PR: Ivan Tedesco Retires From Racing On His Terms

GuyB
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7/25/2014 6:54pm Edited Date/Time 7/28/2014 11:32am
Ivan Tedesco Retires From Racing On His Terms

"Hot Sauce" Caps Off His 14-Year Professional Racing Career

San Diego, CA (July 25, 2014) - "It has been a roller coaster since I started racing pro at the end of 1999 at Millville," says veteran racer Ivan "Hot Sauce" Tedesco in announcing his retirement from RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki this weekend. "I have had a lot of success… and a lot of failure. However, the one thing I can do is to walk away from this deal knowing I gave it my all every time I got on my motorcycle. In the end that's all you can ask of a person — give it your all."

Give it his all he most certainly did. Despite a plague of injuries, he was the 2004 125cc West Coast Supercross Champion (winning seven of eight races that year). He repeated as 2005 125cc West Coast SX champ and was also the 125cc Outdoor National Champion in 2005. However it is his role on the Motocross of Nations winning teams that are perhaps the high water mark of is illustrious career as Team USA beat the best in the world in 2005, 2006 and again in 2009!

After that, it was the move to the 450cc class. "I made the decision to go over to Suzuki to be teammates with Ricky Carmichael. I learned so much from RC. I am thankful for his friendship, the opportunity to train with him and the help his parents have always given me. They treated me like family and did everything they could to help. I had a successful rookie Supercross season finishing fourth behind Carmichael, Stewart, and Reed."

However a lot of heartache came after even years that initial success in the 450 class, primarily due to injury. While Ivan enjoyed proving the pundits wrong, the time has finally come to call it a career almost 14 years to the day.

"It's never easy to quit something you've done for so long, but the time has come where racing just isn't the same as it used to be," says Tedesco. "I always told myself when the day comes that I'm not competitive anymore; I need to walk away; that time is now." However he won't be going too far away from the RCH Soaring Eagle pits as he will continue to test the Suzuki’s and help get the bikes ready for the team's future riders.

"From RCH’s perspective, we are honored that he finished out his illustrious career with RCH Soaring Eagle and on a Suzuki," says co-principal Carey Hart. "We are grateful to have Ivan's testing expertise for RCH moving forward… It just wouldn't be the same not having Hot Sauce to spice things up around here!"

"I have nothing to be bummed about," says Tedesco. "I can say I have never given less than 100% and have enjoyed proving people wrong. I'm grateful for the opportunities I have been given and the friendships I have made. I love dirt bikes and racing and look forward to finding my new career within the sport because this is what I love to do."

"Thank you to my fans, who have always had my back and motivated me to keep going! I hope to see you all at the races soon," concludes Tedesco.

About RCH Racing Soaring Eagle:
RCH Racing is in its second season of the partnership between Ricky Carmichael and Carey Hart to campaign the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. Ricky Carmichael merged his Suzuki relationship and technical development with the established five year marketing giant of Hart & Huntington Racing in 2013. The RCH Racing Soaring Eagle Team continues its partnerships with Suzuki, Fox, Dodge, Sycuan Casino, Yoshimura and Bel-Ray. Stay up to date on all RCH Racing Soaring Eagle news; follow us on Instagram and Twitter @RCHRacing and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rchracing.
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mxb2
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7/25/2014 6:58pm
Big hot sauce fan, glad i got to see him at budds this year. one of the good dudes in the sport.
gsxrcr28
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7/25/2014 7:00pm
Bit of a bummer, but congrats to Ivan on a great career and future success!
JM485
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7/25/2014 7:00pm
Wow, congrats to him on a very successful career. I got to meet him inside the Makita Suzuki rig when I was a kid and it was an experience I will never forget. He and Ricky were awesome to talk to and were super cool to my friends and I. I'm sure it must have been a hard decision, but he still has his health and I'm sure he made the best decision for himself. Much respect!
Sandberm
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7/25/2014 7:02pm
VERY respectable career.

His awesome 250 titles aside, I always felt like he was giving it his all on the 450 and you could sense a strong competitive desire from him to prove himself on the 450 though he never had the results he hoped for.

I repeat, VERY respectable career. I'm sure awesome things lie ahead in his post racing life.Smile

The Shop

MotoX85
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7/25/2014 7:02pm
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people who ride and to me has always been good to the fans.

What else can a racer/fan expect.

Thanks for riding for our entertainment Ivan, I am sure you will still be around the industry.
GuyB
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7/25/2014 7:06pm
MotoX85 wrote:
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people...
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people who ride and to me has always been good to the fans.

What else can a racer/fan expect.

Thanks for riding for our entertainment Ivan, I am sure you will still be around the industry.
So people who people who prefer drama won't immediately assume that he was let go.
bvm111
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7/25/2014 7:08pm
Damn say it isn't so!!!!!

I have always rooted for IT... He is a bad ass on a motorcycle.

I am happy he has found away to stay riding and contributing to the sport with RCH!
jeffro503
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7/25/2014 7:08pm
gsxrcr28 wrote:
Bit of a bummer, but congrats to Ivan on a great career and future success!
This X a million.

I know the results weren't what he was looking for , but it sure was cool seeing him back out there trying.

Good luck on your next en devour Ivan!
500guy
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7/25/2014 7:11pm
14 years is a great career, Good luck to Ivan in what ever he does.
7/25/2014 7:12pm Edited Date/Time 7/25/2014 7:18pm
Hot Sauce spanked 'em in 04 and 05. It's a shame he had all the injuries and was never able to duplicate that success. Had he been injury free I think the record books would look different. I guess this explains the helmetless last lap at Budds. I had a funny feeling he was done. Hats off (no pun intended) to Ivan the Terrible, Hot Sauce, IT9.
gsxrcr28
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7/25/2014 7:13pm
gsxrcr28 wrote:
Bit of a bummer, but congrats to Ivan on a great career and future success!
jeffro503 wrote:
This X a million. I know the results weren't what he was looking for , but it sure was cool seeing him back out there trying...
This X a million.

I know the results weren't what he was looking for , but it sure was cool seeing him back out there trying.

Good luck on your next en devour Ivan!
Yea man, its always a bummer to me when one of the vets move on. I appreciate the entertainment these dudes provided for so many years. Cool thing is he walks away healthy and wants to still be around.
MotoX85
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7/25/2014 7:13pm
MotoX85 wrote:
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people...
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people who ride and to me has always been good to the fans.

What else can a racer/fan expect.

Thanks for riding for our entertainment Ivan, I am sure you will still be around the industry.
GuyB wrote:
So people who people who prefer drama won't immediately assume that he was let go.
Isn't it a shame that you are absolutely correct. I really think we need to remove those people from the sport.
gsxrcr28
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7/25/2014 7:18pm
MotoX85 wrote:
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people...
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people who ride and to me has always been good to the fans.

What else can a racer/fan expect.

Thanks for riding for our entertainment Ivan, I am sure you will still be around the industry.
GuyB wrote:
So people who people who prefer drama won't immediately assume that he was let go.
MotoX85 wrote:
Isn't it a shame that you are absolutely correct. I really think we need to remove those people from the sport.
Amen...
Dx3moto
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7/25/2014 7:19pm
I think it's important to add "on his terms", since it is a mid season retirement. Very respectable career and the best of luck for his future endeavors!
7/25/2014 7:23pm
MotoX85 wrote:
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people...
Why would you add "on his terms". Does it matter, I think Ivan should have no regrets, has had a career better than 99.9% of people who ride and to me has always been good to the fans.

What else can a racer/fan expect.

Thanks for riding for our entertainment Ivan, I am sure you will still be around the industry.
GuyB wrote:
So people who people who prefer drama won't immediately assume that he was let go.
Or....

The same PR people who vaguely dance around the subjects they wish to skirt, can do their f'ing jobs for once and release cLear, concise PR,leaving no room for those same people's "misguided" conjecture.

Isn't it ironic that you need to do their jobs for them, Guyb? If the PR was forthcoming and covered all of the bases, you would not need to post that disclaimer. Right?
Motoxdoc
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7/25/2014 7:35pm
Friggen awesome career......those stats don't lie.....Congrats Ivan!
MXant15
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7/25/2014 7:38pm
Congratulations on an awesome career hot sauce! Way to do it on "your own terms". I have a lot of respect for that. Cheers!!!
Tumblin
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7/25/2014 7:54pm
I was invited to a test day at the Yamaha SX test track by long time friend and suspension guru Todd Brown on a southern run. Ivan was tearing up the track and was working not only his ass off but Kyle Cunningham's also. He very much seamed to enjoy the mentor roll and the ribbing that he got to dish on Kyle. The Valli team packed up and we headed out for lunch, it was a cool experience to be a part of that test day but I was most impressed by Ivan's likability and how much he seemed to enjoy the work.
hillbilly
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7/25/2014 7:57pm Edited Date/Time 7/25/2014 7:58pm
Somewhere mutt is shedding a tear.

At some point a day should be set at lorettas where these guys could come in,race 2motos as retired pros just to keep the cobwebs off the boots.

That way they dont have to stay a week,fans would line the fence and it would just be cool.
CR250Rider
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7/25/2014 8:01pm
My wife always said Hot Sauce was sexy.
Thanks for the great memories Ivan!
Ebs
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7/25/2014 8:01pm Edited Date/Time 7/25/2014 8:02pm
GuyB wrote:
So people who people who prefer drama won't immediately assume that he was let go.
What, you mean he didn't get fired for riding a lap without his helmet on.
35smom
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7/25/2014 8:16pm Edited Date/Time 7/25/2014 8:17pm
Good for him!!! Always have been a fan. Going out healthy and happy, good luck in whatever he chooses to do next...
ninety3
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7/25/2014 8:34pm Edited Date/Time 7/25/2014 8:35pm
Hot Sauce is a good dude

Happy to see him "walk away" from the sport, happy and healthy
Adam43
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7/25/2014 9:04pm
Happy for Ivan he got to have one last kick at the can this year. Didn't go as he hoped I'm sure, but that's life.

Like Langston, Tedesco was always an opportunist. Career full of clutch performances, sx and national titles, saved the day at the MXDN a few times. Bravo.
The Rock
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7/25/2014 10:43pm
The way Ivan handled his retirement is the same way Ivan Tedesco did everything in this sport....like a real professional.

Best of luck Hot Sauce!
gt80rider
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7/25/2014 10:45pm
I think everyone wonders what he would have done without injury... But even with them he is one of the best riders of all time and won more big races than lots of other "big" names... Big fan here, when he was "on" he was magical to watch...
JPT
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7/25/2014 10:59pm
Always a fan. Glad he can walk away under his own power.
olds cool
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7/25/2014 11:05pm
Got a cool Ivan story that made him a couple of fans. A few years ago when he had one of his injuries during the SX season, he got hurt at one of the east coast rounds and for reasons I can't remember specifically (I'm sure somebody here can fill in the details) he couldn't fly after being released from the hospital. This situation led to a cross country trip by car with Ivan and whoever was driving him. Ivan took to twitter and came up with a contest for someone to win a jersey for following him on twitter as he crossed the country.

My youngest daughter was about 15 during this time and was confined to the couch while recovering from the third or fourth of what turned out to ultimately be six knee surgeries (another story altogether). Being a fan of the sport and unable to do much of anything else, she proclaimed to me that she was going to win that jersey from Ivan. Well by golly, sure enough, she won the dang thing and a week or so later an Ivan Tedesco #9 VMS jersey showed up at the house.

Can't remember if it was that same year or the next (I'm thinking the next for some reason), we went to Daytona and took the jersey with us in hopes of getting it autographed. Longer story short, we did get it autographed by Ivan and I told him the story of how my daughter won the jersey and he thought that was cool and was very nice to her. Being an old fart, I'm somewhat technologically challenged and haven't learned how to post photos but I'll see if I can get one of the kids to show me how so I can share a pic of the jersey with the class (lol).

I'll close by saying good luck to Ivan in his future endeavors and congratulations on a career that 99% of former pro racers would be envious of. Thanks for the memories Mr. Hot Sauce!

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