News 7 Jul 2010

Racing Insider #27

MotoOnline goes behind the scenes once again in our latest edition of the weekly Insider column.

Tye Simmonds could be headed to the United States in 2011 with the JDR Motorsports team.

Tye Simmonds could be headed to the United States in 2011 with the JDR Motorsports team.

AUSTRALIAN MOTOCROSS
We reported a number of weeks ago that the JDR Motorsports KTM team is going to start a team in the United States for 2011, with the riders expected to be PJ Larsen and Aussie young gun Tye Simmonds.

While JDR team owner Derek Rynenberg told MotoOnline at the KTM 2011 model launch that they are working through the final details before it’s completely confirmed, the move is widely believed to be a done deal.

Interestingly, Chad Reed Tweeted that he though Simmonds “is jumping way over head” before going on to state that he hopes he’s wrong. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Reed also revealed on Twitter this week that he is thinking of running themed Thor riding gear and helmet design for the Newcastle Knights Rugby League team when the season kicks off in October at Energy Australia Stadium.

MotoOnline spent much of today with defending MX Nationals Champion Jay Marmont as the guys from MXTV travelled up from Victoria to do a lifestyle segment with the champ near his home in Wollongong, NSW.

After doing some riding at one of his practice tracks, Marmont showed the guys around his hometown in a day in the life, but you’ll have to watch the show to find out exactly what they got up to during the filming!

By the way, you have to give credit to Brendan Bell and Lee Hogan for what has been a top year for MXTV in 2010, the television show’s 10th year (can you believe that?) in the making.

Having MXTV, the MX Nationals, Super X and the AMA Nationals all televised on FUEL TV does unite the sport in a lot of ways, so it’s great to see the behind the scenes of the sport thanks to Belly and the guys.

AMERICAN MOTOCROSS
We received an update on Jake Moss from the Rockstar Suzuki Team today, the team expecting him to make a full recovery after his disappointing back injury that was suffered at Thunder Valley.

According to the team, Jake spent two nights in the hospital under careful observation after a crash at Thunder Valley. Jake’s recovery time is expected to be about eight weeks, but it is still too early to tell when he will be fit enough to race again.

Moss is expected to be returning home to Australia next week for a swift break in a bid to regain fitness in time for Super X, where he’ll ride for Suzuki Australia once again alongside twin brother Matt.

Get well soon, Jake!

Plus, don’t forget guys, Kevin Windham will be standing in for Davi Millsaps at Red Bull Honda Racing when the series resumes at Millville on 17 July following this weekend’s break from the series.

We also are sending out another get well soon to Victorian Erin Normoyle, who is a broadcasting and modelling identity in the American moto scene. Erin was involved in a serious head-on automobile accident last Saturday evening not far from Red Bud after last weekend’s National, badly breaking her leg and foot in the incident.

MOTOGP
The word around Europe today is that MotoGP megastar Valentino Rossi has made a miraculous recovery and will be testing a Sterilgarda Yamaha World Superbike at Misano in Italy!

It’s been just 32 days since Rossi was injured at Mugello during his home round of the MotoGP World Championship, the Italian’s recovery process from a badly broken leg proving just as spectacular as his talent on two wheels.

The fact that Rossi is ready to be back on a bike is a shock in itself considering his injury, which reports had noted as one of the worst breaks to the lower leg that you could imagine.

While the test isn’t yet confirmed by Yamaha, sources suggesting the test will go ahead are incredibly reliable, so expect an update later this afternoon.

Rossi has rebounded from his Mugello injury and is set to test a Superbike at Misano today.

Rossi has rebounded from his Mugello injury and is set to test a Superbike at Misano today.

WORLD SUPERBIKE
Kawasaki has revealed its first images of the 2011 model ZX-10R, images that you can see in our Product Centre during testing at Suzuka with the Japanese test riders onboard today.

After what has been a disastrous couple of years for Team Green, this new heavily revised model has been eagerly awaited, and Kawasaki has been very creative in their ways of releasing sneak peaks of the model as time progresses.

Queenslander Chris Vermeulen is contracted to Kawasaki for next year, so he’ll be following the testing schedule with great interest and is expected to make his first public appearance on the bike next month in testing.

AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE
Also at that Suzuka test is Aussie Superbike contender Wayne Maxwell, the Demolition Plus GAS Honda Racing regular participating in his final two-day test in the lead-up to this month’s Suzuka 8-Hours World Endurance event.

Maxwell is riding alongside Japanese star Chojun Kameya, who scored a podium result with the Sakurai Honda team last year, and reports are that Maxwell is gaining momentum as he settles in at Suzuka with the race drawing ever closer.

One drawback however was a front-end crash today, but he’ll be back and ready for more action tomorrow.

If you want updates from the man himself, be sure to follow him on Twitter @WayneMaxwell47.

Meanwhile, defending ASBK champion Josh Waters is in the United States staying with Peter Doyle in preparation for the upcoming AMA Superbike rounds.

It’s expected Waters and teammate Tommy Hayden will have a shakedown run at Willow Springs in California today, a notoriously difficult track that used to be a popular round on the AMA calendar.

We’ll keep you updated with any news that we can find out from the test.

That’s it for today, as always, thanks for stopping by and catching up on the latest in the sport.

Maxwell is testing at Suzuka this week.

Maxwell is testing at Suzuka this week.

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