Nearly 275 cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs from 22 U.S. States, Eight countries
Including 34 SCORE Trophy-Trucks expected for March 13 desert race in Mexico

LOS ANGELES—As pre-running over the rugged race course starts Saturday for next month’s 24th Annual MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, a growing field that includes many of the world’s best desert racers have entered this popular spring race. Attracting entries from 22 states and eight countries, the lineup includes a race-record 34 entries in SCORE Trophy-Truck, the marquee racing division for high-tech, 800-horsepower unlimited production trucks.

Round 2 of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series will be held March 12-14 in Mexico’s picturesque fishing village of San Felipe, located 120 miles south of the U.S. border on the East side of the Baja California peninsula along the azure waters of the tranquil Sea of Cortez.
With nearly 275 entries expected, which would be in the top five in race history, competition will be held in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes in the 232-mile race. The green flag will drop at 6 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, March 13, for the motorcycle and ATV classes, followed three hours later by the car and truck classes at approximately 10 a.m. local time. The start and finish line for the race will once again be the landmark San Felipe Arches on Highway 5 on the outskirts of San Felipe. One vehicle will start every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race, with a 10-hour time limit to become an official finisher.
Following January’s season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series will visit Mexico for the first of three races in 2010.
“This year’s 24th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 is quickly shaping up to be one of the top five races in the great history of this popular SCORE Baja race,” said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO/President. “SCORE has never had more cooperation from the Mexican authorities, the course is Baja spectacular and we are getting a superb entry list—all the ingredients that should add up to another amazing SCORE Baja race.”
This year’s race will use a similar 232-mile race course as the past two years with a few modifications other than those caused by weather conditions. Running in a counter clockwise direction out of San Felipe up to and then parallel to Highway 3 (south side) and then south back down through three of the most picturesque and challenging washes in all of Baja.
After the start at the landmark San Felipe Arches, the race will proceed north towards Zoo Road. The area approaching the Zoo Road crossing has been bladed again, which makes it a safer approach to the popular spectator area. That area will again be fenced, have grandstands and a jump and will be patrolled so that spectators can watch the action but not put themselves in way of the action.
For the first time the course will travel east of instead of on the graded Morelia Road (after the Zoo Road junction) to the entrance to Matomi Wash. This will be one of the few times that SCORE will run through the majestic Matomi Wash before the other washes instead of following the others. After Matomi, the challenging course will run through two more of the infamous Baja canyons—Huatomote and Chanate before heading back Northwest for the final sprint to the finish line.
SCORE Trophy-Trucks have won 14 overalls in San Felipe in their 16-year history. Southern California’s Mark Post/Jerry Whelchel in 1997 and San Diego’s son/father team of Andy and Scott McMillin (2005) have the only two Class 1 wins since SCORE created the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division in 1994.
Both teams are now racing in SCORE Trophy-Truck where Post has two class and overall 4-wheel wins and the McMillins will be looking for their third consecutive SCORE Trophy-Truck race win and overall victory having won last year’s season-ending Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 and this year’s season-opening SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge.
In all nine of last year’s 10 SCORE Trophy-Truck finishers are entered led by runner-up Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., the NASCAR Cup team owner/driver who won last year’s SCORE Trophy-Truck and SCORE Overall season point championship in the No. 1 Team Gordon Chevy CK1500.
Post was third last year with Rob MacCachren (who will drive the No. 20 Chevy Sivlerado this year) in the No. 3 Ford F-150 while fourth was the team of Chet Huffman, Northridge, Calif./Jerry Welchel, Portola Hills, Calif. (No. 40 Chevy C1500) and fifth was Adam Householder, Orange, Calif. (No. 24 Chevy Silverado).
Sixth last year in SCORE Trophy-Truck was Las Vegas’ B.J. Baldwin (No. 97 Chevy Silverado) while the balance of the SCORE Trophy-Truck finishers were Las Vegas’ Troy Herbst (No. 49 Ford F-150), Robbie Pierce, Santee, Calif. (No. 30 Chevy Silverado), Greg Nunley, Visalia, Calif. (No. 10 Chevy Silverado) and Ed Stout, Santa Ana, Calif. (No. 13 Chevy Silverado).
Desert racers Ron Whitton of Arizona and Southern California’s Robby Bell received the first starts for four-wheel and two-wheel vehicles in the computerized drawing for starting positions held Feb. 13. Whitton races in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division while Bell competes in Class 22 for open motorcycles.
Drawing the first starting slot for the unlimited Class 1 open-wheel desert race cars was Germany’s Armin Schwarz and teammate Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif. Riding the first ATV off the line will be Class 25 team led by Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif.
With a race-record 34 entries so far in the marquee SCORE racing division for 800 horsepower, unlimited production trucks, Whitton, 66, owner of one of the largest plumbing contractor companies in Arizona, will lead a strong field in SCORE Trophy-Truck that features many of the world’s top desert racers in the No. 39 Whitton Companies Ford F-150.  Whitton, Mesa, Ariz., and his co-driver Chas Dana were fifth and 10th respectively in last year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.
Last year’s overall motorcycle and ATV winners are entered this year. Last year’s overall motorcycle champion was the Johnny Campbell Racing Honda team of Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif./Tim Weigand, Santa Clarita, Calif. on the No. 1x Honda CRF450X and the Overall ATV winners were the team of Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif./Harold Goodman Jr., Brownstown, Mich./Josh Caster, El Cajon, Calif., on the No. 1a Honda TRX700X.  Norman’s team will start seventh in Motorcycles while Matlock’s squad will be the first ATV off the line.
Bell, 24, of Sun City, Calif., who left the factory Honda team at the end of 2008 after winning the two-wheel overall title in San Felipe three straight years (2006, 2007, 2008), returns to San Felipe for the first time since on a Kawasaki, leading a two-motorcycle Bruce Penhall Motorsports charge to Baja on the No. 2x Kawasaki KX450F. His co-rider, also a former Honda champion, is legendary SCORE Baja racer Steve Hengeveld, 34, Oak Hills, Calif., who was the overall San Felipe motorcycle winner for four straight year’s with Honda icon Johnny Campbell (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004).
Kawasaki will have factory-supported entries in San Felipe for this first time since 1996 and will attempt to break the JCR Honda dynasty which has won 12 of the last 13 SCORE San Felipe 250 races.
In the first 23 years of this race, Honda has earned 14 overall motorcycle victories (including the last four years), Kawasaki has six, KTM has two and Husqvarna has one.
As of today, SCORE Trophy-Truck had the most entries with 34, followed by the unlimited Class 1 with 19 and Class 1-2/1600 with 12. While 208 entries have been received to date, late registration will be accepted up until race morning and as many as 100 additional entries are expected.
Among the motorcycle classes, the open Class 22 has the most vehicles entered to date with 11.
Besides the K. Norman and Matlock teams, the other defending class winners entered this year are: Ronny Wilson, Long Beach, Calif. (Class 1), Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif. (Class 10), Marc Burnett, Chula Vista, Calif. (Class 6), Jose Canchola Jr., Mexicali, Mexico (Class 7 but has switched to Class 6), Dave Crinklaw, Reedley, Calif. (Class 8), Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico (Class 11), Gavin Skilton, Anaheim, Calif. (Stock Mini), Mike Johnson, El Paso, Texas (Class 30), Jim O’Neal, Simi Valley, Calif. (Class 50), Craig Christy, Burbank, Calif. (Class 24), Reid Rutherford, Montrose, Colo. (Class 26 but has switched to Class 7-2) and returning with SCORE Trophy-Truck regular Cameron Steele as rider of record is Brian Campbell, Bakersfield, Calif. (Class 40).
Christy, last season’s SCORE Overall and Class 24 ATV season point champion, has also entered a team that he will lead this year in Class 25 as well, seeking a pair of class wins in San Felipe.
Also returning this year to defend his Sportsman class race victory for the third straight year among those entered so far is Sportsman Car winner Peter Lang, Santa Rosa, Calif.
The pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and tech inspection of the vehicles in the race will be held on Friday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the picturesque Malecon, flanked by the Sea of Cortez on one side and the popular restaurants and night clubs of San Felipe on the other.
At 10 a.m. on Sunday (March 14), the awards celebration will be held in front of The Beachcomber Night Club on the Malecon.
At the 24th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250, MasterCraft Racing has entered not only company owner Robbie Pierce’s No. 30 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck, but also the No. 20 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck to be driven by eight-time SCORE season class point champion Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas and the No. 42 Chevy Silverado driven by Will Staats, Valencia, Calif. All three trucks were built by prominent chassis builder Mike Julson’s Jimco Racing Products of Santee, Calif. Julson is listed as a co-driver for both Pierce and MacCachren for this race, if needed.
The MasterCraft racers will not be eligible to win any part of the special $10,000 MasterCraft Safety cash contingency bonus purse MasterCraft Safety has offered for this year’s San Felipe race.
In San Felipe, Pierce will start fourth, MacCachren 21st and Staats 25th in the massive SCORE Trophy-Truck field.
A new attraction this year during the pre-running window will be the San Felipe Tequila Festival March 5-7.
In addition to season class point championships, drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also racing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings as well as earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all car and truck class drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season.  Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 25th consecutive year, a total of 59 drivers remain eligible after Round 1 of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series. Racers are also competing for the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards, including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year award.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant and Red Bull-official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, MasterCraft Safety, Blue C Advertising, Off-Road, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
Associate sponsors for the MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 are the Tourism and Convention Bureau of Mexicali/San Felipe and Cotuco. Additional sponsors in Baja are the Office of the Secretary of Tourism of Baja California and ProTurismo de Ensenada.
The race annually provides a greater economic impact to San Felipe than the popular month-long ‘Spring Break’.
For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2010 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

24th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250
Round 2 of five-race 2010 SCORE Desert Series
March 12-14, 2010—232.0 miles
San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico
Total Entries: 207 (as of 2/22/10)
(from 22 States, Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, Mexico)

PRO MOTORCYCLES
CLASS 22 (11)
2x Robby Bell
3x Colton Udall
4x Ivan Ramirez
5x Ryan Penhall
6x Bret Freeman
7x Cory Evenson
1x Kendall Norman
9x Cameron Corfman
10x A.J. Stewart
11x Chad Hubbard
12x Chuck Neugebauer
CLASS 21 (2)
101x Jesus J. Gonzalez
102x David Gonzalez Jr.
CLASS 20 (4)
150x Jesus Rios
151x Manuel Reyes
152x Joey Black
169x Anna Cody
CLASS 30 (5)
301x Javier Hernandez
302x Jim O’Neal
300x Mike Johnson
304x William Peel
305x Sol Saltzman
CLASS 40 (7)
401x Peter Hardy
402x Louie Franco
403x Duane Dickinson
404x Tom Vogt
405x Henrik Andersen
406x Cameron Steele
449x Terry Peregoodoff
CLASS 50 (4)
501x Ryan Armitage
502x Charlie Marshall
518x Jose Chavez
500x Jim O’Neal
CLASS 60 (2)
608x Donald Lewis
609x William Rogers

PRO ATVs
CLASS 25 (5)
1a Wayne Matlock
2a Javier Robles
3a Fernando Huerta
4a Craig Christy
5a Josh Edwards
CLASS 24 (12)
101a Abraham Romero
102a Roberto Ruiz
103a Victor Lopez
100a Craig Christy
105a Alonso Ruiz
106a Brandon Brown
107a Luis Berumen
108a Adrian Valdez
109a Marco Marrujo
110a Heriberto Marquez
111a Carlos Jimenez
112a Oscar Arce
CLASS 26 (0)

SPORTSMAN
SPT CAR (4)
1400 Peter Lang
1401 Wendell Mortensen
1402 Shawn Hamlin
1403 George Jackson
SPT TRUCK (3)
1500 Joe Aguayo
1501 Nick Tonelli
1502 Brent Downing
SPT UTV (6)
1801 Robert Viau Sr.
1800 Thomas Graves
1803 Dave Roberts
1804 Sergio Castillo
1805 Michael McCulley
1806 Peter Hajas
SPT M/C< (8)
201x Fred Sobke
202x Greg Willitts
203x Carlos Becerril
204x Carlos Valdez
205x Conrad Batham
206x Ricky de la Pena
248x Matt Ladendorf
249x Kelley DeLoach
SPT M/C> (9)
251x Salvador Sainz
252x Jimmy Boutwell
253x Tibi Imbuzan
254x Craig Anstine
255x Ty McPherson
256x Oscar Fazz
257x Joel Blocksom
258x Paul Lopez
298x Ken Kosiorek
SPT ATV (10)
51a Daniel Montano
52a Samuel Garcia
53a Brad McLean
54a Juan Dominguez
55a Efren Carrasco
56a Ciro Calderon
57a Roger Fastring
58a Jeff Sanca
59a Bill Hackler
99a Gustavo Ameca

Morgantown, W.Va. (February 23, 2010) – Racer Productions, producers of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, is happy to announce that pit pastor Chuck Lemaster and Team Faith will again lead chapel services at all 13 rounds of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series.

“After just one year, it seemed that the GNCC racers and crew were already family,” Lemaster said. “The off-season is just too long! We’re really looking forward to the season opener in Florida and anxious to see what God has in store for 2010. ”

Team Faith has become a familiar name in action sports over the past 15 years. Founded in 1994, the original vision was to provide spiritual guidance to pro athletes on the Pro Watercraft Racing series. Since then, Team Faith has expanded to provide chapel services at X Games, Dew Tour, Arenacross and more. In 2009, Team Faith began providing chapel services at the GNCC series.

Team Faith will host chapel services on both Saturday and Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m. at the Team Faith rig now located on vendor row. The services are “non-denominational” and everyone is welcome to attend. Chuck can be reached at chuck@teamfaith.com.

The 2010 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series kicks off on February 27- March 2 as part of Daytona Bike Week at the Westgate River Ranch Resort in River Ranch, Florida, with the Parts Unlimited River Ranch GNCC. ATVs race on Sunday, February 28, and bikes race on Tuesday, March 2.

For more information, check out the official series website at www.GNCCRacing.com or call 304-284-0084.

“I am glad and proud to welcome our world champion, Marvin Musquin and the whole Team KTM HDI and I wish them all the best for the coming season,” said Reinhold Zens of KTM France in his welcome address.

The extremely talented Musquin, who is out to defend his MX2 World Championship title and is also French national champion, joined the Orange line-up in mid season 2009 and made a huge impact on the track over the rest of the season.

Team KTM HDI includes the talented young French rider Valentin Teillet, who is no stranger to the KTM machines after his first season in the MX2 World Championship last season followed a runaway success in the European Championship class, Matthias Bellino and the 2008 women’s world champion French rider Livia Lancelot. Team managers are Frédéric Bezombes and Francis Aspe supported by technicians Alexis Tabert and Johan Gros.

Lancelot is the closest rival of Red Bull KTM factory rider and reigning world champion Steffi Laier of Germany. With both women onboard KTM bikes in 2010, it sets the scene for an amazing face-off on the track in this competition.

“I am from Georgia, so this is definitely one of the rounds where I felt most comfortable,” commented Bobbitt. “I wasn’t as fast and aggressive as I needed to be to get the win today. I know what I need to work on and I plan to come back stronger for the third round.”

Buttrick, who has been using the first two National Enduro rounds as a warm-up to the GNCC Series was thrilled to take home a win. “I am really excited to win this enduro. Earning a win here definitely helps my confidence as I head to Florida for the first GNCC round. I had fun these first two rounds and hope to return to the National Enduro Series in a few weeks.

Two rounds into the series Buttrick holds the points led with Bobbitt 9 points behind in third.

Results
POS.    RIDER    MANUFACT.    NAT.
1     Cory Buttrick    KTM
2    1 Russell Bobbitt    KTM
3     Mike Lafferty    Husaberg
4     Charles Mullins    Yamaha
5     Glenn Kearney    Husqvarna

Standings
POS.    RIDER    MANUFACT.    NAT.    POINTS
1     Cory Buttrick    KTM        55
2     Charles Mullins    Yamaha        48
3    1 Russell Bobbitt    KTM        46
4     Mike Lafferty    Husaberg        39
5     Nick Fahringer    Husaberg        31

Next Round: Alligator Enduro, March 4, 2010

The night was a good one for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. Austin Stroupe started the night out with his Yoshimura-prepped Suzuki RM-Z250, taking the top spot in his heat race in the first round of the Eastern Regional Lites class. Stroupe’s bike was kicking out some serious power and he was ready to take on the competition in the main event, where he made easy work of the field and took the second spot as the checkered flag flew. Stroupe earned 22 points toward the overall championship with his podium finish, and set the precedent for the remaining races that he’s hunting for a championship.

Ryan Dungey, on his Yoshimura-prepped Suzuki RM-Z450, went into Saturday’s race determined to stay atop the leader board where he was tied for first place. His bike has been spot-on in the power department, and his results throughout the night proved that. Dungey took second in his heat race, and he was ready to put on a show in the main event. At the start of the race, Dungey set to work picking off riders and moving up in position. After making a few key passes, Dungey sat in second spot behind the leader. With a technical track that allowed very little passing, Dungey finished the race in second and earned enough points to stay tied for the overall lead in the series.

Honda Red Bull Racing’s Davi Millsaps was in fourth place overall in points at the drop of the gate in Indianapolis, and with the work he put in on his Yoshimura-fitted Honda CRF450R he remains in that spot. Millsaps finished fifth in the main event as he kept a steady pace throughout 20 grueling laps.

Round 8 of the Supercross series will take place February 27 at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. Look for the Yoshimura-fitted bikes to be on the box again at the next race.

Austin Stroupe took second in the first race of the Eastern Regional Lites class.

Davi Millsaps has been riding solidly this year and is fourth in points overall after his fifth-place finish in Indy.

Trey Canard filled in on the CRF450R for the injured Andrew Short, but was unable to finish the race.

Ryan Dungey took his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z450 to a second-place finish in Indianapolis.

Caselli started the weekend well winning the Individual Pro race during Saturday’s main event. Caselli started 3rd around the first turn and then took the lead part way into the first lap. He led each lap of the race until he crossed the checkered flag lapping all but four riders by the end of the race. In addition to Caselli’s Individual Pro race win he also won the Unclassified race well fellow KTM rider Colton Sanders won the Open A and 4-Stroke A class.

On Sunday, an estimated crowd of 30,000 spectators lined the streets of Adelanto for the highly popular team race. The team race starts LeMan’s style with one team member holding the bike while the other has to run to the bike, jump on and take off before the others. They then proceed to switch off each lap until the end of the race.

Caselli and Ritzman nailed the holeshot when Caselli was the first to run to his bike, press the electric start button on his KTM 450 XC-F and pin it to the first turn. From the start of the race to the finish, the KTM team led it all, eventually stretching out their lead to over 4 minutes. The KTM Team averaged a speed of 60 mph on the 6 mile course which included fast paced paved and dirt roads, a water jump and a small motocross section. “This was the scariest race I have participated in my life because the people and objects just seem to jump out in front of you at all times. And, it is so fast,” commented Ritzman. “But at the same time I can also say it is the most fun I have had in a while and I am happy that Kurt and I came away with the win.”

Caselli was equally satisfied with the team win, “Our bike was the fastest bike hands down. When you have a great product behind you the rest came easy. Brenden was a great teammate, he was on it all day long and our bike set-up is similar which it made it really easy to switch back and forth. I was happy to come out to this event and take the win. My goal this year is to get back to my roots and participate in many of the local desert races – this one was my first priority,” stated Caselli.

Both riders will spend the week practicing in California before heading to Primm, NV for the second round of the WORCS this Sunday.

FUNDRAISING RAFFLE FOR ORBA AT THEIR “KINGDOM PARTY” AT

THE 2010 KING OF THE HAMMERS RACE.

BAKERSFIELD, CA (FEBRUARY 16, 2009) –On Wednesday night February 10, 2010 King Off-Road Racing Shocks held a” Kingdom Party” in the Pirate 4×4 tent at the 2010 King of The Hammer Race. In honor on the worlds toughest one-day off-road race King transformed the Pirate 4×4 lounge into the ‘Kingdom Party” tent. A live band started jamming at 8pm and fabulous prizes were raffled off in between sets.

Proceeds from the raffle were donated to ORBA. We would like to thank King Off-Road Racing Shocks, the King of the Hammers promoters, Pirate 4×4 and the generous companies that donated product to make this event possible. Approximately $3000 was raised to help in the effort to keep off-road areas open for responsible recreation.

ORBA would like to thank the following people for their generous donation to this event. Together we can all make a difference!

B.F. Goodrich                         Mikes Race Photo.com Desolate Fabrication

Kartek                                     BDR                                                    PSC Steering

Magnaflow Exhaust                PCI Race Radios                                Total Chaos

Master Pull                             Off-Road Evolution                             4 Wheel Parts

Currie Enterprises                  Funco Motorsports                             Spidertrax

Traxxas                                  GenRight Motorsports                        Trail Gear

Pit Bull Tires                           Vision X                                              Off-Road Magazine

Ruff Stuff Specialties              Sway-a-way                                        Goodyear tires

4WD Toyota Owners Magazine

The night didn’t start the way Ryan Villopoto had exactly hoped, but the end result was perfect.  Round seven of the Monster Energy Supercross series saw Ryan Villopoto standing at the top of the podium for the third time this year but only after having to qualify through the Last Chance Qualifier.  His first place finish vaults him into a tie for the overall series lead with Saturday night’s runner up, Ryan Dungey.  Villopoto has a reputation for gaining momentum throughout the season and at this point there is no reason to think he isn’t the favorite.  No matter what, Supercross fans are in store for a terrific battle to see who will come out on top in 2010.

Courtesy of VitalMX

With the West Coast Lites class taking a couple months off, the Indy SX offered fans their first glimpse at the East Coast Lites class.  With the first round in the books, one thing everyone can agree on is that Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel will no doubt be the favorite moving into Atlanta next week.  Pourcel dominated throughout the evening and is off to a great start to defend his 2009 East Coast Lites championship.

Next week, the Monster Energy Supercross series moves to Atlanta and that coincides with the return of Thor TV.  Check thormx.com and the Thor MX – Facebook account throughout the week, as we will be adding never before seen footage from the first three episodes of Thor TV.  Updates on the official guest list for Atlanta SX will be posted throughout the week on Facebook.

The Supercross season is closing in on the halfway point and the first half has produced some of the best racing action we have seen in years.  Make sure to follow Thor MX on Facebook, YouTube, and follow our website for daily updates on everything Thor MX.

Spokane, Wash. (February 22, 2010) – The first round of the Monster Energy AMA 250 East Supercross Series and the seventh round of the 450 Supercross class was this past weekend in Indianapolis, IN.  A new level of excitement was injected into the series as a solid group of returning veterans was mixed with an exciting new batch of rookies.  One of those veterans, Ryan Sipes, made the statement that he is here to contend for the title.

After qualifying third in practice, Sipes went out and posted a solid second place finish in heat number two, just three seconds behind defending East Champion Christophe Pourcel.  MotoConcepts racing again placed both of their 250 riders in the main as teammate Vince Friese finished eighth in heat race one.

In the 250 main, both Sipes and Friese came around the slippery first corner clean with Sipes in fifth and Friese in tenth.  Friese went on to tangle with another rider and after picking himself back up he managed to finish 17^th overall for the night.  The Missouri native will head to Atlanta next week looking to get back into the top ten.

The Kentucky native Sipes began his charge toward the front and moved into third place for the second half of the main.  Everything looked positive for Sipes to grab a podium spot until the last couple turns of the final lap, were lapped riders dramatically slowed his progress and allowed the rookie Justin Barcia to pass.  It was a frustrating conclusion to the main, but overall a positive start to the season for Sipes.

“It was great to see all four of our riders again advance to their respective main events and there was a lot of excitement in our pits after Ryan finished second in his heat,” commented Team Manager Michael Young.  “Having the podium spot swiped out with literally fifty yards to go stung, but we know Ryan will be back and is determined to get on the box.”

In the 450 class, both Dan Reardon and Kyle Chisholm advanced to the main, with Chisholm fifth and Reardon eighth, in heat race two.  Reardon hit the deck halfway through the main and called it a night to finish 19^th.  Chisholm battled with a difficult one-line track and managed to finish 14^th overall.  After seven rounds,   Chisholm sits in 11^th for the series and is only nine points away from ninth overall, held by an injured Andrew Short.  Both riders will be back for round eight next Saturday night in Atlanta, looking to get back into the top ten.