KTM Press Newsletter

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KTM NORTH AMERICA
GNCC kicks off in grand style in DeLeon Springs, FL; Salminen dominates (08.03.2006)
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The first round of the Grand National Cross Country Championship series kicked off in DeLeon Springs, FL during the Daytona Bike Week and Juha Salminen came out swinging and took a commanding win.

400 riders were entered in the afternoon program and more than 35 pros lined up to take on the mighty KTM Off-Road team of Juha Salminen, Mike Lafferty and Robbie Jenks. As the flag dropped, Salminen jumped way out in front on his KTM 250 XC and grabbed the holeshot and an early lead, never to be contested for the remainder of the 2 hour and 40 minute race. The sandy course contained deeply dug out whoops, but proved to be no match for Mike Lafferty as the New Jersey resident had a dreadful start and came last off the line of Pro riders. He gathered himself quickly and put his head down, picking riders off one by one until he moved into third place where he finished for the day. Robbie Jenks finished in 15th.

When asked about the conditions of the race course, Juha said, “There were no good lines, you just had to hope for the best. It was difficult today.” He also added, “Next Sunday is another race; the first race doesn’t tell you anything. I have a nice points lead now, but we’ll have to wait for next week and see what happens there.”

Mike Lafferty said, “I messed up on the start and just had to charge early. I had to pin it because I wanted it. I felt stable and strong and the confidence was there. The KTM 450 XC was running awesome and we’re going for it again next weekend. I want to be a contender in the GNCC series.”

Round 1; Orange Crush GNCC, DeLeon Springs, FL

1. Juha Salminen KTM
2. Charlie mullins
3. Mike Lafferty KTM
4. Nathan Woods
5. Barry Hawk, Jr.
6. Fred Andrews
7. Glenn Kearney
8. Ricky Dietrich
9. Nathan Kanney
10. Ryan Voase

KTM Press Newsletter

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RALLY
Preview - Por las Pampas Rally 2006 (07.03.2006)
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With 23 cars, 1 truck, 37 bikes and 4 quads, entries to run Por las Pampas Cross Country Rally 2006, Patagonia-Atacama closed yesterday. According to the tradition, there was a great number of last minute confirmations to take part in this challenge that will start next March 7 in Argentinian Patagonia and will finish on the 16th in the region of Atacama, Chile.

Among cars, one Bowler — a prototype based on a Land Rover- from Norwaywas added to the list, together with two Mitsubishis and two Chevrolets, both coming from Brazil. Among bikes, the highlight of the recent entries was the official KTM team, and the Off Road Uruguayteam with four representatives.

Everybody against Marc Coma
The official KTM team registered the entry of the winner of Rally Dakar 2006 and of Patagonia-Atacama 2005, Marc Coma. His team mate, on board another KTM 660 Rally, will be the young Spanish rider Jordi Viladoms.

But Coma will not have an easy race running against experienced riders as the multiple champion Carlo De Gavardo.

But Chileans will be majority, with a total of 16 inthis category, showing their skills in their homeland, again in a race of their own.

Start of the 1st leg - March 08, 2006 - Total 458 km

KTM Press Newsletter

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ENDURO
The boss speaking: Fabio Farioli - Team Manager Enduro (07.03.2006)
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The KTM factory enduro squad has six riders from five different European countries for 2006. Do you think the team will support riders from outside Europe in the future?

Fabio Farioli: KTM has a real international enduro team for 2006, which is great because KTM sells bikes all over the world. At the moment European riders are the best enduro riders in the world. This is the reason why KTM’s factory enduro team is made up of riders from the Isle of Man, Finland, Italy, Spain and France. When riders from outside of Europe are able to win World Enduro Championship titles they will be welcomed into our family.

Can Ivan Cervantes, Samuli Aro and David Knight repeat their achievements of last season?

Fabio Farioli: It is certainly going to be hard to repeat the results of last year because 2005 was such an amazing season for all three riders. Each rider will face stiff competition but repeating their achievements from last year is what everyone in the team is working towards. We have the best riders, the best bikes, best mechanics and best organization so I am confident that they can win again.

This year the WEC series will start with a winter race in Sweden before travelling to events in Canada and the States. Is the world of enduro growing?

Fabio Farioli: Different types of races as well as events outside of Europe are important if the World Enduro Championship is to grow into a truly international championship. The conditions at many of the races this year will be new to lots of riders but I am sure that the winners will be the same.

KTM will field one official team with six riders into the World Enduro Championship in 2006. What is it that motivates you as team manager this season?

Fabio Farioli: Last year KTM won three individual riders titles, three manufacturers titles and ended up first in the final team standings as well. The incentive for 2006 is not so much to ensure that the team keeps growing but to make sure it stays where it is – at the top of the World Enduro Championship. That is what motivates me.

This season all of KTM’s official riders will race on four-stroke machinery. Do you think that two-stroke machinery is no longer competitive in the WEC?

Fabio Farioli: KTM has the best two-stroke bikes with their 125, 250 and 300. I know that they are still very competitive machines but riders now want four-stroke power when they are racing in the WEC. Anyway, I’m sure in the future we will go back to two strokes, not for all riders but most of them.

Have the riding styles and training techniques of the WEC’s best riders changed in recent years?

Fabio Farioli: Just like in so many sports the world’s best enduro riders are moving towards more specific preparation. Their performance on extreme special tests is very important in today’s world championship so riders have to work hard on their high and low speed riding, as well as having good endurance and strength. All these things are necessary to be on the top.

Sala, Farioli, Rinaldi, Aro, Cervantes, Knight… what do you think that all these champions have in common?

Fabio Farioli: Determination, passion, devotion, world titles andof course KTM!

KTM Press Newsletter

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KTM NORTH AMERICA
Chris Carr wins Hot Shoe National in Savannah, GA (07.03.2006)
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Chris Carr and KTM are off to a great start as Chris Carr and his team demonstrated at the Hot Shoe National event this past weekend in Savannah, GA with a commanding win in the 450 Singles class.

Friday night was the first round in the Hot Shoe National series and Chris Carr was the only KTM entered in a field of eleven Honda’s and was determined to put his Orange bike at the top of the podium.

Carr completed three sessions of time qualifying and clocked in with one of the fastest times, putting him into the first of three rows. As the riders came off the start, Carr was second and quickly moved into first, never to be contested for the rest of the night.

Carr said, “This was such a great night for the team and I. We wanted to use this as a tune-up for Daytona, and I would say that we used the opportunity perfectly and got everything dialed in. We are really looking forward to the first round of the AMA Flat Track Championships.”

Still Kicking
Moto XXX Goes Down, But Not Out in Indianapolis

By definition, no privateer’s season is complete without generous amounts of bad luck. As everyone at Unbound Energy/Moto XXX knows, teams are not exempt from it either. The tenth year squad definitely hit a rough patch in Indianapolis last weekend, but all was definitely not lost.

Timmy Ferry’s performance was the highlight of the weekend. At one point in practice, he had the 7th fastest lap time and felt confident going into the evening program. Once the lights came on, “Red Dog” took an easy route to the main event by finishing second in his semi-final. In the Supercross main, he got a solid start and rounded the first turn inside the top ten. During the next 20 laps, he battled with multiple factory riders and continued to turn solid times. He finished the race in 9th, his second top-ten performance in 3 races, and now sits 13th in the AMA standings. With the series heading to Timmy’s home state of Florida for the next couple of weeks, he’s understandably upbeat and plans to move further up in the running order.

Unfortunately, not everything went so well. Kyle Lewis crashed after coming up short in a rhythm section during practice and was unable to continue. He suffered a facial fracture and looked a lot worse for wear when it was all said and done. Because of a potential risk to his vision in one eye, “Lucky” will sit out the Daytona Supercross and very possibly Orlando as well.

Josh Summey went into Indy with the momentum of his 11th place finish in Atlanta. He was riding well, but got involved in a collision during his heat race. He hit the ground hard and was advised by the Asterisk Mobile Medical staff to visit a local emergency room to be sure that no serious damage had occurred. Wisely, Josh did so and was cleared to race. Unfortunately, he came up just short in his attempt to get back to the track in time for the LCQ. The good news is that he’ll be ready to go Friday night in Daytona.

Finally, Juss Laansoo resumed his Supercross education in Indianapolis. Once again, he qualified into the night show and rode admirably from then on. With the foot injury behind him, Juss plans to use the remaining Supercross rounds as a learning experience while preparing for his assault on the 2006 Outdoor Nationals.

Team Unbound Energy/Moto XXX is faithfully supported by Unbound Energy Drink, American Honda, Akrapovic, O’neal, Honda Genuine Parts, Pro Comp Wheels & Tires, Sidi, Tag Metals, EPersonals.com, M2R Helmets, Polisport Plastic, Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Pro-X, Scott, N-Style, MB1 Suspension, Lucky 13, Ready Filter, VP Fuels, Braking, Motion Pro, Hinson Clutch Components, Metaltek, Ogio, Dunlop, Vans Shoes, Fat Wreck Chords, RK Chain, Excel Wheels, Vortex Ignitions, ARC, Ti Lube, Carbon Fiber Works, SDG Seats, PPG, Asterisk, Lockhart Phillips, Red Rider Rewards, Crower Power, Darkside, N-Fab, CST, MT Racing, Vans Shoes.

Hawkstone Park
5/3/2006

Rinaldi Yamaha rider Stefan Everts claimed his third victory in four weeks after winning both MX1 heats of the Hawkstone Park International in Shropshire, England.

The nine times World Champion dominated the first of two heats in bright and sunny but cold conditions. A packed crowd attended one of the more prestigious pre-season events of the winter calendar and the dark Hawkstone sand was in its usual rough and demanding state. The circuit is dwarfed by the large hill section that sees the riders climb a near-vertical 100m slope and the gradient caught out a number of top riders as the International once again boasted an array of Grand Prix stars.

For the third time since the motocross schedule began to crank into life during February, Everts beat the likes of the factory backed Honda team and the works Suzuki and KTM efforts, all housing his main rivals for the 2006 MX1 World Championship.

Everts escaped the clutches of fellow Belgian Kevin Strijbos in the opening sprint and was just as masterful in the second heat as he glided past Strijbos and his team-mate Steve Ramon. A mistake on the last lap gave Strijbos more impetus to close the gap but the race was already won.

A ‘hatrick’ could not be taken later in the afternoon as a rare fall in the ‘Grand Final’ (mixing the best finishers from the MX1 and MX2 classes) allowed Yamaha MX2 representative Billy Mackenzie to streak head on the YZ250F. Although he fronted the pack for the majority of the distance Mackenzie was slowed by backmarkers with just two laps to go and was caught by Strijbos and a charging Everts who plagued the Suzuki rider to the flag and was only a second behind over the finish line.

Contrary to reports stating that he would miss the pre-season race programme Cédric Melotte took to the line at Hawkstone. The Belgian is still recovering from an injured wrist, but was able to wrestle the YZ450FM over the sandy terrain for eigth and fifth positions. He picked up a DNF in the Final after a collision with another rider robbed him of his rear brake.

Bike it Dixon Yamaha’s Billy Mackenzie produced a good performance in his first race meeting of the season. The 21 year old slipped from second place to third in the first heat after suffering some arm-pump but confidently claimed the next heat by over twelve seconds from main British Championship rival Carl Nunn. Only a hold-up with backmarkers prevented the Scot from marking a historic triumph over the 450s in the ‘Grand Final’.

Stefan Everts:
“I will miss this place. It is the sixth year in a row I have come to Hawkstone. I’ve had some great moments here and unfortunately I never got the chance to ride in the Grand Prix. I think it is a great track with a lot of potential. I enjoyed the races today and it was difficult to make the lap of honour for the last time.”

Cédric Melotte:
“The result is not so bad because I wasn’t expecting to finish all three races. In the last heat I hit someone else’s wheel and the brake pedal bent under the footpeg so I could not continue. I am quite satisfied. I could not push too hard because my wrist was giving me trouble but I am confident and now need to go step by step to reach my best level. We are still working on the bike because I missed a lot of testing time.”

Billy Mackenzie:
“I feel like I have an overall win because I managed to produce that good last race. That heat was awesome; it was such a buzz to be leading those guys. With two laps to go I was thinking about what celebration I could do over the finish line, but it never comes that easy when you are racing against the best! Just to be in front of them for that length of time felt good. I also set the fastest lap. This meeting will keep me going for a few weeks. The first race was pretty muddy and I got some arm-pump, but it was the first one of the year so that was expected. I got a top three though and I know I need to work on my consistency so I am pleased. We tweaked the bike and got rid of some of the niggly problems we would have had at Lyng for the British Championship next week.”

MX1 Race 1
1. Stefan Everts 2. Kevin Strijbos 3. Ken de Dycker 4. Mickael Pichon 5. Josh Coppins 6. Tanel Leok 7. Steve Ramon 8. Cédric Melotte 9. James Noble 10. Mark Hucklebridge

MX1 Race 2
1. Stefan Everts 2. Kevin Strijbos 3. Steve Ramon 4. Mickael Pichon 5. Cédric Melotte 6. Josh Coppins 7. Tanel Leok 8. James Noble 9. Ken de Dycker 10. Gordon Crockard

MX1 Grand final result
1. Kevin Strijbos 2. Stefan Everts 3. Josh Coppins 4. Mickael Pichon 5. Tanel Leok 6. Steve Ramon 7. Sebastien Tortelli 8. Mark Jones 9. Yoshitaka Atsuta 10. Gordon Crockard

MX2 Race 1
1. Carl Nunn 2. Tommy Searle 3. Billy Mackenzie 4. Brad Anderson 5. Steven Clarke 6. Lewis Gregory 7. Jason Dougan 8. Wayne Smith 9. Oliver Sandiford Smith 10. Alex Snow

MX2 Race 2
1. Billy Mackenzie 2. Carl Nunn 3. Tommy Searle 4. Wayne Smith 5. Brad Anderson 6. Shaun Simpson 7. Jim Murro 8. Jamie Law 9. Ray Rowson 10. Alex Snow

MX2 Grand final result
1. Billy Mackenzie 2. Lewis Gregory 3. Tommy Searle 4. Oliver Sandiford Smith 5. David Willet 6. Ben Saunders 7. Alex Snow 8. Carl Nunn 9. Ashley Greedy 10. Dan Johnson

KTM Press Newsletter

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MOTOCROSS
Nunn pumped after Hawkstone Park victory (06.03.2006)
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The reigning British Champion looked fit, fast and assured over the rough English sand, under some winter sunshine in low temperatures. A large crowd travelled to the renowned pre-season meeting in Shropshire, just west of the city of Birmingham.

Nunn blasted away from main rival Billy Mackenzieand young Kawasakirider Tommy Searle to win the first moto of 25 minutes and 2 laps and then took a steady 2nd position later in the day to confirm the overall victory. In the last race of the meeting, the ‘Grand Final’ between the best classified riders of MX1 and MX2, Nunn was holding a top six position before he crashed on the long, steep hill section and struggled to restart his machine. He did however manage to complete the race and was ranked 6th from the MX2 group.

Champ KTM team-mate Marc de Reuver was making his first tentative competitive outing of the year but was unable to place within the top ten.

The MX1 team of Mickael Pichon and Sebastien Tortelli were also in attendance. Pichon, who was ill during the week, was easing his way into competition and continuing to work on the set-up of the SX450F. The Frenchman scored a brace of 4th positions for 3rd place overall and was also 4th in the ‘Grand Final’. Tortelli had a crash-filled introduction to the Hawkstone sand with three falls in the first moto. The former World Champion’s best ranking was a 7th in the ‘Grand Final’.

Carl Nunn:

“This was good because I felt that my pace was there last week in Francebut my results did not really show it. I think a lot of people looked at that as if I hadn’t been working this winter when the complete opposite is the real truth. I am way ahead of my condition and readiness of last year; all I can do is build on this. My training is going great. I have lost a bit of weight to be lighter for the starts and it is working well. We are working on the starts as a team and it has been really effective, like we saw today. KTM have worked hard on the 250 and I feel really comfortable on the bike.”

Mickael Pichon:

“Today was not so bad because I had been sick after Pernes for three days. I am in fact quite happy with the result because the track was not that easy! My motos were consistent, no DNFs or big mistakes. I don’t feel that I am at 100% yet physically when it comes to my riding; so I am satisfied. The bike was running well. I want to keep on working because we only have another three weeks before Zolder.”

Sebastien Tortelli:

“There was some good and some bad today. We finished the three motos which was a positive thing but I was not that used to the nasty conditions and had a bad first race with a lot of crashes. I had been training in sand but this was much deeper! I was very happy with the bike and we have made a big step forward compared to the two last races. Now we just need to train and focus on the Championship.”

MX1 Moto 1

1. Stefan Everts

2. Kevin Strijbos

3. Ken de Dycker

4. Mickael Pichon

5. Josh Coppins

6. Tanel Leok

7. Steve Ramon

8. Cedric Melotte

9. James Noble

10. Mark Hucklebridge

MX1 Moto 2

1. Stefan Everts

2. Kevin Strijbos

3. Steve Ramon

4. Mickael Pichon

5. Cedric Melotte

6. Josh Coppins

7. Tanel Leok

8. James Noble

9. Ken de Dycker

10. Gordon Crockard

Grand final result MX1 class:

1. Kevin Strijbos

2. Stefan Everts

3. Josh Coppins

4. Mickael Pichon

5. Tanel Leok

6. Steve Ramon

7. Sebastien Tortelli

8. Mark Jones

9. Yoshitaka Atsuta

10. Gordon Crockard

MX2 Moto 1

1. Carl Nunn

2. Tommy Searle

3. Billy Mackenzie

4. Brad Anderson

5. Steven Clarke

6. Lewis Gregory

7. Jason Dougan

8. Wayne Smith

9. Oliver Sandiford Smith

10. Alex Snow

MX2 Moto 2

1. Billy Mackenzie

2. Carl Nunn

3. Tommy Searle

4. Wayne Smith

5. Brad Anderson

6. Shaun Simpson

7. Jim Murro

8. Jamie Law

9. Ray Rowson

10. Alex Snow

Overall MX2 classification:

1. Carl Nunn

2. Billy Mackenzie

3. Tommy Searle

4. Brad Anderson

5. Wayne Smith

6. Lewis Gregory

7. Alex Snow

8. Steven Clarke

9. Oliver Sandiford Smith

10. Shaun Simpson

Grand Final MX2 classification

1. Billy Mackenzie

2. Lewis Gregory

3. Tommy Searle

4. Oliver Sandiford Smith

5. David Willet

6. Ben Saunders

7. Alex Snow

8. Carl Nunn

9. Ashley Greedy

10. Dan Johnson

KTM Press Newsletter

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KTM NORTH AMERICA
AMA SX Series: Round 9, Indianapolis, IN (06.03.2006)
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The ninth round of the AMA Supercross series moved to Indianapolis, IN this past weekend and saw Josh Hansen finish in the top 10.

Heat one of the Supercross Lites class hosted Josh Hansen and the young Red Bull KTM Rider had a mid-pack start and finished fourth, advancing him to the main. Jay Marmot was in heat two and ran into back luck as the Australian had a mid-pack start and finished in tenth position, moving him to the Last Chance Qualifier where he ended up crashing and did not move up to the main event.

Josh Hansen had a positive attitude going into the main, and as he got off the start, he came around the corner mid-pack and picked riders off, moving into sixth position and stayed there to complete his night.

AMA Amp’d Mobile Supercross Lites results; Indianapolis, IN

1. Davi Millsaps
2. Josh Grant
3. Chris Gosselaar
4. Kelly Smith
5. Robert Kiniry
6. Josh Hansen KTM
7. Branden Jesseman
8. Tucket Hibbert
9. Thomas Hahn
10. Sean Hamblin