Emig and Troy Adamitis
Jeff Emig has a blog post called “Reflect” on his website emig47.com where he pays homage to the journalists, videographers and photographers of our sport. It’s a great post if you haven’t read it. He’s talked with Dave Despain, Racer X Contributor Garth Milan and our own Davey Coombs. Recently he caught up with Troy Adamitis, who you know from documentary pieces such as: The Great Outdoors, The Moto: Inside the Outdoors, Monster Energy Supercross: Behind the Dream (season 1) and most recently Red Bull’s MX Nation. Adamitis, along with Adam Barker, also wrote and directed "Fresno Smooth." (Look it up, kids. It’s amazing.) You can read the entire interview here, but one thing that stuck out to me, and deserves to be mentioned is this:
From your perspective, what makes an interesting video edit/documentary/movie?
This one is simple. The truth. The truth is always the best story. If your subject is OK with you telling the truth, then you have a story that will be watched over and over. Nothing else matters.
Check out the rest of the interview and more on emig47.com.
Trials Rider Tears Up a Casino
I’ve always thought trial riders aresome of the most underappreciated motorcyclists. The balance and control they exhibit is purely amazing. Recently Red Bull sent Dougie Lampkin to India for some adventure and fresh riding… and he ends up in a casino. How can you not appreciate this type of skill?
Ken Block Partners with Artist—Makes Amazing Designs
Ken Block, his race team Hoonigan Racing Division and kinetic street art artist Felipe Pantone announced a collaboration for the 2016 season. And their first piece is amazing. Pantone did up Block’s all-new Ford Focus RS RX rallycross car that he’ll be using to compete in the full 2016 season of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, as well as the car for his teammate Andreas Bakkerud.
“I’m really stoked that I was able to partner with Felipe Pantone on this,” said Block. “I’m a huge fan of Felipe’s work and I think it’s awesome that we were able to work together and have him create bespoke art in his signature style for us, that we were then able to translate to both new Ford Focus RS RX racecar, as well as on to Andreas’ car, but that also worked equally well for Hoonigan and my other partners on apparel and product.”
Check out the video and photos below.
Onboard Camera Gone Wrong
John McGuinness is a beast at the Isle of Man TT, winning more than twenty times at the famed race over the course of his career. John recently competed at the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix in China and thankfully for onboard cameras you got a great picture of the tra—his bum! You do get to see some of the course but the majority of footage is of his ass. Yep, just a ride along with a man's bottom.
Lanesplitter Sits Down with Marquez
Sean MacDonald of Lanesplitter had the chance to sit down with two-time MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX, last weekend for a friendly chat. The interview was on the lighter side—what’s your favorite track? What was your favorite US track?, etc. And then we get to this bombshell….
SM: Of all the other forms of motorsport, what type does he have the most respect for, or is in the most awe of, and why? (E.g. Rally drivers, F1, NASCAR, Indycar, Top Fuelers, etc.)
MM: I love Supercross. Love it. Motocross is my passion, that is what I grew up doing and what I love most. I watch and follow the whole season.
SM: Who is your favorite? Do you have to say a Honda guy?
MM: (laughing nervously) Yes, I love the Honda, but I love Dungey this season. His progression is amazing. I also like Roczen and I really like Musquin. I love how Anderson rides.
BOOM!!!! Suck it other motorsports. One of the most popular motorcyclists in the world makes his living on pavement but he LOVES SUPERCROSS. How bout them apples!!!!
Anyway, the other parts of the interview are cool too, so check it out.
Adam LaRoche Rides Motocross
The Chicago White Sox’s (that’s baseball if you weren’t aware) Adam LaRoche made headlines this off-season when he left $13 million on the table over a dispute with management over bringing his son to the clubhouse. That’s neither here nor there, as I don’t really care. ESPN The Magazine did a deep dive in their April 25 issue on LaRoche and come to find out he retired to ride DIRT BIKES!!!! Yes, more love for dirt bikes!!!! Pick up the latest issue to find out all about it.
(Note: The story has almost nothing to do with motocross and almost entirely to do with baseball and some other weird stuff like him going undercover in a brothel in Southeast Asia last November with friend Blaine Boyer. BUT CHECK OUT THIS SWEET DIRT BIKE PHOTO.)
My Goodness This UTV Video Is Sweet
Here's a Ken Block-style vid featuring UTV driver RJ Anderson. It's crazy and amazing. Watch it and then see the second vid below:
What's extra cool is the video makers just released a behind-the-scenes version of the vid, which shows some crashes, breakage, and how much staffing and effort is needed to make a video like this work. We know it seems like these guys nail all the jumps in one take. They do not.
Drone Racing Coming to the World Wide Leader
Yes, drone racing is a thing. (Heck, we’ve even covered it in this very column before.) And yes, ESPN just signed a deal with the International Drone Racing Association to broadcast the 2016 U.S. National Drone Racing Championships, starting in Governor’s Island in New York City this August. Jalopnik has more, with the last snippet here really summing it up:
The event will be streamed live on the WatchESPN app for subscribers, and there will be an hour-long recap special on ESPN following the race. The coverage will include first-person views from the drones as well as the “action” on the ground as a cluster of stationary people stare into their visors.
Hamburglar is very real
This is soooooooooooooo great. I really wish I could just write headlines about this stuff all day. So, here’s how the story goes: A guy in D.C. follows a delivery man into a Five Guys (that's a burger and fry shop for you health nuts that don't know). He snoops around for a bit and then proceeds to walk into the kitchen and make two cheeseburgers!!!!! Here is more on it. Oh, and there’s video if you want to watch it.
The suspect followed a delivery man into the Five Guys on 1400 Irving Street NW on March 18 between 3 and 5 a.m., D.C. Metropolitan Police Department said. He waited for the delivery man to leave the restaurant, then rummaged around.
He looked through the kitchen and back cabinet before he decided he was craving some food. The man turned on the countertop griddle and made two cheeseburgers while he chatted on the phone and sipped on his fountain drink.
The burglar stole a bottle of water before leaving with his food, police said.
Daytona 200
Globally, road racing still draws major crowds, fan interest, media coverage and the like. Here, in the good ole U S of A, it doesn’t. There are a lot of reasons as to why, none of which I’m well-versed enough in to offer an opinion. Yet, the writing is on the wall. The Daytona 200, once the most iconic race in the United States hardly draws a crowd. MotoAmerica (more on that below) is still trying to get their feet off the ground. It’s a shame, because road racing is a great sport and the athletes that compete in it are not only ballsy, but have great bike skills. Peter Jones of Cycle World published a big article on the decline of the 200. I found this part interesting:
Now CN is published online only. The “cover” of this digital magazine had the Daytona 200 in a list of features fourth from the top, and without even an inset image. Inside the magazine, coverage was a two-page spread image of race-winner Barnes on the cool-down lap, plus a two-page story. The two-page story must have been phoned-in because CN had no journalist at the event. Plus, the images were all by the lone photographer who regularly attends pro motorcycle road races in America, the economy of shooting images at such events having been single-handedly destroyed; cheap images devalue the sport, proving through pricing how little the event is worth.
You can read the entire story here.
MotoAmerica Faces Challenges
Meanwhile, did you know that the MotoAmerica series we talked about above has already started? It has. It ran in conjunction with the MotoGP Championship at Circuit of the Americas last weekend in Austin, TX. Toni Elias (a former Moto2 World Champion) won the Superbike Class over Roger Hayden and Josh Hayes. Bobby Fong, Josh Herrin and Taylor Knapp took the podium in Superstock 1000, while Garrett Gerloff, JD Beach and Valentin Debise made up the podium in Supersport. In their second season running the series, the KRAVE Group, led by former world champion Wayne Rainey, have an uphill climb. Lance Oliver at Revzilla put together a great piece—with lots of questions—prior to the season.
Many people in racing think the key to success is close competition, but the facts suggest it's more complicated. Lots of people show up at Monster Energy Supercross races even if Ryan Dungey won the previous race by 15 seconds.
Fans become loyal to a racing series because there are personalities they can root for, or brands they identify with, or because the overall show feels like a good entertainment value. MotoAmerica is currently weak on all three points. There's plenty of roadracing talent out there, but with few strong teams providing opportunities to shine, it's hard for racers to develop and win a following. Plus, Yamaha won every race in 2015. Hayden came close so many times, often within fractions of a second, but in the end his year was one of frustration. I heard him mutter "We need a new bike" in the paddock at New Jersey Motorsports Park last fall. Unfortunately, the new GSX-R1000 is still not ready.
Read more here.
Penguins' Personal Chef
No, not real penguins, dummy. The Pittsburg Penguins (that’s hockey for those unaware. Which is everyone excluding Steve Matthes.) Anyway, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's site recently profiled the Penguins personal chef, with analysis of how seriously the franchise takes its athletes' nutrition. The chef prepares every player's meal, including boxed meals for road trips, and sweats every detail to make sure they're free of sugar, processed food, and the rest. He not only carefully selects and prepares each meal, but even the condiments! Check this out:
He makes ketchup from scratch with honey or agave nectar because commercially prepared brands contain corn syrup or sugar. Straub uses honey or agave in the jellies and jams he makes from pureed organic berries and chia seeds, a nutrient-packed food that provides the gelatinous texture.
From scratch??? Jeez, and Pittsburgh is the home of Heinz! Anyway, here’s more.
