Privateer Profile: Ben Ritter

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AURORA, Ill. (September 3, 2008) – The Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open announced today that former supercross standouts Damon Bradshaw and Jeff Matiasevich will compete in this year’s legend’s rematch race at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena October 10-12. This heated rivalry during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s will be re-fueled on the floor of MGM Grand Garden Arena in a five-lap race during each night of racing.

“Once we put our helmets on, the rivalry will be just like the old days,” said Matiasevich. “I don’t think time has changed anything – we were rivals back then and we will be at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in October.”

When asked if Bradshaw really hated Matiasevich during his career, he said, “Yes, and I still do. I hated every one of the guys that I raced. At certain times, I wanted to race with him just the way I did with Jeff Stanton – hard and clean – but it wasn’t that way.”

The five-lap exhibition race brings back two of the sport’s icons and gives today’s fans a nostalgic look at the yesteryear of supercross. This rivalry helped ignite one of the best eras of supercross racing.

“It’s going to be exciting for the fans because they don’t know what to expect,” said Bradshaw. “We haven’t raced in so long, and this rivalry was so exciting during that era. Back then eight guys could have won the main event on any given night, so the racing was so intense. That is what the fans want, and that is what they can expect at this year’s U.S. Open.”

Bradshaw admits they do not send one another post cards and the rivalry has simmered as the two have grown older. However, Bradshaw’s motivation – still to this day – is fueled by conflict on the race track.

“When I raced, I liked a rivalry; that’s what motivated me,” said Bradshaw. “Even if it was in practice, I liked to go out and mix it up. I went to the line mad and fired up.”

The two did agree that no matter when or where they raced each other the intensity was high.

“It was an every weekend deal between us. It seemed like no matter what happened, we always found one another on the track and battled as hard as we could,” said Matiasevich. “It was a boxing match out there. For the fans, it’s going to be a real treat to see this race and this rivalry re-lived.

The legend’s rematch race was introduced at last year’s Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open, featuring former champions Damon Huffman (’98), Jeff Emig (’99) and Mike LaRocco (’02).  The three champs squared off during the two-night race with LaRocco walking away with top honors.

“Last year’s legend’s rematch race between Mike LaRocco, Damon Huffman and Jeff Emig brought back some great racing memories,” said Todd Jendro, senior director of operations, Live Nation Motor Sports, Inc. “Having Damon (Bradshaw) and Jeff (Matiasevich) on the starting gate this year is going to bring back one of the greatest racing rivalries in the history of the sport.”

Bradshaw, who is now retired from professional supercross/motocross racing, drives the Air Force Afterburner monster truck on the widely popular Monster Jam® circuit.

“My job now is to drive the U.S. Air Force Afterburner monster truck on the Monster Jam® tour, so, I do not need to get hurt out there during our race,” said Bradshaw. “I want the race to be clean and fun, but I don’t know if that will happen. I have a feeling that once we line up, the rivalry will reunite.”

During his professional career, Bradshaw won six AMA Supercross Lites class main events, 19 AMA Supercross class wins and currently sits eighth on the all-time AMA Supercross win list. While he never won a championship, he was one of the most talented racers of his era.

Matiasevich, who now works for his family’s produce company in southern California, won back-to-back AMA Supercross Lites class championships in ’89 & ’90. The winner of 11 AMA Supercross Lites class wins and one AMA Supercross win, Matiasevich looks forward to racing his former rival. He retired in 1998 and still rides motocross on a regular basis.

Tickets are now available for the 10th anniversary of the Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas October 10-12, 2008 at www.ussx.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 702-474-4000 or the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Regarded as one of off-road motorcycling’s premier races, the Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open is the final ‘major’ race of the motocross season. Tickets are available for as low as $20 through Ticketmaster.com. All tickets subject to 5% Las Vegas Entertainment tax.

About Live Nation

Live Nation is the future of the music business. With the most live concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most comprehensive concert search engine on the web, Live Nation is revolutionizing the music industry: onstage and online. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." Additional information about the company can be found at www.livenation.com under the “About Us” section.

DELMONT, Pa. (September 1, 2008) – The American Motocross Festival brought an exciting end to the 2008 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF season with some of the most anticipated moments in the sport’s history. AMA Motocross Champion, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s James Stewart added to the record books, joining Ricky Carmichael as the only other rider to ever complete a perfect season at 24-0 and sweep the Monster Energy/Kawasaki Triple Crown of Motocross.

AMA Motocross Lites Champion, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto was looking for a bit of history as well in his bid for the Triple Crown, but suffered one of the worst finishes of his career, allowing Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey to take his third overall victory in the last four events.

Star Racing/Division 7 Yamaha’s Matt Lemoine grabbed the BTOSports.com Holeshot Award to start things off in the opening moto of AMA Motocross Lites. He was followed by Dungey and GEICO Powersports Honda’s Josh Grant. Series points leader Villopoto was buried around 15^th or so and had his work cut out for him. Grant quickly slipped by Lemoine in the second turn and started to pull away from the field. Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Nico Izzi was also up front. He and Dungey both got around Lemoine on lap two, beginning their chase after Grant. Other riders in the top 10 were Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe, Cart Company/Charlies Cycles Suzuki’s Ben Ritter, and GEICO Powersports Honda’s Blake Wharton. Villopoto was working his way through the field, passing two and three riders at a time. He went around the outside of Metcalfe and MDK KTM’s Ryan Sipes to move into fifth by the fourth lap. Soon Grant was reeled in by Dungey, with the Suzuki rider making the pass for the lead on lap six. It wouldn’t be much longer before Grant’s bike would expire and drop him out of the race. Villopoto continued his move towards the front and stayed lower than Izzi on a tabletop to sneak by him. However, shortly after that, Izzi would square Villopoto up in a turn and the two riders came together. The result was a bent shifter for Villopoto. He would drop back while his bike was stuck in gear. The 2008 Champion was forced to pull into the mechanic’s area for repairs on the shifter, costing him valuable time, eventually pulling out of the race altogether. For the third year in a row, Villopoto would come up one race short of the elusive Monster Energy/Kawasaki Triple Crown of Motocross. Dungey was cruising up front, and Lemoine would take advantage of Grant’s misfortune and move into a career best second. Dungey took the win, Lemoine second and Metcalfe third.

Stewart grabbed the BTOSports.com Holeshot Award in the first AMA Motocross moto and never looked back. The Kawasaki rider was eager to achieve the perfect season and he quickly put five seconds on the rest of the field. He would go on to stretch his lead over Factory Yamaha’s Broc Hepler, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry, Red Bull Honda’s Jimmy Albertson, and Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Michael Byrne. The trio of Hepler, Ferry and Byrne would begin an exciting battle for second throughout the moto. Hepler used his home track knowledge to pass Ferry, who snuck by him, and move into second. However, Ferry would strike back. This was a great battle as the two criss-crossed lines and passed each other at least five times before Ferry secured second. Stewart was all alone in front at this point. Albertson succumbed to the pressure from his teammate Andrew Short in the pro section, dropping another spot. Moto XXX Honda’s Jeff Alessi and Factory Yamaha’s Josh Hill collided in a right hander, knocking Alessi out of the moto with an apparent shoulder injury. Factory Yamaha’s Sean Hamblin would also move up from his first lap standing of 12^th into sixth. Stewart earned his 23^rd moto win in a row followed by teammate Ferry and hometown rider Hepler.

The AMA Motocross Lites class closed out its season with an exciting final moto. Speedy rookie Wharton grabbed another BTOSports.com Holeshot Award followed by Dungey, Grant, Villopoto, Metcalfe, Suzuki City/OTSFF/Rockstar Suzuki’s Steven Clarke and GEICO Powersports Honda’s Jake Weimer. Wharton lost his front end in the third corner and went down, taking Villopoto with him. Villopoto’s rough day continued as he was caught under his bike. By the time he restarted he was dead last and nearly a full lap behind, but the three-time champion put in one of his most determined rides to bring home 16^th in his final race as an AMA Motocross Lites rider. Dungey took advantage of Wharton’s bad luck to move into the lead followed by Grant and Metcalfe. Izzi was coming through the pack and got by Clarke on one of the uphill sections by out-powering the privateer and worked his way up fifth by the fourth lap. Grant slowly began to fall back and was passed by Metcalfe and Weimer on the same lap. Eventually, Grant dropped back to eighth. Lemoine was also moving up and got all the way to fifth before crashing out of the moto. Izzi caught fire in the second half of the moto and passed all the way up to second. Weimer closed up on Metcalfe and the two made contact right after the finish line with Metcalfe going down and losing a bunch of positions. The order was now set as Dungey took the win and the first 1-1 finish of his career, followed by Izzi and Weimer. This would also be the overall podium. It marked the first 1-2 finish for the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki team.

All eyes were on the number 7 as the AMA Motocross class blasted out of the gates in the season’s final moto. Albertson would hold the outside line to grab the BTOSports.com Holeshot Award. Stewart, Hepler, Byrne and MDK KTM’s Matt Goerke followed in tow, with Ferry inching up on the group. Moto XXX Honda’s Antonio Balbi found himself on the ground, dropping him to the back of the field. Ferry made short work of Goerke and Byrne and resumed his battle with Hepler from the first moto. Albertson appeared to jam his shoulder and lost a few positions before recovering and getting back up to speed. Ferry stalked Hepler for most of the moto before forcing the Yamaha rider into a mistake on the up-hill double section and motoring around him. Byrne would trail these two by four or five seconds and, in the process, pull a huge gap on the rest of the field. Short and Albertson battled again for position and joining them was teammate Ivan Tedesco. The perfect season was completed when Stewart crossed the line to win the second moto as was the Monster Energy/Kawasaki Triple Crown of Motocross, bringing one of the most dominant seasons in AMA Toyota Motocross history to a close. Ferry finished second again and secured the runner-up spot in the standings with Hepler finishing strong in third.

Quotes:

AMA Motocross

Broc Hepler, Factory Yamaha, AMA Motocross, Third Overall

“It’s a little more pressure (to be at home). The home race is in front of friends and family. I want to do well here. If I don’t (do well), I feel like I’ve let people down. It was good to come here and put an exclamation point on the season. It was great (battling with Timmy Ferry). I was kind of bummed Timmy got me both motos, but he had some better lines than me and just beat me. I wish (the track) was a little more rutted. This is probably the hardest packed it’s ever been. But as you can see it didn’t hurt the racing.”

Timmy Ferry, Monster Energy Kawasaki, AMA Motocross, Second Overall

“Obviously second (in points) was good. I obviously didn’t want James (Stewart) to get that perfect season, but he came out strong and rode flawless. I think I’ve had my best year results wise. Aside from a Supercross injury, I’ve had the best results. To finish the season off at the last race and feel strong will make this off-season a lot better. It took me a half moto in both motos to adapt to the lines Broc (Hepler) was using. Luckily I found a way around.”

James Stewart, Monster Energy Kawasaki, AMA Motocross, Overall Winner

“I didn’t want to get to 23-0 and blow it in the last moto. The track was really tricky and there were a lot of bumps out there. So I was a little nervous. For me it was (a relief for the season to be over). After the last few seasons I’ve had in outdoors, I’ve had a really tough time finishing the season. It was just a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders, especially after coming off the surgery. The way the season went is just unbelievable. It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same category as Ricky Carmichael.”

AMA Motocross Lites

Jake Weimer, GEICO Powersports Honda, AMA Motocross Lites, Third Overall

“I’ve had an up and down season. I started off doing all right and slumped in the middle then picked it up at the end. It’s nice to end the outdoor season with a podium. Even without this finish, I would still be confident heading into (off-season) testing. We’re all here hoping that we can get a win. I’m really looking forward to ’09.”

Nico Izzi, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki, AMA Motocross Lites, Second Overall

“It’s been a huge roller coaster ride (this season). I didn’t start out quite so well. I took a week off and got my first (moto) podium at High Point and it went from there. I think that time off was good for me. I came back stronger than ever. (The second moto) today was probably the best moto for me all year.”

Ryan Dungey, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki, AMA Motocross Lites, Overall Winner

“It feels good. I put a lot of time in during the week. To see things turning around because of that is (rewarding). To get both moto wins was awesome. I almost led every lap too. I haven’t really had that (opportunity) to be out front and it was just a great experience to do that. I’m looking forward to next year’s championship. Ryan (Villopoto) is moving on so I really want to set the bar. I feel strong and it’s good to have the experiences I’ve had the last few weeks. It gives me a lot of confidence.”

Interview opportunities are available to the media by contacting AMA Toyota Motocross Championship media coordinator Brandon Short via email at Media@MXNationals.com or by phone at 951-203-2605.

For more information on the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship, presented by FMF, log on to www.amamotocross.com for live timing and scoring at @theWireLIVE!. Racer X Illustrated will host a new and improved webcast on www.motocross.com, with live racing action hosted by Jason Weigandt. The Racer X Motocross Show on Motocross.com has also been added on Saturday night of each race weekend, featuring practice footage and interviews taken earlier in the day.

Credential requests for each round of the 2008 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF must be submitted via email to Media@MXNationals.com three weeks prior to the race. Media members interested in interviews with the riders of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF should contact Brandon at 951-203-2605 or email Media@MXNationals.com.   

About the National Promoters Group (NPG)

The National Promoters Group (NPG) comprises 12 individual promoters of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF which sanctions outdoor motocross events throughout the United States, and remains the Nation's premier outdoor motocross championship series. NPG's mission is to raise awareness of motocross racing through the production of professional championship racing events nationwide.