Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128136
2002 SX Team Rosters Manager: Mitch Payton Headquarters: Corona, Caiifornia Riders: 125cc West Bobby Bonds 43 Matt Walker 68 125cc East Shae Bentley 72. Mike Brown 3 Bakersfield, Caiifornia McRae, Georgia KX125 KX125 Ellenwood, Georgia Penny Flats, Tennessee KX125 KX125 Lowdown: After a disappointing 2001 Supercross season, tearn founder Mitch Payton - the man behind the famous perfonnance shop Pro Circuit - is hoping to get back on track for '02. He has trimmed the squad from five to four riders, re-signing Bobby Bonds, Shae Bentley and 125cc outdoor National Champion Mike Brown. Gone are Casey Lytle and Tallon Vohland, the latter of whom is returning to the GP circuit in Europe. The team's newest member is Georgian Matt Walker, who signed on with Payton just three weeks before the series opener. As you might have noticed, the team has a new name; gone is former title sponsor SplitFire, the spark-plug company that has decided to focus its attention solely on drag radng. The Pro Circuit team, which has close ties with the Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki factory racing team, now receives more support from Chevy Trucks, and that company has earned a spot in the team's title name. New associate sponsors include spark-plug company Denzo and the popular cleaning product Simple Green. As far as the team's health is concerned, Bonds is recovering from elbow surgery and is expected to be close to 100 percent when the series starts, while Bentley is completely healed from two broken legs suffered last year at the Spring Creek National in Millville. Manager: Ron Heben Headquarters: EI Cajon, California Riders: 125cc West Brock Sellards 18 David Pingree 39 Billy Laninovich 132 125cc East Grant Langston 22 Steve Boniface 36 New Philadelphia, Ohio Great Falls, Montana Ramona, California 125 SX 125 SX 125 SX Durban, South Africa Puyricard, France 125 SX 125 SX Lowdown: The Red Bull/KTM Racing Tearn has a new team manager, Ron Heben, who comes over from Kawasaki's Team Green program, and the KTM team has two new riders, Frenchman Steve Boniface and (fresh out of the amateur ranks) Billy Laninovich. Gone from last year is Kelly Smith, but remaining on the team for another term are Grant Langston, David Pingree and Brock Sellards, making it a five-man team for '02. That's up one rider from last year. Also back for the second year is the team's main sponsor, Red Bull, as well as Thor apparel. AU of the team's racebike mods are performed in-house: Harry Nolte, a highly acclaimed technidan on the GP front, is the team's motor specialist, while Kaipo Chung is in charge of the bikes' suspension systems. Laninovich recently injured his knee and will be out of action indefinitely. Manager: Bruce Stjernstrom Headquarters: Irvine, California Riders: 250cc 11 Ezra Lusk 21 Stephane Roncada 125cc West 259 James Stewart Acworth, Georgia Chambery, France KX250 KX250 Haines City, Florida KX125 Lowdown: The Chevy Trucks Kawasaki Team took a big hit over the off season when the squad's defending Supercross Champion, Ricky Carmichael, went to Honda, leaving a huge void to be filled. However, Kawasaki did a pretty good job of filling Carmichael's shoes with another mighty fast rider - Ezra Lusk, who comes over from Honda. Lusk, you might say, has made the full circuit, beginning his Pro career with Suzuki, then going to Yamaha, then Honda and now Kawasaki. Lusk is a serious title contender. Stephane Roncada is back for his second year with the team, while rising young star James "Bubba" Stewart will be joining Kawasaki's factory effort for the first time. Normally, Kawasaki's hot prospects spend their first couple of Pro seasons leaming the ropes on the Pro Circuit Kawasaki team (which basically runs Kawasaki's 125cc racing program) before moving into the factory rig, but Stewart and the team's manager, Bruce Stjernstrom, feel that Stewart is ready for the "big time" right now. (Also, Stewart is sponsored by Fox apparel, while the Pro Circuit riders wear Thor.) Stewart will compete in the 125cc West Series.