RV officially retiring tomorrow and Cianciarulo out for year.

Millsaps is racing boats now?

Hell of a night. I love Mondays

I'm really confused after reading this thread. Which AC is out?!!?

Time to go to sleep..

I thought milsaps was running a chick bike setup because his mechanic didn't know how to pull a flywheel, so the wheelie boys jacked him for $25,000 instead of fixing it? So now he needs 3 more bikes before he starts riding! If he doesn't get them he's just going to take the monster girls boating!

Don't worry folks, Barcia does no footers when leading and waves to the crowd on the last lap. He even raises and lowers his voice when interviewed and shows excitement. Have not seen that in years. The future is bright.

AC222 has hand injury,
The other Ac has a shoulder injury.
Work it out

My pants hurt

wait boats have mudflaps now..... huh?

Rv retiring and AC out for the year? Take it to a mechanic, or just roll down the window and get back on the road. As long as you are moving don't need no AC

So last weekend, as Rees was taking his RV to the lake, he lost the mud flaps and then the AC broke. Sounds like a POS.

Clear up the confusion

Adam- Out because of right shoulder injury

Ryan villopoto- Hanging Em Up

Pretty clever actually.....

Yes, AC will race despite his injury, but AC is done for the season with injury.

Well now I am confused. Who the hell is Rees ?

That's the broken part on the RV..

Awe I see. Well don't order parts from were Davi did if you want to fix the ac in your Rv .

Bad exit by rv.

Matthes also originally said RV wouldn't go to the GPs but as plugged in as Matthes is unfortunately he's probably correct about RV's retirement. Couldn't have been more stoked when it was official RV was going to MXGP and I will be equally gutted if RV's done....beyond sucks.

Bummed for AC. Has there been anyone with more shoulder injuries than AC? You could set your watch by Albee seperating his shoulder in SX (Phil Alderton-ism) each year but AC's injury rate is even worse than Albertyn's.

Now that was funny.

It looks like Cinciarulo will have grown out of a 250 before he even gets a season in. pretty bad for the guy.

AC reminds me of Robbie Reynard...

I doubt anybody is happy !

Nobody got what they wanted from this.

It’s been over now for some time, since that crash at the Arco circuit in Italy on the 19th of April. Ryan Villopoto’s career seems over. Word will come out this week as to what Kawasaki are doing in 2016, but with the amount of riders the green team are talking to it seem unlikely that they have RV’s signature on a piece of paper for 2016.

So what really happened with RV in 2015? I mean everyone has an opinion from not interested, not fit, not motivated, you name it we have heard it, but listen guys, wasn’t this the same guy who wasn’t interested in the last couple of years of his AMA championships. A guy who won his last Supercross championship with a knee injury?

When word came out that RV was heading to Europe the first thing I thought was WOW, this is awesome news, and it’s going to make Antonio Cairoli a little nervous. At the same time I figured Cairoli a legend in his own right would also love the chance to race the best American rider of this era.

The longer I thought about it though, the more I figured he might be coming in over his head. The GP scene is pretty tough, and it has shown at the last three Motocross of nations just how difficult the GP guys are to beat on home soil. Even Ryan Dungey and Eli Tomac the two best American riders after RV struggled to compete with the euros in the MXoN. With that in mind I figured RV wouldn’t have it easy and I wrote that at the time (read here)

Now RV read my piece and was pretty pissed, called me an arrogant Australian and made me realize that my journalist skills needed some improvement. He was right, I was a little angry in my story, trying to put the American public down and gloss over how great the GP scene is.


I was also right about my prediction. I knew RV would struggle, it didn’t matter if he came fitter than ever, or with a bike that was 10 kilometers faster than his American bike. The GP riders were waiting for him with open arms, all had trained just that little bit harder, expecting a war.

The RV we saw in Qatar was clearly not the RV we have seen in the last 10 years, but the RV we saw in the second round in Thailand was the best RV I have ever seen (not that I got to see him race that often). I say it again today, I have NEVER seen a rider ride that fast around a motocross tracks, EVER!!!. Not Everts, or Carmichael, or Cairoli or Stewart. This was a rider who was prepared, fit and ready for the toughest MX race in the 2015 season. While riders were passing out, or receiving drips to hydrate their bodies, RV was on the gas and winning easy. It was just what we had all waited for.

Now RV won his qualification race and the opening moto of the Sunday in temperatures close to 40 degrees, it was HOT!!! He showed the world what a talent he was, and I truly believe on any American circuit he would be nearly unstoppable, just as he was in his AMA career, but guys, he wasn’t racing in America, he was racing on unknown terrain week in week out, and the GP guys do that every single year. From country to country, travelling in their camper vans, leaving home Wednsday and getting back home Monday. Totally different to what RV was used to.

While the mainstay of the GP calendar are places like Valkenswaard, Matterley Basin, Maggiora, Arco, or Loket the GP riders also have around five races in the season that are new, this year it was Thailand, Argentina, Assen, Mexico and to some extent Glen Helen.

For riders like RV every single track he rides he has ridden time and time again, for the last 10 years, with the odd exception of maybe one race. He knows his set-up every single time, he knows how to ride the circuit, and he has his regular training pattern, places he eats. In 2015 this was all new, every single circuit he raced would be new to him apart from the odd ride at places like Matterley Basin, or of course Glen Helen. Bike set-up was critical, and in this department RV struggled. Not his fitness, not his desire, not his motivation, because anyone who saw him race in 2015 knew he was 100% out there to win, and for anyone to doubt this, from a rider of the quality of Ryan Villopoto (a born winner) just hasn’t been doing his homework. RV wanted more than anyone in the paddock to win races and his mistakes came from pushing too hard on tracks he didn’t know and against riders he didn’t know.

When RV crashed out in Italy the whole GP paddock was upset, we had just lost one of the greatest motocross riders who ever lived. How long would he be out, how bad was his injury? I myself was gutted, until his crash at Arco this was by far the most exciting Grand Prix season in the 25 years I had been in Europe, and talking to legends like Stefan Everts or Joel Smets their belief was similar. When RV went down in Italy, we didn’t just lose a great rider, we lost a great battle, we lost a great story.

Unfortunately many of us predicted it would happen when he got to the European circuits, but none of us wanted it.

And so was the 2015 season for RV, done and dusted as he disappeared into retirement. A career better than most, close to the mark set by Ricky Carmichael and Stefan Everts. Despite his lack of tact in his retirement, RV deserves everyone’s respect. He has been riding on an empty tank now for a few years. To build himself up each season must have been tough, but he did it and we the fans were lucky enough to see it.

Retirement is a nice thing, he has more money in his account that any of us will ever see. He earnt every single cent, spilt enough blood, broke enough bones and missed enough family holidays. I wish him luck as he ventures into the real world, a world of family, friends, maybe children, and the things that really make life worthwhile. Thanks for the journey RV.

Good for RV,he is still young enough to try his hand at something else or just go hunting when ever he wants.

Not that bad of an article.

+ 1

You can't say that around here boys.

Duck, quick before the Americans wake lol.

I thought it was ok too...lol

lol ......