Monster Energy Supercross Update: Jacksonville

Monster/PC/Kawi’s Pourcel, ESX title already clinched, wins the last round before the series heads west; teammate Pourcel’s 3^rd and Monster’s Hill is 4^th in SX class

CORONA, Calif., (April 6, 2009) – Monster Energy’s Christophe Pourcel (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki), having already wrapped up the ’09 ESX title, put an exclamation point on his first American supercross championship by winning the final ESX round in Jacksonville, round 14 of 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.

“I’ve got the championship already, but to win (Jacksonville) would be awesome,” said Pourcel prior to Saturday’s competition in front of 35,000-plus fans at Municipal Stadium.

Heat one in the SX Lites class looked to be all Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Stroupe – at least in the opening stages. Stroupe got out in 2^nd place behind Will Hahn, then charged past Hahn through a double/double section to take the lead on lap two. Pushing hard – and maybe harder than he needed to – Stroupe tucked the front end of his KX250F into the dirt off a jump heading into a corner and was thrown over the bars. Uninjured, Stroupe got back up and got going again, but had gone from 1^st to 12^th in the quick-hitting six lap race.

“Yeah, at that point I just wanted to get back and catch a transfer spot,” said Stroupe, who fought back to the ninth and final transfer spot.

In the second Lites heat race Pourcel got past Matt Lemoine (who’d pulled the holeshot) and into the early lead. But a rare mistake would put Pourcel back a number of spots when he bobbled in a corner and stalled his bike. Able to re-fire in descent time, Pourcel still lost a bunch of spots with all the riders grouped together near the start of the race charging past him. The Frenchman made it back easily into the transfer positions, running from 10^th to 6^th by the end of the second heat.

In the main neither Pourcel, who was the fastest rider in qualifying practice (54.224), and Stroupe (2^nd fastest qualifier at 54.952) had great gate picks. Pourcel would move up first, completing a spectacular pass on lap two in getting past Vince Friese and Steve Clark to take over 2^nd place. Soon after Stroupe, who’d started outside the top ten, moved up to 8^th place with a pass over previous ESX Lites round winner Blake Wharton.

With seven laps to go in the contest Pourcel set up and passed race leader Hahn with a nice move on the corner after the finish line jump, forcing Hahn wide and taking over a lead he’d never relinquish.

“He (Pourcel) lets the race come to him, isn’t very flashy, just very disciplined,” said Monster Energy athlete Ricky Carmichael on Pourcel. Note: Carmichael joined SPEED SX announcers Ralph Shaheen and Jeff Emig in the booth for the Jacksonville contest. “He got what he wanted (SX Lites championship) and probably wants the outdoor championship as well.”

As Pourcel celebrated over the finish line jump, Stroupe was pulling out all the stops to close on Nico Izzi for the third and final podium spot. Stroupe would catch a break in one of the final sections when Izzi dove bomb his bike into the face of triple landing, though his bouncing bike almost cleaned out Stroupe as well – who was coming down from 30-feet to land the jump properly.

“I’ve felt good since last weekend and the track was pretty technical, hard to pass and I was having to back off,” said Stroupe. “A couple guys fell late and I was able to move up. Hat’s off to Izzi. I hope he’s all right.”

Monster Energy athletes represented pretty well in the SX main class with Josh Hill (Yamaha) leading the charge in 4^th place.

“I’m not going to be happy if I’m not in the top five at the last four races this season,” said a fired-up Hill prior to Jacksonville’s contest.

Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki’s Paul Carpenter made it to the SX main event out of the first heat race (8^th), though Hill crashed early and was forced to the LCQ. In the second heat race Monster’s Jason Lawrence (Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing) was on fire, finishing 2^nd to eventual race winner James Stewart. Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Billy Laninovich was able to pick up the last transfer spot (9^th) to make the SX main.

Hill would end up making the best of the LCQ and some added views of the technical Jacksonville track, winning that contest by just under three seconds ahead of Thomas Hahn. Unfortunately, Lawrence’s Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing teammate, Nick Wey, placed 3^rd in the LCQ and missed out making the SX main by one spot.

In the main Hill was again plagued by bad luck early in the contest, starting well outside the top ten and having to charge through a field of the best supercross racers in the world in order to move up. He’d eventually have better luck than Lawrence, who’d have a run-in with Brock Hepler battling for 4^th place on the second lap. Another collision would bend Lawrence’s front brake rotor – which would end his evening.

Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Laninovich also got out slowly at the start, but dug in and worked hard to make it back into the top ten – racing on the lead lap through much of the contest in finishing 10^th. Hill was on fire, though, and put up the fifth-fastest lap time in the main in charging all the way to 4^th place.

Monster Energy Supercross takes a two week break here for the Easter holiday before returning to action April 18 in Seattle for round 15 of the series.

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, 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, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. The Monster Energy guys running the Monster Energy Supercross series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com

Coppins grabs MX1 victory for Monster Energy

Coppins grabs MX1 victory for Monster Energy

Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team celebrate win for New Zealander in Bulgaria / Steven Frossard takes victory for Monster Energy in second MX2 moto


LONDON, UK, (April 5th, 2009) - The Monster Army continued to march through the FIM Motocross World Championship with the second round of 15 in the 2009 series taking place under blue skies and bright sunshine at the impressive Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria. Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s Josh Coppins scaled the heights of the MX1 podium for the first time since the GP of Germany in June 2008 and gave the distinctive green claw its first appearance on the top step this season.


The New Zealander – one of the most experienced and popular riders currently operating on the Grand Prix scene – completed two consistent and steady races in what was a set of tense and exciting encounters across the fast Bulgarian hard-pack. 28,000 spectators (weekend figure) watched the 31-year-old capture second positions on both occasions; narrowly missing the win in Moto1 by less than two seconds from Ken De Dycker and then resisting the attention of team-mate and world champion David Philippaerts (who was fourth overall on the works Yamaha) and Antonio Cairoli in Moto2.


The feat gave the Monster Energy-backed Yamaha team its second successive victory in Bulgaria after Philippaerts’ win 12 months ago. “This is still sinking in but to be honest I thought I had it in me. I have been riding well at both GPs, in the practices and the races,” said Coppins. “I am a bit relieved I guess, because there hasn’t been a whole lot of talk about me coming into this season and I believed in myself and I always like to prove people wrong! I broke away at the start of the second race but I could not maintain it but this track tends to see people hitting different speeds. I am happy for myself, the team and the people that believed in me. The Yamaha was great today and I know we have more to come from it with some upgrades soon. The team have worked hard to give me what I asked for over the winter and it shows.”


Kawasaki Bud Racing’s David Vuillemin was ninth overall and had to recover from two mediocre starts. The Frenchman and veteran AMA campaigner launched the second phase of his Grand Prix career in true-fashion, after the debacle of the Faenza mud bath last weekend.


It was a hard meeting for the works CAS Honda team as Billy Mackenzie only finished one moto (ninth) after a water pump problem in the opening sprint while Cedric Melotte suffered a compression to his back and didn’t complete more than several laps all day. “I kind of struggled all weekend really,” commented Mackenzie. “I have never liked this track or had good results here. I had a problem with my starts and we also had a mishap with the bike. After running quite high in the first moto I started to lose power and I wasn’t sure whether to carry on or not but this is quite a dangerous track with some huge jumps so I decided not to risk a big crash. The team found and solved the problem for the second moto and it was a real battle out there - everyone was swapping bumps and lines. I was missing a few ruts and making some mistakes but eventually I found my rhythm although it wasn’t really fast enough. My wrist and my tendonitis is a bit better and so is my rib but I am missing some good, hard motos, especially in these warm conditions so that’s what we will be working on after the trip to Turkey next week.”


The MX2 class saw several of the talented young crop of French riders burst to the fore. The motos were won by Honda’s Marvin Musquin (for the first time) and CLS Kawasaki’s Steven Frossard, with Musquin celebrating his and Honda’s first success in the category. Monster Energy’s Frossard should perhaps have had his countryman’s place on the rostrum as he had been holding second spot with authority in the first race but crashed and retired thanks to a broken gearbox.


Runner-up was Italian GP winner and mud-conqueror Gautier Paulin (Kawasaki Bud Racing) with two second positions on the KX250F. The French teenager proved his speed in the dry – as much as his skill through the slime – and holds onto the red plate as series leader for the second event in a row.


Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Racing saw their riders Nico Aubin and Davide Guarneri finish fourth and fifth. Italian Guarneri was the only non-Frenchman in the top five. Aubin suffered with a stomach virus while Guarneri is still finding his condition and speed to run with the leaders after a knee ligament operation in the winter.


In the world championship standings Paulin holds a four-point lead over Musquin and 19 from Guarneri. In MX1 Coppins is second and just a single point away from De Dycker. Philippaerts is the next Monster Army rep in sixth.


Round three will take place next weekend, over Easter. For the first time ever a Grand Prix event will head to Turkey and the unique city of Istanbul.




About Monster Energy

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, 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 Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com

Monster Energy’s RL Hayden Puts His Attack/Kawi ZX-6R On The SportBike Podium @ Road Atlanta!

The former SuperSport champ returns to action in fine fashion at Road Atlanta, teammate Leandro Mercado wins his first-ever AMA SuperSport class contest


CORONA, Calif., (April 6, 2009) – Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Roger Lee Hayden returned in fine form to SportBike class racing this past weekend at Road Atlanta, placing 2nd in the first of two contests held in Braselton, Ga. (April 3-5), round three of the 2009 AMA Pro Racing series.


And in the second race (on Sunday), Hayden had the day’s fastest lap time (1:29.436) while running in 2nd place midway through the contest – only to crash in a relatively slow speed section of the course (turn seven), sliding out on a low-side get off and ending his day. Note: The race would be Hayden’s first of the year as he’s just returned to action from being injured.


Sophomore AMA racer Leandro Mercado, contesting his first SuperSport event, won the race on his 600cc Kawasaki ZX-6R – his first AMA SuperSport win of his career! “I really like the bike,” said Mercado in a Kawasaki press release. “It has a lot of power and handles really well. I am excited for the rest of the (SuperSport) series.”


Monster Energy’s AMA SportBike series points leader heading into the Road Atlanta rounds, Jamie Hacking (Attack Kawasaki), scored a couple of 5th place finishes, but ended up handing the points lead for the time being over to Danny Eslick, 88-85. Hacking was only a couple seconds back of the top spot in the abbreviated (red flag) first race and six seconds back in the full 20-lap second race.


Monster Energy’s Chaz Davies (Aprilia) continues to shine on the AMA SportBike circuit, recording a 5th/6th place weekend. Davies sits solidly in 6th place overall in the SportBike class standings, just nine points back of a top four spot.


The AMA Pro Road Racing circuit takes about a month break here before returning to action for the May 1-3 event at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., round four of the series. For more information on the series check out www.amaproracing.com



Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it road racing, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, 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, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Hacking, Mercado, Hayden and Davies dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com