MonsterArmy.com News

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.

Monster Energy-Backed Motocross Racers Sweep Spring Creek MX Park Podium!














CORONA, Calif., (Aug. 13, 2007) – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/
Kawasaki’s made some 2007 Outdoor Nationals history this past weekend
when they became the first team to sweep the AMA Lites class podium
this summer, going 1-2-3 at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minn.,
round nine of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championships.


Having won the first moto, Monster Energy-backed Ben Townley cranked
up his Pro Circuit-tuned Kawasaki KX250F and took an early lead in
the race. But charging hard from a 5th place start after the first
lap was his teammate, Ryan Villopoto, and Villopoto was able to make
the pass on Townley on lap seven (of 15). The two premier Lites class
riders would then distance themselves from the pack, with Villopoto
eventually taking the overall win ahead of Townley by just over three
seconds. Their speed was a testament to their 1-2 ability as teammate
Brett Metcalfe (on the same bike) came in 3rd – some 50 seconds later.

“I wanted that second moto bad,” said Villopoto.

With 1-2/2-1 performances, both Townley and Villopoto came away with
47 points. As it stands, after nine rounds, Townley still holds the
overall lead in the Lites class championship point chase by a mere
two points (404-402). Also, with his podium performance, Metcalfe
(3rd o/a) moved into the top ten overall in the standings despite
missing five of the nine rounds.

Next up for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team is the Aug.
26th Monster Energy/Kawasaki Steel City MX National in Delmont, Pa.,
Round Ten of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championships.

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. Townley, Villopoto
& Metcalfe dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.

Monster Energy’s Ricky Carmichael Wins Spring Creek MX National; Brings AMA MX Career To Close














CORONA, Calif., (Aug. 13, 2007) – Monster Energy’s Ricky Carmichael –
the sport’s all-time winningest competitor – raced what is said to be
his final AMA Outdoor National motocross, this past weekend recording
his amazing 150th career win with a 1-1 performance at Millville’s
(Minn.) Spring Creek MX Park.

“It’s been a great ride and I’ve been very fortunate,” said an
understandably emotional Carmichael on Sunday. “A lot of things come
to an end and I’m happy with every decision I’ve made – and it’s time
to move on.”

Carmichael was his usual dominant self at Millville, though his
recent rival – Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s James Stewart – was unable
to race due to an injury (knee). About the only highlight Carmichael
provided outside his thorough mastery of the Spring Creek track, was
a save he made in the infamous Millville whoop section. “I just held
on and the karma police were good to me,” said Carmichael with a laugh.

So in six races this season Carmichael went 6-0. Had he decided to
complete the entire season he’d undoubtedly be in 1st place overall
in the standings, though it’s a mute point as he’s also been focusing
on his auto racing career.

“I have a goal and that’s to be a race car driver,” said Carmichael.
“But this (motocross) is the sport that made me.”

Next up for Monster Energy’s Ricky Carmichael will be the Sept. 22-23
Motocross Des Nations at Budds Creek MX Park, Budds Creek, Md.
Carmichael will be racing for the Monster Energy-backed Team USA,
also featuring Monster-backed racers James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto
and Tim Ferry.

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. RC digs ‘em – so
will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.