MXPTV captured the opening press day action of the 2012 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championships season at Hangtown near Sacramento, California. A number of top riders visited the local UC Davis Children’s Hospital to visit the kids and hang out with them. After their visit, a larger crowd of riders took to the Hangtown track to check out the layout as kids from UC Davis came over to watch their favorites trackside.

For the past two years the Troy Lee Designs / Lucas Oil / Honda team has been supporting amateur standout Jessy Nelson.

Jessy was one of the original members of the Red Bull Jams program so it is only fitting that he makes his way to Red Bull’s support team. Nelson has been very successful early on this year winning several championships along the way. Originally Jessy was supposed to join the pro team after Loretta Lynn’s but he has been spending some time in California doing motos with his teammates and it was decided by all parties to move him up for the 2012 outdoor season.

Nelson is already signed for the 2013 season with an option for 2014.

“We’ve had him out doing some motos and riding with the other guys,” said Tyler Keefe, the team’s manager. “We started thinking about him doing the nationals with us back then. We talked with Jessy about it and at first he wanted to think about it a little. After weighing his options he made the call to start his pro career this weekend at Hangtown.”

Nelson is excited about his first pro race.

“I’m pretty anxious to get out there and see how I do,” says Jessy. “I’m really happy with the bikes and I feel like I’ve been riding well. This will be a great opportunity for me to get some experience for the 2013 season. I think it’s a good idea to start with motocross and then I’ll have less to stress out about when we show up for Anaheim 1 next year. This should be fun.”

Nelson will be running the #136 bike this weekend in Sacramento at what is technically his home track. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the newest team member this weekend!

MXPTV captured a bunch of photos from the Racer X Pro Ride Day at the new Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in southern California.  Featured riders include Ryan Dungey, Blake Baggett, Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia, Justin Bogle, Eli Tomac, Jake Weimer, Tyla Rattray, Ivan Tedesco, and many more!

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (May 9, 2012) – The JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha Team is pleased to announce the addition of 20 year old Kyle Regal to race the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series.  Regal will join Davi Millsaps, who finished second in the recently concluded AMA Supercross Championship in contesting the series.

“We are coming off a great supercross season with Davi Millsaps and both Davi and Kyle are turning some very fast laps at our test track.  We are excited about the upcoming outdoor national season,” said team manager, Jeremy Albrecht.

“I am excited about this opportunity, the bike is awesome and the team has been great getting me comfortable with the set-up.  I am looking forward to Hangtown and the 2012 outdoor season,” commented Kyle Regal.

The next race for the JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha Team will be the Lucas Oil AMA National Championship season opener, the Hangtown Classic, held in Sacramento, Calif. on May 19.  FUEL TV will air the first motos live from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. (EST).  There will also be a live broadcast on allisports.com.  The second motos will be telecast on the NBC Sports Network between 12:00 – 2:00 a.m. (the 19^th).

MX Sports and Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park would like to invite all pro racers participating in the upcoming 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, to the complimentary Lake Elsinore Pro Ride Day at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park on Friday, May 11, 2012.  The Lake Elsinore Main Track will be available exclusively to pro licensed racers for the purpose of using the circuit to test outdoor equipment and also to get a feel for the new Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park.

The Main Track will be reserved exclusively from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. for all current AMA Pro Motocross or AMA Supercross license holders.  The Lake Elsinore Vet Track will remain open to the public during this time frame.  The event will be preceded by a Racer X Advertisers’ Ride Day in the morning, ending at noon.

Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park will hold the final round of the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship on September 8. It is the hope of MX Sports, as well as the Lake Elsinore management and track architect Marc Peters, of Petersbuilt Tracks, that this preview will help configure any final soil preparation, maintenance and layout changes that may be needed for the inaugural Lake Elsinore National in September. It is also the intent that the test will help athletes and teams prepare for the entire series on a secure course restricted to professional riders only.

Admission and registration are free to all professional riders and their race crews, compliments of MX Sports, Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park and Racer X Illustrated.  Registration will start at 11 a.m.  Riders will be required to show a current Motocross or Supercross pro license and valid ID in order to participate.

We hope you will join us for this special afternoon and take advantage of the unique opportunity to test your equipment on a national racetrack before the start of the series.

If you have any questions about the Lake Elsinore Pro Ride Day on Friday, May 11, 2012, please contact Jeff Canfield (jcanfield@mxsports.com).

See you there!

It’s about that time to bring it outdoors! MXPTV captured most of the racing action during the 2011 installment of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series. Check out the highlights from last year’s series as the opening round kicks off at Hangtown near Sacramento, California on May 19th.

For event tickets, TV times, and exclusive videos, visit www.allisports.com.

Subscribe to AlliSports on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/AlliSports.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto will not defend his AMA Motocross title in 2012 after injuring his knee at the Seattle supercross on Saturday night. The two-time AMA Supercross and defending AMA Motocross champion will undergo surgery on his knee this week.

“I’m pretty disappointed right now,” said Villopoto. “I have trained hard for this season and even though I won the supercross title, I really wanted to defend my outdoor championship. I’ve been through injury before and I know how hard I have to work to get back.”

Villopoto is coming off of a dominant 16 months where the Poulsbo, Wash. native earned two AMA Supercross titles on the strength of 15 wins, the AMA Motocross Championship with three wins and also the richest payday in supercross with a million dollar win at the Monster Energy Cup.

Hendersonville, North Carolina: Because they believe that dirt riding is spiritual, Team MX Heaven, the racing team representing America’s premier MX vacation experience, has signed on with Öhlins USA to run the world’s-premier suspension in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.