Risking irrelevance - why too much youth focus is bad for pro MX

The idea of raising the minimum age limit for Pro Motocross is being discussed a lot in the media and by the fans, particularly since an underage Jason Lawrence got into a bit of legal trouble. New outdoor MX director Davey Coombs has publicly stated his opinion that an 18-year-old age limit would be a good thing. Much of the discussion is focused on the idea that riders need to mature before being given the money and pressure of big pro contracts, which is true. But there is another aspect that needs to be considered.

The problem is relevance and the Olympics give us an interesting case study. It's been nice to have some sports distractions — the Olympics and the NFL preseason — during this two-week break in the Pro Motocross schedule. [More...]

FIM vs DMG - the battle for world domination

Two things of note this past week in the world of motocross (three, I guess, but I'm not all that interested in who hired Chad Reed — it was obvious someone would) – Youthstream opens U.S. office in southern California, and CycleNews publishes an interview with FIM president Vito Ippolito confirming the FIM's intentions to grow a Supercross World championship (Cycle News Issue #32, Aug. 13, 2008, pg 7.)

Neither of these things is unexpected, but together they are an important warning — nature abhors a vacuum, particularly the vacuum created when the |AMA| sold off professional racing.

Under the AMA pro racing in every discipline except road race and SX was a goat rodeo and a national embarrassment. Getting out of the racing business was overwhelmingly the right thing to do. Selling most everything to Daytona Motorsports Group was the right choice. But that doesn't mean we didn't get some new and different problems in the bargain. [More...]

Italian police riding in formation - very cool old school precision

This '60s-era video shows an Italian police squad riding in some very cool formations. Nice. [More...]

Impact sports increase bone density in aging athletes

This 2007 article from Medical News Today, Impact Sports Increase Bone Strength In Senior Athletes, reports on a study conducted on 298 athletes at the 2005 Senior Olympics in Pittsburgh. Findings were reported at the 74th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. [More...]

Tribute to motorcycle pioneer Don Jones

Motorcycle pioneer Don Jones passed away this past week. Terry Good, of MXWorksBikes.com, has posted this very nice Don Jones tribute page with a variety of personal photos that Don sent him several years ago. [More...]

Smart money says new AMA Pro Racing will get it right

The entire professional road racing community has been up in arms since DMG (now officially AMA Pro Racing) began making their presence felt. The complaints have been long, loud, and many. [More...]

Mike Kidd chosen to lead AMA Pro Flat Track

AMA Pro Racing (the new AMA Pro Racing) announced Thursday that long-time, old school flat track racer, former AMA Grand National Champion, race promoter, Motorcycle Hall of Fame member, and Texan Mike Kidd has been chosen to head the redevelopment of the national flat track program. [More...]

Two Stroke Militia

Here's another helpful and entertaining site in the two-stroke wars — Two Stroke Militia. The site was apparently put together by three guys in the northeast — Jeff Conboy, Tim Weeks, and John Nicholas — and features some of the best analysis and commentary on the two-stroke situation that I've seen. [More...]

Cool paper dirt bike model - YZ450FM

Here's another cool paper model — this time of the Yamaha YZ450FM. I don't know who created it, but it looks like it comes from Japan. [More...]

Davey Coombs wants to make outdoor MX cool again

I just read the interview with Davey Coombs in the new Cycle News — Issue #29, July 23, 2008 — talking about MXSports, outdoor MX, Barber Motorsports Park, and the future of motocross and the outdoor series [More...]