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Australian Motocross

The biggest move in Australian Motocross history was confirmed last last week, with Jay Marmont officially joining Monster Energy Kawasaki after four dream years with CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha.

For Marmont, it’s a new challenge, while for the team, it’s an opportunity for Kawasaki to prove they have what it takes to win titles if the rider can get the job done. But motocross is a team sport and no task will ever be easy, so we’re going to have to wait to see how this one plays out.

We’ve done heaps of coverage concerning Marmont’s new home at Kawi, but today we turned the tables and gave Craig Dack a call to get his thoughts on the situation (click here to see). He revealed that Lawson Bopping is a very real candidate to race alongside Josh Coppins next year, which we have reported for a few weeks now.

To see Dack speak out about his potential signing and also about the pressures Kawasaki will face with a rider of Marmont’s stature as part of their program was refreshing. Open, honest and ultimately insightful, fans appreciate the information we can provide once to industry insiders share their info.

What was also made clear in that interview with Dack was that Coppins will contest his final professional season as part of the CDR outfit next year. After that it’s expected he’ll call it quits, and you can guarantee he’d love to win the title against guys like Marmont, countryman Ben Townley, Billy Mackenzie and Brad Anderson. To do that in what will be CDR’s 20th anniversary of racing would be mega.

Getting back on the topic of Marmont for a moment, we are yet to publish a shot of his Monster Kawasaki KX450F. We had one, sourced off Facebook, but were quickly ordered to pull it down due to a few final deals they’re apparently finalising. Still, we’ll publish a shot of Jay on the bike as soon as we have one and are permitted to do so!

I sent a few emails back and forth with Ben Townley this week, pretty much just to confirm his initial impressions of the Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing team (click here for news story). He’s already comfortable and worked from a stock base, but the big news is that the team will officially race on Pirelli tyres for 2012.

If he can stay onboard, many are predicting that our domestic regulars are going to have to dig deep to keep him in sight.

Suzuki is yet to officially confirm its team line-up, with the only info we have (still) being that Todd Waters will ride Opens. Steve Clarke is expected to be the Lites rider, while if there is a second 450, that will likely go to Cody Cooper. What that means is that Super X number three Dan McCoy is looking for a job. Hart and Huntington/InsureMyRide, perhaps?

One major thing that we revealed last week was that Australian Motocross is considering introducing a brand new format to the series next year. Designed to suit both local sprint racers and experienced GP riders who excel in longer motos, we could see two back-to-back short motos in the morning, followed by a traditional length moto in the afternoon for all classes (check out the news here).

American Supercross

Just over three weeks remains until Anaheim’s first round of Monster Energy Supercross, kicking off what’s shaping up to be the best season ever in the sport (don’t we say that every year?). With Reed, Villopoto, Stewart and Dungey all past champs and riding for different manufacturers, there’s no wonder we are excited.

What we as Aussies do have to be concerned about though is the fact that Chad Reed has done minimal (if any) riding of late. He’s nursing an injury suffered in Italy at the Genoa Supercross, which he won, and has had to take some time off.

I did speak to Chad the other day as he was sorting through some settings for 2012 in California, but the chat was largely based around Marmont’s switch to Kawasaki. All he really said about next year was that he is excited to get things underway, especially now that he has a factory Honda full time for the season ahead.

Reedy actually made the BRW highest sports earner list again this year despite funding his own program, reportedly earning a total of 8.5 million dollars to rank fourth overall right behind Mark Webber and Casey Stoner. Tour de France winner Cadel Evans was behind the TwoTwo, while the list was topped by NBA superstar Andrew Bogut. We’ll have more in a news story tomorrow…

Speaking of Chad, how about this for an opportunity! You could win the jersey he wears at A1, signed! Just head over to his official TwoTwo Motorsports Facebook Page to find out how.

James Stewart was this morning confirmed to be riding on Pirelli tyres for 2012 at JGRMX. The team has been vital as Pirelli breaks into the U.S. market, and if Stewart can win races and potentially titles, the Italian brand will be cemented as a true contender.

Considering Stewart did reportedly have the choice to ride on Dunlops and tested both, his decision is a massive one that could pay dividends – especially if he races outdoors considering Pirelli’s GP experience.

If you’re looking for an update on Brett Metcalfe, head over to Motocross.com for this pre-season interview with the South Australian. He’s coming in under the radar once again, but with the focus of Suzuki’s factory team on him as the sole rider, don’t be surprised if Metty breaks through for some Supercross success.

Finally, it was long thought that Matt Moss would be racing East Coast Lites in Supercross for JDR/J-Star/KTM, but it’s now been confirmed that he’ll race the West Coast.

That’s good news for Aussie fans cos we’ll now have Mossy to cheer on in the West and teammate Ryan Marmont in the East, so stay tuned for updates all season long on their progress. It really is great to see JDR give our boys an opportunity on foreign soil.

It’s all around the corner and to be honest, we are so excited we wish the holiday period will come and go already! The countdown continues, but we have a feeling season 2012 will be bigger than ever for motocross worldwide. Thanks for reading, see you next year.

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