LEOVINCE RIDER AND FOURTEEN TIME MHSC CHAMP STEVE LEIVAN KEEPS GOING STRONG IN 2006

Missouri Hare Scrambles Champ Steve Leivan is known throughout the Mid-West region he races in for his persistence and tenacity. He’s seldom the one to get the holeshot, but he’s often the one who takes the checked flag after a demanding two-hour race that’s left many of his fellow racers worn-out and struggling just to finish. The SCR/Yamaha-backed rider has run a LeoVince system all season long on his WR250F—riding smartly, solidly and scoring yet another championship victory (his 14th MHSC to date, to be exact). Although Leivan is a crafty and experienced racer, his LeoVince system helped him continue his consummate success. Here, Leivan discusses what it’s like to be on top for 14 years in a row, the challenges facing the off-road riding community and what’s next for this top-notch racer.



Q: Steve, you are now officially the 14-time Missouri Hare Scrambles Champion. There aren’t very many 14-time champs of anything out there. What continues to motivate you after being on top for so long?



A: [Laughing] I don’t think about it that much. It really just means there were a lot of times where nothing went wrong.



Seriously, when you get older you have to work harder. There are always people younger than me who are a lot faster. I work all week to beat them on the weekends. Young kids don’t have much fear, but I don’t want to put myself in a position to jeopardize my health, so I have to last longer and be smoother. That’s why experience and strategy pays off. You gotta give yourself a chance to be there at the end of the race. If I’m there at the end, I have a good chance to win. But even if you don’t get the win, if you’re close every time, those finishes can be very valuable if you’re going for a championship.



As for motivation, the bottom line is that I really like riding my bike and I can do it better than I can do anything else, so I work hard at it to try to keep getting better. I know what it feels like to win and I have no problem admitting that I hate to lose so that keeps me motivated as well.





Q: Well, with 14 years as a champion under your belt, that means you had to have been pretty young when you first started riding and young when you won your first championship. What were those early days like for you? Were you one of those fearless fast kids?



A: No, as a kid I probably wasn’t that good and that’s why all this has meant so much to me. I started riding when I was 3 when my family lived in California. Back then there were so many places you could go to ride. Then we moved to Missouri. The riding here is so much different than it was there. Everything is slower going, there are lots of rocks, roots and mud. My dad moved us all here to open a motorcycle shop when I was six or seven, so I had no choice about riding. But all we had in Missouri at the time was motocross or enduro. I was too young to compete in enduro races, and my dad wasn’t that into motocross, so he started the Missouri Hare Scrambles Championship to give me and other riders in our area another choice. That was in ’81 or so.



At age 20, I won the National Hare Scrambles Championship, in the 250 A class. They added a AA class and I ended up national number 5 four years later. I started winning regionally, then Yamaha stepped up to help. They knew it was a smart sponsorship opportunity to focus on regional riders and regional series. Things really changed for me then. The support from Yamaha made all the difference. I depend on my racing to fund my racing. So as long as I can afford to be there, I’ll be racing.





Q: Describe a typical MHSC race. What kind of preparation do you do?



Basically it’s a two-hour race. We have somewhere between an 8 and 12 mile course. It’s usually a four or five lap race with all natural terrain—hills, creeks, everything. It’s different from a lot of other racing—supercrossers don’t have to deal with temperature change and so many variables. In hare scrambles, you have to be able to deal with changing conditions. You have to adapt to win.



For my physical preparation, I ride a bicycle several times a week—road bikes and mountain bikes. I practice on the 250 twice a week, too. As for prepping the bike itself, I do all my own work on it. My dad still races too, so I help him and work on his bike, too. My dad likes to say, “I spent 15 years working on your stuff, now it’s your turn.”



Q: How did your partnership with LeoVince come about?



Well, your Flattrack and Supermoto Coordinator, Mark Pullliam approached me about it. Mark said things about European sound requirements and how strict they are. Sound restriction is becoming a bigger deal here in the US, we’re all feeling it. Mark said, “Why not try a LeoVince system?” So, I said ok. The first thing I noticed is the fit. A lot of aftermarket stuff just doesn’t fit right, but the Leo stuff is far and away ahead of everybody else. And as for the sound, just listen to them! I have LeoVince systems on both my 250 and my 450. Both my bikes are quieter than all of the rest, but it sounds great. Sounds great and bolts right on—that’s the way it ought to be!





Q: With stricter sound restrictions and disappearing public land for riding, the off-road world is certainly changing. What do you see for the future of your sport?



A: The sound thing is definitely becoming more and more of an issue. The more bikes out there, well, the louder it seems to get. We all have to remember that you’ve got to have respect. LeoVince’s on the right track, it’s good to see that you can make a bike quiet and it still works and performs well. Some of the systems I tried years ago were quiet but made no power. LeoVince systems are quiet and run good. People are going to have to take notice of it.



The restrictions make it worse; fewer places make it not as spread out. Think about it—more riders in less space. What can we do about it? That is a good one. What we’re doing around here, we have three or four public riding areas… It’s a tough deal. And we have to share it with horse people, bicyclists. We need to find private land owners, we need more private areas and we have to try to get along with everybody. We have to co-exist. And we need to always remember to take care of what we have.





Q: What other series do you race in?



A: This year, the only other thing is the Six Day Qualifiers. There were four qualifiers, the best go to the final ISDE [International Six Day Event] in New Zealand. The qualifiers this year were in Oklahoma, Colorado, Tennessee and Idaho. The top 7 guys get to go to the final. I was third overall in the qualifying.



Q: Wow, have you raced in the ISDE before?



A: Nope, this will be my first time. I didn’t really care about doing it before because Germany, Slovakia… the places it’s been held in the past, those places did not appeal to me. But New Zealand sounds pretty cool. This year, they had more qualifiers and a new location. I’ll be competing with racers from all over the world. There will be 650 riders from 20 countries, or something like that. We have 37 American riders on the team.



Q: What do you think the ISDE will be like?



A: Well, most importantly, you gotta make your bike last. I’ve gotten pretty good at that. I’ve managed to finish 180 races in a row without a DNF. There are times when you can break things and deal with it; you can keep going. You never know when you might need those points. I think physically being able to last that long will be tough, though. I’m just trying to ride as much as I can between now and then. We’ll be riding 250 kilometers a day. That’s a lot of long days; you just have to try to last. Plus you have to do all the work on your own bike. My dad’s going with me but you have to do all the work yourself. You have 15 minutes to work on your bike at the end of each day. You can’t take longer than 15 minutes to fix it or you get penalized. That means you’ve gotta be able to change a tire fast!





Q: Getting to the ISDE in New Zealand has got to be expensive. What can people do if they want to help you out?



A: [Laughin] Send big checks! This event is super expensive. I thought maybe you could do it for $10,000, it’s more like $15,000. I’m hosting an off-road riding school to raise money here in Missouri. I held one in July that turned out great. We’re going to do two more. Hopefully that will help. We’ll have a website soon, but in the meantime, people can email me at sleivan@ipa.net.





Thanks Steve, we’ll look forward to hearing great things in your race reports from New Zealand in November. Best of luck from LeoVince USA in the ISDE this year, and in all your future races here in the US.

BORN TO RACE:



A conversation with LeoVince/Pegram Ducati racer Larry Pegram



--By Leigh Anderson

At an age when most kids are happily eating paste and finger painting, Larry Pegram was already racing motorcycles and dreaming of championship titles. Larry was practically born to race, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him by taking to the track at just five years of age. Larry quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the dirt track circuit, winning against far older and more experienced racers. After gaining more experience of his own, Larry turned raw talent into serious contention. He was just 15 when he broke the long-held record for the most national wins as an amateur.

It was inevitable that Larry would become a pro dirt tracker at young age, but he had to wait until he was 16 to qualify. By that time, despite numerous wins on the clay (including coming close to earning the Grand National Championship), Larry found himself being called to the next level by the high-speed allure of roadracing.

Larry was still a teenager when he made his roadracing debut at the legendary Daytona 200. A crash in his first practice couldn't deter him from putting his all into that initial race, and Larry ended up finishing a very respectable 20^th. Needless to say, he was hooked.

After that first season, Larry began finishing higher and really attracting some serious attention as one of the rookies to watch. The sponsors began lining up behind the young, fearless kid. Larry's future looked very bright indeed, until a terrible highside in Phoenix almost ended what would have been a brief, but dazzling, career.

Larry managed to recover from his injuries, but he suffered some serious setbacks. He found it difficult to recapture the momentum of his teen years, struggling with rehabbing a broken hip and the problem of finding the right combination of backing and equipment. Despite the difficulties, however, Larry was able to improve and advance his racing career - including earning big wins in Superbike and 600 Supersport races.

Now, Larry has teamed with Ducati North America to form a racing team for the 2007 AMA Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series. With Ducati stepping out of the AMA Superbike class, this will be an especially compelling partnership. Larry will be onboard the only factory-supported Ducati in the series this year, racing Ducati Corse built 749R motorcycles.

Here, Larry discusses that new collaboration with Ducati, his confidence in the continued partnership with LeoVince USA and overcoming adversity to achieve success.

QUESTION: Tell us a bit about your background in racing.

ANSWER: Well, it's in my blood. My grandpa raced, my dad raced so it was natural for me to start riding and racing at an early age. I started riding at three and racing when I was just five. My first bike was an Indian 50. It was really funny, I couldn't touch the ground with my butt on the seat, and so I had to ride sitting on the bar. My first race bike was a Honda MR50. I started with hare scrambles and motocross.

Q: Did you know at that early age that you were going to be a professional racer?

A: Oh yeah, I knew. From the time I was a little kid, I knew I wanted to be a pro dirt tracker, which I was. I wanted to be a Grand National Champion. Never made it that far, but I was 15 when I got the record of the most ever national wins as an amateur. I turned pro at 16 and raced for two more years before I started roadracing.

Q: What was it that sparked your interest in roadracing?

A: I think it was my friendship with Bubba Shobert that got me interested in roadracing. Watching him and other dirt trackers like Freddie Spencer who were winning at roadracing was inspiring. I wanted to be a world champ. My first roadrace was the 1992 Daytona 200 on a superbike. In fact, the first time I was ever on a street bike was at that Daytona practice, where I ended up crashing in the first turn of my first lap on cold tires. But I managed to make the race.

Another incentive for me was the fact that $8,000 was up for grabs from a sponsor for the top dirt tracker to finish the Daytona 200. I had just started roadracing, but I wanted the money. I ended up finishing 20^th, but another dirt tracker took 19^th. I got $6,000.

We ended up buying that bike and I raced two more times that year. I finished 17^th at Laguna Seca first my time there. In my third roadrace, I finished as top rookie. Honda wanted to hire me full time after that, but I wanted to still make money racing dirt track too. So I couldn't come on full time for them, but everyone thought I was going to do really well. Then I had my first bad crash in 1993, and seriously injured my hip. That cut my season short and really changed things for me. I think if I hadn't had that crash, I would've gone to Europe to race World Superbike. Physically, I was never the same after that, until I had surgery two years ago. I've recovered from the surgery and I now feel like this is the first year I've been physically in good shape and I also have a good bike. Everything's coming together now.

Q: How did you start racing with LeoVince Exhausts?

A: When Pegram Racing was title sponsor of the Hotbodies team in '05, we had LeoVince sponsorship. I loved the product and definitely wanted to keep the sponsorship going. LeoVince stepped up their program in 2006; they really wanted to get the name out there more, so they came on as my title sponsor. I was happy to have them and glad to continue to run a LeoVince exhaust - I was going to use it regardless!

Q: How did the '06 season go?

A: Well, not too bad. Not as great as we hoped, but we were the top finishing non-factory bike in Superbike, finishing the season 10^th place in points. For the money we had and the program we had, we did as well as we could.

Q: This is your second season with LeoVince/Pegram Racing and there have been a lot of changes from last year. First, why did you decide to go it alone, without a teammate?

A: We're running a Ducati this year and they're much more expensive to run than Hondas - with replacement parts, etc. Plus, Ducati just wanted one rider to concentrate on this year, like they did with Eric [Bostrom] in '04. They can dedicate more attention and resources to one rider rather than spreading the budget between two.

Q: Why did you decide to ride for Ducati? How did that partnership come about?

A: It was mutual. They offered me a chance to get back on factory level equipment. I saw it as an opportunity to get the best stuff they had to offer.

Q: Why the decision to ride a 749 and race in Formula Xtreme?

A: It was their choice to do that this year and it made sense after AMA gave them a displacement advantage in Formula Extreme, which really makes the playing field equal. They wouldn't give Ducati anything like that in Superbike.

Q: How do you like the 749? It must be pretty different from the 1000cc Superbikes you've ridden for the past two years.

A: I love the bike. I've ridden for Ducati in the past so I'm familiar with the twins; I did a total of four and a half seasons for Ducati. The 749 does feel less powerful than the superbikes, but I'm really happy with it.

Q: What about the class? There've been a lot of changes in Formula Xtreme.

A: I think the class is better than it's ever been. We have two factory Hondas, two Kawasakis and a Suzuki. There's a lot of factory support. And the class is deeper than it's ever been talent wise. We have experienced racers like Josh Hayes, Anthony Gobert, Ben Attard...they're no spring chickens. All that means good racing for the fans - there are five or six guys who can win instead of one.

Q: Do you miss Superbike?

A: Not yet. I might as the season goes on.. I hoping that next year the AMA makes the [new Ducati] 1098 legal for Superbike. I rode it once and I really liked it.

Q: Is there pressure being the only factory-supported Ducati racer in this year's AMA roadracing series?

A: Not really, well maybe a little. We're more visible, but it's good to keep the name out there for the Ducati fans.

Q: What are your goals for the season?

A: Win.

Eindhoven, presented the riders with the only true sand track of the GP calendar. Unforgiving and physically demanding, deep sand always throws some serious challenges at the riders. A 30.000 strong crowd witnessed an entertaining battle for the MX2 title.

After a stunning effort to overcome his ankle and wrist injuries 19-year old Antonio Cairoli charged to his first world title at Lierop today. The Team Yamaha De Carli rider came fifth in the GP, won by Tyla Rattray ahead of Marc De Reuver (both KTM) and Billy Mackenzie (Yamaha UK Race Team).

On his way to the 2005 MX2 World title, `Tony` claimed six GPs so far out of fifteen he participated in. Cairoli`s win is the first Yamaha world title in the smallest class since Chiodi`s 125 world title in 1997 and the domination of blue bikes this season also gives Yamaha the MX2 Manufacturers Championship crown.

With Dutch sand specialist Marc De Reuver and Tyla Rattray fighting to win in both races, the attention in the MX2 class was divided between the outcome of the GP and the nail-biting battle for the world title between Antonio Cairoli and Andrew McFarlane. Cairoli went into the penultimate round with a 40-point lead on his Australian opponent. YZ250F mounted Goncalves (Yamaha Van Beers), in eighth position separated both riders in the first race.

However Cairoli saw his task made lighter in the second race when McFarlane was forced to pull out due to injury, but Antonio did not have an easy second race. He said: "When Caps crashed in front of me on the opening lap I could not avoid a crash myself and I had to come back from 21st. I tried not to think too much about the championship and just focused on my riding, but when I passed McFarlane on the fifth lap my confidence grew." Alessio Chiodi (Ricci Racing) and Rui Goncalves were the other Yamaha riders to finish in the top ten, finishing respectively seventh and tenth.

Not only is Sicily`s Cairoli the first Italian to win a world title since Andrea Bartolini and Alessio Chiodi in 1999, he is also the youngest ever Italian to become motocross world champion and only the fifth ever (the other two were Michele Rinaldi and Alessandro Puzar) in the history of the motorcycle mad country.

Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Division`s Laurens KleinKoerkamp stated: "In the past seasons Yamaha made its mark in MX1 and for this season we wanted to do the same in MX2. It sounds simple but it is amazing to have achieved our goal and even more in the way we did it, because the first three bikes are blue and Yamaha also won the MX2 manufacturers title. I want to thank Claudio De Carli on the great job he did on tuning the bike and managing the team. I think Claudio has proven that he has a good eye for talent and he knows how to let his riders improve."

The last round of the 2005 motocross world championship will take place in Desert Martin, Northern Ireland, on Saturday the 17th of September.

Antonio Cairoli (Team Yamaha De Carli) - fifth overall - 2005 MX2 WORLD CHAMPION "If I had to pick a race where I wanted to win the title it would have been here! I really like riding in the sand and because I live close by in Belgium this area has become my second home. I hurt my left wrist yesterday, and my ankle injury already made it hard to push in the deep sand. I fought hard to make it happen here and I kept on believing. In the first race I had a good start, but I could not follow the rhythm of the leaders and I preferred to conserve my energy for the end of the race because realized it was going to be hard. Two laps before the end my team informed me that I had won the title and it was just the most amazing feeling ever. I`m so happy to have won the title! I have now one big goal left and that is to get a good result with the Italian team at the MX of Nations in France."

Claudio De Carli, Team manager of Team Yamaha De Carli "This title gives me a lot of satisfaction, not only professi

GREAT RESULTS FOR LEOVINCE SBK EXHAUST SYSTEMS IN AMA SUPERBIKE SERIES

In their first full season of competition in the U.S., LeoVince SBK exhaust systems took the 2005 AMA Superbike Championship series by storm, with multiple riders finishing in the top 20 of the final point standings in all four classes. All of these teams and riders, with a variety of bikes and engine configurations, had the LeoVince advantage of class-leading performance and reliability that helped them achieve these superior results. LeoVince USA increased their racetrack presence with a comprehensive support program that included product support, signage, apparel and lucrative contingency awards.

"LeoVince USA is proud of all our teams and riders and the results that they achieved in the AMA Superbike series this year," said Tim Calhoun, sales and marketing manager for LeoVince USA. "They helped us introduce and expose racers and fans to the performance and quality of LeoVince products, as well as help us to design and develop products specifically for the American market. We were relatively new to the U.S. at the beginning of this season, but we`ve come a long way in a short time."

Nineteen-year-old Danny Eslick finished third in the 2005 Formula Xtreme class points, with consistent top-ten finishes on his Grant Matsushima-tuned MPTracing.com Suzuki GSX-R600 following a strong fourth place finish in the prestigious Daytona 200. Team Hotbodies Racing riders Nicky Moore (Yam) and Taylor Knapp (Yam) finished eighth and tenth, respectively, in Formula Xtreme, while Ryan Andrews (Euro Shop Ducati 749R) ended up 13th with five top-ten finishes. Justin Filice (Hotbodies Honda CBR600RR) finished 16th on the season while Tim Knutson (Yam) posted 18th in the final point standings.

In the premier Superbike class, Lee Acree finished 10th in the 17-race series on his Millennium KWS Suzuki GSX-R1000, followed by Larry Pegram on the Hotbodies Honda HRC-kitted CBR1000RR in 14th, both with several top-ten finishes in the factory dominated events. Cory West, the 2004 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year, dropped to 15th in points on his Team Hotbodies Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 with two unusual DNFs in the last weekend of racing. Pegram`s teammate Jeremy Toye rounded out the top-20 with results that got better as the season wound down.

Supersport featured a host of young guns with their LeoVince-powered 600s, including 2005 AMA Horizon Award winner Blake Young (Suz) on his Millennium KWS machine in 11th, with Danny Eslick (Suz) in 13th, Nicky Moore (Yam) in 16th, Taylor Knapp (Yam) in 17th and Justin Filice (Hon) finishing 19th in the ten-race series.

In the Superstock class, Millennium KWS Suzuki teammates Lee Acree and Blake Young finished 12th and 15th, respectively, in the season point standings.

LeoVince is a division of Sito Gruppo Industriale based in Monticello d’Alba, Italy. Sito is the largest exhaust manufacturer in Europe. LeoVince USA brands include SBK for sportbikes, X3 for off-road and ATVs, Scoot for scooters, and Silvertail for cruisers. For more information visit www.leovinceusa.com. LeoVince products are distributed to U.S. motorcycle dealers by Western Power Sports.

Our new US website is up at www.leovinceusa.com