JGR on RacerX Films

Check out the third installment of the Toyota All Access series on Racer X Films. You'll see the teams engine and shock dyno. While watching the engine dyno portion check out former NJ resident Shawn Ulikowski at work.

JGR All Access Part 3

J-Law will forego the Atlanta round to test and tune his YZ450F, returning to action in the premier SX class @ Lucas Oil Stadium

J-Law will forego the Atlanta round to test and tune his YZ450F, returning to action in the premier SX class @ Lucas Oil Stadium

CARLSBAD, Calif. - Defending 2008 WSX Lites class champion Jason "JLaw" Lawrence (Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/ Troy Racing) announced today that he will contest the Indianapolis Supercross on a YZ450F, round nine of 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, Feb. 28th.

Making the best of his recent free time, Lawrence has worked with Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing's Chris McElvoy, Keith Burns and head mechanic, Toshi, to get the big bike prepped and ready for Indy.N

"I'm stoked, to be honest," said Lawrence. "Our team's got nothing to lose and everything to gain by me moving up to the 450 class. Nick's (Wey, Lawrence's Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/ Troy Racing teammate) given me some good advice and we'll see if I can't put it all together at Indy. Looking forward to it."

The inaugural event at the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is expected to be highly attended and there'll be a considerable amount of focus on Lawrence's attempt to break into the super competitive 450 ranks. Hailing from New Jersey, this will be Lawrence's first supercross race at an eastern United States stadium.

Next up for the Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing team's Nick Wey is this Saturday's Atlanta Supercross at the Georgia Dome, round eight of Monster Energy Supercross.

Work Begins on Daytona Supercross by Honda Course

Courtesy Daytona International Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – While Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DeWalt Ford Roush Fenway Racing team are still celebrating their 2009 Daytona 500 win, work has already begun to transform “The World Center of Racing” into a dirt-biker’s paradise.

Construction has already begun in the legendary tri-oval of Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona Supercross By Honda course, which is designed by five-time Daytona Supercross By Honda champion Ricky Carmichael for the second consecutive year and is being built by Mark Barnett, a former Supercross Champion and three-time National Champion.

The 2009 Daytona Supercross By Honda is scheduled on a new day – Saturday, March 7 – and will feature the best riders in the world including defending race champion Kevin Windham, 2007 Daytona Supercross By Honda winner James Stewart and two-time Daytona Supercross By Honda champion Chad Reed.

Here’s a look at some of the numbers behind the construction of this year’s Daytona Supercross By Honda course, which is traditionally one of the toughest and most challenging layouts of the season:


4 - Number of people working on the construction of the dirt track

3 - Number of tractors working to spread the dirt (1 loader, 1 crawler, 1 skid steers)

40 - Number of jumps on the track (including at least 2 triples)

174 - Number of truck loads of dirt to build the course on the tri-oval grass

350 - Number of man-hours needed to complete the construction of the course

450 - Number of 2 x 9 Styrofoam blocks that will be used for safety along the course

2,970 Mileage (in feet) of the Supercross course from start to finish

6,000 Tons of dirt needed to build the Supercross track


For more information and tickets for the Daytona Supercross By Honda as well as the rest of
Daytona 200 Week By Honda events, visit http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP



Image of the Ricky Carmichael designed Daytona Supercross by Honda race track

Limbaugh's "Where's the Lead Law Uproar?"

From RacerXOnline

Earlier today, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh discussed the new CPSIA "lead law" that has had devastating effects on the American motorcycle and ATV industries with Cobra Motorcycle's Sean Hilbert. There's a transcript of the show on Limbaugh's site, which can be found right here.

Pastrana WRX STI

Check out this cool post I found at Autoblog on the new Subaru and Vermont Sports Car team up on a Travis Pastrana replica.
Autoblog Pastrana Post

USA Today Report

USA Today Reports on the youth vehicle situation.

rider of the year voting

Click on over to our rider of the year poll and vote. So far Barry Carsten leads Jason Lawrence and Dakota Kessler in the voting. But vote today because voting ends in 2 weeks on February 28th.

God Speed Moto Brother

RIP Jeremy Lusk

I didn't know Jeremy Lusk, in fact I've never even met him. But that doesn't make it any less difficult for the moto family to deal with his loss. The tight knit community that is motocross and freestyle motocross has lost one of it's young stars. Seemingly at the pinnacle of his career. He was an X Games Gold medalist and was recently featured on the cover of Transworld Motocross Magazine as their 2008 FMX Rider of the year.
One someone dies so young you can't help to reflect on what could have been when instead you should focus on what was. By all accounts Jeremy lived his life with passion and experienced it to the fullest, something we should all strive to do. Perhaps we can all learn something from Jeremy and go out and LIVE LIFE!

Godspeed Jeremy Lusk 1984-2009

Here is a photo gallery put together by one of his friends. Chris Tedesco
PHOTO GALLERY

Send a message to washington about the CPSIA

Taken from an industry message board:

"This is an email we sent to all our customers about the CPSIA. A Missouri state representative has created an easy way for everyone to send a letter to there senators, representative, and the CPSC by filling out just one form and clicking one button.

On February 10, 2009, today, a new law called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act went into effect. This law was created by Congress last August as a knee-jerk reaction to hazardous toys being imported from China (remember the Fisher-Price toy recalls). It bans all products sold for use by children which contain above certain levels of lead and phthalates. In the act, children is defined as anyone 12 or under, and the law is very broad in that it exempts no products from its purview.

How does this become an issue of importance to SourceMX Graphics?

All minibikes and pitbikes fall under this act, as well as ATV's sold for youths. As of today, all the major motorcycle and ATV manufacturers have instructed their dealers to remove all bikes and ATV's used by children from inventory and to cease advertising, marketing, selling, possibly servicing these products. The lead contained in these bikes is not in the paint; it's in the metal used for certain parts in the engines and electrical parts. Most dealers have also been instructed to stop selling parts and accessories for the bikes as well.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, which is the commission charged with enforcing this act has been asked by the motorcycle industry to grant a waiver to prevent the end of the motorcycle industry, but they are dragging their feet. As a result, minibikes and pitbikes became illegal today.

What can you do about this?

We are sending this email to ask you to band together as the motorcycle community to tell the bureaucrats in Washington, DC that they need to act and act now to stop this from hurting the motorcycle industry any more.

116th District Missouri Representative Tom Self, father of two kids who race bikes, has organized a campaign to contact our legislators and the CPSC to demand that they act immediately to grant the waiver to the motorcycle industry. This campaign relies upon everyone who is involved in any way with motorcycles and racing to get involved and send a message. That's not just one representative of the family, but Mom, Dad, sister, brother...everyone! To make this easy, Representative Self has created a website with a form which can be used to generate letters to all the involved officials. Every member of your family who is a citizen of the US must be encouraged to send in this letter. Contact everyone you know who is involved in racing and get them to send a message. It is important that Washington DC be totally swamped with emails and phone calls about this, and it must happen right now!

The website is www.tomself.com and it's easy to do.

That's www.tomself.com
www.tomself.com

Banding Together For Jeremy Lusk

Press Releases

Banding Together For Jeremy Lusk

On Monday, February 9th 2009 at approximately 11:03 PST Jeremy Lusk, X-games gold medalist and East San Diego native passed away due to injuries sustained while at a competition in Costa Rica.

Motoworld Racing.com and Motoworld Of El Cajon want all of us to “band together” in this time of need. Please click HERE or go to our homepage to purchase your very own “LUSK” wristband and show your support to a fallen friend, competitor and overall great guy. For only $2 dollars you can chip in to help the Lusk family in this time of need. 100% of all proceeds will be given to the Lusk family to help curb some of the expenses that may arise in this unfortunate time. Please pray Jeremy and the entire Lusk household.

www.motoworldracing.com

Threats to Motorcycling in America, Part 1

The AMA's Rob Dingman discusses the latest effort to block OHV access to America's public lands PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) President and CEO Rob Dingman has been leading the world's largest member-based motorcyclists' rights organization since taking the reins in April 2007. During that time, he has reorganized many of the AMA's programs to rededicate the Association to its core mission: protecting and promoting the future of motorcycling and the motorcycle lifestyle. With numerous legislative and regulatory challenges confronting American motorcycling both on the street and the trail, the AMA enters 2009 with a sense of purpose and urgency. AmericanMotorcyclist.com, the website of the AMA, sat down with Dingman to discuss the challenges -- and opportunities -- that lie ahead. In the first of a three-part series, Dingman discusses how the AMA and the AMA's sister organization the ATVA (All-Terrain Vehicle Association) are fighting to preserve OHV (off-highway vehicle) access to America's public lands. AM: The motorcycling community is engaged in a pitched battle with so-called environmentalists who would ban OHVs from public lands. How did we get to this point? RD: I'm glad you said "so-called environmentalists" because, like many AMA and ATVA members, I consider myself an environmentalist, and the groups we are confronting are perhaps better labeled "exclusionists" or "anti-access advocates." They would be completely happy if all of our public lands were excluded from any use except their own. At the core of the anti-access creed is a philosophical belief that only a handful of Americans can be trusted to be good stewards of our public lands, and that most Americans are incapable of acting responsibly when they are on public lands. The AMA fundamentally rejects this elitist assumption. America's public lands are owned by all of us. And all who recreate responsibly should therefore have the right to share in the splendor of our public lands. OHV recreation is enjoyed by millions of individuals and their families, as well as by many less-abled Americans who also rely on OHVs for recreation. There are countless examples of OHV users, many of them AMA and ATVA members, doing their part to protect and preserve the natural environments where we recreate. Our members consider it a sacred trust to act as responsible caretakers of our public lands so that their children -- and many generations to follow -- will have the same opportunities. AM: How are America's motorcycle and ATV riders doing their part to keep public lands open to OHV recreation? RD: We can look at the ongoing success of the Recreational Trails Program, which started in 1990, as an example of how the OHV community has worked collaboratively with non-motorized trail users and the federal government to create a program that funds the construction and maintenance of trails for hundreds of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts. That program has helped nurture the latest generation of responsible OHV users. The AMA believes that personal responsibility is paramount for all motorcyclists. That said, the vast majority of OHV riders do act responsibly, stay on designated trails, use a quiet exhaust and spark arrester, and respect the rights of other trail users. Through education, peer-pressure and support for appropriate law enforcement, we hope to teach all riders that it is incumbent upon us all to ride responsibly on public lands. What we do today will impact what we, and countless others, will be allowed to do well into the future. AM: What is the latest threat? RD: Where do I begin? First, we have an ongoing threat with the Forest Service's Travel Management rule. It decrees an unfunded mandate to inventory all trail systems in the United States, has artificial deadlines and rejects user input in many areas. Second -- and more urgent -- we are now facing an additional public lands grab. The battlefield has shifted from our local communities, national forests and desert lands to the floor of the U.S. Congress. In early January, the U.S. Senate passed a massive package of bills -- over 160 in all -- that would close off more than 2 million acres to motorized recreation. Thrown out in that process were the recommendations of local public lands managers, city and county governments, their citizens and the outdoor enthusiasts who spent thousands of hours developing responsible, multiple-use recreation plans for their communities. It's a massive land-grab that, if passed by the House of Representatives and signed by President Obama, would lock-up millions of acres of public lands, lock-out millions of people and decimate the coffers of the small towns and counties whose economic vitality relies heavily upon recreational tourism. AM: Is it too late to act? RD: No, there is still time. Legislators pay attention to their constituents, and I urge every OHV rider -- in fact, every motorcyclist -- to write or call their U.S. Representative and insist that their voice be heard. Share with them your personal story. Tell them that you ride responsibly and that actively managed and responsible OHV recreation has a place on our public lands. AM: Is the AMA all alone in this fight? RD: No, I am happy to report that the AMA and the ATVA working with a number of other organizations to preserve our right to access our public lands. Groups like the Blue Ribbon Coalition, the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, the Motorcycle Industry Council, the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, the Off Road Business Association and the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association, to name a few. Additionally, aligned with our coalition are snowmobile and personal watercraft users, as well as advocates of non-motorized recreation, such as the American Horse Council. These groups work together as part of the Americans for Responsible Recreational Access in an effort to share resources and strengthen our collective voice. AM: What can we do to prevent these crises from arising in the future? RD: I urge readers who are not AMA or ATVA members to join and help fund the battle to preserve OHV recreation for this and future generations. While there are no guarantees, the more riders we represent, the louder our voice and the stronger we become, whether we are acting proactively or responding to an imminent threat. I am confident that by acting together we will make a difference. Readers who wish to contact their U.S. Representatives today can do so in the "Issues & Legislation" area of the Rights section of the AMA website at www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com. Next installment: Rob Dingman discusses the AMA's position on excessive sound.

About the American Motorcyclist Association Since 1924, the AMA has promoted and protected the motorcycling lifestyle. AMA members come from all walks of life and they navigate many different routes on their journey to the same destination: freedom on two wheels. As the world's largest motorcycle organization with nearly 300,000 members, the AMA advocates for motorcyclists' interests in the halls of local, state and federal government, the committees of international governing organizations and the court of public opinion. Through member clubs, promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions more motorsports competition events than any other organization in the world. Through its Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, the AMA preserves the heritage of motorcycling for future generations. For more information, visit www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com.

Planet Minis Launches new Webzine

The popular Mini message board Planet Mini's has now launched an internet webzine. Check it out
HERE

Image via Wikipedia

HOUSE POISED TO BAN DIRTBIKES FROM 2.1 MILLION ACRES!

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The U.S. House of Representatives could vote as early as next week on a wide-ranging bill that could shut off-highway motorcyclists and all-terrain vehicle riders out of more than 2 million acres of public land, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.

The measure, Senate Bill 22, also known as the Omnibus Public Lands Bill, is actually a package of more than 160 bills that were melded together to form a single bill more than 1,300 pages long.

"This bill was on the fast-track in the U.S. Senate and passed swiftly earlier this year without public scrutiny or debate," said Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. "The measure is now being steamrolled through the U.S. House without giving the public an opportunity to fully digest its impact and debate the many provisions in the bill."

Moreland isn't the only one upset at how this legislation is being handled. U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), a key lawmaker, said, "Poor process produces poor product, and this is an example of congressional process at its worst. Parts of this bill are good, and parts are very bad. Each part deserves to be discussed and voted on its own merits."

Moreland called on all AMA members, off-highway motorcyclists, ATV riders and everyone who supports responsible outdoor recreation to immediately contact their Congressional representative and ask them to reject the bill. The measure should be defeated because it unreasonably bans motorized recreation on 2.1 million acres of public land by inappropriately designating it as Wilderness, and because the procedures used for fast-tracking the bill through the U.S. Senate and House violate the spirit of open and democratic government.

"Continued responsible access to public lands is a vitally important right for current and future generations," Moreland added. "This measure deserves to be fully analyzed and thoughtfully debated prior to a final vote."

A rapid way to contact elected U.S. representatives is in the "Issues & Legislation" area of the Rights section of the AMA website at www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com.

About the American Motorcyclist Association

Since 1924, the AMA has promoted and protected the motorcycling lifestyle. For more information, visit www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com.