My Glen Helen Race Report - Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship Race

I just got back from SoCal after a long 2 days at Glen Helen. The racing was off the hook and the new changes for the series are looking promising. I like to thank all of the guys at Vurb Moto, Brent and Wes for giving me an opportunity to shoot photos track side.







The 450 class results was surprising with RV2 going 1-1. Villopoto proved that he can work through the pack, taking control of his destiny. RV2 was asked if his goals were to go 24-0 and he humbling said no, he just wants to get the points and win the Championship. Looking at his results one might ponder if he might actually pull of a perfect season and obtain that #1 plate.

Reed wasn't looking like he could hold the pace to lead the pack. He did mention that he's had a one, 30 minute moto under his belt since the end of the SX season. His last minute decision to race the Nats might have hindered his performance on Saturday. I guess we'll have to wait and see next week if he can turn it around.

Mike Alessi showed off his starting skills once again. I don't understand how he does it, and if he could sell his secrets he could become a millionaire. Alessi did take the lead in Moto2 but was soon run down by RV2. I'm going to predict that he will win a moto and possibly a overall this season. He looked to have his A game for sure and with his starts there shouldn't be anything to hold him back.

Josh Grant rode his ASS OFF. He proved that he can ride that 450 better than his best days on a 250F. I have high hopes for this kid and with his results from this weekend he is a contender in the premium class. I'll admit that I never thought much for this kid, but after the past SX season, my thoughts about him have changed.


The 250 class is deep this year. The talent seems never ending and could really show a mix of podium finisher all season.

The hype was put on a few riders coming over from the GP series in Euro-Land. You have Rattray, Searle and Pourcel showing the American boys a threat or two.


But the Suzuki Kid Ryan Dungey proved that he might be the one to beat. He's been living and training with the Carmichael's and it shows. If he can dial his starts and get out front, from the beginning, he'll most definitely be the contender for the championship.


Pourcel rode a good race using his smooth style in a notched out bumpy track. He won his 1st moto but looked to struggle a bit in moto2. But you can't hold that against him because he did get 2nd overall for the day. And after a huge set back a few years ago, that's gotta be refreshing for him. Now if we can only work on his Euro accent. just kidding.

Rattray had some added hype coming into this race. He had a quite a bit of time off from racing coming into this round. I'm sure the nerves and butterflies were present in the first moto. He mentioned that he pumped up a bit and that was a big reason for why he finished where he did in moto1. But all of that seemed to be gone going into moto2. With him and Dungey motoring through the pack chasing down Barcia, taking away that final podium spot with 3rd overall. I'm looking forward to his future in the states and he will prove to be a front runner.

Rookie sensation, Justin Barcia blasted off the gate in Moto2 taking the lead for a good portion of that race. I would imagine the results of his 1st moto was stricken with a bit of nerves. This was his debut in the pro ranks and there is no doubt that he has the speed to run with the top guys. He's another rider that I'll enjoy watching throughout this championship series.

Tommy Searle rode a consistent race taking 4th in both motos. He's ridden with all of these Euro kids and I'm sure he'll be lighting it up once he settles in and gets a few races under his belt.

On a side note there was another Brit who has been riding the Amateur series and just recently decided to go pro. 16 year old Max Anstie made his pro debut on Saturday with a huge get-off in moto1. I saw him ride back into his pits and noticed his back torn up. He was able to get off the bike but needed assistance into the Asterisk truck. He didn't look good as he was holding his lower back. After talking with someone who witnessed the wreck and assisted him off the track said it was ugly. Apparently the bike landed on his back and some how his hand was stuck under the bike pinned up against the head pipe. YIKES! I hope he's OK and nothing major happened to him.



Well that's a wrap and if you want to enjoy some more photos, check out my gallery on MotoSpace.com.

~James

2009 MotoXDream Fantasy Motocross Sign-ups Are Open

The 2009 MotoXDream Fantasy Motocross Sponsored by MotoSport.com is now open for sign-ups. The first round starts May 23 at the Glen Helen Motocross National.

Give yourself a chance to win Tommy Hahn's 2009 Canidae MotoSport Kawasaki KX450F Team Race Bike. If that's not enough, we will also be giving away $10,000 in weekly prizes from our great sponsors.

MotoXDream is the Premiere Fantasy Motorcycle Racing League. Add more excitement to the racing action, and root for your favorite rider. Become a Team Manager today and find out for yourself what MotoXDream is all about.

Sign-up @:
www.motoxdream.com

Sunny in Seattle

Well I made it to Seattle. The drive up went ok, except for the minor freeway flooding south of Tacoma. I'm talking dime size rain drops fell out of the sky. The water wasn't able to drain faster than it was falling. Made for some great hydroplaning though. But as soon as we hit Seattle, it cleared up and blue skies were shinning. I made it up to the track to scope out the mudder. not! The track looked awesome and very dry. I ran into Jim Holley, the announcer for supercross online webcast, and asked when he was gonna get the call from speed to do the coverage of the race, he laughed. What an awesome dude though, he's a way cool cat. I cruised the empty pits, watching everyone getting their riggs set up. It's kinda nice to be in there when there's not a million people around. I enjoyed that.

Here's to good weather and some tight racing for tomorrow. I'm gonna predict that Stewart will close that gap with Reed by 3 more points come tomorrow night. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I was able to snap off some shots of track and what not's.

Round #3 Amateur Fantasy Motocross

The Vurb Moto/MotoSport.com Amateur Fantasy Racing picks back up on April 15. This round will be the World Mini's Grand Prix held in Las Vegas. I've been told that if you want to experience an amateur race, this should be towards the top of your list.

We've had some close racing with only two rounds down. There shouldn't be any reason why the World Mini's would be any different. If you haven't signed up yet, and if your actually reading this, head over to MotoXDream.com and sign up. It's free! Vurb Moto and MotoSport.com have some great prizes at the end of the series.

The whole idea behind this series is to get these amateur riders some recognition. These are the kids you'll be watching lining up with the Villopoto's and the Stewart's in a couple of years. Man, you may even see Malcolm Stewart lining up on the gates with his bro. How cool is that!

By the way, lock out for round #3 is 8am PST on April 15.

Moto Photo Contest

MotoSpace - MotoSport Rider Community
Moto Photo Contest Details

Contest Details: This will give MotoSpace Community Members an opportunity to show off their best moto photos. The Judges classify "moto" as being a picture that would best depict your passion of dirt, ATV, offroad, and street. These images need to follow the terms of our "Photo Upload Agreement" so, if you haven't yet uploaded a photo, or read this agreement, you will be prompted to do so at the time of uploading your photo.

Entries must be submitted by the original photographer. Do not submit a photo taken by someone other than you. The contest will run for 8 weeks. Each week there will be 3 winners of a MotoSport.com gift certificate. The 3 weekly winners will be eligible to win the grand prize awarded by a random drawing to be held at the end of the 8th week.

The contest starts Friday, March 20, 2009 at 12:00am PST and ends
Friday, May 15, 2009 at 11:59pm PST.

Weekly Prizes:

$125 for 1st place
$75 for 2nd place
$50 for 3rd place

Grand Prize:

(1) Go Pro Motorsports Hero Camera (estimated retail value of $179.99 US)


How to Enter: You will need to be a registered member of MotoSpace.com to participate in this contest. At the time of uploading your photo, you must enter this into the "Tags" box: MotoPhotoContest

Photos without this tag will not be considered for the contest.

Judging Criteria: The judging will be done by MotoSpace.com Administration Staff using subjective evaluation on the basis of originality, visual appeal, photographic quality, user votes, and comments from registered MotoSpace Community Members.

Link to the Official Rules

Amateur Fantasy Motocross Kickin off March 10

Powered by MotoXDream

We're getting down to the wire in kick starting the 2009 Amateur Fantasy Motocross. The first round starts next week at the Thor Lake Whitney Spring Nationals.

Lock out for the first round is March 10, 2009 @ 8:00AM PST. So make sure you have your picks in to qualify for some great prizes that the boys at VurbMoto and MotoSport.com are offering up. Besides the prize package, you can get to know some of the kids that you'll see lining up as pro's in future AMA Motocross event. Follow the likes of Malcom Stewart (the little bro of James Stewart), Blake Dungey (Ryan's Bro), Dusty Pipes, Dean Wilson, Eli Tomac (the son of Mtn bike great) and many others.

So get your arm chairs ready for some great bench racing and to see who can be crowned the champion. See you on the starting gates!

The Guys over at VurbMoto have a little video teaser of Lake Whitney MX:

2009 Whitney Opener :: RD4 Texas Winter Series
Throwback: Lake Whitney 2003


Check here for more updates: MotoSpace.com

Free 2-Month Digital Subscription to QUAD Magazine on MotoSpace.com

Brought to you by MotoSpace.com and Transworld Quad Magazine.

* No purchase necessary.
* Available to new and existing MotoSpace members.
* Log on or create a new account (using your existing MotoSport log-in information.
* You will be prompted with the offer the first time you log in to MotoSpace.
* Transworld Quad will send an email with further instructions on how to view your subscription

VurbMoto & MotoSport.com bring you Amateur Fantasy Motocross

Powered by www.motoxdream.com
The creative minds at Motosport and VurbMoto have combined forces to bring you Amateur Fantasy Racing League 2009. Powered by MOTOXDream.com, Amateur Fantasy Racing League 2009 will include five rounds of amateur national racing, beginning with the 2009 Parts Unlimited/Thor Spring Classic in Lake Whitney, Texas. The fifth and final round will be the 2009 Air Nautiques Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn’s. The top three team managers at seasons end will be crowned and awarded prize packages following Loretta’s, awards packages will be announced April 1st.

How do you play? First and foremost, it’s FREE FREE FREE!!, so tell all your peeps to jump on board and test their moto knowledge in anticipation of team manager of the year. If you have played Fantasy Supercross then you will already be familiar with the rules, if not please follow the rules instructions within the site, it’s pretty simple.

* Team Managers will pick four riders from each group per national.

* Classes are A class “Premiere” and B Class “Lites”.

* 250 A Stock and 250 B Stock.

* As of round one; no double points or handicaps will be allowed, following the Spring Classic double points and handicaps will be implemented and adjusted after each national going forward.



Deadline for Lake Whitney: Tuesday March 10th, 6am(PST)
Deadline for Oak Hill: Tuesday March 17th, 6am(PST)

The following races are to be included in this year’s Fantasy League calendar;

* Lake Whitney
* Oak Hill
* World Mini Grand Prix
* Ponca City
* Loretta Lynn's



Mini O’s will be added to the calendar for next season and will act as our first round of the 2010 series.

Riders were picked based on 2008 results. If you would like to add a rider email us @ Brent@Vurbmoto.com or Info@MotoXDream.com

Anticipating A Mudder in Anaheim

The word on the streets is Anaheim III is going to be a muddy situation. Having experience a few Anaheim races, under the not so welcomed moisture, I can tell you that we can expect some crazy racing. The Riders who you typically pick week in, and week out, can struggle to keep both wheels up and rolling. Champions have humbled themselves after a few laps of this stuff. But the struggle for some, can offer up the lime light to others. I mean the guys who struggle to make it through the main event under normal circumstances, can become contenders for a spot on the podium. Maybe getting the only opportunity in their professional career to be on the box. Remember Akira Narita?

Any ways tonight we could see the best of the best struggle under the lights, so don't count out the the guys running mid pack. Mud means anything can happen. It's the perfect equalizer. As I'm typing out this blog, I'm also checking the weather conditions in the Anaheim area. I guess time will tell. Laters.

Maybe some radar to depict the situation.


I can welcome the the rain safely behind this monitor and not really think twice about it. I know with it comes excitement and that's welcomed better than having wet socks, or maybe just a soothing cup of frothy hot chocolate.

Here are some shots of the 2005 A1 Mudder, it was Awesome!




Look closely there's a bike buried.

Not Much into Car Racing, But We're Talking About Ricky Carmichael

Just like the title says, I'm not much of a "Nascar" follower. But having our very own Ricky Carmichael in the rankings to someday make it to the big show, has given me some interests in a sport that I wouldn't normally follow. Today, RC will race in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, in Daytona, Fl. Speed TV will air the race LIVE @ 1:00pm PST. I was checking out the qualifiying stats and saw RC qualified 23rd with a top speed of 178.841 and a lap time of 50.324. Looking at the top qualifier he's only 9/10th's of a second off the leader. WOW, that's nothing in supercross, but in car racing I guess it means 23 spots off the leader or about 4mph slower. Crazy!

I'm looking forward to watching his big televised debut in 4-wheels this afternoon. I hope he does well and drives the wheels off that car, just like his Dirt Scooter days.

I'm guessing that this is his Monster Energy Chevrolet race car. GO RC!

Tested and Trued Products :: OGIO Layover Bag

Whether you're heading out of town for the weekend or just going to the coast for the night, I've found the bag for you. The OGIO Layover bag fits perfectly in the overhead luggage bin, allowing you to NOT depend on the airport baggage handlers to loose your change of cloths for the next 3 days. I'm able to cram enough belongings for a trip up to 4 days into this bag. I've tested this personally and can vouch for this. Besides the name brand, OGIO, this bag offers really good quality and a lifetime warranty on the stitching and zippers. I will assure you, if you get enough use out of this bag to destroy the zips or cause the stitching to unravel, OGIO will take care of you. Heck they may even bronze it and keep it in a secured case for the showroom. Joking aside, this bag will be the last bag you'll ever need to buy, unless the wife wants one, in that case you're screwed anyways.
Check out this bag at MotoSport.com for the best price around. Just follow the link. Laters

2008 OGIO LAYOVER BAG

Wanna Be Pro

I would love nothing more than for my passion in photography to lead me into a professional situation. Below is my 1st attempt at possibly getting my photos published. I won't say who, and it's not a huge deal, but it would be cool none the less. As you can see I'm still learning and would love any feedback.

www.flickr.com

IGoogle Widget for MotoSpace Industry News Feed

Our very talented engineers at MotoSport.com have created this very cool IGoogle Widget that allows you to keep a pulse on what's happening in our Industry. This News Feed will keep you up to date in Supercross, Motocross, SuperBike, ATV, and Industry news articles right to your desktop in real time.

To add this widget to your IGoogle Homepage just follow this link and add it.
MotoSpace Industry News Feed IGoogle Widget

Bullpen58’s Pre-Race Report Houston: Round 4

Contrary to what I thought I heard in the DMXS chat room during A2, there IS a race this weekend!! I guess people were talking about how the LITES guys will have a week off and I assumed they meant EVERYONE had a week off. I was worried because that is usually when I forget to pick my teams and my dream of winning that MotoSport.com 2008 KX450F turns into a nightmare faster than you can say “bonehead”. However, don’t despair, fellow absent-minded ones, for there IS a race this weekend!

Round 4 of the series is actually round 1 for the East coast Lites class, which is actually now called the 250 class . . . I think. Considering they went away with the Semis in order to make it easier for the average fan to keep up with what was happening and to make it better “for TV”, it’s surprising that they haven’t done away with the whole East-West coast thing and gone to a combined series in which the champion would be recognized as a genuine AMA champion. It seems to me to be the only “logical” thing to do, but what do I know?

For those of you new to fantasy racing, the first round of the East coast series is always a “make-it or break-it” round for many of us. Just like at A1, there are lots of chances to make up big points and just as many to lose any lead you may have over the other team managers. Many riders are on new teams, coming off of injuries, or new to supercross in general and are therefore, big question marks when it comes to predicting how they will finish. Remember to utilize some of the logical techniques I have presented in previous reports and you should have a reasonable chance of moving up in the standings significantly.

Besides logic, another area of concern that is often neglected by many fantasy team managers is physical fitness. One cannot stress enough the importance of proper physical training and dieting if one is to expect one to be successful in this demanding sport (and yes, I did just use the word “one” three times in one sentence). If you listened to the webcast of A2, you probably heard Davi Millsaps discussing his new training regimen that he feels will surely propel him to the front of the pack soon. After hearing of his decision to “take some time off this week” and “play some golf”, I realized that he obviously understands both the use of logic and the importance of being in shape to race supercross. The same principles apply to fantasy racing – especially fantasy SUPERCROSS racing, which is much more physically demanding than motocross since there are less weekends off during the season. However, as Millsaps pointed out, sometimes it takes a less conventional approach to fitness if you really want to stand out from the competition.

There is no single “most effective” method of training for fantasy supercross racing. Instead, the most efficient way to obtain results is to use a variety of techniques. I’m not going to share all of my training secrets today since I’m trying to win the championship, but I will tell you that playing golf at least once a month does a great deal for your eye-hand-mouse coordination. You’ll soon be scrolling back and forth from the chat room to the Live Wire and back to the MotoSpace message board like you born to do it. Also, golfing helps to improve your patience because it is very, very, VERY boring. If you can walk around a grassy park for 2 or 3 hours carrying a crooked stick and chasing after a ball that you just hit yourself, you can easily sit in front of the computer monitor scouring over the endless amount of information available to us all. When other team managers get bored and leave to do selfish things like work, parent their kids, or have a life, you’ll be content to just sit there staring at the glowing screen in front of you for hours and hours and hours. In fact, if you can fit golf into your schedule once per week like Millsaps does, you’ll be moving up in the standings faster than Reed flying the pack after falling in turn one. So grab your plaid pants and goofy shoes and get to training!

Round 3 :: Anaheim 2 Post Race by DW Racing

The Motosport.com 2009 SX Fantasy League has new points leaders after Rd. 3 from Anaheim. "WTF RACING" and "mitchell" (jock's offspring) are tied for the lead with "hoots3pak JR" (hoots3pak's offspring) in third. Veteran player "LongBoardGrotto" slides down to fourth followed by "mxmerle"in the fifth spot. "mxjr737" and "HANS604" are tied for sixth place, while our early points leader had a off night dropping to eighth in the standings. "The Hulk" and "Hammer Time" round out our top 10 after Anaheim 2.

Top 10 in the 250 Main, Dungey took the win followed by, Morais, Weimer, Lawrence, and C. Blose in fifth. Reardon sixth, with Brayton, Cunningham, Hall, and PJ Larsen in tenth.

The 450 top 10 in the Main saw Stewart win again, followed by, Reed, Windham, Villopoto, and Grant in fifth. Short sixth, with Tedesco, Ferry, M. Alessi, and Millsaps back in tenth.

We had some Tie breakers from last weekends Phoenix race that needed to be settled in Anaheim. In the FOX Divison mxc712 earned the third spot. And in the FMF Division "Hammer Time" earned the third place spot.

Congratulations to our Weekly Winners from Rd. 3 at Anaheim 2

VONZIPPER DIVISION
1st boohi 206
2nd Factory Privateer 199
3rd aaryn #234 197

FOX DIVISION
1st boohi 206
2nd Holeshot 711 205
3rd team bone 199

NOFEAR DIVISION
1st bebo180 214
2nd (TIE) mreiman112 & boohi 206
3rd

FMF DIVISION
1st HANS604 212
2nd ozone 208
3rd boohi 206

Last but not least, the Perfect Team:

250 class
50 Michael Hall "HOT" HDCP 8
32 Eric McCrummen "HOT" HDCP 8
30 Jeff Alessi "HOT" HDCP 6
30 Kyle Cunningham "HOT HDCP 2
142 total

450 class
26 Paul Carpenter "HOT" HDCP 3
25 James Stewart
25 Kevin Windham HDCP 2
24 Troy Adams "HOT" HDCP 6
100 total

The Perfect Team Total = 242

Good Luck to everyone as its our first East Coast race at Rd. 4 in Houston, TX.
DW Racing

2009 MotoXDream Fantasy Supercross ***Update***

Alright the server is up and running and will have the season built out within the next 48 hours, so everyone can join. Check it out if you've never heard of it or played in a fantasy league. It's addicting and fun. Plus you're giving back to a great organization, Rider Down Foundation. And at the end of the tunnel, at the final round at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas Nevada, could be your new, cool, and fast MotoSport Xtreme Kawasaki KX45F Race Bike.

This couldn't be possible without our great sponsors:

• MotoSport.com
  
• Von Zipper
  
• FMF Racing
  
• Cycra
  
• Fox
  
• Sixsixone
  
• EVS
  
• Spy
  
• No Fear
  
• Rider Down Foundation
  
• MotoSpace :: MotoSport Rider Community
  

Here's a photo of Tommy Hahn 2008 MotoSport Xtreme Kawasaki KX450F Race Bike!

2009 Fantasy Supercross

New season starting up January 3, 2009 @ Anaheim 1!

Welcome Race Fans!

We want to give everyone a heads up about the new and improved MotoXDream Fantasy Supercross brought to you by MotoSport.com 2009 season.

The website will be live to the public hopefully within the next few days. Once it's live, we can begin signing up for the new '09 SX season. The information on how to play, and answers to questions, may be found @ www.motoxdream.com

The prize divisions will be outstanding, as usual, as we nailed down some great sponsors.

Headlining and offering up the grand prize, MotoSport.com, has donated Tommy Hahn' 2008 MotoSport Xtreme Kawasaki KX450F team bike. This scooter isn't a replica, it's the real deal. This race bike will be given to the overall winner of the series. On top of that, the weekly swag prizes for the top finishers of each race will be getting quality goodies from this years sponsors. The sponsors we have are:
Von Zipper
FMF
Cycra
Fox
Sixsixone
EVS
Spy
Rider Down Foundation
www.MotoSpace.com
www.MotoSport.com

and hopefully more to come.

The cost to play will be $25. Before you wonder why you should pay, besides the opportunity to win a fabulous Race Bike and weekly swag, MotoSport will donate $5 of the sign up fee to the Rider Down Foundation. And you'll receive a $20 gift certificate to MotoSport.com. Basically, its only going to cost you a donation of $5 to a great organization helping our fallen riders.

That's it wrapped up in a nut shell, and I'll keep everyone posted with any new information as it becomes available.

I hope to see everyone there. We built a forum page dedicated to the Fantasy League, so check it out for more details.

See you on the starting gates!

More details can be found at www.MotoSpace.com

MotoSpace Online Motocross, Offroad, ATV and Street Community

Motospace was created with the simple idea of creating an online community that didn’t just chase races, sell product, or advertise you blind. We simply wanted to create the tools, and the space, for riders to connect with other riders.

Make Motospace the one place you visit everyday when you get on the internet. That is what we designed it to be. We want this to be the rider’s home. We hope that whatever kind of information and entertainment you want, Motospace has it. This is all for you. You all have a direct hand in shaping the Motospace environment, keeping it relevant, fun, and up to date.

As much as we like to read moto news, watch videos, and post on forums, there can always be more. So we went beyond all the usual content. At Motospace you can login 24 hours a day and find a race or ride. Other riders could be 5 minutes away from you or 5 hours away. Ultimately, it’s all one click away. Check out the map, on the front page, all those red markers, they’re rides and races that you can participate in!

So go register, login and start hanging out with our other members. Create a blog, play games, access industry news and articles, and even hold online meets where you can use a collaborative “white board” to share your ideas in real time.

Please come and check it out: www.motospace.com