Category Archives: Contributed

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Signs Thomas Kjer Olsen

EMX250 champion Thomas Kjer Olsen has signed on with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s MX2 team for a two-year contract.

The 19-year-old motocross champion has been welcomed into the Husqvarna Motorcycles family, who are sponsoring him for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

“I can’t thank Husqvarna enough for giving me this incredible opportunity to join their official MX2 team,” said Olsen.

The young star will be entering the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship alongside impressive teammates: Thomas Covington and Conrad Mewse.

Together, the three are sure to be a force to be reckoned with at the World Championship.

Olsen, a Husqvarna FC 250 mounted rider from Denmark, completed a very nearly perfect season in the EMX250 class of the European Motocross Championship.

He collected three overall victories in this class. Not only that, but he stood on the podium after every race, even if he didn’t secure the top spot.

Whether it was schooling or personal training that catapulted Olsen into success is still a mystery, but schooling certainly is responsible for countless athletes’ success.

Approximately 86% of private schools have fewer than 300 students, which often allows them to devote more time to students individually, as well as extracurricular activities.

In fact, about one-third of Rio medalists from Britain has previously attended private schools and honed their sport there.

Although six out of 10 of this year’s British medallists — including gymnast Max Whitlock and boxer Nicola Adams — attended comprehensive schools, sports like rowing and hockey are still dominated by private schools.

In fact, members of Britain’s Olympic teams are four times as likely to have attended private schools as the rest of the general public.

“Although some state schools have improved support for competitive sport over the last decade, they’re still more likely to benefit from ample time set aside for sport, excellent sporting facilities and highly qualified coaches,” said Sir Peter Lampl, the chairman of the Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment.

Whether or not motocross champion Olsen found the time in school isn’t something fans are concerned with, though.

The young champion is more focused on his career in motocross than on anything else, and with a secure contract, he now has the means to do so.

“Working with such a strong team means I’ll have the best support and equipment to reach the top. My goal is to continue working hard to improve my results and get closer to the top in MX2,” he said.

Manitoba Man Misses the Mark While Snowmobiling in August

One would think that snow sports would be reserved for the winter, but many auto racers tend to be somewhat of rule breakers. A man from the rural municipality of Woodlands in Manitoba, Canada was seriously injured this summer after attempting a stunt on his snowmobile.

Less than two weeks ago, the Manitoba native attempted to clear an 18-meter (59-foot) space after riding up a 2.5-meter (8.2-foot) wooden ramp. He failed to make it. Instead, he collided with the receiving dirt ramp on the other side and was consequently thrown over the handlebars. The snowmobile landed on top of the man, causing serious injuries that required him to be airlifted to a nearby hospital in Winnipeg.

While we know motor sports are dangerous, it’s hard to exactly pinpoint how many injuries they cause annually. In a recent study, the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, published by the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, reported that of 758 patients who received medical attention at the selected trauma center between 1998 and 2015, the majority of spinal, lower extremity, and femur fractures were caused by snowmobile accidents, despite the number of patients suffering from snowmobile injuries (87) being vastly lower than those from ATV (308) or dirtbike-related (363) trauma.

In the U.S. alone, there are approximately 6.8 million bones broken annually from a variety of reasons, including sports. As for all of the broken bones in North America, it’s hard to pinpoint.

The injured rider in Manitoba reportedly suffered from a broken neck and did not require critical care while hospitalized in Winnipeg. He was an experienced amateur rider who was participating in the second annual “244 Throwdown,” a motocross and snowmobiling event held by professionals and amateurs alike.

Rosberg Wins Belgian Grand Prix in Tight Race with Hamilton

The Belgian Grand Prix ended with a dramatic flourish at the Spa circuit last weekend as Nico Rosberg stole the show and won the whole series over his Mercedes teammate and competitive rival, Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg collected maximum points, while Hamilton struggled to gain ground after suffering grid penalties earlier this season. Though he started in the last position, he still placed on the podium in third place, after Australian Daniel Ricciardo.

Rosberg even congratulated his teammate on his impressive showing, considering the circumstances.

“Congrats to Lewis,” he said. “From last place to third must have been pretty impressive.”

The race was not without drama, though, after Danish racer Kevin Magnussen lost the back end of his Renault during lap six in a harrowing crash against a wall at Raidillon.

The impact of the crash sent Magnussen’s headrest flying from the car and damaged the chassis, though the driver was able to emerge from the vehicle relatively unscathed. After a trip to the hospital, he Tweeted: “On my way home now with a sore ankle but will be ready for Monza.”

Magnussen was lucky that the ankle was all that he damaged, since 35% of the U.S. population has trouble paying off medical debt. The crash also yielded a red flag on the circuit, requiring all cars to return to the pits for a restart.

With Belgium in the books, the battle for the world championship is now a tight running between Rosberg, who is racing for his first world title, and Hamilton, who’s on the hunt for his fourth. Ricciardo remains in third place overall, 23 points ahead of the next-closest rival, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Despite his third-place finish, Hamilton seemed pleased with the race results.

“The team did an amazing job this weekend,” he said. “It was just a remarkable day. Beautiful weather, great crowd and a great race.”

If You Want a Custom Motorcycle, Keanu Reeves Can Now Build One for You

Keanu Reeves is a man of many trades, but he’s definitely not afraid to add another hat to his collection. He and long-time friend Gard Hollinger, a revered designer in the motorcycle world, have recently started their own company building custom bikes in California.

The company, Arch Motorcycles, is the result of countless talks and Reeves’ request for Hollinger to design and build him a custom bike.

The $78,000 motorcycles are based on that prototype Hollinger made for Reeves years ago; each of the 2,032cc, V-twin-engine beasts are made to order in Hawthorne, Calif., an hour south of Los Angeles.

“Building that [first] bike is where we got to know each other,” Reeves said in July during an interview at their shop.

Reeves first approached Hollinger in 2007 with a request that the designer refused, claiming, “that wasn’t really my thing.”

After that, the pair started discussing building a bike from the ground up. This one would be a shining silver prototype with thick tires and a gas tank curved like the fender of a Bugatti.

When the bike was finished, Reeves loved it so much that he and Hollinger began talks of starting a motorcycle company.

It took some convincing, but Hollinger agreed.

Surprisingly, Reeves wasn’t steeped in motorcycles at a young age. He learned to ride as an adult, logging countless miles on Nortons, Suzukis, a 1974 BMW 750, a Kawasaki KZ 900, a 1984 Harley Shovelhead, and a Moto Guzzi racer — all from his growing personal collection.

However, younger riders are just as up and coming as Reeves’ motorcycle company.

Seth Hammaker’s journey to a professional career in motocross recently received a tremendous boost with a first-place finish in the Super Mini I race at the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship.

Hammaker, a 15-year-old from Bainbridge, also placed second in the Super Mini II event, for ages 13 through 16. The Super Mini I race he won has an age range of 12 to 15.

The young motocross star’s career started when he began riding at the age of four, and his first race was at Sleepy Hollow in Lebanon County. Approximately 51% of students engage in activity programs to be more involved in their school, but Hammaker is in a league of his own.

On the pro circuit, Ryan Dungey “is the main guy I look up to,” he said. “He’s my role model.”

He expects to turn pro after he turns 18.

It turns out he may have another role model in Keanu Reeves, though. Since starting his company in 2014, he and Hollinger have sold about 30 bikes.

Ordering a KRGT-1 requires multiple sessions of measurements — Hollinger fits the pedals, the handlebars, and the seat angle to a customer’s exact size. The proprietary Arch suspension is also adjustable according to riding style and preference.

There’s an incredible amount of detail put into the bikes, and it’s something that both Hollinger and Reeves take pride in.

“It has to work,” he said, laughing. “After that it’s aesthetics and feel and taste. The bike started off as a classic American big V-twin, but because of the way it handles and the ergonomics and the telemetry that Gard has designed, I feel like it’s in a new class of motorcycle which might be called a ‘performance cruiser.'”