Articles

Vurb Insider would like to officially introduce Peter Milne as one of their final choices for Senior Journalists. Peter is one of four new writers selected and we are extremely excited with the international flair Peter brings to the table.

He is an elementary school teacher in rural Canada, forty minutes north of Toronto. Growing up, he raced motocross with his older brother and developed a lifelong passion for the sport and motorcycles in general.  Peter attended College and earned two diplomas; one in Sporting Goods Sales and Marketing, and the other in Business Administration - Marketing.  After successfully owning and operating a web-based BMX parts and accessories mail-order company, Peter went back to school to earn a Bachelor of Arts Honors Degree in Geography so he could attend Teacher’s College.  For his Teacher’s training, Peter traveled to the UK to attend the prestigious University of London’s Institute of Education.  He enjoys writing as a creative outlet and also considers photography, snowboarding and mountain biking as his non-moto hobbies.

Vurb will continue to introduce its new list of accomplished writers in order to give you a better look into what Vurb Insider is soon to become. Our vision that Vurb Insider will become THE place to go for premium motocross content is being realized more and more each day. With the voices of David Bulmer, Justin Fisk, Chase Stallo and new contributors such as Peter Milne and Dennis Albrewczynski, among others still being interviewed, we hope to one day soon host a list of the most influencial journalists in the business.

Note that we are still entertaining applications and all inquiries may be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

See below for Peter's essay he contributed along with his application to become a Vurb Insider Senior Journalist.

The Underdog?

1. (noun) underdog
one at a disadvantage and expected to lose

Cheering for the underdog is not new to sports, in fact, it’s probably been happening since the very first forms of competition.  What’s new this year is the number of high profile underdogs in the stacked 250f class at each and every round of the 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championships.  This year has seen what could be the deepest class of talent ever to line up in the tiddler class.

The breadth of talent this year was not a surprise.  The hype began to build during the Supercross season with conjecture about the World GP champ and vice-champ Rattray and Searle squaring off on US soil; then there was talk about the Supercross champs Pourcel and Dungey; and finally the introduction of rookie sensations like Justin Barcia, PJ Larsen and Darryn Durham.  There was so much talent to bench race about, that many superstar racers suddenly became B-list second thoughts.

One such racer is Jake Weimer.  Representing the powerhouse Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team, Jake has been quietly flying under the media radar for most of the outdoor season.  But as this season raced on, so too has Weimer, and now as the outdoor nationals charge to a conclusion this seemingly forgotten speedster should be considered anything but an underdog.

Weimer finished out the 250f West Coast Supercross Championship in 2nd place, a mere 5 points behind Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey after going 1, 4, 3, 1, 1, 3, 4, 2, to Dungey’s 3, 1, 1, 2, 4, 1, 1, 4.  But Dungey was expected to win, so no one took much notice of Jake’s strong finishes.  Weimer quietly tested and practiced; honed his skills and perfected his KX250f’s handling for the Nationals while his teammates made headlines with practice crash injuries and the surmounting hype of the great World Champion.  Weimer did his job, trained, and practiced but when Glen Helen rolled around the headlines were all about Pourcel’s deceptive speed, Dungey’s fitness, and Barcia’s incredible wide-open style.  How could a racer of Jake Weimer’s ability suddenly be an underdog?  Racing a Mitch Payton - Pro Circuit bike is the proverbial golden egg of motocross, and yet, Weimer had the odds stacked against him with such formidable competition…how could he be expected to win?

Well win is exactly what he did, but not at round one and not at round two.  He didn’t win at round three or even round four.  In fact, round four at High Point was Weimer’s ‘Low Point’ of the season going 26/33 for 32nd overall.  But after reportedly taking the week off, playing with his R/C car and taking a step back, Jake came out swinging at round five.  Thunder Valley in Colorado saw Jake Weimer go 2/1 for a long overdue victory.  What was even more impressive was that he followed it up one week later with another win.  Albeit 2/4 are strange moto scores to take an overall, Weimer happily took the win over his teammate Pourcel and the other class favorites.  This “underdog” wasn’t going down without a fight!

Weimer struggled at Spring Creek going 6/7 for sixth overall but at Washougal found moments of brilliance to go 10/2 for fifth. Then, at stop nine on the circuit, Unadilla Valley Sports Center, there was excitement in the air.  Weimer was named as Team U.S.A.’s MX2 rider for the Motocross des Nations scheduled for October 4th and 5th in Franciacorta, Italy.  And why wouldn’t he be selected?  Weimer was the top ranking American in the series after Dungey who will be making his outdoor 450 debut at the des Nations.  Perhaps it was extra confidence after the appointment, or more likely it was the extra pressure to prove he was the correct choice, but regardless, at Unadilla Weimer finished a strong 3/3 for third on the day.

Following that, and to show that Unadilla was no fluke, Weimer came to Budds Creek with a big bag of speed and led half of the first moto before relinquishing the lead to his teammate and series points leader Christophe Pourcel.  He then earned mega brownie points with team boss Mitch Payton for holding off a charging Ryan Dungey all the way to the checkers, granting Pourcel a further six point advantage in the championship battle.  However, Weimer’s true performance came in the torrential rainfall of the second moto.  After not only staying upright in conditions that were unrideable for mere mortals, Weimer put on a charge and passed Aussie Brett Metcalfe on what would be the penultimate lap of the race.  With the track’s infield pond and creek overflowing their banks and endangering the mechanic’s area of the track, the race was halted after 25 minutes resulting in moto scores of 2/1 for Weimer, earning him his third overall victory of the season.

With two races remaining Weimer sits in fourth place, only 10 points back from Geico Powersport Honda’s Brett Metcalfe in third.  Although he may not have been a preseason media darling surrounded by hype and attention, Jake Weimer has shown what a true racer is made of.  By finishing strong and never giving up, Weimer has clawed his way into striking distance of an overall podium finish for the 2009 season.  Couple that with Jake’s decision last summer to turn down a two-year deal, knowing his value would increase, and this so-called underdog is sitting pretty for 2010.