Transworld Motocross May 2018

“SAFE SPORTS DON’T REQUIRE YOU TO WEAR A HELMET.” —STEVE “PREFERS” COX Choosing a rider for the cover each month is a tougher process than you might think. Sure, the big winner of the moment is always a safe choice, but there are many more factors that go into the decision than that. This month, we were faced with a unique situation. Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson had control of the Monster Energy Supercross Series points lead at press time and he was the obvious choice. Not to mention, it had been over a year since he’s graced our front page. A quick text message was all it took to get El Hombre on board, and he was excited enough about it to start calling his sponsors to make…

SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONS This winter in SoCal, the FIM Sidecar Motocross World Champion team of 29-year-old Etienne Bax of the Netherlands and 35-year-old Kaspars Stupelis from Latvia made quite an impression on all who were lucky enough to see them in action at a handful of our local tracks. The trip was a vacation of sorts for the team, though their main mission was to ride as many tracks as possible and draw attention to the sport of sidecar motocross in the United States. And draw attention they did. Hauling their custom-made machine around in a U-Haul box van, the duo drew a crowd at every track they visited in the pits, but really gained fans with their remarkable speed and jumping abilities. The sound of the massive two-stroke…

Robert Kuhry has been racing with the TWMX Race Series since day one, and he is without a doubt one of the most colorful characters that we’ve met at the races. One of the most enthusiastic vet racers in our club, Kuhry has an undeniable passion for everything motocross. “I work hard every day so that I can afford all the nice motocross things I want,” Kuhry said. “When I was nine, my stepdad took me riding in the desert and I have been hooked ever since. I’ve been riding for 40 years now, and I still love it as much today as I did when I was nine.” As owner of Clearwater Pool Service, Kuhry is able to put in some extra time so that he can ride on…

THE MODEL This month, we were joined by Ariana Girmonde for our poster shoot. Originally from Utica, New York, the Polish and Italian Rockstar Girl works during the week as an assistant for a director and CEO of a record label. Through friends of friends, Ari was asked to work a few events with the Rockstar Energy Models and she has since become comfortable with modeling as her “side job” on weekends. Of all the types of events she works, her times with the Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna team are her favorite. “The Supercross races have so much energy, and the racing is the most exciting,” Girmonde said. Follow Ariana on Instagram at @arigirmonde. THE BIKE The 2018 Husqvarna FC 450 swept through our annual 450 Shootout and earned Bike…

Debuted in the early 1990s, the Smith Violator Goggle was truly ahead of its time, as it introduced many features that had never been seen before in an off-road goggle. Even by today’s standards, some of the innovations debuted on the Violator Goggle would be cutting edge. With a retail price of $50, the Violator featured a unique urethane frame that was more rigid and robust than the flexible frames of the time. A built-in nose guard gave the goggle a distinct look, but its defining factor was the slide-in goggle lens. The top panel of the Violator snapped off on each side, exposing the top of the slot inside the frame that the lens slid down into. Installing a new lens required only a few seconds and was a…

The intense training regimens required to be successful at the highest levels of our sport can be daunting, but one thing that most racers we know will agree upon is that mountain biking can make training a lot less painful, thanks to the fun factor involved. In recent years, we’ve ridden several times with Malcolm Stewart in the hills around Southern California. “There’s no mountains to speak of in Florida where I’m from, so back home it’s road biking, road biking, and more road biking…boring!” Stewart said. “When I’m staying in California I like to get out on the mountain bike as much as I can because it’s for real something I cannot do at home.” Until recently, Mookie trained on a well-worn and dated Specialized Camber that was handed…