Bart Hayes Interview from Boonville NCHSA race from Scratch N Sniff Productions on Vimeo.

Genuine Dirt Racer is having a demo ride at Brushy Mountain Motorsports Park
AUG 21 – 22:  SAT: NOON – 5  , SUN:10 – 4

Rider: Nick Fahringer

For Directions: Visit: www.bmmspark.com/directions.html

Thanks to Dirt Bike Magazine and Adam Booth. Click image to enlarge.

Royal Distributing/Thor/Dragon Fuels /KTM Canada rider Kornel Nemeth wins the overall at round 8 of the CMRC Canadian Nationals, on his 2010 KTM 450 SX-F. Kornel is really excited about finishing on top of the podium.

We all knew he could do it and we are all very proud of his victory. With one round to go Kornel now is in second place in the 2010 MX1 Canadian Championship standings.

KTM Canada would like to acknowledge and say a special thank you to all our sponsors, without their support we wouldn’t be here.

Royal Distributing: Thank you for the many years of continued support. Royal Distributing leads the way in our Powersports industry.
Parts Canada: Industry leader in Canada and around the world, Thank you for your full support Laura and James.
Thor: Best looking gear on the track. Thanks again Dave and James for your support.
Dragon Fuel: The only fuel you will ever need. Try it once and you will be hooked -Thanks Chuck
FMF: Why look anywhere else for a quick way to gain an advantage! – Thanks Donnie and Jeff
Dunlop: Winning is easy with the right tires. – Thanks a million Brian and Broc.
Factory Services: KTM Factory engines, pure performance and reliability come standard with the best built engines. – Thanks Leighton and Andrew.
Factory Connection Canada: Mike makes winning smoother at Factory Connection Canada, Podium product-Thanks Mike
Alpinestars: Protection and performance is guaranteed and these are the toughest boots on the market.
Renthal: Champions use the best-Thanks Brad.
Cycra: Coolest looking bike on the track, Thanks Rick.
PG Graphics: Graphics that look good and last –Thanks Sam.
Motorex: The winning formula.
OGIO: The only way to travel. Thanks Jeff

“The rally Dos Sertoes is about to start!”

Goiania, Tuesday 10th of AugustIt will be the 7th time that I enter this race, the yearly Brasilian round of World Rally Cross Country Championship.

For the first time in a couple years, I will not be joining David Casteu’s team in this rally.
The logistics for the Sertoes are really difficult for Europeans so I told David that he should just focus on claiming the world rally championship (he is only a few points away) and I would join my long time Brasilian friend Dimas in his team. Of course, I will still be around to help David in his quest for the world title if he needs anything.

My friend Dimas and I arrived in Goiana a few days ago with our whole structure.

Jesus, our chief mechanic (picture) has been putting the finishing touch to my bike. It’s the first time I ride a “small” rally bike. It’s a Honda CRF 450X, prepped by Brasil Moto Tour (Dimas’ tour business). It will probably take me a few days not only to learn how to ride this bike efficiently but also to get comfortable with the race. Beside a couple “REM” motocrosses in California, I haven’t had much time at all on any bike since the Dakar.
Keep you posted tomorrow with the prologue results.
Cheers
Ludo (founder of ONE Industries)
PS : my race # will change from #08 to #110 (move from open class to 450 class)

Man, let’s face it, you’ve been killing it this year! With nine rounds gone, how do you do it? What’s your secret!
I don’t think I have a secret? I just give it 100% every time I get on the track, some days it’s enough to be on the podium, some days its only good enough for a 5th… I just try to make the best of the situation I find myself in and try to put myself in a position to make moves if/when things get hairy.

You’re pretty tall for a motorcycle racer. At 6’3″ do you feel that your height gives you an advantage or disadvantage out there?
Pretty tall for a motocross rider, I don’t think I’m super tall for offroad. Strang, Kanney, Myself, Knighter… we are all pretty tall. I have found that being tall offroad is more of an advantage then a disadvantage. There are times where it kinda sucks, mostly when you need to go under really low limbs at really high rates of speed. Other than that it’s not bad… I can use my legs and dab to keep myself upright in technical sections where a little guy would just tip over.

How hard was Snowshoe this year? I’ve never made it to that round, is it really as hard as everyone says it is?
Yes and No. It’s for sure the hardest event of the series in technical terms. But as a whole… it’s not a super tough course, there’s just tough sections. The length is what makes it tough I think, and when the tough sections get chewed out they get REALLY hard. I just came into that race as prepared as I could be for the conditions, and it worked out in my favor for sure.

Now that you have a few weeks off from the GNCC schedule, what are your plans until the next round at New Berlin in September?
I’ve been racing every weekend since the last race. Mostly just local stuff, but it’s good to hit the races I grew up doing. We are a little over a month out from Unadilla, and Kanney is already talking trash… so I have some stuff I need to get done next week, then I’m heading to the GDR/Ride PG shop in NC so Ben can get my bikes freshened up, then its straight up to Nate’s house in New York to learn all his secrets so I can use them against him at ‘dilla. haha.

Give us a quick look into your training schedule during the season. What do you do to stay in shape and be able to keep that pace for three hours?
Play chess. C’mon man, you know I can’t give out that info!

Any top secret plans to race the new KTM 350 next year? Have you gotten to ride one yet?
I actually have no offer of any sorts from KTM to ride any orange machine in 2011, so I’m a free agent as far as I know… So I could actually be riding the couch next year, haha. Well, not really… I’m racing next year for sure because I know I can be a championship contender, and if it means I have to buy my bikes again like I did this year and hammer out podiums, so be it. But hopefully one of the teams in the pits recognizes the effort we are putting in over in my camp and I can get a job. I would like to stay orange for sure… it’s what I’m used to.

I have rode the 350, and it’s sweet. KTM has done a great job with the new chassis, linkage, and EFI. I won’t be on one this year, but don’t be surprised if you don’t see one lining up at a GNCC.

Looking ahead to next year, what is your game plan to be the top XC-1 rider?
I think we are just going to keep the program we have right now and just keep doing what we are doing. In the off season we will break down the program and our 2010 season, find any holes we can, and plug the holes and get to work on making it a better deal for next season. I have great people around me that make this all possible, they have the hard jobs: I just ride the bikes. My progression this year has been HUGE, and if the season ended today, it’s a great year for all of us, and we are all excited for what the future has in store.

Not including riding/racing dirt bikes, what do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time?? What’s that? I wake up in the morning and train, I work on bikes, I eat lunch, and I ride in the afternoon… by the time I get home at night and showered up, its 8:30-9pm… And time for bed!

Do you remember your first Offroad Junkies interview at the River Ranch round? We want to know how much Charkie paid you to wear that ORJ hat!
HAHA! Charkie didn’t pay me anything… I think the site is cool and it’s a nice break from the typical moto site, so I’m glad to do interviews with anyone from ORJ, anytime.

What is your favorite offroad racing website? (Hint – it must end with the word junkies…)
ORJ.com!

I know you just getting started in what looks to be a long racing career, but have you thought about what you want to do when you retire? Maybe write articles and do interviews like this for Offroad Junkies… They keep telling me my check is in the mail???
Man… IDK about that “the checks in the mail” stuff. Long term I would love to step into a spot like Rodney Smith @ Suzuki… I think his job is sweet. Or Randy Hawkins… he also has a sweet job… or even Jason Raines. Those guys all had great racing careers, and then stepped into positions that are still very involved with the racing community. This is my life… I can’t see myself in any other line of work.

Anyone you want to give a shout out to or thank?
This list is HUGE. Everyone knows the big sponsors, so I’ll save those for last.

I really can’t thank everyone around me enough. Bart Hayes, Ben Weathers, Jeremy Ketchum, Performance SuperCycle, Kevin Schuler @ Clockwork KTM, Troy Ross, Tyler Thompson and Thompson Training Facility, Everyone at WMR Competition Performance in FL, George Pollard… These are the people that are the core of this program, and they are the ones who pulled every string, every favor, and really made this happen for me this year.

For the political stuff…. I have obviously been blessed with some great sponsors this year. Without them I wouldn’t have the machines that are GNCC podium quality.

Performance Super Cycle, Clockwork, RidePG, GDR, WMR1.com, Renthal, Maxxis, Rekluse, FLY Racing, Scott, RPM Racing Team, KTM North America, Cycra, FMF, Fluidyne, TireBalls, Sidi, TM Designs.

Thanks for your time Chris and we’re looking forward to you staying on the podium for the last part of the season!

Bart Hayes is the founder of Powersport Grafx. You may know it as PG or RidePG. Bart has become a key player in the offroad racing scene helping riders such as Chris Bach, Jesse Robinson and countless others. I caught up with Bart to see how things are going.

Hey Bart, how are things going today?
Well the phones are starting to ring again after a mediocre summer so that’s good! 

That’s good to hear! I guess riders are fixing everything up over summer break. So you founded Powersport Grafx several years ago, how did this all come about?
I’d like to say it was the result of several years of planning, but it was mostly fate.
 
PG seemed to come really far, really quick in terms of moto companies. What do you contribute this success to?
We started in January of 2003, so that’s been over 7 years. We built the company on relationships, quality and service. Word of mouth was and is our best advertising. It helps that the vast majority of us here ride and race, so that builds credibility.

PG was the first and well, still the only graphics company that really showed a lot of support for the offroad scene, what inspired this?
Our background was offroad, so it was a natural choice for the company. I have owned a race shop (Genuine Dirt Racer products) for several years and it serves the offroad community. We were very familiar with the Moto scene and the attitudes were different on the Moto side. Offroaders are a great bunch of people to work with and they tend to stay with the sport a lot longer.

That proved to be a good choice too! How did PG get involved with KTM?
I have a great friend, Willie Bradshaw (Fun Cycles in Valdese, NC) and he made the initial introduction for me. I was able to get in front of Rod Bush and he gave us the opportunity. It grew from there.

How did you become involved with the offroad racing scene?
I started riding when I was 10 years old. After I got my drivers license, I started racing motocross. When it was time to go to college, my interests changed and I stayed away from riding for almost 15 years. My son, Patrick got a Z-50 and we started trail riding together and it all grew from there. We went to an NCHSA race with my buddy Dale Cooke and the rest is history. I guess if I had anyone to blame, it would be Cooke. We have been crashing into each other since we were very young!

What has been your favorite achievement in the offroad world so far?
There are several. Seeing my son Patrick ride and do well at it is probably number one. After that, our race team that KTM sponsored was very special. We had 6 GNCC championships and 51 class wins over 2 years. All the set-up, suspension and major mechanical work was done in our shop. Working with David Knight to build a bike (that we had no experience with), race it and beat all the factories within the span of one week was quite an accomplishment. Now we are diversifying more on the mechanical side. We are working with Jesse Robinson and Chris Bach and they are making us look good. I guess we have a lot to be proud of.

Out of all the races you’ve ever been to, which has been your favorite?
The “Bike only” GNCC at Sparta, KY a few years ago is certainly on the list. After that, I like them all, especially when they are technical. My all time favorite is the Red Bull Last Man Standing.
 
I hear people say “PG Graphics” pretty often. That’s like saying “Powersport Grafx Graphics”, does that ever bug you?
Yes, but as I get older I tend to look past things. I lost most of my hair a long time ago.

Yeah, it bugs me but I’m kind of OCD anyway. What do you feel is the biggest thing it takes to run a successful moto company in today’s economy?
In today’s economy, the ability to survive is the biggest thing I see.

What does the near future hold for PG?
We have been working on relocating for quite some time now. This is the key to our being able to diversify within the industry as well as new markets. Our current facility just does not have enough room to enable us to be efficient.

I can definitely see that. Where do you see PG in 10 years?
I think the brand will continue to grow. We will expand through diversification.

What would you like to see happen to the offroad racing scene in coming years?
I would like to see offroad maintain the number of participants and show some consistent, manageable growth. I think the National Enduro format is a definite winner and the GNCC format works. We need to organize the local series’ from a class structure standpoint to mirror the national series’. That way a guy that runs Vet B in his local series, will be properly classified nationally. I realize that this is the way the current structure is supposed to work, but it doesn’t.

Oh no doubt, and the online forums are always blown up with sandbagging discussions haha… Who is cooler, Burt Reynolds or Chuck Norris?
Chuck Norris…….but Uma Thurman (Kill Bill) would most likely kick his a@@.

Alright. That’s all I have for you, anyone you want to thank or give a shoutout to?
My family for their support, everyone that rides, and especially the people that use our products. You don’t have enough room to for everyone I need to thank, and I would hate to leave anyone out! I have a pretty big list!
 
I don’t doubt it! Awesome, thanks Bart!