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Gerald Langston provides a behind-the-scenes look on being part of the opening rounds of THQ World Supercross.
Part 1 - The European Tour - Austria & Geneva:
On Wednesday, 4 December, we flew non-stop from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, going forward nine hours in time. We then flew to Munich from where we had a 2-hour bus trip to our hotel near Mattighofen where KTM is based. By now everyone\'s biological clock is screwed, we eat, go to bed and all wake up at odd hours between 2am and 5am.
On Thursday we went by bus to KTM to tour the factory, which I did not recognize since I was last there in \'98/\'99. That evening was the \"Night of the Stars\" party with 2,700 guests.
KTM riders 2002 achievements were recognized and the new 2003 factory riders were introduced, including the new 125cc World road racing team.
There are 40 factory riders for next year in MX, SX, Enduro, Rally, Supermotard and road racing. An interesting note is that KTM puts 25% of its profit back into racing, probably more that any other bike manufacturer.
Anyway, the riders left the party around 23.30 (the party was bad timing before Geneva) and the mechanics etc. left at 1-hour intervals after midnight. As the bus then left for Munich airport next morning 7am, some people, whose names won\'t be mentioned, went straight from the party onto the airport bus.
We arrived in Geneva mid afternoon to find two surprises. Firstly, the flight was overloaded and half our bags would only be coming in the evening. Secondly, the organizers had changed the practice schedule so we had missed our first practice and no way could the bikes be assembled for the second.
The organizers said our riders could have a practice at the end of the day but Team Yamaha protested and between the FIM, Dorna, the AMA and Clear Channel no one could make a decision. So KTM got five laps under half lights before the practice was red-flagged.
On race day all orange riders made it safely to the main where Tortelli holeshot followed by McGrath. Grant was in 5th riding very stiff and lost two places back to 7th.
However, riders 1 through 7 were all running pretty much nose to tail. Vuillemin and Reed were the two guys on the move forwards and McGrath was struggling. After lap 10 Grant loosened up and started moving forward again where he ended up behind McGrath in 6th. He spent three laps behind him overawed by being behind the King of Supercross and one of his past heroes, but when the riders behind closed up he made a clean pass and set of after the leading pack. Reed seemed over-anxious and tried to pass Tortelli - Tortelli said the pass was \"not on\" and Reed went down, which put Grant in fourth and closing on Tortelli fast. In fact, Grant\'s last five laps were on average the fastest on the track, even quicker than race winner Vuillemin. The last lap saw Grant trying everything to pass Tortelli and Tortelli doing everything to defend his position. With three corners to go, Grant jumped the triple which Tortelli aborted to take the final spot on the podium - KTM\'s first major 250cc Supercross podium ever.
What happened to McGrath? The word from his mechanic Skip Norfolk is they are struggling to find a bike set up that Jeremy is comfortable with and as a result he is riding too tense which is tiring him out. In his defense, this is the position we were in back at the US open.
Sunday morning was another early wake up call to go on the Motorex Oil factory tour. Motorex are now the official oil of KTM and it was also their first 250 Supercross podium.
So between KTM and Motorex management, the beers flowed back at the hotel after the race. The Motorex tour was an eye-opener as to how perfectly clean an oil factory/refinery can be.
The whole place is like being in a laboratory and it is so high-tech. The thing that struck me is how proud the management was of their facility.
On to a commercial note. Langston Racing in South Africa have just landed shipments of CZ chains, Delta brake pads and Supersprox sprockets. We recently reached an agreement with Pro Action KTM S.A. that they would distribute all KTM \"Supersprox\" sprockets.
Included for the first time in our shipment is the \"Stealth\" sprocket for the street sport bikes. This patented sprocket uses aluminum center to save weight and hardened steel teeth for durability, so you get the best of both worlds. Contact a dealer near you.
