Solid Start

Toronto, Ontario ~ In February, Mike LaRocco will turn 34 years old. By most critics' standards, that's way past a motocross racers prime. But year-in and year-out, "The Rock" continues to prove people wrong.

It was just two years ago that LaRocco shifted his focus solely on Supercross, and that move continues to payoff as he heads into the 2005 season. This past weekend, he took part in the opening race of the THQ World Supercross GP at Toronto's SkyDome. It may have been Ricky Carmichael holding the first place trophy, but standing to his right was Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda's own superstar, LaRocco.

The Rock and Honda's Kyle Lewis would battle until Lewis crashed over the finish line jump 6 laps into the race. "The Rock" held on for second place, with Yamaha's Tim Ferry making a late charge for third.

The AMA Supercross series opens at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. January 8, 2005. Team AMSOIL/ Chaparral/Honda will be represented by LaRocco and superstar Kevin Windham in the 250 class. The 125cc team will feature Josh Grant, Billy Laninovich, Juaqium Rodrigues and Tommy Hahn.

Too Much Power!

Beausejour, Manitoba ~ It was a bittersweet weekend for the newest member of Team AMSOIL. PJ Wanderscheid brought his impressive career mark into Beausejour last weekend for the start of the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships. While not part of the points series, the United States Snowmobile Associations Pro Star Series, the team uses the event as an early season testing ground each year.

On Saturday, PJ took a heat win first thing in the morning in the Pro 600 class and the team says the sled was grabbing hole shots all day. But a mechanical problem occurred in the final, leaving the team with a DNF.

After a long night of wrenching, the team returned for the Champ 440 final with high hopes. However, a belt broke during the feature, ending their day.

"Beausejour is always a good testing ground for us," said Gene Ward, Wanderscheid Racing's Marketing Manager. "We find out how far we can push things and it helps us tremendously in determining the capabilities of our sleds. Overall it was a good weekend. We had a lot of fun."

The USSA Pro Star Series begins January 8, 2005 in Plymouth, Wis. PJ Wanderscheid, 20, has 56 career oval ice wins and 8 end of the years' championships.

Picture of the Week

You never know how you're going to land when you dump your race sled in the middle of the straightaway. This rider took a spill while riding in a Rock Maple Racing sanctioned event. This picture isn't the entire story, however. If you look closely, the Ski-Doo that is closing in will get tangled up with this sled. Go to http://www.performancephotos.com/pages/2/index.htm for the entire slide show.

Holiday Reminder

As we head into a new year, AMSOIL would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy Holidays. We would also like to remind all of our teams and Dealers to continue sending their testimonials, results and pictures. We thank you all for your dedication and success over the past year and look forward to a triumphant 2005.