Philippaerts Wins Soaking Wet Italian Championship Opener

The heavens fell at Ponte e Egola near Florence for the first round of the Italian Motocross Championship ‘Internazionali d’Italia’ but Monster Energy Yamaha’s David Philippaerts battled through the mud to record his second victory in a week. The 2008 MX1-GP World Champion collected results of 1st and 3rd in two difficult motos for the overall triumph in a race format that saw the MX1 and MX2-GP machines competing together.

The first round of four in the national series witnessed Monster Energy Yamaha at full strength and Steven Frossard shone again on the works YZ450FM to place second overall with finishes of 5th and 2nd.

“I am happy to win again and it was not an easy day,” said Philippaerts. “Even though the track was difficult I feel comfortable riding in these conditions. I had a small crash in the second moto but I recovered very well and closed a six second gap to Cairoli in two laps. Again I feel that my starts could be better but I was with the leaders both times out of the gate so there is not much work to do there.”



“I’m pretty happy but also a bit disappointed because on the second lap of the first race my goggles had steamed up and I had to throw them,” recounted Frossard. “It was very hard to ride like that because when I was near another rider I could not see a thing for the mud. If I didn’t have the goggle problem then I think I could have been in the top three. I started well in the second moto and I was happy with that.”

Anthony Boissiere was less fortunate on the third MX1-GP motorcycle and two falls on the slippery terrain ended his participation. Gautier Paulin was the first classified MX2-GP rider home in the first race but was unlucky to find his rut and path blocked by a fallen rider in the opening stages of the second. It took time for the Frenchman to retrieve his YZ250FM and then another slip when he lost the front-end on a downhill led to a retirement.

“I started well in the first moto considering we were up against the 450s but the first lap was pretty crazy! I got away again strongly in the second heat but Leok crashed right in front of me and there was nowhere to go,” he said. “It was very hard to pull the bike out from the mud and I ended up facing the wrong way. I was outside the top twenty after that and when I came off down the hill I was too far back and didn’t want to take any more risks.”

Christophe Charlier was 14th in the first moto (4th best in MX2) but was involved in the Paulin incident at the start of the second and DNF-ed. Harri Kullas was 16th (5th in MX2) and 17th (6th in MX2) and lamented some mediocre starts against a host of 450cc rivals.

Round two will take place at former GP venue Faenza, east of Bologna, next weekend and will see another full Monster Energy Yamaha line-up grace the start-gate.

Villopoto wins in Atlanta!

Thor's Ryan Villopoto took the win at the Georgia Dome in front of a capacity crows of nearly 70,000 fans. The race came down to the line with James Stewart and Chad Reed crashing out from the lead on the final lap!

Check out this highlights video from the final lap!




Results of the main

1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Ryan Dungey
3. Chad Reed
4. James Stewart
5. Trey Canard
6. Andrew Short
7. Justin Brayton
8. Kevin Windham
9. Ivan Tedesco
10. Brett Metcalfe
11. Davi Millsaps
12. Nick Wey
13. Kyle Regal
14. Chris Blose
15. Tye Simmonds
16. Matt Boni
17. Fabien Izoird
18. Mike Alessi
19. Antonio Balbi
20. Kyle Partridge

Spied: New FMX Trick!

We've just spotted this video with Cam Sinclair's mechanic Mark Monea (He used to race MX though, not just a spanner man!) practicing a new trick, the front flip 360 and it looks absolutely insane!

Laverty sticks the R1 3rd on the gird in Philip Island

New Yamaha World Superbike Team rider Eugene Laverty made an impressive debut today for his first ever World Superbike Championship race weekend. Having spent the morning’s free practice session making further adjustments to his set up, the 24yr old rider from Northern Ireland sent a clear message in the afternoon’s qualifying, the first of two over the weekend, using his 2011 R1 to its full potential to take third in the final timesheets just 0.392 seconds from front man Carlos Checa.


Laverty’s new teammate, fellow World superbike rookie Marco Melandri had a less successful day today. The 28yr old Italian rider struggled to find a good feeling with the tyres used today, resulting in him losing the front end on turn 6 and falling. Melandri wasn’t hurt in the incident and returned to complete qualifying on his number two bike but was unable to better eleventh in the timesheets, just over a second off the lead.



Eugene Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team

3rd, 1’31.969

“I’m very satisfied with my position today, I didn’t expect to be that high up in the standings although my aim was to do a 1.31 to get me through to Superpole tomorrow, so I was expecting the lap time but not the position. We learnt a bit more today for our race set up but we still need to work on a bit of consistency. Thankfully we can now focus tomorrow morning on race set up.”


Marco Melandri, Yamaha World Superbike Team

12th, 1’32.700

“It was a very bad day for me today everything seemed to be going wrong. Definitely a no meaning day, I will start fresh tomorrow! I lost the front when I was trying a harder front tyre, I had no feeling in it and suddenly it was just gone. Tomorrow we will go for a different tyre and a set up we know so we should be much better, I am confident we will be up there."

Check out Eugene Laverty clothing!

Yamaha complete WSBK Testing at Phillip Island

2011 Yamaha World Superbike riders Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri today completed the second of two days testing at the Phillip Island circuit ahead of the season opening round this coming weekend. Both riders spent the sessions working on set up to deliver consistent pace for the Australian circuit. The team achieved their target of testing all updates for the 2011 R1 race bike, and will now take a couple of days rest in preparation for the two races on Sunday 27th February.

Italian rider Marco Melandri is still recovering from his previous shoulder operation and so rode less on the final sessions to give himself enough time to rest before the weekend.


Marco Melandri, Yamaha World Superbike Team

8th, 1’32.122

“I am very happy because I feel a big improvement from my shoulder. The second day was still quite difficult though, I didn’t ride a lot as my shoulder was having some pain. The bike has made a small improvement over the last test and we have a good plan to make it even better for the race. My physical condition for the race distance is a question mark but we will see what happens on Sunday!”

FreestyleXtreme Athlete Eugene Laverty, Yamaha World Superbike Team

9th, 1’32.137

“It’s been a tough test but we’re making progress bit by bit. We’re focusing on consistency for the races, that’s been the focus since we started the test. We’ve found that now and all we need is a little bit more pace. I’m excited about the race, it’s a strange track like no other and requires a unique set up. I think it’s going to be the smart guys who are there at the end of the race.”

Don't forget to check out the official Eugene Laverty Merchandise in stock now!

Yamaha Launch new MotoGP Livery

Yamaha Factory Racing unveiled its new livery today, a day in advance of testing tomorrow at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. The team, which starts the season defending its third consecutive triple crown victory, fields a new rider in 2010 Rookie of the Year Ben Spies alongside the defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. The 2011 YZR-M1 features a Yamaha corporate blue colour scheme incorporating the iconic Yamaha speed block design.

The press conference, held at 1800 local time at the Sepang International circuit, included welcome speeches by Lin Jarvis, new te
am director Massimo Meregalli, and team manager Wilco Zeelenberg. They were joined by Shigeto Kitagawa, Masahiko Nakajima, Kouichi Tsuji and riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies.

Tomorrow's test, running from 22nd to 2 4th February is the second of three pre-season tests, with the third and final at Qatar on the 13th March in advance of the opening round of the 2011 championship the following week.

"I'm very happy to be here again preparing to start another season riding with Yamaha," said Jorge Lorenzo. "Winning the World Championship last season was an incredible feeling, but now we start again. I have a great crew and with the hard work of the Japanese engineers over the winter I feel confident we can fight for more success this year."

"We worked really hard last year to earn the seat with the Yamaha Factory team so it's a great feeling to be here alongside Jorge," commented Ben Spies. "It's obviously a special year for Yamaha with the 50th Anniversary of GP racing celebrations so I'm really stoked to be par t of it. The bike's feeling really good, we've got a few days more of testing now to really shake it down and fine tune the set up and we'll be ready to go. I'm loving the corporate blue colour scheme, I'm a big fan of the design."

"I'm proud to be here for the 2011 Yamaha Factory Racing launch and the start of a new era for the team," said Lin Jarvis, Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing Srl. "This is an important year for us being our 50th anniversary of involvement in Grand Prix racing and we start the season not only with the reigning MotoGP World Champion but also welcoming Ben Spies, last year's Rookie of the Year to the Factory Team. It's fitting that we will line up for the start of this special year in our corporate colours."

FSX Rider Alex Snow has successful night at Liverpool Supercross

The final round of the British Supercross Championship took place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool last weekend. It's was another fantastic event which saw a lot of close racing and two new champions crowned.

Lanes Kawasaki Rider Alex Snow had a good night, walking away with the 1to1 prize fund as well as finishing 5th in the main, and that was with a trip onto the deck!

Little Silver in Devon will be the first time the full Lanes Kawasaki team is out, for the first round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship. Lanes Kawasaki will be racing in every round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship, as well as the Red Bull Pro Nationals as well as a select number of other events.

Another strong weekend for German Sensation Ken Roczen in San Diego

Red Bull/KTM Team rider Ken Roczen, who set the fast lap and won his heat, suffered a poor start and two crashes before finishing a 7th overall at the San Diego Supercross held at Qualcomm Stadium.

At the beginning of the season, a top ten finish may have been exciting for the young rider in his first Supercross season. However, after coming off a podium finish at the last Lites round in Anaheim, Roczen had expected a better result at the San Diego round.

Roczen was confident all day. "I like to ride in the mud and feel that I am pretty good in these type of conditions," remarked Roczen in regards to the muddy track conditions from the light rain that remained consistent throughout the day.

The AMA decided to delay practice due to poor weather to help preserve the track. Around 4:45pm Roczen put his first laps on the track. He performed well and came out with the second fastest time. One session later, he stepped up the pace and put down the fastest lap. His quick time gave him number one gate pick in the second Lites heat.

It was in his heat where he got the crowd on their feet. He pulled a massive holeshot off the gate and led every lap of the six lap heat. Roczen crossed the checkered flag two seconds ahead of Eli Tomac.

In the main event, Roczen was hoping to duplicate his heat race holeshot. "I'm not sure what happened off the start of the main, but it didn't go well. I got a bad jump and then tried to move inside when I was hit by another rider," said Roczen. As Roczen collided with the other rider, he lost traction on the slick first corner and fell to the ground. He remounted in near last position.

As the race continued, Roczen charged as hard as he could and quickly moved from 19th to 13th by the second lap and to 11th on the third. On the fourth lap he was closing in on 10th when he slid out on the corner before the finish. He reported, "The track was so slick in spots, and unfortunately, that second crash was my fault. I just slid out trying to gain a position. The worst part was when I got up I had so much mud on my handlebars it was hard to grip."

Roczen did continue to charge forward. Although the top group had put quite a gap on the field Roczen did not stop giving it his best to gain each possible position. He quickly moved into the top ten and after the halfway point was sitting in 8th. He began closing in on Ben Evans with a few laps to go. As the race dwindled down to three laps to go, Roczen caught and passed Evans and took over 7th position. Roczen would eventually finish the race in 7th overall. "I was really disappointed in my race result tonight. I was riding well all day and was looking forward to finishing well in the main event. I had a bad start, and two crashes. It just is not where I wanted to finish. I know that I can do better and I would like to be finishing on the podium at this point in the series."

Roczen's next plan is to race the Daytona Supercross aboard the KTM 350 SX-F in the Supercross class before returning to Europe to begin training for the MX2 World Championship Series which he will start in April.

Hawkstone International: Awesome Line Up!

Former 125 and MX1 World Champion Steve Ramon is just another top star
to add his name to the list of top riders for this year's Hawkstone
International on the 20th March. Ramon recently completed and won the
extremely tough Le Touquet race. He will be joined by his Rockstar
Energy Team-mate Clement Desalle, the 2010 MX1 World Championship
runner
up who gained three GP wins last year.

Adding to that in the MX2 class will be the MX2 Suzuki World
Championship Team consisting of Valentin Teillet, Teillet being the
former 2008 European MX2 Champion, he has ridden at Hawkstone twice
before and is extremely looking forward to returning to one of his
favourite tracks. His Suzuki team-mate Marcus Schiffer will also be
competing on the day.

Ben Townley unfortunately will not be able to race at Hawkstone after a
bad accident has left him injured and unable to ride.

A whole host of Brits will be pushing for final honours including
Stephen Sword, Tom Church, Shaun Simpson, Brad Anderson, Graeme Irwin,
Elliott Banks-Browne, Steven Clarke, Jake Nicholls and Tommy Searle
plus
many more. All will be riding in the hope to stand on the podium and
start their 2011 season in good form.

Tickets are only available to buy on the gate and will be £20 per
adult and under 14's are free.

Camping will be £20 per pitch - motorhome/tent/caravan. Parking on
site is also free.

Monster Energy Yamaha Prepare for 2011 MX2 Season

The factory MX2 collective of the new Monster Energy Yamaha team are preparing to flex their racing muscles for the first time in 2011 with the Starcross International event at Mantova in Italy this weekend. Gautier Paulin, Harri Kullas and Christophe Charlier will place their YZ250FMs in the gate at the renowned sandy circuit for what will be the opening meeting in a busy pre-season period.

Paulin, entered by the Rinaldi faction of the crew and beginning his second year with Yamaha, has been counting the practice laps in southern France and completed a successful suspension text two weeks ago. The 20 year old has been running further tests on a new motor in Italy for the 2011 Grand Prix campaign that gets underway at the fast and hilly Sevlievo layout in Bulgaria on April 10th.

Like Kullas and Charlier, Paulin will contest the initial rounds of the Italian Championship at Ponte e Egola and Faenza to dial-in his machine ahead of the first round of fifteen in the FIM MX-GP World Championship.

Charlier is the defending Italian number one and the talented French teenager has been busy over the winter period in his native Corsica. The 2009 European champion will enter all four of the Italian national dates. “I have been working hard and been riding in the sand twice a week,” the nineteen year old said. “I have tested the bike once and I already find it improved to 2010 but we will work more in March, before, during and after the Italian Championship events, so that we are ready to go in Bulgaria. I don’t have a specific aim for 2011 other than to go as fast as I can, but to get inside the top five of the championship with some podium results would be good.”

Like Charlier – and in fact the Gariboldi technical squad that will field the two youngsters – Kullas begins just his second term at the highest level. The Finn has been active in Spain, Belgium and on home turf during the off-season. “Training has gone well,” said the eighteen year old. “I have changed my trainer this year but not really any of the methods. We had five weeks in Spain with good weather and decent tracks and then I headed back to Finland before moving to Belgium where I am based for the season. Getting good riding time is now my priority. We go to Italy next week and we will work more with the race bikes; I have been using the stock version until now and it has been absolutely fine.”

Yamaha Launch 2011 World Superbike with FSX Athlete Eugene Laverty

The 2011 Yamaha World Superbike Team has unveiled the livery they will run for the upcoming World Superbike season. The new design features a Yamaha blue corporate racing colour scheme. The livery takes its inspiration from both the famous Yamaha speed block design and also one of the colours of the current production model YZF-R1, giving the bike a modern sleek appearance whilst emphasizing Yamaha’s racing image.

The team features an all new rider line up for the 2011 championship with 28yr old Italian rider Marco Melandri, a previous 250cc World Champion, stepping across from MotoGP to partner 24yr old rider Eugene Laverty from Northern Ireland who steps up from the World Supersport Championship. The new livery will feature prominently on the leathers of both riders.


The team continues its winter testing schedule on the 21st and 22nd February at the Phillip Island circuit in advance of the opening round of the championship in Australia on 27th February.

JOIN ETNIES IN CREATING A COSTA RICAN RAINFOREST

One may seem like a small lonely number, but when one brand (etnies), teams up with one tribe (the Maleku), and one foundation (La Reserva) in Costa Rica, a country committed to sustainability, the results can be incredible! To celebrate etnies’ 25 year anniversary, etnies owner and CEO, Pierre-Andre Senizergues has decided to look toward the future and what the NEXT 25 holds! There’s no better way to celebrate the future than by planting a rainforest in Costa Rica through etnies’ new ‘Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree’ project. For every pair of Jameson 2 Eco shoes sold, etnies will plant one tree in what will become the new rainforest.

Etnies is on track to plant at least 35,000 trees on the Maleku reserve in northern Costa Rica this year. The Maleku are an indigenous tribe with a way of life that revolves around the forest, and they are rightfully known as the guardians of the forest. For more than 150 years, the Maleku have had to fight for their trees that were depleted due to cattle farming and a horrible rubber-tree war, which led to a massacre, and nearly wiped out their tribe. The United Nations has sanctioned their land as a biological corridor to be restored and the international organization has officially marked 2011 as the ‘Year of the Forest’ globally. The Maleku just need help obtaining the trees to reach their goal of reforesting the lands they live off of.

That’s where your help comes in – anyone who buys a pair of etnies Jameson 2 Eco shoes will help reforest Costa Rica one tree at a time. Together with La Reserva Forest Foundation and etnies’ ‘Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree’ program, the Maleku are helping to replenish the reserve with the trees that once maintained this community. La Reserva Forest Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the recovery and preservation of indigenous tropical rainforests in Costa Rica.

On the Pipe 6!

We've always been huge fans of the On the Pipe series, and this one is the best ever. It's the final DVD in the series and features the best FMX riders in the world (as well as some pretty good Helicopter piloting!). Check out the traile to see what we are chatting about!

Dungey just misses out on the win in Houston!

Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey raced back to a podium position by taking second place at Saturday night's AMA/ FIM World Championship sixth round at Houston in Texas.

After gating fifth, the Florida rider moved to second and closed on leader Trey Canard (Honda) half-way into the 20-lap Main Event, held in front of a packed audience of almost 46,000: The pair ran wheel-to-wheel, but Canard kept the advantage to the flag.

Ken Roczen to ride in the big class at Houston!

Red Bull/KTM rider Ken Roczen, fresh off a Supercross Lites podium last weekend, is ready to go again - this time in the SX class at the sixth round of the series to be held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX.

The German rider has ridden the 350 SX-F periodically when out practicing with teammates Andrew Short and Mike Alessi. "I feel comfortable on the 350 SX-F and am excited to ride the bike and continue my training and racing when the series heads to the east coast," commented Roczen.

"I didn't want to stop racing just because the Lites series took a break and this is a way for me to continue to race and keep in shape." In addition to the training advantage, the team is looking forward to Roczen's feedback on the new model.

"This is our first year racing the 350 SX-F in Supercross and we are eager to get feedback from all racers. We know Ken (Roczen) very well and value his feedback on the models and know that his feedback along with Short and Alessi's will help to improve this model to be at the top step of the podium. KTM is making aggressive moves into the motocross market and the more we can race the machines, the sooner we can see results," stated Red Bull/KTM Factory Team Manager Roger DeCoster.

Ken Block Launches 2011 Monster Energy DC Shoes World Rally Car!

Ken Block and the Monster World Rally Team are upping the ante for 2011 with a bigger and broader schedule of races and events. In addition to taking on more WRC rounds this year in the all-new Monster Energy Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Block will also be competing in Summer X Games, Gymkhana GRID, and select RallyCar rallies and RallyCross events in the United States.

“2011 is going to be really big for me and the Monster World Rally Team,” says Block “We’re doing more WRC races this year, kicking off the Gymkhana World Tour, racing in Summer X Games, filming Gymkhana 4, plus hitting up a lot of other rally-related events worldwide. We even have a few top-secret projects in the works. I’m a lucky bastard to be doing all this, it’s going to be an amazing year!”

Teasing the season, MWRT is releasing a three-part video series. The first of the clips reveals the all-new 2011 Monster Energy Ford Fiesta RS WRC with its freshly updated livery. The Fortum Ski Tunnel in Torsby, Sweden set the background for this clip while the Monster Girls provided some additional eye candy.

In the second clip, being released February 9th, Block candidly answers questions posed by fans on Facebook, ranging from his favorite moments of the 2010 season, to what he’s looking forward to in 2011 and what his personal expectations are of himself during his second year of WRC development, as well as what it’s like to be going into a brand-new chassis.

The last clip focuses solely on what the fans are pining for: snow-slinging, sideways action of Block in the Fiesta WRC for the first time ever during his pre-Rally Sweden test. This final clip will be released on February 10th. In addition, Block and the Monster World Rally Team are also pleased to announce three new sponsors for the 2011 season. Joining Monster Energy, Ford, DC Shoes, Pirelli, Dirt3, Spy Optics, Hoonigan, Ryno Organics and Alpinestars will be Mobil 1 Extended Performance, Traxxas and GoPro.

KTM Launches New Enduro Bikes

Following the introduction of the revolutionary KTM 350 SX-F and the new generation of MX machines in 2010, KTM celebrated an unprecedented season of success with three Motocross world titles.

Now KTM introduces Part Two of the Orange Revolution with the new generation of Enduro machines designed for a sport where KTM is proud to be the most rewarded and victorious brand in recent years.

When it comes to Enduro, KTM is the brand that instantly comes to mind for thousands of customers and fans all over the world. Let's look at the facts: 24 years after Joachim Sauer won the company's first European title riding a 350 ccm 4-stroke machine made in Mattighofen, the company has picked up no less than 42 World Enduro titles. Now KTM has responded to the challenge and is presenting the new generation of EXC bikes, including the revolutionary new 350 EXC-F Factory developed with input from KTM's E3 World Champion 2010, David Knight.

David is going to compete the new 350 EXC-F works machine in some pre-season races before the bike will see its first serious action on the World Enduro Championship circuit with the 2009 World Champion Johnny Aubert.

True to its reputation as the world market leader in sports motorcycles, KTM has thrown down the gauntlet and with this new generation of bikes, underlines the company's ongoing commitment to the sport of Enduro. The bikes are ready for the 2011 season and so is the KTM Factory team, which continues to field a blue ribbon line-up of talent: 4-times World Champion David Knight from the Isle of Man; Frenchman Johnny Aubert, 2-times World Champion and recent dominator of the 2010 ISDE and young stars and emerging talents Italian Thomas Oldrati, Cristobal Guerrero of Spain and Eero Remes of Finland. This KTM squad will attack the Enduro World Championship with podiums and titles on their minds.

Added to this quality line-up of factory riders is the king of Extreme Enduro, Poland's Taddy Blazusiak. Taddy will be on the starting grid for every race that boasts the title of "tough". He will also be out to retain his titles in the World Indoor Enduro, the US Endurocross and the notorious Erzberg Hare Scramble. And when his schedule permits, he'll also be on the start of the WEC.

For the company that is always "Ready to Race", there has never been a better testing ground for the development of their pure-bred factory racing machines than the world's toughest offroad challenges and the World Enduro Championship series - because the experience gained on the track is directly translated into the production of the series models. For decades KTM motorcycles have all carried the company's racing DNA and this has never been more evident than with the new generation of bikes. The KTM R&D team from Mattighofen are tireless in their efforts to constantly improve on what is already good. Every bike that rolls off the production line is an example of the experience gained on the track-tested bikes of the company's own factory team. This dedication has allowed KTM to absorb a market share of almost 50% but the story doesn't stop there: the new 350 EXC-F Factory is the perfect example of the "Ready to Race" Orange spirit and absolute proof that when it comes to development, KTM never stands still.

Over here at FSX we are super excited for the start of the new Enduro season, David Knight is a cracking chap, and keep an eye out for more Freestylextreme association in the near future..!






Images courtesy of KTM Images

Ben Townley postpones return to Europe

Townley has been injured last Sunday, while practicing at a private training facility in his native country. The 2004 MX2 World Champion broke his jaw in this crash and underwent surgery yesterday.

His jaw has been successfully repaired and Ben will have to rest for a couple of weeks before coming back in Europe to enter his new challenge after racing successfully in the USA. “I was completing my last 30 minutes moto for the day when I got cross rutted on one of the jumps and went down hard, hitting my jaw on the crossbar of the handlebars. On the positive side it was a clean break and doctors have gone in through the inside of my cheek and put a plate in. It’s going to be a bit awkward for the next few days but I’ve been through so much in the last few years I’m sure I’ll get over this one pretty quickly” said Townley who will be back in Europe a few weeks before the opening round of the FIM MX1 World championship in Sevlievo (Bulgaria) on April 10th.

More positive news came from the USA, where Tommy Searle and Max Anstie are practicing since Christmas in California to prepare their assault on the FIM MX2 World Championship. Working closely with Mitch Payton’s staff, both riders assisted by Harry Nolte and Yann Lozano tested their 2011 Kawasaki Pro Circuit, and worked closely with Pro Circuit suspensions tuner. Max and Tommy will be back soon in Europe, to race some selected pre season events before Bulgaria.

“It’s a shame for Ben, but we know how strong he is mentally and physically and we’re sure he will be ready for Bulgaria. Hopefully we were already working with a test rider to develop the 450 Kawasaki, and Ben will have a very performing bike. Concerning Tommy and Max I would like to thanks Mitch and his crew, who offered a great support to our riders for their preparation in California. They will be back in Europe in a few days” explained team owner Jean Jacques Luisetti.