MOTOCROSS RACING NEWS: FROM AROUND THE WORLD



Gautier Paulin will probably replace Christophe Pourcel at the MXDN.

1.THE MXDN MERRY-GO-ROUND
Guess what? France will lose the services of Christophe Pourcel because of his Pala injury. He will most likely be replaced by Gautier Paulin…no slouch as he won the Lierop GP two weeks ago.

2. THE LAST AMA NATIONAL NUMBERS OF 2010


Ryan Dungey.

450 Class Final Points
1. Ryan Dungey (USA)…543
2. Brett Metcalfe (Oz)…398
3. Andrew Short (USA)…393
4. Ben Townley (NZ)…321
5. Mike Alessi (USA)…314
6. Kyle Chisholm (USA)…266
7. Josh Grant (USA)…260
8. Ryan Sipes (USA)…234
9. Kyle Regal (USA)…224
10. Nick Wey (USA)…223



Trey Canard.

250 Class Final Points
1. Trey Canard (USA)…474
2. Tyla Rattray (SoA)…446
3. Christophe Pourcel (Fra)…443
4. Dean Wilson (USA)…437
5. Justin Barcia (USA)…348
6. Eli Tomac (USA)…327
7. Broc Tickle (USA)…287
8. Blake Wharton (USA)…285
9. Martin Davalos (Ecu)…251
10. Wil Hahn (USA)…213



3. THE PROGNOSTICATORS
Every year at this time the idiots come out of the woodwork to try to convince everybody that they are in the know. They state with absolute certainty that Chad Reed is going to KTM…then a week later they are positive that he is going to Honda…then, well you get the idea. Reed’s recent twitter escapades provide a lot of humor, but make him look like he is seeking attention

There are people who know where a given rider is going, but no one who knows where everyone is going. Rather than play the rumor game, why don’t we just sit back and let it play out. Even if Chad Reed does eventually find another ride, what difference does it make if he isn’t going to race again until next January.

For every genius who guesses right about where Pourcel is going (and from a statistical viewpoint, Christophe only has five places to go?which means even a monkey with a computer in his bedroom will be right 20 percent of the time), there are more prognosticators who are wrong.


Dean has a home.

4. JUST SO THERE ARE NO DOUBTS:
The 2011 Pro Circuit/Monster Kawasaki team will be Dean Wilson, Tyla Rattray, Blake Baggett and Broc Tickle. Tommy Searle will race the 250 West Supercross series for Pro Circuit, but will then race for the Pro Circuit team in the 250 World Championships (along with Max Anstie). We heard this first from a chimp on the internet from Des Moines, but waited for Mitch Payton to tell us himself.
 

5. KAWASAKI SAYS ADIOS TO CHAD REED
It was a short and bittersweet relationship. Chad left L&M Yamaha for Suzuki. He left Suzuki for the greener pastures of Team Kawasaki. It didn’t last long. The official word from Kawasaki was also short and sweet. It reads: “Monster Energy Kawasaki would like to thank Chad Reed for being a part of our team for the 2010 AMA Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM Championship and the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Series. Reed was a valuable member of our program scoring one win and multiple podium finishes aboard his Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

6. THE WOMEN CAP THEIR SEASONS
Both Women’s motocross championships came to their final conclusions this weekend. The American version in California and the European version in Italy.


Steffi Laier celebrates in Fermo.          Ray Archer.

Europe: Germany’s Steffi Laier sealed her second consecutive WMX world title at Fermo, Italy. Steffi settled the title question in the first moto, which she won by more than 11 seconds. This gave her 299 championship points and a 46-point advantage over Livia Lancelot. Laier’s title means that KTM has won the 250, 450, 125 and Women’s Championships in 2010.

FIM WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Stephanie Laier…299
2. Livia Lancelot…273
3. Larissa Papenmeier…263
4. Chiara Fontanesi…248
5. Maria Franke…222
6. Natalie Kane…189
7. Marielle De Mol…179
8. Elin Mann, Elin…167
9. Elien De Winter…155
10. Francisca Nocera…137


Ashley Fiolek lost her title to Jessica Patterson.

USA: After a dominating season, DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson captured her sixth WMX Class title en route to a runner-up effort at Pala (1-2). Ashley Fiolek won Pala, but finished second in the 2010 Championship to Patterson. Tarah Geiger was third in the standings.

WMX WOMEN’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Jessica Patterson…382
2. Ashley Fiolek…360
3. Tarah Gieger…295
4. Vicki Golden…252
5. Mariana Balbi…239
6. Sara Price…230
7. Sarah Whitmore…219
8. Alexah Pearson…202
9. Tatum Sik…179
10. Jacqueline Strong…154


7. HUSKY COMES BACK TO THEIR ROOTS: WILL RACE THE GP’S IN 2011
Husqvarna has announced they will race the 250 World Motocross Championships in 2011?with the support of a top team. The Husky team will field two riders in the 250 class on  fuel-injected TC250’s. Husky will announce the riders on October. Husqvarna was created in 1903 and currently own 77 World Titles among all offroad disciplines.


8. FOR THOSE STUCK IN THE PALA TRAFFIC JAM
MX Sports says, “Of course we will refund tickets that were not used as a result of traffic. We always try to do the right thing and we will do it here for anyone that had a problem getting in and was turned away.”


Carlos Campano?the last of the breed?saved at the last second.

9. THE DEATH OF A CLASS:
Last week Carlos Campano won the FIM’s MX3 World Championship and learned that the class had been abolished and changed into an amateur series. This week, the FIM reversed themselves and, as for now, MX3 will be back as a Pro series next year.


Maybe KTM can hire everyone.

10. KEN ROCZEN GOES WHERE?
Pit Beirer, KTM’s offroad racing program manager, announced at a press conference on Sunday that Suzuki’s Ken Roczen, who won the Italian GP, has been signed to the KTM factory team for 2011. Beier said, “Ken has a three-year contract with us and will race the MX2 Championship in 2011. We want Ken to stay with us for many years, and everything is possible; he can race MX1 if he wants or even go straight to America. We are still waiting for confirmation that they will put the age limit in America back to 16, and, if they do, he will for sure race selected 250 West Coast SX in January. But I doubt he will race the complete series next year; it is important that he is fit to race the GPs and we do not want to put him under any pressure for his debut in the States.”

Beirer also confirmed that Teka would be joining KTM as sponsor. Now we see a lot more about KTM’s aggressive moves of the last few weeks. The next shoe to drop will be the possibility that Red Bull will pull out of the American Honda team and move to KTM USA also.


Torri, Gajser and Lazzari.

11. TGM MAKES A COMEBACK IN THE FIM 125 GRAND PRIX SERIES
TGM came on the motocross scene back in 1974 and were somewhat of a powerhouse in the 125 World Championships?Michele Rinaldi finished second in 1980 and then, the hand-built Italian brand dropped out of the racing world. They came back this weekend at Fermo in the EMX 125 series with Tim Gajser of Slovenia in the saddle. Gajser was 12th overall at Fermo, Italy. Gajser’s prototype was entirely made with Italian parts, except for the Fox suspensions. The 125cc engine is made by TM (as was the frame of the machine, even though the latter is was slightly modified). The old school TGM’s used Hiro engines. The TGM team is headed Giovanni Torri and former TGM mechanic Luigi Lazzari. TGM has no plans to make production bikes at the moment.


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