Kawasaki’s Eli TomacThe 2016 Monster Energy Supercross Championship heads to Canada for the first and only time this season. Ahead of SX at Roger Centre, the 2016 season has produced mixed results for Tomac and his first year with the same Kawasaki team that has won four consecutive 450SX Class titles with Ryan Villopoto. A major shoulder injury during last year’s outdoor season put Tomac a little behind in his preparations for Monster Energy Supercross.As a result, it has taken some time for the new pairing between he and the Kawasaki KX450F to find its rhythm. Prior to his win in Daytona Beach SX last weekend, Tomac had just one podium result of third place in 2016. However, he was the rider to beat all day at the famed Daytona International Speedway, and managed to fend off some late pressure from defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion and current points leader Ryan Dungey to give Monster Energy Kawasaki its first win since the final race of the 2014 season.
Tomac was the breakout rider of the 2015 season, winning three races, and many expected him to be one of Dungey’s primary challengers for the title this year. His was the first rider in 2016 to led all 20 laps of a Supercross race.“This is something we’ve been working towards all season,” said Tomac. “For being off the bike for as long I was, I think I was expecting too much of myself right away. Daytona is a race I’ve been looking forward to all year and it’s an event everyone wants to win. I was feeling great all day and it showed as I qualified first, won my [Heat Race] and capped it off with a Main Event win. I couldn’t be happier!”KTM’s Ryan DungeyThe second place effort aboard his Red Bull KTM still allowed Dungey to extend his lead in the 450SX Class standings. It also signified his 25th consecutive podium finish, tying him with Monster Energy/360fly/Chaparral/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Chad Reed for the longest streak in history. His 20th straight finish of first or second also extended the record he currently owns.“Daytona is always a nasty one,” commented Dungey. “But it’s good to be on the podium and pick up some valuable points in the overall championship.”Dungey’s Red Bull KTM teammate Marvin Musquin continued his recent surge as one of the hottest riders in the championship, rounding out the podium in third just one week after he nearly won his first career 450SX Class Main Event. The French rookie has three podium finishes in his last six races.In the 450SX Class standings, Dungey has jumped out to a 39-point lead over RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen, who finished fifth in the Daytona. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson remains third, 50 points behind Dungey following a fourth-place effort last weekend.The first two Main Events of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship have provided glimpses into how competitive this battle for the title should be. Through two races only one rider has finished on the podium in each Main Event, points leader and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Martin Davalos. In Daytona Davalos showed tremendous patience and it paid off with a third-place effort to complement his win two weeks ago in Atlanta.The rider who stood atop the 250SX Class podium was Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin, who paced early race leader Malcolm Stewart on his GEICO Honda for 12 laps before making his move to lead the final three laps and take his third career win. Martin now has one win in each of the last three seasons.“We worked a lot on bike setup and proper technique for supercross in the offseason because it’s a whole different animal from outdoors [motocross],” said Martin. “I like to bulldog it, and you can’t quite do that in supercross. We worked really hard this offseason and it’s all paying off. To get this win is a big thank you to my team.”Following Martin in second was a hard-charging Justin Hill, who earned his first podium finish since joining Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM this season. Hill started sixth, but fought valiantly to give himself a shot at the win at the end.“I felt really good all day, and think I could have had a chance for the win if I would have grabbed a better start,” said Hill. “It’s really awesome to feel this good and be right there in the championship battle.”Davalos made a pass on Stewart on the final lap to steal third and secure his position atop the Eastern Regional Championship standings.With back-to-back podium efforts Davalos holds a two-point lead over Martin in the standings. Stewart is third, five points back. Just nine points separate Davalos in first from Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger in fifthThe last time Monster Energy Supercross raced inside Rogers Centre was during the 2014 season. In the 450SX Class, Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s James Stewart enjoyed one of his most memorable rides with a come-from-behind victory in which he passed an incredible 10 riders after starting outside the top 10. In the 250SX Class, GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle earned the first win of his professional career en route to winning the Eastern Regional title.Previous Supercross Race ResultsDaytona International Speedway 450SX Class Results
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna
Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki
Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda
Josh Grant, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki
Christophe Pourcel, San Antonio, Fla., Husqvarna
Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, S.C., KTM
Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda
450SX Class Championship Standings
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 213
Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki – 174
Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna – 163
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 154
Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda – 145
Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha – 141
Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM – 134
Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM – 110
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 105
Jake Weimer, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki – 81
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha
Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., KTM
Martin Davalos, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna
Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha
Arnaud Tonus, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Kawasaki
RJ Hampshire, Brooksville, Fla., Honda
Jesse Wentland, Elk River, Minn., Honda
Tyler Bowers, Corona, Calif., Kawasaki
Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
Martin Davalos, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna – 45
Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 43
Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda – 40
Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., KTM – 38
Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 36
RJ Hampshire, Brooksville, Fla., Honda – 29
Tyler Bowers, Corona, Calif., Kawasaki – 25
Benny Bloss, Oak Grove, Mo., Yamaha – 18
Arnaud Tonus, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Kawasaki – 17
Honda CRF-E2 Electric + Dale Schmidtchen and the $50M V-Rod
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello everyone and welcome to Ultimate Motorcycling’s podcast, Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s episode is brought to you by Yamaha YZF-R7. The R7 lives up to its legendary name, as a high-performance supersport machine. Check it out at at your local Yamaha dealer, or of course at YamahaMotorsports.com.
In this week’s first segment, Editor Don Williams and I chat about electric bikes and the electric bike revolution that is likely the future of motorcycling. Actually this episode is specifically about Honda’s new CRF-E2… an electric dirt-bike for kids. We asked our tester, 8-year old Avery Bart to put the E2 through its paces and according to Don, she loved it. Honda has stated that the company goal is for 50% of its sales to be electric by 2030—an ambitious goal for sure, and the CRF-E2 is the first step in that direction.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my Aussie motorcycle industry friends—Dale Schmidtchen. Dale has worked for most of the major moto factories globally during his career, and his take on his CF Moto ADV bike is interesting. Beyond that, one his many projects is currently helping to sell the world’s most expensive motorcycle—a Harley V-Rod worth around 50 million dollars. Yes, that’s 50 million with an ‘M’.
Dale also owned a race team in the 1990s and helped bring several well-known Aussie racers to the world stage. He’s a very modest, matter-of-fact guy, but I always really enjoy chatting with him; I hope you enjoy listening.
Incidentally, if you’ve got around fifty mill burning a hole in your pocket and you fancy owning the so-called ‘Mona Lisa of motorbikes’—contact us at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll put you in touch with Dale.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!