Suzuki ends Amateur Motocross Support

Rumors of the demise of the America Suzuki amateur motocross support program have been running around the industry for weeks. Unfortunately, the rumors are now confirmed. A letter from Cole Gress, the Motocross Support Manager, has been sent to team sponsors stating that the program is finished.

As of December 1, 2008 American Suzuki will no longer support an amateur motocross support team.

"As of December 1, 2008 American Suzuki will no longer support an amateur motocross support team," wrote Gress. "Thank you for all of your generous support over the years. Together we were able to produce a powerful and respected program."

The bottom line reason for shutting down the program is the bottom line itself. The economy has hurt Suzuki's sales enough to cause deep budget cuts for both personnel and programs like amateur motocross support. Stay tuned to Racer X Online for more on this development.

What does this mean to the many Suzuki backed racers in our area. Guys like Nick Desiderio, Frank Lettieri and Barry Carsten have been loyal Suzuki riders over the years and the contingency that they pay out certainly supports their racing.

What do you think?

Dowd / Carsten on MXPTV

MXPTV was able to catch up with some of the Northeast's most well respected vet racers, Suzuki riders John Dowd and Barry Carsten, after a full day of racing at the NJ State Championships at Raceway Park. Check out the video as both riders talk about how their day went at Englishtown, how their sons finished out as well, their age, Loretta's, Nationals, Endurocross, their future in motocross, and whatever is on their mind!

John Dowd/Barry Carsten Interview:
http://www.motoxposure.com/tv/video/dowdcarsten.htm

Race Report Raceway Park June 29th

Warm temperatures and a threat of severe storms throughout the day greeted the 600+ riders who came to Old Bridge Township's Raceway Park on June 29th for Round # 7 of the Ultimate MX Series. With contingencies on the line from all of the major manufacturers and series ponts at stake the competition was sure to be excellent.

Danny Congdon was the winner of the 50cc Oil Injection (4-6) class.

Joe Mancini was the winner of the 50cc 7-8 stock class

Brandon Hartranft won the 65cc 7-9 class and was second in the 85cc 9-11 class

Alexander Frye won the 85cc 9-11 class.

Taylor Futrell was the big expert winner for the day taking all 4 motos he entered on teh way to the 250 and 450 Expert class overall.

Barry Carsten won the 30+ and 40+ Expert Classes

Frankie Lettieri won both Schoolboy classes

Josh Emmi was the winner of both the 250 and 450 "B" classes.

Jesse Pierce won the Junior Mini class.

Avery Brown won the Super Mini II class for 14-16 year olds.

Raceway Park

06/29/2008

125 2 Stroke: 1. Jude Harper (Yam); 2. Brian Ruggierio (Hon); 3. Tom Duggan (Hon); 4. Patrick Duddy (Yam);

250 Amatuer "B": 1. Josh Emmi (Kaw); 2. Sal Calamita (Hon); 3. Kyle Sidle (Suz); 4. Kody Renzland (Yam); 5. Zak Klaptosky (Suz);

250 Novice "C": 1. Jake Scott (Yam); 2. Frank Robie (Suz); 3. Kyle Thompson (Hon); 4. Timmy Vogel (Suz); 5. Marcello Vasquez (Hon);

250 Pro/Expert "A": 1. Taylor Futrell (Hon); 2. Brian Mulcahy (Kaw); 3. Ryan Blizzard (Kaw); 4. Anthony Roth (Hon); 5. Kyle Willis (Hon);

30+ Amateur "B": 1. Frank Smith (Yam); 2. Dean Bush (Hon); 3. John Ward (Hon); 4. Michale Dardzinski (Kaw); 5. Michael Lewis (Hon);

30+ Novice "C": 1. Gerry Scaletti (Hon); 2. James Pizzo (Kaw); 3. Patrick Nolan (Yam); 4. Emiliano Penazzi (Kaw); 5. Neal Witson (Yam);

30+ Vet Expert "A": 1. Barry Carsten (Suz); 2. Kurt Mcmillen (Suz); 3. James Mc Ilvaine (Hon); 4. Darren Edsall (Hon); 5. Brian Smith (Kaw);

35+ A: 1. Kurt Mcmillen (Suz); 2. James Mc Ilvaine (Hon); 3. Jerry Seip (Hon); 4. Victor Schepisi (Hon); 5. Mark Loniewski (Hon);

35+ B: 1. John Ward (Hon); 2. Ethan Waybright (Hon); 3. Michael Lewis (Hon); 4. John Tavernese (Suz); 5. David Hall (Hon);

40+ B/C: 1. Dean Bush (Hon); 2. Dean Mauro (Kaw); 3. Patrick Nolan (Yam); 4. Phil Spagnola (Hon); 5. Bill Ostlin (Hon);

40+ Senior Expert "A": 1. Barry Carsten (Suz); 2. Kurt Mcmillen (Suz); 3. James Mc Ilvaine (Hon); 4. Jerry Seip (Hon); 5. Marc Tiesler (Hon);

45+: 1. Jerry Seip (Hon); 2. Joseph Fritz (Hon); 3. Rick Rosseter (Kaw); 4. James Mcgee (Suz); 5. Jose Clemente (Hon);

50 OIL INJ (4-6): 1. Danny Congdon (Oth); 2. George Doherty (Oth); 3. Jordan Jarvis (Oth); 4. Alyssa Bolden (Cob); 5. Grant Desiderio (Ktm);

50 OIL INJ (7-8): 1. Duke Gomez (Ktm); 2. Ryder Fox (Ktm); 3. Lawrence Fellippello (Ktm);

50cc 4-6 Stock: 1. Bryton Carroll (Oth); 2. Jordan Jarvis (Oth); 3. George Doherty (Oth); 4. Evan Knoll (Ktm); 5. Danny Congdon (Oth);

50cc 7-8 Stock: 1. Joseph Mancini (Oth); 2. Cody Wagner (Oth); 3. Eddie Clark (Oth); 4. Trenton Poust (Ktm); 5. Devin Kusmider (Ktm);

65cc 10-11: 1. Alexander Frye (Ktm); 2. Andrew Maroney (Ktm); 3. Schae Thomas (Ktm); 4. Miguel Correia (Suz); 5. Joseph Galbraith (Suz);

65cc 7-9: 1. Brandon Hartranft (Ktm); 2. Sean Gillies (Ktm); 3. Justin Tompkins (Suz); 4. Joe Tait (Oth); 5. Peter Davis (Suz);

85cc 12-13: 1. Luke Renzland (Yam); 2. Jesse Pierce (Suz); 3. Kevin Tompkins (Suz); 4. Matthew Gahrmann (Kaw); 5. Michael Pettit (Suz);

85cc 14-15: 1. Adam Scicchitano (Suz); 2. Ryan Hernandez (Hon); 3. Alexander Miller (Yam); 4. Kevin Seidel (Yam); 5. Christian Valdes (Kaw);

85cc 9-11: 1. Alexander Frye (Ktm); 2. Brandon Hartranft (Yam); 3. Jacob Hartranft (Yam); 4. Luke Palonicola (Kaw); 5. Miguel Correia (Suz);

College Boy (14-24 years): 1. Nick Johnson (Hon); 2. Michael Sowa (Kaw); 3. Jon Reber (Suz); 4. Joshua Willin (Oth); 5. Donald Daquila (Kaw);

Junior Mini (9-13 years) 2nd: 1. Jesse Pierce (Suz); 2. Alexander Frye (Ktm); 3. Kevin Tompkins (Suz); 4. Jacob Hartranft (Yam); 5. Max Gomez (Suz);

Open Amateur "B": 1. Josh Emmi (Kaw); 2. Kyle Sidle (Suz); 3. Joshua Willin (Oth); 4. Zak Klaptosky (Suz); 5. Tyler Golding (Hon);

Open Expert "A": 1. Taylor Futrell (Hon); 2. Dakota Kessler (Hon); 3. Anthony Roth (Hon); 4. Barry Carsten (Suz); 5. Brian Mulcahy (Kaw);

Open Novice "C": 1. Kyle Thompson (Hon); 2. Sean Koeller (Ktm); 3. Patrick Desantis (Suz); 4. Larry Cella (Kaw); 5. Marcello Vasquez (Hon);

Schoolboy (12-16 years) 2-str: 1. Frank Lettieri (Suz); 2. Luke Renzland (Yam); 3. Michael Mackeprang (Kaw); 4. Jake Scott (Yam); 5. Tyler Hawk (Yam);

SChoolboy (14-16 years) 4-str: 1. Frank Lettieri (Suz); 2. Sal Calamita (Hon); 3. Kyle Sidle (Suz); 4. Michael Sowa (Kaw); 5. Kody Renzland (Yam);

Supermini I 12-14: 1. Luke Renzland (Yam); 2. Kevin Tompkins (Suz); 3. Brad Roth (Suz); 4. Jesse Pierce (Suz); 5. Avery Brown (Suz);

Supermini II 14-16: 1. Avery Brown (Suz); 2. Brad Roth (Suz); 3. Adam Scicchitano (Suz); 4. Stephen Vertucci (Hon); 5. Connor Vail (Hon);

Women (12+up): 1. Nikki Stewart (Yam); 2. Samantha Fritz (Hon); 3. Rachel Engdahl (Suz); 4. Madison Lindeman (Kaw); 5. Melinda Giberson (Yam);

Number Cruncher #92

NJ's own Barry Carsten was one of the featured riders in Andy Bowyer's Number Cruncher update on www.racerxill.com
Go HERE to read more.

Barry Carsten Daytona Photo

Barry Carsten (Bayville) before the rains came. Carsten would go on to finish 7th in the LCQ missing the muddy main event. Photo courtesy Vital MX

Winter Series Wrap Up.

The annual pilgrimage known as the Winter Series wrapped up in the Sunshine State of Florida on Feb 3rd. NJ riders Frank Tussell (Scotch Plains) and Barry Carsten (Bayville) wrapped up series titles. Tussell was the winner of the Vet Open and +45 class while Carsten was third in the +30, second in the +35 and the winner of the +40 class. Great job guys. Remember Raceway Park open on the 9th of March. See you then.

Florida is for Fun in the Sun....and rain

Round 4 of the Florida Winter Series took place at Lakeland this past weekend under what was described as the wettest race of the series thus far. Several NJ based riders were in attendance. Charlie Miller (Pennsville) was 16th in the Youth 4stroke, 31st in the 125b and 25th in the 125 Open class. Brian Mulcahy (Hewitt) was 10th overall in the 125A class and 13th overall in the Pro 125 class. The Renzland Brothers (Hewitt) Luke was 19th overall in the 85cc 12-13 and older brother Kody finished 28th in the youth 4stroke and 10th in the 125 youth 12-15 class.
Frank Tussell (Scotch Plains) was 4th in the Vet Open class and 2nd overall in the +45 class.
Long time NJ hero Barry Carsten (Bayville) ended the weekend 3rd overall in the +35, 3rd overall in the +25, 8th overall in the +30, and the overall winner of the +40 class.
For more coverage of the Winter series check out www.vurbmoto.com

Florida Winter Series round 3

Round three of the Florida Winter Am's was held at Dade City on January 12th. According to many this track is widely considered to be the roughest tracks in Florida.
Several NJ riders have been spending their winter in Florida getting ready for the 2008 season.
Both Barry Carsten and Frank Tussell have continued their winning ways. Carsten (Bayville) was the winner of the +40 class and went on to finish fourth overall in both the +30 and +35 classes. Tussell (Scotch Plains) was the Vet Open winner and also went on to finish eighth overall in the +40 and sixth overall in the +45 class. Hewitt New Jersey native Brian Mulcahy was 16th overall in the 250/500 A class and unfortunately Alex Stavola (Middletown) had some problems and finished 20th overall in the 125 Novice class.

Winter-Am's Round 2

Held at Reddick Florida, Barry Carsten (Bayville) continued his winning ways taking first overall in the +40 class, second overall in the +30, second overall in the +35, and fifth overall in the 250/500 A class. Barry's son Corey was 22nd overall in the 65cc 7-9 class. Pennsville New Jersey's Charlie Miller was 20th overall in the Youth 4-stroke class (14-16) and Scotch Plains New Jersey resident continued his successful winter series by winning the +45 class.

For more from other classes check out VurbMoto here: http://www.vurbmoto.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=309&Itemid=67

NJ in Florida

While many in the northeast enjoyed snow flurries and cold temperatures on the Sunday before New Year's Day some of NJ's racers took advantage of year round racing in a somewhat warmer climate. Round 1 of the Winter-Am series took place at the famous Gatorback Cycle Park in Gainesville Florida. Once the site of the opening round of the AMA National Series it now hosts thousands of riders over a six race series.

Several New Jersey riders took part in the action including:
Spencer Hess (Whiting) 12th overall in the +40 class
Andrew Maroney (Manahawkin) 16th overall 65cc 10-11, 33rd overall 85cc 7-11, 14th overall 65cc open
Luke Renzland (Hewitt) 4th overall 85cc 12-13, 8th overall 12-15 supermini
Kody Renzland (Hewitt) 8th overall 12-15 125 youth, 9th overall 14-16 4-stroke
Alex Stavola (Middletown) 4th overall 250/500 C
John Ward (Manalapan) 8th overall Vet Open, 12th overall +30, 10th overall +35
Frank Tussell (Scotch Plains) 3rd overall Vet Open, 4th overall +45
and of course the Carsten family (Bayville).
Cory 23rd overall 65cc Open and Barry 1st overall Vet Open, 3rd overall +30, 2nd overall +35 and 1st overall +40.
So it looks like many riders stuck in the cold have their work cut out for them as their fellow competitors are still racing. It certainly looks like Barry Carsten, now in his 40s, certainly hasn't slowed down.