Speed Metal Racing - Team and Industry News

Speed Metal Racing News

Metal Militia Claims 11 Medals at Port Angeles - By JOHNNY CHEN
Port Angeles, WA. September 20-21, 2003. With the racing season drawing to a close, the Speed Metal crew rolled into Port Angeles, WA in full force. With the DH Practice and the 4x Race on the slate for Saturday, the carnage began early during 4x practice. Speed Metal riders AJ Johnson and Matt Caldwell collided in mid-air - AJ and Matt locked bikes in the air and crashed together with Matt taking the brunt of the force for two bikes and two bodies. Jack Montgomery looked sharp as he demolished the field on his first run to get a bye until the finals. In the Expert/Sport finals, AJ easily won with Jack in tow for a fourth place podium finish. Lars battled a super-competitive Pro/Semi-Pro field to take second place away from Casey Northern in the last stretch.

On Sunday, the Downhill Specialties DH race began after a full morning of practice. And, as with all of the other DHSpecialties races, Speed Metal proceeded to dominate the day by taking home 8 medals - the most of any team at the race. Props have to be given to Kevin Ryan and Co. for running a great race - some racers were able to get in 9-10 practice runs in on Saturday! Talk about getting your money's worth of racing! The schwag-toss was equally bountiful as all racers got two or more items: Azonic Mg Pedals, Halo Rims, FSA Stems and Bars, T-Shirts, Jerseys, Armor, Socks, Videos, etc., etc., etc., Thanks to Downhill Specialties, gohuckyourself.com, Casey Northern, the Peak Bike Shop, Downhill Zone, and Downhill Northwest for making this race fun and successful! [Results]

Speed Metal Rider to Represent USA at MTB World Finals - Reprinted from USA Cycling
Colorado Springs, CO. August 20, 2003. USA Cycling announced Monday discretionary nominations to represent the U.S. at the 2003 World Mountain Bike Championships to be held August 30-September 7 in Lugano, Switzerland.

The following list includes automatic nominations that were announced last week. The full U.S. Team to participate in the 2003 UCI World Mountain Bike Championships includes:

2003 Junior Women Downhill (List condensed)

Jenny Cornelison - Karpeil/WT

Leanna Gerrard - Sobe/Cannondale

Katie Holden - Speed Metal Racing

[More]

2003 Washington-Idaho-Montana Series Finals - By ROGER COLE
Wenatchee, WA. August 10, 2003. After a long season of injuries, lost riders, and intense competition, Speed Metal closed out the WIM series with some impressive results. The two run format emphasized consistency over recklessness. The winners were the ones who avoided simple mistakes and carried speed throughout the twisty course.

Speed Metal Semi-Pro, Lars Sternberg turned in the fastest race single run of the 200 plus riders that raced the Squilchucker course. However, it wasn't quick enough to make up time on the Semi-Pro winner, James Ivin's combined time. Lars managed to place an impressive second in the Men's Semi-Pro class.

While consistently placing in the top 10 all season, 19-29 Expert AJ Johnson finally got the chance to stand atop the WIM podium by winning the Men's 19-29 Expert class. AJ was joined on the podium by Adam Greene who still managed a third place finish, despite a crash towards the end of his second run. After the first run, AJ and Adam were sitting in 1st and 3rd, joined by yet another Speed Metal Expert, Peter Stuart, in 5th. Unfortunately, Peter crashed in his second run, yet still placed a respectable 9th in perhaps the most competitive class in the entire WIM series.

Damon Flemming finished the season with his first WIM medal (Damon won the DH Specialties race in Shelton), by taking 5th in the Sport Men's 19-29 class. Cory "Bibs" Bibby sampled some dirt on his race run and finished in 12th place.

The official Speed Metal Grommet, Jack Montgomery, ended the WIM series with a 7th place finish in the Junior Sport class. Jack has steadily moved up the results chart all season. This youngster's racing future is looking bright. Expect to hear great things from him next year and beyond.

Johnny Chen closed the year by barely missing another spot on the podium in the 30-39 Beginner class. He did manage to make the podium for the season results by placing 4th overall in the WIM series overall Beginner 30-39 competition. Also finishing the season with overall awards were Lars (4th Semi-Pro), AJ (4th 19-29 Expert) and Damon (4th 19-29 Sport).

The team finished fifth overall in the WIM team competition, a mere 3 points behind the well-established and respected Downhill Zone team. Speed Metal congratulates DH Zone on a well-fought battle. They've been great friends and motivators to Speed Metal on our first full season. The other teams finished as follows:

2003 WIM Series DH Team Competition

First Place - Singletrack Cycles

Second Place - Northwest Downhill

Third Place - Rapid Descent Racing

Fourth Place - Downhill Zone

Fifth Place - Speed Metal Racing

Sixth Place - Western Washington University

Seventh Place - Subterranean/Halflink

Eighth Place - Machine Head Racing

[Results]

Speed Metal Dominates at Shelton - By ROGER COLE
Shelton, WA. June 29, 2003. The crew that made it down to Shelton KICKED @$$. Nick and Peter finished 1st and 2nd in the 19-29 Expert, Damon finished 1st in 19-29 Sport and Rook finished 1st in 18& under Sport. Awesome job, everyone.

The highlight of the day was the medal ceremony. They may as well called it the Metal ceremony, 'cuz the team owned the podium. Chants of "Speed Metal!" were probably heard as far as Olympia. Overall, three gold medals and one silver! Kevin ran one helluva race. A little problem with the shuttles, but nothing that wasn't resolved promptly. The swagfest was incredible. I think everyone that registered walked away with swag. AJ won a sweet pair of Troy Lee gloves, Peter and Damon won DH tubes and Rook won an Expendable 3 DVD. Hell, I didn't even race and I got a pair of DHZ socks.

Overall, that was some of the most positive energy I've seen at a race all season. Props to Kevin for a great job. [Results]

Speed Metal/GHY Team Members Rock Crowd at EndFest - By ROGER COLE
The Gorge, WA. June 22, 2003. Along the banks of the Columbia River, Seattle Radio station 107.7 The End held its annual multi-stage, multi-band, multi-kickass summer rock festival, EndFest. Featuring bands like GodSmack, Staind, Cold and Taproot, the Gorge Amphitheater would have been rocking loudly enough. However, three members of Speed Metal Racing, Cory Bibby, A.J. Johnson and Lars Sternberg were on the scene to add a little Speed Metal to the festival by participating in a jumping demo in front of close the thousands of Endfest spectators.

Riding their full-suspension bikes, the Speed Metal crew threw down on three wooden launch ramps of various sizes and gaps of varying distances. The crew would climb the twenty-something foot tall starting ramp (i.e. Hell Track One), drop in and proceed to dig a little sumthin'sumthin' out of their satchel of tricks to lay out in front of the watching crowds. Besides styling for the crowds, Lars gave tribute to Evel Knievel by jumping a Ford Ranger pick-up. Everyone had their sketchy moments, with bails being commonplace. However, all the participants managed to escape the experience unharmed.

2003 Whistler Summer Gravity Festival - By PETER STUART
Whistler, BC. July 15, 2003. Speedmetal Racing made a noticeable appearance at the third annual Whistler Summer Gravity Festival this week in British Columbia, Canada. Qualifying for the Joyride Bikercross started off promptly at 3 o'clock on Monday. Cedric Gracia and Steve Peat got the spectators warmed up with smokin' fast qualifying runs.

Only 32 of the nearly 100 pros who entered were qualified to race. Speed Metal's own Lars Sternberg qualified in 20th place, faster than a number of big name World Cup racers, as well as freeride stars such as Wade Simmons. Unfortunately Lars was up against a tough group of riders in his first heat, including Cedric Gracia, and didn't advance.

Due to lack of entrants, junior expert rider Katie Holden was grouped in with all the top pro women, but didn't make it past her first heat with factory Orange rider Tai-Lee Muxlow, due to a problem with her new clipless pedals.

Despite trouble all morning losing his chain, AJ Johnson advanced to the final in the amateur men category. Again, right out of the gate he lost his chain, but pumped his bike smooth as butter down the course to a respectable third place finish, with the fourth place rider pedalling like a madman just to stay close.

After the race, Cedric Gracia accepted a nice warm Kokanee from Lars and a Speed Metal DH sticker from Peter, on which he commented, "Oh nice, it's like the AC/DC thing." Sorry Cedric, it's Iron Maiden.

The fun continued Tuesday when Katie Holden, and junior men's rider Jack Montgomery competed in the famed Air DH, a downhill race down A-line, the most popular mountain bike trail in the world. Katie was again placed up against the best in the world, and finished in 15th place, right in the middle of the pack. Jack finished 25th out of a group of close to 40 riders. [Results]

Overall, that was some of the most positive energy I've seen at a race all season. Props to Kevin for a great job. [Results]

Team captures Four Medals at Beacon Bomber - By DAMON FLEMMING
Spokane, WA. June 15, 2003. Lots of heat, lots of dust, lots of crashes, lots of jumps and drops, lots of people, 2 ambulance trips for some, kai broke fork, and bent frame! He was ok though....

I sucked at practice, wussed out on big doubles, broke a brake lever going over the bars on big double... In front of crowd... Doh!

I swapped out the master cylinder plunger and re-bled rear brake in 20 minutes, drank lots of rock star...

In bed by 10:30??? A Speed Metal low??? Nah, a tough course so we wanted clear heads...

I shaved 7 seconds off my first run! from 2:05:?? to 1:58.5(T think) - Ended up with 13th! I did however, do the big double on my second run... it was buddah!

Team with 4 podiums Katie, Nick, Lars (twice)... Did I forget anyone??? Its late, and I'm partying like a ROCK STAR!!! Did that stuff have caffeine in it??? Drive home was short it seemed.........

Oh, and lots and lots of good pics! Team and others. Gotta edit... up soon...

Argh....part-ay like a rock star!!!!!

More tomorrow..... I mean today! [Results]

Two Metal Medals at Boneshaker - By ROGER COLE
Winthrop, WA. June 1, 2003. Despite one of the most remote locales on the WIM circuit, eleven team members raced the Winthrop Boneshaker. Gone was last year's pedal heavy course, replaced by a more technical course that claimed more than its share of victims. Several riders were carted off from the now infamous "Trees of Death" section, a plywood ramp over fallen trees that would launch riders 15-20 feet. Katie Holden put herself in a great position to take the WIM 18 & Under Women's title by winning her second consecutive WIM race. The "Metal Maiden" now has a steady lead in the series points with only two races left to go.

Adam Greene celebrated his birthday a day late, by taking home the third place medal in the Expert Men's 19-29 class. This was Adam's second medal of the year, following his third place finish in the Port Angeles Mountain Cross.

In his Semi-Pro debut, Lars Sternberg finished a respectable seventh place. Also making top ten finishes were Nick Tuttle (8th Expert 19-29), AJ Johnson (9th Expert 19-29) and Roger Cole (9th Sport 19-29). Scary moment of the day came when Speed Metal's 19-29 Sport rider, Damon Flemming crashed hard following the "Trees of Death". Fortunately, Damon (and his Banshee) escaped the crash unharmed. [Results]

Jack Montgomery joins Metal Militia - By ROGER COLE
Winthrop, WA. June 1, 2003. The team picked up more than medals in Winthrop by adding a new rider to the roster. Speed Metal Racing is proud to add 18 & Under Sport Men rider, Jack Montgomery to its roster. At the young age of fourteen, Jack has impressed the team with his high level of enthusiasm and dedication. Welcome to the Metal Militia, Jack!

Registration for WIM Beacon Bomber Race
Seattle, WA. June 1, 2003. Speed Metal Racing team members and all others racing at the WIM Beacon Bomber Race in Spokane, WA should register soon. You can register online at Round and Round's Online Registration or download the Registration PDF and mail it to:

Round and Round Productions
418 E. Pacific Ave., Ste. 6A
Spokane, WA 99202

Metal Maiden Podiums Twice at Big Bear
Snow Summit, CA. May 18, 2003. Katie Holden made the trek down to the first stop of the NORBA series at Big Bear this week and laid claim to two podium finishes. Katie, coming off of injured reserve with a broken wrist, placed second in the Women's Junior Expert Downhill and third in the Women's Junior Mountain Cross competition. Congratulations Katie! [Results]

Speed Metal takes home two medals from Chelan - By ROGER COLE
Chelan, WA. May 3-4, 2003. Eight members of Speed Metal Racing made the trip to Chelan to participate in the Chelan MTB Festival. The team's newest member, Katie Holden, made the trip and raced in spite of a freshly broken wrist. Katie braved the notorious road gap, broken wrist and all, on her way to first place in the 18 and Under Women's class. Johnny Chen remained podium perfect by bringing home his third consecutive podium appearance (5th place).

The rivalry between team members Damon Flemming and Cory Bibby continued with the two of them finishing 8th and 9th. Out of the four times the two have raced each other, they've never been more than three finishers apart. Talk about consistency! Nick Tuttle continued his streak of respectable finishes by placing seventh in the extremely competitive 19-29 Expert class.

Congrats to all Speed Metal Racing members who raced in Chelan. Everybody did a great job of getting the team's name out among the racing community. Speed Metal Racing is now a recognized name and team in the Northwest. It surely seems like the days of announcers mistakenly calling out "Speed Meth Labs DH" have passed. [Results]

Lars Sternberg Achieves NORBA Semi-Pro Status
Seattle, WA. April 27, 2003. Lars Sternberg moves up to Semi-Pro after posting great results at Beacon Blastoff and Sea Otter. Congrats to Lars and keep it sideways!

Four Podiums at Olympic Meltdown in Port Angeles
Port Angeles, WA. April 26-27, 2003. The White Knuckle course lived up to its reputation as Speed Metal was able to get four podium spots. The course played well to racers with motocross background - High speed handling skills and the ability to stay off the brakes proved to be the deciding factors in this race. Katie Holden placed second in Women's Expert Junior class, Johnny Chen got a fourth place finish in the Beginner Downhill 30-39 while Adam Greene and AJ Johnson placed third and fourth respectively in the Amateur Mountain Cross 19-29. [Results]

Speed Metal takes home Sea Otter Medals - By ROGER COLE
Monterrey, CA. April 10-13, 2003. Three Speed Metal Racing members were present at one of the year's largest races, the Sea Otter Classic in Monterrey, CA. Adam Greene and Lars Sternberg battled it out in both the Mountain Cross and Dual Slalom events, while Roger Cole raced the Downhill.

Friday: The weather conditions for the Dual Slalom were ideal. The weather was sunny and the course was dry. Lars qualified an impressive second out of the thirty-two qualifiers, while Adam also made the cut as the twentieth seed. After winning his first three match-ups, Lars was defeated in the fourth round by eventual winner, Nick Moreda. Lars went on to defeat Termite Hudson in the consolation round to win third place. Adam was defeated in the first round by Ross Schnell following a crash on the red course while trying to make up a slight time deficit.

Saturday: The Downhill was held in the cold and rainy condtions that settled over the Sea Otter Course Saturday morning. Unfortunately, Roger crashed twice during his race run. He finished in thirty-second in the Men's Sport 30-34 class.

Sunday: Some of the hottest racing took place on the rain-soaked Mountain Cross track on Sunday morning. While the course had been in great shape throughout the week, the weekend's rains took their toll on the track. The back half of the track was transformed into a mud bog. The course wasn't a problem for Lars, as he worked his way through the 64 man field, eventually finishing second overall. Adam made it through his first three rounds in impressive fashion. In the fourth round, Adam went against two of the day's quickest racers, Lars and Nicolai's Sanjay Shanbhag. He took his gate start too far to the right and clipped a hay bale, ending his day of racing.

Overall, Lars made two podium appearances. Speed Metal Racing's national debut was an overwhelming success, bringing exposure to both the team and their sponsors. Lars has established himself as one of the Nation's premier Expert riders. The season is off to a promising start for Speed Metal Racing.

*Addendum: New Speed Metal Racing member Katie Holden also competed at Sea Otter. She placed first in Women's Beginner/Sport Dual Slalom and fourth in Junior Women's Expert Downhill. [Results]

Speed Metal Injured Reserve List
Roger Cole - 06/08/2003. Roger suffered a severe AC (acromial-clavical) joint separation and will be on IR for 2 months.

Spencer Smith - 02/09/2003. Spencer reinjured his shoulder with an AC (acromial-clavical) Joint separation. He will be undergoing rehabilitation and will be on IR for 3 months.