Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Red Bull KTM Dakar Team Selected IBriefly.:.- ._. --- Accord ing to a press re lease sent by Buell, the Buell Fir ebalt XB 12R has been selected to receive t he Good D es ign Aw a rd for 20 04 , presented annually by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Arch itecture and Des ign. Other products recognized within the transpo rta tion category include the Audi AS and BMW Z4 and S series . Th e award acknow ledges t he finest SCott Harden give s trying to earn a spot on the Riel ull kar team. (From left to righ t) Ha n, Kellon Wakh, Kenny Bartram, Dr. Jona than Edwards, Elmer Symonds, Chris Blais and Andy Grider. and most unique new design inno vations fo r products and graphics span ning a range of pr oduct cate gories. Two d istinguished juries comprised of authorities in the des ign bus iness base their decisions o n aesthetic criteria such as innovation , form . materials. co nce pt, and function in o rd er to sele ct award w inners. "We' re hon o red to be rec ognized by the Museum of Architecture and Des ign o nce again for o ur ability to merge Buell's notab le technical innovat ion wit h lead ingedge design ," said Mike Samarzja, manage r o f indust rial design fo r Buell Motorcycle Company. The complete list of 2004 Good Des ign Award wi nners is currently posted o n The Chicago Athenaeum website: www.chi-athenaeum.org. A Iter a pun ishing five-day, Dakar-style /""\desert ch allenge held near Primm, Nevada, and in Dum ont Dunes, two ride rs and an alternate have been chosen to represent th e Red Bull KTM U.S. Dakar team, according to KTM. The riders who w ill make the tr ip for the 200S Dakar Rally are Kellon Walch , Ch ris Blais and Andy Grider (as the alternate). KTM's Scot Harde n w ill serve do uble duty as the team manager and as the th ird rider on the roster for ne xt year's race. The six riders who acc epted the challenge - Andy Grider, Casey McCoy, Chris Blais, Jonah Street , Kellon Walch and Kenny Bart ra m - participated in a se ries of exhausting rally-like simulations. The chal - Rich Olive r , fove -time AMA 2SOcc Grand Prix Ch amp ion, has teamed up w ith the Decontrol Gallery, an on line ven ue for .., - lenges includ ed navigat ion exercises , a simulated SOO-mile rally stage, and a se ries of competitions in the du nes. culminating in a 90 -m inute Grand Prix of Dumo nt Dunes finale . "Someo ne was looking out for us and the riders this week," said Joe Barker, the Red Bull KTM Dakar tearn co -manager. "Last week we were told temperatures nea r Deat h Valley had rise n to 120 to 128 degrees. It w as stillhot ou t there, but the top te mperature only reached 103 degrees ." "The se guys showed so much heart an d determination," Harden said. "No o ne q uit, no one whined , and a competition like t his would break most riders. We put them through the wringer." The riders were con fronted by many challenges: sleep deprivation, heat, long d istances, and many of the unknowns that go along w ith rally competitions . The event got started with classroom instruction fro m Jimmy Lewis on the fine art of road-book and GPS navigation . After a series o f smal l navigation tests near Primm , the riders embar ked on a short, 80 -mile cross-country route to Dumont Dunes, where t hey w ould bivoua c for the next three nights . The second day of the challenge began at 2:30 a.m. with a lOS-mile transfer stage to the start of the first special test. Anriving be fore dawn , the riders caught what sleep they co uld on the ground by their bikes. At approximately 7:30 a.m .. the first rid er left the line to beg in what was the first of two long and d ifficult 200-mile special test stages. Observing the riders throughout the day was the special panel of judges assembled to select the team. The judging panel Included the legendary Malcolm Smith, Dan ny laPorte, Jimmy Lewis and Joe Bar ker. Harde n participate d alongside t he ride rs to get a bird 's-eye view of how the competitors were do ing. Wh en all was said and do ne, Walch, Blais and Grider finished in the top t hree. Gr ider was especially challenged du ring the day, suffer ing six flat tires along t he way - all of w hich he repaired along the tra il. O n the final day of competition, the riders submitted to a series of unique challenges In the Dumont Dunes . Highlights o f the day included the High Point competition, where the riders were forced to ride to the highest po int in the dunes. Walch took this part o f the competition to an amazing ride up the vertical face to the high point . The final event o f the Rally was the Grand Prix o f Dumo nt. Here the riders raced for 90 minutes on a Grand Prix-style course. After jumping out to an early lead, Walch suffered a flat tire at the 30 -minute mark. Blais and Grider continued to pound furio us laps to slowly close o n Walch. With two lap s to go, the top three ride rs passed each ot her several times every circu it. With the finish line in sight, the riders rou nded the final turn in full-lock slides heading fo r the finish line. Walch won by half a wheel's length over Grider and Blais. " First, I'd like to say t hank you to the amazing, hard -working crew tha t he lpe d make t his eve nt happe n," Hard en said. "W itho ut them, this wo uld no t have been possi ble. The Red Bull KTM U.S. Dakar team consists o f Joe Bar ke r, co-manager, T homas McDo nald and Bre t Leef, our mechanics, and Dr, Jonathan Edwards, t he team doctor, Secondly, I need to thank Malcolm, Danny, Jimmy and Joe for suffering through w ith the competitors for the last fove days, and more impo rcantly for their wisdom and judgment in selecting the team. Lastly, I must say, I was qu ite impre ssed w ith the riders and the ability that they all possess. Iwish that I cou ld invite all the riders to Dakar, because they all have so much talent, enthusiasm and strong character. How eve r, there could only be three riders that can go to Dakar. For the first year, it will be Ch ris Blais and Kellon Walch and myself. In add ition , all of us, including Andy Grider, are look ing forward to competing in the upcoming Baja 1000." arti sts, to pr esent a show of O liver's paintings, and sculpture. The show features 34 pa intings as w ell as two videos and six pho to s. Highlights o f the show include a timelapse video of Oliver crea ting one of his paintings, man y large, vibrant images of Ol iver 's paintings; and a history of Ol iver 's art ca reer, told by Ol iver himself. Ol iver began paint ing fou r years ago but accelerated his work as an artist following his retire ment from racing last year. Ol iver says of th e exhibit: "Geo rge Shaw and his Decont ro l.com Gallery have really been able to capture accurately the fee ling of both my art and the personal spirit that I put into it. It's not an easy th ing to do with abstract work, but he did it magnificently with the use of images. music , video clips . and even a time- lapse paint ing event showi ng my complete proce ss o f p rod uct ion." The Deco nt rol Gallery has been showing the work o f artists in all media for more than se ven years, according to Olive r 's release. The gallery is ru n by Willow Springs Moto rcycle Club race r Geo rge Shaw. "Th is is a great show for Decontro l," Shaw said. "We' re proud to help Rich get his art in front of more people. When I first saw his paint ings, after having been a fan of his racing for so long, I was really psyched and knew a Rich Oliver show would carry on the Decontrol tradition well. Rich's work says a lot about him as a person and cap tures the soul of a racer very well , in my opinion." Oliver's show will be featu red on the site http://www.decontrol.com through the end o f O ctobe r. After that, it w ill be accessible permanently through th e direc t link http://www.decontrol.com!rich_oliver. The fifth annual A11·Star Ride fa r life is Con tinued o n page 9 www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEWS • SEPTEMBER 8,2004 7