Monster Energy’s Paul Thacker Qualifies For Winter X!

World snowmobile distance jumping record holder to compete in Snowmobile Speed & Style Final at Aspen/Snowmass (Colo.) ESPN Winter X 12

CORONA, Calif., (Dec. 27 , 2007) – – Monster Energy-backed Paul Thacker , who's jumped a snowmobile farther through the air than anybody on the planet, will get to show off his mad skills this January (24^th) in the ESPN Winter X Games 12's new Snowmobile Speed & Style competition at Aspen/Snowmass, Colo.

"This is really a dream come true for me,"said Thacker, fighting back fake Hollywood chick tears like he'd won a Grammy® or something. "For real, I'm pumped to be representing with Monster at Winter X this January. The new Speed & Style event should be cool for the fans, allowing us to really show what can be done on mountain with a sled. People are going to be into it – –big time."

Thacker, a former collegiate hockey player and banker-turned Sledneck, is looked up to as one of the world' 's premier sled riders in the world by his peers – including Monster Energy's Chris Burandt , himself a Winter X gold medal winner ('07). And though Thacker's attempt to qualify in the Snowmobile Freestyle (like FMX) discipline came up a bit short (6^th when they took the top four), Thacker got a call from ESPN officials inviting him to compete in the Speed & Style event.

"Thacker's kind of a bag of potatoes when it comes to freestyle –although he's getting better,"said Burandt laughing. "So Winter X basically had to come up with an event to suit him on account of it takes all of us two separate jumps to fly as far as he can one. The Snowmobile Speed & Style event is right up our alley. So it'd be nice if we could pull a 1-2 for Monster – –with me getting first, of course (more laughter)."

Said Thacker: "I'll just be happy to carry Burandt's silver medal around to the bars in Aspen while he's doing my laundry."

For more information on the upcoming Winter X Games 12, link to: www.expn.com

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it sleds, road racing, MX, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – –name it – – the athletes are rocking' 'Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – –Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called "M-80"and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Paul Thacker digs 'em – –so will you. On the 'Net at www.monsterenergy.com.

Andy Finch Featured On " The Daily Habit"

Tune In

Andy Finch Featured On " The Daily Habit"
Thursday, December 27, 2007

Airing Thursday, December 27, at 9:00 pm Eastern Time (6:00 pm Pacific Time) and telecast three additional times, pro snowboarder Andy Finch will appear on The Daily Habit.

One of the most powerful snowboarders in halfpipe, whose big airs have earned him the nickname " Finch Airlines," Andy Finch is back to fill us in on his latest endeavors. And, our newest correspondent, Cheyenne goes to the 2007 American Music Awards to find out who' ' s the biggest diva of all. Plus, Jordan Morris and pro snowboarder Sketchy D head to the 2007 Ski Dazzle Expo to unite skiers and snowboarders once and for all. Andy' ' s sponsor include: Rip Curl, Palmer, Monster, Giro, Northstar, The Collection, GO211.com and Porters.

Andy Finch

" The Daily Habit" is FUEL TV' ' s first original daily series, telecast weeknights at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm PT) while re-airing later in the evening at 12:00am ET (9:00pm PT), and the following weekday at 2:30pm ET (11:30am PT) and 5:30pm ET (2:30 pm PT). " The Daily Habit" encompasses the world of the action sports enthusiast, mixing the best in pop culture with today' ' s top action sports personalities, cutting-edge music, product reviews, and comedy.

About FUEL TV
FUEL TV is the action sports lifestyle network for skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle-motocross, and wakeboarding. A unit of Fox Cable Networks, FUEL TV was launched July 1, 2003 and is seen in 24-million U.S. homes. To subscribe to FUEL TV, call 877-4-FUEL-TV. For program times and other information, visit www.fuel.tv.

Monster Energy Team Dakar USA Prepares for the 2008 Dakar Rally

This year, the 15-stage epic off-road race starts in Lisbon, Portugal on January 5^th and concludes on January 20^th in Dakar, Senegal. The preparation for the 2008 Dakar Rally is in its final stages as the support vehicles, loaded with all the spare parts and equipment, begin their trip across the USA today to Savannah, GA where they will then travel by cargo vessel to Lisbon. It is much more of a challenge for the Anaheim, California based team than that of their European based counterparts. The majority of the top teams participating in the Dakar Rally are based in Europe, which allows them more time to prepare unlike Team Dakar USA. Logistic preparation for Team Dakar USA is a very important dynamic to the success of the overall program. Fortunately, the Hummer H3s are airlifted only days before the start, giving the team added time to test and perfect the race vehicles.

As Team Dakar USA enters its third Dakar Rally with the Monster Energy / Toyo Tire Hummer H3, Gordon has also added a second Hummer to his elite off-road team. He has enlisted the help of fellow American Dakar veteran, Ronn Bailey to pilot an identically prepared Hummer H3. Bailey, who is CEO of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, an enterprise security software company, will participate in the next three Dakar Rally events as an integral part of Team Dakar USA. The Vanguard Integrity Professional H3 Hummer entry will be very strategic to the teams overall objective of becoming the first American team to win the Dakar Rally.

With the added pressure of a second team, the team also has to prepare for the increased course length. The organizers of the Dakar Rally (the ASO) have lengthened the course by more than 1,000 km (621 miles) for a total of 9,273 km (or 5,762 miles). Therefore, the team needs to prepare for this added challenge by making sure that the parts will withstand the grueling desert terrain, that there is enough fuel ordered to make it to the end, and that support vehicles and team members get the rest needed.

For Gordon, the support of Ronn Bailey and the second entry easily outweighs the overall strain of the preparation for the additional team. “If you look at the results of our Dakar effort, you’ll see they parallel to our efforts in the NASCAR Cup Series. Every year our programs continue to get better. We fell out of the Rally the first year after not making a checkpoint. Last year, we managed to become the first American team and manufacturer to win a stage. We finished in eighth place overall. This year, aside from drastically improving the Hummer, the next best thing we could do is try to level the playing field to be more like the multi-car factory-supported teams. Now we have a teammate in Ronn Bailey, and he is every bit as passionate about winning this race as I am.”

Bailey, who in the past had tackled Dakar with his own effort, clearly sees the wisdom in joining forces with Gordon. “Robby is building some of the most impressive off-road vehicles – it’s amazing just to watch the Hummer suspension work. For Robby and I to team up for Dakar makes sense on so many levels. It consolidates two strong American efforts in to one powerful team. For both of us the combined resources will provide advantages that will be undeniable.”

While the logistics of getting to the start of the Dakar Rally alone might seem overwhelming, Gordon and Bailey clearly have their eyes set on making history by becoming the first American team and drivers to win the legendary Dakar Rally.

DATE	START	FINISH	CONNECTION	SPECIAL	CONNECTION	TOTAL
05/01/08	Lisboa	Portimão	104 km	120 km	262 km	486 km
06/01/08	Portimão	Málaga	15 km	60 km	460 km	535 km
07/01/08	Nador	Er Rachidia	182 km	372 km	163 km	717 km
08/01/08	Er Rachidia	Ouarzazate	29 km	356 km	199 km	584 km
09/01/08	Ouarzazate	Guelmim	188 km	498 km	148 km	834 km
10/01/08	Guelmim	Smara	66 km	454 km	105 km	625 km
11/01/08	Smara	Atâr	198 km	619 km	12 km	829 km
12/01/08	Atâr	Nouakchott	44 km	450 km	37 km	531 km
13/01/08	Rest Day
14/01/08	Nouakchott	Nouhadibou	37 km	525 km	86 km	648 km
15/01/08	Nouhadibou	Atâr	111 km	552 km	22 km	685 km
16/01/08	Atâr	Tidjikja	35 km	524 km	133 km	692 km
17/01/08	Tidjikja	Kiffa	131 km	398 km	2 km	531 km
18/01/08	Kiffa	Kiffa	25 km	484 km	6 km	515 km
19/01/08	Kiffa	Saint-Louis	326 km	301 km	130 km	757 km
20/01/08	Saint-Louis	Dakar	239 km	23 km	42 km	304 km
TOTAL			1 730 km	5 736 km	1 807 km	9 273 km

Monster Energy’s TJ Lavin’s On The Mend, Walking Again And Putting Out Music In His Spare Time

December 5, 2007


CORONA, Calif., (Dec. 5, 2007) – – Hearing Monster Energy’ ’s TJ Lavin talk about his gnarly BMX dirt jumping wreck the Dew Tour is enough to make your socks roll up and down.

“ “Everything was going great. I was going for a Decade on the last set and over shot the landing a bit,” ”said Lavin. “ “My foot came off the pedal and hit the ground just right.

“ “And I felt my shoe come up and kick me in the knee.” ”
Compound tib/fib, national TV, surgery, rod, screws. It’ ’s a story Lavin’ ’s had to tell dozens of times. But six weeks later, the story he’ ’s telling now is even more compelling.

“ “I just started to walk again. Well, limp,” ”he says. “ “I started physical therapy like two weeks after it happened. Went at it hard, training in a pool. So the feeling’ ’s pretty great that I can walk again.” ”

And the feeling’ ’s coming even though there’ ’s no feeling in Lavin’ ’s big toe. “ “Yeah, my big toe’ ’s paralyzed, which is kind of a bummer,” ”he said. “ “But I’ ’m hoping with some electro-stim and more PT that it’ ’ll come around. If not I’ ’ll have to have it fused to my other toe in order to get it to work properly.” ”

During his down time off the bike Lavin’ ’s had some more time to mess around with a longtime passion of his, music. Honing his skills at producing music at his Vegas home otherwise known as "Lavs Lab" the past decade, Lavin’ ’s proved he’ ’s got a knack for it – –at least that’ ’s what his friends think.

“ “Everybody’ ’s been telling me ‘ ‘Man, you’ ’ve got to put out a CD,’ ’” ”said Lavin. “ “My buddy here in Vegas, Tom Parham, has 30 years experience in the music industry and has helped show me the ropes. So with this recent down time I was able to get up the nerve to put out a CD.” ”

Lavs: The first set , according to Lavin, is a “ “hip-hop, viby mix that’ ’s a little bit underground – – something that you wouldn’ ’t likely hear on the radio.” ”Check it out at: http://www.monsterenergy.com/troops/bandDetail.php?bandID=62 and www.lavslab.com

“ “But I fell in love with producing music like I did with BMX bikes,” ”added Lavin, who’ ’s worked with such notable artists as the Kotton Mouth Kings and Big B.

As for what’ ’s up next, Lavin says in no way should the legion of Monster Energy drinkers rule him out from BMX competition. In fact, if his burgeoning TV (MTV’ ’s “ “Challenge” ”series) and music schedule allow it, he’ ’ll be back for sure full time in ’ ’08.

“ “All this injury did was really give me some time to think about how much I love to ride my bike,” ”he said. “ “I’ ’ll come back from this, no problem. I’ ’m not scared to send it!” ”

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it BMX, music, SX, off road, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, surf, snow – –name it – –the athletes are rockin’ ’Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – –Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “ “M-80” ”and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. TJ Lavin’ ’s diggin’ ’‘ ‘em– –so will you. On the ‘ ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com

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CORONA, Calif., (Nov. 29, 2007) – – Monster Energy athletes aboard

CORONA, Calif., (Nov. 29, 2007) – – Monster Energy athletes aboard
Kawasaki’s had a strong showing at the 36th annual Thor Winter
National Olympics, presented by Pro Circuit, this past week, winning
an MX industry-best 20 championships in both the Motocross and
Supercross portions of the year’s last major national amateur
motocross competition.

“Everybody at Monster Energy HQ is pumped would like to congratulate
all the Monster Energy/Kawasaski racers who brought home
championships and other podium and personal-best finishes at the Mini
Os this year,” said John Lee, Director of Sports Marketing for
Monster Energy. “We understand fully the time and effort that goes
into becoming an amateur motocross champion at the national level and
are pleased at how well represented Monster Energy was on the top of
the podiums at the Mini Os.”

Monster Energy/Kawasaki Supercross champions at the Mini Os include:

* Adam Cianciarulo (85cc 7-11 stock and mod)

* PJ Larsen (125 Expert A and 250 Expert A)

* Lowell Spangler (250 B mod)

* Keith Johnson (25+ and 30+)

* Matt Tedder (45+)

* Sara Price (women’s class)

Monster Energy/Kawasaki Motocross champions at the Mini Os include:

* PJ Larsen (125 Expert A stock and mod)

* Justin Bogle (12-13 85 stock)

* Mike Treadwell (25+)

* Keith Johnson (30+ and 35+)

* Dean Wilson (250 B stock)

* Lowell Spangler (Four Stroke and 250 B mod)

* Matt Tedder (45+)

* Michael Fowler (250 C stock)

In addition to his four championships, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s PJ
Larsen won the CTI Ironman Award.

For more information on the Monster Energy/Kawasaki racers at the
Mini Os, check out the Mini Os website: http://
www.unlimitedsportsmx.com/

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MX, road racing, supermoto,
off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the
athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days.
Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb,
Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid
called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee &
cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Everybody racing
down at the Mini O’s dug‘em – –and so will you. On the ‘Net at
www.monsterenergy.com .

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s RyanVillopoto Named AMA/SPEED Athlete Of The Year!

CORONA, Calif., (Nov. 19, 2007) – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto was named this past weekend as the AMA/SPEED Athlete of the Year for his spectacular performances in the AMA Supercross and Outdoor Nationals seasons, along with his winning performance in the recent Motocross of Nations (Moto Des Nations) in Budds Creek, Md.

“Last year I watched Ricky get the award and it’s just awesome to be one of those guys,” said Villopoto from the stage at the AMA Awards banquet, of course referring to Monster Energy’s Ricky Carmichael who won the award in 2006.

Villopoto also congratulated the rest of the nominees, which included Monster Energy’s Mark Burkhart, the 2007 AMA Supermoto champion.

“I was pumped just to be nominated,” said Burkhart. “Congrats to Ryan. Glad another Monster guy won it!”

Villopoto, 19, from Poulsbo, Wash., won the Supercross West Lites title, then defended his Outdoor Nationals’ Lites crown. He highlighted his season when he spanked the rest of the world at the Motocross of Nations at Budds Creek, helping fellow Monster Energy-backed racers Carmichael and Tim Ferry (Monster Energy/Kawasaki) win the coveted Chamberlain Trophy as the world’s top motocross team.

“Everybody at Monster Energy would like to congratulate Ryan on an unreal season, capped off with the AMA and SPEED’s most prestigious award,” said John Lee, Monster Energy’s Director of Sports Marketing. “Ryan is one of the hardest-working guys in the sport and sets and excellent example for the rest of our Monster Army members. Again, congrats, Ryan, you certainly deserve it.”

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MX, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. 2007 Outdoor Nationals Lites class champion Ryan Villopoto and 2007 Supermoto champion Mark Burkhart dig ‘em – and so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.

Monster Energy's Grant Langston and Jeremy McGrath Set To Roll @ Paris' Bercy Supercross This Weekend

CORONA, Calif., (Nov. 8, 2007) – Monster Energy will be well-represented this weekend at the 25th annual Bercy Supercross as two-time champion Grant Langston, fresh off his Vegas U.S. Open win, gets set to make it three titles in front of a raucous crowd at Paris' Palais-Omnisport (Nov. 9-11).

"I've been fortunate to win Bercy twice and those wins are some of the best highlights of my international racing career," said Langston. "This year's race should be intense. Winning Bercy will allow someone to carry that added momentum into the Anaheim supercross opener in January." Note: Langston will be part of the "Rest of the World" team, competing for the team title versus teams representing the United States and France.

And representing that United States team will be none other than Jeremy "Showtime" McGrath, the racer who probably did the most to help elevate the popularity of the long-running Paris supercross event. "Bercy's always a blast," said McGrath. "I've got some great memories
from racing that event and I'm looking forward to coming back this weekend. The fans there are nuts and the event's definitely got its place in history with the sport of supercross."

In addition, Monster Energy-backed Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki/GPKR) will contest the race for the French team.

For more information on the Bercy Supercross, link to:
www.supercrossbercy.com

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it BMX, skate, FMX, MotoGP, MX, road racing, supermoto, off-road, MTB, off-road, surf, snow – name it – the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called "M-80" and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Langston & McGrath are diggin' 'em – so will you.

Greaves Finishes 2nd in Baldwin Cup While Fans Chant JOHNNY! Carl Renezeder Booed Loudly in Victory Lane

Primm, NV (November 4, 2007) - If you missed the race but got there for the presentation ceremony in victory lane, you would have thought you were at a Vegas prize-fight and the judges had just announced the wrong guy the winner as the crowd stood on its feet and screamed. That's because Johnny Greaves battled back from last place to first, for the second time in the race, and over came a horrific crash into the fencing only to be deliberately hit hard by Renezeder on the last lap to loose the win. As Renezeder stood on his truck and waved the checkered flag to the crowd in celebration, the majority of the fans were on their feet screaming John-ny, John-ny! As the trophy was awarded, the winner was greeted to a very loud chorus of boos as the large crowd recognized the unsportsmanlike manner in which he gained the win. The 2nd annual Jason Baldwin Cup race in Primm, Nevada, will go down as the most exciting, most unusual, and most controversial race of the Pro-4 season.

The 16-lap race started with 14 Pro-2's lined up 3 wide and the Pro-4's staggered behind. Greaves was on the first row of the Pro-4's as the green flag flew. The Toyotas of Greaves and Huesman went on the attack early, but the race was stopped after three laps while more water was applied to the track. On the restart, Greaves put the TRD backed Monster Energy Potawatomi unit in attack mode and moved past all but 4 of the Pro-2's. By the 6th lap, it looked like the BFG shod Greaves was going to get an easy win, but he spun-out in the big sweeper turn and had to go to the back of the pack. Greaves immediately launched a comeback in his typical fashion when he collided with Tim Herbst truck while flying down the grandstand straight-away, sending him into the protective fencing and ripping it down. Miraculously, Greaves' Toyota was unhurt and he continued on - but at the very back of the pack once again with about 6 laps to go. The race was then stopped for over 30 minutes while CORR crews repaired the fencing in front of the grandstands.

When the race resumed, no one gave Greaves much of a chance - as usual - Johnny Greaves had no plans to quit. He charged hard and worked his way into the top three with Ricky Johnson and Carl Renezeder and only 3 laps to go. The crowd was absolutely amazed as it appeared Greaves was going to win the race after all he had been through in one race. Like the professional he is, Greaves passed up numerous opportunities to make full contact passes on his fellow competitors. Johnson spun out and the race was on between Johnny and Carl. Greaves caught Carl with two laps left and waited until he could make the pass clean. On the last lap Greaves made no contact as he went sailing past Carl in turn 2. In the next turn Renezeder came in hot and made hard contact with Greaves pushing him out wide causing Greaves to spin out from the impact. Johnny goes on to finish second as the crowd booed Carl.

As the winner and the third place truck pulled their trucks on to center stage of victory lane, a dejected Greaves held up short - parking his truck 30 yards off to the side of the celebration. As Greaves sat in his car, he was greeted with fans screaming his name "John-ny, John-ny!" NBC Cameras immediately came running to Greaves.

"What the heck just happened?" asked Greaves as he was exiting his Monster Energy Potawatomi Toyota in disbelief. "He hit me pretty hard, it's a tough way to lose, but it looks like the fans understand what just happened. I tried to run a clean race today and had a few shots I could have taken to pass Carl - but I don't like to win that way," Greaves continued as the crowd shouted his name. NBC's Kelly Stafast asked Greaves for a comment from the infield and Greaves excited the crowd by telling her, "screw the sixty-six thousand - I’m here for my fans!" It was obvious to all that Johnny "stole the show."

"My Monster Energy Potawatomi Toyota really held together today for an amazing comeback – I just wish I could have brought home the prize to finish it off," said Greaves.

Historic 1-2-3-4 Performance By Monster Energy/Pro Cirucit/Kawasaki Team

CORONA, Calif., (Aug. 27, 2007) – For the second week in a row
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s made motocross racing history,
this past weekend in Delmont, Pa., doing the unthinkable when its
team of four racers – Ryan Villopoto, Ben Townley, Brett Metcalfe and
Austin Stroupe – took the top four spots (1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th),
respectively, at the Monster/Kawasaki Steel City MX National –
marking the first time ever a single team has swept the top four
classes in an AMA-sanctioned pro motocross race.

“Everybody at Monster Energy is ecstatic for Mitch (Payton) and his
Monster Energy-backed racers and crew on this historic day,” said
John Lee, Director of Sports Marketing for Monster Energy. “Monster
got involved with motocross through Pro Circuit and are pleased to be
standing right there with the team each and every weekend. Something
like this 1-2-3-4 sweep is just amazing to be a part of.”

Leading the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team at Steel City
was Villopoto who, with a 3-1 overall finish, led the Monster Energy-
backed charge at Steel City that also saw him wrestle the Lites class
points lead from Townley, 447-441.

“I can’t explain how excellent the feeling was around the Monster
Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki hauler on Sunday,” said Villopoto, who
charged from back in the pack to make the podium in the first moto,
then won gate-to-checkers in the second moto. “I was so pumped for
all the guys on the team that the fact I took over the points lead
didn’t really register until I was on my way home. I mean, for the
same team to take the top four overall spots in a race – everybody
was saying that’d never happened before. So to be part of that was
unreal.”

The win was Villopoto’s fourth of the season.

Next up for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team is the Sept.
2nd Monster Energy Freestone Motocross National in Wortham, Texas,
Round 11 of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championships

Monster Energy Kawasaki Motocross Practice Update: Steel City Race

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's rookie Austin Stroupe set the fastest lap time in the AMA Motocross Lites class during his first-ever professional practice day at the Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa. In the AMA Motocross class it was Timmy Ferry who threw down the second fastest lap.

Stroupe secured the fastest time posting a 2:09.411. Close behind were teammates Brett Metcalfe and Ben Townley who took home the second and third fastest laps with a 2:09.555 and a 2:10.068, respectively. Ryan Villopoto rounded out the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki squad taking the sixth fastest time.

Unfortunately the fifth member of the team, Chris Gosselaar, endured a hard crash in practice. He immediately left the track to be evaluated at a local hospital and his status for tomorrow is uncertain.

In the AMA Motocross division, Ferry captured the second fastest time with a 2:08.672. Teammate James Stewart did not practice and will sit out the remainder of the season in order to surgically repair his knee.

Tomorrow's race in Delmont is the tenth round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship series. And with only three rounds to go and points close as ever, tomorrow's race will be a great one to watch.

Monster X Games Party

Five Minutes with ... Paul Carpenter

By Danny Brault
Photos by Allison Kennedy

When the bench racing started before the 2007 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals, the last thing anyone predicted was a runaway show. There were just too many heavy hitters for any one guy to check out—JSR, Mitch Cooke, Colton Facciotti, Paul Carpenter, Jeff Gibson, Josh Woods, Jeff Dement, Blair Morgan, all had great potential to win races. But as we’ve seen in so many championship fights, it’s the one who makes the least mistakes that wins. In the 17 motos of the MX1 series, it was Monster Energy/ Cernic’s Kawasaki’s Carpenter who made the least mistakes, won the most motos (7), had the most podiums (13), and most overall wins (4). It also didn’t hurt that his toughest competitors JSR, Cooke, Dement, Morgan, Woods, and Facciotti, struggled with crashes, bike problems and injuries. Regardless, that’s racing and Carpenter rode like a champion in every race, even at Walton when he already had the title in hand but still went out and swept both motos.


RXC: Paul, congrats on winning the MX1 title!
Paul Carpenter: Thanks, man.

Heading into the series, I’m sure you didn’t predict that you would win the championship with three motos left.
Probably not. I definitely didn’t think it would be something like that, getting it done so early. But just the way the season worked out, it worked out good for me.

After Ste-Julie, I figured it would be you, JSR, and Mitch Cooke fighting for the title. Is that what you assumed after the first round?
Yeah, afterwards, that’s what I thought. I don’t know how to say this, but I didn’t see anyone who was at the same speed after Ste-Julie. That was definitely my first opinion.

Were there any riders after the first round that surprised you?
You know, Colton [Facciotti] did because coming to Canada, I didn’t know any of the riders, and I didn’t who was fast and who wasn’t. The only guy I really knew was JSR—and I didn’t expect Mitch Cooke to be there either. After Colton got himself together after Regina, he started putting in some solid rounds, but until then, no; no one really stepped up until round three. Colton really filled JSR’s shoes when he got hurt, that’s for sure.

After JSR was hurt, I thought it would be a runaway for you—well, you did have a pretty comfortable points lead—but it was good to see some new riders step up and make it exciting for the fans.
Well, for sure, and those guys rode really well. I put everything I had into it, for sure, and our bikes worked well all year and we had some good races. I had the one race where I got docked and lost the overall; and in Moncton I had a fall that cost me the overall, but other than that, those guys kept me honest.

Even though you carried that big points lead and won the title with one round to go, it looked like you went for the win in every race.
That’s how you have to approach something like that, I think. That’s what I did. Every weekend, I put in everything I had into racing. I think the first second you slack, is when you throw it all away.

You have a few four-stroke championships, right?
Yeah, I have four of them.

And have you won a championship at Loretta’s or anything?
Yeah, in `97, I won at Loretta’s.

Now that you have the Canadian title, how does that rack up in your MX accomplishments?
This one feels good. It feels a lot better just because it’s a little later in my career and I would say more worthy just because it’s the 450 class and … Canada’s just a whole other country.

What is your game plan now? Are you racing any of the final AMA Nationals?
No, I’m not. Our team didn’t really have that in the cards. Now I’m starting to work on my own program and that’s why you haven’t been able to get a hold of me. I’ve been really, really tied up with it. That’s the route I’m heading.

When will we see you with your new team? U.S. Open?
No, just because we want to go out and do it right. The first time will probably be just some local race, but more than likely it will be at Anaheim.

After spending a weekend with the Cernic’s team, it’s easy to see why you guys were so successful this year. There seems to be a lot of chemistry within the team and everyone gets along really well.
That team’s been great, dude. Those guys are such a good group, it’s ridiculous, and it’s tough to leave them. But you gotta do what’s best for you. The thing is, that team [Monster Energy] fit me really well, but this opportunity is a lot greater than what I may have been able to get from that program.

Were there any moments or moment that stands out from the series for you?
Not really any particular moments. I would say, probably the first red flag at Ste-Julie; that still sticks in my head. I saw that crash happen and I just thought, ‘Man, I hope this whole year doesn’t go like this!’ It was my first quarter lap of a Canadian race and half of the pack was down. That definitely caught my eye a little bit.

Do you have a favourite city or region of Canada that you really enjoyed?
As far as everything went, I really liked the scenery up in Nanaimo. It was beautiful. I took the ferry across [to the island] and that was really cool. I liked Calgary, Nanaimo and every track I went to—Moncton was really cool—just everything was new to me.

Favourite track from the tour?
I really liked Gopher Dunes, Ste-Julie and Walton was really good. The track on Saturday wasn’t that good, but I think the crew did an excellent job on Sunday.

I couldn’t help but laugh listening to the radio show when you remarked how beautiful Canadian women are [laughs].
Yeah [laughs] that’s for sure! It seems like there might not be as many running around, but the ones that are, are just gorgeous.

Who would you like to thank for your championship season in Canada, Paul?
Monster Energy, Canadian Kawasaki, Cernic’s, the whole team—everybody on our team—and all of our sponsors. It was a great year.

Thanks, Paul. Good luck next year. After watching you race up here, we’ll definitely be keeping tabs on you in supercross.
Thanks, I appreciate it!

Monster Energy’s Jamie Hacking Nails A Double Podium @ Virginia International Raceway AMA Road Racing Event

CORONA, Calif., (Aug. 20, 2007) – Monster Energy-backed AMA Superbike
Championship series racer Jamie Hacking (Monster/Kawasaki) was on the
podium twice this past weekend at Virginia International Speedway,
finishing 3rd in the first of two premier AMA Superbike races, then
coming from behind to make the third and final podium spot in the
hotly-contested Pro Honda Oils Supersport class.

By far the most coverage of the weekend, television-wise (broadcast
live on Speed TV), was given to the 3rd place battle between Hacking
and his Monster Energy-backed teammate, Roger Lee Hayden, as the two
raced foot peg to foot peg for the final three laps of the Supersport
class event.

“You couldn’t have scripted that one better, huh,” said Hacking.
“Definitely one of the more fun races Roger and I have had all season.”

In addition to their exciting Supersport race, Hacking scored a 4th
in the second Superbike contest (to go with his podium 3rd in the
first race), while Hayden went 5-10 in the two races.

With the 3rd place Supersport class finish Hacking remained in 1st
place overall in the class with 241 points, followed by Hayden in 2nd
with 230 points. In all at VIR, Monster placed four of its riders in
the top 11 in the Supersport class with Aaron Gobert (Erion Racing/
Honda) finishing 8th and Danny Eslick in 11th. Gobert is in 8th place
overall in the Supersport class standing with 150 points and Eslick’s
well within striking distance of the top ten with two races
remaining, 11th with 133 points – only 12 points out of 10th.

In the Lockart-Phillips Formula Xtreme class, Gobert held onto his
3rd place overall ranking in the standings with an 8th place finish
at VIR. Gobert’s a solid 21 points ahead of Larry Peagram for the 3rd
and final podium spot in that class.

And in the Superstock class, Eslick would finish a strong 6th, moving
him into 4th overall in the Superstock point standings.

Next up for the Monster Energy-backed AMA Superbike Series racers is
Round Ten of the series at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., (Aug. 31-
Sept. 2).

MONSTER ENERGY’S MEGA DAY @ PORTLAND DEW TOUR!

CORONA, Calif., (Aug. 20, 2007) – It was darn near a clean sweep of
all the gold medals for Monster Energy-backed athletes at the third
round (Vans Invitational) of the 2007 Mt. Dew Action Sports Tour, aka
“The Dew Tour,” as Monster Energy BMX, FMX and Skate athletes swept
all but two of the available podium wins in four of the six events.

And, in the other two events – Skate Vert and BMX Dirt – a Monster
Energy athlete podiumed in one of those events (Skate Vert) as well,
and would have podiumed in the other had it not been for a sketch on
a huge trick (double back flip).

“When we sat down and signed or re-signed these athletes to start the
2007 competition season, you always look at the best case scenario
with them,” said John Lee, Director of Sports Marketing for Monster
Energy. “Well, the Portland Dew Tour round was about as close as we
could get to what, on paper, was the best possible outcome for our
athletes at a major action sports event.”

On the heels of some unheard of publicity following the Summer X
Games (Jake Brown & Scott Murray), Monster Energy athletes stepped up
big at the third round of the wildly popular Dew Tour – the Vans
Invitational - raking in a total of seven medals, four of which were
gold.

Skate Park

It was only a matter of time before the Dew Tour Skate Park judges
figured out that Greg Lutzka is the hottest skater on the tour. Core
to the bone and down with street skaters globally on account of his
clean style and innovative arsenal of tricks, Lutzka knocked off the
golden child, previously undefeated Ryan Scheckler, to claim his
first Dew Tour gold of the season.

“I’d been skating pretty well at the first two rounds and knew it was
just a matter of time before I was able to pull off a win,” said
Lutzka, who defended his ’06 Portland Dew Tour Skate Park title.
“Definitely want to carry this momentum over to the next Dew Tour
round, hopefully be there to challenge for the overall at the finals.
And thanks again to Monster for having my back this summer. Means a
lot.”

As it stands Lutzka trails Scheckler 275-218 for the overall title
with two rounds remaining.

BMX Park

Monster Energy-backed tour sophomore Mike Spinner managed to put
together the run that eluded him in the Louisville (Ky.) Dew Tour
opener, breaking out (again) the 1080 – three clean 360-degree spins
in one jump – and this time stomping the landing. Even with several
other great riders to go in the BMX Park finals you know the trophy
engravers were already pulling out the dies to stamp “S” “P” “I” “N”
“N” “E” “R” into the GOLD Portland Dew Tour BMX Park trophy.

“Man, this is excellent,” said Spinner afterwards of his first Dew
Tour gold. “I hope everybody back at Monster headquarters is as
pumped about this as I am.”

Riding the shoreline break of Spinner’s 1080 all the way onto the
podium himself was Monster-backed veteran Dave Mirra. The all-time
most decorated BMX athlete, Mirra was consistent as ever and pulled
one of the highest prelim scores of the day (93.5). He kept pouring
it on in the finals and was rewarded with the silver medal.

BMX Vert

Absolutely unstoppable would be the best way to describe Monster
Energy’s Jamie Bestwick’s performance in the halfpipe at the Portland
Dew Tour. Bestwick flat-out ripped, overcoming a first run crash and,
with his back against the wall, the Brit then smoked everybody on
this second run - highlighted by massive alley-oop Superman seat
grabs and new downside whip to X-up.

“I think the fact that I slid out in my first run just added to the
adrenaline of the second run,” said Bestwick. “That and a Monster
Original before hand (laughter)! I knew Portland could be a turning
point for several of the other competitors, so it was highly
important that I put together an excellent run and was fortunate to
win. And my plan is to continue the same here in the next two rounds.”

FMX

Again, as they did in the X Games, Monster Energy’s Adam Jones and
Nate Adams proved their they’re at the top of their games in
Freestyle Motocross right now, again going 1-2 in a major FMX
competition - the Portland Dew Tour FMX comp.

Jones, who also won the FMX Best Trick silver medal at the X games
(to Monster’s Kyle Loza’s gold), was flawless at Portland, winning
the prelims and staying consistent through the finals. Jones pulled
the Stripper flip (a trick he invented), then wowed everybody with a
Shaolin flip over the 75-foot gap. Adams, still nursing a badly
injured hand, cracked the throttle next and threw some impressive no-
hand flip variations, along with a 360 nac-nac flip. The end result
was just a bit short of Jones’ score, 90.83 to 91.17.

Skate Vert & BMX Dirt

Monster’s Pierre Luc “PLG” Gagnon continued to amaze following the re-
building of his knee last year, this past weekend wicking ‘er up and
blazing to a silver medal finish in the Skate Vert event. Gagnon, who
also mined silver in the X Games halfpipe, was in command both on and
above the cope. His fakie shove-it to frontside lipslide had people
spitting out their gum in disbelief, while his fakie 720 was one of
the weekend’s premier tricks above the lip. Also running Monster
colors and burning holes in the Skatelite® were rookie Alex Perelson
(5th) and Jean Postec (7th) – giving Monster three guys in the top
seven overall – the popular energy drink company’s best overall
finish of the year.

And finally, on the gnarly BMX Dirt jumps, Monster Energy’s Ryan
Guettler pulled a double back flip on the final hit – which was maybe
the trick-of-the-night according to fans. A sketch on another double
back would unfortunately keep him out of the medals.

Next up for the Monster athletes on the Dew Tour is the Sept. 20-23
Toyota Challenge in Salt Lake City.