DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha's west coast squad

DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha's  west coast squad comprised of #35 Kyle Cunningham and a newcomer to professional Supercross #72 Nick Paluzzi took to the track in timed qualifying in great form. Turning the most heads early on was Cunningham who went out and set the 5th fastest lap time. Following in contention was Paluzzi in 13th who signed onto the team just two weeks before the opening round.

Moving into the night show, both riders were slated into the second heat race. Once the gate dropped and all the riders rounded the first turn, it was Paluzzi taking the best of starts in 2nd followed by Cunningham who was mired in the rear of the field. In the six lap race, Paluzzi rode strong and smart, diligently holding down the second spot the entire way and made his first ever main event in the same amount of tries. Meanwhile, Cunningham started to make an upward assault; setting quick times allowed him to net 5th in the end.

The main event got under way, and the starts by both teammates matched those of the earlier qualifying race, when the first lap was in the books Paluzzi held down 5th, and Cunningham sat 13th. From there both DNA Shred Stix backed riders put their heads down, making runs to climb the results tally.  Three laps into the fifteen total lap race, Paluzzi solidly sat in the top pack of riders in 5th, and Cunningham had clawed his way to 9th. With the race closing in on the halfway mark, very clearly Kyle had made gains and was pressuring for the 5th position, all the while Nick had fallen back a few positions to 9th due to his lack of seat time.  As the race came to a finish, unfortunately on lap ten Cunningham was picking himself up off the ground after crashing on a step on, step off section and  would go on to put his Yamaha in 13th. Paluzzi had since kept up a steady pace, and went on to finish 9th in his first ever Supercross. Undeniably showing true promise, both riders are set to tackle the race in Phoenix, AZ this coming Saturday.

Star Racing/NCY/Yamaha would like to thank our great sponsors for having us fully prepared.

DNA Shred Stix, Yamaha Motor Corp, Scott Racing, DNA Energy, North County Yamaha, Easton ExP, FMF, Sunstar, Factory Effex, Dunlop, Enzo, Cosworth, N-Fab, Motion Pro, ODI Grips, RK Chains, Excel rims, Yamalube, GYTR, Ride Engineering, Twin Air, Lightspeed, ARC, Braking, Vortex Ignitions, Web Cams, ICW, JD Built, Renegade Fuels, Crank Works, Eibach, Met Tec.

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Yoshimura Yamaha YZ450F Project Bike at the MTA Vet World Championships

What better way to test our Yoshimura Yamaha YZ450F Project Bike than to race it at the MTA Vet World Championships at Glen Helen Raceway? Our thought’s exactly…

If you’re not familiar with our Yoshimura-prepped ’10 YZ450F make sure to peruse the Yoshimura Yamaha YZ450F Project Bike review. If you don’t feel like reading it then here’s the Cliff Notes summary: Yoshimura Research and Development took a brand-new YZ450F and modified a number of components within the engine, drivetrain and chassis in hopes of improving the bike’s outright performance. While some of the mods can’t be considered cheap (the bike has $6000 worth of upgrades), we were absolutely shocked by not only how ridiculously fast it is on track but how easy it was to ride.

OFF TO THE RACES

Each year, Glen Helen Raceway, Southern California’s biggest, fastest and most challenging motocross track hosts the MTA Vet World Championships. The race is open to both men and women, regardless of skill level, with the only requirement being that you’re over the age of 30 (there is a 25-plus class on Saturday). The event attracts racers from all over the globe. We saw racers competing from Mexico and Sweden just to name a few countries. We competed in Sunday’s 30-plus Novice class.


One of the best things about racing motocross is how simple it is as compared to other forms of motorcycle racing i.e. road racing. Bike prep wise you don’t really have to do much besides making sure your bike’s topped off on fluids, the air filter isn’t too dirty, and setting the tire pressure. While you don’t necessarily need a brand-new set of tires we fitted a fresh set of Dunlop’s affordable Geomax MX51 intermediate terrain tires to make sure we couldn’t make any lame excuses if we sucked it up on track.

It’s also worth noting how much easier it is to set-up your bike. Compared to street bikes, its way easier to dial-in your suspension settings and once you find a setting that works you don’t need to spent a lot of time making adjustments for different tracks and/or tires. This allows you to focus more time on riding. Lastly, racing motocross is more affordable with a race entry fees only costing $45 for the majority of classes.

On race day there typically is one quick practice in order for you to check out track conditions and scout out ruts and race lines. However, it isn’t enough time for you to get comfortable with the layout so if you’ve never ridden at GH it’s a good idea to hit up the track on Thursday or Friday before a big race weekend to acclimate yourself to the track because Glen Helen is all about speed. It’s the only track that I know where you actually use top gear on a 450. Therefore it’s important to have a bike that not only gets up and goes, but has strong brakes and stiff yet plush suspension.

MOTO 1
The start of a motocross race is my favorite part of the race. There is just something exciting about lining up with a bunch of other like-minded motorcycling maniacs before drag racing down a straightaway and into Turn 1 in hopes of emerging first. It is pure adrenaline overload and I love it. A total of 26 riders were in my class so the starting gate wasn’t totally full yet there were enough riders to ensure some decent bar banging action.

Similar to many other Southern California tracks, Glen Helen employs a concrete starting gate. While some prefer conventional dirt starts I actually dig concrete starts as it levels the playing field and makes it so the person with the fastest motorcycle won’t necessarily get the holeshot due to the slippery surface of the concrete.

Getting a good start off concrete is all about smooth and gentle launches in order to avoid spinning the rear tire. And that’s where the smooth bottom-end power of the Yoshimura-tuned engine and fantastic clutch action courtesy of the upgraded Hinson componentry helped considerably.


When the gate dropped I slipped off the concrete and onto the dirt gently without much wheel spin. As soon as I hit the dirt I pinned the throttle and started banging on the gear shift lever up through the gearbox. Immediately apparent is how much smoother it switches between each cog courtesy of the special In-house Superfinishing (ISF) process. ISF is a special friction-reducing coating that is applied to moving parts, in this case the transmission gears. It’s similar in effect to hand-polishing but it’s far less labor intensive which makes it much more cost effective than ever before. This helps make each gear mesh more smoothly and allows the transmission to operate more freely.

I started to tangle with another rider as I entered Turn 1 which caused me to let off the gas and hesitate for a second which made me lose a few spots but I was still inside the top-5 as we leapt off the first table top and into Turn 2. The guys running first and second opened a bit of a gap on me and I was basically riding by myself for the majority of the race.

My race was one of the earlier ones in the day so the track wasn’t very rough yet. Even still the performance of the Noleen-tuned suspension really made the bike easy to ride. Believing that the front end spring rate was a bit soft in our original review, Noleen fitted slightly stiffer fork springs (0.48 kg/mm versus 0.47 stockers.)
Although it wasn’t a drastic change the bike felt quite a bit different when you were speeding downhill. The bike had a much more level chassis pitch and always felt like it had extra suspension stroke when large bumps were encountered downhill. In fact, given the limited amount of track time with the new set-up I never got the confidence to really maximize the added damping ability of the fork. Still it was a welcome change compared to before.

I ended up taking a fifth place finish but was well out of sight of the four guys in front of me so I was going to have to find some more speed in the second moto.

MOTO 2
The start of the second moto was almost identical to the first one. I got onto the dirt well and powered passed folks before letting off a bit early into Turn 1. Even still I was toward the front. I made a couple passes right away and was now in third position. I managed to stay with the two front guys this time and followed them for the next two laps.

At one point it almost felt like I was cheating considering how quickly I caught up to them courtesy of the insane amount of power that the Yosh-tuned engine pumps out. While bottom-end is actually a bit softer as compared to stock, the mid-range and top-end engine performance is unreal. And when you combine that with the phenomenal traction of the Dunlop rear tire I could achieve some pretty outrageous drives up GH’s near vertical hill climbs. Equally as pleasing was the outright power of the oversized front brake which made slowing down from warp speed a simple affair.

Within a few moments I was within striking distance. As I came around a slow flat 180-degree turn toward the back of the track I didn’t stay in the rut and ended up tipping over. The bike didn’t stall but I was now a few seconds behind the leaders. I hastily started sprinting again anxious to try and catch back up. I was hitting all my lines and everything was good until I stared motoring up the first hill. I was in second gear and had a decent amount of momentum but when I hit the uphill ledge jump I swapped out in the air. I immediately thought ‘oh my God I’m going to crash’ and instead of keeping my weight forward and the throttle pinned I high-sided and ended up landing on my head.

If you crash at this part of the track you’re in trouble as riders can’t see you as they jump up off the ledge. I immediately picked up my bike and tried to wheel it off track, however it’s so steep here that I struggled. Fortunately I was so far ahead of the fourth place person that I already had the bike re-fired as they came around, but I was forced to take a long detour down and around the hill in order to get back on track due to the position where I crashed. I bent my handlebar in the crash so it took me a while to get comfortable again on the bike and I actually almost crashed again going down the second hill. I ended up nursing it back home in 18th place in Moto 2 and ended up 10th overall. It wasn’t the result I wanted but that’s what happens when you hit the ground when you’re racing. Moral of the story is stay up on two wheels at all costs!

All said and done I am beyond impressed with the performance of our Yamaha project bike. Not only is it ridiculously fast it is by far one of the easiest dirt bike’s I’ve ever ridden. From its smooth powerband to its supple suspension performance it proves that with a few modifications you can get your bike dialed for racing motocross.


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Jonah Street proved the most skilled rider

American Jonah Street proved the most skilled rider through the towering dune sections of the Atacama Desert on Tuesday after claiming a victory for the U.S. in Stage 9 of the 2011 Dakar Rally. The Yamaha WR450F rider obtained only the second Dakar stage win of his career and came back strong from two disappointing days in which he finished outside the top-20. Street pulled off the win more than three minutes ahead of Dutchman Frans Verhoeven, who was followed just two seconds later by France’s David Casteu. Meanwhile, KTM rivals Cyril Despres and Marc Coma took seventh and ninth respectively following the day’s difficult start.

Stage 9 may not have been a particularly long journey at 270 km, but what it lacked in distance it made up for in challenging terrain. The trek featured mammoth dunes which could easily bog riders down and a unique start that had competitors setting off in groups. The leading riders were released in a row of 10 while those behind set off 20 at a time. A navigational error right out of the gate allowed the second wave to catch the first almost immediately and the resulting mass or dirt bikes further complicated things with large amounts of dust. In the resulting chaos many riders took wrong turns and lost time while attempting to separate from the field. Street was part of the third wave and was fortunate not to be swept up in the early confusion.

The top-10 riders were the first to hit the stage and those included Coma and Despres among others. By Checkpoint 1 BMW’s Verhoeven had slipped into the lead ahead of Honda’s Thierry Bethys and Casteu. Meanwhile Despres and Coma remained well outside the leading pack back in 20th and 21st, respectively. Yamaha’s Helder Rodrigues also had a solid start and quickly moved into third following the first 33km of the day. By 63 km the Portuguese rider was in the lead with Verhoeven and Spaniard Jordi Viladoms hotly pursuing. At the 163 km mark Street made his way in the leading pack in second while remaining just under three minutes adrift of Rodrigues. Meanwhile, Coma and Despres continued playing cat and mouse behind the leaders with the Spaniard leading the Frenchman by 35 seconds.

Frenchman Fran Verhoeven claimed second in Stage 8 and was 3:38 behind stage winner, Jonah Street.By Checkpoint 2 Street had successfully made the pass ahead of Rodrigues for the lead which he kept across the finish line. The American’s resulting finish puts him back up to 14th in the overall order. Rodrigues’ day took a turn for the worst when he became lost and ran out of fuel. As a result Rodrigues gave up second in the order to finish back in 33rd while Verhoeven went by to finish 3:38 behind Street. Casteu scraped by just two seconds later in third while Spaniard Gerard Guell and Viladoms rounded out the top-five.

In the overall standings the order for the top-five remained the same despite Despres crossing the finish line more than a minute ahead of current rally leader, Coma. Aprilia’s Francisco Lopez remains more than 23 minutes behind Coma after finishing Stage 9 in 10th.

Jonah Street (USA – Yamaha) 1st, 14th OA
“I had to start in the third wave, which was good and bad; good that everyone up front new their position and were taking it easy and I got to charge through. The second wave caught everybody in the second to last sand dunes. Then in the last dunes, I think when there were only three bikes in front of me I went over the handlebars hard, straight into the sand, totally unannounced, but I was okay. I got back up and followed them in, because I figured that I started two waves behind them so I was doing alright. Today we didn't have any bike problems, everything went really smooth, so I'm happy. It's awesome. You know what? We've been capable of it all rally, it just hasn't fallen into our plate. It's awesome, totally awesome. It's what we come here to do, to do the best we can and first is the best you can do, so to win a stage pretty special.”

Fran Verhoeven (BEL – BMW) 2nd, 25th OA
“For today's grouped start, since I like motocross, I wasn't stressed about being in between other riders. I attacked from the start. In the dunes and the mountains, there was a lot of fog, and I caught up with Ullevalseter. I couldn't understand, because he set off five minutes before me. I guess the group in front got really lost and that I navigated really well. It's perfect.”

KTM's Cyril Despres could only muster seventh during the stage which featured a difficult start and sandy dunes.David Casteu (FRA – Sherco) 3rd, 40th OA
“It's wonderful. I navigated by myself, since there were no tracks. I rode with Verhoeven in the right direction, making sure I was crossing the dunes well. Soon, we started to see the bikes of Chaleco, Coma… We went hell for leather, right up to the finish. It was absolutely great. As a result, it helped me forget my gearbox problems a bit.”

Cyril Despres (FRA – KTM) 7th, 2nd OA
“After the start, we didn't stay grouped for a long time because at the 17 km point Helder Rodrigues took a wrong direction and we all followed him. So, we turned round and ran straight into the second wave of starters. We were all riding in each others dust. It was a bit of a strange stage really. For the general standings, I assumed my responsibilities, because I'm fed up of playing cat and mouse for the last few years. We'll see what this strategy produces. Now I'll have to wait for the stage in Fiambala.”

Marc Coma (ESP – KTM) 9th, 1st OA
“With the grouped start and the fog, the start of the stage and the navigation was very difficult. In the first group, we got lost, turning right when we shouldn't have. When we got back on track the second wave caught up with us. It was a bit of a mess. After that, a group of around twenty quick riders formed and we managed to ride the rest of the stage normally. But in the end, it was a difficult day.”

Helder Rodrigues (PRT – Yamaha) 33rd, 4th OA
“The day started well for me again. I was riding really well until the 215 km point, then I got a bit lost. I rode 9 km too much, so I turned back and ran out of petrol. Luckily, Felipe Prohens gave me some petrol. It's terrible. 15 kilometers from here I had the best time, but that's rallying for you.”

2011 Dakar Rally Stage 9 Results:
After placing ninth in the stage Marc Coma remains the overall rally leader by 08:14 ahead of Cyril Despres.
1. Jonah Street, USA (Yamaha) 03:06:56
2. Frans Verhoeven, BEL (BMW) 03:10:34
3. David Casteu, FRA (Sherco) 03:10:36
4. Gerard Farres Guell, ESP (Aprilia) 03:11:26
5. Jordi Viladoms, ESP (Yamaha) 03:12:42
6. Daniel Gouet, CHL (Honda) 03:12:58
7. Cyril Despres, FRA (KTM) 03:12:59
8. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, NOR (KTM) 03:13:55
9. Marc Coma, ESP (KTM) 03:14:04
10. Francisco Lopez Contardo, CHL (Aprilia) 03:14:49

2011 Dakar Rally Overall Standings:
1. Marc Coma, ESP (KTM) 11:32:56
2. Cyril Despres, FRA (KTM) 11:41:10
3. Francisco Lopez Contardo, CHL (Aprilia) 11:56:29
4. Helder Rodrigues, PRT (Yamaha) 12:34:47
5. Ruben Faria, PRT (KTM) 12:54:16
6. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, NOR (KTM) 13:35:13
7. Juan Pedrero Garcia, ESP (KTM) 13:37:40
8. Quinn Cody, USA (Honda) 14:12:36
9. Jean de Azevedo, BRA (KTM) 14:15:51
10. Ivan Jakes, SVK (Yamaha) 14:30:28

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Stephane Peterhansel had more trouble with flat tires

In the car category, Stephane Peterhansel had more trouble with flat tires while Orlando Terranova had to withdraw after somersaulting as Guerlain Chicherit had done the day before. Nasser Al-Attiyah gets closer to Sainz after a 10th stage victory in his Dakar career.

Ales Loprais keeps shaking the Kamaz truck domination and achieves a second stage victory in a row. - DAKAR 2011 News via Dakar.com


He sure took his time this year. Since the Dakar has been taking place on home turf, "Chaleco" never waited for too long to thrill his supporters. But this year, victory had so far been eluding the Aprilia leader who nearly won the stage in Iquique finishing right behind Goncalves. This year, Lopez had been feeling so great, easy like never before, for instance with navigation which is normally not his forte. His Italian 450cc having now demonstrated its reliability, both in terms of performance and sturdiness, all the conditions were there to see Lopez roar out of the box. So it is in Antofagasta, one of the cities where he already won honorary citizenship in the past that the man achieved his fifth victory in a Dakar. In order to make sure he would win this one, the Chilean rider was very tidy; he cleared km 176 with more than 4' lead over Coma. Upon arrival, he finished with a 2'21'' margin, a glorious day of fame and a small jump closer to the top of the standings where he is still 3rd, 18'27'' behind the Catalan rider.

The 273 km on the menu of the day did not really change things between both KTM riders, although the day made them both realize the "Chaleco" threat is a pretty serious one. Coma remains in the lead 7'24'' ahead of Despres who closed the gap a bit today. Both men know that such a short lead can be destroyed any day by a mechanical problem or by a dodgy navigation decision. By the way, the gaps separating the winner and second at the end of a Dakar are often more in the vicinity of the hour than of the minute. We have to go back to the 2005 edition of the Dakar to see a title won with a less-than-10-minute lead. A bit further down the ranks, the good news finally came from Pal-Anders Ullevalseter who ended with the 8th fastest time of the day and is back in the Top 10. As for Jonah Street, he is on the way out of the leadership, falling more than an hour behind Coma at CP3 (km 192) after having had to stop for an engine failure. David Casteu is already pretty far down the ranks, but trouble seems to be the daily bread of the Sherco rider, who also had to spend a long time repairing off trail.

Until the rest day, the X-Raid clan was able to see - with optimism - that its glass was half full. Unfortunately, bad luck struck repeatedly on Sven Quandt's team, who is probably experiencing his toughest 24 hours as team manager. In Arica, Guerlain Chicherit started by ruining the Mini Countryman he was required to bring to Buenos Aires in one piece. And - more importantly - his leader, Stephane Peterhansel seems to be on a downward slope with a new flat tire after just 15 km of racing today. Concerned by the rotten luck and about managing his spare tires, "Peter" drove conservatively and lost another painful 21' to Carlos Sainz in the standings. But the run of misfortunes does not stop there for BMW. Apart from the two punctured tires of Krzysztof Holowcyc, the X3 of Orlando Terranova went off trail and somersaulted after about 200 km of special stage. The Argentine flagship driver in this category, who seemed to be doing pretty well and about to enter and stay in the Top 5, leaves the race before even reentering his home country.

So the tide seems to be turning in favor of the Race Touareg III, who finished the day with the three fastest times of the special stage ... and no flat tires! Nasser Al Attiyah is - once again, like last year - in pursuit of Sainz and gaining ground on the Spaniard. Together with his 10th stage victory in a Dakar, the Qatari is now just 1'22'' from first place in the general standings. Giniel De Villiers who is common to the sometimes useful strategy of playing it slow is also getting closer to the podium: he is now only 11' behind Peterhansel and if he were to pass him in the standings, he would be the one providing for a VW treble.

The wind might have turned in the truck category. Ales Loprais and his copilot Josef Kalina - four-time Dakar winner - were counting on a psychological trigger to bring trouble into the well-oiled routine of the Kamaz trucks. No one will ever know if the Russian clan is getting panicky but one thing is sure: Loprais is driving with confidence. He crossed the finish line of the Antofagasta stage a winner; this is his second consecutive stage victory in his Dakar career. In the general standings, he gets closer to the top and is now 16'22'' behind Kabirov, who is still leader, and is now in front of Vladimir Chagin by almost the same time. A Czech dream might slowly but surely be coming true...
For more race info, check out Dakar.com.


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Chad Reed long way from the Junior days back in Australia

So,the big event of Anaheim 1 has been run and won. I could tell by your Tweets that you were super proud and excited to debut your brand new TwoTwo Motorsports team. You’ve come a long way from the Junior days back in Australia…

Yeah, real proud and excited for the weekend. Honestly, I was just in a position where I needed to go racing because there’s only so much riding that you can do by yourself. You get to a point where you’re happy and comfortable, so after that you need to go racing to see where the next step is.

It’s just running through that whole procedure of being at the race, putting the tent up with all the guys – all new guys, some of them which I have worked with before – and just figuring each other out.

I think we had a very smooth weekend and a good result. We were quick in practice and qualifying, then struggled a little in the heat and the main, but overall I think top five is a great start for us.

You finished fifth in the main event after being way back in the pack on the opening lap. It’s a positive start, even if it wasn’t quite the fairytale start for you.

I mean, there’s always the fairytale story where you want to come out and win on debut or whatever, but I think championships are it. I feel confident in where we’re at and the chances that we have to move forward are positive.

We’re just putting a plan together for this week, do some testing and change a few things here and there. It’s all just to make things a little easier on the weekend and make it all a little more comfortable.

Overall the weekend went, I wouldn’t say exactly to plan because the goal is to try win or be on the podium, but top five is the best that we could manage and that’s good enough for me.

We have seen how comfortable you look on the Honda and you’ve told me before that the bike really suits you, so was it everything you hoped for once you were in a race situation with the likes of Stewart, Dungey, Villopoto and co.?

Yeah, it was good I think. Overall there are a few little things that I need to work on but that’s very typical of this time of the year. I can promise you that there’s not a rider in the top five or 10 that are not going to take what they learned this weekend to improve on their set-ups.

Like I said earlier, I was comfortable and ready to go racing – we needed to go racing to see what the next step was. I feel like we have a good game plan and we can go and work on our weaknesses, so I think we’ll be a little stronger.

Obviously starts are important every year, but this year we’ve got a solid group of young kids in there who are strong from the beginning, so you definitely can’t put yourself in vulnerable positions like I did this weekend.

Pretty much off the start I think James [Stewart] was two ahead of me on the first lap and he finished two ahead at the end, so I just have to be stronger off the gate and stronger in the first half then I think we’ll be right in it.

It was the first time in a very long time that you haven’t raced a factory bike in AMA Supercross. Do you feel as though that is a disadvantage in this day and age, or it’s all good?

I honestly don’t look at is as a factory bike or a privateer bike. It’s all about who you’ve got working on your bike and who’s calling the shots. I feel like we have a great bike and I don’t think that my fifth place reflects on my bike not being a factory bike. I have a good plan and a good starting point. There are things on my bike that are the same as what I’ve had in the past so I’m not far off.

The biggest advantage of being on a factory team is having all those resources around you, and the endless parts in the truck and race shop that have been accumulated. We don’t have that, so that’s really our weakest link – everything has to be started from the ground up.

We’re working with a new motorcycle for us and have no previous model or year to fall back on, so I’m sure every weekend we’ll learn something and will try to be purposeful on the changes that we make.

How different was it for you to enter A1 as your own boss? I guess you don’t really have anybody to answer to except for the people who are putting in hard work, as well as your sponsors, but at the end of the day you’re the boss now!

[Laughs] yeah, it’s nice actually. I’m having a lot of fun with it, it’s exciting, it’s fun and it’s challenging. At the end of the day, I don’t get called up into the office because I’m the one calling everybody else in to make the next plan for the week.

That’s fun for me because I get to call the shots, make plans and communicate with those guys to get their feelings on what they saw and what needs to be better so we can move forward.

It’s the same, but different. Everybody does it, so I guess all that’s changed is I’m saying “hey guys, let’s talk about this”, rather than being told to be in a room to see what happened, kind of thing [laughs].

There’s a long way to go in the series, a lot of races to be won. What’s the next step for you at this point after reflecting on A1?

At this point we’re making a plan, moving forward and are looking forward to the week. We’re ready to go, ready to get after it! Starts are obviously priority number one, which all comes down to me and my technique.


Getting my technique consistent is what I need to do. My heat race start was great, I watched it on film over and over again and my technique and my form was awesome. I actually could have been a lot more aggressive and probably could have got the holeshot.

I felt like I was really calm at the first one for some reason and I guess last year played a big role in that. I was in the middle of the pack and ended up not finishing the race because I came together with another rider.

This year I didn’t want to jeopardise a good top five finish, so overall we have a good base to work from now. We’ll do some starts, work on the suspension a little bit here and there and I think we’ll be solid this weekend in Phoenix.

Just finally, there was a lot of uncertainty heading into this year’s season opener for a variety of obvious reasons. Looking back now, were you able to get a good gauge on your main rivals?

You know, personally I would say that I think the pace was low on the weekend – I wouldn’t say that the pace was high. The track was challenging in ways that it really hadn’t been before.

Normally Anaheim is hard-pack and slick, that’s what we expect from it, but this year it had a lot of rain on it and the dirt was pretty moist. Throughout the night program it seemed like the moisture was coming up and it kind of got greasy on the main line, but off of the main line it was really loose.

I think a lot of people were struggling with that, and I know that I was struggling on the track in some sections. Kind of what I felt and what I could see in other riders on video looked consistent to what I was feeling.

Overall I felt the pace was low this weekend, and that for the big storm that everybody’s talking about I thought it was a pretty damn boring race. I know I was a distant fifth and that’s not the plan or the goal to be there, but I just felt like the race was a little bit of a let down with no battles at all.

We’ll all regroup and come out firing for Phoenix and the future races. I don’t think Anaheim 1 is a reflection on how the season’s going to be – it’s going to intensify a lot and will be pretty crazy here in the coming weeks.

Cool mate, well good luck this weekend and Australia is definitely behind you guys in the TwoTwo Motorsports team.

Thanks, man. I appreciate it and we’ll definitely be trying our best.
wwww.motoonline.com.au

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2011 AMA Arenacross Series season will feature live timing and scoring

All 14 rounds of the world’s most intimate form of racing the 2011 AMA Arenacross Series season will feature live timing and scoring. Fans of the series simply need to log onto Arenacross.com, the official website of the AMA Arenacross Series, for all the results and the latest from the track.

Initially made popular through Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, the live timing and scoring feature is a revolutionary advancement for the compact excitement of the arena-based AMA Arenacross Series.

“The addition of live timing and scoring on Arenacross.com is a huge step for the sport,” said AMA Arenacross Series Director Jayme Dalsing. “There is a very dedicated fan base of arenacross fans all over the country and in years past, there was a significant delay to get information on who won. Now, everyone will know what takes place as it happens.”

Throughout each of the 19 nights of intense, bar-to-bar action, practice times, heat race lineups and results in addition to the all-important final standings from the main events of both the AMA Arenacross and AMA Arenacross Lites classes will be at fans’ fingertips.

The 2011 AMA Arenacross Series season kicks off on January 8 from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. The reigning champion Babbitt’s Monster Energy/TiLube Kawasaki team returns as a formidable force to defend the 2010 title while veteran teams like Spinechillers Racing and Triple Effect Kawasaki aim to dethrone them.
Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment.  Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMA Arenacross Series, Nuclear Cowboyz?, and IHRA® Nitro Jam®.  Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment.  For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit http://www.feldentertainment.com/



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Tyler Medaglia the tough task of trying to do it all over again

With 2010 behind him,Tyler Medaglia now has the tough task of trying to do it all over again, only this time he has a big #1 on his back and everyone will be gunning for him. I caught up with Tyler to see how his off season has been going and how his preparation is for 2011.

DMX: Hey Tyler, happy New Year! How are things going?
Tyler: Things are good, Christmas and New Years went good. We kept things quiet but it was fun for sure. Now it’s a New Year and almost time to get back on the bike!

We haven’t spoke for awhile, what have you been up to the last few months?
I took some well deserved time off after Montreal and just recovered from the season and let some things heal. Then I started training again and preparing for 2011. It was good to relax and let all that happened in 2010 sink in, but it felt equally as good to get back in the gym and get ready to defend my Championship.


After some hard fought seasons Tyler will finally wear the #1 in 2011.

You are one of the few top guys that don’t really have a trainer. Obviously your results show that it works for you, why is that?

I think some riders use trainers simply because they aren’t self motivated, they need someone to tell them what to do and when to do it. I don’t need that; I am motivated the moment I wake up in the morning. My Brother and I had a guy by the name of Brian Robitaille who showed us some stuff, other than that; I have had a few other trainers that have showed me stuff over the years also. I have kind of taken a little from each guy than looked at what works for me and go from there. In the past there have been times that I have over worked, and times that I have under worked. Now I feel like I have a good balance and it seems to be working so I’m just going to stick with it, a lot of it is just listening to what your body is telling you.

Yeah, back in the day none of us had trainers, we all just went by feel. As long as you sat on the gate and felt prepared, it was all good?
For sure, it’s all about being confident. If having a trainer makes guys feel confident, than that’s cool. Whatever works for you I guess?

Like you said, your last few months have been spent getting ready for this year. Was there a time at all when you thought the Blackfoot Yamaha deal wasn’t going to happen and you’d have to find something else?
There was a little uncertainly for sure but not as much as you might think. Jason Mitchell kept me pretty updated as to what was going on so I wasn’t really worried. If Blackfoot didn’t work out than I think I could’ve found something. I know the economy is tough and it’s expensive for these teams to go racing, but I love racing and I would go in a pickup truck if I had to.


Tyler has amazingly smooth style!

When do you think you will be heading to GPF to start riding?
I guess whenever my bikes are done getting built, maybe the end of January we’ll head down.  I know what works from last year so I’ll kind of use that as a guide. If I start riding in February than that will give me lots of time to test and get ready for the summer, then I’ll come back and do a few local races in the spring, and then it will be time for the Nationals.

How do you feel right now compared to this time last year? It has been said that Championships are sometimes harder to defend than they are to win. Do you feel any added pressure now that you will have the #1 on your back?
You know what, I don’t really. I feel pretty good right now, probably better than last year because I know what it takes now to win a Championship. I also know that everyone else will be better prepared and everyone will be after me, that just come’s with being the guy who won last year. All I can do is prepare myself the best I can and show up at the first round physically and mentally ready to battle for 18 motos. I have a great bike, a great mechanic and a team that is 100% behind me, what more could I ask for.


Don't be surprised if you see these two brothers battling for a championship in 2011!

You sound like you have a great attitude and that you are ready for whatever comes at you.  Your family is very close and supportive, how happy were you for Jeremy when he signed with KTM for 2011?
I was very happy for him, he deserves everything he gets. I know the program that Orange Motorsports ran last year was good for him, Siert did a great job. But, Jeremy works so hard and he is so focused. It’s great that he finally has a shot on the big team. He is going to be tough to beat this year, hopefully you see the Medaglia Brothers up front in every moto!

The MX2 class this year is going to be killer I think. Thanks for doing this and all the best, good luck with your training and we’ll talk again soon. 
For sure Palms! Happy New Year and take care.

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