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By: Zap
MXA PRESS RELEASE: Oakley's Ltd. Ed. Troy Lee Designs Crowbar
The $95 Troy Lee edition Crowbar is one of a few all new designs offered by Oakley for 2010. For more, head to Oakley.PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Doug Dubach Back In The Day...
Back in 1984 Doug Dubach not only earned the coveted CMC # 1 plate, but he also waged a fierce battle with Guy Cooper for the Rookie of The Year award in the AMA Nationals. Cooper got the nod.
MXA MINI-VIEW: Doug Dubach - The Working Man's Hero
 To know Doug Dubach is to know the sport of motocross. In fact, to know Doug Dubach is to know all that is good about the sport. Like so many other old guys who still exude a sense of pride and enthusiasm for racing dirt bikes, it would not be too off base to accuse the 46 year old of suffering from an acute case of the Peter Pan Syndrome. Dubach is like a kid when he throws a leg over his bike. Actually, now that I think about it, the former factory Yamaha rider and Supercross winner is like a kid most of the time – except that besides riding his dirt bike he also spends countless hours overseeing his own successful business as well as being an active father of three athletic kids. Doug is good people. His years as a National privateer taught him well the lessons of endurance, dedication and overcoming hardship...and to see him still making full throttle leaps into the sand whoops last weekend like all the “kids” he was racing against – wow!
No, Doug's string of Vet titles can't be measured against McGrath's Supercross record or the winning ways of Ricky "The GOAT" Carmichael, but neither is it fair to use the same measuring stick. Everything about Doug personifies the self-made man, a true working class hero!
 Dubach has been a great ambassador to his long term sponsors: Yamaha, O'Neal, Shoei and Scott.
MXA: This last weekend you won your 16th and 17th World Vet titles. How does that feel?
Doug: I gotta tell you, if someone told me ten years ago that I'd be winning the Over-30 Pro class when I was 46 years old I never would have believed them. It feels great to win, especially when I started the day with very minimal hopes of winning. Ryan Hughes pretty much checks out on the first lap and after that lap I'm already in damage control, just thinking about the guys behind me. I can run Ryan's pace for about a lap and then I'd have to pull into the infield and take a breather!
MXA: The second moto was pretty dramatic, how did all that go down?
Doug: Yes, it was pretty wild because even at the finish I didn't know that I'd won until Tom White was running up to me with just one finger, and I was like, “Me? I won?” Then I got all gooney and started doing donuts in the infield. The last few laps were strange because I saw him crash in front of me with a few laps to go and then I was staying close to him. Finally, on the last lap my mechanic Alan Olson gave me the pit board with a one written on it and I was like, “Yeah, I know Al, I just got the white flag, I know there's only one lap left.” But of course that's not what he was telling me. I guess Ryan had pulled over, but I never saw him so I kept riding to chase him down. I didn't have a clue that he pulled over – I guess I better send Ryno a Christmas card this year!
After his trusty mechanic Alan Olson swept his start clean, Doug Dubach attacked it one last time using his glove as a broom.
MXA: You've had a a pretty good year racing in 2009 – not bad for a guy running his own business.
Doug: That's true and the fact that I won two classes at Loretta Lynn's and finished third in the Over-30 class at Mammoth all the while trying to run my company with 23 employees and be a good dad to my three kids makes it more amazing. That's why you never see me at Glen Helen on the weekends anymore. Those are the days for my kids. I owe it to them and I'm not willing to give that up.
MXA: I know Ryan was a little upset at the Over-30 Pro turnout this year.
Doug: I was surprised too and I have to say I find it curious that a lot of these guys have egos that prevent them from coming out to race. But, I reminded Ryan that he's the guy most of the other riders fear. I checked lap times after the race and his lap times hardly changed even with a flat rear tire! I know for me I just like racing my dirt bike so much that I want to come out and race. Winning the Over-40 class on Saturday was cool, but for me the challenge of racing in the Over-30 Pro class is what it's all about. Like at Mammoth, I looked more forward to battling it out and even losing in the Over-30 class versus racing in the Over-40 class and beating Willy Musgrave.
Doug's biggest reward came when his proud kids jumped into his arms after the second moto.
MXA: So what does an old guy like you to for training?
Doug: Well, my knees are shot, so I don't run and, honestly, for the two hours that it takes to ride a bicycle, I'd rather be out riding my dirt bike. People always tell me I should just wake up earlier to get my exercise in, but I'm at my shop at 6:00 every morning. How much earlier am I supposed to wake up just to exercise? I usually ride one or maybe two times a week, but as I get closer to a big race, I'll go out three days a week and doing some race specific riding. The bottom line is that for me, nothing beats riding. I just love riding motorcycles!
MXA PRESS RELEASE: Star Yamaha Is Set & Adds A Sponsor
 Star Racing Yamaha has announced their alliance with DNA Beverage Corporaton’s “DNA Shred Stix” to compete in the 2010 Supercross and Motocross season. Star Racing’s lineup is competitive and includes Nico Izzi, Martin Davalos, Max Anstie and Broc Tickle who are each aiming for the 2010 250 Title.
“DNA Shred Stix is a perfect fit for us and they will help take us to the next level,” said Bobby Regan, owner of Star Racing. “DNA Beverage Corp. has a history in this sport and they understand how it all works. Our brands complement each other well and we share a passion and desire to win championships.”
"We are excited about DNA Shred Stix being the title sponsor of Star Racing Yamaha,” said Geoff Armstrong, vice president of marketing at DNA. “Star is putting together a competitive lineup this year and we look forward to a long and successful relationship with them.” Izzi, Davalos, and Tickle are sure to make it an exciting and competitive season this year. Stop by the pits to see the new DNA Shred Sticks Star Racing Yamaha team and grab a new DNA Shred Stix.
MXA PRESS RELEASE: Get Your TLD Day In The Dirt Schwag
2009 WORLD VET CHAMPIONSHIPS OUTTAKES
You couldn't have asked for a greater day of racing. Jody laid out a challenging, circuitous and safe track. The sky was clear, the sun was out and the track crew did their usual great job keeping the dirt in perfect condition.
Old guys from all over the globe converged on Glen Helen for the 25th annual running of the World Vet Championships.
In simple terms, Ryan Hughes had no real competition on Sunday. Unfortunately, he once again found a friend in bad luck.
Ryno came loaded to bear with a Honda of Houston CRF450 that was as tricked out as they come.
Doug Dubach's 2010 YZ450F was ready for business with his Decal Works graphics kit, Dunlop tires, Enzo suspension, ProTaper bars, 20mm offset Applied fork clamps and, of course, a DR.D pipe.
As of this week there will be a new name on the Glen Helen "Walk of Fame."  As he accepted his Edison Dye Lifetime Achievement award, Tony DiStefano told of his first visit to California back in 1974 when he traveled west to race in the AMA 500 National held at Baymare. The CZ privateer slept in his van the night before the race and then won both motos the following day on a bike that he bought. I challenge any factory rider to attempt the same feat in 2010! 
It was cool when Tom White rolled out a replica of the 1974 CZ that Tony rode in the Nationals before gaining a factory Suzuki ride. Yes, bikes like this actually used to win National events!  Every year it's always the same...fast guys show up with trophy lust clouding their sense of fairness and desire to have a good race versus an easy win. Leave it to a PR guy to extol the virtues of cherry-picking! DRD VP of Marketing Terry Beal signed up for the Novice class and by the end of the first lap in moto one had about a half lap lead. With one lap to go, his off-the-front effort was derailed when race officials black flagged him. Following in the footsteps of celebrated French cherry picker Ludo Boinnard, Beal was exhasperated and tried to put the best spin possible on his his blatantly questionable tactics. "I haven't been riding much lately. I was having the race of my life and then I saw the black flag and thought, whoa, somebody must've really gotten hurt - but it was for me!! I got black flagged - I love it!" Beal was moved to the Intermediate class where he was (justifiably) soundly beaten.  This is the factory Suzuki RH250 that Georges Jobe used for his runner-up finish to Danny LaPorte in the 1982 250cc world championship chase which the American GP rookie claimed on his factory Yamaha.
 When Alan Olson wasn't working on Doug Dubach's bike he could be found over at his son Tim's truck working on one of only a handful of 2010 YZ450Fs at the race. Tim had one because he works for Yamaha.
Following their autograph duties the night prior at the Monsters of Motocross, Donnie Hansen (l) and Mark Barnett came out to Glen Helen on Sunday to sign even more autographs for another long line of thrilled moto fans.
MXA PRESS RELEASE: Cosworth MotoX Forged Pistons.
Cosworth is pleased to announce the availability of our Forged MotoX Piston range for both 250cc and 450cc single cylinder four stroke applications. Cosworth Forged MotoX pistons are manufactured from 2618 high tensile strength aluminum alloy and include many of the same features as our Formula One racing pistons. Each piston includes a unique smooth blended barrel form, Xylan ant-friction skirt coating with polished top, accumulator groove, gas ports, high performance rings and a DLC coated piston pin. Cosworth Forged MotoX
pistons are available for Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and KTM applications. For more info, head to Cosworth USA.
MXA PRESS RELEASE: NEW 2010 GRAND PRIX SCHEDULE RELEASED
April 4 - Sevlievo, Bulgaria
April 11 - Fermo, Italy
April 25 - Valkenswaard, Holland
May 9 - Agueda, Portugal
May 16 - Bellpuig, Spain
May 30 - Newport, Great Britain
June 6 - St. Jean d'Angely, France
June 20 - Teutschenthal, Germany
July 4 - Uddevalla, Sweden
July 18 - Kegums, Latvia
August 1 - Lommel, Belgium
August 8 - Loket, Czech Republic
August 22 - Canelinha, Brazil
September 5 - Lierop, Holland
September 12 - Mantova, Italy
September 26 - Motocross des Nations (Lakewood, Colorado)
WHERE THEY'RE GETTING IT ALL WRONG
Unfortunately, one of the more depressing spectacles in the sport is the continued handwringing that goes on by people defending certain popular riders who prove to be, well, less than impressive. The latest example was from my pal Steve Cox who was defending Josh Hill and his silly exploits that sent him from a factory ride to a free ride with L&M. This is what Steve said....
"The truth is that everyone has messed up, especially around that age, and the only difference is that when we did it, we weren’t public figures who could be talked about on message boards. No one knew but our parents (and maybe not even them)."
No Steve, that's not "the only difference"! Look, Josh Hill is a good kid. I remember enthusiastically yelling for him in Minnesota the night he won his first Supercross. It was great to see his everpresent grandpa and all the good guys from Team Yamaha celebrating the big win with the hope that it was a sign of good things to come. Not. In the time since he recorded the first win ever with a Go Pro video camera onboard, Josh has been on a downward slide. While they made a cute, shaggy haired couple, his chuming around with J-Law was the clearest sign of trouble to come.
Steve is wrong on a few counts. First, it's not the message boards that made Josh screw up, it was Josh and ONLY Josh to blame. Another key point is that unlike most teenagers (at least myself and the teenagers I grew up with) who screwed up and maybe lost their weekly allowance, Josh Hill has been rolling to the races as a professional athlete making a six digit salary. You'd think that if the kid was happy to accept a grown-up salary that he'd feel compelled to act like an adult, or at least a responsible teenager! At some point these kids should be called out for pissing away an opportunity so hard to attain and afforded to so few who try. Let the pampering stop once and for all!
YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE THAT THEY STILL DON'T GET IT
Following his admmission that he hasn't ridden at all lately during his recovery from another serious concussion, the perennially injured Broc Hepler admitted in a recent interview that he would be passing on the 2010 Supercross season "...unless someone has a good bit of money to throw around. If the right money is there, maybe I’ll jump aboard."
A good bit of money? Really? For a guy whose doctor's advice is not to race the Supercross series?
It's like an old-school privateer said to me at Glen Helen last weekend, "What is he asking for money for? If anything, Hepler should be paying someone to get a ride! I mean Broc's a nice kid, but really, what has he shown on the track that would warrant his getting paid 'a good bit of money? At best, a rider like Hepler (who has already heaped huge financial rewards without any significant return) should only be paid on a performance basis."
It's a shame that barely heard above the din of factory (and ex-factory) riders looking to maximize their six-digit salaries has been the giant sucking sound of countless industry workers losing their jobs. I mean, what kind of world do we live in where hard working, qualified guys like Suzuki media liaison Kobi Iseri loses his job while people laud Ezra Lusk's effort to get a deal for 2010? Doesn't anyone remember how unhappy Ezra was as a Pro racer. Ezra was always angry, bitter and resentful. That's why he quit in the first place. Do we really need another factory retread out there when up-and-comers like Alex Martin, who represent the future of the sport, are barely hanging on? Any sponsor who is willing to pay riders like Ezra Lusk and Josh Hansen are obviously not playing with a full deck or an eye toward building the sport.
MONSTERS OF MOTOCROSS OUTTAKES
Todd Huffman and his crew put on another spectacular event at the Lucas Oil sponsored Monsters of Motocross affair. Without a doubt, Bob Hannah once again emerged as the star of the show with his performance as the Master of Ceremonies. If you want to see what went on at the riotous 2008 event, a special MoMX video is available along with a full library of Todd's other motocross films.
Bob Hannah (r) was stoked to see long time friend and former factory Honda motocross, dirttrack, roadrace and Superbike winner Steve Wise show up at the Monsters of Motocross.
Before Steve Wise was a factory Honda star he was a hard charging privateer Honda and later a Fox privateer.
SELECTED BOB HANNAH QUOTES
* “Gerrit, I like you. I don't like Roger that much, but I like you!” Hannah doing his best to make the visiting Gerrit Wolsink feel welcome.
* “Nobody really has any stories about Tony D...well, I hear Mitch Payton does...but they're about some bachelor party, so we won't talk about those tonight!” Hannah making a point to mention the unmentionable.
* "He started his business with a $2 pair of socks he bought in Mexico and he paid Joel Robert $50 to wear them – Joel thought he was getting rich!” Hannah @ JT Racing's John Gregory (JT being a play on "TJ" as in Tijuana).
Eventually JT Racing would move on from selling socks hecho en Mexico to become the most succesful MX gear company in the 80's.
AND WHAT OTHERS SAID IN TRIBUTE TO TONY D
* "Back then Roger and I had contracts with Suzuki that were about two pages long. When they signed Tony, his contract was about 60 pages...we all realized that things were changing when Tony came on the team!" Former factory Suzuki rider Gerrit Wolsink.
* “When we sponsored Tony we only had two employees at the time and we thought Tony could help sell some product...but he was a big drama...on the way to the track we'd have to stop and eat and on the way home we'd have to stop and eat." Mitch Payton recalling the days when he sponsored Tony D out of his Anaheim Husqvarna shop (which eventually became Pro Circuit).
* “From his house all the way down to Loretta Lynn's, he would know every exit for the Dairy Queen, Denny's and The Waffle House!' Tony's sister Donna.
This is Jim "The Greek" Gianatsis. He was one of the best moto photographers back in the day - his Trans-Am photo galleries are the stuff of legend. Jim didn't just fly in and shoot the races, he lived fhe life, traveled in the caravan and handed out most of the popular rider nicknames. Today, he puts on motorcycle shows and tends his Ducati collection.
Here is one of the Greek's classic shots. The Trans-Am start features (r-l) Roger DeCoster, Bob Hannah, Marty Smith, Danny LaPorte, and Kent Howerton with Tommy Croft bringing up the rear. You can get your hands on some of Jim's classic moto shots by Clicking Here.
This is one of the factory Suzukis raced by Gerrit Wolsink who won the USGP at Carlsbad an incredible five times. Gerrit flew in for the MoMX and was happy to see one of his old bikes.
The factory swingarms of old were not lacking in weld beads.
This is the privateer bike that Marty Moates rode into the history books when he became the first American to win the 500cc USGP at Carlsbad in 1980.
How about this sweet OW36 Yamaha 125 that was ridden by Bob Hannah at the 1978 & '79 USGP at Mid-Ohio? Refurbished by former factory Yamaha wrench Bill West, a similar bike was also raced by Broc Glover.
To make sure the motor stayed as narrow and compact as possible, the OW ran the kickstarter on the left side. Back in the day, spring loaded chain tensioners were all the fad.
Although the bikes raced at the USGP were water cooled, when they were used in National competition (where there was a claiming rule) team Yamaha was not willing to take the chance of losing one of their exotic water cooled bikes and all their proprietary technology (the water from the number plate mounted radiator ran through the head tube) so the water pump was sealed up for the AMA races.
Here's a Gianatsis shot of Hannah leading Marty Smith at the Mid-Ohio USGP aboard one of the trick water cooled Yamahas.
This is the factory Kawasaki that Jimmy Weinert rode to win the 1974 500cc National Championships.
Talk about prehistoric fork adjsuters!
MXA PRESS RELEASE: Epic Is Hiring
EPIC Action Video Cam is currently accepting resumes and applications from athletes across the U.S. to become Brand Ambassadors for their popular line of digital video cameras. EPIC currently sponsors such notable teams as the Troy Lee Design’s/Lucas Oil/ PPG/ Honda Race Team and the GT Bicycles Factory MTB and BMX teams, as well as numerous top athletes throughout numerous disciplines of Action Sports, Motorsports and Active Sports.
EPIC Action Video Cam’s are mini digital video camera’s that can quickly mount to any athlete’s equipment, including helmets, motorcycles, cars/ trucks, bicycles, surfboards and more, for point-of-view video and photo capturing. The EPIC comes with a 2GB SD Card and 2 AAA Energizer Lithium batteries, giving user “out of the package” ability to shoot over 1-hour of nonstop video and sound. Also included are numerous attachments for different mounting options and a waterproof case to keep dirt and water out. EPIC Action Video Cam has recently introduced their new WIDE ANGLE camera which gives athletes a 168 degree view. Interested parties can apply for sponsorship through Loopd.com, MXSponsor.com or by submitting a resume directly to EpicCam@NXTagency.com
MXA ASKS....REMEMBER WHEN....
...race gas was not only cheap, but easy to find? Jimmy Weinert fills up back in the day.
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