Yoshimura Suzuki‘s James Stewart raced his new RM-Z450 to victory in both 450 motos to take the overall win in round one of the AMA Motocross Championship at Hangtown in Sacramento, California this last weekend. This was his first race in this series in four years, yet he was still flawless.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better,” said Stewart. “The Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 was really fast and consistent. In the first moto I got a great start and I was in the lead on the first lap. I rode my own race, and got a good gap and was able to win that one. In the second moto, I had to work for it. I had to come around some guys, then I was able to stay there and keep the pace. As the day went on, the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 was just better and better and better. I have to give it up to the team for all their hard work. I don’t want to get over-confident, but to start off like this – knowing this is one of my worst tracks – and know we can keep building, makes it so good.”

Stewart’s Australian teammate Brett Metcalfe turned in a promising performance in both motos to assist their team. In the first moto, Metcalfe finished fourth. In the second moto, finished fifth. After all was said and done, he finished fifth overall for the day. Metcalfe is currently in a three-way tie for third in Championship points.

“I’ve been looking forward to the start of the motocross season,” said Metcalfe. “The Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 is working great and Motocross is a nice change of pace. In moto one, I got a top-five start and I was feeling strong. I made some moves early and moved up to second, but wasn’t able to finish at the same intensity level I started with. Moto two was much the same, though I didn’t have a very good start. My speed and skills on the Suzuki feel really good right now, so I was able to make passes and move through the pack. Again, I just wasn’t able to finish the moto strong. We need to work on that, because if I want to contend for wins, that’s what I’ve got to do.”

Stewart and Metcalfe now have to get physically and mentally prepared for their next race, which is in Texas. Since Stewart is now the points leader of the series, he will be riding with the red number plate.

“Texas is going to be tough,” said Stewart. “But we have to take it week by week. I get to ride the red plate on the Suzuki and that’s pretty cool. This will be the first time I’ve ever had it, in Motocross or Supercross, so that should be pretty special.”

Kyle LeDuc and Toyo Tires continue to have an amazing season this year in the Pro 4 Unlimited class of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. LeDuc battled against 10 other competitors in 100-degree temperatures, yet managed to sweep Rounds 5 and 6 this past weekend at the Speedworld Off-Road Park in Surprise, Arizona. LeDuc now has six consecutive wins and a commanding lead in the 2012 Pro 4 Unlimited class championship.

Beginning on Friday, LeDuc and his #99 Monster Energy / Toyo Tires Ford truck qualified first place. Then, on Sunday he recorded the best lap time of the weekend which was three seconds quicker than the second place finisher.

“Our #99 team has been undefeated in 2012,” said Kyle LeDuc. “We do that by attacking the dirt, and we only do that on Toyo tires.”

“We congratulate Kyle LeDuc on his third consecutive sweep in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series this year,” said Stan Chen, manager of events and motorsports, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “We are proud that our Open Country M/T-R tires are a part of his winning package… continuing a perfect win streak for the 2012 season.”

Last time the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series went to Speedworld Off Road Park, Rob MacCachren absolutely dominated the Pro2 Unlimited field. In this weekend’s return to Surprise, Arizona, MacCachren had to fight a lot harder to put ROCKSTAR Energy Drink and Makita Power Tools on the top of the podium. MacCachren qualified first for Round 5, but a two row inversion meant that he wouldn’t be leading flag to flag this time around.

The fans were treated to what many are calling the best race of the year in all of short course racing. MacCachren was in a huge battle with Carl Renezeder, Jeremy McGrath, Greg Adler and Robert Naughton, all battling for the lead. Rob’s position kept varying from fifth to second with passing at every corner. At one point, McGrath actually landed on Renezeder’s roof! In the end, MacCachren pulled ahead and came out as the winner. He took the lead with four laps remaining and held it until the checkered flag.

For all the latest Rob MacCachren news head to his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/21RobMac.

After months of waiting, on May 19, the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, will begin with the 44th annual FMF Hangtown Motocross Classic from Sacramento, California. The 450 Class, 250 Class, and Women’s Motocross Championship (WMX) will all make their way across the United States throughout the summer in a fight for the trophy and title.

The Hangtown Motocross Classic also starts the 2012 broadcast package with NBC Sports and FUEL TV. Opening motos will be broadcasted live on FUEL TV and AlliSports.com beginning at 4 PM EST, while same-day coverage, or technically the day before, will be provided of the second motos on NBC Sports Network at 12:30 AM EST.

The second motos of Lucas Oil Motocross will be broadcasted around the world, with over 24 hours of live racing showcased on SPEED Australia, ESPN Brazil, and ESPN Latin America. Additionally, 15 hours of produced highlight shows will be distributed to Extreme Sports Channel in Europe and the Middle East, Germany’s SPORT1, South Africa’s SuperSport, along with the three mentioned with the 24 hours of live racing. This will expand the reach of the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship to over 65 million homes.

MX Sports Pro Racing and the NPG (National Promoters’ Group) officially announced the 2012 Amateur Days schedule. The schedule will run with the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. Amateurs are important to the sport, for even stars like Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto and Jeremy McGrath were once amateurs.

With the Amateur Days, this means that motocross enthusiasts all across the United States will have a few opportunities to openly ride on the same tracks as the professionals ride on, and sometimes perhaps even with them.

“Motocross is a family sport and the Amateur Day Program emphasizes that,” said MX Sports President Davey Coombs. “On any given weekend, hundreds of young riders and their families come to the track together and, more often that not, compete together simply out of love for the sport, and also a chance to be a part of the big show.”

The 2012 Amateur Day schedule begins on Thursday, May 17, during the opening weekend of the season at the FMF Hangtown Motocross Classic in Sacramento. The 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship begins this weekend, on May 19, at the same venue.

ESPN, the official founder of the X Games, has made a huge announcement. They have announced that they will be bringing the X Games to Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil; Munich, Germany and Barcelona, Spain in 2013. Those three cities will join Aspen, Colorado; Los Angeles, California and Tignes, France in order to help the X Games grow and expand globally.

ESPN had a formal bidding process last May, and there was quite a bit of interest from many locations around the world that wanted to host one of the three new events in order to join Los Angeles, Aspen and Tignes. Starting right now, local committees for Foz do Iguaçu, Munich and Barcelona will be collaborating with ESPN for the next three years to make sure that X Games is the best that it can be in their location. ESPN will launch an annual, six-event X Games calendar: four summer events and two winter.

“ESPN has been committed to the X Games franchise for nearly two decades and is incredibly excited for the future and this new endeavor,” said John Skipper, president, ESPN and Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks. “We are bringing significant focus to this expansion because we believe in the universal appeal of these sports and competitors and want to share the X Games experience with fans around the world.”

E3 Spark Plugs has announced a new promotion in which the winner will receive a Trip for Two to the E3 Spark Plugs Utah Off Road Nationals at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. This event will take place on June 21-23, 2012. The winner will receive airfare for two with accommodations for three nights, as well as two tickets to the Lucas Oil Off-Road race. You will receive a ride in the E3 Spark Plugs Daugherty Off-Road truck and the Lucas Oil Helicopter, participation in the Two-hour Mustang Experience, where you will drive a Ford Racing Mustang GT, participation in a Ford Raptor set of Hot Laps, and two tickets to one of the top karting road courses in the United States.

“At E3 Spark Plugs, we really enjoy developing relationships with our customers, and providing opportunities to win prizes to high profile events they can get excited about,” stated Steve Joiner, E3′s VP of marketing. “Now that social media and facebook in particular has opened the door to such immediate interaction with them, we just keep working with great partners like Lucas Oil and Miller Motorsports Park to put together fun weekend packages like this one to the Utah Off Road Nationals. We know the winner will create a lifetime memory while there.”

“We are very pleased to be working with such an innovative company as E3 Spark Plugs,” said John Larson, General Manager of Miller Motorsports Park. “It’s always fun when a company takes advantage of all the events, programs and facilities that we have to offer, and one lucky fan is going to have the experience of a lifetime. I’m looking forward to seeing the ear-to-ear grin on the winner’s face!”

To enter the promotion, like E3 Spark Plugs’s Facebook page and click on the Off Road Contest “Enter Now!” icon. Once you do that, all that is left is to complete the form. The contest runs from April 6, 2012 through May 25, 2012.

The very first annual Gas Gas Moab Rally will start this weekend. This brand new event will include 2-3 days of world class riding around Moab, Utah. There will be events surrounding this all weekend as well, so plenty of fun for people not riding as well.

The actual ride will begin on April 27th, beginning in Moab, Utah. From there, there will be three days of riding and camping out along the Colorado River.

What else is going on in Moab, you ask? Well, Moab’s Classic Car Show will be this weekend as well. If you are planning on attending either event, or perhaps catching some of both, you may want to make your hotel reservations sooner than later. These events both bring huge crowds, so you may want to hurry.

If you’re looking to sign up for the Gas Gas Moab Rally, call Jim Ryan at 435-260-2724. Also, feel free to email DualSportUtah@hotmail.com to request more information.

After a lot of hype and patience, MX Sports and Ricky Carmichael have announced that Ricky Carmichael University is back. This year, they will be expanding to the west coast and will even make an appearance in the United Kingdom. “Due to the success of the amateur supercross, we were forced to expand RCAMSX to two days and unfortunately we weren’t able to hold RCU in Daytona anymore,” said Carmichael. “But we’re excited to be able to give students on the west coast and around the world the opportunity to take part in RCU. It’s amazing to see this turn into an international event!”

Ricky Carmichael University is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get one-on-one coaching for motocross riders of all skill levels by Ricky Carmichael and his team of instructors. For the 2012 season, this team of instructors will include Jeff Emig, Jeff Stanton, Ricky’s mother, and his trainer Mrs. Jeannie Carmichael.

The European RCU event, brand new this year will take place at Fat Cat Moto Parc in Doncaster, UK on Monday, June 18 and Tuesday, June 19. From there, they will go to Lake Elsinore on Monday, September 10. This September event will be right after the final round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

One of the groups of the largest OHV access groups in California, the California Motorized Recreation Council (CMRC), has agreed to hire the Livingston Group, LLC. of Washington, D.C. in order to help halt the expansion of the 29 Palms Marine Base. The Marine Corps is planning to annex approximately 160,000 acres of the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle area. The one they plan on expanding onto is the largest open OHV area in the United States and contributes over $70 million dollars into the economy of the surrounding High Desert communities annually.

The Marine Corps expansion would limit motorized recreation to less than one percent of the entire California Desert. ”Our industry has continued to grow at steady pace since the late 1970s, while in that same time period we have lost 48% of the recreational opportunities in the California Desert.” Fred Wiley, the president of the Off-Road Business Association stated. “While we support the training needs of our military, it is a bitter pill to swallow losing such a massive piece of our public lands, considering the limited time the Marine Corps plans to utilize this portion of the desert.”

While most people would say that it is idiotic that people would want to fight the expansion of a Marine Base that will help to train our Marine Corps. However, apparently they only plan to hold training exercises 24 days each year in Johnson Valley.