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Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawi’s Pourcel, Weimer, Stroupe & Morais vie for SX Lites finals title while Monster/Kawasaki’s Villopoto looks to make a final SX statement 
CORONA, Calif., (April 30, 2009) – The entire 2009 Monster Energy Supercross Lites class competition comes to a feverous boil this weekend on and above the dirt-filled bowl at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium – the 17th and final round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, Saturday, May 2nd.
With Monster Energy athletes having won three of the last four premier Supercross class titles (Monster/Kawasaki’s James Stewart in ’07 and Ricky Carmichael in 2005 & ’06), the focus this year is on the hotly contested AMA SX Lites class and the Dave Coombs Sr. Vegas Lites Shoot Out, featuring Eastern Regional SX (ESX) champion Christophe Pourcel of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki squad, along with his M-claw-running teammates on the ultra-fast KX250Fs: Jake Weimer (2nd WSX), Austin Stroupe (2nd ESX) and Ryan Morais (3rd WSX).
Easily the most successful Lites team of the 2009 Monster Energy Supercross season, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki racers recorded an industry-best 10 wins and 14 additional podium finishes to bring to a total of 24 times that the Monster Energy logo stood on the Lites podium this year.
“We’d really like to deliver a Vegas Shoot Out title to Mitch (Payton) and the Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team,” said Weimer. “It would really add a nice touch to the success we had as a team this year and give us some extra momentum heading into the start of the Nationals at Glen Helen (May 23).”
Pourcel led the way for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team. In his first full year on the world’s premier stadium motocross stage the French great recorded five ESX wins and an additional podium finish in taking the overall ESX title with a Lites class-best 181 points. Stroupe and Weimer also had multiple wins and podium finishes in placing second in the ESX and WSX seasons, respectively, and Morais had an industry-best seven podium finishes.
“Vegas is going to be a blast,” said Morais. “All the top Lites racers from each division - the qualifiers alone will be unreal to watch. Sam Boyd Stadium’s always packed and Monster Energy’s got a huge presence in the pro pits. Definitely something the entire Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team looks forward to all year long.”
Looking to mix things up in the SX class finals this year will be Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto. The winner of the recent Seattle round, “RV” is tied with Davi Millsaps for 7th place overall in the standings, each with 208 points. And had he not missed three rounds due to an illness, Villopoto would certainly be in the hunt for an overall SX class podium finish.
“Championship’s coming right down to the wire so it’ll be a great race for the fans,” said Villopoto. “The plan at Monster/Kawasaki is to finish out the season on the podium before we head into full on testing and set up for the Nationals.”
Joining RV in the qualifying gates in an effort to score a main event starting position for the season’s final event are his Monster Energy/Kawasaki teammate, Billy Laninovich, Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki’s Paul Carpenter and Bobby Kiniry, along with Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing’s Nick Wey - all of whom have an excellent shot of making the main and giving Monster five shots at some top ten overall positions – and quite possibly another podium from RV.
For more information on Monster Energy Supercross check out: www.supercrossonline.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. The Monster Energy guys running the Monster Energy Supercross series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Join Monster Athletes for spring shredding, live music, autograph signings, and Cinco de Mayo antics at the Lagoon & Spa at High Camp, el. 8200’
April 30, 2009- Squaw Valley USA and Monster Energy are gearing up for “Monster de Mayo,” the craziest Cinco de Mayo party in ski country. Monster Energy’s snow sport athletes invite everyone to cash in on Squaw Valley’s endless season and join them for skiing, riding, mountaintop swimming, hot tub soaking, and jamming out to live DJ beats at Monster de Mayo, on Cinco de Mayo (Tuesday, May 5) at Squaw Valley USA.
Beginning at 11 am, fiesta-loving skiers and riders can head to the Lagoon & Spa at High Camp, el. 8200’ for Monster de Mayo autograph signings, drink specials, delicious Mexican eats, and a live DJ by the pool. Entry to Monster de Mayo is FREE to all skiers and snowboarders.
From 3 to 4 pm, fiesta-goers can get their skis, boards, or bikini tops signed by snow sport heroes. The Monster de Mayo autograph signing features Monster skiers TJ Schiller, Colby West, Kristi Leskinen, Peter Olenick, Corey Vanular, and Jossi Wells, and Monster snowboarders Nate Holland, Andy Finch and Marc Frank Montoya.
Monster de Mayo on Tuesday, May 5 marks the 6-day countdown to the deadline to purchase 2009-10 Season Passes at the 50/60 discounted rate. In honor of Squaw Valley’s upcoming anniversaries, 2009-10 Season passes start as low as $369 for adults, $269 for 18-22 year olds, and $99 for children if purchased by May 11, 2009.
More information on Monster de Mayo is available on www.monsterenergy.com or by calling 530-583-6985.
Squaw Valley USA's scheduled closing date is May 10, 2009. The most up-to-date resort conditions, operation schedules, events, video and live mountain cams are available on www.squaw.com.
Site of the VIII Winter Olympic Games, Squaw Valley USA is located five miles north of Lake Tahoe along the Truckee River on Highway 89. The year-round resort offers 4,000 acres of lift served terrain including half pipes & terrain parks, ice-skating, snowtubing, indoor rock climbing, an Olympic Winter Games Museum, shopping, dining and more. For more information call 530-583-6985, or visit www.squaw.com.
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Goggle Tans Are Sexy: Leanne Pelosi Posted on Tue Apr 28 09:48:00 -0700 2009What makes Leanne Pelosi awesome? Well, besides the fact that she’s one of only a handful of girls that can rock a goggle-tan and still turn heads?
What makes Leanne Pelosi awesome? Well, besides the fact that she’s one of only a handful of girls that can rock a goggle-tan and still turn heads? Probably the fact that she’s one of the best Slopestyle riders on the scene. This rail crasher started her career strong, winning Transworld’s Snowboarding 2004 Rookie of the Year award, and hasn’t let up since. Along the way, she’s managed to pile on the sponsorships (Monster, Dakine, K2, etnies girl), start a snowboard camp exclusively for girls, and founded her own production company, Runway Films. Not too shabby for a twenty-eight year-old. FUEL.TV grilled this hucking Canuck about life, Lady Gaga, shotgunnin’ beers, and why she might be the best thing to come out of Canada since William Shatner snowshoed across the border.
What's on your calendar for the upcoming year? Any exciting film projects, blind dates, competitions, etc?
Filming with Standard Films a bit, helping out at MGT [More Good Times] Snowboard camp, my signature session at High Cascade, a heli-trip to Alaska for the first time with Snowboarder Magazine, and maybe a trip down to Argentina and Chile too in August.
How did you become involved with the MGT snowboard camp?
I started it with my friend Joanna Majcherkiewicz seven years ago. We were talking about it and I finished a business plan in one of my communications courses in university. The class responded to it really positively, so we set the wheels in motion!
Why is the MGT snowboard camp important to you?
I feel that it’s important to support the grassroots, the place where I came from. There isn't anything like MGT in Canada, and it’s great that these girls get to come and see their female role models in real life – and then shred with them!
What's the most inspiring thing you've seen one of your campers do at MGT?
Getting up after eating it over and over and over definitely inspires me to go for it next time I'm trying a trick. Just to see their determination is sweet!
Describe your most extreme sledding experience - (Bonus points will be awarded if a non-traditional sled was used.)
I don't know if this is extreme or not but I rode my sled over a lake for the first time last spring. That was fun, but wet.
How are you going to revolutionize snowboarding flicks?
By putting all my energy into riding in a snowboard movie, instead of producing. Being both rider and producer was definitely challenging, and right now, I just want to focus on riding.
There's a rumor that you're a tree-hugging environmentalist. Which we totally support. What's your biggest environmental pet-peeve?
When people litter!
Conversely - what's the most un-green thing you do? (Driving a car is not acceptable. We want the dirt!)
Probably riding my snowmobile, or heli-boarding, or flying across the country for a one-day contest. There are certain commitments I have to fulfill as a pro snowboarder, but I try to make small differences in other ways... like not showering! HA! Just joking!
What's your sexiest feature?
What's not sexy about me? Maybe my distinct backside aromas? Other than that, man I'm so desirable!
If you could pillow-fight any lady that ever existed- who would you brawl?
Lady Gaga. She looks feisty.
What are your thoughts on stuffed animals in the bedroom?
I had a polar bear that would sleep at the end of my bed...when I was 12! Now I give my dog all my old animals to rip up.
Do you have any man-skills?
Shotgunnin’ beers!
Single. Greatest. Achievement. Ever. What is it?
Finishing university, and then starting my second degree, only to drop out for snowboarding! YEAHH!
What would you like to be remembered for?
Sharing the laughter and good times.
Are there any snowboard tricks that you just can't get a handle on?
More than a backside 5. I want to get some backside 7's this summer. I've been
working on uncorking my 5's so that I don't land in the back seat on 7's.
Where's the best powder in the world?
Whistler
Are you sponsored by Whistler Blackcomb?
Maybe…
If you weren't a rad snowboarder/ filmmaker - what would you rather be doing?
Working on documentaries for the Discovery Channel, especially the Planet Earth series, and surfing in between.
Who's been the most inspirational figure in your life?
Lynda Pelosi
If you were going to write something on a bathroom stall - what would it be?
“You sleep when you're dead.” --Michael Kennard
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Since topping McGrath in MMSX ’06, the NorCal (Santa Cruz) native has enjoyed a successful career racing mini bikes - including a sweep of the ‘08 MMSX Expert classes 
ANAHEIM, Calif. (April 29, 2009) – The reigning king of mini bike racing, Monster Energy/BBR’s Derek Costella, is on his way to Vegas’ Orleans Arena to defend the world’s premier mini bike titles – 10” (50cc) and 12” (110cc) Expert – at this Friday’s (May 1st) Maxxis MiniMotoSX against such notable mini bike racing names as Browning, Beat, Abrigo, Blose, Weigand and, quite possibly, JLaw.
A three-time consecutive 12” champ, the easy-going Costella, who qualified this year for a number of WSX Lites main events on the Monster Energy Supercross tour on his Carter Powersports/Monster/All Access/Fox Honda, is the sport of mini cycle racing’s marquee name these days. A motocrosser since age 12, the 25-year-old Costella figures he’s been riding minis for six years, racing MMSX for the first time in ‘05. On a bike cobbled together by a friend (Charlie Rennie), Costella managed to make the main event, but crashed (“Just couldn’t put it together in the race,” he said.). Costella’s hyper-fast lap times did, however, catch the eye of the industry.
“BBR approached me and offered to build me a bike for the following MMSX (’06),” said Costella. “That year I got a 2nd and a 1st – beat McGrath.” Costella’s 2nd was in the 50cc class, and his win over McGrath in the 12” class would begin a three-year reign of terror on the 110 bikes for Costella.
“It was amazing beating McGrath,” said Costella. “He’s a super nice guy, gave me his phone number afterwards, told me to call him if I ever want to go out and ride when I’m in southern California. I’ve always looked up to that guy, so it was indescribable when I actually beat him.”
In 2007 Costella and McGrath teamed up on the newly-formed Monster Energy/BBR team and Costella successfully defended his 12” title, but faltered in the 50cc class, getting 4th.
The 2008 MMSX featured Costella getting the 50cc class monkey off his back, winning on the 10” rims for the first time in his career. “The main goal last year was to win the 50cc championship – really wanted to win that,” said Costella. “When I went out there and did that I was so pumped, didn’t even really think much about the 110 class (12”), but ended up winning a championship in that one as well.” Note: Costella was the first racer in the history of MMSX to sweep both premier 10” & 12” Expert classes in one night.
So with three-straight 110/12” titles, Costella’s ready to get back after it here on Friday at the Orleans as the most successful racer in MMSX history on the popular 110cc bikes. And what makes him so good?
“I don’t know, really,” he said. “One theory that I have that’s cool about mini bikes is anybody can buy the best equipment to make their bikes go fast, whereas in supercross you’re racing against factory equipment that you have no chance of getting. So on mini bikes when you get beat it’s by another rider, and I can handle that. And when you do well it helps with your confidence, so that, along with the help from BBR, is why I think I’ve been successful the last few years.”
Costella’s basically your average-size motocross racer (5’-8”, 145 pounds). The fact that he rips on a full size dirt bike is a given – all those guys do. So he’s quick to give props to BBR in helping him complete the MMSX success package. “BBR has the best equipment out there. Everyone wants to be on a BBR bike,” he says. “They put more time, effort and testing into everything they build. I mean, even the owners (Brent, Duane and Chris Brown) ride and test on top of what we do.”
On Browning: “He’s a really, really fast guy,” said Costella. “But he’s always had either something happen to his bike, or got taken out – so he really hasn’t gotten a fair shot to win one out there. He’s one of about ten guys out there that can win this thing.”
And on Lawrence? Costella didn’t hesitate: “He’s just another guy. I’m not too worried about it at all. Maybe he’ll be one of those ten guys - we’ll have to see how he rides when that day comes.”
The annual AMA/Maxxis MiniMotoSX is the largest indoor motorsports competition of its kind. With more than 700 registered riders in 2008 the event literally allows for mini bike enthusiasts to become part of the show. As one racer put it: “At MiniMotoSX you don’t just show up and watch racing in Vegas – you boot up and get on the track yourself to race in front of a packed house at the Orleans.” Featuring numerous classes at all age and ability levels, AMA/Maxxis MiniMotoSX delivers an unforgettable day of racing action for both fans and racers alike, along with an affordable ‘Vegas experience’ given the hotel and ticket package at the Orleans Hotel and Arena, April 30th – May 1st. Registration for the event is open right now on www.minimotosx.com
Tickets On-Sale NOW at the Orleans Arena, 888-234-2334; or online at www.OrleansArena.com
For rules and race information visit www.EnduroCross.com or email endurocross@sourceinterlink.com.
For TV airing dates/times visit www.motorsportshour.com
Source Interlink Media Motorsports:
Encompassing the highly successful AMA Maxxis MiniMotoSX, the AMA EnduroCross Championship Series and the AMA EnduroCross Grand Championships, the Source Interlink Media Motorsports brands reach millions of motorcycle enthusiasts with live events, DVD packages, web sites, television and magazine coverage. Visit www.minimotosx.com or www.endurocross.com.
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Monster Energy’s Spanish motorcycle trials riding star scores another win to go clear at top of World Trial Championship standings
LONDON (April 29, 2009) Monster Energy’s Toni Bou (Repsol Montesa Honda) sat proudly at the top of the World Trial Championship standings after another inch-perfect performance at the Grand Prix of Portugal, the third round of the world’s premier motorcycle trials-riding competition series.
The Spaniard dominated both laps of a varied course at Chaves, which featured a mix of wet and dry sections but nothing which could be described as excessively technical, having finished the first circuit with just four technical penalty points and a single time penalty. With a slender advantage going into the second lap over his main rival Adam Raga, Bou didn’t put a foot wrong and went clean around the entire course, sealing the win ahead of his compatriot.
The Monster Energy-backed Catalan explained: “I felt very comfortable on the bike, but that didn’t stop me from suffering, as I think this was a very simple trial event. You know that in these conditions, you always run the risk of making a mistake that can cost unrecoverable points. This victory is very important, as it’s enabled me to break the tie in the general classification and become the sole leader. Adam is a very tough rival, we’ve seen it again today, and I’m in no
doubt that we’re going to have to work hard this whole season.”
After having taken a first and second at the two-day opening event in Ireland, Bou now leads the championship alone with 57 points. Raga is close behind with 54 and Cabestany sits in third on 43. The next round of the World Trial Championship is a two-day event which takes place in Carlisle, UK on May 16th and 17th.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. Toni Bou digs ‘em, so will you. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Reigning AMA National Hare & Hound Championship champion, Abbott keeps 1st place overall in sight with a hard-fought 3rd in the desert around Lucerne, Calif.
CORONA, Calif., (April 29, 2009) – Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Destry Abbott, the reigning AMA National Hare & Hound Championship champion, stayed right in the midst of his title defense hunt, placing a hard-earned 3rd at round four of the 2009 Hare & Hound Series run in Lucerne, Calif.
Starting 3rd place behind leader (and eventual race-winner) Russ Pearson and Kendall Norman, Abbott was forced to choke on some dust early on in the first 47-mile loop. At high speeds with his KX450F on the edge the entire time, Abbott did his best to keep the two aforementioned racers in sight.
“I was struggling a little bit and the two guys in front of me started to pull away,” said Abbott. “At the 26-mile marker we had an alternate pit that some of us had to stop for gas at. I had a quick splash and was back off. As soon as I left there I started to feel better and pick up the pace – think I was a little over a minute back from Russ at this point.”
Things tightened up on the second loop of the race and Abbott was on it, riding aggressively despite the rocky off camber sections. He did go down around the ten mile mark, but quickly got up and going again. “I was charging and could see I was slowly closing on Russ and Kendall,” said Abbott.
With about eight miles to go Abbott had caught up to Kendall’s dust, then a couple miles later caught the two riders on a hill where they’d both missed a turn. Seeing the trail marker at the same time all three riders raced towards it – with Pearson edging Abbott, who in turn passed Kendall for 2nd. With two miles remaining Abbott had built a bit of a gap on Kendall – then lost the course again!
“I was like ‘No way!,” exclaimed Abbott. “I turned around and started to go up a hill thinking the course went that way, and Kendall was doing the same thing. I think Russ saw the course below us and pinned it! I looked back and then started to pin it down the hill hoping to get back by Kendall. When I got to the bottom I was in his dust, and clipped a rock and went flying over the bars. I was pretty sore and slowly got on the bike (I knew we had a pretty big lead) and made my way to the finish for 3rd.”
Abbott on the race: “I was pretty bummed about my first loop (fast section), but felt a lot better on the technical stuff. My fitness was really good and I actually wish the race was a little longer. I can’t complain about the bike at all, and Jonny (Abbott’s mechanic) has been doing a great job with everything. I just need to make sure I start faster and don’t give up so much time. I still feel really good! Now I just need to keep plugging away, and do everything I can and see how it turns out!”
Next up for Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Destry Abbott is round five of the World Off Road Championship (WORCS), May 8-10, in Milford, Calif.
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it Hare & Hound, WORCS, GNCC, Baja, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Destry Abbott digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Canyon Lake, Calif., April 28, 2009 16-year-old Sara Price, one of the
newest WMA Pro racers, is getting ready to race the women¹s division of the
Maxxis MiniMotoSX in Las Vegas NV, at the Orleans Arena, this Friday, May
1st.
Sara Price will be riding for Randy¹s Cabinets on a Pitster Pro 110cc Mod
mini bike for ³The Biggest Mini Bike Race in the World². Price is no
stranger to pit bike racing having won several of the she raced the Real
Sports and Podium Productions Series, Oakley MX Jam Series, the 4 Stroke
Mini Nationals, the M4SX Series and is likely to be a strong contender in
the women¹s class.
³I am excited to go to Vegas for the MiniMoto SX and have some fun before
getting back to training for the Pro Nationals. I'm ready to give the crowd
a good race and hoping to get a win² said Price.
Keep an eye out for the number # 78 at the Maxxis MiniMotoSX!
Sara Price is sponsored by: Kawasaki Team Green, Monster Energy, Parts
Unlimited, Thor MX, Pro Circuit, Maxima, Pro Taper, Dunlop, DVS, Auto Styles
and Paint, Panic Rev, Factory Baking, AC Racing, Hinson Racing, Twin Air,
Scott USA, QTM, Alpinestars and Asterisk.
Check out www.sarapricemx.com for more
information or visit Sara Price on Facebook and My Space at
www.myspace.com/saraprice78_com.
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It's an overcast Wednesday morning in midtown Manhattan, and Mike Spinner is running just a few minutes late. I expected that. Not that the 21-year-old pioneer of the 1080 and quadruple tailwhip is notoriously late for everything. Far from it, actually. It's just that between flying into Manhattan late last night and getting two full bikes set up this morning (one for himself and one for Late Night Jimmy Fallon, on whose show he would appear later), Spinner hasn't really had a chance to stop and appreciate the big city, let alone grab a solid eight hours of sleep.  Tim StantonEarly morning pedaling in Central Park.
Twenty or so minutes past the scheduled shoot, Mike Spinner arrives. Walking with bike in tow, he is immediately informed by a security guard that no bikes are allowed in the plaza. We move briskly into the emerging spring-like conditions of Central Park, just across the street, and make a weary Mike Spinner wax poetic for the cameras for over an hour. And then it's back to the hotel for Spinner. Only there's no need to point him in the right direction—he knows where he's going.
Though he calls Miami home, Spinner was born in Oceanside, NY, a mere 20 miles east of Manhattan. And Spinner knows the city streets. His driver's license might say Florida, but his street-wise mentality says New York. He's hung out at Union Square, ridden the Brooklyn Banks and pedaled up and down Broadway enough times to know the deal. But this trip to New York is of a different nature. He's not here to ride with friends or film for a new Web video; he's here to teach a former Saturday Night Live cast member turned late night talk show host how to bunnyhop on national television.
 Tim StantonFun Fact: Mike Spinner will be throwing out the first pitch at a Cubs game this year. Don't you wish you were an up-and-coming pro BMX rider? MIKE SPINNER | Hometown: Miami, Fl. | | Height: 5'11 | | Sponsors: Hyper Bikes, Monster Energy Drink, Ball Park Franks, Nike 6.0, Bell Helmets, Albes, Maxxis Tires, Woodward Camp | Accolades:- 2007 Dew Tour Cleveland BMX Park - 11th; : 2007 Dew Tour Baltimore BMX Park - 2nd; 2007 NOKIA FISE BMX Park - 4th; 2007 Vodafone X-Air BMX Park - 2nd, 2007 Simpel Sessions BMX Park - 8th
| All this from riding a BMX bike? That would be correct. Spinner's meteoric rise to BMX fame started in August of 2006, while he was still an amateur. He entered a contest series known as the Free Flow Tour, pulled the first ever tailwhip 720 and from there, was selected as a wild card rider at the last stop of the AST Dew Tour, where, in his first outing as a pro, he placed first in qualifying. From there, Spinner picked up sponsors, began traveling and started conquering tricks that had been talked about for years but left untouched, including the 1080, the 360 triple tailwhip, and more recently, the quadruple tailwhip. But to assume that Spinner staked his reputation on just going big and (to borrow from his surname) spinning, would be an understatement. Spinner's technical prowess is not to be undermined. He is as skilled in the flatland-influenced tech department as he is in the jump box realm, which is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, Spinner has even entered pro flatland comps and held his own. Simply put, there are no other professionals in the world that can lay claim to his skillful duality on a BMX bike. And that, in part, has helped pave the path from BMX contests to late night television.
 Tim StantonMike Spinner in a rare moment with both tires touching the ground. Amazingly, Spinner is unfazed by the day's obligations. In fact, he takes everything in stride without letting it go to his head. The media attention, the cameras, the entourage; it's all in a day's work for the now seasoned BMX pro turned BMX ambassador. Unfortunately, as is the case with most action sports, the professionals that transcend into the public spotlight always seem to suffer a bit of backlash from the community of which they rose. And Spinner has seen this backlash to a certain degree, but rather than spend entire days on the Internet fighting against anonymous slander that sometimes confuses him with skateboarder Ryan Sheckler, he's taken the high road, ignored the unfounded criticism and kept on riding as hard as possible. Simply put, there are no other professionals in the world that can lay claim to his skillful duality on a BMX bike. It's an endearing trait, one that's helped balance the BMX side of Mike Spinner against the media savvy side. And even though the BMX side of Spinner seems ready to break away from the itinerary and bolt down Broadway to see who's hanging out and riding at Union Square, he checks his bike in at the studio door, says "See ya later" and heads off into the studio, eager to push the sport and culture of BMX into the late night television stratosphere.  Tim StantonSpinner in front of 30 Rock, getting ready to teach Mr. Fallon a thing or two about BMX. Following the taping, Mike Spinner emerges from the NBC studios into a light New York rain. By now, it's just getting dark, and with that, comes the cold and the wind. He hands his hooded, zip-up Monster Energy sweatshirt to his girlfriend Taylor and walks into the night, unfettered by the cold and the rain. We eventually make our way down the crowded sidewalks to Times Square, where Spinner suddenly disappears into the faceless crowd. The usual surge of questions circulates: "Where'd he go?" "Did he disappear again?" A few minutes later, he emerges from a chain store surf shop with flip-flops in hand, which he bought for his girlfriend, whose shoes were too uncomfortable to be walking the streets of Manhattan in. Mike Spinner is at once many things: professional, well-rounded BMXer, newfound media personality, seasoned New Yorker by birth, hardened MySpacer. Turns out you can also add "Gentleman" to that list.
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Frenchman celebrates 21st with podium champagne at Valkenswaard 
Paulin continues to lead the charge in MX2
LONDON (April 27, 2009) The Grand Prix of Benelux took place amidst the rough and dark sand of Valkenswaard, a spray of roost away from the city of Eindhoven, Holland, where the Monster Army maintained their status as leader of a championship at the fourth round of 15 in the FIM Motocross series.
Although Jonathan Barragan and Rui Goncalves took victory in the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively, Monster Energy was represented on the podium by Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team’s Nico Aubin, who claimed third spot overall in the MX2 category on his 21st birthday. Fellow Frenchman, Kawasaki Bud Racing’s Gautier Paulin still controls the MX2 standings after taking fifth place.
Overcast skies on Sunday had pushed away the sunshine and blue haze in the days leading up to the event. Some unwelcome rainfall had doused the terrain on Saturday evening but there was no escaping the wicked ripples of the sand that punished the slightest hint of distraction from the riders.
Through two heavy 35 minute and 2 lap motos for both MX1 and MX2, mistakes, crashes, drama, comebacks and last-minute scrambles for podium places marked out a set of exciting affairs in Holland. Aubin tasted the sand twice in Moto1 but was still fast enough to guide his Yamaha to 5th, two spots behind Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX team-mate Davide Guarneri and following Turkish GP winner and fellow Monster Energy rider, Utag Yamaha.com’s Zach Osborne.
Aubin was more careful in Moto2 and chased Goncalves for the runner-up position. Also more vigilant was Monster Energy supported Kawasaki Bud racing’s Paulin. After two escapades in the first sprint that left the Frenchman down in 7th, he placed 4th on his second attempt for more valuable championship points.
In MX1 CAS Honda’s Billy Mackenzie led the first half of Moto1 for an impressive return to form, but the frenetic position swapping of the six-strong rider group in the final five minutes saw the order change every-other corner with Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s David Philippaerts in the thick of the action. The world champion, like Yamaha Monster Energy team-mate Josh Coppins (7th), struggled with his physical condition. And although he would front the pack in the second race for a substantial period, Philippaerts had to be content for 5th overall behind Kevin Strijbos.
The Motocross World Championship now breaks again for a week before a double stint within the Iberian Peninsula. The Grand Prix of Portugal is followed within a week by the GP of Catalunya and brings the series almost to a halfway point.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer & Ryan Morais both make SX Lites class’ overall podium; Ryan Villopoto’s 4th in premier SLC SX class final 
CORONA, Calif., (April 27, 2009) – Though a rough start in the SX Lites class main event at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium would cost him the main event win, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer fought through the crowd to place 2nd place overall in the Lites main event – as well as 2nd in the WSX Lites championship points chase after rival Ryan Dungey put in a cautious yet consistent performance to secure the overall WSX title.
“It’s a bummer not to come away with the win, but I didn’t leave anything on the table – gave it 100-percent (all season long) and we came close,” said Weimer. When the dust finally settled on the ’09 WSX Lites championship points chase a mere five points separated Weimer and Dungey for the WSX title, 178-173.
Rounding out the Lites class podium at SLC, along with the overall WSX Lites championship podium, was Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ryan Morais. The SoCal native would place 3rd in the main event, as well as 3rd overall in the WSX Lites championship – giving the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team two of the top three WSX Lites spots.
“This year was great, went beyond the goals I set for myself,” said Morais.
In the opening Salt Lake City Lites heat race Weimer pulled the holeshot and checked out early. Morais was running up front with the leaders as well, but happened upon a first lap collision that sent him to the ground. Morais was able to keep his KX250F running, remounted quickly, and proceeded to put on a spectacular riding display in his fight back towards the front, tripling past the 7th and 6th-place riders to make the top five, then passing Jeff Alessi coming out of a corner for 5th and Michael Sleeter in the whoops for 4th.
Working to secure as good of a gate pick as possible for the Lites main, Morais nearly threw it away with a couple laps to go, but managed to collect it and held onto 4th place.
Weimer’s heat race win was his sixth of the ’09 season.
In the premier SX class at Rice-Eccles Stadium Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, who won the previous weekend’s SX class main event in Seattle, continued to ride well after recovering from an illness that sidelined him for a number of races. In just his second race back the Pacific Northwest racer transferred to the main with a solid 4th place effort in the first SX class heat race, then charged back from a mid-pack start to finish 4th in the main event.
Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki’s Paul Carpenter also had a good night of racing in Salt Lake City, nearly pulling the holeshot in the main, then putting up some consistent laps late in the contest to give Monster Energy its second SX class top ten placer on Saturday.
Just outside the top ten were Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing’s Nick Wey and Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Billy Laninovich in 11th and 12th, respectively.
Carpenter’s Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki teammate, Bobby Kiniry, showed some teeth early in his heat race, pulling the holeshot - but ran into some trouble and wound up losing out on the last transfer spot to Josh Grant. Kiniry looked to have things sewn up in the LCQ in order to make the main, but again he came up just on spot short (3rd, top two transfer).
This weekend marks the 17th and final stop on the 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, tour when the series wraps up at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium (May 2). Weimer and Morais will be joined by Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki ESX champion Christophe Pourcel and his runner-up teammate Austin Stroupe, in the annual Dave Coombs Sr. SX Lites Shoot Out. The event pits the top WSX guys vs. the top ESX guys in a race to decide who’s the top overall Lites racer. For more information on Monster Energy Supercross check out: www.supercrossonline.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. The Monster Energy guys running the Monster Energy Supercross series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Leon Haslam secures first double podium haul at Assen; Monster’s Cal Crutchlow back on the box in hard-fought Supersport race 
LONDON (April 27, 2009) The Monster Army once again stormed to the podium at the latest round of the World Superbike Championship at the legendary Assen circuit in the Netherlands. The famous track has often played host to classic races, and this weekend at the Cathedral of motorcycle racing was no different with races undecided until the famous final chicane.
In World Superbikes, Monster Energy’s Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda, #91) claimed his first podium double and continued his impressive start to the 2009 season. The Derby (UK)-based rider battled hard on board his Honda CBR1000RR in race one, starting from the front row but being forced to fight back from fifth place after the first lap. He managed to get up to the leaders Noriyuki Haga and Ben Spies, taking second place from the American before the pair began to trade elbows. However, Spies found some last reserves of power and went on to snatch victory in the final chicane, whilst Haslam claimed an outstanding third place.
Things would get even better for Monster Energy’s Briton, as in race two he eventually worked his way past Michel Fabrizio into second place. The race leader Haga had too much of a gap for Haslam to close down, but he was more than content to seal the second podium finish of the day, and cement third place overall in the championship points chase thus far.
Haslam beamed: “I am absolutely over the moon. This certainly was my best race ever on one of my favorite tracks. To be on the podium twice in one weekend is just awesome. I was a little frustrated after the first race, as I wasn't there in the last two laps with Nori and Ben to battle for the win.”
He continued: “With Spies crashing out in the second race I thought I had a great opportunity to battle with Nori, but it just took me too long to pass Fabrizio, Nori was already gone and had a nice lead. I managed to gain a little bit on him towards the end, but it wasn't enough to catch him. I want to give big thanks to my team and sponsors, and am looking forward to the next race in Monza.”
It wasn’t such a weekend to remember for Haslam’s Monster Energy-supported teammate John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda, #121). In only the American’s second ride with the team, he suffered a huge accident in practice, leaving him with a dislocated hip and cracked femur, as well as several muscle tears. Hopkins will return home to California to recover with the hope to be back out on track as soon as possible.
In World Supersport, Monster Energy’s Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha, #35) was involved in a truly epic scrap with several rivals. After having dropped off the leaders, it took a massive effort for the Briton to claw his way back towards the front. When he did so he continued to push hard, taking the lead briefly on the final lap. However, after his travails during the race it was a bridge too far. And although in contention up to the final chicane, Crutchlow sneaked in to second place behind the race winner (Eugene Laverty).
Fellow Monster Energy rider Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda, #13) was unable to fight at the front this weekend, suffering with a lack of power which meant he was often pushing hard in the corners to stay with the riders ahead. The Aussie ran wide at the chicane which set him back in the race, and finally had to settle for a seventh place finish.
World Superbike’s Monster Army head next to Italy’s famous Monza circuit on May 8th-10th for the fifth round of the series.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. Leon Haslam digs ‘em, so will you. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach, March 28, 2009
Woke up to blaring ACDC as my Clock radio sounded off 5:00Am.. I reach over to crack a Monster M-80 and take a big gulp as my feet hit the floor, the taste and the power woke me right up and got me in competition mode. I grabbed my 2 Quiver surfboards and a wetsuit and headed out to Huntington. With Directions on a little piece of paper I nearly got lost but made it with time to spare.. Typical, its overcast, onshore and the low tide made the outsiders break then back off to nothing before it heaved up on the sand for a hollow shore break. This is going to be interesting.
For my first heat mens 18-29, I paddled out to the outside and waited for a bomb that would hopefully take me all the way in for a steep enough section for an arial or 360 floater but unfortunately after 8-10 minutes of waiting nothing came! I spent the last 5 minutes scrambling for insiders with the rest of the competitors who were just as desperate for a scoring wave as I was. I caught a pretty fun left and got a couple of turns then a right that I pulled a 360 floater on.. These 2 waves were enough to get me 2nd in the heat and I advanced to the finals.
On my second division mens open the waves got a little more consistent but worse shape. After paddle battling head to head with a guy he elbows me and steels the best wave in the set. I was trying to keep my cool and spectators were booing the guy. Through all the distractions I got 4th in the heat and was eliminated from that division...
Next came the 18-29 division finals, the tide came up a little and was offering a bit of a selection for us and everyone was surfing well. I dropped into a big outsider, cranked into a big bottom turn and cracked the lip, came down into a big carve then ended it with a floater over the section. My next wave I aimed through the top of the wave and hit it fins through the lip and into the air, my board got a little too over rotated and wasn’t able to ride away from it but made up for it on the next couple of waves. all and all it was a tough heat. on the podium I told them I had to have my board on deck to support my sponsors so they let me take the pic with it. I was hoping for 1st or second but got a 5th place trophy instead, I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes..
Walking back to my car the red bull girls stopped me and tried to seduce me into drinking their product.. I resisted and told them I couldn’t cheat on the best energy drink that has taken me so far and suggested they get jobs working for Monster inc.
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Frenchman wins both motos at EMX2 series / Podium haul in WEC for Husqvarna / Anderson on winning form in British Masters 
LONDON (April 24, 2009) The second round of the European Championship EMX2 at Talavera de la Reina, Spain, witnessed another impressive performance by Christophe Charlier (Yamaha Gariboldi Monster Energy). The flying Frenchman won both races and completely dominated the rest of the field, turning laps consistently two seconds quicker than his nearest challenger and taking the wins by comfortable margins.
Charlier has now garnered four wins from all four races so far this season, and leads the championship with a maximum 100 point haul, and was obviously delighted with how things were progressing. “ I really enjoyed the races here in Talavera and my bike was again in tip-top shape,” he said. “I feel very good and everything is just going so smoothly for me right now. Of course I was hoping to add another win here in Spain, but I’m thinking about getting the results for the championship too, so it’s all good news."
His Yamaha Gariboldi Monster Energy teammates also gave a solid showing once more, with Klemen Gercar finishing sixth overall and Mathias Bellino finishing fourth in the second race. Bellino had been amongst the podium positions in the first race, but a technical glitch robbed him of the champagne.
In the latest round of the World Enduro Championship (WEC) at Iglesias in Sardinia, the Monster Energy-supported CH Racing Husqvarna team enjoyed podium success across the board in all three senior classes.
In the Enduro 1 class Monster Energy’s Antoine Meo again showed that despite his relative lack of enduro experience he can be counted on to deliver podium results no matter what the conditions or weather. At the team’s home round of the WEC series, Antoine took a deserved runner-up spot on day one and third on day two. Having recorded special test-class wins on the motocross, enduro and extreme tests on day one, Meo wasn’t quite able to match the pace of eventual E1 class winner Mika Ahola. Then on the second day’s racing a couple of untimely errors dropped him to third.
Despite being slightly frustrated at having not claimed victory on either day, Antoine’s was nevertheless pleased with his two podium results. “It’s been a really good event for me,” said Antoine. “Day one was especially good finishing second. I wasn’t able to match Mika Ahola’s speed but I was certainly trying. I didn’t make any mistakes and felt I rode really well. I really wanted to try and get closer to him on day two and I pushed a little bit too hard. I crashed on the enduro test and lost ten seconds, and then tried too hard to make up for that mistake and crashed on the next extreme test. It’s been a real enduro race – tough but enjoyable.”
With competition every bit as fierce at the top of the Enduro 2 class in Sardinia, Monster Energy-backed Bartosz Oblucki (CH Racing Husqvarna) found himself sandwiched between Johnny Aubert and Juha Salminen at the end of the opening day’s competition as he finished in an impressive second position. On day two Bartosz again started steadily, due largely to a broken rear brake pedal on the opening motocross test, but soon found himself in a five-way battle for the runner-up spot. By the end of the day Bartosz placed fifth having missed the podium by just two seconds.
Oblucki explained: “The first day was great. I didn’t have a good Super Test on Friday and on Saturday morning I didn’t feel so good, but after that things started to come together. I was able to catch up the time I lost quite quickly, which meant that I moved up to second. I broke the rear brake pedal on the first test on day two, which cost me some time.”
The best result for the Monster Energy-supported CH Racing Husqvarna team came from Frenchman Seb Guillaume who topped the Enduro 3 class by six seconds on day one. Seb was chased hard by countryman Christophe Nambotin but remained in control of the class to claim victory, his first top spot so far this season. Despite his best efforts on day two Seb was unable to match the pace of Spaniard Ivan Cervantes and claimed the runner-up spot to complete a superb weekend for both himself, Monster Energy and the CH Racing Husqvarna team.
The Frenchman remarked, “It’s been a really difficult race, but a real enduro. I’ve enjoyed it a lot. The first day was a great day for me. I wasn’t worrying about my times in the special tests, I was just riding my own race and focusing on not making any mistakes. I didn’t know I was leading going into the final test. To win was great because it was a really hard day. Day two was also hard, especially because of the rain in the mountains. I rode well in the enduro test on each lap, as well as on the extreme test, but Ivan Cervantes was very fast in the motocross test. Finishing first and then second is great.”
In the British Masters Motocross series, the Monster Energy-sponsored PAR Honda Team were at Dean Moor for Round 2. The team registered several successes, with Brad Anderson taking two wins in the Pro MX1 class and two more wins in the Pro MX2 events. His teammate, Scott Elderfield, placed third twice in the Pro MX2 and took a fourth and a third in the Pro MX1.
Meanwhile in the junior Elite series, Luke Hawkins got back on his Monster Energy-supported PAR Honda CRF250 for the first time since he had his plaster removed for his buckled fracture. After a difficult Saturday when he managed a solitary third place, he was back to winning ways on Sunday, taking two race wins and finishing in sixth overall. Ben Watson was also able to celebrate on his Small Wheel CRF150, taking four race wins, a third place and collecting overall first spot.
Next weekend the Schoolboys are at Leuchars for Round 2 of the BYMX, and Brad Anderson is in action at the FIM MX Grand Prix of Valkenswaard.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Weimer’s down nine points to Dungey at the last WSX Lites round; Monster/Kawi’s Villopoto looks to make two-straight in SX class
CORONA, Calif., (April 24, 2009) – A bit of a hiccup at the start of last weekend’s Seattle WSX Lites main event has put Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer - down only three points to Ryan Dungey heading into the Qwest Field contest – has put him back nine points, 160-151, heading into this weekend’s final WSX round at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, April 25.
The math on this is as follows: If Weimer can win (25 points for a win), Dungey has to finish 6th or worse for Weimer to take the title. If Weimer were to win, and Dungey placed 5th, the two would be tied in overall points and would be equal in the wins department as well – each with four wins. If that would happen, Dungey would get the nod on having more 2nd place finishes (one to Weimer’s zero).
“Pro Circuit and Kawasaki have given me a bike that can win – and that’s what I hope to do on Saturday,” said Weimer. “Other than that everything else is out of my control.”
Joining his teammate Weimer with a guaranteed spot on the overall WSX podium will be Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ryan Morais. The king of 2nd-place finishes this year (five in WSX seven races), Morais cemented his position on the overall WSX podium last week with, you guessed it, a 2nd place finish at Seattle.
So at best, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki could wind up 1-2 in the WSX, and at worst both racers will still make the overall WSX podium.
Monster Army members will also have something to big cheer about in the premier SX class as Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto returns to see if he can make it two wins in a row after taking his first-ever SX class main event win at Seattle. The Poulsbo, Wash., native returned to action from an illness that had sidelined him for several weeks, winning at Qwest Field in front of his hometown fans.
“It felt awesome,” said Villopoto on the win. “I can’t thank my team enough and everybody that put effort into it. It hasn’t been the year we wanted, but they never gave up.”
Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki racer Paul Carpenter has also been racing well in the SX class after missing a chunk of the season with broken ribs. Carpenter scored his best finish of the season at Seattle with an 8th in the main event. Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing’s Nick Wey also ran well last weekend and just missed the top ten with an 11th – Wey’s best finish since round seven of the series where he placed 9th at San Diego.
“I’m kind of wishing the season had more than two rounds left,” said Carpenter. “I feel excellent now, the Monster/Cernic’s/Kawasaki team has everything on auto pilot and the results are the best we’ve had all year. So I’m really looking forward to Salt Lake City and then wrapping up the season next week in Vegas.”
Next up on the Monster Energy Supercross tour is this weekend’s contest at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium (April 25). For more information on Monster Energy Supercross check out: www.supercrossonline.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. The Monster Energy guys running the Monster Energy Supercross series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Absolutely bananas to jump a snowmobile the length of a football field, Thacker’s the first person in history to nut up and run ‘er into the freakin’ record books! 
CORONA, Calif., (April 21, 2009) – A lot of us at Monster Energy HQ are seeing for the first time today Paul Thacker’s freakin’ unbelievable snowmobile jump – a world record 301 feet at Brainerd (Minn.) International Speedway, smashing his old record of 271 feet and elevating his name atop the ranks of ‘craziest thing ever done on a snowmobile.’
AND, if that weren’t enough, how’s this for timing – Thacker’s featured in this week’s ESPN Magazine.
But before you ollie off the couch and over to pick up a copy of the mag, take a second to tee up the footage of Thacker:
Said Thacker of the record-breaking jump: “I got up to 87 miles per hour and hit the take-off ramp. When I was in the air I just knew it was perfect. Flew over 301 feet. With the amplitude and the way I landed I knew we got to where we wanted to be.
“I was already screaming in my helmet on the down run.”
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it insane distance jumping, sleds, SX, rally, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Paul Thacker digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Top Monster/Kawasaki/Team Green racers Dean Wilson and Adam Cianciarulo each win multiple titles, Tiford, Bell and Surratt also win titles for Team Green 
Photos courtesy of: www.kawasaki.com
CORONA, Calif., (April 13, 2009) – Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green athletes – led by Dean Wilson - won big at this past week/weekend’s 19th annual World Mini Grand Prix in Las Vegas, the third of eight major amateur MX national races on the 2009 schedule.
Running the glowing green M-claw logo in a premier 250 and 450 pro class sweep (four classes, including Stock and Modified on his KX250F and 450F) was Monster Energy/Kawasaki/Team Green’s Wilson. Monster Energy’s hottest amateur MX racer, Wilson topped rival and fellow Monster-backed amateur Christian Craig (Yamaha) straight up to win the most coveted titles at the Vegas Mini GP.
“I’m very happy to win these titles, but I feel like there’s something missing,” said Wilson on the Kawasaki website. “I’m not sure exactly, but I know that I really want to come out this year with a ride in the pros for 2010. This weekend and eventually Loretta’s (the August race at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, amateur MX’s biggest prize) is a big step towards that goal.”
The other Monster Energy-backed racer aboard Team Green Kawasakis that really stood out in Vegas was Adam Cianciarulo. Thus far one of the most successful amateur racers in the history of the sport, the 12-year-old Cianciarulo – who recently moved up in classes – won two championships at the Mini GPs (85/150 Stock 12-13 and Super Mini Thru 13).
Other Monster Energy-backed racers on the Team Green program winning titles at the Vegas Mini GPs include: Zach Bell (Super Mini Thru 16), Willie Surratt (Plus 40 Pro) and Preston Tilford (450 4-Stroke Non-Pro).
Next up for the Monster Energy/Kawasaki/Team Green amateur MX gang will be the 34th annual Grand Nationals of Motocross at Ponca City, July 27th through Aug. 1.
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MX, SX, supermoto, road racing, rally, insane distance jumping, MotoGP, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Our amateur MX rippers dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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The go-kart racing at Pole Position is insane, with high-performance electric karts that reach speeds approaching 50 mph…add a bunch of dirt bikers hot wired on Monster product and be prepared to watch the sparks fly!
ANAHEIM, Calif. (April 21, 2009) – Maxxis MiniMotoSX will again kick off it’s racing festivities for the May 1st headliner event at the Orleans Arena with a rip-roarin’, high-speed party at Las Vegas’ Pole Position Raceway – a full-on, open-to-the-public participatory racing event hosted by MMSX sponsor, Monster Energy.
What: Maxxis MiniMotoSX Pre-Race Party, hosted by Monster Energy
When: Thurs., April 30th
Where: Vegas’ Pole Position Raceway (www.polepositionraceway.com)
Time: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Cost: There is no admission and the event is open to the public. $5 off racing coupons are available online at www.minimotosx.com
Dubbed the “Best indoor kart track in the United States, Pole Position Raceway is well within walking distance of MMSX’s host – the Orleans Arena. Boasting a wide range of racing memorabilia from the top stars of NASCAR, IndyCar and Monster Energy Supercross, Pole Position has become a mainstay for motorsports enthusiasts in town for the big dirt bike racing weekend.
“Pole Position Raceway has become a hangout for some of the world's fastest racers," said Ken Faught, president and co-founder of the chain of indoor kart tracks and former editor-in-chief of Dirt Rider magazine. "Travis Pastrana, James Stewart & Chad Reed are regulars and we expect to see a lot of guys this week because of the big events that are in town.”
Familiar names to MMSX fans that helped create Pole Position Raceway include: Monster Supercross champs Jeremy “Showtime” McGrath (himself a former MMSX racer!) and Chad Reed, outdoor champs Grant Langston and Greg Albertyn, along with FMX stars Mike Metzger and Kenny Bartram.
“Mini bikes and go-karts - you can’t ask for more fun than that,” said Mike Karsting, Vice President of Events at Source Interlink Media. “The action at Pole Position gets intense, so even if you’re not racing it’s fun to just come out and watch everyone go at it. But take note - print out that $5 off coupon before you come, because once you’re there for a bit you’re definitely going to want to get in on the racing!”
The annual AMA/Maxxis MiniMotoSX is the largest indoor motorsports competition of its kind. With more than 700 registered riders in 2008 the event literally allows for mini bike enthusiasts to become part of the show. As one racer put it: “At MiniMotoSX you don’t just show up and watch racing in Vegas – you boot up and get on the track yourself to race in front of a packed house at the Orleans.” Featuring numerous classes at all age and ability levels, AMA/Maxxis MiniMotoSX delivers an unforgettable day of racing action for both fans and racers alike, along with an affordable ‘Vegas experience’ given the hotel and ticket package at the Orleans Hotel and Arena, April 30th – May 1st. Registration for the event is open right now on www.minimotosx.com
Tickets On-Sale NOW at the Orleans Arena, 888-234-2334; or online at www.OrleansArena.com
For rules and race information visit www.EnduroCross.com or email endurocross@sourceinterlink.com.
For TV airing dates/times visit www.motorsportshour.com
Sports_colorSource Interlink Media Motorsports:
Encompassing the highly successful AMA Maxxis MiniMotoSX, the AMA EnduroCross Championship Series and the AMA EnduroCross Grand Championships, the Source Interlink Media Motorsports brands reach millions of motorcycle enthusiasts with live events, DVD packages, web sites, television and magazine coverage. Visit www.minimotosx.com or www.endurocross.com.
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Thomas, aboard the YZ250F, overcomes an early wreck and outlasts teammate Josh Weisenfels to take 2nd at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch – the GNCC’s first “mudder”
CORONA, Calif., (April 20, 2009) – The Monster Energy/Fred Andrews Racing/Yamaha boyz done torn up country singer Loretta Lynn’s Ranch but good this past weekend, putting the knobbies to the rich, loamy, rain-soaked Tennessee countryside at round five of the 2009 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series (GNCC). And coming out on the podium again – for the second-straight race – was Monster/FAR/Yamaha’s Jason Thomas, who placed 2nd in the XC2 class.
Actually starting the race under sunny skies, Thomas rocketed out to a good start on his YZ and was running in 3rd place when he hit some standing water and got pitched off his bike. Thomas was last heading into the woods for the first time, close to teammate Josh Weisenfels whose bike didn’t fire on the first kick.
The two Monster Energy-backed racer slugged it out in the woods with the rest of the competition and both re-appeared, almost miraculously, in the top five (Thomas 3rd, Weisenfels 5th).
Plastered with mud from helmet to boots, Monster Energy/Fred Andrews Racing/Yamaha’s Thomas and Weisenfels reached the halfway point of the contest with Thomas battling hard for the third and final podium spot and Weisenfels in 6th place.
At the white flag Thomas had moved up to contest 2nd place, and would win that battle heading into the checkers. “I had a good start and crashed. I pushed my way to the front and tried to save the bike by missing all the deep water,” said Thomas. “I’m very happy with 2nd place today and look forward to the next race.”
Weisenfels wasn’t as fortunate when, during his late-race rush, his chain derailed and ended his day. “I had a bad start and tried to stay out of trouble on the track,” he said. “I was going good until the chain got derailed. I could not get it back on. I need a little luck.”
Both racers threw out weekend MVP honors to Monster Energy/Fred Andrews Racing/Yamaha mechanic Joe Maurer, who was busting his tail to get the YZ250Fs ready in the ugly conditions.
The GNCCs remain in Tennessee (Lafayette) for round six of the series, May 2-3.
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it GNCC, WORCS, Hare & Hound, EnduroCross, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Fred Andrews’ boyz digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Dietrich scores his third WORCS win of the season and wrestles the overall Pro class championship points chase away from former MX great Mike Brown
Photo of Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich courtesy of: Joe Colombero
CORONA, Calif., (April 20, 2009) – Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s World Championship Off Road Series (WORCS) racer Ricky Dietrich scored his third victory of the season and second in-a-row this past weekend in Hollister, Calif., and in the process regained the overall WORCS Pro class points lead over Mike Brown, 91-83.
In addition, Dietrich’s Monster Energy/Kawasaki teammate, Damon Huffman, placed 4th on the day, battling back from a wreck that collected himself and Brown, along with several other racers. And Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Destry Abbott also made the WORCS Pro class’ top ten at Hollister, placing 9th.
Dietrich didn’t pull the best start, but made up for it with a gritty performance early, one that featured him charging from mid-pack through the field and into 1st place with 40 minutes remaining in the two-hour event, topping 2nd place Tim Weigand to the checkers with a minute to spare.
“I was pleased with the way things ended up,” said Dietrich. “It’s tough coming through the pack like that, but at the same time it was a lot of fun. I’m pumped to be back in the points lead.” Note: Dietrich’s absolutely been on fire racing the WORCS, winning three of the first four rounds – his only non-win (24th) coming at round two when he broke his radiator hose and had his bike overheat.
After four rounds the Monster Energy/Kawasaki riders are dominating the top ten with Dietrich in 1st, Huffman 6th and Abbott in 10th.
In the support Pro 2 class Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Corey Floyd (2nd) and Ryan Abbatoye (3rd) both made the podium at Hollister and still hold the No.1 (Abbatoye) and No. 2 (Floyd) overall spots after four rounds in that class.
Next up on the 2009 WORCS schedule is the Milford, Calif., round, May 8-10.
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it WORCS, GNCC, EnduroCross, Hare & Hound, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Our guys running the WORCS dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto makes a triumphant return to SX class racing action, winning his first-ever main event at hometown Seattle’s Qwest Field
 
CORONA, Calif., (April 20, 2009) – Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto is on top of the motorsports world this week. The Poulsbo, Wash., native returned to action from an illness that had sidelined him for several weeks to win his first-ever premier SX class main event at his hometown race at Seattle’s Qwest Field, round 15 of the 17-round Monster Energy AMA Supercross series, an FIM World Championship.
Villopoto began the race weekend with some solid lap times in the qualifying practice, putting him fifth-fastest among the world’s elite stadium motocross racers. A former SX Lites champion (2007) with an amazing outdoor racing resume (three consecutive MX Lites overall titles), Villopoto transferred to the main with a 2nd place finish behind James Stewart in the second heat race.
Rainy conditions during the dirt move-in and track construction would lead to some rutted conditions in the SX class main, but Villopoto was up to the task. He railed his Kawasaki KX450F through the first turn at the start in 2nd place and set his sites on race leader and longtime rival, Mike Alessi. Villopoto would pass Alessi on lap seven of the 20-lap contest, then led the remaining 17 laps for the win, holding off the hard-charging Stewart.
“It feels awesome,” said Villopoto on the win. “I can’t thank my team enough and everybody that put effort into it. It hasn’t been the year we wanted, but they never gave up.”
Monster Energy’s support cast to Villopoto in the main event put up some excellent numbers as well. Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki racer Paul Carpenter had his best finish of the year, placing 8th at Seattle, while Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing’s Nick Wey battled strong all weekend and just missed the top ten with an 11th – Wey’s best finish since round seven of the series where he placed 9th at San Diego.
“Being from back east (New York) I’m used to racing ruts and conditions like this,” said Carpenter. “The team had my bike dialed and I just tried to ride smart, limit the mistakes and push hard at the end. Some of my best laps came in the latter portion of the race.”
Carpenter started strong (7th), but fell back behind the top ten after the first few laps, and was as far back as 13th on lap seven, before he started his charge back into the top ten.
In the SX Lites class Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer entered the Seattle contest trailing WSX overall points leader Ryan Dungey by just a couple points, (135-133). After qualifying practice less than a quarter second separated Dungey, who had the fastest time, and Weimer with the fourth-fastest time – so it was anybody’s guess as to what would shake down in heats and SX Lites main event.
Weimer and his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammate Ryan Morais would meet in the first SX Lites heat race, with Morais getting the upper hand in that race, winning by nine seconds over Weimer (2nd).
In the main event Morais would get out in 3rd place early, then passed Jake Moss for 2nd place on lap three. Morais would run a consistent 15 laps through the checkers and record yet another runner-up WSX Lites finish – his fifth in seven races.
“The Seattle track was pretty tough to pass on,” said Morais. “I was fortunate to get a good start, then made a move into 2nd place early. From there I worked to keep Ryan (Dungey) in sight, but wasn’t able to make up the gap (about four seconds) to catch him.”
Things were tough for Weimer at the start where he got caught up with some other riders and came out of the first turn in mid-pack. Given the nature of the track, the best Weimer could do was to race back to 4th place by the checkers. Weimer now trails Dungey by nine points, 160-151, with one race remaining on the WSX series tour.
Next up on the Monster Energy Supercross tour is this weekend’s contest at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium (April 25). For more information on Monster Energy Supercross check out: www.supercrossonline.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. The Monster Energy guys running the Monster Energy Supercross series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Hill takes a break from Nissan UCI MTB World Cup competition and steps out of his DH domain to challenge the top slalom mt. bikers in Monterey, Calif.
Photo courtesy of Fraser Britton
CORONA, Calif., (April 20, 2009) – Monster Energy’s Sam Hill (Specialized) stepped into a realm of mountain bike racing he rarely visits – dual slalom racing – and ended up walking away with the 1st place trophy, capturing the annual Sea Otter Classic’s SRAM Dual Slalom event in Monterey, Calif., this past Saturday.
The MTB downhill specialist and Nissan World Cup DH champ in 2006 and ’07, Hill said he usually tries to do one or two slalom events a year, running his last one at Crankworx last year.
“I do this race every year, but recently I haven’t qualified because I was hurt,” said Hill of the Sea Otter Classic. “It was really hard out there, the track was really slippery. I nearly threw it away a couple times in the early rounds. I seemed to get a good rhythm going later on, but the track was deteriorating big time with the berms all getting blown out. I was trying to be aware of that and not make any mistakes.”
Hill got past local NorCal flyer Mike Haderer in the quarterfinals, then topped the reigning UCI World Cup DH champ Gee Atherton in the semi finals. In the finals Hill took advantage of a Cody Warren mistake (crash) to win this year’s title.
“The conditions were similar to what I’m used to in Australia,” added Hill, a native Aussie. “I felt strong in the corners with the Specialized prototype tires I was running. My first time out on the new bike and I was comfortable and stronger on the pedaling sections. The bike was awesome.”
Note: Hill would place 12th in the Sea Otter Classic’s DH event the following day.
Next up for the Hill and the Monster Energy-backed Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup championship DH competitors is the French World Cup in La Bresse, May 9-10. For more information on the Monster Energy mt. bike racers competing at the UCI World Cup tour, catch a link to: http://www.nissan-ucimtbworldcup.com/
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MTB, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, NASCAR Trucks, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Sam Hill rocks ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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"It got so big we had to take it international!! 6 days of peace love ‘n shred!!! It's always been the highest event in snowboarding!! Now it's the longest!" -Dingo
Monster Energy is proud to announce that it has joined forces with Grenade Gloves to bring the infamous Grenade Games to Whistler, BC during the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival this April. Now in their fifth year, the Grenade Games have set themselves apart as the snowboard industries best end-of-season contest and party. Bringing them to Whistler during the TWSSF was a natural step to combine two of the biggest spring events into one giant happening.
In the tradition of the Grenade Games, the contest will combine typical snowboard events with an unexpected twist. The Superpipe has evolved into something bigger and better, snowboarders will be challenged to hurl themselves down a mogul field for the first-of-its-kind dual slalom mogul event, and all of it will be capped off in front of thousands of screaming fans Saturday night, with a showcase like nothing the WSSF has ever seen before.
“We are proud to announce we are bringing “The Grenade Games 5” to Whistler. With the biggest and baddest lineups ever this April, it is sure to be the best. The Grenade Games is a celebration of Snowboarding, music and everything else holy! VIVA la Games! Get ready to Ride…EH!” - Danny Kass
SCHEDULE:
April 20 Registration and Welcome party
April 21 Poker Run | Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains
April 22 Dual Slalom Moguls | Catskinner Bumps – Blackcomb Mountain
April 23-24 Superpipe | Blackcomb Superpipe
April 24 - Mini Ramp Jam - Whistler Village - invitation only
April 25 Grand Finale | Skiers Plaza Whistler Mountain
Poker Run, April 21, Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains
Poker in the mountains. Athletes meet at The Longhorn, and then grab their boards and set out to find 4 poker tables strategically placed at critical spots on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. At each table they complete a task to receive their card and move on to the next one. The 5th playing card will be dealt back at The Longhorn, completing the hand. The top 8 hands of the day will move on to the final table to play a full round of high stakes Texas Hold’Em with Danny and Dingo in front of a crowd of fans, playing for prizes and bragging rights.
Dual Slalom Moguls, April 22, Catskinner Bumps
Always looking for a good way to have fun in the snow, Grenade is bringing back the mogul contest, but this time the rules have changed. Head to head elimination slalom course, and a mandatory air all taking place on one of North America’s steepest bump runs. Crashes? Inevitable. Party? Definitely.
Grenade’s Superpipe, April 23 - 24, Blackcomb Superpipe
Throw out what you know about superpipe. The Grenadians are bringing their version of transition riding to Blackcomb to prove once and for all that when it comes to pipe, progression isn’t all about adding another 180 to your spin. New obstacles and a brand new pipe configuration will set this event apart. Riders will shred the pipe until they are “tapped out”, at which point they can cheer their friends on from the sidelines. 30 riders advance to finals on day 2 where they will have a fun day of riding, in a no pressure jam format. This pipe will have more hits and features then some pros have tricks. Bring you’re A-Z game.
Mini Ramp Jam, April 24, Village Square
After a long winter of riding, snowboarders get to dust off their skate skills on our mini ramp. This mini ramp contest will be for invited Grenade Games athletes, and judged by Monster pro skaters Jake Brown, Greg Lutzka, Geoff Rowley and PLG.
The Grand Finale, April 25, Skier's Plaza
Always the highlight of the week, the Saturday night finale in front of a massive crowd in the Skier’s Plaza (next to the Longhorn) is going to have everyone talking Sunday morning. This is not the “same old big air”. This 3 hit, jam format, Slopestyle with unique features will keep the 40 invited riders inspired to kill it. 10 riders will advance to the Super Final. This is what happens when you tell Danny Kass and friends to build the best event ever
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Attention Army!
Squaw Valley USA young adult (age 13-22) 50/60 season passes start at just $269. That’s right. Ski and ride Tahoe’s top-ranked resort next winter for just $269. Squaw Valley USA offers 4,000 acres of Tahoe’s best terrain, over 450” of average annual snowfall and the expansive Monster Terrain Park at Riviera and Superpipe. In addition, Squaw Valley USA hosts an array of events, from Jibbing for Jacksons to spring pool parties. Check it at http://www.squaw.com/5060-season-pass
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Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer trails WSX Lites o/a leader Dungey by two points, 135-133, with two rounds left; Villopoto returns for Seattle SX 
CORONA, Calif., (April 16, 2009) – The WSX Lites championship dogfight starts back up this weekend with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer and Ryan Morais right in the thick of things as Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, returns to action at Seattle’s Qwest Field (April 18).
The Monster Energy-backed WSX Lites riders haven’t seen battle since Feb. 14th at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium – and are both pumped to get back after it here in Seattle. As it stands Weimer trails WSX overall points leader Ryan Dungey by a miniscule two points (135-133), with two rounds of WSX racing remaining (Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium on April 25th being the other round).
“It’s been a great series so far for the fans and the championship could come right down to the last lap of the last WSX race in Utah,” said Weimer. “We’ve had a bunch of time off and it’ll be interesting to see how everyone reacts to that. The Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team is prepared and ready to race – been looking forward to Seattle for what, two months now?”
Both Weimer and Dungey have three wins a piece in the six WSX races thus far. And should either – or both – of them falter, Morais is well within striking distance at nine points back (124 points) with five podium finishes in six races, including an impressive four 2nd place finishes.
In 450 class action Monster Energy’s been led as of late by the white-hot Josh Hill (Yamaha). The Oregonian will make his ‘closest to home’ appearance this weekend in Seattle having scored his first podium finish of the season two races ago in Toronto, then finished 4th in a blazing come-from-behind effort at Jacksonville, Fla.
“I’m pumped for the team and my sponsors,” said Hill on MonsterArmy.com following the Toronto contest. “We’ve all worked real hard to pull things together and we were finally able to break through with a podium. We’ll continue to work hard to try and make a couple more podiums before the year’s up and carry that momentum into the outdoor season.”
Hill has a solid hold on 10th place overall in the SX class standings, 46-points ahead (146-100) of the next-closest competitor, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Tim Ferry, who’s on the sideline with a foot injury. Ferry’s teammate, Seattle local Ryan Villopoto, is returning to action this weekend after taking a few weekends off due to an illness. (Note: Villopoto is still in 9th place overall in the SX class standings with 165 points despite not scoring a single point in the last three races.) And stepping in again for Ferry is Kawasaki test rider, Billy Laninovich. Two weeks ago in Jacksonville, Laninovich scored a season-best 10th place finish in the SX class main event.
Other Monster Energy-backed racers to keep an eye on in the Seattle SX class qualifying and main even include: Paul Carpenter and Bobby Kiniry (Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki), along with Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing’s Nick Wey. For more information on Monster Energy Supercross check out: www.supercrossonline.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. The Monster Energy guys running the Monster Energy Supercross series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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 |  In 1999, Cory Lopez was in Tahiti for the Gotcha Tahiti Pro. Surfing in Round One against Shane Powell, Lopez took off on a death or glory closeout barrel that ate him alive but also launched him into immortality. Lopez proved that a surfer could survive the worst that Teahupoo could dish out and that wave launched a thousand trips. One year later, Laird Hamilton towed into a wave even heavier than that, made it, and left the surfing world asking: "What could be heavier than that?"
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This Month's Mission Now that Winter is over, we'd like to see who ripped it up over the last couple months. Post your picture and show us! Grand Prize: Monster Army Gear and Runway Films' SEE WHAT I SEE dvd 7 Runner Ups Receive: Runway Films' SEE WHAT I SEE dvd 
Last Month's Mission Winner We had awesome entries in the 'My Monster Commerical' contest. We've narrowed them down to 4 finalists...now we need your help. Head over to the Reserves area and vote for your favorite. "Who Is Monster?" Winner Congratulations to Emily Boduch for winning last month's contest "Who Is Monster?" For her winning video, she'll be hooked up with a Monster Army Athlete Prize Pack (bookbag, hat, t-shirt, and sweatshirt). To watch her video, click HERE.
 Featured Solider Spotlight This month's Soldier Spotlight is D'Andre Pendergrass, a Skateboarder from Miami Lakes, FL..
Check out videos and more photos of D'Andre HERE.
 Featured Monster Army Gear As One
Normal Price: $20.00
Monster Army Price: $13.00
Remember, as a Monster Army Community Member, you get a 35% discount (already applied) on all Apparel. Check out the rest of the gear in the STORE.
Featured Energy Product Who loves Assalt? Tell us HERE
Monster Army Media Player
We launched the Monster Army Media Player a few weeks ago. If you haven't posted it to your profiles yet, do so now! Get your Media Player in the Propaganada Section. Free Monthly Music Download
We also added a new feature to the site, a Free Music Download of a Monster Energy sponsored band. Each month we'll showcase one band and put one song available for free download. This month we're featuring Nations Afire. Head over to their PAGE and let us know what you think. . |       | |
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Monster Army's top snowboarder killed it on the competition scene this year, now gets to back it down and do some backcountry filming with his buddies in NorCal
CORONA, Calif., (April 15, 2009) - Monster Energy snowboarder Torstein Horgmo had quite the rippin' competition year, winning the AST Dew Tour Slopestyle event at Mt. Snow (Vt.) over the heavily-favored Shaun White, then again topping White for good measure at in Horgmo's adopted hometown here in the States (Lake Tahoe, Calif.) in the Dew Tour's Slopestyle stop at Northstar-at-Tahoe.
Horgmo took two of the three Dew Tour events in 2008-'09, then added a couple noteworthy 2nd place performances. At Winter X 13 (Big Air) in Aspen, Colo., Horgmo got 'homered' by DC teammate Travis Rice, but was cool with it saying: "Travis has more fans!" (regarding the X Games' text-voting process that, arguably, cost Horgmo the gold). And the Red Bull Snowscrapers in NYC, which Horgmo topped Red Bull-backed boarders White and Rice in head-to-head heat events - only to get beat by Cinderella story rider from New Jersey in the finals.
Enjoying his second winter in America, the humble Norwegian was more than happy to field a few questions for the Monster Army enlistees in between helicopter rides and post-holing hikes, filming some killer backcountry parts and more or less just hanging out with his friends in Tahoe.
Monster Energy: Hey, man, you're a regular 'local' now here in the States. And Monster couldn't be more pumped to have you on board!
Torstein Horgmo: "Thanks!"
Monster Energy: So what's you favorite place to ride over here?
Horgmo: "There's many of them, but I think Tahoe's my favorite so far. You can ride everything there and the weather is usually good."
Monster Energy: What's the hardest thing to get used to living here in the States versus Norway?
Horgmo: "Well, I don't exactly live here yet - I just travel from spot-to-spot in my truck, crashin' at friends' places and random condos. But it's good livin'."
Monster Energy: Right on. We can relate to that - and we're from here! (Horgmo laughs). When your friends back home ask you what it's like over here, what do you tell them?
Horgmo: "It's just like the movies!" (more laughter)
Monster Energy: You could probably walk around a mall in suburban Los Angeles and not get noticed. Is that the same in Norway?
Horgmo: "It sure feels like it...I don't notice people noticing me that much at all. Maybe at some of the clubs in my hometown (Trondheim) when I go out."
Monster Energy: Some in the snowboard industry have drawn comparisons between you and a young Tere Haakonsen (also a Norwegian). Are you cool with that?
Horgmo: "I'm cool with that. There's no way I would look at myself like that, but it's an honor for sure."
Monster Energy: Your Dew Tour credentials are huge - you've gotta be pumped with beating White straight up - twice - on the Tour this year. Before the season started did you think you had a pretty good shot at the title, or were you thinking you'd be pumped to make the overall podium?
Horgmo: "You are right on the last part. I wanted to do good - at least at one of them and would have been stoked with that alone. So winning two of them was crazy to me!"
Monster Energy: A bunch of Monster Army enlistees ride are keen on snowboard stances. Can you give up what you're running you're running these days?
Horgmo: "Sure. I ride a DC PBJ for everything pretty much, a 149 for rail mission, 157 for backcountry and pow and a 153 for everything else. 22.5 inches wide, +15/-12 (angles). DC Judge boots and DC Test bindings."
Monster Energy: Yeah, Torstein! Thanks for your time.
Horgmo: "No problem. See you again when the snow flies."
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it snowboards, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, ski, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster's fruit juice hybrid dubbed "M-80," the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy "Hitman" energy shot. Torstein Horgmo digs 'em - so will you. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster Energy’s reigning World Champion seals 2nd place in Qatar & Colin Edwards takes impressive fourth for Monster Energy Yamaha Tech 3
 
LONDON (April 13, 2009) The opening round of the MotoGP World Championship finally took place in Qatar this evening, after yesterday’s washout saw the event postponed by a day. The Monster Army was in fine form and celebrated a first podium in the season’s curtain-raiser which took place in excellent conditions at 9 p.m. local time and was not threatened by any more rain.
Monster Energy’s Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha #46) started the race from second on the grid, but into turn one he was taken by his compatriot Loris Capirossi. After getting involved in a scrap with his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, once he found a way past the Spaniard and Capirossi the race leader Casey Stoner was too far ahead. Despite setting impressive laps as he tried to catch the Ducati rider, there was nothing “The Doctor” could do as his tires started to slip and slide and he had to settle for 2nd place behind the Aussie.
The reigning World Champion joked, “I think it’s definitely more fun to race on a Monday than test, like we did last year!” The 30-year-old Rossi continued, “The conditions of the track today were quite different than before and this evening in warm-up we encountered a couple of small problems related to tires, so our strategy had to change slightly tonight. It’s a pity because I think last night we could have put up more of a fight. But anyway this is a good result to start the season, much better than last year.”
Monster Energy Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards (#5) also had an impressive start to the year as he took 4th position in the race. After a difficult start from sixth on the grid, the “Texas Tornado” gradually picked off the riders ahead of him one by one before he sat in 4th for the latter stages of the race, unable to close on Lorenzo ahead of him.
Disappointed to miss out on a podium, Edwards remarked, “That was a good start to the season after I made a rubbish start to the race. I thought I'd got a good start but the next thing I know is everybody flying by me! I was way down and it cost me the chance to fight for the podium really. I'm not saying I could have run with Jorge (Lorenzo) because he was riding really well, but it would have been nice to give myself a shot.”
His Monster Energy Yamaha Tech 3 colleague James Toseland (#52) did not fare so well, being edged off track by Toni Elias on lap seven, and forced to ride at the back of the field. He finished in 16th position, having felt he would have been able to make it into the top ten if he had been given a chance.
The MotoGP World Championship moves on to Twin Ring Motegi in Japan for round two of the series, with the race taking place on Sunday, April 26.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. Valentino Rossi digs ‘em. So will you. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster-backed American takes maiden win and first for country in MX2 / MX1 World Champ Philippaerts celebrates first overall podium of 2009
LONDON (April 13, 2009) The third round of the FIM Motocross World Championship saw the Monster Army welcome a new hero at the new Herfazen circuit just outside Istanbul for the Grand Prix of Turkey. Monster Energy supported Utag Yamaha.com rider Zach Osborne won the MX2 class, signifying not only his first career GP success after only eight appearances in the FIM series but also the first for an American rider in the category. In fact his third and first places in the two motos delivered a first GP win for the USA this century!
Turkey represented the third race in as many weeks for the teams and riders of the MX1 and MX2 series and the second leg of their trip towards the east with the GP of Bulgaria occurring seven days previously.
Osborne tussled with Honda’s Marvin Musquin and another Monster Energy rider in Kawasaki Bud Racing’s Gautier Paulin (the latter took the chequered flag in the first moto) in cold conditions, but his dominance was demonstrated by the fact that he was fastest in both practice sessions, took pole position and secured one of the moto wins in a fairly dominant display. Paulin’s tilt for the win was ruined by a bad getaway in the second MX2 outing, but the Monster Energy-powered Frenchman was able to take third on the podium – his third in a row – and keep control of the championship points table.
“I am really happy with the way things went all weekend and I am so pumped with this result,” Osborne said after giving his British team their first win in three years. “No one had ridden this track, so we were all on a level field and I enjoyed it. I made a few mistakes in the second moto, but nobody is perfect and I got the job done! My goal was to get on the podium in the first few rounds and this was a little bit better than we expected. I have to say a big thank you to the team for all their hard work.”
“I tried to pass as many riders as I could but that was difficult; as soon as they saw the red plate, some riders went crazy and tried to push me on the ground,” said Paulin on his adventurous second outing. “Osborne is the fourth rider who has won a heat this season, the championship will be open and I will go on Thursday to Belgium to prepare for Valkenswaard. Our goal will be the same, we want to keep the red plate.”
In the MX1 class, Monster Energy’s Bulgaria Grand Prix winner Josh Coppins had a tough time with the track and could only collect 7th overall. “Traction was a big problem and I couldn’t get a rhythm going; I was using double the energy but going half the speed. It was a frustrating day,” he said. However Yamaha Monster Energy MX team-mate and reigning world champion David Philippaerts was able to celebrate his first pick of silverware this season with 3rd place. The Italian rode to fourth in Moto1 but engaged in an entertaining scrap with friend and eventual Istanbul winner Tony Cairoli to take 2nd in Moto2. Yamaha is yet to be defeated in the MX1 series this term.
“I am happy to take my first podium here because the track was very difficult for me,” said the 25 year old Philippaerts. “I feel like every race is getting better. If I can take a top five finish in each GP then I know I will be in the fight for the title. I tried to escape from Antonio in the second moto but he was really fast and today did very well. As everyone knows Italy has had some bad news recently with the earthquake and I wanted people back home to know they were in our thoughts and hearts.”
The paddock now has a free weekend before reforming at the Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands, for round four of 15 in a fortnight.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Top Monster/Team Green racers Dean Wilson, Blake Baggett, Zach Bell and Adam Cianciarulo are joined by Monster-backed Christian Craig (Yamaha)  
CORONA, Calif., (April 13, 2009) – The 19th annual World Mini Grand Prix – one of the nation’s major amateur MX nationals – opens today in Las Vegas, with a legion of Monster Energy-backed racers ready to bring home some hardware – much like they did a few weeks ago at the season-opening amateur MX nationals in Oak Hill and Lake Whitney, Texas.
Leading the charge under the motocross-friendly Monster M-claw banner into Vegas will be Monster Energy/Kawasaki/Team Green riders Dean Wilson, Tyler Sjoberg, Blake Baggett, Zach Bell, Adam Cianciarulo, Jacob Hayes, Blake Green, Lowell Spangler, Malcolm Stewart and Justin Bogle. Also favored to put up some great numbers – as he did in Texas – is Christian Craig (Yamaha), along with Max Anstie (KTM).
Last year at the Vegas Mini GPs the top racer for Monster Energy was Cianciarulo. The up-and-coming Sunshine State motocross star, enjoying the same Kawasaki amateur lineage as fellow Floridian and Monster Energy-backed MX great Ricky Carmichael, walked away with a couple more major amateur national titles in winning both the Vegas GP’s 85cc Thru-11 Stock and Mod classes.
“The Vegas Mini GPs have a lot of good guys from out west that we sometimes don’t get to see race in Texas and other races over here on this side of the United States,” said Cianciarulo. “You definitely have some great battles going on in all the classes, which is fun.”
Also running well for Monster Energy last year at the Mini GPs was Wilson who won the 450 Non Pro class and 450 Stock Intermediate class. Look for Wilson and Craig to connect in some great battles this week.
For more information on the World Mini Grand Prix, link to: www.nmamx.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MX, SX, supermoto, road racing, rally, insane distance jumping, MotoGP, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Our amateur MX rippers dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Washout in Qatar Grand Prix means Monday (today) racing for MotoGP / Shortened 125cc race sees Bradley Smith take 5th in opener
LONDON (April 13, 2009) The opening round of the MotoGP World Championship should have been taking place this past Sunday night, but due to an incredible downpour at the desert track of Qatar, racing under the floodlights had to be postponed until this this evening.
Monster Energy’s Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha #46) will line up in second position on the grid at the race which will take place at 9 p.m. local time in the Persian Gulf state. He had already taken up his position on the front row, only for a massive freak storm hit the region to soak the track and force the cancellation of the race. After much deliberating behind the scenes by officials, it was agreed that the race should be run for the fans’ sake, and the MotoGP crew will get away once more on Monday, barring any more unforeseen circumstances.
Rossi, the reigning World Champion, commented: “This is a real disappointment because we were fired up to race and it was so close to the start! After the rain stopped the 125 race we thought we had escaped because the track then dried but then the rain came down even harder just in time for MotoGP. It’s so unlucky because you don’t expect this in the desert. After six months without racing and after two days of practice and so much work by everyone it’s very frustrating and this is why it was important to take the decision to race tomorrow. It will be strange because I don’t think there’s ever been a Monday race!”
Rossi added that the track would need a little cleaning after the rainstorm, commenting, “Maybe we should all have a race with the hire (rental) cars in the morning!”
Monster Energy Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards (#5) and James Toseland (#52) will start the race from sixth and 13th places on the grid, respectively, with the “Texas Tornado” Edwards admitting riding in the rain would have been nearly impossible.
“If we went out in these conditions, the track surface is like a mirror because of the lights,” said the American. “I suggest we all go and get a beer, and then come back here tomorrow! I suggested that we come again in September when we were supposed to have the Hungarian GP, but I guess we’re racing tomorrow now.”
The 125cc race was able to get away before the real deluge began, but due a short shower, the race was cut short after just four laps. Monster Energy’s Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar Aprilia #38), who was starting from second on the grid as one of the title favorites, had made his way back to the front after he was bumped wide in the first corner. When the red flags came out the 18-year-old from Oxfordshire was up to fifth, but as only half-points were awarded, not too much ground was lost to the eventual race winner Andrea Iannone.
As Smith took home 5.5 points, his compatriot and fellow Monster Energy rider, Danny Webb (DeGraaf Aprilia #99), managed to recover from a difficult grid position to scramble a ninth place and 3.5 points.
The 125 boys fly straight on to Japan, whilst the MotoGP riders need a good night’s rest before doing it all again on Monday.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. Valentino Rossi digs ‘em. So will you. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Newly-signed Monster cyclist Jared Graves wins mt. biking’s version of BMX while Sabrina Jonnier’s 3rd in women’s elite DH; Sam Hill’s 4th in men’s elite DH 
Photos courtesy of: Fraser Britton
CORONA, Calif., (April 13, 2009) – Monster Energy’s Jared Graves (Yeti), just signed to the Monster Army prior to the start of the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup championships, has won the opening 4x round competition in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, mountain biking’s high-speed downhill version of BMX racing.
In addition, Monster Energy-backed Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis) made the podium (3rd) in the women’s elite division of the premier downhill (DH) event on Sunday, with her Monster-backed counterpart, Sam Hill (Specialized) placing 4th in the men’s elite DH race at Pietermaritzburg to hometown racer and rival Greg Minnaar (1st). And Graves had another excellent race in taking 8th in men’s elite DH.
Graves, who considers himself “a bit of an energy drink fiend,” is pumped to be on board with the Monster Army, adding: I’m a big fan of Monster, always have been.” Training his brains out for the World Cup opener – much in the same way he had for the Beijing Olympics BMX event last summer – Graves was ready for the opening 4x round…and it showed.
“All the sports scientists really showed me how to get the most out of myself,” said Graves, regarding his training regiment. “I’ve been riding my bike a lot more and just trying to cover all of my bases. I was trying to put myself into the best situation possible.”
Graves, who now holds the UCI World Cup leader’s jersey after topping defending UCI WC 4x champ – Spain’s Rafael Alvarez – in the finals, said that it wasn’t a big deal transitioning from his BMX bike to his mt. bike – even when facing the world’s top 4x racers. “You can jump back on the mountain bike, no worries,” said Graves, who competes regularly on his BMX bike in his native Australia. “It’s not as twitchy. I’m enjoying the time off BMX.”
After winning Saturday’s 4x, Graves gated for the DH competition on Sunday and scored a top ten finish (8th). “My run went good in the technical parts. I just kept it steady up top,” he said. “It takes me a bit to get going in my run and in with the technical bits up top I didn’t try to pin it over my head. I had a few mechanical issues that may have cost me a little bit. But is was awesome to get on my downhill bike again – I’m having heaps of fun.”
Four spots in front of Graves, in 4th place in the men’s elite DH, was Monster Energy’s Hill. The former overall World Cup DH champ (’07), Hill was happy to get the South African round out of the way early in the season. “This is probably the worst track for me that we are going to race out of eight rounds,” he said. “I’ve pretty much always been off the back against the top guys in the pedally tracks like this, so to finish 4th is a really good result for me here.”
Citing the fact that he (Hill) beat a number of guys that usually top him on the pedal-heavy tracks, Hill sees his South African UCI World Cup opener as a solid launch for the rest of the season. “I’m going to take it race by race and try to do my best and hopefully it will pay off,” said Hill. “I played around with a few different things with my training. I probably rode more downhill this year than I have, testing the new bikes. I have been having a lot of fun on that and it’s been going good.”
For Jonnier the 3rd place podium finish was bittersweet as she was focused on winning her battle with Great Britain’s Tracy Moseley (1st).
“My run didn’t go good,” said Jonnier. “The top was clean, but the pedaling – I tried really hard but just couldn’t pedal. My legs weren’t working today. I need home right now.”
Next up for the Monster Energy-backed Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup championship DH competitors is the French World Cup in La Bresse, May 9-10. For more information on the Monster Energy mt. bike racers competing at the UCI World Cup tour, catch a link to: http://www.nissan-ucimtbworldcup.com/
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MTB, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, NASCAR Trucks, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Our mt. bikers rock ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster’s Aussie surf is on point dominating the field of top women surfers in the 2-3’ (Hawaiian) conditions for the ASP 4-star WQS event
CORONA, Calif., (April 10, 2009) – Monster Energy-backed surfer Claire “Bevo” Bevilacqua captured the top spot in the shortboard division at the recent Tidal 9 Women’s Pipeline Pro held in Oahu, Hawaii, an Association of Professional Surfers (ASP) 4-star event on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) tour.
Bevilacqua, who with the win moves into 2nd place overall in the WQS behind Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich (2665-2600 points), made the Women’s Pipeline Pro finals through a combination of proper wave selection and flat out blazing surfing in the 2-3’ conditions.
Up against the United States’ Anastasia Ashley and Carissa Moore, along with fellow Australian Laura Enever in the finals, Bevilacqua surfed strong early and distanced herself – along with Moore – in the points. With time running out “Bevo” caught the best wave of the heat, blasted into the barrel and, more importantly, back out – then slashed a turn off the top of the wave just as it closed out. The day’s top score would go to Bevilacqua, along with 1,000 WQS points and $3,500 in prize money.
“We all had a great time surfing for a wonderful cause,” said Bevilacqua of the contest that was sponsored by Culturalization, a North Shore Community outreach program that introduces girls and young women to Girl Scouts. “I was stoked to win and thank Monster for their continued support. I’ve put my time in here staying at the Volcom house and logged many hours here at the pipe.”
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it surfing, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Claire Bevilacqua digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster’s Aussie surf great is on point in the shortboard division, dominating the field of top women surfers in the 2-3’ conditions for the ASP 4-star WQS event
CORONA, Calif., (April 10, 2009) – Monster Energy-backed surfer Claire “Bevo” Bevilacqua captured the top spot in the shortboard division at the recent Tidal 9 Women’s Pipeline Pro held in Oahu, Hawaii, an Association of Professional Surfers (ASP) 4-star event on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) tour.
Bevilacqua, who with the win moves into 2nd place overall in the WQS behind Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich (2665-2600 points), made the Women’s Pipeline Pro finals through a combination of proper wave selection and flat out blazing surfing in the 2-3’ conditions.
Up against the United States’ Anastasia Ashley and Carissa Moore, along with fellow Australian Laura Enever in the finals, Bevilacqua surfed strong early and distanced herself – along with Moore – in the points. With time running out “Bevo” caught the best wave of the heat, blasted into the barrel and, more importantly, back out – then slashed a turn off the top of the wave just as it closed out. The day’s top score would go to Bevilacqua, along with 1,000 WQS points and $3,500 in prize money.
“We all had a great time surfing for a wonderful cause,” said Bevilacqua of the contest that was sponsored by Culturalization, a North Shore Community outreach program that introduces girls and young women to Girl Scouts. “I was stoked to win and thank Monster for their continued support.”
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it surfing, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Claire Bevilacqua digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Featured On “The Daily Habit” Friday, April 10, 2009
Airing Friday, April 10, at 9:00 pm Eastern Time (6:00 pm Pacific Time) and telecast three additional times Liquid Force’s Shane Bonifay and musical guest Less Than Jake will appear on “The Daily Habit.”
What happens when you combine telegenic charisma and sheer, unadulterated talent? You get Floridian pro wakeboarder and Pointless Posse member Shane Bonifay on the set! Plus, Gainesville rockers Less Than Jake perform on the Snickers Sound Stage with songs that will get you off the couch. And, pro surfer Alex Gray and Pat Parnell go on a wakesurfing adventure in Long Beach, California.
Shane Bonifay’s sponsors include: Liquid Force, MasterCraft, Jet Pilot, Spy Optic, Pointless Productions, and Monster Energy Drink.
Shane Bonifay
"The Daily Habit" is FUEL TV’s first original daily series, telecast weeknights at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm PT) while re-airing later in the evening at 12:00am ET (9:00pm PT), and the following weekday at 2:30pm ET (11:30am PT) and 5:30pm ET (2:30 pm PT). “The Daily Habit” encompasses the world of the action sports enthusiast, mixing the best in pop culture with today’s top action sports personalities, cutting-edge music, product reviews, and comedy.
About FUEL TV
FUEL TV is the action sports lifestyle network for skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle-motocross, and wakeboarding. A unit of Fox Cable Networks, FUEL TV was launched July 1, 2003 and is seen in 26-million U.S. homes. To subscribe to FUEL TV, call 877-4-FUEL-TV. For program times and other information, visit www.fuel.tv .
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Monster/PC/Kawi’s Pourcel, ESX title already clinched, wins the last round before the series heads west; teammate Pourcel’s 3rd and Monster’s Hill is 4th in SX class 
CORONA, Calif., (April 6, 2009) – Monster Energy’s Christophe Pourcel (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki), having already wrapped up the ’09 ESX title, put an exclamation point on his first American supercross championship by winning the final ESX round in Jacksonville, round 14 of 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.
“I’ve got the championship already, but to win (Jacksonville) would be awesome,” said Pourcel prior to Saturday’s competition in front of 35,000-plus fans at Municipal Stadium.
Heat one in the SX Lites class looked to be all Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Stroupe – at least in the opening stages. Stroupe got out in 2nd place behind Will Hahn, then charged past Hahn through a double/double section to take the lead on lap two. Pushing hard – and maybe harder than he needed to – Stroupe tucked the front end of his KX250F into the dirt off a jump heading into a corner and was thrown over the bars. Uninjured, Stroupe got back up and got going again, but had gone from 1st to 12th in the quick-hitting six lap race.
“Yeah, at that point I just wanted to get back and catch a transfer spot,” said Stroupe, who fought back to the ninth and final transfer spot.
In the second Lites heat race Pourcel got past Matt Lemoine (who’d pulled the holeshot) and into the early lead. But a rare mistake would put Pourcel back a number of spots when he bobbled in a corner and stalled his bike. Able to re-fire in descent time, Pourcel still lost a bunch of spots with all the riders grouped together near the start of the race charging past him. The Frenchman made it back easily into the transfer positions, running from 10th to 6th by the end of the second heat.
In the main neither Pourcel, who was the fastest rider in qualifying practice (54.224), and Stroupe (2nd fastest qualifier at 54.952) had great gate picks. Pourcel would move up first, completing a spectacular pass on lap two in getting past Vince Friese and Steve Clark to take over 2nd place. Soon after Stroupe, who’d started outside the top ten, moved up to 8th place with a pass over previous ESX Lites round winner Blake Wharton.
With seven laps to go in the contest Pourcel set up and passed race leader Hahn with a nice move on the corner after the finish line jump, forcing Hahn wide and taking over a lead he’d never relinquish.
“He (Pourcel) lets the race come to him, isn’t very flashy, just very disciplined,” said Monster Energy athlete Ricky Carmichael on Pourcel. Note: Carmichael joined SPEED SX announcers Ralph Shaheen and Jeff Emig in the booth for the Jacksonville contest. “He got what he wanted (SX Lites championship) and probably wants the outdoor championship as well.”
As Pourcel celebrated over the finish line jump, Stroupe was pulling out all the stops to close on Nico Izzi for the third and final podium spot. Stroupe would catch a break in one of the final sections when Izzi dove bomb his bike into the face of triple landing, though his bouncing bike almost cleaned out Stroupe as well – who was coming down from 30-feet to land the jump properly.
“I’ve felt good since last weekend and the track was pretty technical, hard to pass and I was having to back off,” said Stroupe. “A couple guys fell late and I was able to move up. Hat’s off to Izzi. I hope he’s all right.”
Monster Energy athletes represented pretty well in the SX main class with Josh Hill (Yamaha) leading the charge in 4th place.
“I’m not going to be happy if I’m not in the top five at the last four races this season,” said a fired-up Hill prior to Jacksonville’s contest.
Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki’s Paul Carpenter made it to the SX main event out of the first heat race (8th), though Hill crashed early and was forced to the LCQ. In the second heat race Monster’s Jason Lawrence (Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing) was on fire, finishing 2nd to eventual race winner James Stewart. Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Billy Laninovich was able to pick up the last transfer spot (9th) to make the SX main.
Hill would end up making the best of the LCQ and some added views of the technical Jacksonville track, winning that contest by just under three seconds ahead of Thomas Hahn. Unfortunately, Lawrence’s Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing teammate, Nick Wey, placed 3rd in the LCQ and missed out making the SX main by one spot.
In the main Hill was again plagued by bad luck early in the contest, starting well outside the top ten and having to charge through a field of the best supercross racers in the world in order to move up. He’d eventually have better luck than Lawrence, who’d have a run-in with Brock Hepler battling for 4th place on the second lap. Another collision would bend Lawrence’s front brake rotor – which would end his evening.
Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Laninovich also got out slowly at the start, but dug in and worked hard to make it back into the top ten – racing on the lead lap through much of the contest in finishing 10th. Hill was on fire, though, and put up the fifth-fastest lap time in the main in charging all the way to 4th place.
Monster Energy Supercross takes a two week break here for the Easter holiday before returning to action April 18 in Seattle for round 15 of the series.
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. The Monster Energy guys running the Monster Energy Supercross series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Briton collects first-ever win in Valencia, with Ant West taking second / Leon Haslam takes pair of fifth places in WSB 
LONDON, UK, (April 5th, 2009) It was a weekend to shout about for the Monster Energy riders at the third round of the World Superbike Championship in Valencia, Spain, on Sunday. Around 65,000 spectators made their way to the amphitheatre-style track on the Spanish East coast and the Monster Energy boys put on a great showing for the gathered masses.
In the World Supersport class, Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha, #35) took his first ever victory at world level, in just his sixth appearance in the 600cc class. It had been a touch and go battle with fellow Monster Energy rider Anthony West (Stiggy Racing Honda, #13), with the Briton taking the lead going into the final lap of the race. With West losing a few lengths as he took a quick look behind, Crutchlow powered to the line to take victory by just 0.171 seconds as he passed the chequered flag.
The day was capped off perfectly for Crutchlow as he could also celebrate setting the fastest lap of the race (1’36.865) and taking over the lead in the World Supersport Championship standings. The Coventry-born rider has 54 points to his name, and sits joint-top with Kenan Sofuoglu, whilst West is joint-third in the rankings on 43.
Crutchlow beamed, “I knew we were strongest in turn one and on the back straight, but West was a bit stronger in our weaker areas. We’ve been chasing that perfect set-up all weekend and just found it on race-day. The conditions were a bit dodgy at the start, but we got through it and got on the pace and to win here is really good for me.”
And West was kicking himself after missing out on the win, but was philosophical afterwards, "I came here to win this race and am a bit disappointed that I got beaten in the last lap after leading for most of the race, but at least it’s a better result then at the last race in Qatar. I was so close today and now I just want to win. I like the track in Assen and am eager to take victory there."
In the World Superbike events, Monster Energy’s Leon Haslam (Stiggy Racing Honda, #91) was the fastest Honda on the day taking a pair of fifth place finishes. Having started from down in tenth position on the grid it was a gritty fightback from the Derbyshire racer, especially in the second race when by his own admission he had a bit of a shocker off the line.
“My pace was quick enough to run with the front group if I had the start that I wanted, but I had to pass all the other Hondas and by the time I caught Neukirchner and passed him for fifth the leading group was already gone,” commented the Englishman. “I am happy with the top five results though today, every time we go out the bike is getting stronger and I’m looking forward to getting out there again at Assen.”
Haslam sits an impressive fifth place in the overall standings on 58 points after this weekend’s races, which were both won by the championship leader, Ducati’s Nori Haga.
John Hopkins (Stiggy Racing Honda, #121), had a very solid start to his SBK career with eleventh and twelfth in the two Valencia races. The Anglo-American Hopkins, who made the move from MotoGP this year, was making his debut in the championship and surprised many with his lightning quick start in race one, where he was up to sixth spot from sixteenth on the grid.
Hopkins will undoubtedly only improve after getting to grips with the Honda CBR 1000RR for the first time at tests last Monday, and admitted, “It definitely was a challenging first round after not riding a bike and dragging a knee since November and then moving straight in and doing two races on one day was a great experience. This weekend was supposed to be a learning curve and I proved that I can do the lap times.”
World Superbike’s Monster Army will head on to the legendary Assen circuit in the Netherlands for the next round of the championship, over the weekend of April 24th - 26th.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team celebrate win for New Zealander in Bulgaria / Steven Frossard takes victory for Monster Energy in second MX2 moto 
LONDON, UK, (April 5th, 2009) - The Monster Army continued to march through the FIM Motocross World Championship with the second round of 15 in the 2009 series taking place under blue skies and bright sunshine at the impressive Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria. Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s Josh Coppins scaled the heights of the MX1 podium for the first time since the GP of Germany in June 2008 and gave the distinctive green claw its first appearance on the top step this season.
The New Zealander – one of the most experienced and popular riders currently operating on the Grand Prix scene – completed two consistent and steady races in what was a set of tense and exciting encounters across the fast Bulgarian hard-pack. 28,000 spectators (weekend figure) watched the 31-year-old capture second positions on both occasions; narrowly missing the win in Moto1 by less than two seconds from Ken De Dycker and then resisting the attention of team-mate and world champion David Philippaerts (who was fourth overall on the works Yamaha) and Antonio Cairoli in Moto2.
The feat gave the Monster Energy-backed Yamaha team its second successive victory in Bulgaria after Philippaerts’ win 12 months ago. “This is still sinking in but to be honest I thought I had it in me. I have been riding well at both GPs, in the practices and the races,” said Coppins. “I am a bit relieved I guess, because there hasn’t been a whole lot of talk about me coming into this season and I believed in myself and I always like to prove people wrong! I broke away at the start of the second race but I could not maintain it but this track tends to see people hitting different speeds. I am happy for myself, the team and the people that believed in me. The Yamaha was great today and I know we have more to come from it with some upgrades soon. The team have worked hard to give me what I asked for over the winter and it shows.”
Kawasaki Bud Racing’s David Vuillemin was ninth overall and had to recover from two mediocre starts. The Frenchman and veteran AMA campaigner launched the second phase of his Grand Prix career in true-fashion, after the debacle of the Faenza mud bath last weekend.
It was a hard meeting for the works CAS Honda team as Billy Mackenzie only finished one moto (ninth) after a water pump problem in the opening sprint while Cedric Melotte suffered a compression to his back and didn’t complete more than several laps all day. “I kind of struggled all weekend really,” commented Mackenzie. “I have never liked this track or had good results here. I had a problem with my starts and we also had a mishap with the bike. After running quite high in the first moto I started to lose power and I wasn’t sure whether to carry on or not but this is quite a dangerous track with some huge jumps so I decided not to risk a big crash. The team found and solved the problem for the second moto and it was a real battle out there - everyone was swapping bumps and lines. I was missing a few ruts and making some mistakes but eventually I found my rhythm although it wasn’t really fast enough. My wrist and my tendonitis is a bit better and so is my rib but I am missing some good, hard motos, especially in these warm conditions so that’s what we will be working on after the trip to Turkey next week.”
The MX2 class saw several of the talented young crop of French riders burst to the fore. The motos were won by Honda’s Marvin Musquin (for the first time) and CLS Kawasaki’s Steven Frossard, with Musquin celebrating his and Honda’s first success in the category. Monster Energy’s Frossard should perhaps have had his countryman’s place on the rostrum as he had been holding second spot with authority in the first race but crashed and retired thanks to a broken gearbox.
Runner-up was Italian GP winner and mud-conqueror Gautier Paulin (Kawasaki Bud Racing) with two second positions on the KX250F. The French teenager proved his speed in the dry – as much as his skill through the slime – and holds onto the red plate as series leader for the second event in a row.
Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Racing saw their riders Nico Aubin and Davide Guarneri finish fourth and fifth. Italian Guarneri was the only non-Frenchman in the top five. Aubin suffered with a stomach virus while Guarneri is still finding his condition and speed to run with the leaders after a knee ligament operation in the winter.
In the world championship standings Paulin holds a four-point lead over Musquin and 19 from Guarneri. In MX1 Coppins is second and just a single point away from De Dycker. Philippaerts is the next Monster Army rep in sixth.
Round three will take place next weekend, over Easter. For the first time ever a Grand Prix event will head to Turkey and the unique city of Istanbul.
About Monster Energy
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, Superbikes, supermoto, skis, boards, snowmobiles, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, off-road, trial, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, surf, snow, BMX - name it - the athletes are rockin' Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types - Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Ripper, available in the UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain. On the 'Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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The former SuperSport champ returns to action in fine fashion at Road Atlanta, teammate Leandro Mercado wins his first-ever AMA SuperSport class contest
CORONA, Calif., (April 6, 2009) – Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Roger Lee Hayden returned in fine form to SportBike class racing this past weekend at Road Atlanta, placing 2nd in the first of two contests held in Braselton, Ga. (April 3-5), round three of the 2009 AMA Pro Racing series.
And in the second race (on Sunday), Hayden had the day’s fastest lap time (1:29.436) while running in 2nd place midway through the contest – only to crash in a relatively slow speed section of the course (turn seven), sliding out on a low-side get off and ending his day. Note: The race would be Hayden’s first of the year as he’s just returned to action from being injured.
Sophomore AMA racer Leandro Mercado, contesting his first SuperSport event, won the race on his 600cc Kawasaki ZX-6R – his first AMA SuperSport win of his career! “I really like the bike,” said Mercado in a Kawasaki press release. “It has a lot of power and handles really well. I am excited for the rest of the (SuperSport) series.”
Monster Energy’s AMA SportBike series points leader heading into the Road Atlanta rounds, Jamie Hacking (Attack Kawasaki), scored a couple of 5th place finishes, but ended up handing the points lead for the time being over to Danny Eslick, 88-85. Hacking was only a couple seconds back of the top spot in the abbreviated (red flag) first race and six seconds back in the full 20-lap second race.
Monster Energy’s Chaz Davies (Aprilia) continues to shine on the AMA SportBike circuit, recording a 5th/6th place weekend. Davies sits solidly in 6th place overall in the SportBike class standings, just nine points back of a top four spot.
The AMA Pro Road Racing circuit takes about a month break here before returning to action for the May 1-3 event at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., round four of the series. For more information on the series check out www.amaproracing.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it road racing, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Hacking, Mercado, Hayden and Davies dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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The YZ250F-mounted Thomas moves into 3rd place in the overall Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series’ XC2 points chase after four rounds of racing 
CORONA, Calif., (April 6 2009) – It was Monster Energy/Fred Andrews Racing/Yamaha’s Jason Thomas’ turn to stand on the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series (GNCC) podium, racing to a 3rd place XC2 class finish at round four of the popular off road motorcycle racing series held in Union, S.C., this past weekend.
With the effort Thomas is now in 3rd place overall in the XC2 class.
“I had a good start and made a few mistakes and had to come from the middle of the pack,” said Thomas. “I wanted to be on the podium so bad and pushed all the way to then end – and here I am.”
With perfect weather for racing motorcycles through the woods and fields of Union, Monster Energy/Fred Andrews Racing/Yamaha’s Josh Weisenfels opened the XC2 main event by pulling a monster holeshot – with Thomas soon in tow in 5th place – as the two headed into the woods. By the end of the first lap Weisenfels had made a couple mistakes and was back in 7th place, while Thomas had charged up to 4th.
At the gas stop Thomas held strong in 4th place, and was well within striking distance of 2nd and 3rd place riders. Pushing hard to make it up to his teammate, Weisenfels ended up crashing himself out of the race.
When the white flag flew signifying one lap to go, Thomas was 30 seconds out of 3rd place – and getting caught from behind on a slow section of tight trail. Thomas buckled down and pushed his YZ to its limit – making up some 20 seconds and closing the gap to about ten seconds. Then, with less than a mile to the finish, Thomas executed a pass – and made it stick – for the third and final podium spot.
Next up for the Monster Energy/Fred Andrews Racing/Yamaha GNCC racers is round five of the 13-round series in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. (April 18-19).
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it GNCC, WORCS, Hare & Hound, EnduroCross, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Fred Andrews’ boyz digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster’s World Cup mt. bike racers Sam Hill and Sabrina Jonnier look to regain WC DH titles they’ve once owned, while Jared Graves is one of the favorites in 4x
Photo: Monster Energy’s Brendan Fairclough (left) and Sam Hill, courtesy of Fraser Britton
CORONA, Calif., (April 7, 2009) – Monster Energy’s global representatives on the Nissan UCI World Cup mountain bike tour are in South Africa for the World Cup opener this weekend (April 10-12) in Pietermaritzburg. Leading the Monster Army in hopes of regaining their UCI World Cup downhill champion status are Sam Hill, the 2007 men’s elite WC DH champ, and Sabrina Jonnier, a three time women’s elite WC DH champion.
Hill, running the new Specialized Demo 8 bike, is one of the odds-on favorites to capture the men’s elite title this season. Last year the Australian great held the series’ overall points lead for the longest out of any rider, but sketched at the second-to-last round on his home turf in Canberra (Australia) and lost out to Greg Minnaar.
“I’m pretty excited the World Cup is starting again and we've got all our new bikes,” said Hill. “It’s gonna be good to do some runs with Brendan again and see how we size up compared to all the others on Sunday. Hopefully we come out good.”
Monster Energy’s Jonnier, who rides for Maxxis, has been – by far – one of the most successful women downhill racers in the history of UCI World Cup competition. Along with her three WC DH titles (2003, ’05 & ’07) the France native has also been the series’ runner-up four times (2002, ’04, ’06 and ’08).
“I’m entering the World Cup season healthy and feeling good about things,” said Jonnier. “It’ll be interesting to see who’s fast at the South African opener, check out the new talent and how they do against the racers that have traditionally gone fast. My plan is to just keep the mental errors to a minimum and ride like I know how.”
Joining Hill and Jonnier in the DH starting gate will be Hill’s Monster Energy teammate on the Specialized bikes, Brendan Fairclough – the 2006 Junior World Cup champion. A UK native, Fairclough is looking at a breakout year as he begins his third year racing the men’s elite class on the World Cup DH circuit.
“I've taken a bit of a different approach in the off season, so I’m interested to see how it turns out with the racing,” said Fairclough. “Like Sam said, I'm just keen to get out there and see how we perform against those other boys. I'm excited about it. I'm stoked on the look of the new bikes, kit and how well they ride. I'm just excited to get going again, really.”
The Pietermaritzburg downhill is reported to be quite technical on the upper third portion of the 2.8km course, dropping quickly (in elevation) during the initial phase before mellowing out on what race officials call the “mildly sloping” middle section – featuring jumps and tight turns. The course then cascades into the third and final section, which works in the last 500 meters of the 4x course into the finish area, hosting a sizable crowd of UCI World Cup race fans.
The final Monster Energy-backed athlete competing on in Pietermaritzburg will be newly-signed Jared Graves. The DH and 4x specialist from Australia should make an immediate impact on the standings with Monster as he’s well-versed in numerous forms of cycle racing at top levels, including representing Australia in the Beijing Olympics in BMX.
For more information on the Monster Energy mt. bike racers competing at the UCI World Cup opener in Pietermaritzburg, catch a link to: http://www.nissan-ucimtbworldcup.com/
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MTB, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, NASCAR Trucks, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Our mt. bikers rock ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Block, running an ’07 Open Class Subaru Impreza WRX STI with co-driver Alex Gelsomino, topped 2nd place by nearly three minutes in winning 18 of 23 stages 
CORONA, Calif., (April 9, 2009) – Monster Energy rally racer Ken Block successfully defended his Rally New York USA title this past weekend as he and co-drive Alex Gelsomino dominated the rest of the field, winning an impressive 18 of the 23 total stages and putting up a nearly three-minute gap on the next closest competitors.
“This was only my second tarmac (pavement) event and I think my experience here last year really helped,” said Block in a press release from the Subaru/Vermont SportsCar team. “We drove a clean and consistent rally and our Subaru was perfect as usual, so we were able to push when we wanted to. It all paid off with a great win.”
Block had his Monster Energy M-claw logoed ’07 Subaru Impreza WRX STI on rails through the 100 miles of rain-soaked, technical, high-speed asphalt roads in the southern Catskill Mountains, roughly 90 miles north of New York City. Noteworthy was the fact that Block was running the older Open Class Rally America Championship car because his ’09 spec Subaru STI is on its way to the upcoming Olympus Rally in Washington, round three of the 2009 Rally American Championships. Block currently sits 3rd place in Rally America’s premier class after having won round two of the series in Missouri.
Note: The Rally New York USA event is not part of the Rally America series.
Next up for Monster Energy’s Block and the Subaru Rally Team USA is the Olympus Rally, April 18-19, in Olympia, Wash. Block is the defending champ of the Olympus Rally, having won 12 of the 16 stages last year on an alternate course (due to storm damage) featuring high speed, wide-open gravel roads in and around Pomeroy, Wash., 270 miles east of Seattle.
Monster Army members wishing to follow Block’s rally efforts further can check out the latest Subaru Rally Team USA news and updates on Twitter: www.twitter.com/srtusa
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it rally, SX, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Ken Block digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Hey all! Just wanted to give a quick hello to the Monster Army out there. What a crazy year it has been! Burandt's Back Country Adventure has gone off the hook. I have ridden with people wanting to see what back country riding is all about just about everyday this season. All though riding everyday sounds awesome, I will tell you this...it is a lot of work and man does it wear you out! But I wouldn't trade it for anything. With 5 weeks left for our season I have some pretty cool thing coming up. On the last week of April I will be riding with a family with a child who contacted the Make A Wish foundation and his wish was to come to Colorado and ride snowmobiles with me! How cool is that! Also, Bobby Unser the Indy car legend will be flying into little ole Kremmling to go snowmobiling for a couple days. Maybe I can trade him a snowmobile ride for the controls of his plane...it's worth a shot! LOL If it would ever quit snowing I could get that new Monster Energy Kawasaki 450 F dirt bike out. I'm so excited for summer! Until next time, slam a Hitman for me!
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[Squaw Valley USA] April 7, 2009- Tahoe’s longest season, the Swimming Lagoon & Spa at High Camp, superb ski conditions, and the best party scene on the Lake are all reasons why skiers and riders flock to Squaw Valley in the spring. A tribute to springtime goodness, Squaw Valley USA is hosting Peaks & Lagoons, a weekend-long celebration taking place April 11-12, 2009. Live music at the pool, the Hatchett Brothers Metal Bash, Toyota Sick & Twisted Slopestyle and Jibbing-for-Jacksons rail contest are all part of Peaks & Lagoons Weekend, April 11-12 at Squaw Valley USA.
On Saturday, April 11, Monster Energy and Squaw Valley USA are hosting the wildly popular Jibbing-for-Jacksons rail contest, followed by a DJ Pool Party. Jibbing-for-Jacksons is open to 50 skiers and 50 snowboarders, male and female (100 total competitors). This Best Tricks Jam Session contest has no losers, but can have many, many winners. Each time a judge sees a skier or rider stomp a trick worthy of a “Jackson,” Monster officials hand the competitor a $20 bill. Registration is from 9 to 11 am, outside the side exit of the top terminal of the Funitel. Practice starts at 11:30 am and the competition begins shortly after. Entry fee for all riders is $20 (it’s about the Jacksons) and helmets are mandatory. Athletes under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian present at registration to sign a liability release form.
On Saturday afternoon the action moves to High Camp, el. 8200,’ for the Monster Energy DJ Pool Party featuring DJ Max, beginning at 1 pm at the Lagoon and Spa. Spring breakers can shred the mountain in the morning and spend the afternoon poolside, sipping on a cold one and dancing to fresh beats until 4 pm.
The night of Saturday, April 11, Standard Films and Squaw present Hatchett Brothers’ 80’s Metal Bash featuring FORTRESS at the Olympic Village Lodge. Doors open at 8 pm and the show starts at 9 pm. Fronting FORTRESS is Jeff Martin from Racer X and Whitfield Crane from Ugly Kid Joe. Together their vocal talents can shatter a beer mug. FORTRESS members Mike and Dave Hatchett (guitar) will also be joined by special guests Scott Travis from Judas Priest and Klaus Eichstadt from Ugly Kid Joe. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door, and are on sale now at Porter’s in Tahoe City and Truckee (cash only). Partygoers must be 21 or older and are strongly encouraged to "dress metal."
Toyota’s Sick & Twisted Freestyle Tour is amping up Peaks & Lagoons with a slopestyle competition on Sunday, April 12 in the Monster Park at Riviera. Snowbomb will crown the best men and women in ski and snowboard in pro and amateur categories. With cash prizes for pros and great flow from the sponsors for ams, the best of the best in local talent come out for Sick & Twisted. Registration is from 9 am to 10:30 am at Dave’s Deli. Practice is from 10:30 to 11:30 am and the competition starts at 12 pm in the Monster Park at Riviera. There is a $10 entry fee for ams and $20 for pros plus lift ticket or season pass. Helmets are required for all competitors and a parent/guardian must sign a release form for competitors who are under 18. www.snowbomb.com
Peaks & Lagoons Event Schedule (events are subject to change due to weather)
SATURDAY, APRIL 11
Jibbing for Jacksons presented by Monster Energy
9 - 11 am – Registration @ top terminal of the Funitel
11:30 am – Practice @ Monster Park at Riviera
12 pm – Competition @ Monster Park at Riviera
Peaks & Lagoons DJ Pool Party presented by Monster Energy
1-4 pm @ Lagoon & Spa at High Camp, el. 8200’
Hatchett Brothers’ 80’s Metal Bash
Doors open – 8 pm @ OVL
Show Starts – 9 pm @ OVL
Squaw Valley USA Annual Tent Sale
This amazing sale event offers with up to 70% off North Face, Patagonia, Burton and more!
Sale will be held all Easter weekend from 10 am-4 pm
Location: in front of the North Face Store at Squaw Valley.
SUNDAY, APRIL 12
20th Annual Billy Dutton Uphill Race
7 am – Registration @ Olympic Plaza
8 am – Race Starts @ the Funitel
Toyota Sick & Twisted Slopestyle presented by Snowbomb
9 – 10:30 am – Registration @ Dave’s Deli
10:30 – 11 am – Practice @ Monster Park at Riviera
12 pm – Competition starts @ Monster Park at Riviera
EASTER CELEBRATIONS
Easter Sunday Service
8 am – Service begins @ High Camp, el. 8200'
Guests attending the service can ride the Cable Car from 7-8 am and return afterward (skis and snowboards are not permitted).
On-Mountain Easter Egg Hunt
9 am- 4 pm – Easter Egg Hunt on the Mountain
Find any of the 30 magnetic & colorful eggs hidden throughout the mountain and receive a great prize! (Hint: think beginner lift areas). Prizes can be redeemed from 2 to 4 pm in the Village Events Plaza.
Get Your Photo Taken with the Easter Bunny
10 am-2 pm: Easter Bunny Photos @ the Big Chair in the Village Events Plaza
Easter Sunday Special Mountain Top Service
2 pm - @ the top Link's Chair Easter
FREE Children's Entertainment with Todd Wees' Big Ideas and Live Music
2-4 pm - @ Village Events Plaza
Easter-themed Candle Making at Waxen Moon
All-day - @ Waxen Moon
Squaw Valley USA Annual Tent Sale
This amazing sale event offers with up to 70% off North Face, Patagonia, Burton and more!
Sale will be held all Easter weekend from 10 am-4 pm
Location: in front of the North Face Store at Squaw Valley
The most up-to-date resort conditions, operation schedules, events and live mountain cams are available on www.squaw.com.
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|  In 1999, Cory Lopez was in Tahiti for the Gotcha Tahiti Pro. Surfing in Round One against Shane Powell, Lopez took off on a death or glory closeout barrel that ate him alive but also launched him into immortality. Lopez proved that a surfer could survive the worst that Teahupoo could dish out and that wave launched a thousand trips. One year later, Laird Hamilton towed into a wave even heavier than that, made it, and left the surfing world asking: "What could be heavier than that?"
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This Month's Mission Now that Winter is over, we'd like to see who ripped it up over the last couple months. Post your picture and show us! Grand Prize: Monster Army Gear and Runway Films' SEE WHAT I SEE dvd 7 Runner Ups Receive: Runway Films' SEE WHAT I SEE dvd
Last Month's Mission Winner We had awesome entries in the 'My Monster Commerical' contest. We've narrowed them down to 4 finalists...now we need your help. Head over to the Reserves area and vote for your favorite. "Who Is Monster?" Winner Congratulations to Emily Boduch for winning last month's contest "Who Is Monster?" For her winning video, she'll be hooked up with a Monster Army Athlete Prize Pack (bookbag, hat, t-shirt, and sweatshirt). To watch her video, click HERE.
Featured Solider Spotlight This month's Soldier Spotlight is D'Andre Pendergrass, a Skateboarder from Miami Lakes, FL..
Check out videos and more photos of D'Andre HERE.
Featured Monster Army Gear As One
Normal Price: $20.00
Monster Army Price: $13.00
Remember, as a Monster Army Community Member, you get a 35% discount (already applied) on all Apparel. Check out the rest of the gear in the STORE.
Featured Energy Product Who loves Assalt? Tell us HERE
Monster Army Media Player
We launched the Monster Army Media Player a few weeks ago. If you haven't posted it to your profiles yet, do so now! Get your Media Player in the Propaganada Section. Free Monthly Music Download
We also added a new feature to the site, a Free Music Download of a Monster Energy sponsored band. Each month we'll showcase one band and put one song available for free download. This month we're featuring Nations Afire. Head over to their PAGE and let us know what you think. . | | |
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 Check Me Out! Monster Energy and SVTP Video Contest 2009. Bust out those video cameras and win big with our new terrain park video contest. Click here for complete contest rules and to submit your video.
The Monster Park at Riviera has a great jumpline and unique features including the new skate/pyramid style Monster Feature - check it out!
Squaw's base depth is over 14 feet! Take advantage of the great snow at the spring skiing and riding capital and get yourSquaw College Season Pass today. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at Squaw! Click here for more info on the fun and festivities including $3 green beer and great giveaways on the mountain all day.
Call 800.403.1518 or go to squaw.com for great discounted lodging packages that will make your winter one for the photo albums.
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This Week On FUEL TV:
Monday, 4/6/2009 - FiNS – 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT
Monday, 4/6/2009 - 10th Annual TransWorld SNOWboarding Riders' Poll Awards – 8:00pm ET/PT in Meet & Brotatoes
Wednesday, 4/8/2009 - Pull – 11:30am ET/8:30am PT
Friday, 4/10/2009 - Strange Notes: Son, Get Down from There! – 8:00pm ET/PT in Skate @ 8
This Week on The Daily Habit
Rusty Long and musical guest The Bronx – Monday 4.06.09
Always searching for the next leviathan, world-renowned big wave charger and pro surfer Rusty Long drops in on The Habit. Rusty treats us with pulse-pounding stories of monster waves from the most remote regions of the world. Plus, correspondent Andie Morris gets in touch with her ”Inner-Tween” at the premiere of the new Jonas Brothers concert film in 3D. And, musical guest The Bronx tear up the Snickers Sound Stage. Rusty Long’s sponsors include: Ocean Minded, Sector 9, Smith Optics, Kaysen Surfboards, Astro Deck and XM Leashes.
Nate Adams – Tuesday 4.07.09
Navy Moto X Gold medalist and pro FMX rider Nate Adams stops by The Habit to talk about his upcoming year and the passing of his good friend Jeremy Lusk. Plus, we take a look back at Robbie Maddison’s amazing jump at the Paris Casino in Las Vegas. Also, Mike Mason tries to use some Carey Hart “name-dropping” to impress the Rock Star girls and score some freebees all across Vegas. Nate Adam’s sponsors include: DC Shoes, Dragon, One Industries, Yamaha, Monster and Target.
Dean Randazzo and musical guest Millencolin – Wednesday 4.08.09
It’s a day of firsts! Today’s guest is the first Jersey surfer to qualify for the WCT, Dean Randazzo. Plus, we’ll cover Jason Ellis’ first professional MMA fight at Ryan Scheckler’s charity event, “Down for Life – Fight for a Cause.” Also, the pop punkers known as Millencolin were our first choice to rock our Snickers Sound Stage. Dean Randazzo’s sponsors include: Ocean Minded, Electric, Lost, Sambazon, Dakine, 7th Street Surf Shop and HyperFlex.
Mike “Hucker” Clark and musical guest The Ringers – Thursday 4.09.09
He’s known for throwing down more double back-flips than Nastia Liukin, pro BMX rider Mike “Hucker” Clark is on The Habit. Plus, the fierce punk rockers known as The Ringers tear up the Snickers Sound Stage. Also, BMX pro Mike Escamilla and surf icon Andy Irons skydive onto Tavarua Island. Mike Clark’s sponsors include: DC shoes, Redline Bikes, Ogio, Skullcandy, Epic Ride Shop and Team Soil.
Shane Bonifay and musical guest Less Than Jake – Friday 4.10.09
What happens when you combine telegenic charisma and sheer, unadulterated talent? You get Floridian pro wakeboarder and Pointless Posse member Shane Bonifay on the set! Plus, Gainesville rockers Less Than Jake perform on the Snickers Sound Stage with songs that will get you off the couch. And, pro surfer Alex Gray and Pat Parnell go on a wakesurfing adventure in Long Beach, California. Shane Bonifay’s sponsors include: Liquid Force, MasterCraft, Jet Pilot, Spy Optics, Pointless Productions, and Monster Energy Drink.
This Week on The Weekly Update with Boost Mobile: We’ve got highlights from Mammoth Mountain, California and the Roxy Chicken Jam presented by Rockstar, the crowning event on the Swatch Women’s Ticket to Ride World Snowboard Tour. Plus we go one-on-one with women’s TTR champ Kelly Clark.
In other snowboard news, we’ve got coverage from the final stop on the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Killington, Vermont.
In skateboarding news, we have coverage of the Florida Bowlriders Cup, Clash at Clairmont, Oi Vert Jam, and the Made for Skate book-signing with Mike V.
In BMX news, we’ve got highlights from Heath Pinter’s St. Paddy’s Day Jam.
To watch The Weekly Update with Boost Mobile on Fox Sports Net, check your local FSN dates and show times at: http://msn.foxsports.com
On FUEL TV, tune in on Saturdays at 11:00am, 4:00pm, 7:00pm and 10:30pm ET (8:00am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm, and 7:30pm PT); Sundays at 11:00am, 2:00pm, 5:30pm, and 2:00am ET (8:00am, 11:00am, 2:30pm, 11:00pm PT), and Monday through Friday at 3:00pm, 6:00pm, 10:30pm, and 2:00am ET (12:00pm, 3:00pm, 7:30pm, and 11:00pm PT). To see if you get FUEL TV, visit www.fuel.tv .
This Week on www.fuel.tv
FUEL TV GIRL: We Heart Spicy Mariana
Model Mariana Renteria is beautiful, creative, and loves action sports—what more could you want in a girl?
http://www.fuel.tv/FUELTVGirl/blogs/view/5707?item=42538&type=Blog
Cruising With The Cast of "Street Dreams"
FUEL.TV took a ride with Rob Dyrdek, Ryan Sheckler, Terry Kennedy, Paul Rodriguez
http://www.fuel.tv/ShreddyKrueger/blogs/view/5986?item=42522&type=Blog
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Monster/PC/Kawi’s Pourcel owns the ESX Lites title so he and teammate Stroupe are racing for pride; Hill & JLaw return to lead Monster’s SX class racers 
CORONA, Calif., (April 2, 2009) – For the first time ever Jacksonville’s (Fla.) Municipal Stadium will play host to Monster Energy Supercross - before what’s expected to be another sizable crowd for round 14 of 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship (April 4th).
The eighth and final round of the Eastern Regional SX Lites (ESX) championship will be a victory lap of sorts for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel. The super fast Frenchman clinched the ESX crown last weekend in Toronto, and in doing so delivered an industry-leading 16th SX Lites title and 99th SX Lites class win to the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki racing dynasty.
“The hook up with Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki and me made for a very good team,” said Pourcel earlier this week on MonsterArmy.com. “Everybody pushed me and Kawasaki was behind me every time. I was able to come back from an injury so yeah, it’s good.”
And should all go as planned at Jacksonville, Pourcel’s teammate, Austin Stroupe, will clinch 2nd overall in the ESX points chase. Stroupe leads current 3rd place overall ESX racer Nico Izzi by the count of 128-112 with the one race remaining.
In the SX class Monster Energy’s Josh Hill (Yamaha) is coming off his biggest weekend of the year so far, finishing on the podium with series points leaders Chad Reed (2nd) and James Stewart (1st) at Toronto last week. Hill charged hard after a mid-pack start and passed a whole host of factory-backed racers en route to his first podium finish of the year.
“I’m pumped for the team and my sponsors,” said Hill on MonsterArmy.com following the Toronto contest. “We’ve all worked real hard to pull things together and we were finally able to break through with a podium this weekend. We’ll continue to work hard to try and make a couple more podiums before the year’s up and carry that momentum into the outdoor season.”
Monster Energy should again be led as well by rookie premier class racer Jason “JLaw” Lawrence. The Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing rider has two superb finishes in three races (2nd at Daytona, 5th at St. Louis), and would have likely added another top five finish – or better – had he not caught a rock to the hand at Toronto last week and took a DNS after qualifying for the main out of his heat race.
“The hand’s feeling better for sure,” said Lawrence. “It’s still sore, but I had it looked at and nothing’s jacked up too bad. So I’m looking forward to racing this weekend at Jacksonville.”
Playing into Lawrence’s favor is the fact that reports coming back from the venue during the week were that the conditions while building the track were wet and there’s a possibility for rain this Saturday. And Lawrence’s first win in the SX Lites class – and one of his most memorable – was when he helped clinch the overall WSX championship last year with a ride in the rain in San Francisco.
Lawrence’s Boost Mobile/ampm/Monster Energy/Troy Racing teammate, Nick Wey, will be another rider to watch if the track ruts up badly and/or the conditions are wet as Michigan native grew up racing in all kinds of rough weather conditions.
And Paul Carpenter (Monster Energy/Cernic’s/Kawasaki) will look to improve on his 14th place finish at Toronto when the series ramps back up at Jacksonville this weekend, as will teammate Bobby Kiniry – who’s looking to rebound after not qualifying for the last two SX class main events. For more information on Monster Energy Supercross check out www.supercrossonline.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. The Monster Energy guys running the Monster Energy Supercross series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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Monster Energy’s Attack Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking looks to protect his 1st place overall position in the AMA SportBike standings at Georgia’s Road Atlanta
CORONA, Calif., (April 2, 2009) – Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking stands alone atop the AMA SportBike leaderboard after two rounds of the AMA Pro Road Racing tour, which reconvenes this weekend for a doubleheader at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. (April 3-5).
Hacking scored a couple 2nd place finishes at Fontana’s (Calif.) Auto Club Speedway at the last AMA Pro Road Racing doubleheader and moved into 1st place in the overall SportBike standings after two rounds (three races).
“We’ve done well at Road Atlanta in the past and look forward to making a couple runs at the podium this weekend,” said Hacking, who won the SuperSport class twice at Road Atlanta (’06 & ’02), along with winning the Superbike class (’01), Formula Xtreme class (’03) and SuperStock class (’06) one time each at Road Atlanta. “We’re the first big motorsports event of the year for them and usually draw a real good crowd.”
 The top Monster Energy-backed finisher from last year’s Road Atlanta round – which was then the tenth round of the series vs. the third round this year – is Chaz Davies (Aprilia). Davies, who’s currently in 7th place overall in the ’09 SportBike points chase, placed 5th in the Formula Xtreme class at Road Atlanta in ’08.
Reports from the Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki team earlier this week point to the return of Roger Lee Hayden to the AMA Pro Road Racing Series and SportBike class. The former SuperSport class champion missed the first two rounds this year with an undisclosed injury.
For more information on the series check out www.amaproracing.com
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it road racing, SX, rally, insane distance jumping, MX, MotoGP, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, rock crawling, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD, the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend, along with the new Monster Energy “Hitman” energy shot. Hacking, Mercado, Hayden and Davies dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com
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D'Andre Pendergrass
 
SPORT: SKATEBOARD
LOCATION: MIAMI LAKES, FL
CHECK OUT HIS PROFILE
Monster Army: Hey D’Andre how is everything going?
D'Andre Pendergrass: Nothing im Pretty good man just out here skating dude.
Monster Army: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
D'Andre Pendergrass: Well My Full Name Is D'Andre Pendergrass, Im 17 years old, Ive been skating for 5 years, And I live in Miami Florida...The bad part of Miami Florida though.
Monster Army: The 305!! How is the skate scene in your home town?
D'Andre Pendergrass: Not many dude's skate were I live but I venture out and skate all around florida. Skating in the dirty is pretty gnar. These guys out here are rad yo, which is why I love Florida so much to skate, if you keep your eyes open.
Monster Army: How does your skate scene in Florida compare to So-Cal?
D'Andre Pendergrass: They don't compare!!! I love Florida and all but when I came to cali it was a totally different story. I swore I had died and gone to heaven. I wanted to skate every thing man but I had a limited time.
Monster Army: You came out to Cali for the Clash at Clairemont. Tell us about the comp and your time in Cali.
D'Andre Pendergrass: Okay well The comp was chill and I had fun over all at it. I had just barely gotten into Cali on that Friday before the comp though. I skated the Deathwish warehouse and was just overwhelmed with excitement. I chilled with the team and met this really cute Socal chick who's number I forgot to get, but overall I think my first day in Cali was the best.
Monster Army: Are you filming at all? What new projects are you working on?
D'Andre Pendergrass: Yeah man I film every other day. I’m always trying to get some clips put together so I can keep all my sponsors posted on how I’m doing and what I’m doing. As of now I’m just really focusing on stackin clips so I can get on Deathwish and Emerica flow.
Monster Army: hat music are you into when chillin and what is playing when you skate?
D'Andre Pendergrass: I listen to the same tunes when I chill and skate. I gotta have my daily dose of people screaming in my ear. I listen to a lot of Alesana, Chiodos, Bring me the Horison, Underoath, and the best band ever ACDC!
Monster Army: Who is your favorite Monster Skate General?
D'Andre Pendergrass: Geoff Rowley!! All day dude.
Monster Army: With such a stacked Monster team why did you pick Rowley?
D'Andre Pendergrass: He gave me my first board really. When I found out who the guy was I was like "what? Who the heck is that? And he's pro for who now?" So yeah I kind of think if he hadn’t given me that board the following events wouldn't have really occurred. Monster Army: Favorite Flavor of Monster Energy?
D'Andre Pendergrass: I like them all really, but I love the Java lo-ball. Man that stuff gets me goin yo!! I love the taste, and how smooth it goes down…. so good! Monster Army: Last words for the kids in the Monster Army:
D'Andre Pendergrass: Shred hard and have fun,Thats what its about overall!.
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