So, another week has been and gone, and with it, a lot of news has emerged from the world of motocross! Some vital tidbits of information have been revealed over the last seven days, so it has been an interesting week. The MX Vice ‘Weekly Wrap Up’ is the best place to catch up on all of that news, so let’s get into it.
Dean Ferris and Yamaha Part Ways:
In recent weeks, there have been quite a few rumours suggesting that Dean Ferris and the Bike It Cosworth Yamaha team have parted ways. Well, finally, it has been announced that this is actually true, and they will no longer be working together. So, Ferris will be racing in the USA next year. However, it has not been officially announced what squad he will be on yet. But, we are almost certain that he will fill the second 250f spot on the Red Bull KTM team (alongside Marvin Musquin), which would be great for him, in my opinion. We expect to receive official confirmation regarding his new team in the next couple of days.
Motocross Movie Magic:
I am sure that, by now, you all would of heard of the Moto the Movie series. If not, then you really need to get a copy of the latest installment, Moto 5. Moto 5 was released on Tuesday, and has immediately become very popular within the industry. I personally couldn’t wait for it to be released; I watched it straight away! You can read my Moto 5 movie by clicking here. If you want to get yourself a copy, you can order one off of MotoX Cinema, or buy one off of iTunes. On iTunes, it costs just ten pounds for the HD version, which is great!
The Final Piece of the TwoTwo Puzzle:
Slowly, details regarding Chad Reed and his 2014 program are starting to emerge, following months of speculation. On the PulpMX Show this week, the Australian revealed that he will be on a Kawasaki in 2014. Although, he hasn’t signed a contract with the manufacturer yet, it is unlikely that this will change. Chad revealed that he came close to riding a KTM as well, but he went off the idea, as they got further down the line. It was also announced a couple of weeks ago that team TwoTwo will be named Discount Tire Racing, as Discount Tire have come on as a title sponsor.
Controversy Down Under:
In the past, there has always been a bit of controversy surrounding the final standings in the Terex Australian Supercross series, it seems, and 2013 was exactly the same! Brock McLeary was not confirmed as the Junior Lites champ until the Tuesday following the finale, after the timing and scoring caused some confusion, for example. In the Pro Open main, Josh Hill was at the centre of some controversy, following a run in with Jake Moss. Jake took Hill out after running off the track, which caused most to wonder whether he did that to hand Matt Moss (his brother) the title.
However, a lot of people seemed to forget that Jake was also in contention for the title – he went into the final two points behind Matt! So, if it were intentional, he would have done it to try and get the title himself, right? If you watch it closely, it wasn’t actually Jake that took Josh out, it was tuff-block he hit. So, in my opinion, I don’t think it was intentional at all. The Pro Lites class was the one class without any controversy, as Luke Styke took home the title, despite going into the last round five points down on Gavin Faith. But Gavin had a bad start, and crashed in the main, which ultimately handed the Australian the championship.
RIP Kurt Caselli – An Off-Road Legend:
At the weekend, the motocross community was hit by the devastating news that Kurt Caselli had sadly passed at the Baja 1000 in Mexico. Kurt was an off-road legend – he has been very successful in many different disciplines. Kurt had enjoyed success in Hare and Hound, GNCC, the ISDE and WORCS, which is where he made his name. Most recently, he had begun to put his stamp on the rally-racing scene; he looked set to master that discipline too. However, he crashed whilst leading the Baja 1000, which had fatal consequences. RIP Kurt Caselli.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered:
In more Matt Moss news, the Australian has re-signed with the Motul Pirelli Suzuki team for 2014. Interestingly, the deal includes a brief trip to the USA, where Matt will compete in the 450SX class aboard an RMZ450f. In his first full season aboard the big bike, he has won both the Motocross and Supercross titles; so his debut with the squad has been successful. In the Terex Australian Supercross championship, Moss proved to be just as fast as Josh Hill, which indicates that he could be competitive in the opening four AMA Supercross rounds.
The Standing Construct KTM team is going into 2014 with an all-new lineup – they confirmed this week that Valentin Guillod would race for them in the MX2 class. Interestingly, the press release stated that he would contest other selected races that fit into their schedule, as well. Besides Valentin, Damon Graulus and Yannick Vertommen will be beneath the team awning.
The MX1 class in the Maxxis British Championship is going to be stacked with talent in 2014. Talon Kawasaki is adding more international flavour to the series, as they have acquired the services of Yentel Martens. Yentel already made an appearance in the UK earlier this year at a round of the Phoenix Tools Championship. But, Martens succumbed to an ACL injury just a few days after that, which ruled him out for the remainder of the year. Yentel could be a big surprise next year, so remember the name.
Words by Lewis Phillips
Image courtesy of KTM Images/Simon Cudby
