5 Minutes With Davi Millsaps - 2 October 20th, 2007
You’re not putting words in my mouth, it sucked!” answered Davi
Millsaps when this writer assumed that due to a broken femur and
sever inner ear infection the 19 year-old had a miserable racing
season in 2007. After breaking his femur in a pre-season practice
crash, Millsaps was forced to the sidelines, only to return at round
number eight at the Georgia Dome. It took him a while to get up
to speed, but at the series’ penultimate round at Seattle, he
placed an outstanding second overall. A great result heading into
the opening round of the AMA National Motocross Championship,
it appeared to be ready, steady, go time for #118. But that wasn’t
to be the case. Despite a podium placing at Mount Morris, Millsaps
results began to become erratic as the season began to progress.
Something was amiss and nobody — Millsaps included — knew
what was up. Then on August 16, American Honda announced
that Millsaps was suffering from a puncture in his inner ear and
would be out for the season. Now he’s back. A recent two-fold
operation allowed doctors to repair his ear as well as remove the
rod in his leg, and after healing up, Millsaps has just begun to
pound out the laps on his 2008 Honda CRF450R. Recently, we
caught up with the teenager. interview on alpinestarsinc.com
Davi Millsaps Alpinestars Interview -ozzy go-
Charge of the Lites Brigade -ozzy go- RacerX Bench Racing Ammo
History was made this weekend at the Rockstar U.S. Open of Supercross. No, it
wasn’t the crazy jumble of results that earned Grant Langston $100,000 for a 2
5 score, while at the same time earning Mike Alessi fifth overall and $95,000
less for his 5-3 score. Nor was it the vast amounts of cash that Chad Reed left
in the first turn at the MGM Grand Garden Arena when he went for the
$250,000 trifecta in Saturday’s extraordinary main event.
The history we’re talking about here was Jake Weimer becoming the first rider
on a 250F motorcycle to beat a star-studded field of 450 factory riders on a
stadium motocross track. Weimer, the unlikeliest winner since Jeff Emig took
the whole jackpot in 1999 aboard a privateer FMF Yamaha YZ250, led the
second night from start to finish (or at least first-turn crash to finish) on his
Sobe No Fear/Samsung Honda CRF250.
What makes this interesting is that it marks the second major race in a row
than someone on a Lites motorcycle beat all of the 450s. The last time, of
course, was at the 2007 Red Bull Motocross of Nations, when Ryan Villopoto
trounced everyone on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki KX250F. Riding
for Team USA, the kid beat the best big-bike riders in the world—Ricky
Carmichael, Grant Langston, Tim Ferry, Steve Ramon, Chad Reed and more
while barely getting his Thor MX gear dirty.
Looking back at the last half of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championships,
where Villopoto often posted the fastest laps in either class, all the way over to
Europe’s Grand Prix circuit, where Tony Cairoli was doing similar damage on his
YZ250F, has the Lites’ class finally caught up to the premier class?
One other thing: When Cairoli moved up to the MX1 class for the British GP in
late August after he clinched his MX2 title, he immediately went to the front of
the pack. Will Villopoto do likewise when he throws a leg over a 450?
We can’t wait to find out! racerxill.com - pic from transworldmotocross.com
Jake Weimer RacerX Interview -ozzy go-
5 Minutes With...Jake Weimer October 18, 2007
Unlike any city on earth, 24 hours in Las Vegas can
change things dramatically—for better or worse. After
finishing tenth in Friday night’s main event, Jake
Weimer used his potent SoBe No Fear/Samsung Honda
CRF250R to snag the Progressive Direct Holeshot while
all hell was breaking loose behind him in a first-turn
yard sale after Chad Reed rammed Timmy Ferry,
bringing down Grant Langston, Andrew Short and
more. From there Weimer held on to lead every lap of
the thrilling race and, in doing so, scored his first major
victory as a professional—as well as the first time a
250F beat such a star-studded field on a supercross
circuit. We caught up with the surprise winner after he
was back home in Idaho. interview on racerxill.com
pic from tedescophoto.com
Josh Demuth RacerX Interview -ozzy go-
Privateer Profile: Josh Demuth October 18, 2007
The feel good story of the 2007 Rockstar Energy Drink
U.S. Open was easily the success of Texas’ Josh Demuth.
“The Sheriff” as he is called, has been through a lot in his
career. From a struggling privateer to factory arenacross
demigod then into an injury-filled period of obscurity.
While he was able to nail down the 2006 BooKoo
Arenacross championship, he slowly fell off the scene.
With the 2008 season approaching Josh began to search
out his options for a team and an series to ride. His
answers came by way of an old friend, and in the past
three week’ there has been little standing in the way of
Josh Demuth and the checkered flag. Always a good
interview, we were able to get ahold of Josh for a phone
call to catch up on what got him to this point in time and
how his career is back on track. interview on RacerX
pic from motocross.com
Josh Demuth Finishes 2nd on Saturday Night and 3rd Overall at the US Open
Rockstar/Hart & Huntington Tattoo Co. team rider Josh Demuth
finished 2nd Saturday night and 3rd overall at the prestigious
2007 Rockstar Energy Drink US Open at the packed MGM Grand
Garden Arena. With the biggest purse of all 2007 Supercross
races at $250,000, this was truly an amazing race to watch.
It was an exciting start for the Rockstar/Hart & Huntington Tattoo
Co. supercross team as veteran three-time arenacross champion
Josh Demuth jumpstarted the season by securing a podium
position. This was the first race for the newly formed Rockstar/
Hart & Huntington Tattoo Co supercross team and team owner
Carey Hart is thrilled about the way the season has kicked off. “I
am really happy with Josh’s results,” Hart said. “He rode with a
lot of heart. He’s hungry and we are looking forward to a strong
upcoming season.”
With experienced riders Josh Demuth and Troy Adams eager to
race, it is sure to be an exciting 2008 season for the Rockstar/
Hart & Huntington Tattoo Co. Supercross team. arenacross.com
For more information, check out
www.hartandhuntingtontattoo.com - pic from vitalmx.com
Jake Weimer on Vital Buzz -ozzy go-
Slightly overlooked in all the commotion of the crazy main event
on Saturday night was the winner of the main event, Jake
Weimer, and the fact that he’d won on a 250F against the bigger
machinery. “I definitely had some luck on my side. I wasn’t
putting pressure on myself to win…riding a Lites bike, which I
don’t really think was that big a disadvantage aside from the
start.”
Jake did have some strategy on his side, though. “For starters, I
lined up on the inside, because I knew everyone was going to
push wide. I got a pretty good jump, but let off earlier than Reed,
and stayed to the inside, because I knew that…I didn’t know he
was going to go down, but I knew there’d be commotion the
outside. I let off early, got my braking done, saw that Reed was
sliding out, and I was like, ‘All right, I got the holeshot.’ The first
five laps I tried to really sprint, ride smooth with minimal
mistakes. After that, I took a look behind me, and saw Demuth
was behind me. I got a little bit of a gap, and just tried to keep it
right there and hold it with a smart, good pace, and it worked
out.” full story on vitalmx.com
Tim Ferry on Vital Buzz -ozzy go-
The first turn in Saturday night’s main event had a lot to do with
the race’s outcome, when a crash took out nearly all the top
finishers. Tim Ferry got punted under the bleachers by Chad
Reed, and was none too pleased. His Kawasaki was already
sporting a nice gouge on the swingarm from where Chad had
nudged his way past in the first turn on Friday night, and let Chad
know it after the finish on Saturday night. Maybe the fake boxing
ring used for the rider introductions could have been put to use
after the main?
When we caught up with Ferry after the race at the Kawasaki rig,
he explained the first turn this way. “Basically, Chad came in hot.
Obviously the money was on the line for him, and I thought I had
the holeshot from the outside, and in a worst-case scenario, him
sneak around the inside. He basically just drilled me. I flew up
underneath the stadium.”
“I got up and finished the race, and I stayed in front of Weimer
the whole time. I think I actually pulled him a little bit. He had
somebody to chase, and it was probably good for him.”
“I’m disappointed. The weekend could have turned out a lot
better. I had a fourth, and set up for a podium finish with the two-
night combo. If that would have happened and I’d have been the
one who stayed up, I could have been the overall winner tonight.
But this is racing, and this race is very..” full story on vitalmx.com
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ferry Battles Back at the US Open -ozzy go-
LAS VEGAS –Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry rode two
solid nights of racing to finish ninth overall during the U.S. Open
at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
On Friday night, Ferry qualified for the main event after finishing
second in his heat. When the bikes lined up for the main event,
he shot off the line for a top-five start. After the second lap, he
settled into fourth, and finished the night just off the podium.
“I didn’t really have the speed I was looking for when I came in,”
said Ferry. “I was a little disappointed since I felt really good. The
track was really tricky in terms of bike set-up and we weren’t the
only ones having trouble. We never really got it the way we
wanted.”
Ferry came back on Saturday night with a few bike adjustments
and finished second in his heat. In the main event, Ferry had a
great start but got hit by another rider and went down in the first
turn. He picked up his bike and adjusted the bent handlebars,
which ultimately played a big role in his 12th-place finish.
“We made some good changes today,” said Ferry. “The bike was
running great and I felt like I really had a chance at winning.
Overall, I think we did what we came here to do. We obviously
wanted to win or be on the podium, but we learned a little bit
about the bike and we are going...” full story on kawasaki.com
Tim Ferry at Thursday Press Conference - pic from vitalmx.com
Makita Suzuki’s Alessi Celebrates Top-Five Finish in Debut Suzuki Ride at US Open
Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s newly signed Mike Alessi made a
more-than-impressive debut at this weekend’s US Open of
Supercross at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The new Makita Suzuki rider raced the brand-new 2008 fuel-
injected RM-Z450 and won both of his heat races.
This marks the first-ever race victories for a fuel-injected
motocross bike.
Furthermore, Alessi made his new Makita Suzuki team even more
proud by bringing home a fifth-place finish overall in the two-night
event.
According to Alessi, one of his goals for the weekend had been to
improve his performance from Friday night’s fifth-place finish in
Saturday evening’s event.
The 19-year-old rider did just that – picking up his first podium
position on a Suzuki, thanks to a third-place finish.
Mike Alessi:
“This first weekend with the Makita Suzuki team has been really good. It was definitely a
learning experience, and I learned a lot about the new fuel-injected RM-Z450 – how it
handles the whoop sections, its turning ability and when I can be more aggressive. I also
discovered the things that we need to work on, so it was a good weekend for us. My
overall performance was pretty good, and my heat races were awesome. In the main
events, I wasn’t expecting to go out there and try to win or light the world on fire. I just
wanted to set a good pace and Roger (Team Manager DeCoster) told me that wherever I
finished was where I finished. Of course, I wanted to win, but realistically, I didn’t want
to ride over my head and crash in the first race. The new Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 is
awesome… though we’re still in the development stages. Up until now I’d only had four
days on the bike, so I’m really looking forward to the off-season where I’ll have the
chance to do a lot of testing before Anaheim 1 and the 2008 Supercross season. It’s just
a matter of getting time on the bike and getting comfortable on the RM-Z. The Makita
Suzuki team has been great, they’re so professional and work well together. It’s a good
atmosphere for me and it makes a difference to have people behind me like that, people
who want to win as bad as I do. It’s really nice to have a great team – Roger has so
much knowledge and it’s great to listen to him and what he has to say. My mechanic,
Mike Gosselaar, does an awesome job and puts in 110 percent. He’s a great guy and
works hard. This was my first race on a whole new bike, and fifth place isn’t too bad.
Plus, we had some great heat races – I really couldn’t ask for more.“
Roger DeCoster:
“In the US Open, things went more smoothly than we anticipated. We wanted Mike to be
conservative and his winning both heat races was better than we expected and it shows
that the new Makita Suzuki RM-Z450’s potential is really good. Overall, we achieved our
goal to put two race days together without mishaps and to learn what we need to focus
on with the new fuel-injected RM-Z. We also learned what Mike needs to work on before
the first Anaheim Supercross in January. We realize that we are on a learning curve as
we figure out what is best for Mike in regards to bike set-up.” supercrossking.com
pics from transworldmotocross.com
Grant Langston RacerX Interview -ozzy go-
Monday Conversation: Grant Langston October 15, 2007
Grant Langston knows how to make something out of chaos.
That would make him a good choice to win a U.S. Open, but
he would have to go through James Stewart and Chad Reed to
take the money. Langston was second to Reed the first night
in Vegas, and Stewart had pulled out. That meant the $100K
was on the line the second night, but in the first turn of the
main, he was on the ground! Reed, Ferry, Short, and
Langston all hit the deck, and it seemed the money was
speeding away. Langston got back up, but the madness was
just starting. At one point, Short and Reed tangled and went
backward on the start straight and tipped over. Just as they
got back up, it looked like the two were practicing starts and
coming right for him. It was just a crazy race.... interview on
racerxill.com - pic from supercrossonline.com
Reed second on points count back after action packed US Open
Chad Reed’s aim for a third US Open crown was well on the way to being accomplished in
Las Vegas on the weekend, before a challenge for the final event holeshot – and the
US$250,000 prize money – saw his race plan turned upside-down.
Reed comfortably won the opening night main event, leading from start to finish after
claiming the holeshot.
His superpole win earlier in the evening meant he had satisfied all three criteria for the
night in order to go on and challenge for the major prize the next day.
“I learned a lot in my heat race,” Reed explained. “I pushed my way through the first
turn and that made the race easy for me. The holeshot is very important, and I worked
hard to get up there.”
Saturday night was the turning point for the Australian, who went down in a three-rider
battle for the progressive holeshot. Out of rhythm and well down on the lead riders, Reed
forced his way through the field, but crashed again on separate occasions. He finished
8th in the main event.
“I was going for the holeshot and went down,” said Reed. “Timmy (Ferry) had a bad night
last … we race with a lot of emotion and things happen,” he said.
At the conclusion of the event, Reed’s initial dominance saw him tied with fellow Yamaha
rider Grant Langston on points. Langston was awarded the US Open win on count back,
having finished second in the Friday night main event.
And while the result was slightly disappointing for Reed considering his early dominance,
he was pleased to be able to go out and take charge of the event first up and was
looking forward to the rapidly-approaching AMA Supercross season. “This has been my
first indoor Supercross for some time, and second is a great result. “The win was
definitely on the cards if it had not been for the first corner crash, which gives me good
confidence as I prepare for the 2008 season that begins in the first week of January”.
mcnnews.com.au - pic from supercrossonline.com
Reardon makes his mark in his U.S debut -ozzy go- fullnoise.com.au
After qualifying the fastest 250 both nights, Reardon made both
the main events in a new format of one class one champ.
Heat one on Friday night saw the 122 in the lead after a few laps
and was able to hold off Reed till a couple of laps from the end,
which gave Dan a ticket straight into the main event.
A lap into the main event and a shunt from behind had Reardon
off his bike and in last place and was able to claw back some
positions to finish in 7th place on the night.
Saturday's 4th place heat race wasn't enough to get Reardon into
the main event but was a respectable finish behind Mike Alessi,
Michael Byrne and Grant Langston all riding 450's.
A tangle with Langston was an introduction to the big league of
motocross.
"He (Langston) made a mistake, I came in tight on a turn, we
rubbed a little bit and then he gave it back to me, it's all part of it"
explained Reardon. 
A poor start in the semi had Reardon playing catch up and was on
a mission as only the winner of the semi would make it to the
main.
Lap after lap Reardon picked off riders putting on a great show
for the excited Las Vegas crowd and with 2 turns from the finish,
made a spectacular block pass to take the win.
Reardon starting on the inside gate of the main event got off to a
squirly start and clipped a tuff block robbing him of speed into the
1st turn but was able to dodge the carnage of Chad Reed,
Langston and Tim Ferry going down.
From mid field Reardon passed a few riders quickly and then
battled with Byrne for a few laps, finally passing him for 3rd place
and clearing out, till Alessi on the big horsepower 450 rounded
him in only a lap from the end for a 4th place finish.
After the race I caught up with Dan to get his thoughts on the
weekend. "I'm happy" said Reardon. "The whole idea of this race
was to get my feet wet and test things out". "I did what I could
and came away this weekend with more..." full story on Fullnoise
pics from vitalmx.com
Grant Langston Wins Overall Title & $100,000 @ Vegas’ Rockstar U.S. Open
Monster Energy’s Grant Langston (Yamaha) closed out the
2007 competition motocross season with a bang, winning the
prestigious $100,000 Rockstar U.S. Open of Supercross this
past weekend at Vegas’ MGM Grand.
Langston, who just last month captured the AMA Outdoor
Nationals MX title, placed 2nd to Chad Reed at Friday’s U.S.
Open contest, then came from nearly last place to finish 5th
in Saturday’s contest – which was good enough for 1st place
overall, including a $100,000 check from promoter Live
Nation.
“Fans definitely got to see some wild racing,” said Langston
of his Saturday come-from-behind effort and 2nd/5th overall
finishes that beat Reed’s 1st/8th finishes. “That was a lot of
fun. Thanks again to Monster Energy for getting on board
with me this season. I’m glad I was able to deliver at the U.S.
Open this weekend.”
Langston will receive a much-needed break before the AMA
Supercross season opens up at Anaheim’s Angels Stadium
the first weekend in January, 2008. monsterenergy.com
picture from transworldmotocross.com
Thor US Open Race Report
The 2007 Rockstar U.S. Open of Supercross was held this past
weekend in Las Vegas, NV. An all-star rider list set the stage for a
preview of the '08 Supercross season and for the first time at the
Open the Lites and the SX class were combined to form a stacked
Open class.
Night 1:
Thor's Chad Reed started off the night with a win in the Superpole
competition taking home the first cash prize of $10K. Chad also
went on to win his heat.
With the qualifiers out of the way, it was on to the main event.
Chad Reed jumped out to an impressive holeshot, adding to his
winnings for the night. After the holeshot, Reed ran away with the
race. Dodging lapped traffic he held on for the win with Grant
Langston picking up the second spot. Andrew Short rounded out
the podium.
Night 2:
Chad Reed started off night 2 with a heat win rockin' the all new
Thor OG Core gear. Although missing out on the Holeshot, he
quickly took over the lead from Billy Laninovich and held on for
win with Tim Ferry coming in 2nd.
Night 2's main event went a bit differently for the win favorites.
Chad Reed got caught in a first turn pile up leaving Jake Weimer
to grab the holeshot. Chad tried to regain his composure and
work his way through the pack but hit the dirt twice more leaving
him with an 8th for the nights racing. Jake Weimer ended up
holding on for the top spot with Josh Demuth and Mike Alessi
filling the podium. With the disappointing end to a great start of a
weekend, Chad still managed to take home the 2nd overall for
the event. Grant Langston worked his way up to 5th in the final
giving him enough points for the title of 2007 U.S. Open Champion
and a $100K bonus check. racerxill.com & thormx.com
Getting Even and Getting Odd at the U.S. Open of Supercross -ozzy go- alpinestarsinc.com
As very recent history has taught us, Chad Reed out-and-out
smoked the field on the opening night of the 2007 Rockstar
Energy Drink U.S. Open by completing a triple play in winning the
Toyota Superpole, his heat easily and, finally, the main event. All
things considered, if one were to walked around the large MGM
Grand parking garage that served as the pit area for the U.S.
Open and taken an ad hoc pole, the general consensus was that
Reed and the dominance he displayed made for an evening of
racing that was downright boring. So much so that on Saturday
morning, as mechanics and team members began preparing the
bikes for the race later that night, many feared another Reed
whitewash. But unlike any city on Earth, in 24 hours, Las Vegas
can change things dramatically — for both the good and the bad
— for a person. In fact after the running of the second night of
the U.S. Open, all one had to do was to ask Chad Reed about
Vegas and what it can do to a person.
Heat number one got the dice rolling on Saturday night in the
MGM Grand Garden Arena with Team Honda’s Andrew Short
racing away to win the opening heat over an impressive, hard
charging Josh Demuth. Chad Reed won heat number two over Tim
Ferry and Team Sobe/No Fear/Samsung/Honda 250F-mounted
Jake Weimer. Michael Byrne led the third heat out and in of the
jam-packed MGM Grand Garden Arena with Mike Alessi and
Branden Jesseman in tow. Just behind were Australian Supercross
champion, Dan Reardon (now riding for the Sobe/No Fear/
Samsung/Honda team), and Grant Langston. On lap number three
new Team Suzuki rider Mike Alessi found a way around Byrne
while Langston moved into third by the finish. LCQ
DNA Energy
Drink/BTO Sports teamsters Jason Thomas and Bryan Johnson
both won their respective last Chance Qualifier races and earned
spots on the gate for the main event.
Reed would get back up and take off only to rear end the blue
fender of Grant Langston’s Yamaha. From that point, for all
intents and purposes, it was all over but the shouting for Reed.
When the checkered flag was grabbed and waved manically,
young Jake Weimer was the first rider to meet it. Somewhere out
there on the floor of the arena the fate of the winner of the 2007
U.S. Open hung in the balance. Mike Alessi had zapped Michael
Byrne for fourth, while Grant Langston had made it all the way
back to fifth. In a frenzy, the mathematics were done and it was
declared that 2007 AMA National Motocross Champion Grant
Langston had won the 2007 Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open of
Supercross with a somewhat unbelievable overall score of 2-5.
“Man, I don’t know where to begin,” beamed Langston atop the
podium. “It was the wildest race I ever been in my life. I got hit
about 15 times that time, and I hit about five people and I didn’t
know where I was. I looked at my pit board and it looked like
Japanese! This is just unbelievable. I just did what I could. I got a
pretty good jump off the gate but I got collected up in that mess,
but it’s racing and I didn’t give up. It just fell in my lap!”
It was also an amazing night in Sin City for Jake Weimer, his win
both impressive and shocking in nature. “Tonight I got a little bit
of luck on the start, got into the lead, and it was a long 20 laps,”
he smiled. “My team is doing an awesome job and I’m super
pumped to be up here.” alpinestarsinc.com