battle with Short taking the win.
Short has been pushing for a win in the premiere class for years and it seemed as if every fan/industry person was more than happy to see him win. Some of you message board Nazi’s out there will say, “Yeah he won, but none of the front runners were there.” Yes, this is true, but as Chad Reed has always said, “You have to be in it to win it,” so give the guy some credit.
This absence of some of the more dominating riders also gave us a great race in Salt Lake City. Davi Millsaps took an early lead with Jake Weimer behind, pushing for his first win, and Ryan Dungey charging hard, fresh off his injury.
It seemed as if Millsaps had the race in the bag and would give JGR Yamaha their second ever victory, until a mistake in the rhythm section would hand over the lead to KTM’s Ryan Dungey who would take the lead all the way to the checkers.
There is one race left for the 2012 Supercross season. The season known more for injuries than any other will come to a close with a bang, giving winning opportunities to riders who never thought it would be possible against the dominating Villopoto. We are now less than four weeks away from the brutal Outdoors Nationals, and it leaves me thinking, can anyone dominate this summer? Or will we have a summer of war.
First Video!!
As seen here I normally prefer written journalism, but with a little inspiration and a TON of help from some close friends, I was able to get behind the camera and have a try at some video journalism. Here it is, hope you enjoy!
Townley Down….. Again
Well, it looks as if the black evil injury cloud has struck again with its furious lightning, this time paying a visit to its dear old friend Ben Townley.
Ben Townley had dislocated his hip in a crash at the second round of the Australian MX Series. Townley would update the industry and his fans through his Twitter stating, “For everyone asking, my hip is back in place, but I need surgery to repair it as it’s a bit of a mess. Will update when there is more news.”
Though sadden, I was not surprised by this news. The extremely talented New Zealand rider could have been a favorite coming into the 2012 outdoor championship riding for Chad Reed’s TwoTwo Motorsports team, but in the back of everyone’s mind was if he can last a full series with no injuries.
Injuries are an unfortunate part of the sport and a part that Ben Townley knows all too well. We wish Townley a speedy and full recovery so we can see the Kiwi battle upfront this summer.
Just Another Trend?
Whether it is going organic, posting a retro picture on Instagram, riding a fixed gear bike or even playing a little “draw something”, social media has made it easier for people to find out what is cool and trendy and making it easier to secretly become a little more “hipster.”
So where does motocross fit in to this? Is there such a thing has being a hipster motocross rider, and is social media and the growth of the Internet presence from the industry making it easier to follow the newest moto trends?
Trends have been a force in motocross since the beginning and it is hard not to recognize some of them in the current state of the sport. Retro gear, goon-riding, and Barcia-styled rev outs have been just some of the recent trends of the past few years with the general moto public; and if you say you have not tried any of these, you are lying.
Recently there has been a growth in popularity of an old sound/smell. One that most riders grew up with but forgot after a growth in motorcycle technology. That subject I am talking about is the two-stroke.
Yes, the two-stroke is seemingly making a comeback. Many pros are buying them again (at least as play bikes), promoters are creating classes just for two-strokes, and they are popping up at more practice tracks, not just as woods weapons. But why is this? Why are people leaving their powerful/easy-to-ride four-strokes for a bike with inferior technology that is harder to ride?
Before you start to think that this is just another article about how two stokes are cheaper, lighter, and more fun (even though they are); it is not about that at all. For now I am only going to ask the simple question, could it be that motocross riders are just like the general public and buy into what is cool and trendy online?
When MXPTV began to put out two-stroke videos in the later half of the decade, it was rare and down right awesome to see the bikes racing again. And when Jimmy Decotis and Moto Limelight put out their edit of the Geico Honda rider (then privateer) shredding on his cr125, the two-stroke went viral.
Seemingly every motocross fan has heard of or seen the video by now, skyrocketing the video to almost one million views. Darryn Durham increased moto fan’s interest in the bikes when he dropped his video of Durham shredding his Eleven10 Mods cr125, leaving fans saying, “I want to shred a 125 like that!”
So where does this trend go? Will we continue to see select professionals trying to qualify aboard the two-stroke much like Ricky Renner? Will the public go back to the hard to ride two-stroke and realize they do not have the skill or patience to ride the bike? Or will we continue to see huge smiles on the faces of the new owners of the two cycle machines.
One thing is for sure trends are going to be apart of motocross forever. We participate in one of the coolest sports out there (journalists are not suppose to show opinion so that has to be a fact), and people are constantly trying to make it cooler. If the two-stroke is just another “trend” so be it, I know I am stoked with my recently purchased cr125 and I can’t get enough of that black and yellow JT Racing retro gear!
….Incase you live under a rock
