RK Excel America

Mechanicsville, MD – JDR/J-Star/KTM rider Malcolm Stewart earned 16th overall after bouncing back from a last place result in the first moto to an 11th place finish in the second moto in the 250 Motocross class at the fifth round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship held at Budds Creek MX Park.

Stewart and his teammate Matt Moss both had bad luck in the first moto. Moss was credited with 36th after a crash and Stewart, unfortunately, was placed in last position after crashing multiple times in the first moto.

Both riders regrouped and put together decent second motos. Stewart did suffer one crash after the first corner off the start but was able to quickly recover. He was determined to make up some time and he began passing riders immediately to quickly move into the top twenty. By the end of the race he had passed nearly three-quarters of the field to move up to 11th place by the moto end. His combined moto scores earned him 16th overall for the day. Stewart’s teammate, Moss, also had a more impressive second moto and was able to finish 17th.

“Both of our riders struggled a little bit today with some crashes,” commented JDR/J-Star/KTM Team Manager Nathan Ramsey. “However, we also saw some good speed from both of them and are confident that both riders will continue to improve this season and work toward claiming their career best finishes.”

Next Event: Red Bud – July 7, 2012

Upton, WY – Factory FMF/KTM rider Russell Bobbitt earned an impressive 2nd place overall result at the sixth round of the AMA National Enduro Series put together by the Inyan Kara Motorcycle Club.

The course conditions were quite dusty given the dry weather and created a problem for many riders as they fell upon lappers late in the tests. Luckily, Bobbitt was able to avoid many of them in the first three special tests where he finished with a top three lap time each test.

“I was happy to get good test scores in the first three tests but wish I could have picked up a few more seconds. I feel like I lost a lot of time in those first sections and that is what kept me from challenging for the win,” remarked Bobbitt.

Bobbitt only fell outside of the top three in special tests scores once throughout the day during the 4th test; however, his test score was still strong enough to keep in the podium hunt. In the fifth test Bobbitt picked up the pace and put together an impressive ride in the most challenging test of the day to finish with the 2nd fastest time. Heading to the sixth test, only 1 second separated Bobbitt from Nick Fahringer whom he was battling for 2nd position. Bobbitt laid the hammer down and turned the fastest time in the final section to claim the runner-up spot on the podium.

“I really like this race and I tend to do well at this event. I am happy to be on the podium and glad I could get that last section win. That section is where I was able to win the race last year so I am glad I was able to use my speed in that section to my advantage again to help secure my 2nd place finish,” reported Bobbitt.

Bobbitt’s 2nd place finish improves his position in the overall point standings. He now sits in 3rd place overall in the championship points.

Series point leader, Steward Baylor, returned to racing this weekend after having wrist surgery only a few weeks back. Despite having some pain from his wrist, he was able to finish inside the top five. His 5th place finish allowed him to maintain his points lead heading to the next round.

Next Event: July 29, 2012 – Cross Fork, PA

June 9, 2012

Blazusiak Captures First AMA EnduroCross Victory of the Season

SACRAMENTO, California – Red Bull/KTM rider Taddy Blazusiak claimed his fist win of the 2012 AMA EnduroCross Series at the second round of the circuit held at Power Balance Pavilion. His teammate, Factory FMF/KTM rider Mike Brown, also put in a good ride to secure 5th overall for the night.

In his heat race, from an inside gate, Blazusiak jumped out front quickly to take the holeshot. Blazusiak led all six laps of his heat race to easily transfer to the main event.

Brown also had a great start to his heat taking the early lead after the first corner. Unfortunately, Brown suffered a crash on the second lap but was able to recover without losing the lead. He continued to pull ahead until a small mistake on the next lap cost him the lead. He was able to hang on to 2nd place to take the final transfer spot to the main event.

In the main event, Blazusiak was off to what seemed to be an undesirable start in 8th place before making substantial progress to pass into 3rd by the second corner. Blazusiak battled with Destry Abbott for the next two laps before passing him on lap three to take over the runner-up position. Blazusiak then set to work on the lead ride of Kevin Rookstool. Blazusiak was able to make a smooth pass to takeover the lead on lap four. From there, he began to stretch his lead for the remaining laps. At the conclusion of the race, Blazusiak crossed the finish over 10 seconds ahead of the 2nd place ride to claim his first victory of the season.

Meanwhile, Brown had put together an impressive race to climb from a near last place start to pass into 5th by the halfway point. Brown and Cory Graffunder put together a great battle at the end of the race to get the crowd on their feet. At the end of the race, Brown was able to finish 5th overall.

Now two rounds into the series, Blazusiak holds a 10 point lead in the series standings. “I am very happy to win this race,” commented Blazusiak. “I really liked the track and the racing was fun. I want to extend my thanks to the entire KTM crew. I am looking forward to working with them over the next few weeks to prepare for the Summer X-Games.”

KTM had a great showing in the Women’s class with 8 of the 12 riders on orange. Factory FMF/KTM rider Maria Forsberg got the holeshot in the main to take the early lead. A crash in the rock turn caused her to lose two spots to KTM riders Louise Forsley and Chantelle Bykerk. Forsberg was held up by lappers stuck in the matrix on the final lap and was unable to make a charge back to the lead. Forsley went on to take the win followed by Bykerk and Forsberg.

Next Race: Summer X-Games: Los Angeles, CA – July 1, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2012

JDR/J-Star/KTM Race Report – High Point Raceway

MT. MORRIS, Pennsylvania – JDR/J-Star/ KTM rider Matt Moss makes his return to racing and his teammate, Malcolm Stewart, has a run of bad luck at the fourth round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series at High Point Raceway.

Both riders had decent qualifying times during the morning practice sessions and earned gate picks inside the top twenty; Stewart 12th and Moss 20th.

Stewart was hungry for a podium after his 6th place and season best finish the prior weekend at Thunder Valley MX Park. The gate dropped at the start of moto one and Stewart had a top ten start; he was up to 8th by the end of the first lap. He turned on the gas and got around Ivan Tedesco and Eli Tomac to hold down 5th at the end of lap 3. Stewart was on the move and passed the 4th place rider of Alex Martin and began pressuring the 3rd place rider of Will Hahn. Unfortunately, a crash while passing Hahn for 3rd would keep Stewart from finishing the race.

Meanwhile, his teammate, Moss, was off to a mid-pack start and came through lap 1 in 15th. He was passed by two riders at the midpoint, but was able to get back around them on lap 9. With four laps to go, Moss made another mistake costing him three positions and putting him back to 18th. Moss stayed in position in the final laps and finished 18th in moto one.

At the start of moto two, Stewart grabbed a respectable 12th place start and started pushing his way to the front. On lap two he went down while trying to make an aggressive pass and again was unable to finish the moto.

The returning Moss found himself a little behind at the start of the second moto rounding out the first lap in 29th. He put his head down and swiftly moved through five riders by lap 2. He rode consistently and was able to pick up 2 positions every lap to sit 16th by the halfway mark. Although he was unable to hold off one rider behind him, Moss moved back to 17th on lap 10 and remained there for the duration of the race. His 18-17 moto finishes would give him 17th overall for the day in the 250 Motocross class. Moss earned 7 points to find himself 24th in the series points after only one race.

“Malcolm was riding really fast,” commented JDR/J-Star/KTM Team Manager Nathan Ramsey. “He was passing into 3rd in the first moto when he crashed. Matt was riding pretty tight, but its OK for the first race back. I know he will do better at the next one”.

Next Race: Budds Creek Motocross Park, Mechanicsville, MD – June 16, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2012

Kurt Caselli Injury Update

MURRIETA, California – After recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained in May, Factory FMF/KTM rider Kurt Caselli announced he will be taking the rest of the summer off to have minor arthroscopic knee surgery to repair his meniscus.

“My shoulder is getting better, but the summer is the best time to take a few weeks off to fix the tear in my meniscus. I’m bummed to be missing X-Games, but I look forward to getting back to racing after the summer break,” commented Caselli.

Caselli plans to return to his regular racing schedule at the conclusion of the summer break.

Murrieta, CA – Factory FMF/KTM rider Kurt Caselli received further evaluation on his injury sustained over the weekend at the Jericho, UT Hare & Hound to determine that he has a third degree collarbone AC separation.

Caselli was injured during a crash while leading the Hare & Hound and first reports thought he broke a collarbone. Caselli started rehab this morning and is expected to return to racing in two weeks.

“If the rehabilitation goes as planned, Caselli should be able to make a full return for the next Hare & Hound race and begin pre-running for the SCORE/Baja 500 immediately after. However, we will reevaluate after the next Hare & Hound race to ensure Caselli is in good health before moving forward with the SCORE/Baja 500 preparations,” commented Factory FMF/KTM Team Manager Antti Kallonen.

Despite a DNF at this past weekends Hare & Hound, Caselli still maintains the lead in the overall point standings and is looking forward to returning to the racing action for the next event on May 19, 2012.

JDR/J-Star/KTM rider Tye Simmonds put together two decent motos in the 450 Motocross class to earn 15th overall at the eleventh round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship series while fill-in rider Chris Plouffe marked his pro debut in the 250 Motocross class with a 19th place overall score.

In the 450 Motocross class, Tye Simmonds put together two consistent motos to earn 15th overall for the day. He started inside the top twenty in both motos and came up to battle around 15th place. In moto one he was able to secure 15th by putting a last lap pass on Jimmy Albertson. In moto two he was able to finish 16th overall.

“I was happy with my finish today. I had a horrible practice session and wasn’t sure how the motos would go for me. To be battling around 15th was a good place for me and I am happy to come away from this race safe and ready for the next round,” stated Simmonds.

In the 250 class, Plouffe had a top twenty start in moto one and was sitting mid-pack when he suffered a crash early in the moto. The crash dropped him to near last where he quickly set out to catch back up to the front runners. He got back inside the top twenty-five before a mechanical issue caused him to withdraw from the race with a few laps remaining. Plouffe was credited 30th position for his first moto result.

In the second moto Plouffe repeated his mid-pack start. He finished the first lap in 19th and began to set his sights on the riders in front of him. By the moto end he was able to battle his way into 16th position where he finished the race. His 30-16 moto scores earned him 19th overall and 2 points in his first career pro race.

“I definitely was hoping for a better finish, but it was my first race and I am happy with the progress we made from the first moto to the second. I really liked working with the JDR/J-Star/KTM Team this weekend and can’t thank them enough for giving me the chance to race for their team these final two rounds. I am looking forward to improving my overall result next week at Pala,” remarked Plouffe.

JDR/J-Star/KTM rider Tye Simmonds showed splashes of brilliance at the tenth round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series held in Southwick, MA as he turned fast lap times throughout his moto but succumbed to bike troubles in moto one and a mistake in moto two that ruined his chance of a decent overall finish for the evening.

Simmonds suffered from a poor start at the beginning of moto one but quickly turned the throttle to begin his climb through the pack. He rounded the first lap in 21st and had moved to 18th by lap six. Bad luck struck on the ninth lap when he suffered a mechanical problem and had to withdraw from the race. His team quickly went to work to repair the bike and had it ready to go for the second moto.

In moto two, Simmonds had a worse start than the first moto because of his horrible gate pick. He started 27th and had passed four riders by the end of lap two. He climbed to 19th by the end of lap three and continued his charge. By the halfway point he had put together a train of consistent laps moving his KTM into 12th place. He made a few mistakes in the remaining laps that dropped him back to 15th where he finished the moto.

“I was very disappointed to not finish the first moto but I was happy with my second moto result. I have never raced Southwick before, and it is definitely more demanding on the bike and on the rider than I had imagined. I felt good the second moto and was hoping to move closer to the top ten but I made some mistakes at the end and slipped back. Overall, I am glad that we fixed the bike issue and I was able to get in one decent moto,” stated Simmonds.

Missing from action at Southwick was JDR/J-Star/KTM 250 Motocross rider PJ Larsen. The Australian Champion announced last week that he had suffered a neck injury prior to Unadilla that will keep him from competing at the remaining rounds. Larsen has been recovering at his home in California and his looking forward to making his return in the 2012 Supercross Series.

Next Event: Steel City – Delmont, PA – September 3, 2011

FMF/KTM rider Kurt Caselli secured his fourth overall win at the seventh round of the WORCS Series held in Washougal, WA with a pair of moto wins.

The seventh round of the series had the first moto scheduled on Friday and the second moto on Saturday, a day earlier than the typical WORCS race schedule. Despite the change in the race schedule, Caselli adapted well and showed up a day early to the Washington area ready to race.

Friday’s moto went as planned for Caselli. He got off to a great start nailing the holeshot and pulling to an early lead. By the halfway point Caselli had pulled to a 30 second lead. With only a lap remaining he conserved his energy and backed down the pace to cruise to an easy win ahead of Suzuki’s Josh Strang and Caselli’s FMF/KTM teammate Mike Brown.

On Saturday, it was Brown who claimed the holeshot and led the first lap followed by Caselli. “This race was all about the start,” commented Brown. “It was so dusty in the off-road section because they couldn’t water back there because of the tight trees, so if you weren’t out front early you were in for a challenge.”

Luckily Brown was out front and he was able to pull away. It looked like the second moto was in his favor until he lost his rear brakes with less than two laps to go. He had to return to the pits to get the repair made which handed the lead to his teammate Caselli. Brown returned to the race in 6th place and with one lap left was able to catch back up to 5th before the checkered flag. Caselli, who did not realize Brown had pulled off, crossed the checkers to take an unexpected win in the second moto to secure the overall victory for the weekend.

“I didn’t know Brown had pulled off. I never saw him off to the side or anything so I didn’t realize I was leading. It was definitely a nice surprise to cross the finish line and figure out that I was leading the race but I’m definitely bummed for Brown, he was on fire today,” remarked Caselli.

Brown’s 3-5 finishes secured him 4th overall for the event and placed him ahead of Justin Soule, whom he has been battling in the points chase.

Amongst the KTM’s on the podium this weekend was RPM/KTM rider Kacy Martinez. She won the women’s class and increased her points lead to 11 points over the next closest competitor, Elizabeth Bash.

Next Event: September 23-25, 2011 – Glen Helen Raceway

Red Bull/KTM rider Taddy Blazusiak proved why he holds the number one plate in the AMA EnduroCross Series when he took the victory at the second round of the series held in Everett, WA.

Fresh off his X-Games Gold medal win two weeks ago, Blazusiak was ready to throw a leg over his KTM 350 XC-F and claim another win. He started the day off great after turning the fastest hot lap time in the afternoon qualifier. He coupled that with a win in the first heat which gave him the first transfer spot to the main event. The second spot was given to FMF/KTM rider Mike Brown who finished 2nd in that same heat.

Blazusiak went on to continue his dominance when he nailed the holeshot in the main event and never looked back to cruise to an easy win. His teammate Brown battled around 3rd place through the majority of the race showing great speed in all sections with the exception of the fire pit. “I struggled in the fire pit and it cost me some time today. I feel like I could have easily been in the top three but every time I got back to that pit I took a bad line and allowed the guys to catch back up to me,” remarked Brown. At the end of the ten lap main event Brown was able to hold on to finish 4th.

Next Event: Indianapolis, IN – August 26, 2011