Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Transworld Motocross

Paris, France, is the most-visited city in the world with over 30 million foreign visitors each year. In 2017, I took my first trip to the Paris Supercross and enjoyed it so much that I brought my family with me for the 2018 running, a week before Thanksgiving. While the trip itself was near perfect with good food, lots of laughs, and a ton of memories made with my three girls, a dark cloud hung over my head after the first night of racing inside Paris La Défense Arena. Weston Peick was invited as a last-minute replacement when the defending King of Paris, Marvin Musquin, injured his knee in a training crash. Within hours, Peick and his mechanic had their bags packed and were on a plane headed across the…

Jordon Smith Troy Lee Designs KTM Sponsors: Specialized, Troy Lee Designs, Oakley A North Carolina native, Jordon Smith splits his time between Southern California when he’s testing with the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM team, and Florida when he’s training at the infamous Baker Factory alongside his teammates. This winter, Smith has been tearing up trails all over SoCal aboard his 2019 Specialized Epic Evo with his teammate Shane McElrath. “Cross-training on my mountain bike is good for a few things,” Smith said. “Obviously, it helps improve your cardiovascular fitness, but I also think that riding one helps you improve your roll speed in the corners on your motorcycle. When you’re on a mountain bike, the more you slow down in the corners, the harder it is to pedal and get…

JASON ANDERSON IS THE KING OF PARIS Of all the off-season international Supercross races, the Paris Supercross is the granddaddy of them all. Previously known as the Bercy Supercross, which was hosted in the nearby town of that name, for the past two years the event has been held inside the new Paris La Defense Arena. The location is only a few short miles away from the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and Musee du Louvre, all in the world’s most visited city. For an American superstar, events like the Paris Supercross can mean a healthy appearance fee, but for defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion Jason Anderson, the 2018 Paris Supercross meant more than just a nice wintertime paycheck. “It’s been a crazy process of testing, packing, traveling,…

Produced without fail for the better part of four decades, Yamaha’s YZ line of two-stroke machines is an iconic part of the sport’s history that remains relevant in modern times. Raced by legends from Bob Hannah to Chad Reed, YZs are known for proven performance and foolproof maintenance routines. This makes them perfect options for the budget-minded rider in the current economic climate. Let’s be very clear and remember that development of the premix line has practically come to a halt, and aside from cosmetic updates, the last big technological advances are the advent of an aluminum frame and modest suspension upgrades. That’s all right, because while the valve-and-cam market is far more profitable for the OEM, and all of their efforts have been focused on developing new technology like…

HUNTER LAWRENCE Chad Reed holds a place in AMA motocross and Supercross history as the most successful Australian to make the move to the United States, and he has set a shining example for other Australians to follow in his footsteps. GEICO Honda’s newest recruit, 19-year-old Hunter Lawrence from Landsborough, Queensland, is the latest Aussie to make the move to the United States, and he does so by way of the FIM World Championship Grand Prix circuit, where he spent three years honing his skills first in the developmental EMX class, then in 2017 and ’18 in the MX2 division. “Racing in America has always been the goal, and whether or not coming here to race in 2019 and beyond is according to schedule is hard to say, but Supercross…

Athletes always think about what goes into their bodies. For many, what they ingest has been researched for ingredients, caloric count, and overall effects on their health. For how much attention is paid to diet and exercise, oftentimes it seems like the body’s biggest organ, the skin, receives little attention. As the last line of defense between the body and the outside world, it’s obvious that the skin should be cared for with products that improve overall health without the use of unnecessary chemicals or additives. This belief is shared by Art Of Sport: a body care line that is co-owned by athletes including basketball legend Kobe Bryant, football player JuJu Smith-Schuster, and motocross champion Ken Roczen. Roczen’s inclusion in the company’s launch came as a surprise for the motocross…

You know the saying; it’s been on hats, bumper stickers, and probably a No Fear T-shirt at some point: “The Older I Get, The Faster I Was.” These days, 50 is the new 30 and old guys are hauling ass like they never have before. Is it the advances in motorcycle technology, or have vitamins and painkillers just gotten better? No matter, a whopping 1,252 entrants showed up for the 34th Annual Dubya Vet World MX Championships held at Glen Helen Raceway for a weekend full of fun honoring the late, great Tom White. While the “world championship” title may seem boastful to those on the outside, the event truly does attract an international field. This year, racers from 28 different states and 22 foreign countries filled the rosters in…

FCP RACING 2019 KAWASAKI KX450 PROGRESSIVE LINKAGE Price: $385 Factory Chassis Parts Racing has been making waves in motocross with its aftermarket engine mounts, which offer more or less rigidity than standard, in CNC-machined aluminum and titanium options. Changing the engine mounts on a bike can have a drastic effect on the way the bike feels and handles, and as the first company to offer tuning options that are usually reserved for factory teams to the consumer, it’s no wonder FCP is growing like wildfire. We were intrigued by a 2019 Kawasaki KX450 shock linkage that we spotted in FCP Racing’s offerings and jumped at the chance to try one on our test bike. Inspired by the shock linkage run on the factory race bikes, the FCP part is designed…

Was the 2019 Honda CRF250R worth the extra wait? We think so, and that is certainly saying a lot when you consider that the 2018 model was one of the most exciting new bikes of the year. The radically new machine eclipsed the prior model in every aspect of performance and took the Honda from a “midpack bike” in our shootout to a top contender. Just what was so great about the 2018? The handling was phenomenal, the cornering was sharp, and the motor offered a tremendous increase in midrange and top-end power. Factor in the new sleek bodywork, electric start, and a return to the tried-and-true conventional spring forks and you arrive at one of the most enjoyable bikes on the market. The only drawback we noted was a…

With a total of 23 full-size models in their 2019 line, the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Beta does their best to appeal to a wide market of riders with off-road and trials bikes. With a focus on the unique disciplines, the company is able to make each bike ideal for the rugged terrain, long rides, and challenging obstacles one encounters. Beta made a number of sweeping changes to motorcycles in the 2018 model line, including new engine and chassis packages that improved power and shaved away 10 total pounds, so it comes as no surprise that the same components have carried over into the 2019 range. One of the flagship models in the off-road line is the 250 RR, an enduro machine that features a number of innovative designs from Beta…

Kai Aiello Age: 18 Hometown: Temecula, CA Classes Raced: 250 Pro, Open Pro Sponsors: Fox, EKS Brand, MODe Sports Nutrition, Race Tech, Fusion Graphics, Cycle Gear, Matrix Concepts, Turner Bikes, No Toil, Cahuilla Creek MX, Bill’s Pipes, Asterisk USA, MyTwoWheelLife.com It’s been a pleasure watching Kai Aiello grow up and move up in both bike sizes and skill divisions in the TWMX Race Series, as he started off as our mini-bike test rider years ago and is now one of the dominant pro-class racers at our events. One of the things that impressed us early on with Kai was his dedication to his schoolwork and his almost overly proper mannerisms. “I’ve never gotten anything less than an A in school,” Aiello said to us years ago. “I would never let…

THE BIKE Older two-stokes are all the rage now, and Jay Clark helped transform Brent Griffith’s Suzuki RM125 Craigslist find into a full MX beauty. When you do a total rebuild on an older two-stroke there can a huge parts list. For this build we went all the way down to the frame and rebuilt the engine with a fully modified TMR cylinder and head, All Balls cables and bearings, Faster USA rebuilt wheels, custom Applied triple clamps, and just about everything else you can throw at the classic two-stroke yielded a finished project that turns heads at the track. The results are amazing and show just what you can do with some time and money. THE MODEL This month’s model, Danielle Hamilton, is truly “the girl next door.” Girlfriend…

With the demise of the AMSOIL Arenacross Series in 2018, many aspiring professional Supercross racers were left wondering how they would earn their advancement points and tickets to The Big Show. Those questions have all been answered with the recent announcement of the Supercross Futures AMA National Championship, which will be the official advancement platform of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. Supercross Futures will provide an exclusive opportunity for amateur competition to race inside the same stadium as their heroes did the night before, on a modified version of the track that will be safe for all skill levels yet offer enough of a challenge for more advanced riders. The eight-race series will culminate with an AMA National Championship with approximately 6,100 amateurs competing in 26 classes—beginning…

“Jump for show, corner for dough!” This old saying rings true because the key to speed is cornering, and any professional racer can attest to that. Red Bull KTM’s Roger DeCoster once stated that Ryan Dungey first caught his eye with his overall corner speed, and we all know what happened after that. When it comes down to it, if you’re not properly set up in the corner, you’re likely going to struggle through the section that follows it. Cornering determines the momentum that a rider carries and sets the pace for lap times. As tricky as they can be, with the right knowledge, corners can be a rider’s best friend. The right line choices and carrying of speed combined with proper technique will make any racetrack much easier to…

Colt Nichols uses the word “very” a lot—an adverb meaning a high degree, extremely, or exceedingly. The native of Muskogee, Oklahoma, uses the word for effect when he talks all things motocross. “Must be the Oklahoman coming out in me, I guess,” Nichols said. “I was blessed. When I was younger, the Oklahoma scene was insane. I’d go to races and there would be so many divisions and so many classes and there would be so many kids there. Robbie Reynard and Johnny Marley and Trey Canard and those dudes used to race the local events and, man, it was a really, really good time to be a kid where I was living. I had a lot of guys to look up to.” Nichols is a talented and determined rider…