Category: Bikes

MotoGP made its one and only visit the U.S. for the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas last weekend. While we’re all awe-struck at the sight of riders holding on to a bike eclipsing 212 mph through the speed trap, it’s what happens at the end of said speed trap that is a marvel of both engineering and human athletic performance.

Some stats from MotoGP brakes supplier Brembo set the stage.

Mattia Tombolan, MotoGP Race Engineer for Brembo, states that COTA is a “3” on a scale from 1 to 6 that classifies circuits as low-braking intensity (1) to high-braking intensity (6). What determines a circuit’s braking intensity is the average heat generated over the course of a lap. Heat, or more precisely the retention of it, is the enemy of braking performance.

“At 1000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit), the brake pads and discs begin to oxidize,” says Tombolan, “which means that the material itself starts to break down.”

Excess heat is not only detrimental to braking performance, but it can also greatly affect tire pressure and performance. As such, teams using forged magnesium front wheels by Marchesini have a specialized reflective surface coating to further aid heat dissipation and keep front tire pressure stable.

A low intensity circuit would see average brake temperatures around 300 C (572 F) while a high braking intensity circuit such as the Red Bull Ring in Austria would see temps hovering around 800 C (1,472 F). COTA sits right in the middle of scale at around 550 C (1022 F).

“The single largest factor in how the brakes generate and then dissipate heat has less to do with the intensity of a single braking zone, but the frequency of braking events and the time in between them,” Tombolan explains.

At COTA there are three zones of high intensity braking in Turns 1, 11 and 12 where riders enter at over 210 mph before decelerating to 40 mph in the space of 967 feet in a time of 5.5 seconds. According to Brembo, at the same turn, Formula 1 cars start braking from a speed of 196 mph down to 53 mph in 2.78 seconds and cover a distance of 422 feet.

More remarkable still is that the act of braking is handled almost entirely by the front brake, which means that all the deceleration is handled by one tire contact patch smaller than a credit card. Unlike a car, which is mostly sprung mass balanced over four corners, some 90 percent of a MotoGP bike’s weight sits behind the front forks, which is a pivot point. If ever you’ve been traveling on a highway and witnessed an 18-wheeler semi-truck in a panic stop where the trailer suddenly swings out around the cab, that is essentially what a MotoGP rider is contending with at every braking point.

The numbers are impressive, but the question is how do they, both Brembo and the riders, do it? We start with looking at the technical angle.

Brembo are brake systems supplier to all three classes – MotoGP, Moto 2 and Moto3 – but only the MotoGP bikes use carbon discs and pads on the front brake. All classes utilize steel rotors, but only for the rear brake on MotoGP bikes.

The carbon discs and pads begin as tissue-thin sheets of carbon fiber that are stacked in layers and baked in an autoclave. Every disc and pad begin from the same batch of carbon and stay together as a set for the duration of their useful life. It takes some nine months from start to finish to manufacture each set of discs and pads.

The brake caliper assemblies are machined from billet titanium, offering a high strength to weight ratio while also being able to dissipate heat thanks to both the material properties and the complex array of cooling fins that are machined into each one.

Depending on the circuit requirements Brembo manufacture discs in a range of diameters and thicknesses. In all, teams and riders have six carbon discs available from 355 mm diameter down to 320 mm depending on the circuit classification. At COTA, three size options were offered to choose from with 340 mm being the largest.

“From a purely braking point of view, bigger is better when it comes to the discs. Larger discs provide more surface area, creating more friction and most importantly dissipate heat faster,” says Tombolan. “The trade-off is that a larger disc generates a greater gyroscopic effect that hampers a bike and rider’s ability to change direction, limiting a rider’s choice to choose a line through a corner and most especially in combination corners requiring a shift from right to left or vice versa.”

Depending on the circuit conditions as well as other factors in bike set-up, a rider might sample from among the sizes available to find the best compromise between the bike’s handling and braking capacity.

In a future installment, we take a deep dive into how riders deploy different braking techniques such as balancing front and rear brakes, while also getting better understanding of the physicality required to make it all possible.

After a nine-year stint in Moto2, which yielded 10 Grand Prix victories, 26 podium finishes, 19 pole positions and a career-best of third in the world championship, Sam Lowes has migrated over to the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike Word Championship for 2024.

“I always had a goal to race in World Superbike, but I chose to try the Grand Prix paddock,” said Lowes. “I’m happy and proud that I’ve had such a good GP career, and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. But I feel now it’s a great time to move across to WorldSBK to try a different machine and learn how to ride a Superbike. I also believe in myself and know I can achieve good things.”

The quiet confidence shared by Lowes and the entire Marc VDS racing team was brought into sharp focus at the Pirelli Catalunya Round when Lowes took control of the lead in Race 1 and held station up to lap five when he crashed out on turn five. Even though Lowes lamented the miscue, down deep, he knew that he and the Ducati Panigale V4 R both have the right stuff for a successful season.

“At Barcelona we should have really been there,” said Lowes. “Fighting for the podiums is great. And if you’re on the podium, you can fight for wins.

Currently 13^th in WorldSBK points after two rounds, Lowes will look to the TT Circuit Assen rounds on April 20 and 21 to further gain momentum in his goal to become a WorldSBK Champion.

“[The change] has come at a good time for me,” he said. “It’s new motivation, new changes and a new series and a very different series. We get three races a weekend. There is a different format and different bikes and different riders and different tires. There has been a lot of change for me and I’m 33 years-old now and it has been mega timing. It’s like starting again in some way, and I think it has all given me that refresh for another few years. Yes, I’m really, really enjoying it.”

Looking at the 2024 WorldSBK season as a blank sheet of paper, Lowes has quickly come to terms with the Marc VDS Racing V4 90-degree Desmodromic-powered Ducati motorcycle.

“In some of the ways, the differences between Moto2 and World Superbike were probably more than I thought,” said Lowes of leaving behind his Triumph 765cc inline-triple Moto2 bike. “With the bike and the tires, they’re quite a lot different to what I’m used to. Obviously there’s a bit more power with this bike than the Moto2 bike, and there is also a lot more weight. This bike weights 35 kilos more than the Moto2 bike. And the Pirelli tire compared to the Dunlop tire is very different.

“There has been a lot to learn and everything has been going more or less okay. The final results have not been mega, but the signs have been good and my speed is good. Yeah, it’s a great series and I’m proud to be part of it. It’s all obviously new to the team, as well, and I think we’re growing into it nicely. In the next race you should see some better results and that will be a very good feeling.

“I’m encouraged by the results so far. In Barcelona, I led two of the races. In one of the races we had a small issue with the tire and it was a long race and in the end the tire was dropping off a lot. That’s just something I need to learn. This is new to me. In Moto2 we were used to doing the best laps at the end and managing tires a bit differently. It’s just a learning curve. I had an unfortunate crash out of the lead in race one at Barcelona and that hindered us a little. At the minute, it’s our first year as a team and we’re fighting at the front and leading races and I think that is positive and it shows that we have the speed to do it.

“I think World Superbike is more similar to Moto2 because Moto2 is full of young guy that are crazy. The races are very fast, especially the short race, with a lot of passing and a lot of good maneuvers whereas in MotoGP there is such a high level of lap time differentials. There is not as much overtaking, but obviously the level is extremely high. In overtaking, the character of the Superbike production bike is a bit easier. I think this makes for exciting racing. You’re either going forward or going backwards. Someone is passing you if you’re not passing the guy in front of you. It’s like when you’re playing with your friends when you’re training on little bikes. That’s what it is. You sort of do the whole race with a smile. You’re looking at your pit board and there are three laps to go and you really feel like you’re ready to start. Yeah, that’s a nice feeling.”

The 2024 World Superbike Championship will mark its conclusion at Jerez in October. Lowes is confident both he and the Marc VDS Racing team in the mix for the FIM Gold Medal.

“Yeah, we definitely can win,” he said. “I think the title will be tough this year because there are two or three tracks that I don’t know. There are some things with the pit stop races and with the qualifying tires and some things I’m just not ready to take the maximum potential from it. I need to do all of this to learn it a little bit. There are a few situations where I just need to learn, and I’ll be learning on the job. That’s just normal, I think.

“We can definitely win races and we can definitely fight for podiums at a lot of the races. At Barcelona we should have really been there. We should learn everything, make the mistakes this year with myself and the team and all of us all together. We’ll put the mistakes out of the way and learn the tracks. Now I’m back here and I’m happy to be here and I’m really looking forward to try and get that title to match up with my Supersport one. I’m proud to be part of and I think definitely by my second year, we’ll be one of the best teams and on the level with the best teams in the category. After just two races I feel like we are really close and that is something that they should be proud of.”

”I am proud to announce Ducati’s entry into Motocross,” Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, told the motor racing world in the January of this year.

“A totally new world for Ducati in which we want to bring our talent in designing lightweight motorcycles, with excellent components and high performance and – above all – which can excite more and more motorcyclists. Just as we believe that the track is the best laboratory to develop and test the bikes that will then be available to customers and enthusiasts.”

Ducati has been front and center during 70 years of FIM World Championship racing success, winning 18 constructors titles, and 15 riders titles, along the way in becoming one of the most successful teams in MotoGP and World Superbike Championship motorcycle racing history.

Now it arrives in motocross. It has developed a prototype four-stroke, single cylinder 450cc Ducati Desmo450 MX rbike which it will first take to the starting gate in mid-March with Maddii Racing and team rider Alessandro Lupino as part of the Italian Motocross Pro Prestige MX1 Championship.

Overseeing the program will be Paolo Ciabatti, Sporting Director of Ducati Corse from 2013 through 2023. Tapped to fill the role of General Manager of the new Ducati Corse Off-Road program, 66 year-old Ciabatti helped boost Ducati’s MotoGP success, beginning with Casey Stoner’s 2007 MotoGP title. A key variable in the calculus of Ducati’s MotoGP and WorldSBKdominance – Ducati won both the MotoGP ad WorldSBK championships in 2023 – Ciabatti will now hold station over the upstart Ducati MXGP program.

“Obviously Ducati had this idea to go off-road for many, many years,” explained Ciabatti from his home in Italy. “For whatever reason, the project and the plan was always delayed; it was, ‘Next time! Next time!’ Luckily, three years ago there was the approval to go ahead with this project. Ducati decided that there was a market for Ducati, even though the off-road market is very new to Ducati and is dominated by KTM and the Japanese brands at the moment.”

Placing Ciabatti at the control of the spectacular new project displays a strong vote of confidence from Ducati in the veteran racing executive.

“This whole project is a clean sheet of paper,” he said. “Obviously, it’s an exciting challenge, because Ducati has never been present in the off-road world. All of the projects that I’ve been working on, obviously they were already existing projects like Superbike or MotoGP. You enjoy success, but you want something new; a new challenge; a new motivation. I think this came at the right time.”

“Ducati thinks that with the right product and with the right network, we can be successful. Obviously, success will depend on the quality of the product, which is going to be our target at the top of the segment. Ducati also wants to be successful in racing. We think that with this model we can attract a younger customer base that will get into the Ducati family through a new product and eventually they will stay with Ducati and move to something else maybe when they get a little bit older.”

Domenicali has told the motorcycle industry media that Ducati cannot make mistakes along the way. Ciabatti addressed Domenicali’s concerns.

“When you enter into a new segment as a manufacturer, not only is there racing but also with the product you need to be very careful with what you do,” he said.

“Obviously, the quality and the features of the product are very important. Some good success in racing obviously helps to convince people that it is the right product. There is also a lot of work to do on the sales network and many other things that Ducati is taking very seriously because we still have some time ahead of us for the production, because the bike will be on the market in the last part of 2025. We want to be ready.

“Ducati is very proud of our engineering qualities,” furthered Ciabatti, referring back to the 20 Ducati engineers who have been dispatched to the Borgo Panigale motocross bike. “It is a brand new engine. It doesn’t have any single part in common with any other existing engine. It does retain the Desmo System because this is what Ducati has on all of the sports models, so this engine has a Desmodromic Valve System.

“Also with the frame, we took a different approach. We started with all of the competitors because this is what you normally do when you are developing a new product – especially if you develop a product in a different space outside of your comfort zone. We got some knowledge from the competitors and what they are doing and then we decided to go our own way.”

And so far, so good for Desmo450 MX project.

“The first test we did seemed to show we are going in the right direction,” said Ciabatti. “Obviously, we will need more testing this year. We’ll also take part in the Italian Championship with Alessandro, mainly with the target to further develop the bike in the most grueling situation, which is to go racing. Toni Cairoli is also helping, as well, in pushing the bike to the limit. Maybe he will do some races as well. That has not been decided yet.

“The riders Cairoli and Lupino, they decided to join the project and I think that shows that Ducati is doing things seriously. We want to be successful. We know it will take time because we know how long it took for some other manufacturers before they came to success. We know that we can get there and that’s the target.

“The main target is developing the bike. There is developing the bike, and on the other side, we know with riders like Alessandro and Toni, the expectation in racing is that we will be on top, or fighting for the top. We are a mix on one side where people expect Ducati to come to races and immediately be hyper competitive. I think we can be very competitive, but we will never forget that the main purpose in racing in 2024 is to develop the bike further. If it comes with some very good results, it is going to be the perfect situation.”

As the Desmo450 MX is raced and developed in the next year, it will be imperative for Ducati Corse and Ducati Production to stay closely connected as the two entities will be in a constant flow and exchange of R&D information.

“For Superbikes we develop a street bike, which has some features that will make it competitive in Superbike, so it’s a way where Ducati Corse engineers and Ducati Motor engineers work closely,” he said.

“In this Desmo450 MX case it is even more so, because it’s a non-homologated bike. It is not a bike that you need to homologate. It is a bike that is going to be used in motocross tracks by enthusiasts and by professionals. The bike that will be on sale in the second half of 2025 will have a lot in common with the bike we use for racing. This is why Ducati Corse Off-Road has been created.”

After developing the new motorcycle in the Italian Pro Prestige MX1 Championship, Ducati Corse R&D will look to the U.S.-based Monster Energy Supercross Championship. Ciabatti is fully aware that American Supercross is an entirely different world to navigate.

“It is definitely a championship we want to compete in and hopefully it will be in 2026,” he said. “This is the plan. We know it’s a different story for motocross. It takes a lot of preparation, but it is exciting. We can see that not only KTM and the Japanese manufacturers, but Beta is there and Triumph is there. I think this is good for the sport because if you see more and more manufacturers interested to enter into motocross and supercross, it shows that this sport that we all love is now attracting more interest from new manufacturers is very good.”

Now owned by Audi and armed with the German automotive brand’s financial and engineering wherewithal, Ducati has not been shy about preparing to take its new motocross fight to both the Japanese and Austrian motorcycle brands.

“Definitely we’re going to go fight those guys, as we’ve been fighting them in MotoGP and Superbikes,” said Ciabatti. “As I said, we know that it will take some time. Possibly less time than it took some other manufacturers, hopefully. We know that it will not be easy because it is a very competitive championship. Riders make a huge difference. Obviously, attracting the right riders to ride our bike will be a key for our future success. Hopefully, I think that the image Ducati has worldwide as a company that is succeeding in every motorsport activity we compete in will help us put together the best possible team with the best possible riders.”

I first met Ryan Villopoto in August 2002 when he was a 13-year-old kid competing in the 85cc Modified (9-13) class at the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship in Tennessee. Nobody on the fence watching Villopoto take on then factory Honda Minicycle pilot Mike Alessi that afternoon knew who the Brothers Powersports Yamaha privateer was.

Three years later at Broome-Tioga Sports Center in New York and on a Kawasaki KX250F, Villopoto made his AMA Pro Racing debut and powered on to a nine-year professional career where he’d become a four-time 450cc AMA 450cc Supercross champion as well as a four-time AMA 450cc Motocross champion before calling it quits.

But that hasn’t changed his love of the sport, as he explains while hanging out with the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Supercross team…

Q: Do you still feel the rush of being at the races?

RV: It’s a lot of fun. The older I get the more I enjoy being able to come here to these races and hang out with everyone. I guess when I first retired I really didn’t go to a lot of races or do much for about two years. So I had a two-year hiatus from the sport. Then once I started coming back a little more, I really kind of got back into the swing of things.

We have tons of friends here, right? It doesn’t matter. It’s Frankie Latham from KTM or the guys over a Gas Gas or the guys that have gone around like Zach White. Zach used to be the engine person here at Pro Circuit and he left to do some TRD stuff for a while and he’s now back at KTM. I’m good with everybody and it’s just so good to be able to see all of the guys. It’s just fun being able to come back and see everybody and just hang out here with no pressure.”

Q: Do you still feel the race day nerves?

RV: No, I have no nerves. I’m just here to enjoy it. No nerve for me.”

Q: You were a very serious guy when you were racing…

RV: Yeah, you have to be. I know we have a lot of past race winners and a lot of few past champions out there, but I think the difference you see from myself or Ricky Carmichael or Ryan Dungey is that when you live inside of that box of winning races every single year and winning championships multiple years on end, it can get real tough. We raced for 17 rounds and I was that same person for 17 rounds. There was no, “Hey, I’m out of the points. I’m just here for race wins.” I was never out of the points. I was always in it to win the championship. I think that’s what was different too.

Q: In being a factory-backed motorcycle racer it’s all on you when you get on the bike. The whole race team, the whole organization back in Japan, all the sponsors, the results, it’s all on you. That’s gnarly for any young professional racer, isn’t it?

RV: It was not easy. I mean we have these big trucks and we have all these new members and suspension guys and motor guys and tire guys and all this personnel, but the one thing with racing, and especially with two-wheel sports like motocross, Supercross and Moto GP, once you go down to the line, you are a standalone guy. And the beauty of our sport is to that you don’t have to have the best machine to win. Moto GP, if you are some horsepower down, you’re not winning, right? Same with car racing. But for us, Supercross and motocross, you can win on a motorcycle that might not be the best. We can use Kenny Roczen for example. He’s still riding that Suzuki that still has a kick starter. Suzuki is the last manufacturer out there left with a kick starter. That doesn’t mean the bike is bad. But once again, it’s probably not the best motorcycle. Kenny is capable of winning and I think Kenny wins at least one to two races this year.

Q: What’s your take on the Supercross competition thus far in 2024?

RV: Well, it’s definitely made the season interesting so far. The points are really close. Anaheim 1 was Anaheim 1 and always with a lot of pressure and a lot of riders maybe didn’t ride their best. They find out where the bike needs to be better after that first race and then we go to San Francisco for a full mud race. Then came San Diego — definitely a raceable track, but not great conditions. All of this has definitely kept things very interesting so far.

Q: Five, six or seven guys can win on any given Saturday, right?

RV: Totally. And it’s good to see that we now have one new manufacturer in Beta. We have Triumph starting with the East Coast Supercross Series, which will be the second new manufacturer in the sport. And then everybody saw the news of Ducati coming into the sport. For Triumph and Ducati to spend the money that they’re doing to develop motorcycles and get into this industry. things are on the rise and ramping up. Clearly there’s a reason why they’re getting into this space.

Q: Eli Tomac… Can he still win?

RV: I think Eli is in it for the long haul, for sure. Look, I can’t speak to where Eli is at in his career. I never had kids when I raced and that’s uncharted territory for me. Eli is coming off of his Achilles injury and has been riding really well and I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Eli yet in 2024. I think Eli was kind of feeling it out at first. Obviously, we’ve had two mud races too, so that really did not help. I know Eli is going to win some races this year and you just can’t count him out.

Q: How about Jett Lawrence?

RV: It’s good. I like Jett. I like I like everything that he’s about. Our sport needs that. The same with Haiden Deagan. Our sport needs these young kids and they need to be who they want to be like. I think the era is kind of changing from the way that I came. When I was professional and when I was top of the 450 class, we definitely lived inside of a box. I love to see the character of these guys coming out. They’re being more themselves and that’s one thing that our sport has been missing. These younger guys are going to change that.”

Q: What do you think, looking back on your body of racing work? 

RV: I couldn’t change anything about it. I mean sure, I’d go back and change losing the 2008 Lites championship to Trey Canard. I can’t change the outdoor rounds or outdoor races or racing series that I missed because of knee injuries. Honestly, though, if I go back and look at it, the older I get the more I appreciate it.

And my boys are doing this now. Having them go on YouTube and see that stuff I did now that I’m 35 years old is awesome. But for me, I’m like, “Dude, to accomplish what I did and win as much as I won, that was pretty gnarly.” I mean, I sit in a category of Jeremy McGrath of doing four championships in a row. I’m the only other one to do four in a row. It definitely is really, really, really cool.”

Q: The 2007 Motocross of Nations at Budds Creek, Maryland — I’ve been around racing my entire life and to this day, that’s the greatest single racing performance I’ve ever seen. I was standing behind the starting gate with Ryan Dungey when you came roaring out of the woods on the opening lap of the race. You were untouchable that day.

RV: Yeah, it couldn’t have gotten any more perfect. And then everything for Team USA was also perfect, right? Home soil and everybody pulled their weight. I always really liked Budds Creek. There and Glen Helen were really good to me over the years. And yeah, man, I think that for whatever reason, it was a perfect day at the Budds Creek Motocross of Nations. It was like “The Matrix” and things were happening slow — I could dodge all the bullets. I could see the things coming almost before they happened.

Q: All you guys retire so early with most of your life in front of you. You left the sport in a very good place. Not everybody does.

RV: Well, I think it might be easier for the guys that didn’t make a huge amount of money during their careers. The reason why I say it’s easier for guys that don’t have a big old bankroll a cash in the bank is because when they stop racing, they might have a nice little nest egg put away, but they need to go back to work to some degree, right? If I had to do that and go back to work, I would do it. I’m going to make it work. I’ll find my position and I’m going to run with that.

I’ll use Wil Hahn for example. Wil was the 250 East Coast champion in 2013 and also rode the 450 at Kawasaki for a couple of years. Wil probably put up a nice little nest egg in the bank but he also had to get a job when he retired, you know? Now he’s the Gas Gas team trainer. My point is that when I’d retired at 27, I didn’t have to work and I still don’t have to. And for the first 18 months of my retirement, I did not have any responsibilities. We didn’t have the kids yet. It was a lot of fun. I woke up when I woke up and went to the bar when I wanted to go to the bar and did this or had to go there and do that or whatever. I did whatever I wanted to. It was a lot of fun.

After that eight months, you know, the teenager kind of wears off. Then it is like, “OK, what am I going to do now?” And then you start looking at it like, “Well, I can do this! I’ve got I got enough money, maybe I’ll buy this! Maybe I’ll start a coffee shop!” Those are all great things, but it’s also because we start our careers so young. And when I mean young, I’m talking racing on 60cc and 80cc bikes. So we live inside that for so long because it’s the only thing we know, right?

Q: So what do you have going on these days?

RV: I’m with Yamaha and bLU cRU and Monster Energy and Fasthouse and it all keeps me busy. Next month I’m going to Colorado for Yamaha for a Tenere 700 Ride. It’ll be four days of trails. When I did the Yamaha deal, obviously it was a brand-new company to work with. We were both learning each other and then all of a sudden COVID hit. Then in the last two years we’ve really found our stride. Damon Bradshaw and I are both Yamaha guys and we have a really good gig. I don’t really want to be on the motorcycle track very often. I want to go and ride the trails and do the side-by-sides and with Yamaha, with all the different platforms they have, it’s a lot of fun.

We’ve also been working on the “Title 24” podcast. We’re building that with NBC and myself and Ricky [Carmichael]. That’s a lot of fun too. On Monday we are able to dissect and talk for an hour and 15 minutes about the racing weekend and give our insight on all of it.

Q: You went overseas to compete in MXGP in the twilight of your racing career. What do you think when you reflect back of that project? I was around you then and it all seemed sort of rushed.

RV: If I could say there was any regret with my career, that would have been something that I wish would have gone maybe a little bit differently. I’m not even meaning winning a world championship. But like you said, it was really, really rushed. I’m gonna be honest, the team was wasn’t ready for me to come over there. Everything was totally different. And I think as an American to go to Europe, you couldn’t ask for anything harder. It’s way easier for a European to come to the U.S. It was all so very different. I loved the architecture and I loved the food and the history. So that was a lot of fun.

The few races that I did do — Thailand, Qatar, Argentina — I really liked. I did crash and get hurt. Some of those races I did were in some of the most beautiful places in the world. It was all definitely something that I wish I wish I could have done more seasons of it. It just wasn’t in the cards for me mentally. I didn’t want to live inside of that pressure cooker anymore of producing to win and even when I went over there to a new series like MXGP, I still was expected to win.

Ricky and me, we talked about that the other day, Ricky said that we were both bred to win, you know? I think that’s what the difference is today. That’s why we see guys racing longer today. It is because they’re not in it every single weekend for the win like Ricky and I were. We were there to win championships, you know? We were there to win 17 rounds.

I think there’s a different mentality too. Like, you can go in and a race a smart race and maybe only win five races and win the championship. That’s a great way to play the chessboard too. I didn’t play the chess game like that. Ricky didn’t either. When we lined up behind the gate, it was not like do or die but we were going to try to win at all costs every single time. Look, man, I won 11 races in one season. That’s over half the races. That’s a lot of winning to do and live in that pressure.

Q: Your dad Dan passed away back in 2018. I’m certain your dad would have been thrilled to work alongside you and your sons Brax and Gage.

Exactly, yeah, he’d be stoked to do it with the kids. And it just makes everything way harder without him. Especially racing. You know, l could have him working on bikes and washing bikes and changing tires and whatever else it was and I would be right there with him and helping them. Now it’s all on my own and I gotta look for a mechanic…

Three rounds into into the 2024 250SX West Supercross Championship, things are going well for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Levi Kitchen.

The third place finisher at the season-opener at Angel Stadium in Orange County, California, Kitchen soldiered on through the rain and mud of Oracle Park to come up 0.913s short to main event winner Jordan Smith. One week later, also in the rain and mud, this time at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Kitchen stalked down race leader and was looking to make a pass when he tipped over and fell. He charged back to fifth at the finish line and is now second in 250SX West points heading into Angel Stadium in Anaheium this weekend.

“I’m pretty satisfied I’d say with how it’s gone so far,” he says. “Last weekend felt like the one that got away a little bit for me. Speed-wise and stuff, I felt like I was in a good spot to win. But the positives were that I’m feeling really good on the bike and we’re still in a good spot points-wise. I’m just eight points back from Jordan Smith. I’m happy, and I’ve just got to keep plugging away. There’s a lot of racing left still. With that being said though, it also feels like there’s not a ton of racing left from a championship standpoint. I just need to make some stuff happen quick in these next few weeks. I want to turn it around a little bit. I’m happy with two podiums to start off the season, but I need to get on a roll here and try to click off some wins.”

With the competition running so deep in the 2024 250SX West series, there is no margin for error.

“No, there’s not a margin at all,” said Kitchen. “Jo [Shimoda] is, like, 30-something points down now. Statistically, he’s out of it. There’s absolutely no way now. With somebody like Jo, I could get second behind him the rest of the season and still get the championship. Jo’s off my list and Nate Thrasher is now also off my list. Those guys are great, but it’s between Jordan Smith and R.J. Hampshire now. Garrett Marchbanks is riding really well, too. But once you go down 25 points, which is pretty much a race win, it’s going to be pretty tough to come back in the championship. So I’m not too worried about the others. I just need to keep doing my thing and see where that takes me.”.

Of his Anaheim 1 third place podium ride, Kitchen was quietly pleased.

“It was alright for me,” he said. “Nerves got to me really bad on race day. That was a little bit of a bummer, but going into this weekend at Angel Stadium, the nerves are pretty much gone. Last year at A2 went well for me. I got my first supercross race win, so I’m really looking forward to this weekend. If I can just ride like myself and relax, I can do some damage.”

Displaying excellent speed at Snapdragon Stadium last Saturday, Kitchen laments what might have been.

“For sure I was bummed about San Diego,” he said. “At the same time, things could be worse. I could be off the pace and wondering how to be on pace. If anybody goes back and watches the race and looks at times or anything in that matter, I definitely had the speed to win and I felt like I could catch people whenever I needed to.

“It was just hard to execute a pass there and that’s what hurt me. I was getting a little bit impatient behind R.J. Anderson and I should have waited for a mistake from him. But I forced it and it cost me.”

Kitchen let it be known during the off-season that he had left the Star Racing Yamaha organization after the 2023 racing season to move over to Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki in an effort to gain more freedom and make a needed change.

“Yes, there’s always questions if you made the right move,” he said. “There’s always going to be pros and cons to anything you do in life, so I was truly surprised at how easy the transition was. I started stressing because Chase Sexton, and I train with him now, he takes a pretty long off-season after racing. He was going to a new team too in 2024 and said to me, “Trust me, man, you’ll have plenty of time on the bike. You’ll be good.” I took almost over a month off.

“And within three weeks, I was perfectly comfortable. You know, racing is obviously a bit different than practicing. Even in a race environment so far, it has been great. At Anaheim we struggled a little bit with a couple of things on the bike, but that’s common no matter what bike or team you’re on. Practice tracks are always different than the race track. So with the race bike, it was definitely nothing out of the ordinary. It was a really easy transition. The team environment has been amazing for me. It’s been pretty unreal.

“I enjoy it a lot and with the freedom side, I can change things in my program if needed. Being a little bit happier has helped my mindset and my confidence. I’m really confident because everything is how I want it. Obviously, and I think with any athlete, especially at the top level, we all deal with being a little bit selfish at times, but  the way we have to be in our mindset.”

According to Kitchen, life inside the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki outfit has been a case of so far, so good.

“I am really loving it so far,” he nodded with a smile. “You know people can say Mitch [Payton] can be hard on hard on you… Coming from Star Yamaha, Bobby Regan was pretty old school and he can be pretty tough on you, too. It wasn’t shocking or anything and so far, Mitch is not really that hard on me at all. He’s just honest and tells the truth with everything. Everything Mitch says makes sense to me, so I don’t blame him for ever saying anything to me. I want to win just as bad as Mitich wants to win. I might want to win even more.”

Having won the second Anaheim Supercross round in 2023, Kitchen is fully focused on winning at Angel Stadium when he walks into the paddock come Saturday morning.

“It’s time to win,” he said. “I’d like to put three ones up on the board and get the overall on Saturday and then go right into Glendale. Obviously the goal is to win, so podiums are great, for sure. After that fifth place this last weekend in San Diego, I planned the whole season in my head and that fifth place now needs to be bad race. I need to get it back together. It’s always been competitive, but I feel like it’s definitely getting more and competitive because the playing field is getting a little more even. Everybody does similar programs. That’s why I wanted to step away and do my own thing, because I didn’t want to do the same thing as everybody else. I wanted to try and get the upper hand.”

Like almost everyone else at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California this past Saturday afternoon, Jo Shimoda waited out the rain. Present for that night’s third round of the 2024 AMA Pro Racing 250SX West Region Supercross Championship, Shimoda was mentally calculating solid result in Southern California, keen to atone for the DNF a week prior in Oracle Park in San Francisco, the end result of a roasted clutch suffered during the frantic 250SX main event.

Q: Shuffling over to Team Honda for 2024 was a huge move for both you and your career. You competed for 2020 Factory Connection Honda back in 2020. How does it feel to be back on the red motorcycle? 

JO SHIMODA: The bike is good. With the Honda people around me now, I feel more comfortable and I can speak for myself better within the team. I’m still trying to learn the bike and the team. The bike is really comfortable and has really good power. And racing for Honda is great, for sure. I was racing for Honda three years ago with Factory Connection Honda and it’s nice to come back to the brand again. I’m looking forward to us having a long relationship. That would be sick.

Q: You have been racing in USA for a couple of years now. Do you feel more comfortable as more time goes by?

JS: I do definitely miss home and my family that lives over there in Japan, but the more time I stay here in the U.S., I feel like I have a good group of people around me It’s fun. You know, my parents are actually here in California now. My Dad has been here for three weeks now after this weekend, he’s going back to Japan. I think for him it’s kind of cool to see his son riding and racing with Honda again. He’s been able to see my first three races this year, so yeah, that has been good.

Q: It’s easy to see that the American supercross fans really like you. Even your autograph line was quite lengthy earlier this afternoon! Do you pick up on that at all?

JS: Yes and it’s cool for the sport and cool for the people and having those connections with them is great. When I have success I want to have people celebrate with me, so that’s a good part of all of this.

Q: I know in conversations we’ve had that winning a championship here in the U.S. A. would mean a lot to you, wouldn’t it?

JS: For sure. But first we’ve got to go up on top of the box and try to win some races before we talk about that.

Postscript:

Later that evening and in the 250SX West main event, Shimoda scrambled his way to a hard-earned fourth place finish. Now seventh in the 250SX West points race, Shimoda will look to this forthcoming weekend and round four of the series set for Angel Stadium in Orange County, California.

“I thought I was riding well all day despite the back end sliding a lot in the main event,” said Shimoda afterwards. “ That was disappointing, but my riding was good. I nearly made the podium, which is an improvement on last weekend. The pace and the riding has been good and I still believe I can do it. I just want a normal weekend.”

Since launching his pro career in 2013, Adam Cianciarulo has won races in both the 250cc and 450cc ranks and is still fast at it, as a works racer for the Monster Energy Kawasaki 450cc race team. Here, the 2019 AMA Pro Motocross champion talks about where he feels he’s at in the sport he’s been involved in basically most of his life:

“I think as a kid growing up, you always imagine what it will be like when you get to this moment,” pondered Cianciarulo ahead of his weekend’s third round of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship in San Diego. “First off you have to kind of take a step back and realize how lucky we are. I realize how lucky I am and what an opportunity this is to be out there and to be in front of the crowd. To have all of those eyes on you and you kind of being the star of the show is awesome. Most people don’t get to experience that.

“I think it’s really easy to get caught up in the stress and maybe some things are coming your way. Obviously everybody involved in this sport has gone through injuries and a lot of adversity, but yeah, I always make sure to take a step back and realize that that I’m lucky to be here. It’s been incredibly exciting and it’s been really hard at times and it’s been amazing at times and where I’m at now in my life now, I am just so grateful for the experience and for everything it has given me and everything it has not given me. You know, it’s been not perfect, but it has been perfect for me and it’s made me who I am today, so I just feel grateful.”

Part of that gratitude comes from knowing what a privilege it is to still be chasing wins after all those years in such a physically taxing sport.

“Yeah, there is no roll cage here in Supercross,” he says. And we say it every year that Supercross and motocross is around, the levels just keep getting higher and we keep figuring out how to go faster on better equipment. I think the sport is in a better place than ever in terms of the talent that we have on the track and how many riders are capable of doing amazing things on their bike.

“I mean everybody out there deserves a lot of respect. If I take myself kind of outside of racing and look at it all objectively, it is very dangerous and you’re taking so much risk. You turn the second turn at Anaheim and you’ve got to do a triple jump and you have got three guys in front of you. You know you’re rubbing elbows with those guys when you’re going off the face of the jump. It’s not a question mark in your mind if you’re doing the jump or not, you’re just totally doing it. We all just kind of accept that as normal. Yeah, I think our normal is extreme and incredibly exciting.

“Especially if you watch somebody like Ken Roczen or Jett Lawrence or Chase Sexton ride… when I watch those guys ride, I just want to hop on a bike right away. It looks like it’s so easy. I think to the casual eye it’s hard to know really how much you’re physically involved. But that’s another thing that makes them unique. It’s such a combination of flexibility, endurance, strength, and you have to you have to have it all. You have to always be mindful of your form and where you’re at. Then we have 33 races during the season where we need to stay at the top of our game and that’s probably the hardest thing.”

No other form of motorsport requires man and racing machine become one more than motocross and supercross. World class athleticism and endurance coupled with high-flying, high horsepower race machines add up to a sport where a terrific amount of importance is laced upon the person twisting the throttle.

“Absolutely not is there a sport out there like the one we do,” agreed Cianciarulo. “I mean, it’s why we all love it. That’s why I’ve dedicated my whole life to doing it, you know? As gnarly as it is and as dangerous as it is, there’s just something about supercross and motocross racing that is extraordinary. It draws you in and it’s captivating and there are so many personalities and so much talent, especially in these days. People are doing things on a motorcycle and constantly progressing the sport. Just with the fan part of it, I can’t get enough. I really can’t. There’s nothing like sitting down and watching the guys race.

“I’ve never lost the hunger to do it, Even through some of my lower moments in my career and when things got difficult, through all of it I’m still sitting here today and I still love what I do. I’ve been blessed with this love for this sport and the people and everything. It’s the same me through the tough times in my career. It’s always been with me and I’m not quite sure where it comes from. It wasn’t a family thing for me, really. It’s just a love story start to finish and I hope to be around the sport as long as I can and as long as it’ll have me.”

Cianciarulo had 12th- and eighth-place finishes at the season opening Anaheim and San Francisco rounds, but feels content about his 2024 form.

“So far I feel very relaxed with the season,” said Cianciarulo, who has been with Kawasaki since 2006. “I’m having more fun than I ever have. I had a race at Anaheim 1 this year and one where I really wasn’t stoked on my riding and results. It was kind of a struggle on my end there all day. But you know, I’m still finding the joy in those things and in those moments. And yeah, it’s obviously an incredibly talented field. You look to your left, look to your right and there’s a lot of really good guys and I’m fortunate to be out there battling and racing with them.

“The biggest thing for me now is I look at racing as an opportunity, you know? Each round, each race each lap is an opportunity for me to go out there and perform. I think in the past I was just trying to put so much pressure on myself. If you do that, you can kind of start to lose that joy. Yeah. I have that joy back more than I ever have and it just makes all the work during the weekend and all the stress we go through so much easier to deal with.

“I think we always were always talking about expectations, right? Where you expect yourself to be, that’s just the natural question that transcends every sport and everything. I don’t really even think like that anymore in terms of expectation. I feel like that distracts me from what my ultimate goal is and that’s to do my best. I want to be happy with the product that I put out on the track. if I’m all in I do everything right during the week and I do that on race day, no matter what it is, I’ll be able to go after my goals. I’m just really trying to live in the moment in life in general.

While setting expectations aside, Cianciarulo still feels like he has wins in him.

“I definitely think that I that I have the ability and I know I have the team to do really well and get up there this year,” he said. I mean the guys like Chase Sexton, Kenny Roczen, Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb, all these guys are going really fast. Throw Aaron Plessinger in there, as well. I mean, I really I can name pretty much everybody I’m lining up against. They all have incredible ability, so I wouldn’t be out there if I didn’t think that I could be at the highest level and yeah, I just I want to repay the team — my crew chief Oscar Wirdeman, my mechanic Justin Shantie and team manager Bruce Stjernstrom. They’ve all been so great to me and I definitely want to put the Kawasaki up on the podium.”

Next up: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego and a main event Adam Cianciarulo feels very good about.

“I do feel good, I really do. I’m top 10 in points now,” he noted. “I didn’t get to come out for opening ceremonies for Anaheim 1, so that kind of bummed me out. So I think I will be coming out with opening ceremonies this weekend. I’m excited about that as I’ve got a lot of friends and family coming out. I’m excited for every chance I get to go out there and be under the lights, man.”

After competing for Team Suzuki  in AMA Pro Racing in 1990 and ’91, in California’s Tallon Vohland was enticed over to Europe to race for Team Carpi-Moto in the 1992 FIM 125cc Motocross World Championship. In 1994, Vohland moved over to Team Pepsi Honda Becchis where he would compete in the 250cc class and then, from 1995-96, he lined up for Team Jan de Groot Kawasaki. Vohland would race for Team Rinaldi Yamaha in 1997 and ’98 before moving back to the U.S. to race for the FMF Honda organization in the 1999 AMA 125cc championship. Finishing third there, he caught the eye of Pro Circuit Kawasaki overlord Mitch Payton, who hired him for the 2000 racing season, where he went out and won the 125cc West Supercross opener at Anaheim.

Now, 24 years later, Tallon and his son 20 year-old son Max Vohland have formed a father and son duo in the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki race team, in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, under the watch of Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team principal Mitch Payton.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever had somebody who has rode for us and then his son rode for us,” noted Payton who has been looking after many of the sport’s elite 125cc and 250cc racers since 1991. “That’s kind of cool. Watching Max last year there was something there that I thought was worth grabbing and I talked to Tallon about it and I talked to Max and we thought it would be a good place for him. They seem really happy here, so I’m pretty stoked about it. Max resembles Tallon when he was young. My expectation for him is that we win some races. I wouldn’t have hired him if I didn’t think he could win.”

Max Vohland has no direct memories of his father’s pro career, for an excellent reason.

“I remember now, because I have watched so much video of it, but I wasn’t around when he was racing,” Max said. “I didn’t exist! [But] I’ve watched a lot of the old videos of my dad and there are definitely a few races that he always puts on repeat.”

When did Max Vohland realize that he wanted to follow the same path?

“It’s hard to say,” he said, hesitating for a few moments. “Really, I feel like once you start growing up and you start thinking about real-life stuff and not being just a kid, then stuff sort of comes to you. I felt like it was around the time I was 16 years-old and on superminis and I was starting to do pretty good and then there started to be talk about getting a factory ride and stuff on a 125. Then it is like, ‘OK, this is actually a possibility. I can make this a job and make it my life.’

And how was Tallon as a race dad?

“He was good, actually,” said Max. “You always hear the ‘mini dad stories,’ but I felt like I didn’t really have that. If anything, it’s more like that now as I’m a pro racer. Back then he already had a plan in his head and it was all mapped out. It was smooth sailing and now that I’ve got the pro ride seat, the sport has been elevated so much since he raced that he doesn’t know everything like he used to when he was building me up. I almost feel like sometimes he is more of a mini dad now than he was before.”

After quietly taking in his son’s comments, Tallon talked about being a moto dad to a son with world class racing talent.

“It’s pretty challenging because it’s almost like you become a split personality,” admitted the elder Vohland. “You have that desire-side and race-side to you. I don’t race anymore, but you kind of race with your son out there. Of course when he does good, it’s like you win. However, there is also that dad side. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, there is a lot of risk involved here!’ When you’re riding dirt bikes, things can happen. You’re always scared for your kid in anything like that. There’s that side of it, too. It’s a tough deal, right? You’re scared when they go out on the track, but then they’re out on the track and you’re yelling, ‘Dang it, why didn’t you jump that?’”

When did Tallon realize that his young son had the talent, desire and skill set to make it as a factory rider?

“We started out going BMX racing and he really got a lot of skills in that and then we started back on the dirt bike with Grandpa Vohland,” he explained. “You’d see little things and say, ‘Oh, OK. That’s good.’ It’s almost like you see these little seeds and they grow bigger and bigger. You hear about all these dads now. You have Brian Deegan coming in. I think the advantage for the kids like Tom Viale and Max is that you know all the steps to get them there more safely, but also more easily. You can do this without making all the mistakes that your dad made. When you see that opportunity as a past professional, it’s kind of like you can get where you need to be and then it finally comes down to him.”

A part of Red Bull KTM Racing for three years, as well as spending more than a decade with KTM as an amateur racer, Max Vohland — even this early on in the grand scheme of things — is quite satisfied with the growth curve of his career.

“Yeah, really cool to be here — I feel great,” said Max. “I had an awesome offseason. I had very minimal bad days. They weren’t even bad days, maybe more of just an odd day. My bike is also awesome. I’ve really had the same setup basically since I go on the bike, so I didn’t really need to change a lot. So I’ve gotten a lot of time on stuff I know, so I’m comfortable. I feel confident that I’m riding fast.”

Once atop the Kawasaki, Vohland quickly found himself training, riding and in-step with former Monster Energy Supercross champion and Monster Energy Kawasaki 450cc pilot Jason Anderson..

“It just kind of happened,” explained Vohland. “He just asked one day. He said, ‘Hey, if you ever want to hop in with me and do motos, you can.’ I did that day and since then it worked. We’ve really been pushing our level higher and higher. We keep finding more. Even our last day at the test track, we found another second on the track and broke the record that we had with lap times. We’ve made huge improvements, so it’s cool to see that and to also have someone who is so motivated and a good role model for me to strive to be.”

Having raced for Payton and Kawasaki himself, Tallon Vohland knew what he and his son were getting into for 2024 and beyond and is absolutely good with it all.

“The bike and program I know, because I’ve been on Mitch Payton’s race teams. That’s, honestly, one of the reasons I called Mitch,” Tallon said. “I told him that I trust him and we luckily ended up here. Mitch took the opportunity and chance on Max and the blessing was that Jason Anderson teamed up with Max — we’ve been training with him and it has been great. Anderson is so analytical about everything that he does. He really doesn’t miss anything. I think Max has picked up on a lot of that, so it has been really helpful. It’s kind of a win-win. You never know what is going to happen, but I feel like Max is ready.”

Off of the KTM 250 and onto a Mitch Payton-tuned Kawasaki KX250F, Max Vohland finds a lot to like in his new race equipment,

“In my career I’ve always liked the bottom end of power on a motorcycle. When I got on this bike it immediately felt like it had a lot of that,” said Max. “That suited my riding style immediately. It boosted my confidence and now I feel better than I even did before. I feel like I’m in a really good spot. The power is obviously amazing on the Pro Circuit bikes. This is the fourth year on this bike and I think they are still finding even more. It is definitely a fast bike and you can tell at the end of the outdoors last year, they definitely found the good stuff.

“And absolutely I really like the team,” he continued. “It’s definitely a different environment. It feels more laid-back, but also more hard working. Everyone is doing the right work, but it’s not as stressful an environment as I was used to before. All of that also helps me feel more comfortable at the races.

“It’s hard to say if I’m going to go out and win or get on the podium, but I feel like my chances are very high, so everything has been good.”

Looking back on both the 2022 and ’23 AMA seasons, one Max Vohland was remarkably consistent, posting top-10 results in virtually every contest. Both Vohlands are firm believers in race consistency and where it can take you.

“My idea with Max is that I’m trying to build something good and it takes time, because you can have it two ways,” explained Tallon. “You can have the guy who goes out and crashes and brings it back, and that works sometimes. Or you can try and grow a good guy. I feel like sometimes Max doesn’t take the big risk, but I’m OK with that. It just means we need to get better at those specific weak points. Once Max gets all of that covered, he will become like a Ryan Dungey. That’s what the goal is. That’s what I’m working on.”

Added his son, “I feel like when it comes to consistency and also the risk management, staying on the bike, it has all been good for me. I only had one tip-over crash in a corner all offseason, which is great. I’ve been really good at staying consistent and my results are consistent. When it comes to racing, I feel like the consistency is there. I just need to be the faster guy to be consistent.”

How does Max Vohland view the competition he’ll be battling with inside the football and baseball stadiums?

“It’s hard to say. I think RJ Hampshire will be very tough,” he said. “He’s got a lot of years in the class and he got a lot of second-place finishes last year to Jett Reynolds, so I feel like he’s everybody’s top guy in the class just because of how he did last year and his experience. Jo Shimoda is also on a very proven bike. I also feel like Jo will be very good. You never know. Everyone pretty much works in quiet and you only hear rumors of who is doing what here and there. Everyone will know as soon as that gate drops.”

He’s confident of his own chances though.

“Yeah, I think I can win,” said Max. “It all comes down the start. The 250 class has been so competitive the last few years and we’re all so very close and it all really depends on the start these days. My starts have been good. If I’m front, I don’t see why I can’t win.”