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Do you need to get caught up on recent items on Vital MX?

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">Saturday's practice aXRhbC1NWC1QaXQtQml0cy1EZXRyb2l0LVByYWN0aWNlLDE2MjIvMjAwNy1W
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">and qualifying action at the Detroit Supercross.

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">racing action from the Detroit Supercross.

Ben Townley came from three points down to wrap up the Supercross Lites title on Saturday night at Ford Field in Detroit, MI. (Check the link at the top of the article for all the race coverage.) That made it a clean sweep for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki crew in ’07 Supercross Lites, taking the West title with Ryan Villopoto, and the East with Townley. Of course, it was also a pretty amazing comeback for Ben, after an injury-filled ’06, and a DNF in Atlanta to start this year’s Supercross campaign. We caught up with him after the race to find out how his day (and night) went.

Vital MX: What did it feel like coming into the weekend?

Ben Townley: it was just like always, just go out and do my job. I concentrated on Supercross this whole break we had and just tried to make sure I left nothing on the table tonight.

Coming out of the gate during the main event and looking around, what was going through your head?

I came out of the gate and I don’t know where I was coming into the first turn. I felt pretty good, but it was a sketchy first turn and I sort of got pushed high. I just took my time, and like always the first couple of turns were hairy. It took me a couple laps, and obviously I didn’t know that it was Morais that had stalled at that time. I didn’t know whether it was him or Goerke. About lap five I came over the finish line and sort of took a breath and looked at the leader board and realized that he wasn’t up there. At that stage I sort of knew I just had to finish the race out and make sure I didn’t do anything stupid.

I got barely halfway through and I just tried to ride it out from there.

Were you seeing any of your pit boards?

The only pit board I’ve seen all year from Craig was the very last lap. It’s so hard. I’m still learning Supercross and having to look at the pit boards is quite hard for me still. But I did look at the last lap and he said, “Go inside,” which I’d planned to do anyway.

It feels very gratifying after last year, and after coming out of Atlanta with no points.

After the problem in Atlanta, what kind of chance did you give yourself for a title?

I don’t know. I didn’t really think about it at all. In Atlanta I was just so relieved when I was running in second and maybe had an opportunity at winning, I was like, ‘Man.’ I hadn’t even done a Supercross and all of a sudden I might be able to win, so I was pretty excited to know that I had the speed and I’d got one out of the way. As the championship went on and I was able to slowly creep back in there, I felt like I had a shot, maybe after Daytona. I was thinking, ‘I could get back into this thing.’ Then Orlando didn’t go that well, and I was like, ‘Man, I gave away some points there, that was kind of stupid.’ In Indy I got back on the podium, and won Dallas, and that brings us to here.

It’s been a great season to win three races and this championship in my first year of Supercross…it feels great.

What does this title mean to you?

Ah, it’s a dream come true. That side of it is very hard to put into words right now because of the emotion. As a New Zealander having to sacrifice so much when I was really young…as a lot of young people do… I don’t get to spend time at home, and being away from home all the time is tough. All of that makes tonight feel so good. All that sacrifice, and thinking that it was all worth it. I know they’re celebrating in New Zealand. Kiwis like to celebrate.

How long will this take to sink in?

It will take a while. I truly believe that when you achieve something that you’ve really gone after for a long time, you really have to soak it up and make sure you enjoy it. It’s a great, great achievement for me and my family and crew. After all those years, and especially after what happened last year. (When he spent most of the year sidelined with injuries.)

How much preparation have you had to get ready for the outdoor season?

Nothing. I rode Monday after Dallas, and rode my 450 outdoors back home and had quite a decent crash and I was like, ‘Man, I need to stick to the Supercross thing for the next three weeks.’ I’m glad I did, you know?

We wouldn’t sweat Ben’s lack of outdoor test time too much, considering his credentials on the GP side, and what we saw last year at the MxoN in England. Besides, we know Aldon Baker will have him physically dialed for Hangtown.

While Townley was wrapping up the Lites title with his second-place finish, Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey took home the win, his third of the season. “I pulled an awesome holeshot. Just got up there and took it and led every single lap. It was cool. I had a good night and a fun time.”

“It was a bummer that we didn’t get the number one plate, but we’re learning this year, and next year we’re going to work hard at it again and hopefully I earn it. Our program’s really good and we just had a little bit of bad luck. All we can do is head to the outdoors and hope that we get them there.”

So what did Ryan learn in during his rookie Supercross campaign? “Being a little more patient. Not getting over my head. I thought about the three races, and it was just rookie mistakes, you know? I feel like I’m getting them all down this year.”

“This year during the season I feel like I’ve matured a little bit and mentally I feel like a better rider now.”

James Stewart.

It’s getting close to Championship time for the Supercross class as well, and following Saturday night’s main event, James Stewart had his 11th win of the season. Afterward, James said, “It started off good with the holeshot. That was the key part. I knew if I got a holeshot and stayed up, it was my race. I just had to ride consistent and not make too many mistakes. In the beginning of the race I was overriding the track a little bit. I just tried to calm down and was able to build a gap and rode my own race.

James also mentioned that he knew he had to nail the start (partly because it was such a short one), and he’s taking extra care about where he lines up. “Away from somebody. I’ve just got to be smart about it and try not to get into any first corner pileups or anything like that, so far I’ve been good, and next week should be fun.”

The track also featured the same old (some would say historic) dirt used in the Silverdome, which has its share of rocks. But this year had a few particularly slippery sections, and James also mentioned that it was more rutted than normal for Detroit. “In the heat race I rode good, but the track felt like it dried out so much it was really hard to push it like that. The first couple laps I was making some mistakes and I wasn’t too happy with myself. So I had to calm down a little bit, and once I did that I was able to gap Timmy. I could see him trying to hang with me back there, and I’m sure he was a little nervous, being so close.”

“I just try to be consistent with my lap times. I knew all day my lap times were fast enough to win the race, so if I keep them in a certain area, I’ll always be pulling or staying the same. It’s almost like a time trial, but it’s hard to do that when you’ve got so many lappers, and so many obstacles can come up and bite you.”

Even though he only needs an eighth or better to clinch the title next week in Seattle, don’t look for James to claim the title before it’s wrapped up. When asked about it, he said, “There are two races left in the series. I’ll keep it like that. As long as I keep my head down and focus on that, I’ll be good. But maybe it’ll sink in when there’s five laps left and I’m doing good to wrap it up. We’ll see.”

Oh, and since we’re still getting e-mail about it, the Vital MX magazine that we mentioned back on April 1st? It was an April Fool’s day joke, and nothing more. Sorry, gang.

Once again, the Yamaha big rig was empty, short of some team personnel. Broc Hepler is still recovering from his pre-season crash. Grant Langston had taken an ambulance ride the week before Detroit, but other than being a bit banged up, he was all right. The real reason for his absence in the Motor City? Kidney stones. We’re guessing that’s one pass he can’t wait to make…

At last weekend’s Grand Prix of Spain, the AMA, FIM and Youthstream announced that they were working together on several new ideas for the sport of motocross, including topic like noise, and reducing the gap in engine size between the 250F and 450F classes. The example of a reduction from 450cc to 350cc for the upper class caused message board debates, and raised eyebrows (and more) among racers and teams. AMA Racing’s Series Director for Motocross and Supercross, sat down with the press before practice to field questions and explain a bit about how the whole thing.

“Last weekend I was in Europe, and had a really good meeting with the FIM and (Giuseppe) Luongo and the MSMA about the future of our little game.”

“In Europe there’s the MSMA… Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers’ Association. There are seven members, and it’s every big OEM in the world…”

“There was an MSMA meeting for seven hours before our meeting in Europe. The meeting I was invited to was a Grand Prix Motocross commission meeting. That’s made up of the important partners: The MSMA, the FIM; and Giuseppe Luongo, the promoter. Those groups sit in executive session and discuss what they want to do with the rules. The agenda was pre-presented to the MSMA, and they came with one view. The agenda included a lot of things. One of the things was the (engine) capacity. Sound, the 150 issue…then there was class structure, how they’re going to run the management of the races, all kinds of other FIM sporting issues…they were all covered in this MSMA meeting. I was invited to sit in as an invited guest to this Grand Prix Commission meeting. I expressed our problems that we’re faced with here, and the FIM and Luongo expressed their problems they’re faced with at their races.”

“The agreement that was reached was that we’re going to work together. We’re not going to be, ‘We’re America and we don’t care how you do it over there,’ and they’re not going to be, ‘We’re the FIM and you have to follow our rules. Now we’re talking together, and we’re talking on the same level, looking across the table at each other, having good clear discussions. And seeing what our real job is, and that’s the guardians of the sport. To try and make it grow, to try and make it be better to try and make it be the best it can be. That’s really our job. That’s my job, specifically. I have to try and make all this work, and I have to try and make it the best it can be so that the competitors have a good level playing field, the spectators get to see some really good racing, we put up some good entertainment on television so we can make the sport grow. Because if we continue like we are, it’s pretty soon that kids are only going to play soccer, baseball, basketball or football. They’re never going to go ride motorbikes. We have to make it interesting for them to go ride motorbikes.”
So what’s the primary reason for wanting to downsize the pro bikes? “The competition is bad because very few riders can ride the bikes to their potential. Todd Jendro sums it up the best way. He says he can almost override a 250 four-stroke, but he’s scared to death when he gets on a 450. And Todd used to be a pretty good racer. It’s true, you can see it in the lap times, and you can see it in the competitiveness, that the riders aren’t capable of racing those motorcycles. They are too brutishly powerful. It’s the same problem we faced with the 500cc two-strokes.”

With regards to the current engine size, Steve had this to say, “Let’s take Indy for example. That section that James was triple/triple/tripling was never designed to be triple/triple/triple. Because of the motorcycle, and because of James, he could triple/triple/triple. It was designed to be a triple, a triple, a double, a single, and out. He was knocking off a full second a lap.”

“It’s a situation where the motorcycles are allowing the guys to clear things that shouldn’t happen. They’re just too damn powerful. I don’t doubt that every woods rider, desert rider or play rider can really enjoy his 450. I fully understand that. But I don’t think enough of our racers can race 450s. It’s the same problem they’re racing in Europe. It’s just like when we had 500s. Enough racers cannot race 500s. And until we can find a place where everybody fits, we’ve got to do something.”

“Now if we choke the things down, by either a carburetor restrictor or an exhaust pipe restrictor, you are going to lower the horsepower. Yessiree, 100 percent. You’re not going to lower the weight, you’re not going to lower the flywheel mass. You’re going to lower the horsepower, and you’re going to hurt the acceleration.”

“I know it’s a different game, but NASCAR motors with restrictor plates, it takes them a full lap-and-a-half to get up to speed on a two-and-a-half mile oval. They are not at full speed, because they do not accelerate. The reason for the big one on the back straightaway at Daytona is because somebody gets in trouble and he backs off, you get back in it and the car just lays there. Yes, it’s still making 700 horsepower, but it doesn’t accelerate because it doesn’t have throttle response. If you listen to all these guys talk about their motorcycles, they talk more about throttle response and bog than they do about anything. The big complain when we went from leaded fuel to unleaded fuel …it’s screwing up the carburetion. And off of a jump face I’m in trouble. We’ve worked through that problem. Now if we stick a restrictor on the carburetor or exhaust pipe and we design a bog in, we’re probably not going to be able to take it out with carburetor jetting. It’s going to be physically in the engine design.”

“It’s a problem that we’ve faced for years, motorcycles that don’t fit the racing situation anymore. Unfortunately it’s coming at a tough time. But at the same time, we’re not saying you can’t make 450s any more, and we’re not saying you can’t use that powerplant in ATVs or everywhere else. But what we’re saying is that for a real, true, professional racing series, we need you to consider building us a 350-360…whatever we finally settle on.”

When it was suggested to Steve that James Stewart would still win by 20 seconds, whether on a 350cc bike, or a 450, he responded, “I think James Stewart would win on a pogo stick. But the bottom half of the field has to be more competitive.”

Regarding sound testing, Steve said, “If we can come up with a better sound test that works, that really gives us real-world sound testing, I’m all for it. Right now, their sound level is supposedly lower than ours. But they test at a fixed RPM that is lower than ours. Their sound level is lower, but they’re testing at a lower level. We test at a higher RPM, and we have a higher standard. But I think in reality if we tested both the same way, we could meet their standards and they could meet our standards. But they’re perceived to be more green because they’re 96 db, and we’re at 99, but I think they’d test the same.

When it was suggested by someone in the meeting that everyone was cheating on sound testing, Steve replied, “Everyone cheating? I think there’s a select group of people that are cheating. And there’s a select group of manufacturers that don’t want to comply and want to push the limit. But the manufacturers that want to comply and don’t want to push the limit, are having no trouble making sound.”

“As we get into a dynamic test, whether we do a drive-by or an apparatus to do a loaded test where the bike is in a certain gear at a fixed RPM and really making some power, We may get into a problem where it’s not just exhaust noise that’s bothering us. It could be the intake noises. It could be the valves slamming into the cylinder head when they close. It could be the cams banging into the valves. There are all kinds of stuff that we’re hearing…added frequency besides the exhaust. We have to find all that out.”

And finally, Steve also mentioned, “If we get what we’re after, we’re going outside with it also, because the guys are going too fast around our outdoor tracks.”

“We’ve asked that it happen by 2009. That’s our request at this point. That’s what the FIM and I have set. We’d like to have an instant fix for Supercross by racing 250s and 250s next year. But the manufacturers in the meeting when we discussed that, they went into cardiac arrest, they were going to kill us, they were going to withdraw, they were going to…”

Speaking of Europe, the Grand Prix of Portugal was last weekend’s featured attraction on the other side of the pond. Kevin Strijbos and Josh Coppins traded moto wins and second-place finishes in MX1. Coppins has taken six out of the eight moto wins, while Jonathan Barragan and Strijbos have one moto win apiece.

Meanwhile, Antonio Cairoli swept the two MX2 motos. That added to his overall point lead, and he’s won five of six motos so far this season. Christophe Pourcel crashed out of the second MX2 heat while leading.

Among the American competitors, Mike Brown had two top-ten rides in the MX1 class, while in MX2, Sean Hamblin had a 20th and 23rd, and Ryan Mills had a pair of 24th-place finishes.

MX1 Race 1

Kevin Strijbos (BEL) Suzuki
Josh Coppins (NZL) Yamaha
Sebastien Pourcel (FRA) Kawasaki
Manuel Priem (BEL) TM
David Phillippaerts (ITA) KTM
Thomas Allier (FRA) Kawasaki
Mike Brown (USA) Honda
Steve Ramon (BEL) Suzuki
Billy Mackenzie (GBR) Kawasaki
Kornel Nemeth (HUN)) Suzuki
Marvin Van Daele (BEL) Honda
Ken De Dycker (BEL) Honda
Aigar Leok (EST) Yamaha
Jonathan Barragan (ESP) KTM
Pierre Renet (FRA) Honda
James Noble (GBR) Honda
Antoine Meo (FRA) Honda
Cyrille Coulon (FRA) Honda
Clement Desalle (BEL) Suzuki
Paulo Goncalves (POR) Honda

MX2 Race 1

Antonio Cairoli (ITA) Yamaha
Christophe Pourcel (FRA) Kawasaki
Tommy Searle (GBR) KTM
Gareth Swanepoel (RSA) Kawasaki
Tyla Rattray (RSA) KTM
Matteo Bonini (ITA) Yamaha
Pascal Leuret (FRA) Honda
Anthony Boissiere (FRA) Kawasaki
Matti Seistola (FIN) Honda
Manuel Monni (ITA) Yamaha
Steven Frossard (FRA) Kawasaki
Kenneth Gundersen (NOR) Yamaha
Carl Nunn (GBR) Yamaha
Xavier Boog (FRA) Yamaha
Tom Church (GBR) Kawasaki
Jeremy Tarroux (FRA) Yamaha
Xavier Hernandez (ESP) Yamaha
Nicolas Aubin (FRA) Yamaha
Gregory Aranda (FRA) Kawasaki
Sean Hamblin (USA) Suzuki

MX1 Race 2

Josh Coppins (NZL) Yamaha
Kevin Strijbos (BEL) Suzuki
David Phillipaerts (ITA) KTM
Tanel Leok (EST) Kawasaki
James Noble (GBR) Honda
Manuel Priem (BEL) TM
Ken De Dycker (BEL) Honda
Kornel Nemeth (HUN)) Suzuki
Mike Brown (USA) Honda
Sebastien Pourcel (FRA) Kawasaki
Steve Ramon (BEL) Suzuki
Marvin Van Daele (BEL) Honda
Jonathan Barragan (ESP) KTM
Marc De Reuver (NED) Yamaha
Clement Desalle (BEL) Suzuki
Billy Mackenzie (GBR) Kawasaki
Julien Bill (SUI) Kawasaki
Julien Vanni (FRA) Honda
Cyrille Coulon (FRA) Honda
Paulo Goncalves (POR) Honda

MX2 Race 2

Antonio Cairoli (ITA) Yamaha
Nicolas Aubin (FRA) Yamaha
Pascal Leuret (FRA) Honda
Anthony Boissiere (FRA) Kawasaki
Kenneth Gundersen (NOR) Yamaha
Tommy Searle (GBR) KTM
Shaun Simpson (GBR) Kawasaki
Gareth Sanepoel (RSA) Kawasaki
Steven Frossard (FRA) Kawasaki
Matteo Bonini (ITA) Yamaha
Matti Seistola (FIN) Honda
Xavier Boog (FRA) Yamaha
Tom Church (GBR) Kawasaki
Carl Nunn (GBR) Yamaha
Wyatt Avis (RSA) KTM
Jeremy Tarroux (FRA) Yamaha
Gregory Aranda (FRA) Kawasaki
Rui Goncalves (POR) KTM
Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL) KTM
Marcus Schiffer (GER) KTM

MX1 GP Classification

Kevin Strijbos (BEL) Suzuki
Josh Coppins (NZL) Yamaha
David Phillipaerts (ITA) KTM
Manuel Priem (BEL) TM
Sebastien Pourcel (FRA) Kawasaki
Mike Brown (USA) Honda
Kornel Nemeth (HUN)) Suzuki
Steve Ramon (BEL) Suzuki
Ken De Dycker (BEL) Honda
James Noble (GBR) Honda
Marvin Van Daele (BEL) Honda
Tanel Leok (EST) Kawasaki
Billy Mackenzie (GBR) Kawasaki
Thomas Allier (FRA) Kawasaki
Jonathan Barragan (ESP) KTM
Aigar Leok (EST) Yamaha
Clement Desalle (BEL) Suzuki
Marc De Reuver (NED) Yamaha
Pierre Renet (FRA) Honda
Cyrlille Coulon (FRA) Honda

MX2 GP Classification

Antonio Cairoli (ITA) Yamaha
Tommy Searle (GBR) KTM
Pascal Leuret (FRA) Honda
Anthony Boissiere (FRA) Kawasaki
Gareth Wanepoel (RSA) Kawasaki
Matteo Bonini (ITA) Yamaha
Nicolas Aubin (FRA) Yamaha
Kenneth Gundersen (NOR) Yamaha
Steven Frossard (FRA) Kawasaki
Matti Seistola (FIN) Honda
Christophe Pourcel (FRA) Kawasaki
Xavier Boog (FRA) Yamaha
Tyla Rattray (RSA) KTM
Carl Nunn (GBR) Yamaha
Shaun Simpson (GBR) Kawasaki
Tom Church (GBR) Kawasaki
Manuel Monni (ITA) Yamaha
Jeremy Tarroux (FRA) Yamaha
Wyatt Avis (RSA) KTM
Gregory Aranda (FRA) Kawasaki

MX1 Point Standings

Josh Coppins 144
Kevin Strijbos 125
Jonathan Barragan 89
Steve Ramon 86
Ken De Dycker 84
Sebastien Pourcel 67
Max Nagl 63
David Phillipaerts 62
Mike Brown 62
Manuel Priem 61
Tanel Leok 61
James Noble 61
Marc De Reuver 60
Kornel Nemeth 51
Billy Mackenzie 46
Marvin Van Daele 35
Thomas Allier 31
Aigar Leok 29
Pierre Renet 19
Clement Desalle 17

MX2 Point Standings

Antonio Cairoli 147
Christophe Pourcel 103
Tyla Rattray 98
Pascal Leuret 87
Tommy Searle 79
Kenneth Gundersen 75
Gareth Swanepoel 72
Nicolas Aubin 69
Matti Seistola 61
Anthony Boissiere 57
Erik Eggens 54
Marcus Schiffer 49
Steven Frossard 47
Manuel Monni 45
Xavier Boog 41
Matteo Bonini 40
Tom Church 33
Carl Nunn 27
Shaun Simpson 23
Jeremy Van Horebeek 23

A little closer to home, some of the U.S. National competitors used the Western 4-Stroke National Motocross series event at Glen Helen (Part of the 2007 White Brothers Four-Stroke World Championships) as a tune-up for this summer’s action.

On Saturday Brett Metcalfe swept the 250F Pro motos ahead of Chris Gosselaar and Daniel Sani.

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">gallery of 150 Pro Challenge and 450 Pro action at Glen Helen.

250F Pro Class

Brett Metcalfe (KAW) 1-1
Chris Gosselaar (KAW) 2-2
Daniel Sani (YAM) 4-3
Jimmy Albertson (SUZ) 7-4
Steve Boniface (KAW) 6-5
Andrew McFarlane (SUZ) 9-6
Tim Weigand (SUZ) 10-7
Drew Gosselaar (HON) 8-9
Adam Chatfield (HON) 11-8
Dusty Klatt (YAM) 3-26

Jimmy Albertson leading one very fast parade.

For Sunday’s 450 Pro race, it was Jimmy Albertson who took the top spot in the first moto, despite losing the head pipe on his Suzuki RM-Z450. In the second round, with a borrowed Yoshimura pipe in place, Jimmy carded a fourth-place finish, good enough for the overall ahead of Chris Gosselaar’s 6-1, which scored him second overall.

450F Pro

Jimmy Albertson (SUZ) 1-4
Chris Gosselaar (KAW) 6-1
Bobby Garrison (YAM) 3-3
Dusty Klatt (YAM) 2-7
Steve Boniface (KAW) 4-8
Kyle Cunningham (YAM) 10-5
Kevin Rookstool (HON) 7-10
Adam Chatfield (HON) 9-9
Drew Gosselaar (HON) 46-2
Shaun Kalos (KAW) 14-11

Tim Weigand.

In the 150 Pro Challenge (which had a $5,000 purse), Tim Weigand (who’s back from Australia) took the top spot after dicing back and forth with Derek Costella.

150cc Pro Challenge

Tim Weigand (1-1)
Derek Costella (2-2)
Eric Pucelik (4-3)
Benny Breck (3-4)
Adam Lane (9-5)
Caleb Gosselaar (8-6)
Ted Seeley (7-7)
Ryan Corum (6-8)
Jason Ellis (11-10)
Marc Tucker (13-9)

Okay, we should probably stop now, put this one to bed, and start cranking out more goodies for the rest of the week. Be sure to stop back by, and tell a friend.