Monday Morning Coffee

Monday Morning Coffee

By Billy Rainford

Good morning and welcome to this week’s Monday Morning Coffee. The plan was to be working on photos from St. Louis today but Tyler Spikman had to cancel and we were unable to make the trek. Be sure to check back later this afternoon for Jeff McConkey‘s ‘McThoughts’ on the race that saw Red Bull KTM riders Marvin Musquin and Ryan Dungey go 1-1 again.

Everyone takes a weekend off now for the annual Easter break and the 250 East riders get some extra time off as the next round will be a 250 West round in Houston, Texas, followed by the new stop in Santa Clara, California, (“That’s one thing I always hated about Santa Clara…all the damn vampires!” Google it, Bowker!) before we head back east to East Rutherford, New Jersey and then wind up in Las Vegas for the final. That’s only 4 Saturdays left! Where does the time go?!

Speaking of East Rutherford, it’s only a couple bridges away from downtown Manhattan. You may not know this, but I am one of the biggest David Letterman fans you’ll ever meet. Yes, I’m old, and I used to record it on my VCR every single night and watch it before school throughout the 1980’s. I remember the Velcro suit, Andy Kauffman‘s many appearances (the staged fight between him and wrestler Jerry Lawler was classic), Charles Bukowski, Harvey Pekar, and the infamous Crispin Glover kick incident. I remember his long-standing feuds with one-named stars Madonna and Cher, and when he was still drinking. All classics. But I have never been to see the show live let alone been to New York City. I’m about to try and change both of those this year.

Letterman will retire in May and so this will be my only chance to see my hero live before it’s all over. Seriously, when I was asked to add something to our high school graduation yearbook, I actually wrote, “The lotto machine is broken! – DL” Yep, I quoted a stupid saying Dave was using over and over on his show back then.

When the Monster Energy AMA Supercross heads to New Jersey, I will have an ulterior motive for going and hanging around NYC for a few days. I may have to line up outside the studio all day long, but I will see Dave before he retires!

You didn’t come here to read about motocross, did you? Sorry. Monday Coffee is my place to blog on about anything and everything. I like to alter the old adage and say, “He who dies with the most stories, wins.” Life is about experiences. You need to actually live every day and try to put yourself in new and even awkward situations. These are the things you’ll remember and are also the things people will want to hear about someday.

Do you ever watch Ted Talks? If you have Netflix, check it out. There’s a new icon on the home page that is all TED. It’s just people talking about all kinds of different things. Some are good, some aren’t, but some are very inspiring. The latest I watched said that to keep life interesting, you basically need to be learning new things all the time. They talk about doing a ‘30-Day Challenge‘ where you pick something fairly small and do it for 30 days. “You can do anything for 30 days!” is the quote from the broadcast.

The idea is that you pick something you’ve always wanted to do or been curious about: write a book, learn guitar, play piano, learn a second language, grow a plant…anything. To put a moto spin on this, go out and get yourself fitter. It’s the end of March. In 30 days you could be in much better shape. When May 1 rolls around, let’s see if you’ve managed to put a plan in place and have done it for 30 days.

For example, if you’ve never done a sit-up, start by doing 10 on April 1st. Each day, add a single sit-up to that and by the end of the month you’ll be doing 50 sit-ups a day. It sounds pretty simple, and it is! You just have to do it. We’d love to hear what you’re ’30-Day Challenge’ is so please fire us a message on our Facebook page letting us know what you’ve chosen to do this and every subsequent month.

MXGP of Patagonia – Argentina

Is it just me or does hearing that Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki’s #2 Ryan Villopoto went 4-4 for 4th and didn’t fall make you want to check these races out? Which 3 riders are beating Villopoto on a fast outdoor track twice?! It doesn’t make sense to many on this side of the ocean, but it’s happening.

This past weekend the MXGP circuit headed to South America and Patagonia in Argentina for the first time. I checked it out live and was really impressed with the soil and track layout. It had some interesting rhythm sections that you had to assume would have played into RV’s hand with all his Supercross experience. He did look best in the two sections in question but the other riders were equal to the task on the rest of the track.

If you haven’t watched it, you can check out the highlights below in this video highlights from MXGPTV.com:

If you’ve got some time on your hands, you’ll probably want to check out the entire MXGP Qualifying Race where Villopoto makes a heroic charge to the front. I won’t spoil it:

Don’t scroll down past here if you don’t want to know who won before you watch the highlight video:

If you’re old school and would prefer to actually read about the event, here is the official Race Report from MXGP:
RACE REPORT

NAGL AND FERRANDIS TOP OF THE BOX

NEUQUEN (Argentina), 29 March 2015 – The racing that was yielded here at round three of the FIM Motocross World Championship is pure authentication that MXGP 2015 is the best ever season of motocross. In front of a huge and extremely energetic crowd and on the type of track most riders could only dream of, wide and flowing yet curiously technical and challenging, Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl and Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis took surprise victories.

A holeshot for the number twelve is starting reap bad news for the rest of the competition in MXGP as Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl polished off another holeshot and check out combo to win MXGP race two and the overall here at MXGP of Patagonia Argentina. A very humble Nagl said, “I didn’t expect to win but we made some bike changes and I changed my lines because the track was really tricky. There were so many options for lines and for me this is really nice and important for a motocross track so we don’t have to follow everybody. It makes awesome racing.”

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP’s Clement Desalle is starting to carve a reputation for consistency as he stood on the second step of the podium for the third consecutive time this year. Although Desalle actually logged the same points as Nagl today, the overall winner is determined by the result of the second race which left Max Nagl as the round victor thanks to his race two win.

It was a pretty crazy day for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli who loved the track here in Villa la Angostura. The defending MXGP champion set the fastest lap in race one but on his last lap charge for the lead clipped his foot peg while scrubbing and pitched himself off the bike. Thankfully, he was okay and still managed to finish in second place which he duplicated in race two for third overall.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Ryan Villopoto was looking fast, as usual, but didn’t quite have the pace to stand on the podium here at MXGP of Patagonia Argentina. Nevertheless, a pair of fourths and fourth overall is still a solid effort.

Although a sixth and seventh was probably not the result Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin was looking for, every point counts in this eighteen round championship and a fifth place is nothing to screw your nose up at.

Meanwhile the Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s duo of Jeremy Van Horebeek and Romain Febvre went bar to bar all weekend to round out the top seven in that order.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 34:34.509; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:10.650; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:11.673; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), +0:20.097; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:35.002; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:42.023; 7. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Honda), +0:43.303; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:47.287; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:51.740; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:53.389

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), 35:07.730; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:02.273; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:03.673; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), +0:04.856; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:08.700; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:10.013; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:32.106; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:39.482; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:41.387; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:42.020

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 45 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 45 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44 p.; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 36 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 29 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 27 p.; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 22 p.; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 20 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 133 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 123 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 123 p.; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 106 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 96 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 95 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 72 p.; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 62 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 60 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 55 p.

MXGP Manufacturer: 1. Suzuki, 133 points; 2. Husqvarna, 127 p.; 3. KTM, 123 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 106 p.; 5. Yamaha, 99 p.; 6. Honda, 97 p.; 7. TM, 48 p.

It was a day to remember for Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis who took full advantage of situation at hand to take an impressive victory in race one followed up with a hard fought second in race two for his first ever grand prix victory. “It’s amazing, for sure a great moment for me and my crew,” the Frenchman mustered in obvious happiness immediately after the last race.

Meanwhile an extremely smart mind-set is paying dividends for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass as he landed himself on the second step of the podium for the second time this year. “I felt so good on this track, I had so much fun. In the last race I knew whether I finished second or third I would still be second overall so I didn’t take any risk. Second overall is good for me and I am happy with it.”

Like Ferrandis, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Jeremy Seewer also left the grand prix of Patagonia Argentina with a career best finish. The Swiss star on the rise banked two fifths this weekend to round off the podium in third, “I worked my whole life to be at the top of this sport. It’s an amazing feeling to be on the podium for the first time, I had two solid races with two fifths which normally isn’t enough to be on the podium but on a track like this it is important to be consistent, so it paid off.”

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Thomas Covington is becoming a solid member of the top five with yet another fourth overall, while a so-so day in the office left Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser in fifth.

As for the MX2 championship points leader, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings had a massive crash in race one which left his bike mangled and un-rideable. Despite the magnitude of his crash and a bruised ankle The Bullet salvaged his red plate with an impressive victory in race two.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 34:43.016; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:07.336; 3. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:12.925; 4. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:15.607; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:21.082; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:24.902; 7. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:31.438; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:41.086; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:42.377; 10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:57.878

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:11.306; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.036; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:24.396; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:27.742; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:37.316; 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:48.784; 7. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:55.339; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:56.125; 9. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:07.365; 10. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda), +1:19.673

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 47 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 32 p.; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 28 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 27 p.; 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 26 p.; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 20 p.; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 20 p.; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 19 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 125 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 125 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 112 p.; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 82 p.; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 81 p.; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 80 p.; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 79 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 73 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 70 p.; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 57 p.

MX2 Manufacturer Top Ten: 1. KTM, 147 points; 2. Kawasaki, 125 p.; 3. Yamaha, 98 p.; 4. Honda, 88 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 82 p.; 6. Suzuki, 70 p.

AMO Press Release:

With any luck, we won’t have any more freak snowstorms this spring here in Ontario. It’s almost time to go racing!

Video: Fox Presents – Pura Vida Motocross

Frid’Eh Update Correction

Yikes! Have you ever bumped into someone and asked them when their baby was due only to find out they weren’t even pregnant? Well, I thought I’d use that example so my blunder doesn’t seem so bad. I was told that Liam O’Farrell would not be able to head to the western rounds of the Rockstar Energy MX Nationals because his lovely wife, Pam, was pregnant.

There’s a rule in journalism that clearly states one is supposed to check their sources. I made an assumption and I was wrong. Pamela and Liam are not expecting their first child. I got this message from Liam after he read the Update Friday:

Just a heads up that Pam is not pregnant lol. I couldn’t do the west because of work and I don’t have enough money. Just thought I’d clear that up. Haha that’s pretty funny though. Rumors these days.

It’s on the cards don’t you worry just got to get done other things in order. But when it happens we can get it up on Friday update again. Haha

My apologies to anyone who read that and was misled, and to the couple themselves. Sorry.

Austin AX Results

Jimmy Decotis on the Possibility of Coming to Canada with MX101

Rumours have been circulating about who MX101 may or may not be talking to about the 2nd Yamaha 250F ride for 2015. Jimmy Decotis‘ name got thrown into the mix after Jeff tweeted about the vacant spot in Detroit. Apparently, they have actually spoken to each other about it. Here is a quote from Steve Matthes‘ brief post-race interview Decotis in St. Louis:

From www.pulpmx.com

Hearing rumors, and this is what I heard last week, maybe going to Canada?
Maybe, I don’t know. I’ve talked to the MX101 team a little bit about possibly doing it but I’m just still keeping my options open. I want to do what’s best for me and my career. I’ve got to ask myself three questions right there: what makes me the most happiest, what’s going to help me the best right now, and what’s going to benefit me more in the future. I’ve got to weigh out my options. If doing the six rounds in the US as a privateer with limited funding is what I’ve got to do, that’s what I have to do to get on one of these teams. It would be cool to go to Canada but I know a lot of them don’t care what happens up there. My main goal even if I did Canada, I’m still doing four US rounds and I’m going to try and prove my point at those rounds that I do.

You can read or listen to the entire interview HERE.

Some will read that quote and immediately dislike Jimmy because of the “…but I know that a lot of them don’t care what happens up there” part of it. I don’t think he was being disrespectful to our series at all. I feel his implied meaning is that when the factory teams are looking for who to hire they don’t go off of the Canadian Nationals results sheet for their choices. Yes, winning our title will look good and possibly get you onto their test track for a tryout down south, but it doesn’t put you in the big rig automatically. His words didn’t rub me the wrong way at all and if he winds up coming north this summer, I will not hold them against him.

I wonder how their talks with Jacob Hayes are going…;)

We’ll end it here today with a quick ‘Get Well Soon’ to young Woodstock, Ontario, rider Tanner Ward who managed to re-break his leg while training down in Mississippi. When this kid stops getting hurt, he is going to be extremely hard to beat. This is from his Facebook page:

Get well soon, Tanner Ward. – Facebook page photo

Saturday, March 28, 2015
From Jeff Ward:
Tanner Ward injury update thanks everyone one for all your concerns last Wednesday tanner had a bad get off where he re broke his femor and had surgery to remove the rod that was already in there and replace it was about 5 hrs surgery cause the old rod was bent he dislocated his hip which they popped in to place with out surgery but the socket has a small Crack in it which should heal fine!! a broken nose and a bunch of scrapes and bruises he is being released as we get ready for our long journey home a couple months to heal up and be back ready to go we want to thank everybody especially all our sponsors for hanging in there with us and all the staff at Mississippi children’s hospital and Clody Lapointe from KTM Canada Jason from ‪#‎foxheadcanada‬

OK, I hope you managed to get through another cup or two of caffeinated goodness that will get you to the 5 o’clock point of the day. With this ever-lengthening daylight, soon are the days when you can load your bike into the trailer and ride for a few hours after work! I used to actually pull my trailer to high school and head straight to the practice track afterward, but that’s another story…

Have a great week, everyone, and thanks for checking out the site.

Practicing endos against an old car tire at my buddy’s place way back in 1981. Check out the DG hat and the volleyball knee pads. Nice. – Craig Brown photo