Hello and welcome to this, the 18th edition of MX Hub presented by Alpinestars for 2014. We’d love to be coming to you from somewhere rad on this fine Wednesday afternoon (Vegas, maybe?), but instead we’re cooped up in the office just day-dreaming of the cool, sunny conditions outside. But, as always, we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Image: Grant Reynolds.

The news that Brett Metcalfe has secured a seat with Monster Energy Kawasaki on board Ryan Villopoto’s vacant KX450F is another boost for Australia on top of Chad Reed’s anticipated return at Glen Helen’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross opening round.

When Metcalfe opted to race in Canada last year, it was in hope of grabbing a factory seat again in the US after he won up north. But it didn’t eventuate and he was poised to ride for Leading Edge Kawasaki again. So for Metty, the chance to ride RV’s bike is a real blessing.

It’s ironic that after Metcalfe was testing Reed’s Kawi just the other week, now he’s racing against Chad on the factory (and very similar) KX450F. With that, there’s every chance the pairing will race inside the top five together or better!

Those with a keen eye on Instagram recently would have seen Matt Moss (@mossy102) putting the finishing touches on an upgraded practice/test/training track near Newcastle, which will springboard him into remaining rounds of the MX Nationals.

It goes without saying that to ride at your best you need to be enjoying it, and for Moss, to have a circuit styled with an American flavour, he has all the ingredients in place to march toward a second straight title. It won’t be easy though, as we saw at Wonthaggi.

Did anybody take a close look at the results tables from last weekend’s Corner Inlet rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championship? If you did, you may have noticed none other than Ross Beaton sixth in the E2 ranks on Saturday and seventh on Sunday.

He does some training with AORC champ Daniel Milner from what we understand and it was a really solid effort he put in. With the growing interest in off-road, we wouldn’t mind betting you’ll see more and more MX converts to the series in coming years as many of them already are.

Hey by the way, have you spotted the latest sales across the industry in the lead-up to end of financial year? Check the news for a heap of announcements regarding savings on bikes and more – now’s a good time to buy if you’re in the market for a new bike.

News just in, Dylan Long will skip upcoming rounds of the MX Nationals with a torn ligament in his wrist. The talented Victorian is hoping to return following Wanneroo’s fifth round of the season.

That’s it from me for this week, I’ll send it over to Simon Makker for the latest from his perspective…

While all the attention was focused on the front of the East Coast 250SX Supercross Championship at Las Vegas over the weekend, Aussies Jackson Richardson and Taylor Potter put in some of their best performances at the series finale.

Richardson qualified an impressive seventh around the bluegroove track, then posted his best-ever result, a ninth overall, in the main. Meanwhile, Potter rode to a career-equalling best result of 17th in the main event.

Make sure you come back tomorrow for an in-depth interview with Richardson about his time in the US and the possibility of him competing in a few MX Nationals races towards the end of the season.

Some of the biggest names in action sports are currently en route to Australia for the much-anticipated Nitro Circus Live Capital City Tour, which starts on Saturday night in Perth.

Tickets for the tour have gone spastic, with Melbourne and Brisbane releasing tickets for a fourth show, and Sydney for a third show. Much of the hype is because Nitro founder, Travis Pastrana himself, is starring for the duration of the tour. It promises to be a cracker!

Not sure if you saw this, but Red Bull Ice One Racing Husqvarna, Todd Waters’ MXGP team, released a video (above) last week where Todd Waters talks openly and candidly about his freakish practice crash in the Netherlands.

As a result of the crash, Waters broke his tib and fib, collarbone and cracked his pelvis, and is expected to be off the bike for eight to 10 weeks. It’s a hell of a blow for Waters, who has impressed many with his consistent top 10 finishes so far this season.

Feld Motorsports wasted no time in confirming the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross Championship schedule earlier this week, as the dust had barely settled from the 2014 season.

In a couple of surprising moves, Seattle and Toronto have been ditched in favour of a mid-season double-header at the Georgia Dome at Atlanta, and another Californian round at Santa Clara.

Meanwhile, after we received a rough schedule for the 2014 Australian Supercross Championship back in mid-December, we still haven’t received any venue confirmation for the rounds at NSW (penciled in for 11 October) and Brisbane (1 November).

Considering the series is meant to start in about four months, you can bet there are a few race teams checking their inboxes daily to find out what’s happening.

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