Tuesday, October 27, 2009

SX Academy

Supercross Academy: Here

Check out Mitch Rask putting down some supercross laps in this video from Racer X, at the SX Academy at the Honolulu Hills MX Park. Good to see him out there working with some very fast guys. Good luck in 2010 Mitch.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Josh Hill to San Manuel

Check it out here

After a rough 2009, Team Yamaha called it quits, and is setting up a lease program, to send out support to L&M, JGR, and Star Yamaha teams, instead of running an official factory effort. But where did that leave J-Hill, after his toughest year as a pro? Luckily he was able to slide into the #2 spot at San Manuel, behind James Stewart, and rumor has it that Larry Brooks (I'll keep my opinions about the man to myself) is trying to sign an aging K-Dub as well. That would be one hell of a blue trio.

I know I'm super pumped to see Josh on the 2010 YZ450 come supercross. Congrats to Josh!

The only thing I am desperately hoping is that Josh is not going SX only so early in his career...

2-Stroke Revival?

I've ranted about the ups and downs of 2-strokes and 4-strokes before. Basically it's whatever floats your boat. Different strokes for different folks. I recently made the switch back to premix, and I find I ride it better. That's just me. Some riders just flat out don't like it.

The point is, I've observed quite a few more pingers around Albany and other tracks lately. I'm hoping it's not just a temporary trend while the economy is in the shitter, but it doesn't appear to be a short term fix. A lot of us, myself included, bought into the 4-stroke hype when all the shiny new thumpers were coming out, with all the new bells and whistles, and double the cc's I might add. But now, after seeing what crap the used bike market is due to ticking time bomb 250F's, I think a lot of people are wising up, and realizing what we had wasn't so bad. Not to mention the fun factor of holding a 2-stroke pinned around a motocross track. Not that I would know what that feels like...

Indoor Motor-Cross

The sun has gone away behind the clouds, and all the riders are moving their pits under the covers for the Winter. Arenacross is starting up in Salem, and Clark County as well. Gone are the days of wet morning practice, the big table tops, and choppy braking bumps, and enter the days of tight bowl turns, and man made triples.

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who preferred the lights compared to the Great Outdoors, but the indoor months always have their own special draw. The racing is tight, and physical, and all the riders get to rub plastic just a little more. 2nd place on the last lap? The only option might be that block pass in one of the 180 bowl turns. Rubbin's racin.

New Management

AlbanyMX.com website captain Wes Hare is now at the helm of nwmoto.com, and is working to keep the northwest moto scene alive and kicking. Make sure to check out both regularly for all the info, and important race dates.

Obviously I'm just doing this for fun still, but hopefully I can provide some insight from a riders standpoint.