Anstie’s team mate Aleksandr TONKOV suffered a minor injury the weekend before the departure for Mexico and he was forced to miss the two overses events. Tonkov will be back for the GP of France the first weekend of June.

Next round of the FIM World Championship next week in Brazil for the second of the overseas events, stay tuned and follow us on our Facebook page, on Twitter and on the Honda Proracing site at: www.hondaproracing.com !!!

SEA OTTER CLASSIC – Monterey, CA

As the first major event of the season, the Sea Otter Classic brings together the entire cycling community in an outdoor expo & festival type atmosphere.  The DRD Intense team had a strong presence both on and off the track.  With a new trailer & awning, fresh new colors, and some great new sponsors, we were definitely one of the hottest teams around!

CHECK OUT THE DRD INTENSE Sea Otter Classic Video!

Team DRD/Intense Mission#1: Sea Otter – More Mountain Bike VideosDual Slalom

The Warren Brothers, Cody & Austin, both had a stellar day in dual slalom, both qualifying in the top 15 out of over a hundred racers!  After some tight races, Cody would finish in at 11th, while younger brother Austin would finish in 13th.

“The track was a lot of fun,” exclaimed Austin Warren!  “I was just getting used to it when I went against Mick Hannah in the 2nd round (Hannah is a perennial favorite to win at Sea Otter).  I was stoked to get past the first round in my first year as pro & into the round of 16.  It’s a great learning experience & I can’t wait for next year!”

Downhill

Sea Otter’s downhill track is notoriously pedally & riddled with obstacles & jumps.  This made for a hard & competitive course, despite being tamer than a typical downhill race track.

“I had a pretty descent run,” stated Cody Warren.  “I’m pumped on what I was able to accomplish despite not being the strongest pedaler on the day.  I gave it what I had and am happy with it,… but I’m gonna come back stronger next year!”

DRD Intense’s day would be bitter sweet as Cody Warren charged his way into 14th place, while Jason  Memmelaar rode in at 48th spot, & Austin Warren crashed on a huge hip jump (where another rider was knocked out).   Despite the bitter sweet results, our team had a great race, great presence & a great kick off to the 2012 season!

US GRAND PRIX of MTB – Port Angeles, WA

CHECK OUT THE DRD INTENSE MTB GP Port Angeles Video!

Austin Warren took the top spot amongst team riders as he charged his way into 24th.  “I had a solid run,” said Austin.  “But kept thinking to myself ‘am I pedaling enough??’ so I started charging harder.  Thankfully I didn’t crash.  I was worried since I wrecked hard at Sea Otter.  I’m learning though … & getting a lot better. I’m pumped!”

Lauren Daney, recent roster addition, took the team with ease as she raced her brand new DRD Intense 951 with little setback to a respectable 11th place finish.   Teammate Cody Warren had a bit of a set back early on in practice as he sustained injuries to his ankles & split his chin while trying to avoid another rider casing a jump ahead of him.  Unfortunately this injury took a toll come race day.

CALIFORNIA GOLDEN CUP – Fontana, California

The ‘BIKE VAULT’ pro team (DRD’s satellite program) took part in the final round of the California Golden Cup this past weekend.  Team leader David KlaassenVanOorschot returned to racing in force, after sustaining broken ribs at the first round in late March.  Despite so much time off the bike, David K rode his way to a 3rd place finish!

The DRD Intense race program will spend the next few weeks training before heading to the east coast for the 2nd & 3 round of the US Grand Prix of Mountain Biking, as well as two World Cups & the US National Championships.

For more information on the team, please contact team manager Dylan Dean at 760-443-3344 or email jdd@dylan-dean.com.  You can also follow the team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/drdintense

Sea Otter Photo Credit: Long Nguyen, Monique Spaulding, Mike Lord
US Grand Prix Photo Credit: Matt Delorme
California Golden Cup Photo Credit: Jason Cleghorn

DRD Intense is proudly supported by the following sponsors…

Dean Racing Development
Intense Cycles
ARMA Energy
ONE Industries
Shimano
ODI Grips
Sun-Ringle
Marzocchi Suspension
MRP
SDG Components
Maxmia Racing Oils
SOL Republic
the Bike Vault Bike Shop

Redding was third fastest in this morning’s opening free practice session, which was run on a drying track but with damp patches still evident following overnight rain. The Marc VDS rider continued to run up the front during this afternoon’s 45-minute session, for which the track had finally dried out fully.

The 19-year-old Briton posted his fastest time just after the halfway point this afternoon, in a session where all his flying laps were within just a few tenths of his fastest time. Redding was almost half a second clear at the top of the timesheet, until a concerted effort by Marc Marquez cut the gap to just two tenths shortly before the chequered flag.

Kallio struggled with the front-end set-up last timeout in Jerez, so focussed today on evaluating two different front suspension options on his Kalex Moto2 machine. Both options offered both positives and negatives, but the set-up for this afternoon’s session didn’t give the 29-year-old Finn the necessary confidence to push for a fast lap time. Kallio is confident that his crew have a clear direction with the set-up for tomorrow’s free practice and the all-important qualifying session.

Both Marc VDS riders are confident of fighting for a place on the front two rows of the grid during tomorrow afternoon’s 45-minute qualifying session.

Scott Redding #45: 1st – 1’41.775
“We had a good weekend in Jerez, we’ve made some progress with the bike and now I want it; I want it bad! This afternoon I just pushed as hard as I could throughout the session and my times were both fast and consistent, which is exactly what I was looking for. Tomorrow I’ll be doing exactly the same, with the front two rows of the grid the target in qualifying. My crew chief, Pete Benson, celebrates his 50th birthday today and I hope we’ll be able to give him the present he deserves in the race on Sunday.”

Mika Kallio #36: 10th – 1’42.711
“Today we tried two different front end settings on the bike, one in the morning session and one in the afternoon. For the second free practice session I didn’t really have the confidence in the front to push hard, because the front tyre wouldn’t really hold a line and was skipping over the bumps in the turns. The grip was also a bit inconsistent, which doesn’t inspire confidence either. To be honest there was something missing with each of the two set-ups, but by testing them both today we now have a clear direction for tomorrow. Scott showed what the bike is capable of; he was unbelievably fast this afternoon. Now we need to match his times tomorrow.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Scott push so hard in a free practice session, but a lot of it was down to the confidence he now has in the bike after the race last weekend in Jerez. If qualifying is dry tomorrow then I’m confident he will start the race on Sunday from the front two rows of the grid. Mika used the two sessions today to evaluate different front-end set-up options on his bike, after some issues in Jerez. It meant he wasn’t able to set a fast time this afternoon, but the work will pay off tomorrow in qualifying, when he too will be aiming for the front two rows of the grid.”

[Chad Kagy of the USA competes in the BMX Big Air final at the Kia X-Games Asia 2012 at the Jiangwan Sports Centre in Shanghai on May 1, 2012. AFP PHOTO/Peter PARKSPETER PARKS/AFP/GettyImages]

In the Vert ramp, Kagy, whose runs flowed effortlessly between stylish one-handed x-up flairs, stretched superman seatgrab Indian airs and a nearly pulled flair double tailwhip. Kagy spent a good deal of time off his bike following a femur break at X Games 17, but from the looks of his determined runs in Shanghai, which tied McCann for second and were later broken during results tabulations, Chad Kagy is back and ready to do battle.

Images and Videos provided by ESPN, & Chad Kagy

Russian Aleksandr TONKOV after a good qualifying race where he finished tenth, on Sunday was involved in the big crash at the start of the second moto and he was able to close his GP in 14th position with a twelve in race one and a thirteenth place in the second after riding two strong races.  TONKOV seats now in 12th place in the world championship.

“In Italy we had a though weekend and both riders did not like much the track and did not feel at their best but the championship is so long that they reaped important points for the championship, Max did a great job and even after our worse GP so far we are closer to the top four positions of the championship, so it was not so bad at the end.” commented Team Owner Giacomo Gariboldi.

Next round of the FIM World Championship in two  weeks time  in Mexico, followed by the Brazilian round, stay tuned and follow us on our Facebook page, on Twitter and on the Honda Proracing site at: www.hondaproracing.com !!!

Max ANSTIE was once more one of the fastest riders of the weekend scoring an impressive 3rd best laptime in the Pre-Qualifying practice behind Herlings and Searle and finishing 6th after a start in mid pack in the Qualifying race on the Saturday. On Sunday in race #1 Max Anstie started in 10th position and passed a couple of riders in front of him and had to push hard to catch the other british Nicholls to grab a deserved 6th place closing up on Kullas in the final stages of the races for 5th position. In race #2 a good jump out of the gate allowed Anstie to take a fourth place in the first corner and after ten laps, belgian Roelants, winner of the first moto, joined him and begun a furious battle for fourth place with many contacts and overtaking and at last Roelants with a dangerous move took the final 4th place and Anstie finished a valiant 5th of the race and 5th overall of the GP. Anstie is now sitting in 5th place in the World championship MX2.

In Bulgaria the russian Aleksandr TONKOV confirmed all the hopes the team placed on him and Tonkov scored a great 8th overall of the GP with two very good races and showing a fighting spirit that will bring him at the highest level this season. Tonkov is now in the Top 10 of the World championship and Honda has now two CRF250R at the top of the MX2-GP class !

“I’m happy, I just have to work a bit more on my starts and then I can be with them in front all races, all is really good, my CRF250, the Team and the great work Martin is doing is paying off .” commented Max Anstie.

Next round of the FIM World Championship next weeks in Fermo, Italy for the home GP, stay tuned and follow us on our Facebook page and on Twitter !!!

Redding and Kallio got their championship campaign off to a solid start two weeks ago in Qatar with Redding finishing sixth and Kallio tenth, after both fought their way through the field from the fifth row of the grid.

It is this momentum that the Marc VDS riders are looking to carry into Jerez, where they are both targeting a top five finish at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Both Marc VDS riders have enjoyed success at the Jerez circuit in the past. Kallio took the race win in the 250cc class in 2008 to add to his 125cc podium finish at the same circuit three years earlier. While the Jerez podium has so far eluded Redding, the British rider was fourth in the 2009 Spanish 125cc Grand Prix and has topped the timesheet at two of the last three tests at the circuit.

Situated in southwest Spain on the outskirts of Jerez de la Frontera, the Jerez circuit has a complex layout, offering riders a real challenge. It boasts 13 turns over its 4.42km distance, with a combination of slow technical corners and fast sweeping turns making stability under braking and a good feeling from the front tyre critical when it comes to bike set-up.

Scott Redding #45:
“I went to Qatar looking for a top six finish, which I managed, so I’m pretty confident I can aim for the same or better this weekend. I suspect it will be tougher than in Qatar though. With the amount of testing we do at Jerez it’s like everyone’s home track, so I think the times at the front will be closer than ever. I had some chatter problems during preseason testing there, but we found a few things in Qatar that should help reduce this. I was pretty fast at both preseason tests and my times for the race simulations were consistent, so I’m fairly confident that a top five or six finish is a realistic goal this weekend.”

Mika Kallio #36:
“I think everyone was a little disappointed with Qatar; the result wasn’t what we were expecting and we had quite a few problems over the course of the weekend. But we need to forget Qatar now and focus on this weekend’s race. I was fourth fastest at the final preseason test at Jerez, so we know we have a good base set-up with which to start free practice on Friday. If I can qualify on the first two rows and then get away with the leading group in the race, then I think a top five finish should be well within our capabilities, or maybe even a podium. We will see.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“We had our best start to the season for three years in Qatar, but that fact is tempered by the knowledge that with a better qualifying performance from Scott and Mika we could have finished the race even higher. Moto2 is such a competitive class that you can’t afford to give your rivals even a small advantage, so qualifying is just one area we’ll be focussing closely on this weekend in Jerez. We know we have a good set up for this track, where Scott and Mika were both fast and consistent during testing, so I hope to see them up at the sharp end in the race and battling for the top five finish they’re both more than capable of.”

Drama ran high in the men’s pro final, which included defending King of Wake Champion Harley Clifford going up against brothers Phil and Bob Soven, Japanese standout Shotta Tezuka, up-and-comer Steel Lafferty and tour veteran Andrew Adkison.

After two insane runs that included huge aerials and highly-technical rail maneuvers, Phillip Soven slightly edged out Clifford to emerge victorious and claim the 2012 Nautique Wake Games crown.

“I’m really happy with this win. Everyone is riding at the next level this season,” said Nautique Wake Games pro men’s winner, Soven. “To start the season out with a W puts me right where I want to be going into 2012–the top. I’m excited to see what the rest of this season has in store for us. It’s going to be a good one.”
Check out Phil’s winning run below to see exactly how he muscled out the competition…

Congratulations Phil from all of us here at ARMA Energy!!! Keep on killing it!!!

Jacobsen, from Montgomery, New York, started racing at the age of three, collecting over 30 flat track titles before switching to road racing in 2006, taking the national 125cc title at the first attempt and being selected for the MotoGP Academy program the following year.

With experience and podium finishes on the national level in the US and Spain, as well as a wild card appearance in the 2008 125cc Indianapolis Grand Prix, PJ has been looking to make his mark on the world level again while the Bogdanka Honda PTR team always had one eye on the talented American.

Pawel Szkopek broke the tibia and fibula of his right leg in a high-speed crash during practice for the second round of the season at Imola in Italy almost two weeks ago. Having undergone a 5 hour operation a day after his crash, the Pole is recovering well at home but won’t be fit enough to ride at Assen.

PJ Jacobsen: “I feel pretty good. I’ve been training a lot and pretty much waiting for a phone call. I’m very excited about riding the Bogdanka Honda PTR. My goal is to ride as fast as I can. I don’t really know what to expect as I haven’t raced in the World Supersport Championship before but I tested a PTR Honda in January and really liked it. I have a lot of confidence, I know the bike and know it’s very good and capable, an all-round good bike, so I am just looking forward to a good race. I’ve raced in the Spanish Championship before but I don’t know any other European tracks, including Assen, so it will be a new experience for me. I’ve been playing it on a video game every day recently which should be helpful. It’s a fast a flowing circuit which should suit my style and my 125cc background. I don’t feel any pressure and just want to go out and ride my race with the Bogdanka Honda PTR team.”

Mike Piasecki, Bogdanka Racing Director: “PJ is still very young but he’s a massive talent and someone we’ve had one eye for a long time. Pawel Szkopek is recovering well for his injury and the operation but he won’t be fit to ride at Assen. Of course we hope he’ll be back on his bike as soon as possible but in the meantime, it’s the perfect opportunity to give PJ the chance to make his World Supersport debut with Bogdanka. It will be very interesting to watch his progress and have another talented rider flying the Bogdanka flag. Assen is an iconic track, PJ should really enjoy himself on our bike there.”

For more information, please visit PatrickJacobsen.com.

Max ANSTIE has been very fast and consistent all over the weekend with a 5th best laptime in the Pre-Qualifying session and the 6th place in the MX2-Qualifying race. In the 1st moto Anstie took a great start in fourth position but after a few turns he crashed and had to re-start in last position and thanks to his determination he could move up to the 11th place. In the 2nd moto Anstie again took a very good start in fifth position and after the first lap he was already 4th behind leaders Herlings, Roelants and Searle, following easily the pace and when trying to get closer to Searle he lost his googles and had to give up and finished a very good 4th of the race. After the race his bike didn’t pass the sound test and he lost one place in favour of belgian rider Van Horebeeck who finished behind him. A 6th place overall of the GP became at last a 7th. With a bit of luck Anstie could have finished very closed to the podium for his debut in the world championship !

The surprise of the GP came from young talented russian rider Aleksandr TONKOV who showed since the beginning that he didn’t want to be the sparring partner of his team mate. Tonkov scored an impressive 4th best laptime in the Free-Practice session, followed by a 9th best in the Pre-Qualifying and an astonishing 8th place finish in the Qualifying race. But more impressive Tonkov was in the 1st moto when after a decent start around the tenth position he passed a few riders in front to finish 7th which is amazing for a rider coming from the European championship EMX2. In the 2nd moto Tonkov got out of the gate very well but found in the first turn a crashed rider and lost many positions but moved up back to 14th place and proggressing every lap when his bike lost the exhaust and had to slow down his rythm keeping his 14th place. Unfortunately the jury had to move him back to 20th position because of the sound test after the race. Tonkov is the real surprise of this first GP !

“I’m really excited for this start of the season, we knew that we may need some races to get everything perfectly in place, but everybody has done more than his best starting from our technical staff and finishing with the riders who really showed the will to score big results this year. I wish to thank once more Honda and all the Martin’s staff for having prepared such a competitive bike in just a few months.” commented team owner Giacomo Gariboldi.

Next round of the FIM World Championship in two weeks time in Sevlievo, Bulgaria, stay tuned…!