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3/19/08

 

MOTOCROSS ACTION MID-WEEK REPORT

 

 

Old-timers well remember the Bel-Ray logo as one of the most popular back in the 70’s, especially on the factory Maico riders. Bel-Ray can still be found at the races and that’s where we ran into Geoff  Walters who is the Consumer Division Marketing Manager for Bel-Ray.

MXA: What is Bel-Ray’s history in motocross?
Geoff: Bel-Ray’s involvement in motorcycling was because of  Kurt Kiefer, son of the company’s founders, in the early ‘70s. He and our current Division Sales Manager, JJ Handfield, were convinced  that there was a need for high performance lubrication in the sport they loved. They went to the races in the now infamous “Big Blue” race van to find out firsthand what was needed from the top racers on the most demanding tracks in the world. From their feedback and hands on experience at the track, Bel-Ray became the innovative lubrication leader that we still are today. Bel-Ray sponsored virtually every pro rider and champion in the ‘70s, and we’ve been on the national and international circuits ever since. Racing has always been a critical part of our R&D process, and it still is.

MXA: What teams doe Bel-Ray sponsors today?
Geoff: We work with a wide variety of pro motorcycle teams and riders worldwide.  For example, just in motocross for 2008 we have the DNA Energy/ BTO Sports Butler Brothers MX Team in the U.S. and the TM Factory Team in Europe. TM additionally competes in FIM Supermoto and Enduro. We’re really proud to be the lubricant of choice for the Factory Aprilia/ Rip-It Energy Supermoto Race Team, which won us the AMA Supermoto Team title and the Supermoto Unlimited Championship with Ben Carlson last year. In Australia there’s also the Factory Yamaha Road Race team with Jamie Stauffer, who won just about everything you can win down there over the last two years.

 

MXA: What should four stroke riders be aware of with engine oil and the need to to change it?
Geoff: Four-stroke motocross riding is the harshest environment for engine oil. Constant back-and-forth between full on/full off engine power, very high heat and rpms, and shock loads fed back through the driveline from jumps and whoops all place stresses on the engines and oil unparalleled in other two-wheel motorsports. Couple that with typically very small oil volumes and the high amounts of contamination with soot and unburned gasoline these mills produce and you have one of the most challenging lubrication situations in the entire automotive field. Frankly, if you believe that your motocross bike is just like your car, requiring an oil change every 3,000 miles with whatever is available, your motor will give you an expensive surprise. Many off-road bikes need oils that work with their clutches and gear boxes, and all off-road bikes require more frequent oil changes to keep the oil clean. They can greatly benefit from motor oil designed to have better viscosity stability and wear protection properties than conventional engine oils are intended to provide.

 

MXA: What frequency schedule would you advise for changing?
Geoff: In the days when 2-strokes ruled the roost, the engine lubricant only had to last one pass through the motor, so contamination was not a concern. For today’s four strokes the reason to change the oil is to keep it clean. Off-road four strokes dump more junk than other motors into the engine oil including soot and unburned fuel and clutch material in ‘shared sump’ bikes. How fast the oil gets dirty will depend on factors including the engine design and duty cycle that make it impossible to have a ‘one size fits all’ recommendation. Pro teams typically drain & fill each race weekend or even each race day. You definitely want to change it as often as is recommended in your owner’s manual. Some so-called ‘synthetic’ products are promoted for cars and trucks with ‘extended drain’ features. But for off-road motorcycles the engine oil gets dirty long before the oil itself starts to lose performance, so extending drains on them is not advisable regardless of which oil is used.

MXA: What engine oil does Bel-Ray sell & what are its features?
Geoff: We specifically developed Bel-Ray Thumper 4-Stroke Racing Motor Oil for off-road racing engines.  It includes the outstanding shifting performance from our Bel-Ray Gear Saver Motorcycle Transmission Fluid (a favorite for years in 2-strokes), adds special features to maximize engine power and throttle response, and features the outstanding wear protection that Bel-Ray is known for. A full technical report for this product as well as a lot of other great information is available by Clicking Here.  

 

PRESS RELEASE: SixSixOne Comp Gloves

 

Available in four color combos, the 661 Comp glove features lightly padded, synthetic leather palms with mesh fingers and flexible Airprene and TPR rubber for finger protection. $21.95 For more info, Click Here.

 

MXA Minneapolis Supercross Review  

"Hey Josh, I don't know if you know this, but there's a camera on your helmet!" Be sure to Click Here to get a rider's eye view of Josh Hill's big win in Minnesota. 

 

Minneapolis marked the arrival of Ryan Dungey's new Target sponsorship and he was sporting the department store's logo on his gloves and helmet. The crowd response to Dungey assured the Target folk present at the race that they'd made a good decision by sponsoring the increasingly popular Suzuki rider.   

 

Besides having two of the fastest bikes in the field, both Ryan Villopoto and Nico Izzi use big rocks to steady themselves with at the start.  

 

Trey Canard had a scary moment in practice when he crashed hard and tweaked his ankle.Trey limped off the track and retreated to the stands to watch until he came out for his race.

 

Rockstar/OTSFF/Suzuki City up & comer Jimy Albertson was putting in a good ride in the LCQ when he came up short on a jump and broke his collarbone.

 

"Bunny" is the name of Travis Preston's pet donkey.

 

Josh Hill's grandpa always told the Yamaha rider that he would be at the first Supercross that the youngster ever won....he was in Minneapolis and couldn't have been any happier.

 

Unlike Chad Reed, Ryan Villopoto runs the complete strap system for his Alpinestars brace.

 

Trey Canard runs with two messages on his crossbar pad; " Relax and have fun!" and a reminder of Psalm 121:2 ( "My help comes from the Lord the Maker of heaven and earth").

 

Chad Reed broke out a new colorway of his Thor gear for practice.

 

How many Honda mechanics does it take to understand what Ben Coisy is talking about? Three, plus David Vuillemin to translate.

 

Jeff Alessi tried to comeback from his wrist injury, but it was still too soon. No matter how hard he tried Jeff would pull in after a few laps discouraged and in pain. On the Mike Alessi front, Suzuki team manager Roger DeCoster said that Mike would start riding again this upcoming weekend and would hopefully pass on the remaining Supercross races to instead ready himself for the upcoming outdoor season.

 

QUOTE: " I always wondered what they thought they were achieving with that rule. If you're going to let them race, why penalize them for doing well? At least they didn't wait until it was too late! Roger DeCoster on the news that the AMA rescinded their previous rule that would make any 250 rider who did well in the 450 class ineligible to stay on a 250.

 
MXA MINI-VIEW: Sean Hackley

MXA: The last time we saw you ride was at Hangtown last year when you crashed out of practice. What’s been going on since then?
Sean: Basically, I’ve just been trying to get back into it like I was last year. I had to take about five months off after the crash.

 

MXA: How are things going now that you’ve hooked up with the Toshiba team?
Sean: Much better, but I still have some ground to make up. A lot of people were skeptical about me after I got hurt, but luckily I had worked with (Toshiba team manager) Jim Chamberlain when I was at Motoworld and he knew what I was capable of. The deal I have with Jim now is just for the east coast Supercross races. Unfortunately I was sick for the first round and had some crashes in round two.

MXA: What comes after that?
Sean: I don’t know really. My plan is to do the first two rounds of the outdoor series because they’re both in California, but after that I’m not sure. I know I probably don’t look that promising to anybody. I guess I’ll keep doing local races, bit either way it won’t stop me from racing. I want to do what I think I’m capable of. More than anything, I just hope that I don’t have go through the whole amateur program again.

 

PRESS RELEASE: Merge Scores a Trifecta

This last weekend in his home state, TUF Honda's Chad Johnson wrapped up the title in the AMA Toyota Arenacross Series. Babbit's Kawasaki 's Kelly Smith had a dominating weekend sweeping the main events and securing second in the series points. His teammate Broc Sellards finished an excellent season in third overall.

 

The one item that all three of these great racers have in common is the Merge ALJ (Adjustable Leak Jet). With constant bar banging in the tight confines of the Arenacross series, all three riders chose the Merge ALJ for instantaneous throttle response with no bogging issues. 

 

We at Merge would like to thank Chad, Kelly, Broc, TUF Honda and Babbitʼs Kawasaki for a great season.

 

Merge Racing Technologies are available at your local dealer. For more information, Click Here.

 

Extremeion Carbon Raptor, a proprietary diamond-like carbon coating (DLC), is used by AMA Supercross and Motocross champions to improve handling and increase fork tube and shock shaft component life. The Carbon Raptor Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (PACVD) process coats component surfaces with a carbon film to reduce friction and surface wear. Carbon Raptor is highly flexible, won’t break off, and is known to be the highest hardness and lowest friction DLC available.Carbon Raptor increases suspension response by reducing sticking and sliding friction of the forks and shocks. Components are also made resistant to scratches and nicks, which extends service life and shock seal longevity. Fore more info, Click Here.

 

MXA MINI-VIEW: Michele Dungey

 

MXA: Ryan is not only proven to be an accomplished rider, but he’s also recognized as being one of  the nicest and most polite riders on the circuit, which is more important to you?
Michele: I’m a mother so I would say the nicest and polite is what I’m most proud of. I just think that you teach your kids the best you can, and you hope that they use that later on when you’re not around, so I think that shows that we did a good job. At least I think we did a good job! I’m pretty sure we did, so that makes me very proud of him.

 

MXA: Knowing what you know about what it took to get here, would you go back and do it all again?
Michele: That’s a good one. I think that it’s a lot harder than people understand. And you have to put so much into it, if he wanted to, of course yes. I don’t know if I have a very good answer to that one I’m kinda stuck, that’s a hard one.

 

MXA: If you had another son who wanted to do the same, would you?
Michele: We are actually, with our younger son [Blake, 13] and until he doesn’t want to, you have to support your children, and that’s what I’m doing, whether they play hockey, football, motocross, they’re my kids and I’m going to support them. My younger son is actually racing in Texas right now with my husband, so it’s kinda hard when you’re splitting your kids and your family up.

 

MXA: Has it been difficult trying to maintain a sense of normalcy in the whole family dynamic, with all the traveling and everything else that is going on?
Michele: The last six months have been a lot harder. Just because Ryan will be in California, Troy [Ryan’s dad] might be in Florida, I’ll be in Minnesota, so we’ll all be split up. Getting here, we were always together as a family, we’re apart more now that we were when we were trying to make it. And that’s hard, I mean for a mom that’s hard. I don’t know if the guys’ think that’s hard, they probably like to get away from me, no just kidding! But right now it’s just me and the dogs here in Minnesota!

 

A NIGHT AT BOB'S

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN & DO GOOD

A host of current and former motorcycle racing champions are pitching in to help AMA Hall of Fame motocrosser Broc Glover’s efforts to combat Cystic Fibrosis with donations of their authentic racing items and rare personal memorabilia, the likes of which have seldom been offered anywhere at any price.

“We are so blessed that the top names in motorcycle racing are giving so many wonderful items for our CF Foundation fundraiser,” said Glover. “Money we raise from the eBay auction, silent auction, and Breathe Easy Ride on March 30th, will go a long, long way to finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.”
As the parent of a young child afflicted with the disease, 6-year-old Dayne, Glover’s connection to the CF Foundation and CF research efforts runs deep. And his dedication to raising money and awareness for CF research is no less significant than effort he invested to capture 6 AMA national motocross racing titles.

“CF receives no government funding and survives primarily on donations and fundraisers like our Breathe Easy Ride. Nothing has ever meant so much to me and I will leave no stone unturned until a cure is found.”

A collection of helmets, jerseys, and items of extreme collectible value are being offered in an online eBay charity auction with proceeds going to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis of San Diego.

* Wayne Rainey’s 1989 USGP boots from his personal collection – These are the very Nankai brand racing boots Rainey wore at Laguna Seca when he won his first GP in the United States.
* Chad Reed’s 2008 Atlanta Supercross Helmet – Chad Reed’s custom painted and autographed San Manual/Yamaha team THOR MX helmet worn during the infamous 2008 Atlanta Supercross race. Shows traces of red Georgia clay.
* Chad Reed’s 2008 Atlanta Supercross Jersey – Chad Reed’s autographed San Manual/Yamaha team THOR MX jersey worn during the 2008 Atlanta Supercross race.
* Chad Reed’s 2008 Atlanta Supercross Riding Pants – Chad Reed’s autographed San Manual/Yamaha team THOR MX pants worn during the 2008 Atlanta Supercross race.

* Jeremy McGrath Jersey – Limited Edition "Boot Leg" THOR MX jersey hand selected for the Breathe Easy Ride charity by “The King” himself.
* Jeremy McGrath Riding Pants – Limited Edition "Boot Leg" THOR MX pants hand selected and autographed for the Breathe Easy Ride charity by “The King” himself.

* Josh Hill’s 2008 Jersey – Worn and autographed by Hill, 2008 AMA Supercross-class rookie sensation’s AMA Pro debut-year #58 THOR jersey.
* Ryan Villopoto’s 2007 Jersey – Worn and autographed #2 THOR/Pro Circuit jersey from the 2007 AMA Pro Racing’s Athlete of the Year.
* Trey Canard’s 2008 Daytona SX Chest Protector – Trey Canard’s autographed Factory Connection/No Fear Stratos chest protector worn in the driving rain while winning the 2008 Daytona “mudfest” Supercross Lites race.
* Ben Spies Alpinestars Boots – Worn and autographed camo-print Alpinestars boots from Ben’s 2007 AMA Superbike championship season.
* Ben Spies 2007 Alpinestars “HOOF PRINT” Boots – Ben Spies’ autographed custom hoof-print Alpinestars boots worn while stomping the competition during the 2007 AMA Superbike championship season.
* Roger Lee Hayden 2008 Daytona Boots – Roger Lee Hayden’s autographed Alpinestars boots from this year’s Daytona Speedweek.
* Miguel Duhamel’s 2008 Daytona leathers – Worn and autographed by Miguel at Daytona. Custom made Joe Rocket Team Honda leathers with road rash!
* Neil Hodgson’s 2008 Daytona 200 Leathers – worn and autographed custom made Speed and Strength Team Honda leathers.
* Honda Team 2008 Daytona Joe Rocket AHM jacket – Joe Rocket CBR leather jacket autographed by American Honda’s 2008 road racing team member's Josh Hayes, Neil Hodgson, Miguel Duhamel & Jake Zemke.
* Mark Burkhart 2007 AMA Supermoto Champion pants – raced in and autographed by Mark Burkhart. Custom tailored THOR MX Supermoto pants from 2007 AMA Supermoto Championship season.
* Mark Burkhart 2007 AMA Supermoto Champion – raced in and autographed by Mark Burkhart. THOR MX, Graves Motorsports/Yamaha Supermoto jersey from 2007 AMA Supermoto Championship season.
* Jason Pridmore 2-day STAR riding school – complete with bike rental and personalized VIP treatment.

Additional items are being added to the inventory on a daily basis and details can be found Here.

To get the full low-down on Broc Glover's Breathe Easy Ride Against Cystic Fibrosis or make a donation, Click Here and find out how you can join this event and contribute to the battle against Cystic Fibrosis.