2011 SUZUKI GSX-R 600 VIDEO

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CODY COOPER CONFIRMED FOR NZ SUPER-X

Cody Cooper confirmed for both New Zealand Super X rounds

Thursday November 4, 2010; One of New Zealand’s greatest ever motocross exports, Cody Cooper, has confirmed he will be at the start gates in the Auckland and Dunedin Super X events, on Saturday November 13 at North Harbour Stadium and Saturday November 20 at Carisbrook Stadium.

The multiple NZ and Australian champion, who finished fifth overall in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship in 2008, will put his exceptional motocross skills into action for the Australasian Supercross Championship events, to ride alongside his good friend Ben Townley and represent his country on home soil.

Cody Cooper

The 27 year old from Mount Maunganui will be riding for the Rockstar Motul Suzuki team, who he competes for in the Australian Motocross Championship.

“I can’t wait to race in Super X this year after I missed out last year due to injury. I have been practicing a lot and feel great on my bike,” said Cooper.

“Super X is an awesome series and it’s great the promoters have decided to host two rounds here this year. I have raced a lot of the Aussie guys in the motocross championship over there so it will be good to finally have the home advantage.”

All of the best riders competing in the series in Australia will make their way to New Zealand for both rounds including US competitor and current championship leader, Monster Energy / Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Josh Hansen, Jagermeister KTM’s Mike Alessi (USA) and his brother Jeff Alessi (USA), who will make his Super X debut in Auckland and go on to contest all of the remanding rounds for the CDR Rockstar Yamaha team.

The lineup of Australian riders includes CDR Rockstar Yamaha’s Jay Marmont, Rockstar Motul Suzuki twins Matt and Jake Moss as well as young gun JDR Motorex KTM’s Tye Simmonds.

The Monster Energy Super X was incepted in 2008 through a partnership between Chad Reed and Global Action Sports and has revolutionised the sport of supercross by introducing a range of exciting new race formats, live television coverage and the construction of innovative full sized US designed supercross tracks for the first time in Australia and New Zealand.

The New Zealand tracks will be custom designed and built by internationally renowned American track designer, Jason Baker, and will incorporate many unique challenges for riders.

Tickets are on sale now through www.ticketdirect.co.nz. For more information on the Monster Energy Super X and series announcements please visit www.superx.com.au

Monster Energy Super X series schedule:
Date Location Venue
October 16 Newcastle Energy Australia Stadium
October 23 Canberra Canberra Stadium
October 30 Launceston Aurora Stadium
November 13 Auckland North Harbour Stadium
November 20 Dunedin Carisbrook Stadium
November 27 Sydney Parramatta Stadium
December 4 Brisbane QSAC

About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MX, rally, insane distance jumping, SX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Visit us on the ‘Net’ at www.monsterenergy.com

More about → CODY COOPER CONFIRMED FOR NZ SUPER-X

GIRLS ON BIKES 2010

GIRLS ON BIKES



(No boys allowed!!)

With top NZ Rider/Coaches: Mark Penny & Ilana Wilks

When:
Saturday 16th October 2010
1pm – 4pm
Fuel up and come along for some awesome coaching and a fully sik
day out with the girls!

Where:
Thompsons Track – Korokanui
(Signposted from Te Kawa cross Roads)
Corner of Bayley Rd and Wharepuhunga Rd - 20km from Te Awamutu

Cost:
$25pp – includes track fees and coaching.

Bring:
Bike, Helmet, Boots, Riding gear, fuel, H20 and a BIG SMILE!
From beginners to fully fledged riders, you will learn new tricks, master old
ones, meet new riding buddies - and most importantly have fun!

Check out our Facebook page: Girls on Bikes

CONTACT MARK 0274 310 880 OR ILANA 0275 445 262
EMAIL ilana.mark@xtra.co.nz

More about → GIRLS ON BIKES 2010

KEN ROCZEN SIGNS WITH KTM 2011

German motocross sensation Ken Roczen has become the latest addition to the dominating KTM Motorcycles brand. Having just won the final GP of the 2010 calendar in Fermo, Italy, aboard his Teka Suzuki RMZ250 the 16 year old ace finished a sensational 2nd place in the World MX2 standings behind newly crowned MX2 World Champion Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin in his rookie year.


In the press conference that followed the Fermo GP, KTM Off-Road racing team manager Pit Beirer officially announced the news that Roczen will be joining young Belgium superstar Jeffery Herlings to contest the 2011 MX2 Grand Prix for KTM.


2010 MX2 World Champion Musquin is bound stateside for 2011 to ride orange under the management of newly appointed KTM USA team manager, Roger De Coster.

Posted by: OS
Images: MotocrossMX1.com

More about → KEN ROCZEN SIGNS WITH KTM 2011

KTM SIGNS ROGER DECOSTER + VIDEO

KTM, the market leader in offroad motorcycles has signed Roger DeCoster, one of the true icons of the sport of motocross to take over the management of the company's new factory team in the USA. Work now immediately begins to prepare the team for the 2011 racing season in all of the major US competitions.


The signing of DeCoster represents a major step forward in vaulting the Austrian company into the global arena. KTM has already reached the top level of the sport in Europe and the World Championship GP series and will now also be a dominant force in US competition.

KTM CEO Stefan Pierer said the signing represented a new and exciting era for the Austrian-based company: "The acquisition of Roger DeCoster to take over our factory team in the USA heralds a new era for KTM. We now enjoy a worldwide network and we are a real global player. Roger DeCoster is one of the great figures in the sport of motocross and we are delighted that he has agreed to manage our new team. KTM is now "Ready to Race" in the biggest and most competitive motocross competitions in the world."

Pit Beirer, who heads KTM Offroad Sports Department, said the signing of such a personality as Roger DeCoster completes the circle whereby KTM has great riders, has been enjoying unprecedented success with its latest motorcycles and now has team leaders in place that will make it a dominant force on both sides of the Atlantic.

Pit Beirer: "We are honored that we can welcome a man of Roger DeCoster's credentials and stature into the KTM family. With him as the head of our new KTM USA factory team we will be a major force in the USA and Europe and we want to attract the very best American riders into our team. Roger has had a superb racing career and a distinguished and successful career in team management."

Roger DeCoster was born in Belgium and is a long time resident of the USA. Known simply as "The Man" when he was racing, DeCoster was one of the sport's most decorated riders. He was always admired for his smooth, controlled riding style and his late attacks on race leaders in a career where he won a record 36 500 cc GP victories. He was also a Gold Medalist in the 1964 International Six Day Trial, a four-time winner of the Trans-AMA series and won the 1964 Belgian Observed Trials National Championship. Since retiring from active racing, DeCoster has been a prominent managerial figure in the USA racing scene and has also managed Team USA at the Motocross of Nations.



Source: KTM

More about → KTM SIGNS ROGER DECOSTER + VIDEO

FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - BRAZIL

Posted by: Ollie S
Source: Pirelli

22 August 2010, Campo Grande (Brazil)

The mechanical problem experienced by Clement Desalle’s Suzuki delivered the MX1 title into the hands of champion Antonio Cairoli who with the Pirelli Scorpion MX confirmed a successful defence of his crown. It was a triumphant day for KTM at the Grand Prix of Brazil but it was also a momentous occasion for Pirelli, having equipped the first nine of ten riders in the top ten of the classification. With second position overall in MX2, standings leader Marvin Musquin now has one hand on the championship and could wrap up the 2010 series at Lierop, Holland in two weeks.

WEATHER: Sunshine TEMPERATURE 28° HUMIDITY 47% TERRAIN Hard-pack

MX1
Antonio Cairoli had planned to celebrate his 2010 world championship at Lierop in two weeks and the penultimate round of the series, instead his victory at the new circuit in Campo Grande combined with the mechanical failure experienced by Desalle meant an early celebration for the KTM rider and team using the 350SX-F booted with Scorpion MidSoft 32 front and rear. The timing of the success was not completely expected but there is no doubt that Cairoli thoroughly deserves his spoils and in the alliance with Pirelli has owned seven of the thirteen rounds this season so far. The same tyre combination in Campo Grande was used by the next eight riders. Second place was earned by David Philippaerts followed by Max Nagl, Steve Ramon, Rui Goncalves, Davide Guarneri, Joshua Coppins, Tanel Leok and Clement Desalle. One of the revelations of the 2010 campaign, Evgeny Bobryschev, did not take part after a crash in practice caused several cracked ribs.

Cairoli in action

Overall Classification:

1. Antonio Cairoli KTM
2. David Philippaerts Yamaha
3. Max Nagl KTM
4. Steve Ramon Suzuki
5. Rui Goncalves KTM

World Championship standings:

1. Antonio Cairoli KTM Team Red Bull De Carli 578
2. Clement Desalle Suzuki Team Teka 471
3. David Philippaerts Yamaha Team Yamaha Monster 441
4. Max Nagl KTM Team Red Bull De Carli 420
5. Steve Ramon Suzuki Team Teka 408

MX2
The Brazilian stage saw MX2 championship leader Marvin Musquin lose a set of duels with Ken Roczen but the Frenchman only has to wait two weeks for the Grand Prix of Benelux in the sand of Lierop to place his hands on the title for the second year in succession. The works KTM rider, using Scorpion MidSoft 32 front and rear, finished runner-up to the German Suzuki representative at both times of asking. The absent Jeffrey Herlings was joined on the sidelines by Red Bull KTM team-mate Shaun Simpson who also dislocated his shoulder (left) on the first lap of the opening moto. Yamaha’s Gautier Paulin was out of luck after his involvement with the Simpson incident led to a broken water pump and a DNF. In the second moto he took fourth place but could have been one position higher if it had not been for a crash on a slippery part of the terrain in the waves section.

Overall Classification:

1. Ken Roczen Suzuki
2. Marvin Musquin KTM
3. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM
4. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki
5. Zach Osborne Yamaha

World Championship standings:

1. Marvin Musquin KTM Team Red Bull Factory 571
2. Ken Roczen Suzuki Team Teka 499
3. Steven Frossard Kawasaki Team CLS 430
4. Jeffrey Herlings KTM Team Red Bull Factory 391
5. Zach Osborne Yamaha Team Yamaha Bike-it 329

Cairoli

David Philippaerts won first heat

MX1 podium in Campo Grande

Clement Desalle

Marvin Musquin, MX2 leader

More about → FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - BRAZIL

'SUMMER OF SUZUKI'

KR File PicThe "Summer of Suzuki" continues to burn brightly after the third round of five in this season's New Zealand Superbike Championships near Timaru on Sunday.

Suzuki riders top the podium in six of the series' nine bike classes and, most significantly, lead the way in the four most prestigious categories -- superbikes, 600cc sports production, formula three and Pro Twins classes.

The superbikes battle continued to rage at round three of the series at Levels Raceway, near Timaru, on Sunday, with two Suzuki men -- Hamilton's national No.2 Andrew Stroud and Australia's defending champion  Robbie Bugden -- sharing the day's wins on their respective GSX-R1000 machines and again hogging the podium.

It was edge-of-the seat racing as there was absolutely nothing to separate the pair through both superbike races, Stroud winning the first one by just 0.09 tenths of a second from Budgen.

The Kiwi champion in 2007, 2008 and 2009, Brisbane's Budgen responded with a start-to finish win in the second race, crossing the line just three-tenths of a second ahead of Stroud after 15 furious laps.

It could easily have been a 1-1 result for the Kiwi but a final-lap challenge from Stroud didn't work out. Stroud did, however, smash the outright lap record in that race with a sizzling time of 1m 03.598s.

Stroud said he was disappointed with his result in race two.

"I was on the outside of him on the long left-hander and nearly went right around him.

"If I had the time again I would have tried to make it stick but he changed direction and I couldn't quite make it stick."

It remains a Suzuki 1-2-3 on the championship podium, too, with a first-timer in the class, Christchurch’s James Smith, finishing fourth and fifth in Sunday's two superbike races, enough to keep him third in the standings.

Even though it was Smith's worst result of the season thus far, he is not at all concerned.

"The superbike bid is really just a learning thing for me. Of course I am trying very hard to win the superbike title, but it's actually the 600cc class that I'm concentrating on.

"Winning the 600cc title is a box I want to tick before I move on to the superbikes class fulltime."

And Smith has irons burning brilliantly in that 600cc class firestorm as well.

The 29-year-old printer reckons he has double the chance to celebrate this season  -- he is the only rider to tackle two classes this season and he’s surprising even himself by standing on the podium in both of them.

Smith finished 2-1 in his two 600cc sports production class outings on Sunday, sharing the day’s overall honours with Hamilton’s Nick Cole (Kawasaki) and maintaining his six-point advantage at the top of the standings.

"I feel I'm riding well but I simply ran out of energy in my second superbike race," said Smith. "I’ve had a bad tummy bug and I’ve not been able to eat.

"But at least I hung on to third in the superbike class," he said.

"I have been on the pace in the superbike class but just not able to keep it up for the whole day today.

"We have a bit of a break now, with round four at Manfeild next month, and I’ll just keep working away at my fitness between now and then."

Formula three defending champion Glen Williams (Suzuki SV650), of Palmerston North, has meanwhile stretched his lead at the top of his class, while Dannevirke's Geoff Booth (Suzuki SV650) remains top of the pro twins class.

In the sidecars class, Wanganui pair Stephen Bron and Dennis Simonsen appear to be running away with the championship, taking their Suzuki-powered rig to another hat-trick of wins at the weekend.

Source: Suzuki NZ

More about → 'SUMMER OF SUZUKI'

SUZUKI'S STROUD IS NO GENTLEMAN RACER

DECEMBER 9, 2009: He's an absolute gentleman to all who know him but, if Hamilton motorcycle ace Andrew Stroud has learned anything in the past few seasons, it's that he can't afford to be a gentleman on the racetrack.

"I simply can't afford to give an inch if I want to win the New Zealand Superbike Championships … it's as simple as that," said the softly-spoken 41-year-old father-of-seven.

A seven-time former national champion, Stroud (Suzuki GSX-R1000) has finished runner-up to fellow Suzuki star Robbie Bugden the past three seasons, but he believes now is the time to snatch back the No.1 plate from the Australian invader.

"I've got to treat every lap like it's the last one of the race … that's when I usually go best," he said. "I've just got to go hard from the start and maintain that speed throughout. There can be no slackening.

"I may be 41 -- and I turn 42 on New Year's Eve -- but I'm as fast now as at any time in my career. I just have the feeling that 2010 will be my season to win again. Robbie and the others had better watch out because I mean business."

And that's no hollow threat. Stroud has been in stunning form, in recent months, racing under the lap record at Manfeild as he tackled two rounds of the popular Victoria Motorcycle Club's Winter Series at the Manawatu race circuit.

"I’m going fractionally faster than last year, even faster at Manfeild that I was when I beat Robbie (Bugden) there last season … and I'm not even trying that hard yet," he laughed. "The new bike is just so good. It turns really well and is very confidence-inspiring."

Stroud is certainly likely to again be one of defending champion Budgen's biggest threats when the five-round nationals kick off at Christchurch's Ruapuna circuit on January 16-17.

Stroud will get his first crack at the top echelon of Kiwi and Australian superbike racers when he also races the 2009 Tri-Series, that frenetic two-weekend series set to open in just over a week, at Manfeild on December 19, with rounds to follow on the streets of Wanganui on Boxing Day and then at Taupo on December 28.

Stroud won the inaugural Pro Moto-sponsored Tri-Series last season, making him the favourite to repeat the dose this time around.

It is certainly going to be a busy couple of weeks for Stroud.

The Waikato ace will also line up his Suzuki in the Bikers Against Drunk Drivers (B.A.D.D.) three-hour endurance race being staged at the Taupo track on the intervening Sunday, December 27.

For that event he will team up with fellow Hamilton rider Sloan Frost and 53-year-old five-time former Australian superbike champion Robbie Phillis, the trio sharing the riding duties for the marathon race.

Wellington's Glen Skachill Auckland's Jason McCamish teamed up on a Suzuki GSX-R600 to win the inaugural three-hour event last year.

"I'm really pumped for this season," said Stroud. "I am feeling a lot fitter this season too. I have been in the gym and running and swimming, but also doing a bit of BMX racing too. I take my kids with me to race BMX on Wednesday nights. It's a great fitness experience workout and pretty good fun too.

"At some stages in the superbike racing last season I'd want to put my head down and go hard but I didn't really have the fitness to maintain that. It'll be a different story this season."

Source: Suzuki NZ. 

 
Andrew in Action at the Burt Munro Challenge. Our full BMC set is here.

More about → SUZUKI'S STROUD IS NO GENTLEMAN RACER

SUZUKI SCORES ANOTHER HAT-TRICK

NOVEMBER 16, 2009: Everyone was again chasing Mount Maunganui's Cody Cooper at the weekend, this time at the fourth and final round of this year's New Zealand Motocross Championships in a rain-soaked Taranaki.

In all, Cooper won more races than any other rider in the glamour MX1 class -- taking the chequered flag in seven of the 12 races in the Demon Energy-sponsored series -- but it was still not enough and he fell short of the title by just two points.

Consistent riding from Christchurch's Justin McDonald was sufficient to see him take the crown instead.

Unfortunately for Cooper, his total dominance of the class at rounds three and four could not undo the damage caused by the injury-plagued early phase of his campaign.

The MotoGB-supported rider had to cope with serious hand and face injuries at round one in Timaru and round two in Rotorua respectively and he even found himself on the receiving end of a rock in New Plymouth on Sunday.

"I could barely see out of my right eye in that last race," said Cooper.

"I got a rock in the face from the rear wheel of a lapped rider and everything was blurry," he explained.

But, despite that handicap, Cooper was in stellar form at the weekend.

The Suzuki star romped to yet another hat-trick of convincing wins in the glamour MX1 class, taking his fuel-injected RM-Z450 to the front early in each race at the muddy Taranaki track, and then steadily building his advantage from there, each time finishing well ahead of McDonald.

"The bike was awesome," said Cooper afterwards. "I raced one of these in America in 2008 and absolutely loved it then too (when he finished fifth in the high-profile US national championships). The bike turns so well and has so much power, it's unbelievable.

"I proved I was the fastest guy out there this year but I had a little bit of bad luck."

Fellow Suzuki rider Brad Groombridge, of Taupo, moved up to third in the MX1 championship. Groombridge finished 3-5-3 in his three outings on Sunday, giving him a podium result in his first season in the big bike class.

In the MX2 class, the battle continued at Taranaki between Kiwi internationals Michael Phillips, of Rotorua, and Queenstown’s Scott Columb.

The pair had been level-pegging throughout the series but Phillips’ 5-1-2 results gave him the points he needed to take the title.

Suzuki's Columb, who had been racing the bigger RM-Z450 in Europe earlier this season, took a stock standard fuel-injected RM-Z250 to 8-2-1 results on Sunday, sealing the runner-up ranking for this season.

In the fight for under-21 honours in the 125cc class, Waitakere's Ethan Martens won the title ahead of Wanganui Suzuki star Tom Managh.

Managh (RM125) had been running third in the class but came on strong at New Plymouth to surge up the standings.

Managh finished 3-3-4 on Sunday to finish the championship 62 points behind Martens.

Source: Suzuki NZ

More about → SUZUKI SCORES ANOTHER HAT-TRICK

GROOMBRIDGE STEPS UP

Words & Pic: Suzuki

OCTOBER 26, 2009: With his team boss sidelined through injury, it was expected that Taupo’s Brad Groombridge would step up and fill the void.
And that’s exactly what the 19-year-old did on his home track in Taupo on Sunday.
Groombridge took his Suzuki RM-Z450 to three wins from three starts at the sand and pumice-based Digger McEwen Motorcycle Park facility in Taupo’s industrial area, winning both the MX1 class outright and also taking the main prize for the day at the annual Labour Weekend Extravaganza when he won the all-comers champion-of-champions Nicky Smith Memorial feature race as well.
He finished ahead of Hamilton’s two-time former world No.2 Darryll King in both the MX1 class battle and the feature race.
“It was a perfect day really,” said an ecstatic Groombridge afterwards.
“Darryll King really gave me a run for my money and I really felt the pressure from him, but I held on to win the feature race.
“I knew he was coming hard at me over those last few laps, so I had to find some extra pace too.
“To get my name on the Nicky Smith Memorial trophy is pretty special. There are not too many Taupo names on that.
“I was riding (injured team-mate) Daryl Hurley’s 2010 model bike and that made a huge difference. His 2010 model has so much more power than my regular 2009 bike. With Daryl sidelined, this is the bike I will have now for the rest of the season.
“I can’t wait now for the next round of the nationals (near Morrinsville in a fortnight, on November 8).”
Groombridge is currently fourth overall in the national series after two of four rounds.
Brad Groombridge and Team Suzuki are supported by Action Suzuki of Hawera, Elf lubricants, Fox apparel, Scott goggles, Bridgestone tyres, Renthal handlebars, Demon Energy, Asplundt, FMF, DID Acerbis and Eziup.
In the meantime, while Groombridge was winning the weekend's main prize, fellow Suzuki riders Dion Picard and Tom Managh was also enjoying success.
National junior champion Picard, from Atiamuri, lived up to his star billing by winning two of the day's three races and finishing runner-up in the third race, to claim top honours in the 12-14 years' 125cc class.
Wanganui's Managh had a particularly busy weekend, riding his Suzuki RM125 to runner-up spot in the 15-16 years' 125cc class, just behind Mangakino's Kayne Lamont and ahead of fellow Suzuki rider Joshua Jack (Auckland).
Ironman Managh also rode out on a Suzuki RM-Z250 to tackle the four-stroke class, finishing a close runner-up to Manawatu's Tom Hughes.
Managh also rode the following day, lining up against the seniors, and finished fourth in the senior 125cc class, an outstanding all-around effort from the talented teenager.

More about → GROOMBRIDGE STEPS UP

HURLEY LEADS SUZUKI 1-2-3 AT SAND PRIX

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009: It was a twist to the classic Eastwood cowboy movie "The Man With No Name", only this time it was "the bike with no number".

But if spectators at Sunday's inaugural Taikorea Sand Prix motocross event in the Manawatu were asking "who is that man?", they were not in the dark for long as Daryl Hurley soon showed that he was the man to beat.

The Suzuki star from Hawera arrived at the sandy motocross circuit with a plain-wrap version of the new 2010-model Suzuki RM-Z450LO.

Hurley said he brought the as-yet un-adorned bike to the Manawatu at the weekend to kick start his training for the upcoming motocross nationals and, true to his status as current national champion, did not disappoint.

The 33-year-old easily won both MX1 races and then also led from start to finish to win the feature race at the end of the day.

"I've only had this bike a week and I'm still getting it set up but I really wanted to race here today," said Hurley afterwards.

"It's always a good workout at this track. Sand is very demanding but the new bike was brilliant.

"It's the new model and has so much more horsepower than the 2009 model.

"There are a heap of changes to the new bike. It has new fuel injection, new head, new cams, new crankshaft … it just produces a lot more useable power and it revs a lot longer."

Hurley led a Suzuki 1-2-3 in the MX1 class on Sunday with Taupo's Brad Groombridge taking the runner-up spot and Marton's Cam Smith finishing third overall.

Success for the brand didn't end there either, with Wanganui's Tom Managh taking his Suzuki RM125 to back-to-back wins in the Junior 125cc class.

"It was a good day for me. I was not troubled at all," said the 16-year-old Wanganui High School fifth-former.

More about → HURLEY LEADS SUZUKI 1-2-3 AT SAND PRIX