Honda announced it is replacing KTM as the spec-bike supplier for the 2013 European Junior Cup. The youth racing series will use an all-new Honda sportbike to be revealed at the 2012 EICMA show in November, expected to be the CBR500 captured in spy photos.

The European Junior Cup is for young racers ages 14-19 and runs at select rounds of the World Superbike Championship. This season, the series used the KTM 690 Duke but when it was first introduced in 2011, the series used the Kawasaki Ninja 250. Ironically, it looks like the series will now use the CBR500 which would be Honda‘s response to the 250′s replacement, the Ninja 300.

The stakes for the 2013 European Junior Cup will be higher than in previous seasons. The winner of the 2013 Cup series will be awarded a spot on a Honda team in the 2014 UEM Superstock 600 European Championship, a stepping stone towards bigger and higher levels of racing. Continue Reading »

Ryan Dungey, Ryan Villopoto and Blake Baggett will represent the U.S. in the 2011 Motocross of Nations, Sept. 17-18 at Saint Jean D’Angely, France.

Monster Energy Kawasaki‘s Villopoto currently leads the 2011 AMA Motocross 450 class points standings while Rockstar Makita Suzuki‘s Dungey (pictured above) sits seven points back in second place. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki racer Baggett is second in the 250 standings as the highest placing American racer.

Motorcycle Hall of Famer Roger DeCoster will again manage the U.S. team which will try to win its record 22nd MXoN title this year. Team U.S.A. won the 2010 MXoN in Lakewood, Colo.

The team has not announced which class each of its riders will compete in. Baggett will likely race in the mostly 250cc MX2 class while Villopoto and Dungey will split the mostly 450cc MX1 class and the Open class.

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