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The house was packed with with more than 40,000 fans in Anaheim, California for round three of the AMA Supercross
Series. Rockstar Energy Hart and Huntington Honda SX team rider Troy Adams made the final twenty man field and raced his way to 15th place.
Hart and Huntington Team Rider Troy Adams
“I felt good all day and the track was really tough,” said Adams. “With the help of my mechanic and the whole team, I felt like I had a good night. We also learned new things.” Adams is now 21st overall in series points. Hart and Huntington team rider Josh Hansen had a few crashes and arm pump problems. He failed to make the final event.
Hart and Huntington Team Rider Josh Hansen in Anaheim, California
Freestyle pioneer and Hart and Huntington Team Owner Carey Hart
The opening round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series also took place in Anaheim, where team riders Troy Adams and Josh Hansen both experienced trouble and failed to qualify for the main event. Adams had a few bad starts and a first turn crash as Hansen’s opening night arm pump did him in.
Although the team has had a few mishaps throughout the season so far, the riders are prepared for top ten finishes throughout the Monster Energy Supercross Series. The team is owned by freestyle pioneer and celebrity Carey Hart.
Adams and Hansen are currently running prototype designs of K&N’s XStream Series Air
Filter for the 2009 Honda CRF450. The 2009 Honda CRF450 has a much larger airbox to increase horsepower and torque while providing excellent filtration.
“We need to be better as a team and I think we will be,” said Team Manager Kenny Watson. “I’m happy with Troy’s finish but I know he can do better and Josh will be on it next weekend in Houston, Texas.”
El Gato Racing’s Shawn Walters took first place in the M.O.R. E. (Mojave Off-Road Racing Enthusiast) Series. The team was awarded its second 1st place championship trophy in two years in the 1450 Sportsman Class division.
Mojave Off Road Racing Enthusiast Series Racer wins 1450 Sportsman Class Division
El Gato Racing is based in Big Bear Lake, California
“We are so excited to receive another trophy,” said Shawn Walters. “Our 1985 Chevrolet 1500 truck puts out just over 400 horsepower with its 350 crate motor. My dad Carl can tear engines apart and put them back together. I take care of suspension and fabrication.”
El Gato Racing competes in Barstow, California and the Lucerne Valley in San Bernardino County
1985 Chevrolet 1500 truck puts out just over 400 horsepower
Shawn Walters is from Big Bear Lake, California. He is a snowboarder and wake boarder in this mountain resort community. Walters also wanted to be a desert racer and started out on a pit crew for SCORE and CORR racing trucks.
“The combined experience on the slopes and in the pits gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dream,” he said. “My sense of balance helps me with the controls on a desert racer. We also plan to introduce a new truck into the 1400 class in 2009.” El Gato’s 1989 Ford Ranger will enter the 1400 class in selected B.I.T.D (Best in the Desert) and SCORE Desert Racing Series venues. It is a 302 powered 4 link Ford Ranger which cycles 21 inches in the front and 16 inches in the rear.
El Gato puts K&N products on all of its vehicles. “K&N protects our engines in extreme desert racing,” said Walters. “I have K&N on my chase vehicle, our racing vehicle and my 1998 Ford F150 with a 4.8 liter V8 engine. K&N makes all of our engines breathe, whether we are at high elevation or in the desert.”
Walters’ will next compete in Barstow, California at a M.O.R.E. Series race.
The Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio hosted the top AMA Arenacross racers in the country. The pros competed in the first once-race weekend of the 2009 season in front of a sold-out house.
AMA Arenacross Round Four at Broadbent Arena in Louisville, Kentucky, photo by Will Pattison
Team Babbitt’s Kawasaki rider Chad Johnson took second place in his heat race and went on to finish 6th in the main. The Rhienlander, Wisconsin resident is the AMA Arenacross defending series champion and two-time title holder. Johnson has been a full time Arenacross competitor since 2001 and has arguably logged more laps on the challenging, technical layouts than any of his competitors.
Team Babbitt's Kawasaki is ready for the world's best AMA Arenacross competitors, photo by Will Pattison
Team Babbitt uses K&N products during competiton. “We dyno tested K&N air filter (KA-2506XD),” said Team Manager Denny Bartz. “The result was one horsepower gain. That is a huge amount in
Arenacross racing.”
Team Babbitt’s lites rider Leighton Lilly finished sixth in his heat and eleventh overall, which was a great weekend for him at the Nutter Center.
Bartz is working on replacing the injured Kelly Smith, who is expected to sit out the rest of the season with a broken leg. Smith has raced professional since 1998. He has been a part of both AMA Motocross and AMA Supercross. He was a preseason favorite, but was ultimately unable to start the season he had hoped for. Bartz will soon announce the new rider. He is looking at some of the best talent out there for his bikes.
Team Babbitt’s next race will be Round Four in Louisville, Kentucky. The series will return to its two race weekend format on the Broadbent Arena floor.
South America hosted the 31st Dakar for the first time in the race’s history. Organizers changed the location from Africa to South America in 2009. The 2008 event was cancelled because of terrorist activity along the race’s route in Mauritania. Organizers were determined to have a rally in 2009.
Michel De Groot drove the Mc Rae Enduro in the 2009 Dakar Rally
One of the best Dutch female drivers, Gaby Uljee, navigated through 9,000 km of different terrain in South America for the Dakar Rally
Nearly 850 racers with 500 vehicles spent their last day before the
January race in the Argentine capital readying for an extreme adventure between two oceans. The round trip started and finished in Beunos Aires.
The Dutch Vicking Team used K&N filters to help get through Chile's Atacama Desert in the Dakar Rally
The 2009 Dakar started in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Patagonia, into the Andes Mountains and then Chile's Atacama Desert back to Buenos Aires
Competitors faced a number of different terrains and obstacles south to Patagonia, to the Andes Mountains and then through Chile’s Atacama Desert. Dakar Rally drivers are familiar with the problems of sand in the African desert where eight of the fifteen stages of the rally were held in previous years.
K&N sponsored racer Michel De Groot finished the Dakar twice on a motorcycle in 2006 and 2007. The Dutchman hit the South American continent in a car for the first time in 2009. He said he does not have a preference between motorcycles or cars, he just had to wait longer to race a car in the Dakar because it cost more to operate. De Groot was teamed with fellow Dutchman Gaby Uljee, a navigator who finished the Dakar in 2007. The Dutch Vicking Team car was built by Alister McRae, brother of the famous WRX champion Colin McRae.
De Groot and Uljee hit the first stage of the race in La Pampa. They faced more than 400 km of rolling routes and vast plains. The second stage of the Dakar was 837 km from Santa Rosa to Puerto Madryn and was the longest of the stages. It was full of difficult sand. De Groot has been a proud user of K&N for several years. He is familiar with the engine protection and filtration K&N filters provided through the dust, silt and sand.
The Vicking Team encountered a big change in the terrain in Patagonia with more hills, and lakes that border the route during the 694 km stage three from Puerto Madryn to Jacobacci. The Rally course was 9,000 km with seventeen stages. The Dutch team said there main goal was to finish the Dakar and they did. Overall they placed 39th and first in their class (T3).
The AMA Supercross West Coast Lites Series will host round three in Anaheim, California where Fun Center Suzuki is looking for a top ten finish.
Fun Center Suzuki Team Rider Cole Seely ready for AMA Supercross West Coast Lites Series in Anaheim, California, courtesy of TonyScavo.com
Fun Center Suzuki Team Rider Michael Lapaglia has recovered from his injuries at the AMA Supercross West Coast Lites in Phoenix, Arizona, courtesy of TonyScavo.com
Fun Center Suzuki’s Michael Lapaglia, Cole Seely and Brady Sheren had a rough start during round one of the series in front of more than 45,000 fans in Phoenix, Arizona. In the first practice session Lapaglia was hurt. Another rider smashed into him and sent them both to the ground.
Fun Center Suzuki Team Rider Brady Sheren on his 2009 Suzuki RMZ 250, courtesy of TonyScavo.com
2009 Suzuki RMZ250s equipped with K&N air and oil filters for Fun Center Suzuki Team, courtesy of TonyScavo.com
“Michael went to the mobile medical unit on site and was diagnosed with a stage two concussion,” said Gregg Lynk, Fun Center Suzuki’s Owner and Team Manager. “He ended up taking a few days off and will be ready for Anaheim.” Lapaglia finished the 2008 West Lites Series with two top ten finishes.
During heat one Sheren took a late jump off the gate and rode to 15th for a trip to the LCQ or last chance qualifiers. Sheren struggled with timing at the gate in the LCQ and finished 16th. “I know what I need to do to put my Fun Center Suzuki in the Main next time,” he said.
Seely got a great start on his 2009 Suzuki RMX 250 during heat two and came around the first turn in sixth place. He worked his way up and finished in fourth place. This was Seely’s first main event as a pro. “For my first Main Event I felt really good out there,” said Seely. “I’m looking forward to the next event and bettering my results.”
Fun Center Suzuki uses K&N air (YA-2506XD) and oil filters (KN-207). “We did a lot of product testing and K&N has the best performance products,” said Lynk. “K&N works better than anything we’ve ever used.
