American Motocross
Last Saturday I was able to head out to Glen Helen, watching Australia’s AMA Pro Motocross number two Brett Metcalfe race and win the REM local races at the GP venue on what they call the ‘REM Back Track’. It was surprising to see him race on what was a rare weekend off, but he said the 30-minute motos they hold at the REM events was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Metty was also hoping that Suzuki off-road teammate Josh Strang (who often races REM rounds) would show up, but he never did unfortunately for onlookers!

A fifth at Hangtown and fourth at Freestone was a pretty good start for Metcalfe in the outdoors, but the truth is that he’s been frustrated so far as he continues to search for the optimum settings on his factory Rockstar Makita Suzuki. While there’s no doubt Metty will get stronger as the rounds get harder when summer truly kicks in, he’s been busy testing with Suzuki trying to get the best out of his front-end on the factory RM-Z450. When he does, we could see an Aussie 1-2 between he and Chad Reed.

Speaking of Reed, he’s been helping countryman Michael Byrne back at his base in Florida as the pair ride and train together during the weeks. Byrne is another I expect to gather momentum as the going gets tough, especially when the series heads back east and the humidity kicks in. Don’t count on it that we’ve seen the best of Byrner just yet, factory bike or not!

Another Aussie who is on track to break into the top 10 is Tye Simmonds, the JDR/J-Star/KTM rookie gaining confidence and really beginning to enjoy his time in the U.S. Simmonds has bonded greatly with team manager Nate Ramsey, an important factor that will become vital when Tye’s dad heads back to Australia next week. You just can’t help but admire Simmonds’ determination in the U.S. that he’s displayed all year long. Many underestimate the effort he’s put in to get where he is so far and I believe he’ll only keep improving as he realizes he belongs there.

While at JDR Motorsports’ U.S. base this week I was able to speak to Nate Ramsey about Matt Moss and what his thoughts are on the undeniably quick Aussie. Many in America had given up on Moss following his disastrous season with Rockstar Makita Suzuki last year as teammate to Dungey, but in speaking to Ramsey he was clearly impressed, not only with Mossy’s skills on the bike, but also in his determination to learn as much as he possibly could while in California following the Raymond Terrace MX Nationals round. If Moss does get the chance to head back to America next year with JDR, it’ll be his best chance yet to conquer the big time.

Australian Motocross
The big news in Aussie motocross this past weekend was Jay Marmont’s third win at the Manjimup 15,000, and as you’ll see in our news section, we’re predicting it to be a big confidence booster for the CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha rider. All reports suggest Marmont made history with his win as the first person to take three, but CDR’s Shawn Hogdetts advised us via Twitter that Marmont’s boss Craig Dack had also won three. We’ll have to look into it!

The CDR team has continued testing this week, with Marmont flying directly from Western Australia straight to Melbourne for what has basically been a week of testing alongside Kiwi teammate Josh Coppins. The thing is though, it’s been raining all week long! Both Marmont and Coppins have struggled in the mud somewhat this year, so maybe it’s a good thing for them to push through in the tough conditions.

You would have seen a nice update on Ryan Marmont this week on the all-new MX Nationals website. Doggy is hoping to be back for the final round at Coolum, but to read more then head over to the new site at www.mxnationals.com.au and check out the feature for yourself.

An interesting post from Rockstar Motul Suzuki’s Daniel McCoy was posted on the MX Nationals Facebook page this week, citing his suggestions for the Coonabarabran format. Since the track is over three minutes a lap, McCoy suggested some long motos to mix it up for the season. Here’s what he reckons, and it seemed to be a pretty popular post too:

Under 19s – 2 x 25min motos
Pro Lites – 2 x 30min motos
Pro Open – 2 x 35min motos

What do you think of McCoy’s suggestion considering the track’s length of 2.988 kilometres?

I was able to catch up with Brenden Harrison yesterday at JDR Motorsports’ U.S. base in California, and he told me just how much he’s been enjoying his time in the States with the Aussie team. Harrison has been riding with Australia’s GNCC champion Josh Strang over there, and if he can convert that form to Coonabarabran, he may just break through to be the third different winner this season.

Australian Off Road
The prestigious Finke Desert Race is on this weekend in Alice Springs. Motorex KTM Off-Road’s Toby Price is heading back to defend his title up there in the Top End, and the top men are already up there preparing for the weekend’s action. We’ll cover the action as it happens right here on MotoOnline.com.au.

That’s all we have for another week, but stay tuned for heaps more from our latest U.S. excursion throughout the rest of the week and well into next week.