Welcome to this week’s edition of Woz Up, coming to you from either a local Starbucks or at Hangtown. At least, this one is on time unlike last week! It’s been a fun week leading up to tomorrow’s opening round at Hangtown! Yeap, it all starts tomorrow! No short laps indoors (at least until January). It’s time to bring it outdoors!
On Monday, I made a stop at Alli Sports to do some video work and ended up picking up some Alli swag along the way. Hit up their Alli Shop at shop.allisports.com to get Alli swag and much more. After my visit with Alli, I stopped by the Hookit offices in Solana Beach to talk about some new things in the works MXPTV and Hookit will be working together on. News of these new things are in the works and will be announced some time down the road but soon!
Thanks to Alli Sports for giving me a temporary office this past week!
On Tuesday, I visited the Competitive Edge MX Park in Hesperia, CA to catch a ton of top riders getting in their last minute testing before Hangtown. Red Bull/KTM, GEICO Honda (without Tomac – probably in Colorado somewhere), Monster Energy Kawasaki, Mitch Payton’s Pro Circuit team, Muscle Milk/Honda’s Justin Brayton, and many other privateers and amateurs were there. CLICK HERE to check out my large gallery of photos from Comp Edge.
Comp Edge was hot, hot, hot with top pro riders on Tuesday.
Wednesday was the 8 hour trek from southern California to Sacramento. A fun trip along the 5 (Interstate 5) going through some steep mountains and super flat farm fields filled with oranges, grapes, and much more. But a brief 5 minute whiff of a large section of cows but the good ole road trip stank back into the trip. I made it to a KOA outside Sacramento and did a bunch of prep before press day.
Asterisk Mobile Medical Unit on the way to Hangtown!
Thursday was press day at Hangtown and it started not at the track but at the UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento as top riders Ryan Dungey, Jake Weimer, Davi Millsaps, Justin Brayton, Brett Metcalfe, Ashley Fiolek, and Kacie Creson visited with the kids and their parents to hang out and talk about riding dirt bikes, wearing safety gear, and about life. It was a pretty cool look at a softer side of sport where the riders showed their appreciation with patients who aren’t doing so well.
I give you the next Ryan Dungey! Also, the 3rd person ever to wear those exclusive Nike boots!
After the UC Davis visit, we all went to Hangtown as a couple bus loads of kids from the hospital came by to meet the riders, walk through their transporters, and see these riders tear up the track. A much larger group of riders took to the track. From James Stewart to Marvin Musquin to Tommy Hahn (on his new Muscle Milk/Honda ride to Tyla Rattray (debuting his Monster Energy/Kawasaki ride) to many, many others took to the track. Ken Roczen stood out (along with Stewart) on the track. It’ll be interesting to see how Ken will treat the American outdoor tracks since he’s only been on SX tracks until tomorrow.
Brett Metcalfe and crew await their time on the track for press day yesterday.
The Hangtown track will be rough. Really rough.
I produced my first of 12 press day videos from Hangtown late last night and posted it this morning. Check it out and TV times are at the end of the video. Make sure you tune in wherever you may be or as always, grab a hold of that fence line and have fun!
The track looks amazing. I remember Hangtown last year as being very rough but very flowing to the riders. The layout is exactly the same as last year. And the racing should be intense, even with a number of top names out with injury (Villopoto/Reed/Canard). But there are many questions to be answered that I’m sure will be answered after tomorrow:
- Will Dungey’s KTM SX success transfer over outdoors?
- Barcia to open the season off better than last year?
- Can Tomac capitalize on another Hangtown win?
- What will James Stewart do…..on a new bike….haven’t raced a national (technically) in 4 years……
- Rattray fast on a 450 as he was on a 250?
- Wilson won the first moto last year at Hangtown. Or will Baggett steal the 2nd moto again?
- What privateers are going to make a solid mark at Hangtown?
And there’s always more. That’s what makes motocross pretty damn cool.
The first moto of amateur day takes off at Hangtown on Thursday morning.
Here are some last minute team switches and injury reports for Hangtown tomorrow:
- Jessy Nelson promoted to the TLD/Lucas Oil/Honda team. Running #136.
- Ivan Tedesco steps down to the 250 class, again, with Pro Circuit, again.
- JDR/JStar/KTM’s Matt Moss OUT due to injury.
- Kyle Regal debuts JGR/Toyota/Yamaha ride replacing James Stewart.
- Tyla Rattray debuts Monster Energy/Kawasaki ride replacing Ryan Villopoto.
- Tommy Hahn comes back to Muscle Milk/Honda replacing Trey Canard.
Got some fresh Alli swag this week. Get it at shop.allisports.com.
My first video for Alli Sports for 2012 has been published and it’s with the man of mystery, James Stewart, talking about his new Yoshimura/Suzuki ride, his ride day at Glen Helen, and what to expect at Hangtown.
Karl Cin shown his classic “Cinsanity” at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, VA for MAMA’s only pro am event of 2012. Check out his SATURDAY and SUNDAY shots from VMP!
Check out Karl’s shots from MAMA’s pro am at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Back at the GPMX Motocross compound, I did a walk thru video with GPMX’s Greg Pamart of Frenchie’s compound and setup. From an old barn and horse stables to a fun, innovative training facility, GPMX keeps stepping it up every year. Check out the video below:
Check out this cool helmet cam footage of New York pro Ron Rothkranz at the MiniMoto SX in Las Vegas posted earlier this week:
Well, time to make my rounds at Hangtown before tomorrow’s race! Hope you’re excited as I am! Thanks for reading along and see ya at the races!
The folks at MX Sports and Racer X have a cool on-board animated track map for this weekend’s opening round at Hangtown.
Welcome to a late edition of Woz Up from southern California! It’s been a real busy week bouncing from homes and tracks all week long. After the Las Vegas EnduroCross/Supercross/MiniMoto weekend, I destined south through the desert and to a desert riding spot called Superstition Mountains near Ocotillo Wells near the Mexico border in SoCal for One Industries’ Fall catalog photo shoot on Tuesday. The sandy, whooped out dirt road going into the spot was a rough one with even warning signs of bombing tests on the way in. And what do you know, I seen fighter planes up above and smoke/dirt coming out the ground not far away! It was surreal and with a big black van in the desert, I don’t think I could have stood out so much (maybe if I had a target on the roof)! It was pretty awesome but also, it got me very nervous at the same time!
Departed from Vegas and to the desert I go!
Such a heavenly place…
Probably 1/1 millionth of the area we shot in near Ocotillo.
The shoot went really well and just pretty much trailed the photo crew as they were picking out the spots throughout the day. Rockstar/Suzuki riders Jason Anderson and Hunter Hewitt were throwing down along with privateers Sean Borkenhagen and Mike Sleeter as well as top amateurs Anthony Rodriguez and others. It was my first desert shoot and my baked lips afterwards broke my newb level in the desert. A fun time and make sure to check out the video of the day on Alli Sports soon.
The Woz section of Alli Sports for half a day!
Late Tuesday night, I made it into Temecula and crashed at a hotel to do much needed laundry and showering after the desert shoot. After slowly waking up on Wednesday morning, I drove over to Alli Sports’ offices in Carlsbad to meet with the crew there and also, catch up on my video work with my own desk setup in one of the rooms. For a media company that posts all of its videos on YouTube, Alli has an amazing office setup to do video work in. But I felt way different since I was the only nerd on a PC in there. Maybe a Mac upgrade can happen in the near future but we’ll see. Otherwise, it was fun to catch up with everyone there and start off the season strong with them.
First visit to Glen Helen!
Thursday was off to Glen Helen for their regular pro practice days they usually have on Thursday. Almost everyone was there including the Monster Energy/Kawasaki riders of Jake Weimer and new recruit Tyla Rattray along with Mitch Payton’s Pro Circuit team of Dean Wilson, Blake Baggett, and making a return to the team, Ivan Tedesco, who looked really good on the 250! Jason Anderson, Martin Davalos, Blake Wharton, Hunter Hewitt, and Jessica Patterson of the Rockstar/Suzuki team were all there along with Jeff Ward Racing/Kawasaki’s Josh Grant and Kyle Chisholm. Rockstar/Valli Yamaha riders Gareth Swanepoel and Bobby Kiniry were turning fast laps as well. Overall, a packed house on the steep, steep hills of Glen Helen. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTOS!
Dean Wilson doing some track prep of his own at GH.
Ryan Villopoto seen at GH helping out his younger brother, Tyler, who will be competing in the Canadian nationals this summer.
Tyla Rattray has moved up to the 450s and replacing Villopoto’s spot at Monster Energy/Kawasaki.
Friday was spent at the revived Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore, California for Racer X’s Pro Ride Day. Pretty much everyone was there. Add in the Glen Helen crowd along with Muscle Milk/Honda and GEICO Honda teams, Red Bull/KTM, and much more and it was almost a full on national. James Stewart, Dean Wilson, and Jason Anderson were the only notables not there that I can think of. I shot a bunch of photos from the beginning of the pro practice session. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTOS!
Justin Barcia never keeping that front wheel down at Lake Elsinore.
Ivan Tedesco looked really good on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki 250 machine. Almost too good!
Jersey privateers Joey Peters and Dakota Kessler (along with roadie John Wehrle) had their ride at both Glen Helen and Lake Elsinore.
Justin Brayton will be a threat outdoors! He looked solid at Elsinore.
The Dunlop rig didn’t make the trip to Elsinore so they grand-theft-auto’d a soccer mom’s minivan instead.
Get your swab on and help the McGrath family!
Saturday was back to Glen Helen for an interview with the #7 himself, James Stewart. Stewart has one of his regular ride days for his fans going on in the AM hours before the Red Bull X-Fighters kicked off after noon. Between Stewart’s sessions on the track, I was able to talk to James and he seems really pumped on his new Suzuki ride. He basically hasn’t seriously competed in a pro national in over 4 years since his 24-0 dominating season in 2008 back when he was on Kawasaki. He knows he won’t come into it swinging like he did 4 years ago and is aiming for a top 5 at Hangtown this coming weekend. But I think once he starts getting in a groove, the rest are going to see that #7 on top of the box more and more. But his speed at Glen Helen in some sections were flat out fast. It might be because he was out there with a bunch of amateurs but I tried really hard to compare to Thursday’s practice and still, he looked really good. He also mentioned that Ryan Dungey, even though he is in a slightly better situation, is also competing on a new bike outdoors as well since Dungey’s KTM hasn’t touched an outdoor national track yet. Stewart says the competition is there this year despite last year’s top runners, Ryan Villopoto, Chad Reed, and Trey Canard, are out with injuries. He seems confident in the team and their last minute progress going into Hangtown.
Interview time with James Stewart coming right up!
I’d say JS7 had a pretty busy morning at Glen Helen.
Stewart knows it’s gettin’ hot in hurrrr…….
After Stewart’s ride day session, I checked out the Red Bull X-Fighters show in the afternoon as Todd Potter edged by an impressive Thomas Pages in the final. Pages had the best runs throughout the whole day until the final where it seemed like he was playing against the wind more than Potter as he half and halfed a bunch of tricks that hurt his chances on winning the competition. His body varials, inverted whips, and amazing transfers were a step over what most riders were doing. But Potter was solid from the start to finish and edged out with the win and continued points lead in the overall standings. The track was a sight to see as there were huge gaps, a huge wallride, and a step up one of Glen Helen’s steep hills that brought the fans to their feet. Even a hidden Amercian flag draped kicker/whip jump appeared half way through the program that sent riders carving high and flat through the air. Red Bull, as usual, put on an amazing event.
The Red Bull X-Fighters course at Glen Helen was beyond sick.
Now, I’m currently in Oceanside staying at Alli’s managing editor’s house for the next couple of days before working my way north for Hangtown. I’ll be down this way visiting offices and shops early in the week with maybe a stop at a track somewhere in between. The weather has been great. The gas prices suck. ($4.09 – $4.39 for regular!) And it’s been fun but busy times so far, which is always good!
Just taking a shortcut…
I posted a couple of videos late this week from the EnduroCross and MiniMoto races I shot back in Las Vegas. Check them out below:
As I probably warned you about, there will be less updates than usual here at MXPTV.com due to being on the road a lot, filming and shooting most of the day, and not finding reliable WiFi connections. But I just finished up a couple of videos for MXPTV.com this week that’ll be posted Monday and Tuesday mornings (East coast fans: around or after noon) before I head out for my shoots. One is a MiniMoto helmet cam run and a tour of GPMX Motocross School’s compound. Don’t miss them!
This is a desert. It gets kinda hot here.
I just want to thank Michelle at Alli for the temporary office space and sleeping spot as well as Jessica Patterson, Eddie Ray and the Covington family for the invite to stay in their Murrietta home for a few days in between shoots. And to the cashier at a random In and Out that says he checks out MXPTV all the time! That was pretty darn cool. It’s been an awesome 2 weeks so far with 4 pro nationals ahead before I head back home to the east coast.
As always, check out my Twitter (@MXPTV) and Instagram (MXPTV) feeds daily for words and pictures from the road. You just may never know what I’ll post next! Thanks for reading along and catch ya at the nationals!
See you in September!
Ben Townley talks about the frustration and pain after his hip injury that sidelined him from his United States comeback this summer.
Check out James Stewart on his new Yoshimura Suzuki ride!
Guess ALL SX, SX Lites West and East, and Lites Shootout Main Events correctly in order:
Bel-Ray Hat, MXPTV “Video. Photo. Moto.” T-Shirt, Mental Racing T-Shirt, Troy Lee Designs Hat, MXPTV DVD, MXPTV Stickers
Guess BOTH SX and Lites Shootout mains correctly in order:
Bel-Ray Hat + MXPTV “Video. Photo. Moto.” T-Shirt + MXPTV DVD + MXPTV Stickers
Guess BOTH SX Lites West And East main events correctly in order:
MXPTV “Video. Photo. Moto” T-Shirt + MXPTV DVD + MXPTV Stickers
Guess ONE of SX, SX Lites West Or East, or Lites Shootout mains correctly in order:
Mental Racing T-Shirt + MXPTV DVD + MXPTV Stickers
- The first to guess the correct podium or podiums wins the prize.
- To enter, simply comment below with your top 3 in each class.
- Please put your name and email address in the fields provided (or you won’t receive your prize if you win).
- Full names, last names, nicknames, and rider numbers are accepted as entries.
- The order you put the riders will be counted as first, second, and third. (Left to Right/Top to Bottom)
- Voting will end at the gate drop of the first Lites heat race (9:30pm ET).
- Oh, it’s free to enter silly!
Blue Diamond got a recent face lift and reversal the past week. Check out this helmet cam run provided by Joel Whitten on his 2 smoker.
Welcome to this week’s Woz Up! It’s been a special week as I departed from the driveway of our Clayton, DE home and headed west to Las Vegas. After 3 1/2 days of driving, thousands of bugs splattered on the windshield, and many, many miles added to the new ride, I have arrived in Vegas! I got in yesterday afternoon and it’s just strange that I drove here with my own vehicle rather than the usual fly in/rental car out method. The drive here went very smoothly.
Leaving Delaware!
I decided to take the southern route along Interstate 40 and historic Route 66. On Monday, I made it past good ole’ Exit 143 on I-40, which is the exit for Loretta Lynn’s and stayed in Jackson, just an hour past the double L. I did stay in the back of a Pilot gas station for a little bit before a group of people were hanging out by the van. I decided to pack it all up late at night and hit up a campground just down the road. The place wasn’t the most attractive place to stay but $23 paid and a full electric hook up later, it was well worth it.
Down Insterstate 81 in Virginia.
Back in Tennessee again.
Tuesday for me started with an AM sweep through Memphis, TN and over the Mississippi River into Arkansas. I made it through Arkansas and into Oklahoma where the wind really picked up and made my ride rockin’ all over the road! It was wild but fun at the same time. Also, soon as the first 75 MPH speed limit sign came about in Oklahoma, I was all smiles and pinned it to Amarillo, TX. I stayed at a really clean RV resort for the night and was able to shower off the travel stench and get some video work done.
In Memphis, TN.
That cool pyramid building in Memphis.
Over the Mississippi and into Arkansas.
All OK in OK.
Wednesday was all Great Plains driving as I got through Texas and New Mexico and started to see less green and more desert looks. It wasn’t something I was used to (being from the east coast) so my eyes were glued to the scenery (and of course the road). It was still 75 MPH all the way into Arizona! I stopped at a KOA campground just south of the Grand Canyon Wednesday night and did a lil’ drive through Williams, AZ on historic Route 66. It was pretty cool seeing the 50s/60s vibe but it wasn’t for me I guess. I’m cool with checking things out that are hundreds of years old or what’s new and current. That 50s/60s era don’t attract my interest but anyways, it was cool to see. Also, I spotted a gas station that sold regular gas for $4.49 a gallon! I paid $3.49 a gallon when I left Amarillo earlier that day!
Texas was cookin’!
The Cadillac RV Ranch at a RV resort outside Amarillo, TX.
The newer Mexico.
Getting closer to Vegas….
Caught a ton of bugs by surprise along the trip so far!
The views were always great on the road.
A movie-like look wherever you went.
Arizona lookin’ good!
On Thursday, I wanted to check out the Grand Canyon for the 2nd time and maybe do a small hike there but I wanted to arrive in Vegas at a certain time in the afternoon so I can be settled at the hotel room I’m staying at with Midwest Tour producer Ben Lynn, as he is on the SPEED TV crew out here for the Vegas SX on Saturday. I had some time to kill but not enough for a drive to the Grand Canyon and back (45 minutes one way from the campground). So, I decided to check out Hoover Dam instead for a little bit. It was pretty cool to check out the dam from the bridge walkway overlooking the dam and also, to drive atop the dam rim. And no, I didn’t take the dam tour. It’s another thing to check off the bucket list right there! I arrived in Vegas in the afternoon and met up with Ben and some guys from the TV crew for dinner at the Hard Rock hotel. It was cool to catch up and talk some moto and video!
Historic Route 66 in Williams, AZ.
More sick sights in Arizona.
Colorado River carving its way through the land.
There is that damn dam!
Arrived in Nevada. Shot on top of the bridge overpass over the Hoover Dam.
Today, I am covering tonight’s opening round of the GEICO EnduroCross series at the Orleans Hotel up the road. I’ll be filming away all night and capturing some log banging and water diving all night long. Saturday will be an all day hang out at Sam Boyd Stadium talking with race teams, riders, industry peeps, and of course, catching the night’s races (maybe with some post-race VIP party time afterwards!). Sunday will be another day at the Orleans Hotel covering the always exciting MiniMoto SX pit bike race. After that, it’s off to southern California for the next 2 weeks before Hangtown!
2,500 miles later, I’m in Vegas.
So far, this cross country trip has been amazing. It’s a trip many have made and many wish they can make. I start working my way back east after Hangtown as I follow the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series for the summer. But in between my travels, I’ve been able to do some updates here at MXPTV (since I’m the only one who does that).
Also, make sure you check my Twitter (@MXPTV) and Instagram (MXPTV) feeds for more on the road images from this trip!
Here are some updates from the past week at MXPTV:
I posted a cool Rider Session video of young 50cc racer Chris Sweeney at his home track at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey for a open practice session. Check it out below:
As you can see, Chris had a nasty crash on his Cobra. No worries! I did a MXPTV Crash video of it. Check it out below:
Before I pinned it west, I stopped by the GPMX Motocross School compound to do a video feature on Greg Pamart’s motocross schools and talk about his programs and top-notch facility. Check it out below:
One of Greg Pamart’s students, Karl Ciamaichelo, ran MXPTV’s helmet cam on the GPMX motocross track. Check it out below:
I also shot some photos of the late afternoon action at the GPMX Motocross compound. Check them out below:
Here’s a preview of this weekend’s MAMA race at Blue Diamond MX in New Castle, DE:
MXPTV intern Jake Buly sent over some shots from Budds Creek last weekend. Check them out below:
That’s about it this week from Vegas. Stay tuned for the final Guess The Podium contest of the year tomorrow morning. I will not being doing any Guess The Podium contests for the outdoors since I’ll be way busy at those events this year, but I have a cool substitution for this summer you’ll see before Hangtown and every outdoor round this year. As always, thanks for checking in, reading my weekly column, and see ya at the races!
Check out the red arrow one final time for this Saturday night’s final SX round in Las Vegas.
If you have been checking my Woz Up column the past few weeks, you already know about my cross country road trip. For those who don’t, well, I’m going on a cross country road trip! I will be leaving Monday morning and heading west and hopefully, if everything goes to plan, I’ll arrive in Las Vegas on Thursday. I will be covering the EnduroCross and MiniMoto SX events on Friday and Sunday nights for MXPTV along with spectating the final round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series at Sam Boyd Stadium. It will be my first time covering the EnduroCross and MiniMoto events and my first time viewing the Vegas SX from the stadium seats.
The MXPTV ride is ready for the road!
After the Vegas weekend concludes, I’m off to the southern California to start capturing video of the top pros getting ready for Hangtown on May 19th for both here at MXPTV and Alli Sports. I will follow the entire Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross championship series this summer. After Hangtown, I’ll head toward Freestone then Thunder Valley then back east to High Point and finally back home in time for the Budds Creek national in mid-June.
It’s going to be a fun and adventurous trip and if you see the MXPTV ride out there, stop by, say hey, and get some free MXPTV stickers and cheap t-shirts. Since I’m the only one who updates this site, expect some light content here and there throughout the week as I’ll be on the road most of the time. I have some videos already lined up for this week so make sure to check them out while I’m throwing on the miles. I will also update my Twitter and Instagram (@MXPTV) feeds frequently during the trip so make sure to check those out.
As always, thanks for checking out MXPTV!
