The dust – both figurative and lung cloggingly real – have now settled on the 2011 Dakar Rally.
407 teams of bikers and drivers set off from Buenos Aires and almost exactly half – 204 – of them returned to the Argentine capital last weekend after 9,000km and 13 stages of racing on some of the most challenging terrain the planet can offer. Along the way the event had thrown up just as many shocks and stories as ever, with racing for position continuing all the way to Buenos Aires. After The Checkered Flag covered the event with stage reports, now is the time to look back on the 2011 Dakar Rally.
Everything about the Rally says  … More
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LOS ANGELES — First the Beatles. Then the Pope. Now supercross. Those who sail two-wheeled rocket ships into the night sky now stand alongside the few who have taken center stage at Dodger Stadium without cleats and a mitt. For one night, the hallowed grounds of one of the most iconic venues in sports was the center of the action sports universe.
Five-thousand cubic yards of California dirt was brought in for the third round of the 2011 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series. The rigorous earthen racetrack featured dozens of waist-high moguls, hairpin turns and jumps that sent riders sailing 30 feet high.
As mechanics made last-minute adjustments, spinning wrenches and … More
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Alex Briggs, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic and A&R super friend, has put together the ultimate Ducati MotoGP experience auction, with all proceeds going towards the disaster relief efforts for the flooding in Australia. Called the worst flood in Australia in the past 50 years, the waters have hit the states of Queensland and Victoria with devastating affect since December 2010 (damages are being estimated in the 10′s of billions of dollars), causing Briggs to want to do something for his home country (most of Rossi’s crew hails from Australia as well).
Bringing his cause before Ducati MotoGP Project Director Alessandro Cicognani, the Marlboro Ducati team has gotten behind Briggs’ desire to help his home country, and has  … Details
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