Rider- T.J Dietrich, Roberto Villalobos
Race- Quadcross Rnd#4
Series- Yamaha Quadcross MX series
Location- SPEEDWORLD, AZ
Class- Open Pro ATV

Team Golden West Cycle/Yamaha/Fly Racing rider T.J Dietrich finished 1st this past weekend at round #4 Yamaha Quadcross series. This puts him in 1st in points. T.J’s Teammate Roberto Villalobos finished 2nd. This puts T.J in 1st in points and Roberto in 3rd after 4 rounds with 7 races left in the season. Both riders are racing Elka/Laeger/ITP equipped Yamaha YFZ450s.

Elka users rule at Willow Springs Motorcycle Club June Races

Ever-young Jeff Stern wins three and add a third place, Bryan Kovarick nets a win and two seconds!

Rosamond, CA, June 15, 2008  Jeff Stern put more wear on his knees than on his Suzuki bike this past week end, with four podium finishes, giving Jeff the lead in Overall WSMC Championship mid way through the 2008 season.

First place in the Catalyst Reaction 750 Mod Prod class allowed Jeff to continue his charge up the class season point, where he is currently 4th. Another first in Peak Performance F-40 Heavyweight helped build his already solid lead atop this championship, while another first in CaliPhotography.com 750 Supersport extended his already impressive lead in that class.  Finally, an impressive third in Toyota Cup Formula 1 confirmed a solid second place in that season Championship.

Bryn Kovarick shared the limelight with a win in 750 Superbike (First in season points) and second place in 750 Mod Sport (First in season points) and in 750 »Superstock.

What a haul: four wins, two seconds and a third. WOW!

The Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC Race Report

William Yokley finished 7th Overall today in hot, humid and dusty conditions.  There were 201 total entries with 23 XC1 Pro Riders.  Team Rider Mark Notman finished 21th Overall and 7th in the 23 rider XC2 Pro Am Class.

Summary By William Yokley

This is the time of the season when it’s usually hot and dry, and your conditioning is tested.  Yadkinville is a beautiful area of North Carolina with many wineries and lots of ATV enthusiasts.  This year, hot, humid weather and lots of red clay dust greeted us as we set up on Friday.  It looked like it was going to rain Sat. morning, which we really needed, but it never came and just got hotter.  Using your head and staying on 4 wheels would be important today, as well as a good start.  I hydrated myself well on Friday and Saturday, did my pre-race warm up and stretching, and headed to the start area.

I got a pretty decent start and as everyone piled into the first turn, the typical chaos began.  I was sandwiched in between Matt Smiley and Chris Borich coming into the turn when I tried to make the hole bigger and squeeze through.  I caused a big mess when my rear tire jumped Borich’s front tire and launched my rear end straight up into the air.  I just hung on tight and was able to set it down and throw it into the turn without crashing.  Borich wasn’t as lucky as he tumbled hard.  I went into the woods in 8th and worked my way to 7th going into lap 2.  Just when I thought this would be a decent day, my bike started running really badly; I thought it was a little rich and just needed cleaning out, but as I went down each straight it got worse instead of better.  Did I mention the dust was bad?

Without being able to open it up and cleanly run out of corners and open areas, it made it kind of rough for the rest of the day.  I ran in 6th for most of the day behind McGill, but in the open areas, it just would miss and sputter, and I would get caught in the dust and loose more time.  Borich caught me on the last lap; I was trying to hold him off, but I hit a stump with my rear tire shooting me into a tree where I got stuck.  I limped to the finish in 7th Overall with my air filters plugged up.  I hate something like that holding me back during the race, but it could always be worse.  I’m just glad that race is over, it was getting old eating all that dust!

My teammate Mark had a good day after overcoming some adversity.  He got a good start going into the woods in 5th.  The heavy dust made it difficult to see most of the time; he overshot a turn and hit a small creek at a bad angle resulting in smashing his knee into the handlebars.  It took awhile for the pain to subside and get in a rhythm, but after a few miles he caught back up to the lead pack.  Toward the end of lap 1, his seat somehow popped off and he had to stop to retrieve and reinstall it, costing him several positions.  Mark put his head down and rode mistake free working his way to 5th right behind 4th going into the last lap.  His knee was really bothering him at this point, and he made the decision to not attempt the big creek jump, costing him a couple of positions.  He ended the day in 7th XC2 Pro AM and 21st Overall, and sits in 4th place in the season points.

I plan to keep training and preparing for the rocky conditions we will face in 2 weeks in PA.  I will also be racing the Polaris RZR there in the UTV Race, and hopefully I’ll get back on the box!  See you there.

Western Australian Motocross State Championships reached the half way mark of the season this weekend.

Jindong Park was the scene for round 3, three hundred riders entered and the track was prepped by loyal Southern Capes members well into the late Saturday evening, after the day’s Junior event.  The forecast for rain was understated and after midnight the heavens opened, raining for hours the track was flooded to six inches of slush, it was definately going to be a survival circuit for all.

Honda Australia’s Chris Brenton had put in the practice, visiting the circuit on many occasions to make sure his Honda TRX 450ER was dialed in for this crucial round. Taking the flooded circuit in his stride, Brenton handled the treacherous track like the champion he is, completing both races well in front of all other riders.

The perfect start to the season, winning the first three rounds and increasing his lead to a massive 47 points, Brenton commented “Phil Tomlin Race Products has built my 2008 engine and supplied all of the parts, and these new Elka Factory shocks make the difference“. Brenton Racing has spent a lot of time on this new 2008 bike and tuned it to run at its peek performance for the WA conditions, and with Chris on board and obviously in peek fitness himself, the Team couldn’t be happier with the 2008 season so far.

“There are still three rounds remaining, so Chris won’t be sitting back taking it easy. He’s moving to the States next year to race, so he intends leaving Australia on a good note” said Lance Brenton “ but we are also very aware that anything can happen, so the bikes will be in the best possible condition before each race”.

www.waquadmx.com

JUNIOR TEAM SUZUKI LE MANS SUD

Championnat de France SUPERBIKE, LEDENON le 15/06/2008

C’est sous le soleil du Sud que le Junior Team Suzuki a entamé ce week-end à LEDENON, la 4ème épreuve du Championnat de France SUPERBIKE. Un petit changement côté pilotes, puisque Julien DA COSTA rejoignait pour cette épreuve l’équipe du Junior Team, remplaçant Emeric JONCHIERE. En effet, Emeric participait ce week-end à la 3ème manche de la GSXR European Cup à Nürburgring, qu’il a remportée. Félicitations à lui !

Essais Qualificatifs

Les essais se sont bien déroulés et nos pilotes ont pu se qualifier pour la Superpôle.

Superpôle

Julien DA COSTA, venu occasionnellement, remporte la superpôle en 1 :23 :50, devant Lucas DE CAROLIS. Guillaume DIETRICH ne s’élancera que de la 7ème place sur la grille de départ, lors des 2 manches, accusant quelques soucis de réglages. Julien remporte également la montre BEUCHAT offerte au gagnant de la Superpôle.

Course 1
Lucas DE CAROLIS, qui s’élance en 2ème position, s’installe très rapidement en tête de la course et remporte brillamment la 1ère manche. Julien DA COSTA finit à la 4ème place. Quant à Guillaume DIETRICH, il remonte de façon remarquable les pilotes de tête, pour finir sur la 2ème marche du podium, juste derrière son co-équipier.

Course 2

Cette fois-ci, c’est Julien DA COSTA qui prend la tête de la course pour ne plus la lâcher et remporte ainsi la seconde manche en améliorant le chrono de la superpôle (1 :23 :30). Lucas DE CAROLIS, parti en 2ème position, termine à une très belle 4ème place souffrant encore beaucoup des blessures de la chute au VIGEANT lors de la dernière épreuve. Guillaume DIETRICH, subissant quelques soucis au niveau du
pneumatique arrière, termine sur la 3ème marche du podium.

Classement provisoire

Toujours en 1ere position du classement général, Guillaume DIETRICH (126 pts) creuse l’écart de 31 points sur Lucas DE CAROLIS (95 pts). Emeric JONCHIERE est en 4ème position (74 pts). Félicitations au Junior Team SUZUKI pour les résultats du week-end et bravo aux élèves mécaniciens. Prochain Rendez-vous le 6 Juillet sur le circuit d’ALBI dans le Tarn pour la 5ème épreuve du Championnat de France SUPERBIKE.

Un grand merci à tous nos partenaires pour leur soutien et leur encouragement habituel.
www.juniorteamsuzuki.com

On May 31, 2008 the American Honda / Precision Concepts ATV team of Wayne Matlock, Marc Spaeth and Wes Miller took the Overall ATV win at the 40th annual Baja 500 race in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico with a time of 10:10:40 (43.34 mph).

The 40th annual Baja 500 would be the first Score race on the new Honda TRX700XX and would be a true durability test for the new ATV. After the team’s Overall win in San Felipe on a Honda TRX450R each team member was looking forward to racing Honda’s new TRX700XX at the Baja 500. Each rider pre-ran their section of the course multiple times during the week before the race and they were ready to take on the competition.

RACE REPORT
Race morning Wayne Matlock was the first ATV off the line and worked his way through the dust, silt, rocks and hills on his way out of Ensenada to pass many motorcycles before handing the quad off to Marc Spaeth at the first rider change near km77.

Spaeth took the quad from Matlock in the lead and had a very tough battle with second place all the way over the summit to Borrego. During the heat of battle with second place, Spaeth took a small spill and broke the radio connection. No radio communications made it difficult to keep tabs on Spaeth but he was able to upright the quad from a ditch using a fence post and luckily had no injuries from the crash. Spaeth was able to get back on the quad and hand it off at the rider change with no other problems.

Matlock got back on for his second ride from Borrego to San Vicente and was a position down due to Spaeth’s earlier crash. Matlock’s second section took him from Borrego to San Vicente where he was able to make up over 6 ½ minutes that had been lost in the earlier crash and handed the quad off to Wes Miller just behind the leader.

Miller had a fast, trouble free ride up the coast section and used the awesome power of the new TRX700XX to make the pass for the lead. By the time Miller finished his ride and handed the quad off to Matlock, he had gained over 2 minutes on second place.

Matlock got on the quad in Santo Tomas for his third and final ride all the way to the finish. With second place trying to take the lead, Matlock was able to work his way through more dust, silt, motorcycles and broken race cars to take the Overall win by 21 seconds.

Matlock was excited at the finish and said:

“The new Honda TRX700XX was awesome! We never turned a single wrench on the quad, it was trouble free all day. All we did was add gas. The Maxxis tires and Tire Balls held up great and we ran the whole race with no flats. This was one of the most exciting races I’ve done in a long time. The whole team rode great and it is exciting to get the overall win at such a tough race!”

The American Honda / Precision Concepts ATV team of Matlock, Spaeth, Miller proud winners of the 40th annual Baja 500 and would like to thank their sponsors-American Honda, Precision Concepts, Alba Action Sports, Maxxis, Elka Suspension, Laeger’s, Moose, IMS-Roll, Pro Honda Oil, IMS, Douglas Wheels, Tire Balls, Quad Tech, AC Racing, Baja Designs, Scotts Goggles, Division Four, Streamline Brakes, One Industries, DID Chains, Motion Pro, Tag Bars, Alpinestars

On June 1st, the Pro ATV Class of the 40th Edition of the Tecate Score Baja 500 was once again won with Elka Suspension products.

The #3A Team of Wayne Matlock, Marc Spaeth and Wes Miller took the win with a time of 10:10:40. Wayne commented after the race:

“The 4a put up a good fight, the best fight I’ve had in a long time. I knew they were close. I kept looking back and seeing them. We just had to pin it to win it; that was our strategy. We had an early lead and we had one of our riders go down. At one point we were about 6 1/2 minutes down to these guys. We just came back and kept trying. I had yet to win a Baja 500, so now I’ve got it.”

Last year’s winning team #1A of Mike Cafro, Danny Prather, Levi Marana and Chad Prull got 3rd position this year with a time of 10:19:05. Danny commented:

“We made it to the finish and we got the points, but we really wanted to win this race bad. We worked hard for it and it’s a bummer not to win. It was really dusty off the start. We were trying to catch up, but the guys up front were hauling butt.”

Team Golden West Cycle/Yamaha/Fly Racing rider Roberto Villalobos and his team finished 4th. Roberto started dead last in his class and had to work his way up through the dust of over 100 bikes and quads to finish an impressive 4th overall in Pro ATV Class and 24th overall combined with bikes and quads, In the SCORE series the ATV’s start behind the bikes no matter what the class or skill level. Roberto and his team rode a 2008 Yamaha YFZ450 with ELKA/Laeger suspension and ITP Tires.

External links:

Complete official results

Video coverage by Off-Road.com

More photos from The Vagabond Chronicles

The Spartan GNCC Race Report
Sparta, Kentucky, May 31, 2008

William Yokley finished 3rd Overall today in a hot KY race.  There were 216 total entries with 22 XC1 Pro Riders.  Team Rider Mark Notman finished 17th Overall and 4th in the 26 rider XC2 Pro Am Class.

Summary

With rain in the forecast, I thought it was going to be another one of those days in the mud with lots of bottlenecks and frustrations.  But the rain went around for once and we had perfect track conditions for the day.  It was a scorcher though, with the temps in the 90’s and high humidity.  I was pounding the waters like they were going out of style in preparation for a hard run.

When the green flag flew, my Honda started immediately; what an advantage to have one that cranks for a change!  I was off to a 3rd place start going into the woods; I couldn’t have been more pleased with my position with this being a mostly tight, technical track with limited passing opportunities.  Brandon Sommers was leading the pack on lap 1 and made a mistake, allowing Bill Ballance and I to get around.  Later in the lap, Bill blew by a turn and I was able to take the lead.  With Adam McGill hot on my tail, I had to keep my head down and play it smart.  I lost the lead going up a hill, but regained it when McGill tagged a tree.  He passed me again in a field section and pulled away a little bit.  Toward the end of the 2nd lap, I was able to pick the pace up and get back on his heels as we made our pit stops.  With a great stop, thanks to my crew, I led once again.  I led most of the next lap; everyone was running hard and I knew it going to be an interesting day.  Ballance caught up to me as I began to have some rear brake issues; sometimes they would work and sometimes not.  I tried to keep it smooth and not mess up, but Bill took a better line through a mud hole and passed me.  After a couple of miles, he started inching away, leaving Brandon Sommers and me battling for 2nd.

I was able to hold off Brandon until about 2 miles from the finish.  I came into a turn a little hot and threw the bike sideways; my wheel actually dug in and tried to wreck me.  I did save it but Brandon got by; we battled to the finish and I did get side by side a couple of times, but in the end I finished up a close 3rd.  Congratulations to Bill and Brandon for a good ride, and to all the fans who were cheering me on.

My teammate Mark Notman got off to a great start going into the woods in 3rd.  He got into a good rhythm and halfway through the 1st lap moved into 2nd, and started pushing for the leader.  Mark started getting arm pump and started having trouble holding on, so he slowed the pace and tried to work it out.  He got passed for 2nd but his arm pump was gone, so he tried to pick the pace up and battle back.  The 4th place rider was right on him on the last lap as he tried to stay cool and make no mistakes.  He was passed as they were battling through some lappers, and finished just short of the podium in 4th place in the XC2 Pro Am class and 17th overall.  All in all it was a good points day.

The National Guard Yokley Racing Team had a good weekend.  It was hot and humid, and fitness played a large part of the success.  I want to throw a big thanks out to Marc Spataro and Moto Pro Training for all his help and guidance.  Marc has developed a fitness program for Mark Notman and me that has allowed us to push hard all day, no matter what the conditions.  I want to keep him a secret, but that wouldn’t be fair!  I also want to thank the KY National Guard for their neat displays, support, and providing the Color Guard presentations; without the Guard’s support, I would not be where I am.  We go to Yadkinville, NC in 3 weeks, and it should be good and hot there.  I can’t wait and I’ll see you there.

Click the link below to read the article:

http://www.trackdaymag.com/Article.aspx?id=1842

Excerpts:

« Obviously, Elka has hit upon a genius plan to satisfy their customers.  By ensuring that each shock is custom-built, they’ve eliminated the costly tuning phase that riders face when they buy from the competition.  (…) If you’ve ever thrown big money at an aftermarket shock and then wondered why it didn’t feel all that much better than stock, you’re a prime candidate for Elka’s way of doing business.  The best part is that a gleaming red, custom-made shock doesn’t really cost any more than buying gold or blue off the rack.  In a world where tailor-made is usually reserved for the ultra rich, we like Elka’s unique strategy.»

« Having owned yellow and blue in the past, we’re blown away by upstart red Elka and their new attitude of bringing custom suspension tuning to each and every customer.  The results are simply shocking! »

First weekend, First Points. CMV 600 Series. Triumph 675

On the 17th May 2008, Juliá Olivé agreed to join the ranks of Catalan Sports Bikes and be the premier racer of “Mundo Motero racing”. What had been planned for 2008 to be a “just for fun” (and experience) team had now stepped up to the grid.

With little time for bike preparation and training, things have been hectic. One “rained off” track training (oil on 2 corners) and no places the following weekend sent us into the first race weekend with 0 hours between the new bike and the new rider.

Thursday the 28th May saw the two together for the first time. An extra training day in Cartagena, Juliá bonded with the Daytona from the first lap. Steadily knocking seconds off his lap times until we were already hitting 1,42s on only the second session. The new ELKA rear shock arrived in the afternoon and was mounted. With an even better feeling for the bike we finished the day on a high.

Friday the 29th and the arrival of the CVM caravan and all the competition teams. Things went well with steady laps in the first session, however a “first corner low side” crash saw little damage to the bike, thanks to the excellent protection from “GPR” and “R&G” products and also the stability of the “SKIDMARX” race
plastics. However team confidence took a slight hit, were we ready to race in this hotly contested competition?

The second session saw good lap’s times on a very slippy and very technical circuit, we knew there was more to come with a little set up work on Saturday.

Saturday the 30th May, the weather gods were not smiling on us….or were they? To say it was raining is to say the Atlantic is a big pond. On went the wet weather suit and on went the “full wets”. First qualifying saw the Daytona 675 3rd on the grid with only 30 mins of wet training to its name. A fantastic result for the team with some very good confident riding from Juliá. The second session saw even more rain with no-one improving on the morning times. With only 5 hours on the bike Juliá had managed to put the Triumph on the front row of the 600 competition that is second in Spain only to the national Supersport. With the other 2 675´s placed 27th and 28th on the grid, this is possibly the first time in Spain that 3 Triumphs have lined up.

Sunday 1st May. Race Day and the sun was out. Quite a stir on the grid as not only was a Triumph on the front row, but a Triumph sporting 2 new products to the CMV 600 series competition, ContiRaceAttack competition tyres and ELKA race shocks had proven they belong on the front row of top motorcycle competition in Spain.

Red lights off and a fantastic start for the Triumph, 3rd to first in 60 metres, however with so little testing time with the bike, Juliá faced the impossible task of holding off the faster teams. Hanging in and working
hard on a bike that needs a lot more development work he rode a fantastic race to cross the line in 8th place. 8 points in the first race weekend is a great result and a credit to the whole team.

Mark Eaton
Team manager
Catalan Sports Bikes S.L.
Barcelona, Spain