Thor’s Taylor Robert was able to pick up where he left off during the 2012 World Off Road Championship Series, winning the opening round of the season in dominating fashion. The reigning champion finished the two-hour race over a minute ahead of the runner-up finisher and carries the points lead into the second round next month. Destry Abbott, who helped design the weekend’s course that’s located in his hometown, was running in the top five before retiring early with a mechanical issue.
Thor’s Ryan Villopoto continued to climb up the points leaderboard after claiming his first win of the weekend at the third round of the Monster Energy Supercross at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. Villopoto had a dominating day as he posted the fastest lap time in practice, won his heat race, and won the main event by nearly seven seconds. With his podium finish last week and the win on Saturday, Villopoto now sits fourth, 11 points back from the points leader.
Entering the weekend under the weather, Thor’s Josh Grant rode the third round not at 100 percent. Despite the lack of seat time during the week, Grant kept pace and rode as hard as he could to finish a solid 10th during main event.
The Western Regional 250SX rider Tyla Rattray and Martin Davalos pushed through some bad luck in Anaheim during the main event. Davalos had a good heat race and was looking to transfer that speed into the main, but fell victim of getting caught up in an opening lap pile up and had to charge through the pack. Even though he started the opening lap in 16th, he was able to catch some riders and finish 12th. Rattray put together a solid eighth-place ride.
The Monster Energy Supercross riders will head to Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. next weekend. on January 26 for Round 4 of the season. The next WORCS race will take place on February 8-10 in Primm, Nev.
Thor’s Ryan Villopoto bounced back from his opening round result to earn a hard-fought second-place finish on a tough track at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. Thor’s Martin Davalos also earned his first podium finish of the season in the Western Regional 250SX Class after he overcame a heat-race crash and qualifying through the LCQ.
Villopoto learned right away how slick the track was during the 450SX main event, going down on the second lap and remounting in eighth. He used the remainder of the main event to pick off riders and post the fastest lap time of the race, on his way to finish runner-up. Villopoto has now climbed the points standings to sit in a three-way tie for seventh.
Thor’s Josh Grant continued to make improvements throughout the day in Phoenix, charging hard to a 10th-place finish in the main event.
The Western Regional 250SX class rider Davalos showed incredible heart and determination on Saturday. A crash in the heat race forced him to qualify through the LCQ, giving him 19th gate pick for the main. Despite the outside gate pick, Davalos nearly grabbed the holeshot and led for several laps of the main event before finishing on the podium in third. Teammate Tyla Rattray started outside the top-15 to race back to 12th for the night.
Thor’s Blake Baggett made a determined effort to race in Phoenix despite and injured wrist, but after practice made the decision not to race.
The Monster Energy Supercross riders will head to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. next weekend. on January 19 for Round 3 of the season.
Thor’s Ryan Villopoto began his campaign for a third consecutive Monster Energy Supercross title on Saturday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. Villopoto started the 2013 season in stylish fashion as he debuted the Spring 2013 Phase Coil Racewear. The Phase Coil racewear becomes available at Thor dealers starting today!
The Coil racewear comes from the popular Phase line at Thor MX, which has delivered the best value in motocross for many years. The Spring 2013 Phase Coil Racewear features an all-new pant chassis for an improved fit and better feel. Also, when combined with the micro-mesh constructed jersey, riders have a racewear kit that will pull away from the others with heightened style and performance.
The Western Regional 250SX Class also saw a shake up during its Main Event. Both Blake Baggett and Martin Davalos were caught up in a first turn pile up, which forced Davalos to retire before completing a single lap. Baggett started almost one lap down and ended up finishing the night in 14th. Tyla Rattray was able to get around the pile up and went on to finish the opening round in eighth.
The sold out season opener started with Villopoto racing to a runner-up finish in his 450SX Heat race, but the Main Event didn’t go his way. Villopoto endured bouts of misfortune but never gave up, fighting through the 20-lap Main Event to finish 16th. Fellow 450SX Thor rider Josh Grant raced to an 11th place effort in the opening round.
The Monster Energy Supercross riders will head to Phoenix’s Chase Field on January 12 for the second round of the season.
Thor MX is proud to announce it’s 2013 International Team. This years GP MX1 team riders are #21 Gautier Paulin, #89 Jeremy Van Horebeek, and #19 David Philippaerts. In the 2013 GP MX2 class we have #300 Alessendro Lupino, #200 Arnoud Tonus, and #23 Christophe Charlier. We would like to wish all of our riders the best this year. For more info on each rider check out the team rider pages and stay tuned for more info.
Thor’s Marvin Musquin and Gautier Paulin both raced to podium results during the two-night supercross race in Geneva, Switzerland. Starting with the opening night, Musquin showed his speed right away and wasn’t fazed by his lower displacement KTM 250SXF competing against 450cc machines. He finished as the runner up on Friday night, while Paulin overcame an early race collision to come back for eighth.
Saturday night both Musquin and Paulin had their work cut out for them as they raced through the pack after tough starts in the main event. Paulin quickly made his way into second, but Musquin overtook his Thor teammate in the whoops section and was able to hold him off until the checkered flag. The two riders would stand on the podium with Musquin in second and Paulin third, making it a successful weekend for both Thor riders.
Thor’s amateur riders took on the first race of the new season at the annual Winter Olympics at Gatorback Park in Gainesville, Fla. In both the supercross and motocross competition, Thor riders racked up an impressive 14 championships and 16 additional podiums. The week started with supercross racing and Jordon Smith showed his skills. He won all but one moto on his way to earn five championships for the Schoolboy (13-16), 250 B Stock, 250 B Modified, Open B Stock, and Open B Modified classes.
Also grabbing championships in the supercross portion of the week were Jordan Bailey and Joey Crown. Bailey also earned a runner-up result in the 85 (9-11) Stock class, while Ryder DiFrancesco, Jack Rogers, Tanner Stack, and Tyler McSwain also grabbed second-place finishes.
Halfway through the week, riders made the switch to motocross racing. Smith once again led the way with four championships, while Matt Burkeen grabbed his first championship of the week in the Four Stroke class. Bailey added two more championships to his week’s total as he went undefeated in motocross competition in the 85 (9-11) Stock and Modified classes.
When the week of competition ended, the customary specialty awards were passed out. Thor’s Bailey was presented with the Ironman Award, given to the rider that showed great sportsmanship to a fellow rider. Just after crossing the finish line for the checkered flag, Bailey displayed this incredible character by going back to help a fellow rider push their bike over the finish line after the riders bike broke just before the checkered.
Thor’s Burkeen was presented with the Outstanding Achievement Award. Burkeen was awarded this for his breakout performance and overall consistency throughout the Winter Olympics.
Thor MX has strengthened its 2013 line-up with newly signed Marvin Musquin adding his talents to the Thor MX roster. The accomplished Frenchman has two consecutive MX2 World Championships to his credit, and earned his first victory on American soil at historical Unadilla during the in 2012 AMA Motocross season.
“I am very happy that Thor gave me the opportunity to represent them in 2013,” said Musquin. “I feel lucky to be a part of a championship-winning company and I’m really looking forward to great results next year.”
Musquin will start the 2013 season with increased confidence that came from a great 2012 campaign. In his first full year racing in the states, Musquin finished third overall in the Eastern Region AMA Supercross 250SX class and racked up a total of four podium finishes. He was also a threat in the highly competitive AMA Motocross Series 250 class, learning the US tracks quickly which enabled him to earn three top-qualifier awards throughout the season.
“Adding Marvin to our roster is very exciting for us here at Thor,” said Jim Gallager, Design Director at Thor MX. “He’s a young talent with many big accomplishments already to his name. We are excited to have him a part of our team as he continues to excel in his career.”
Musquin will make his Thor MX debut during the AMA Supercross Series.
Thor’s Mike Brown pulled double duty last week as he competed in both the Baja 1000 on Thursday and Friday, and then drove to Las Vegas to race the final EnduroCross event of the season. As a part of a four man team that included Thor’s Kurt Caselli and Ivan Ramirez, the KTM squad was able to overcome several issues to come back and finish second overall.
Along with Brown’s successful venture in Mexico, he also captured one final podium at the EnduroCross at the Orleans Arena. With two main events on the night schedule, Brown didn’t waste any time showing his speed. He finished third in the first main event, while placing fifth in the second main event. Thor’s Taylor Robert bounced back from his 12th-place finish in the first main event to finish eighth in the second main event.
In addition to the great efforts of the Expert Pro class, the Women’s class put on a great show for the EnduroCross fans in Las Vegas. Thor’s Maria Forsberg entered the final round with a 10-point lead in the women’s class standings and was able to make a last-lap pass for her fourth win of the season, securing her first EnduroCross championship. Forsberg adds the EnduroCross championship to her GNCC championship and perfect season in the series.
Thor’s Jake Weimer made a successful trip to the annual Bercy Supercross, capturing the title ‘King of Bercy’ with two wins and a second-place ride. Not knowing what to expect out of the three-night competition, Weimer immediately showed his speed as he collected wins on the first two nights. His second-place finish on Sunday helped secure the coveted title and a great way to start out the new season.
Thor’s Tyler Villopoto was also in Paris competing in the 250 class, also known as the Prince of Bercy. Villopoto started the weekend off right with a podium result on Friday, and was looking poised at another great finish on Saturday, but an injury kept him from returning to action.
