Celebrating one of the
longest-running relationships in professional motocross racing
today, Monster Energy and Pro Circuit/Kawasaki will enter an
incredible 5th year in their highly successful association
when the gate drops on the Anaheim (Calif.) opener of the 2009
Monster Energy AMA Supercross series, an FIM World
Championship, this Saturday, Jan. 3, at Angel Stadium.
Leading the way for Mitch Payton's Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki team at the Anaheim WSX Lites opener will be
Jake Weimer and Ryan Morais, with Austin Stroupe and
Christophe Pourcel picking up on the action when the season
heads east for the first ESX round in Houston, Jan. 24th.
The Idahoan Weimer opened the season strongly last year,
winning the Phoenix round at Chase Field. Fast and a proven
winner, some inconsistent finishes after that would keep him
out of the top ten overall in the WSX. In 2007 Weimer ran much
more consistent, placing 4th overall in the WSX with a podium
at the San Francisco round and two additional top five
finishes.
Morais also has podium speed capabilities as well - which will
no doubt be elevated aboard the industry-leading preparation
work Pro Circuit does on the Kawasaki KX250F. The Turlock,
Calif., native suffered through a nagging injury this past
season and was selected by Payton based on his 2nd place ESX
effort in 2007. That year Morais was on the podium twice and
had five more top five finishes to claim the '07 ESX runner-up
crown.
For his part Stroupe came on like gangbusters to start the '08
WSX season, winning the Houston round to back his
title-winning efforts at the Loretta Lynn's amateur MX
championships in previous years before turning pro. Some
limited highlights would follow throughout the '08 season and
Payton is certainly looking to the talented Stroupe to step up
his efforts in '09 on the ESX portion of the tour.
The final two riders come to the Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki team by way of Europe in Pourcel (France)
and, joining the team for the '09 Outdoor MX National,'08
World MXGP MX2 class overall champion Tyla Rattray (South
Africa). Pourcel was banged up a bit recently test riding and
will be sidelined until the ESX season starts and Rattray, a
late edition to the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki squad,
will likely forego the SX season and join the team at the Glen
Helen (Calif.) Outdoor Nationals opener in May where
he'll be a favorite to challenge for the overall outdoor Lites
title.
Joining Monster Energy in sponsoring the Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
squad for 2009 are: Thor, Terminal Velocity Processing, Parts
Unlimited, Vans, Scott, Maxima, Asterisk, N-Style, Alpinestars,
NGK, PPG, DP, JE Pistons, Mechanix, RK, Renthal, Twin Air, VP,
Bridgestone, Braking, Excel, Troy Lee Designs, Hinson, Athena,
Ogio, Showa, Sunline, CMI, UFO, and WRP.