RJ SAYS: Latest TORC truck race, my first National Motocross, my first Grand Prix Motocross

Our last TORC race was the previous weekend in Crandon, Wisconsin. It was wonderful. That Sunday was Father's day,  .... the track was awesome, the sun was shining, everything was great, and I was really proud as a father because my oldest son Luke was racing his first off road truck race. My friend Dave Waldvogel is the guy helping my son Luke cut his teeth on off road short course racing.

Everything about the race was a successs - great turn out of racers in all classes, both pro and sportsmen. And we had a packed house with spectators.

As far as my racing goes, I was conservative on the first day (Saturday), and I paid for it: by getting beat up pretty good (remember, we rub and bump and push to pass each other in these 800hp trucks!), and by eating a lot of roost in passing other drivers. I ended up with third place.

The second day (Sunday), I was running strong, leading, but had a couple of mechanical problems and a flat tire, but ended up in fourth place.

The highlight of my weekend's racing was when I won the Chairman's Cup - it's named after the Chairman of the local Potawatomi Indian Tribe. We race Pro 2 trucks and Pro 4 x 4 trucks together. The Pro 2's start out front because their lap times are slower, and then the Pro 4's take off. I got off early, some other guys had some problems, and I never looked back. Felt good.

My son Luke, in his first race got a fifth, and then next day he got second, and set fastest lap of the race - I'm really proud of him. Luke is going to be situated in Wisconon starting the day after the race. Luke will be living in Wisconsin this summer, in the same basement that Jimmie Johnson (yes, the current NASCAR Champion) did when he was 17, with Charlie Schlieve - he's my current crew chief, he was my crew chief back in 1998 when I won the CORR Pro 2 championship. And Charlie was Jimmie's crew chief in 1996 and 1997.

After I got my son all set up there, I flew home, drove up to Hollywood for movie premiere of "Born in Baja - The Raptor Story". The Raptor is an awesome new truck that Ford is releasing next year - you'll need to get one or two at the very least. Seriously, it's a super-truck .. and I'll let you know more about it as soon as I can.

My very first AMA National Motocross:

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was Hangtown 1981. It was the only race I've ever had to race a qualifier at. (I was always in the top ten after that in my career.) Cliff Lett and Chuck Warren built me a bike that was incredible - I thought it had the best bike ever - the suspension, the motor, the handling - it was beautiful.

I thought the track was awesome too. Me being 16 years old at the time, and having raced only in southern California, there was a few guys I didn't know. Tommy Benolkin and Danny .... I forget his last name. But I certainly was intimidated, especially by all the guys I didn't know and had never raced against back home.

I think I finished fourth or fifth that day ... but I was so impressed with how the fast guys went hard for 45 minutes. I was so blown away at how fast guys like Mark Barnett could go without breaking a sweat. It made me doubt that I could ever be a good motocross or supercross racer.

Later that same year, I broke my wrist at a local race at Glen Helen. Erik Kehoe got hurt on the same day at the same race - he broke his leg - really bad. Erik's leg got sucked in between the wheel and the swingarm. We both rode Yamaha's at the time, although I was only on the support team.

When I came back to motocross racing later that season after my broken wrist had healed, they put me with Bob Oliver (Erik's mechanic) because Erik was still injured. And I got Erik's Factory bike for the Mid Ohio 125 US Grand Prix of Motocross - this would be my first time ever racing a Motocross Grand Prix.

And once again, Mark Barnett demolished everybody. In the mud, he would go as fast I could go when it was dry! He was incredible! I didn't finish very well, I was stlll recovering with my wrist, ... but it felt great to be back on the bike again (even though I got my ass kicked : )

RJ

Rob Herring George Holland Jeremy van Horebeek

AMA Women's Motocross Championship Ready to Hit the Track in 2010

Nation's Fastest Females Showcasing More Support than Ever Before

MORGANTOWN, W.V. (April 28, 2010) - The success achieved at last season's Women's Motocross Championship (WMX) has carried over into 2010 as the nation's top female competitors prepare for another exciting eight-race championship featuring two new tracks, a new title sponsor and more support for the riders and the series than ever before.

Gerard Rond Jean Sebastien Roy Alex Salvini

RJ SAYS: Supercross, on four wheels

It was going to be a good idea. Key word being 'was'. It was going to be a good idea!

My idea was to show you what the truck racing series that I promote and race in is like. It's like Supercross, only on four wheels!

So, my plan was simple - I'd invite my good friend Lex out to the finale of the Traxxis TORC series in Las Vegas, we'd mount a camera on the hood of my race truck, and I'd show you just how rough the racing is. It would be me (a former 2 time AMA Supercross Champion) and Jeremy McGrath (best Supercross rider in history!) showing you supercross - on four wheels!

It is rough. Very rough. We bump, grind, rub, and run into each other. It's 'no-holds-barred' racing. Trucks get abused & trashed. Not only that, but the roost of dirt, mud, rocks, and @#$% that comes up in your face following another 900 horsepower truck is ... ballistic.

OK, ... the key word was "was". Lex was confident the camera he put on the hood of my truck would stay on the hood, and we'd have some great video action from practice to show you just how cool TORC is (The Off Road Championship - website http://www.torcseries.com - that's where you can see all the results from the series and more info).

I asked him again. "Are you sure that camera is going to stay mounted?" And his very confident reply was "Yeah, ... uhhhhh .... well .... I think so. Uhhh ..... I hung it up on the door of my office and hung from it. It stayed mounted there. But .... uhhhhh ..... yeah, I think it will stay mounted."

Yeah, right! It didn't stay mounted.

Last time I saw Lex, he was walking around the track looking for his camera. For about 2 hours. In the mud.

One thing I know for sure ... that camera is now part of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.

So, guess what you get to see instead of that cool footage? You get to see a few photos, and a quick video of the race from Friday night. I'm number 48 in the Red Bull truck, and Jeremy is number 2 in the Monster truck. See more below. And come out to a TORC event next year! You'll have a great time!

RJ


Here is the grand experiment - camera is mounted on my truck's hood. Ready to go. But not for long!


Jeremy McGrath inside his truck. Ready to go out and roost!


That's me in practice. If you look closely, you'll see the camera is actually still on the hood! Racing these trucks is very much like supercross, except we have an extra 2 wheels, and an extra 850 horsepower.


Jeremy getting some air over one of the jumps


Jeremy leading me in Friday night's main event.


Jeremy McGrath


That's me getting a little air over one of the jumps on the course

In this video is this corner where the mud on top was incredibly slick. So we couldn't accelerate like we wanted to, or we'd slide right into the wall. I'm number 48 in the Red Bull truck and Jeremy is number 2 in the Monster truck.

{jvideo id=236 height=360 width=480 autoPlay=0}

Marcus Hansson Doug Henry Broc Hepler

RJ Says: State of Supercross

As the West Region ends for a while, and East region gets ready to start up ... In 250 West Supercross 2010, Jake Weimer and Trey Canard are showing a lot of confidence right now. I'm very impressed with both of these racers right now. This past race at Anaheim was a good example for both of them.

Series points leader Jake Weimer has a great heat race with a win, even after that heat was red-flagged. Jake had some trouble in the Main Event, but showed his smarts by charging hard the full 15 laps, coming up to eighth at the finish ... that could literally save his season and potentially the championship title.

Trey had some problems in his heat, but came back very strong in the final - he won the 250 Main in Anaheim. That shows a lot of maturity from him as a rider.

They are both adapting well to the tracks, which this year seem to be a little tighter, which can sometimes make it harder to pass other riders on. Both are showing a lot of confidence, and a lot of maturity.

The big picture for the two of them right now is they get to settle down and take a break away from this series. Once you start racing in a new year, you reach a new plateau of physical fitness because you push yourself harder when racing as compared to practice. They've had six races back-to-back.

For Trey, he's supposed to be doing a few East Coast races for Honda Red Bull racing in the 450 Supercross class. That will be a good (and new) experience for him lining up against the guys in the 450 class. You have the top three guys in supercross from last year - James Stewart, Chad Reed and Andrew Short all out of action with injuries - the sky is the limit for everyone. I think it will be a great confidence builder as well for Trey to get out there and run with the 450's.

OK, now, big picture for the 450 Supercross class. You have three guys trying to separate themselves from the others, and it could very well be that one of these three riders will end up being the 2010 AMA Supercross Series Champion: Ryan Dungey, Josh Hill, and Ryan Villopoto.

Ryan Dungey, after coming off a great 450 ride in October at the Motocross des Nations, and starting this supercross season with a lot of confidence, ... seems to me, ... and I could be wrong, like he is thinking about the championship already. It seems like he's looking at a lot of different things possibly different than how he has in the past. He might be riding more defensively than he was earlier in the season ... he's looking at potentially different set ups for suspension and tires, and possibly more.

I think if Ryan rides smooth and calculated like he did at the first couple of rounds, he'll get back in the good groove that he was in.

Josh Hill: He's been there (near the front) every weekend. Once he gets his 'break thru' win of this season, he'll know that he can win, and I think he'll be a different rider. He's fun to watch, he's really quick in a lot of areas, and isn't afraid to mix it up with guys.

Ryan Villopoto: At the first couple rounds he didn't look real impressive. He wasn't 'putting it all together'. But now, and you saw it last weekend in Anaheim, he rode very fast, was impressive, smooth, and made very few mistakes. I think he's very comfortable running in the top position on the race track. Ryan looks to be 'coming on' right now, ... and Hill and Dungey will have to do something about it if they want it to change.

RJ


Trey Canard on top in Anaheim


Jake Weimer winning in San Diego


Ryan Dungey winning in Phoenix


Josh Hill leading Davi Millsaps and Kevin Windham


Ryan Villopoto winning in Anaheim last weekend

Jake Weimer Jimmy Weinert Nick Wey

2011 Motocross of Nations to be held in France

The Motocross of Nations, annually the biggest & most prestigious motocross event in the world, will be held in 2011 on the last weekend in September, at the race circuit in Saint Jean d'Angely, France.

FIM President Vito Ippolito, Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo, Motoclub Angerien President Jean-Marie Boissonnot and FIM/CMS President Dr. Wolfgang Srb confirmed that Saint Jean d'Angely, France, will be the venue for the 2011 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at the recently completed Motocross of Nations, held last weekend in the USA, and won the Team USA (Manager 5-time World Motocross Champion, and new KTM Race Manager USA Roger De Coster, 2010 AMA Supercross & Motocross Chamion Ryan Dungey, 2010 AMA 250 MX Lites Champion Trey Canard, and Andrew Short).


L - R: Dr. Wolfgang Srb - President FIM/CMS, FIM President Vito Ippolito, Motoclub Angerien President Jean Marie Boissonnot, Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo.

Aigar Leok Tanel Leok Billy Liles