1. sports
2. motorcycling

APRIL 2015
CONTENTS
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DUNLOP ANNOUNCES NEW DT3 FLAT-TRACK TIRE
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DAYTONA FLAT TRACK
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JARED MEES
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PERMANENT SPOUSAL RECORD
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XRS OF THE STARS
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DUNLOP RIDERS LEAD THE WAY IN GNCC
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AMERICAN ELITE: MORE ADVANTAGES, MORE OPTIONS
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WAYNE RAINEY
the Daytona 2015 season opener by
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TIGHT SUPERCROSS ACTION FOR 2015
the sharp lens of Brian J. Nelson.
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NEW BIKES, NEW TEAMS
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DUNLOP RIDERS WIN 149 AMATEUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2015
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SHINING BRIGHTER AND BRIGHTER: JESSY NELSON
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DANE WESTBY
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UPCOMING EVENTS
On the cOver:
2014 AMA Pro Grand National
Champion Jered Mees captured at
Dunlop has gone social, so join the conversation on our Facebook,
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latest videos on the Dunlop YouTube channel.
Dunlop Download magazine is published for Dunlop Motorcycle Tires by Vreeke & Associates. www.vreeke.com
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DUNLOP ANNOUNCES NEW
DT3 FLAT-TRACK TIRE
WHEEL BY ROLAND SANDS DESIGN
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DUNLOP BELIEVES IN MOTORCYCLE
RACING, AND WE SUPPORT THE SPORT
WHENEVER AND WHEREVER WE CAN.
Now in its second season as the Official Tire of AMA Pro
nationals, saving riders the hassle and expense of
Flat Track, Dunlop introduces the all-new DT3 flat-track tire
hauling their own tires throughout the year. Dunlop
available for professional and amateur racers alike. The
engineering staff will also attend select races during the
Dunlop DT3 replaces the Goodyear Eagle DT II flat-track tire.
2015 season.
In 2014, Dunlop began transferring production of the
“Dunlop believes in motorcycle racing, and we support the
Goodyear flat-track products from Akron, OH, to Dunlop’s
sport whenever and wherever we can,” said Mike Buckley,
manufacturing plant in Buffalo, NY. The tire was renamed
Dunlop Vice President of Sales, Marketing, Research and
along the way, and offers the same performance levels as
Development. “We are excited to bring this tire to market,
the Goodyear tire. Testing throughout the 2014 season by
and to provide trackside sales and service to the AMA Pro
top AMA Pro riders such as Jake Johnson, Brad Baker, JD
Flat Track paddock.”
Beach, Bryan Smith, Hayden Gillim and Kenny Coolbeth
proved the performance of the DT3.
The Dunlop DT3 is available immediately from Race Tire
To support the new DT3, Dunlop will provide sales and
AMA Pro paddock will transition from the Goodyear Eagle
technical support at all the 2015 AMA Pro Flat Track
DT II to the Dunlop DT3 in the early part of the season.
Services, http://dunlopracing.com, (800) 772-8473. The
SizeS and cOmpOundS:
Front: 130/80-19 DT3 compound F5 “Medium”
DUNLOP DT3
Rear: 140/80-19 DT3 compound R5 “Medium”
140/80-19 DT3 compound R8 “Hard”
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DAYTONA
FLAT TRACK
The Daytona Speedway hosted the first two rounds of the 2015 AMA Pro Flat Track national
championship, and two different riders dominated each night. Round one was won by a
flawless Stevie Bonsey, who led from start to finish. Bonsey was mounted on the only
Suzuki in the Honda-stacked main event, which was sponsored by Bruce Rossmeyer’s
Daytona Harley-Davidson. He earned the round-one victory by a mere .123 seconds over
the reigning national champion, Jared Mees. The win was Bonsey’s first at Daytona, and his
third career victory.
On the second night of racing, it was 38-year-old Kenny Coolbeth Jr. who took home his
first AMA Pro Flat Track victory in 2015. Coolbeth simply decimated the field, winning with a
whopping 6.474-second victory aboard his No. 2 Zanotti Racing Honda.
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ROUND 1 RESULTS
Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines
1. Stevie Bonsey (Suzuki)
2. Jared Mees (Honda)
3. Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (Honda)
4. Brandon Robinson (Honda)
5. Robert Pearson (Yamaha)
STEVIEBONSEY
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ROUND 2 RESULTS
Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines
1. Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (Honda)
2. Brandon Robinson (Honda)
3. Sammy Halbert (Yamaha)
4. Henry Wiles (Honda)
5. Briar Bauman (Honda)
KENNYCOOLBETH JR
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JUSTINJONES
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JAREDMEES
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JARED
MEES
A TWO-TIME GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPION IN AMA PRO
FLAT TRACK RACING, JARED MEES CARRIES THE NUMBER
ONE PLATE IN 2015 ON HIS ROGERS RACING/LAS VEGAS
HARLEY-DAVIDSON XR750. ALONG WITH HIS NATIONAL
TITLE IN 2014, MEES ALSO PLACED WELL AT TWO
INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONAL EVENTS—THE SUPER
PRESITGIO IN BARCELONA AND ALSO IN THE TROY BAYLISS
CLASSIC IN AUSTRALIA.
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are there any changes to your 2015 ama Flat track program?
We’re constantly trying to improve all areas of the program but I don’t think
you will see any “big” changes. We’ll be on Harely-Davidson XR750s for the
majority of the year. Kenny Tolbert will be spinning the wrenches and
building the bikes and we’ll have Sammy Sweet coming in at each race to
help us. We have a pretty proven and successful program.
Kenny Tolbert is a tuning legend in flat track racing. And he keeps the bikes
washed up and clean (laughs). My stuff runs very well and is really reliable
so working with Kenny has been good. He definitely does his job.
are you a different rider in 2015 than you were in say, 2012?
I think that I am sort of in that middle area as a rider. I’m no longer a young
gun and I’m not yet a veteran. I’m in the group of guys in their 20s and early
30s and have been racing motorcycles for a while now.
I’ve stepped up my training in the last few years and I think that has really
paid off. I have my own trainer now and we’re really pushing the physical
side of my racing. I did a lot of research into physically preparing for the
races and what I learned and what I did with that information is really going
to help me. I’m mentally and physically stronger for the upcoming season
than I have been in the past. I’m ready to go.
how do you foresee the 2015 season going for you?
I expect to be competitive at every track. Honestly, I think we are a threat to
win at every track we race at. We’ve been very successful in previous years.
is there a track that you can call one of your favorites but you struggle
there as well?
Lima is also a track that is one of my favorites and I have three wins there in
my career. But I’ve won there one year and came back the next year and
finished 10th. So you just never know what Lima is going to bring. On the
schedule, Lima is sort of a dark horse for me. I could win there, or I
could struggle.
Your performance in the Super prestigio event in Barcelona at the end
of the season put your name in front of a global audience. You’re the guy
that two-time motoGp champion marc márquez had to get by in order
to win the final event. how has that exposure affected your racing?
Winning the Troy Bayliss Classic in Australia and finishing well at the Super
Prestigio seem like accomplishments that some feel are more important
than winning the national championship here in the U.S. It seems when I
talk to people they congratulate me on winning at the Bayliss Classic or
racing with Márquez at the Super Prestigio—then when they are walking
away they say, ‘Oh, and also congrats on winning the title here in the
U.S.A.’ It’s been interesting. I have been invited back to both events in
2015 and I’ve confirmed that I’ll be doing them.
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PERMANENT
SPOUSAL
RECORD
Imagine the repercussions if you stood your wife, or husband, up. That’s the kind of thing
that ends up in the permanent spousal record.
Reigning AMA Pro Flat Track champion Jared Mees has stood his wife up several times.
Luckily, she’s fine with it. After all, she’s a racer too.
In racing “standing someone up” has a different meaning than it does in the real world. In flat
track, and in motorcycle racing in general, when a faster rider makes his way past a rider in
front of him many times he’ll have to make the pass on the inside and do it up close and
personal, maybe nudge the rider in front a little, or “stand them up” to move them off the
racing line and take the position.
After years of racing with her and against her on the flat track circuit, Jared Mees married
longtime girlfriend Nichole (Cheza) in 2012 at the Springfield Mile. They continued to race
dirt track after the nuptials. Mees says that racing with and passing the person you’re
married to isn’t too hard for either one of them—they’re both hardened competitors.
“I didn’t have to stand her up too many times,” he says. “She’s as much a racer as I am, and
we will give each other a hard time occasionally. I don’t want to say that she’s just another
rider; she’s fast and clean and I don’t have to worry about her too much.”
“She understands,” he says simply.
Nichole is transitioning out of dirt track racing in 2015. She has announced that she will race
selected rounds, after which she will concentrate on her now full-time job as a high school
special education teacher.
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XRS
OF THE STARS
Generally considered the most successful race bike of all time, the iconic Harley-Davidson XR750
has been the sharpest tool in the top drawer of the AMA Flat Track since the big XR was
introduced in the 1970s. A diverse group of riders from Scott Parker, Wayne Rainey, Evel Knievel
and Brad Baker have utilized the XR750 in the ensuing 40 years.
In 2015, several top teams will again campaign the Harley-Davidson XR750 in AMA Pro Racing
Grand National racing.
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team: rogers racing, Las vegas harley-davidson
rider: Jared mees
XR750s tuned by the great Kenny Tolbert have been
winning Grand National races and championships for
over 20 years. In 2015, series champ Mees will again be
a threat on the Tolbert-tuned, Rogers Racing XR750.
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team: zanotti racing
rider: Kenny coolbeth Jr.
Renowned as one of the “trickest” XR750s in the
paddock, the XRs constructed by Zanotti Racing are
light, very fast and reliable. Veteran Kenny Coolbeth Jr.
will again pilot the very red Zanotti machine in 2015.
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AMA Pro rAcing/DAve Hoenig
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team: harley-davidson Screamin’ eagle Factory team
rider: Brad Baker
Harley-Davidson was building racing motorcycles even before AMA racing
existed. In 2015, that long heritage will be carried on by Brad Baker, who
will race Harley-Davidson’s factory orange and black bike. The factory
XR750 is a machine of racing myths: Former riders for the Harley-Davidson
factory read like attendees to a legends breakfast: Jay Springsteen,
Cal Rayborn, Scotty Parker and Chris Carr, to name just a few.
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DUNLOP RIDERS
LEAD THE WAY
IN GNCC
The AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series, an AMA National
Championship, launched its 41st season in 2015, and with two races completed
in the 13-round series it looks like business as usual. Reigning champ in the XC1
Pro Class, Dunlop-sponsored FMF KTM rider Kailub Russell, picked up right
where he left off last year, with a pair of impressive victories. Another Dunlop rider,
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Josh Strang, has also put in strong
rides to secure two runner-up finishes.
The GNCC format creates an unusually demanding off-road-racing formula, one
that not only requires speed and skill, but also stresses stamina and smarts
during the course of races that can last three hours or more. Hustling through
wooded terrain at speed can be especially tricky, and there always seems to be a
mud hole or three just waiting to trap an unsuspecting rider at the worst possible
moment. In addition, riding conditions can vary wildly; round 1 at Rodman
Plantation in Palatka, FL, featured hot, humid and sandy conditions. This latest
round took place at Aonia Pass Motocross Park in Washington, GA, after
week-long rains turned the distinctive red Georgia clay into a slick and rutted
course dotted with treacherous mud bogs.
Despite the trying conditions, Russell pushed through to chalk up his 23rd and
24th career overall wins. His masterful performance gives him a 10-point lead
over Strang, who, in turn, holds an 11-point gap over third place. The next two
rounds take place in the Carolinas—first at Steele Creek Campground, NC, then
at Big Buck, SC—before heading out to Springville, IN for round 5.
KAILUBRUSSELL
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AMERICAN
ELITE
MORE ADVANTAGES,
MORE OPTIONS
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BLAck WALL
nArroW WHiTe WALL
WiDe WHiTe WALL
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LONG-WEARING COMPOUND
LATERAL GRIP COMPOUND
DUNLOP’S AMERICAN ELITE™ TIRES HAVE
CARVED OUT A GREAT REPUTATION AMONG
V-TWIN OWNERS. NOW, DUNLOP’S AMERICAN
ELITE LINE EXPANDS TO MORE THAN 20 SIZES
TO FIT MOST HARLEY-DAVIDSON MODELS.
The American Elite ups the ante for high mileage, and now
also comes in cool wide-whitewall and narrow-whitewall styles
and added sizes.
The American Elite rear tire includes Dunlop’s MT Multi-Tread™
technology, which incorporates a long-wearing compound in the
center of the tire tread, and a lateral-grip compound on each
shoulder. This technology, which was first designed for racing,
helps provide riders with more mileage along with the great grip
and handling that’s made the American Elite so popular. 38
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WAYNE’S
WORLD
WAYNE RAINEY GETS THE MOTOAMERICA
PARTY ROLLING WITH A DUNLOP TEST AT
THE CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS. WE CAUGHT
UP WITH THE MOTOAMERICA FOUNDER TO
FIND OUT HOW IT ALL HAPPENED.
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CAMERONBEAUBIER
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JOSHHAYES
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WE’RE STARTING WITH A CLEAN SHEET OF PAPER,
AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PRETTY COOL IDEAS.
Q: For everyone here, this cOta test is just the beginning,
Q: Let’s talk about your careers. You’ve now started your
but not for you. how long have you been working on
third. First as a racer, then a team owner, and now as a
motoamerica?
series owner and promoter. how does your career as a
Today is the first day of MotoAmerica as far as everyone
racer and team owner relate to what you’re doing now
coming together. It’s our first test here at COTA. But for me,
with motoamerica?
this project really started about two years ago.
Well, being here today I was actually thinking, boy, I wish I had
a helmet on. Because being a racer is really the ultimate.
Q: You’ve been working for a long time, locked in meetings
Being able to go out there and have that feeling of riding the
and offices, and now here you are at a racetrack with
bike and racing against your competitors—there’s nothing that
people that you brought together. how does that feel?
can top that. Then we had a race team and I did that for five or
We’ve been working flat-out for six months, so to be here and
six years, so I got to see from the inside how a team runs,
see everything together—our group, the teams, riders walking
work with big groups of people, and I learned a lot. So now,
around in their leathers—when I drove into the track and saw
we’ve been able to acquire this series, and it’s been an
the race trucks I had to stop and take a picture. There it was.
unbelievable journey.
It finally happened. I’m very excited, very anxious, and
optimistic. It’s going to take help from everyone in the industry.
Q: here we are at cOta, a track that in part is here
We’re starting with a clean sheet of paper, and we have a lot of
because of the work of your great racing rival Kevin
pretty cool ideas. We’re going to get there, and I think we’re
Schwantz. and here both of you guys are in a way coming
going to get there a lot quicker than most people think, so
together to improve american road racing these many
we’re optimistic.
years later.
Yeah, Kevin and I were true rivals. It started in the states and
we raced throughout the U.S. and then carried it onto the
world championship. We both matured and grew as adults
from that relationship on the racetrack. So now here we are—
Kevin being a Texan and this track being in Austin, he had a
big influence on the design and development of this circuit.
He’s done a lot for MotoGP at this circuit. I think it’s great that
he’s been able to accomplish all the things that he’s done. I
believe he’s racing still—not sure why he’s still doing that,
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racing against the guys he’s racing against, but obviously he’s
dunlop showed up at cOta with a Yamaha r6 test bike ridden by Benny Solis, and loaded with
still enjoying that.
new on-board diagnostics to generate even more data for the development of future tires.
BENNYSOLIS
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JAKELEWIS
DUNLOP WAS THE FIRST COMPANY TO COME ON BOARD
WITH MOTOAMERICA, AND THEIR COMMITMENT WAS VERY
IMPORTANT TO HELP STABILIZE THE SPORT.
Q: What are your hopes and goals for this series.
riders to come here from anywhere in the world and
In the short term, I would like to see the championship be
compete, or go from here to try and compete in the
stable, the foundation of it. In the last six months, we went
World Championships.
from five races to nine, we’ve gone from no TV to a TV
package, from three manufacturers to six or seven now,
Q: dunlop was on board with motoamerica early in the
we’ve restructured the rulebook, restructured the classes,
process. can you talk about that commitment?
introduced a spec class with the KTM 390 Cup for 14 to 22
Yeah, when I started racing in the AMA Superbike
year olds that will let the young guys race in a national
championship in 1982, they were here then and they were here
championship. We still have 600 Supersport and
before that and all the way up to 2015. Dunlop was the first
Superstock classes, and we added a Supersport 1000 class
company to come on board with MotoAmerica, and their
that’s combined with the Superbike class that gives us a
commitment was very important to help stabilize the sport.
chance to develop new talent trying to step up to Superbike,
Mike Buckley was very excited and very supportive of what we
so we’ve been able to put all that together in a short amount
were talking about and trying to do. As far as I’m concerned
of time.
they make the best tires. I won a world championship with
those guys and a U.S. Superbike championship. You look at
Through this class structure, we’ve developed a ladder system
what we’ve done here with the series. A whole new group
that creates more racing seats because there’s more
running it, and a lot of changes to deal with. But with Dunlop’s
manufacturer-supported teams, and we believe that will create
presence here, there’s stability. They’ve been here through the
more talent coming out of this series like we used to have. So
good and the bad, the highs and the lows, so the teams are
the ultimate goal is to make a championship that will allow
very fortunate that they are here.
ROGER LEEHAYDEN
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GARRETTGERLOFF
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TIGHT SUPERCROSS ACTION FOR 2015
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EXCITING TIMES FILLED THE FIRST PART OF A
HYPER-COMPETITIVE 2015 AMA SUPERCROSS
SEASON. WITH FOUR DIFFERENT WINNERS IN
THE FIRST FIVE ROUNDS OF THE 450SX SERIES,
THE RACING COULDN’T GET MUCH TIGHTER.
Now with 10 races in the books for the 17-race season, Ryan Dungey (KTM) is surging to the
front of the pack with a commanding 40-point lead. Dunlop-sponsored riders Trey Canard and
Eli Tomac, plus Ken Roczen (Suzuki) have all notched wins and currently trail Dungey in this
order. So despite the points gap, all of these guys are proven winners and that means anything
can still happen in this long and hard-fought season. Even better, five different makes fill the top
six places in the current standings, so there’s brand parity as well and plenty more reason for the
crowds to get behind their favorite riders.
In 250 West Supercross action, where the Dunlop riders are now on break, Yamaha’s Cooper
Webb earned four wins out of six races to hammer out a 30-point lead over Jessy Nelson (KTM).
But Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers trails Nelson by a mere two points and Zach Osborne (Husqvarna)
sits only two more points back in fourth place. So there will be lots more close racing when the
series resumes on April 11.
The racing’s tight and exciting in the Eastern Regional 250SX Class too. Marvin Musquin
captured three victories in four rounds to gather 97 points, yet Jeremy Martin is nipping at his
heels with 85 points, Justin Bogle with 84 and Joey Savatgy holds down fourth with 72. Again,
there’s machine parity with four brands: KTM, Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki, respectively. With
four more rounds of racing plus the East/West finale in Las Vegas on May 2, this Eastern
Regional title remains very much up for grabs for any of these Dunlop-sponsored riders.
RYANDUNGEY
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MARVINMUSQUIN
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COOPERWEBB
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KENROCZEN
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JESSYNELSON
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JEREMYMARTIN
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ELITOMAC
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NEW BIKES, NEW TEAMS
The 2015 Supercross season has been more competitive than most. But amid
the podium shuffle, one factor remains constant: the stunning preparation every
team lavishes on the motorcycles for competition at the highest levels. So here
is a detailed view of the two-wheeled stars in their 2015 livery.
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RYAN DUNGEY’S
RED BULL KTM 450SXF
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JASON ANDERSON’S
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING FC450
KEN ROCZEN’S
SOARING EAGLE/JIMMY JOHN'S RCH SUZUKI RM-Z450
COOPER WEBB’S
YAMALUBE STAR RACING YAMAHA YZ250F
DAVI MILLSAPS’
MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI KX450F
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TREY CANARD’S
HONDA HRC CRF450R
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ELI TOMAC’S
GEICO HONDA CRF450R
BLAKE BAGGETT’S
YOSHIMURA SUZUKI RM-Z450
JESSY NELSON’S
LUCAS OIL TROY LEE DESIGNS KTM 250 SX-F
MALCOLM STEWART’S
GEICO HONDA CRF250R
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DUNLOP RIDERS WIN 149
AMATEUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dunlop riders won all but a handful of the amateur
national championships up for grabs this season. At the
Davi Millsaps AMA Amateur Championship Spring
Classic at Millcreek, Dunlop riders won 24 titles. The
Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross saw
Dunlop riders take home 30 of a possible 35 titles. At the
GNC International MX Final at Oak Hill Raceway, Dunlop
riders grabbed 45 of a possible 46 titles. Then at the
team dunlop elite-sponsored
riders won a total of 47 championships:
James Stewart Freestone Spring Championship, Dunlop
riders won 50 out of 52 possible championships.
Matt Leblanc: 7
Jett Reynolds: 5
Dunlop offered tire support throughout the Spring
nationals, and Dunlop’s Geomax MX32 tires were the
top choice for all the races, except Freestone where the
Geomax MX11 was better suited to the soft terrain.
Pierce Brown: 5
Max Vohland: 5
Ryder DiFrancesco: 4
Jalek Swoll: 4 (pending)
Casey Cochran: 4
Dunlop congratulates all Dunlop riders on their
accomplishments at the 2015 Spring nationals.
Haiden Deegan: 3
Lance Kobusch: 3
Garrett Marchbanks: 3
We would also like to offer our sincere condolences to
the family of Tyler Hoeft, who passed away at the
Freestone national due to a racing incident.
Nick Romano: 2
Stilez Robertson: 1
Daxton Bennick: 1
Visit teamdunlop.com today to check out all the
possibilities that open up with membership in the Team
Dunlop community.
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SHINING BRIGHTER AND BRIGHTER:
JESSY NELSON
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Since Team Dunlop’s inception in 2007, many of the team’s grads
gave me during my amateur years: tires, photo coverage, plus
have earned great success as professional riders. Recently, Jessy
exposure and recognition in the sport. Now as a pro, I know all the
Nelson notched a big career-first AMA Pro 250 Supercross victory
Dunlop faces and I continue to work closely with the crew as they
at Anaheim 1.
help with tire choice, air pressure settings and other advice.”
“My win at Anaheim was huge, since it was the opening round for
Visit teamdunlop.com today and check out all the possibilities that
2015,” Jessy said. “It was amazing, with no feeling like that ever
open up with membership in the Team Dunlop community, and
before. As a Team D grad I am so thankful for the support Dunlop
start dreaming about what the next season might bring! 81
DANE WESTBY
BY DEAN ADAMS
When I was perhaps 15 or 16 years old,
think, in hopes that I could desperately,
possible, that the characters from The
I discovered the novel The Outsiders in
mentally rewrite its scarring, jarring
Outsiders could roll out of the Westby
the school library. As a child of the late
concluding chapter. I hated the way
trailer one day at the track, ready for
1970s, this novel became, for a time, my
that book ended, with two major
practice. Look! Poneyboy and Soda are
mild obsession.
characters dying.
entered in Supersport on Westby bikes!
I read the book and re-read it, probably,
After a while, feeling sorry for my teenage
Dane Westby was a humble and kind
hundreds of times, and for a while could
self and reciting chapters from a book
young man, forthright and honest. He
recite, at will, several different chapters
became boring. I rolled a bike out of the
was a good son. He was a rider and he
in their entirety. I’ve always considered
shed and went riding. Yet, through Susan
was fast, but what I will remember of
The Outsiders to be my generation’s
Hinton’s book, Tulsa, OK, remained
Dane Westby is how authentic he was,
The Grapes of Wrath even though I
forever a special place, and not because
how down to earth and real he seemed.
freely admit I have never made it through
of the oil fields and or the empty planes,
Like someone out of a novel, he fit into
an entire Steinbeck novel in my life.
but for the humble, struggling people she
his own skin very well, and enjoyed and
described in her novel.
appreciated his life.
Set in Tulsa, OK, The Outsiders centered
on a broken family of poor yet honorable
When Dane Westby first began racing,
Now, undoubtedly people will say that
misfits and their battle with the affluent
he sat in the media center at Daytona
because Dane is gone that racing has
teenage clique that also called Tulsa
during a Dunlop test and spoke to us
lost a real character. Of course, that’s
home. The book was filled with
about his life and his interests. He was,
true, that his charity work, his winning
memorable and—in my mopey, teenage
of course, very fast so the conversation
record and his irrepressible sideburns
mind, anyway—very real characters. I
centered around what he had
made him a true paddock character.
found The Outsiders collection of rebels,
accomplished—up to that point—on the
However, the phrase “real character”
free-spirits, outlaws and wayward, lost,
racetrack. At some point in that chat he
in regards to Dane will probably sit
mopey teens (who inexplicably read
mentioned that he lived in the Tulsa
differently with me than most.
Gone With The Wind, watched sunsets
area. Hearing that, I smiled inside,
and also participated in gang fights) very
remembering my old fictional friends
Years from now someone might ask me if
authentic. Yes, I was a weird kid.
from a book in the school library. Like
I knew Dane Westby and what he was
the book, Dane Westby’s hailing from
like. In answering, I imagine that I’ll ask
Tulsa always resonated with me.
them if they have ever read the novel The
I read The Outsiders over and over, I
Outsiders telling them that for me, Dane
I listened to Dane talk more than I
Westby was like someone from that very
actually talked to him. The more I heard
poignant novel, only incredibly real. A
the more I thought he was my own little
brave young man known for his humble
slice of The Outsiders personified. Could
and friendly nature, who was so authentic
Dane Westby, earthy and gloriously free,
he almost didn’t seem flesh at times.
have slipped into the fictional narrative
of Hinton’s book? Could he have been
“I hate the ending,” I’ll say.
some greasy T-shirt wearing rebel in
82
1970s Tulsa? So much so, I thought,
They will probably think I am referring to
that even the opposite could be
the book.
83
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 10-12
MotoAmerica Round 1
Circuit of the Americas
Austin, TX
April 18
AMA Supercross Round 15
Levi’s Stadium
Santa Clara, CA
May 15-17
MotoAmerica Round 3
Virginia International Raceway (VIR)
Danville, VA
May 16
AMA Motocross Round 1
Hangtown Motocross
Rancho Cordova, CA
April 11
AMA Supercross Round 14
NRG Stadium
Houston, TX
April 25
AMA Supercross Round 16
MetLife Stadium
E. Rutherford, NJ
May 23-24
GNCC Round 7
Marvin’s Mountain Top
Masontown, WV
May 23
AMA Motocross Round 2
Glen Helen Raceway
San Bernardino, CA
April 11-12
GNCC Round 4
Big Buck
Union, SC
April 25-26
GNCC Round 5
Lawrence County Recreational Park
Springville, IN
May 24
AMA Pro Flat Track Round 3
Illinois State Fairgrounds
Springfield, IL
May 30
AMA Motocross Round 3
Thunder Valley Motocross Park
Lakewood, CO
April 17-19
MotoAmerica Round 2
Road Atlanta
Braselton, GA
May 2
AMA Supercross Round 17
Sam Boyd Stadium
Las Vegas, NV
May 29-31
MotoAmerica Round 4
Road America
Elkhart Lake, WI
May 30
AMA Pro Flat Track Round 4
Cal Expo Fair
Sacramento, CA
May 9-10
GNCC Round 6
Seneca Highland
Odessa, NY
June 6-7
GNCC Round 8
Sunday Creek Raceway
Millfield, OH
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