All things youth moto…

Cobra Moto racers rack up the titles at Las Vegas’ South Point Arena this past weekend, led by New York’s Reed Cooper who won both 50cc & 65cc titles!

LAS VEGAS (May 10, 2013) – The 14^th annual AMSOIL AMA Amateur National Arenacross Championship had a decided Cobra Moto appeal to it in the junior classes as kids on their American-made Cobras nailed national AMA titles in three 50cc class championship divisions, as well as a national title in the 65cc class.

New York’s Reed Cooper was the top dog for Cobra at the ANAC, taking division titles in both the hotly-contested 65cc 7-9 class, as well as the overall No. 1 position in the 50cc class’ senior 7-8 division. Cobra Moto’s Dane Morales (Calif.) – who doubles as one of the nation’s top young BMX racers when he’s not ripping on his King 50 – would reign supreme in the 50cc 4-6 class. And Pennsylvania’s Cole Bader would add Cobra Moto’s impressive fourth title with an overall victory in the 50cc 4-8 class.

1^st – 50cc (4-8)*: Cole Bader – Quakertown, Pa. – Cobra

1^st – 65cc (7-9)*: Reed Cooper – Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – Cobra

1^st – 50cc (4-6)*: Dane Morales – Huntington Beach, Calif. – Cobra

1^st – 50cc (7-8)*: Reed Cooper – Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – Cobra

Adding solid podium finishes for Cobra Moto at the ANAC were California’s Ty Freehill, who was the runner-up in both the 7-8 50cc and the 4-8 50cc classes. New York’s Ryder Cooper, Reed Cooper’s younger brother, placed 2^nd in the 4-6 50cc class and California’s Chandler Jones rounded out Cobra’s scoring at the ANAC with a 3^rd place finish in the 7-9 65cc class.

Up next for Cobra: The Monster Energy Mammoth (Calif.) Motocross, June 21-30.

Don’t forget your entry for the “Cobra Tales” video contest. For official Contest Rules, Submission Guidelines and Contest Eligibility link to our website at: http://www.cobramotorcycle.com/v2_2013videocontest.asp

Teaming with Cobra Moto on the world’s most successful competition mini cycles are: Liquid Performance, Haas, Bel-Ray, Autolite, Pro Circuit, SKF and CARD.

Cobra Moto’s Dane Morales photo courtesy of: Rick Vierkandt GRJV Studios

California’s Ryder Di Francesco and Jett Reynolds lead the Cobra Moto assault on the nation’s top amateur MX events beginning this weekend in Florida and Texas.

HILLSDALE, Mich., (March 8, 2013) – Though they still have a couple feet to grow and a hundred or so pounds of muscle to pack on, the guys you’re going to read about here – Cobra Moto’s 2013 Team members – could very well be the same guys making up the top ten overall in the Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series’ 250 class a decade from now.

Putting the pen to yet another chapter its legendary legacy beginning this weekend in Daytona Beach, Fla., this year’s Cobra Generation represent the best-of-the-best in the nation’s 50cc Jr. and Sr. classes, along with some title contenders in the 65cc classes as well.

“Once again the Cobra Moto roster is stacked with talent from top to bottom,” said Sean Hilbert, President of Cobra Moto. “We’ve recruited the fastest riders from coast to coast in the United States – from Bakersfield, California to the eastern seaboard, Midwest and deep south. Cobra Moto’s 2013 Team are represented by every region of the United States, truly our nation’s best young racers all under the Cobra Moto banner for 2013.

Here’s a look at the Cobra Moto-backed racers for 2013, beginning with the tandem from Bakersfield – Ryder Di Francesco and Jett Reynolds.

Cobra Moto Team

Ryder Di Francesco: Simply put, only one other racer in the history of the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Championship (besides Ryder) has won the 50cc class National Championship twice – and that guy’s leading the Monster Energy Supercross 450 title points chase right now. Ryder had a spectacular year on his Cobra King 50, dominating the 4-6 class. This year Ryder will be a young 7-8/7-9 50cc class racer, but expect him to challenge the bigger kids all summer long.

Jett Reynolds: Though a couple falls kept Jett off the podium at Loretta’s last year, the Mini Os were Jett’s races to shine – sweeping the MX and SX classes on his Cobra King 50. The highlight for Jett’s weekend in Gainesville, Fla. – and possibly his season last year – was when he tracked down, caught and passed the then older Cobra racer Gage Linville to win Mini Os’ 50cc SX crown.

Jaiden Taylor: Michigan’s top 50cc racer, Jaiden won the 7-8 50cc amateur national title last year at Loretta Lynn’s – giving Cobra another sweep of the class (along with Ryder’s 4-6 title). Not having the luxury of riding his King 50 outdoors much during the winter months in Michigan, Jaiden trains with freestyle BMX and has become quite the little ripper on the ramps. Come summer he may take a couple motos to shake the winter rust off, but soon hits full stride and will challenge the amateur nationals’ titles in the 7-9 65cc class.

Nicholas Romano: Battling with fellow Cobra Moto racer Ryder Di Francesco all summer long, Romano would score the first amateur national win of his career at the end of 2012 – finally getting the better of Ryder at the Mini Os. The New York-based Romano will join Di Francesco as two of the nation’s top seven-year-olds in the 7-8/7-9 50cc classes on their Cobra King 50s this summer.

Reed Cooper: Another New Yorker on Cobra Moto’s National Team, Reed was 2^nd at Loretta’s last summer with three solid motos. And though he had to miss the Mini Os because of Hurricane Sandy, watch for Reed – who’s one of Cobra Moto’s more consistent racers – to come out of the gate fast as a veteran eight-year-old in the 7-8/7-9 50cc classes this summer.

The rest of the Cobra Moto Team members: Brock Bennett (Bakersfield, Calif.), Cade Britt (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Noah Geyer (Fredericksburg, Md.), Daniel McCullon (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Ryan Pruett (Greenville, S.C.), Codee Samples (Midlothian, Texas), Gregory Stewart (Elkhart, Ind.), Johnny Weber (Kenosha, Wis.), Chase Yentzer (Carlisle, Pa.) and Hunter Yoder (Murrieta, Calif.).

Team Cobra graphic ID: Top row (L to R) Ryder Di Francesco, Jett Reynolds, Gregory Stewart, Jaiden Taylor, Ryan Pruett, Cade Britt  & Codee Samples. Bottom row (L to R) Hunter Yoder, Chase Yentzer, Brock Bennett, Daniel McCullon, Reed Cooper, Nicholas Romano, Noah Geyer & Johnny Weber.

Also, don’t forget your entry for the “Cobra Tales” video contest. For official Contest Rules, Submission Guidelines and Contest Eligibility link to our website at: http://www.cobramotorcycle.com/v2_2013videocontest.asp

Up next for Cobra: Fourth annual Monster Energy Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross Championship – part of the popular “Bike Week” festivities at Daytona International Speedway – March 10^th & 11^th and the 37^th annual One Industries GNC International Grand National Motocross Final, presented by FMF, at Texas’ Oak Hill Raceway, March 13-17.

Cobra will pit in the Daytona NASCAR Cup paddock Garage No. 1 and provide rider support for the Monster Energy Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur SX

HILLSDALE, Mich., (Feb. 28, 2013) – Cobra Moto is headed down to Daytona Beach, Fla., to provide support to Cobra racers and their families for the fourth annual Monster Energy Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross Championship – part of the popular “Bike Week” festivities at Daytona International Speedway – March 10^th & 11^th.

“It’s going to be great having Sean Hilbert join us this year at the Monster Energy Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross Championship,” said MX Sports’ Event Director Tim Cotter. “Anytime that you have the head person at an OEM at the event it’s a big deal for us and it helps in so many ways. Sean will be able to give input to the racers and their families, as well as utilize the event for R&D for Cobra Moto.”

Directly following the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship round at the Speedway, Cobra Moto – pitted in Garage No. 1 in Daytona’s famed NASCAR paddock – will be on hand to support the riders participating in RC’s signature event, with help from one of its top Eastern Seaboard dealers – Maryland’s Naecker’s Cobra. Cobra Moto will also pay out contingency through its “Cobra Bucks” program to all 50cc and 65cc classes at Daytona.

“The Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross at Daytona is a great way for Cobra Moto families to experience Bike Week in a way like they’ve never been able to before,” said Hilbert. “I’m looking forward to checking out the talent on the track this weekend and meeting with the racers and their families to help with any questions they have regarding the Cobra Moto products.”

Also, don’t forget your entry for the “Cobra Tales” video contest. For official Contest Rules, Submission Guidelines and Contest Eligibility link to our website at: http://www.cobramotorcycle.com/v2_2013videocontest.asp

Up next for Cobra: 2013 AMA Spring Classic Championships at Mill Creek Motocross Park, March 3-9, Pell City, Ala.

Coast-to-coast amateur MX National barrage is highlighted by Cobra’s historic 65cc class win @ Loretta’s – the first ever by an American-made mini bike!

All totaled kids on Cobras rack up 38 amateur national MX titles in 2012!

HILLSDALE, Mich., (Jan. 3, 2013) – From the season-opening amateur MX national rounds in Alabama and Texas, through the Mini GPs in Nevada to the Monster Energy Mammoth MX in California and the Ponca City Nationals (Okla.) up to the pinnacle of amateur MX in the States – Loretta’s in Tennessee – and through Branson, Mo. and the season-ending Florida Mini Os, kids on Cobras won pretty much every major 50cc championship at every big event here in the States.

But it would be on the American-made Cobra CX65 that Cobra would makes its biggest mark on the motorcycle industry in 2012 as Utah’s Pierce Brown captured the holy grail of amateur MX titles – the Red Bull Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by AMSOIL – 65cc 7-9 Stock class championship at the famed Loretta Lynn’s Ranch course in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

“The Browns were a perfect match for us to further develop the Cobra CX65,” said Sean Hilbert, President of Cobra Moto, of Pierce and his dad Paul Brown. “Pierce has always been good, but this is the first time he’s been dominant. He grew a lot and we had to work on that with them, but Pierce worked hard on his end and that really motivated us. And we both peaked at the right time.”

Cobra Moto would capture two more Loretta’s championships with California’s Ryder Di Francesco winning the 51cc (4-6) AMA 1 title and Michigan’s Jaiden Taylor winning the 51cc (7-8) AMA 2 title. And noteworthy in Di Francesco’s title is the fact that the young Cobra rider is the only kid, other than O.G. Factory Cobra racer Davi Millsaps, to ever win a double 50cc title in the history of Loretta’s!

Cobra Moto opened the 2012 competition season with victories coming in bundles at both the Thor/Parts Unlimited Spring Classic, Mill Creek Motocross Park, Pell City, Ala.,and the One Industries GNC International Motocross Final, Oak Hill Raceway, Oak Hill, Texas. A clean sweep of the 50cc class titles at both events where highlighted by 65cc 7-9 Stock championship at Oak Hill by Pierce Brown and Georgia’s Gage Linville, who swept 1^st place honors in both the 7-8 Stock and Mod classes on his Cobra King 50s at Mill Creek. Next up was the Monster Energy/Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla. Sweeping the 50cc titles for Cobra at RC’s event were Virginia’s Noah Geyer in the 4-6 AMA Stock 1 class and Pennsylvania’s Corey Passieu in the 7-8 AMA Stock 2 class.

Heading west Cobra Moto arrived at the World Mini GPs inMesquite, Nevada and walked out of the Mini GPs with five titles – Georgia’s Gage Linville (1^st place 50cc 7-8 Mod & Super Pee Wee 6-9) and California’s Ryder Di Francesco (1^st place 50cc Stock through 6 & Mod through 6) being the top Cobra pilots in Nevada. Also noteworthy was the fact that kids on Cobras swept not only the entire 50cc class podiums (five separate podiums), they also locked down all TOP TEN spots and, in numerous cases, ran the Cobra brand up the charts into the top 20 – without a single other brand figuring in the top 15/20 scoring!

Up next on the amateur MX schedule was the 2012 Ponca Amateur MX Championships in Ponca City, Okla., where Cobra kids were led by Pierce Brown, who scored two more national championship rides on the CX65 – setting the stage for his historic Loretta’s win. And on the Cobra King 50s the big story at Ponca was Jett Reynolds winning his first-ever major national 50cc title – taking the 7-8 Stock title as a seven-year-old! Gage Linville also put Cobra on top of the box in the 7-8 Mod class and the all-ages 4-8 Open Stock race, while Ryder Di Francesco flat out DOMINATED the 4-6 class, winning five of the six motos for a 1^st place Stock/Mod sweep.

At the 2012 Monster Energy Mammoth Mountain Motocross (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) Cobra King 50-mounted racers Jett Reynolds (1^st), Maximus Vohland (2^nd) and Hunter Dasilva (3^rd) would sweep the overall 50cc Open class podium, with six other Cobra racers locking down nine more of the top ten overall spots.

Following Loretta’s Cobra Moto racers would reconvene at the Branson USA National MX Championships in Missouri. California’s Jett Reynolds, New York’s Reed Cooper and Minnesota’s Jayden Clough went 1^st/2^nd/3^rd – respectively – in Branson’s 65cc Jr. Modified 6-8 class, scoring the not only Cobra’s first sweep of a major amateur MX National 65cc class podium, but also the first-ever sweep of a major MX National 65cc class competition by an American-made dirt bike.

“After Pierce Brown won Cobra’s first-ever 65cc title at Loretta’s this summer, about the only thing left for Cobra to accomplish was a podium sweep at a major MX National – and we got that this past week at Branson,” said an elated Sean Hilbert, President of Cobra Moto. “A big ‘CONGRATS’ from everyone at Cobra headquarters here in Michigan to Jett, Reed and Jayden – along with all the other Cobra champions and podium placers at Branson this past week.”

The 2012 competition season for Cobra culminated, as it always does, at Gatorback MX Park in Gainesville, Fla., for the 41^st running of the Thor Winter National Olympics, presented by Pro Circuit. Cobra Moto would again sweep top honors across the board in the Jr. & Sr. classes, with two Cobra racers – Jett Reynolds and Nicholas Romano - earning the coveted “Olympiad” honors for their efforts in the MX, SX and Open races.

Up next for Cobra: 2013 AMA Spring Classic Championships at Mill Creek Motocross Park, March 3-9, Pell City, Ala.

Cobra, founded in 1993, produces the most successful line of competition mini cycles in the United States with more than 300 national titles in the last decade. Based out of Hillsdale, Mich., Cobra’s mission is to build premium products for the serious racer. For more information on Cobra products, please visit our website at www.cobramotorcycle.com and like us on Cobra Nation on Facebook.

High Profile Public Relations (HPPR), LLC, is a multi-faceted communications agency specializing in strategic media relations – both industry and mainstream – for the powersports and action sports communities. Dialed in with all forms of power and action sports, its participants, manufacturers and live event promoters, HPPR’s Pat Schutte can be reached at pat@highprofilepr.com.

Cobra’s Gage Linville wraps up his 50cc career with Cobra this week in Gainesville, Ryder Di Francesco’s last ride on the Cobra 50JR bike

This just in … Cobra will debut the brand new 2013 CX65 @ the Mini Os!

HILLSDALE, Mich., (Nov. 20, 2012) – For 41 years now the Thanksgiving MX right-of-passage has been going down in Gainesville, Fla., featuring some of the nation’s best amateur motocross prospects in a unique Supercross/Motocross format known formally as the Thor Winter National Olympics, presented by Pro Circuit at Gatorback Cycle Park.

Or you can just call them the “Mini Os.”

Since the American-made mini bike company’s inception in 1993, Cobras have been a fixture on the Mini Os’ 50cc class podiums. With more than 300-plus major amateur national MX titles – many of which were earned at Gatorback Cycle Park – Cobra riders return to Gainesville this week, Nov. 19-24, in hopes of writing another amazingly successful chapter in the heritage of Michigan’s Cobra Motorcycles.

Beginning Monday and running through Saturday, the week-long racing festival celebrating amateur motocross will undoubtedly be highlighted – yet again – by some stellar performances by Cobra Moto kids. In 2011 Cobra’s Georgia Rocket, Gage Linville (7-8 class), and New York’s Reed Cooper (4-6 class) – names certainly destine to be reckoned with in the future (see Cobra’s: Millsaps, Alessi, Canard, Bowers, Stroupe, Izzi & Cianciarulo) – raced to overall combined class victories on one of America’s key proving grounds for competition mini cycle brands.

In addition, the overall 2011 Loretta Lynn’s 50cc class 7-8 podium, including Reed and two of Cobra’s Bakersfield (Calif.) Boyz – Ryder Di Francesco and Jett Reynolds – making up the entire 4-6 50cc class Olympiad podium at the Mini Os, the first time in memory that that’s occurred.

For 2012 here Cobra is again favored to dominate the 50cc class, while continuing to raise the CX65’s marque in the 65cc classes. Favored to top the Mini Os’ 50cc 7-8 class, in his last major race on a Cobra King 50, is Linville. And though 2011 Mini Os Cobra star Cooper can’t make it (still digging out in N.Y. after Hurricane Sandy), Di Francesco will make a run at Linville in his first national competition on the King 50, while Reynolds will certainly wick up the action as he makes the trip to Florida from California to race, along with seven-year-old Brock Bennett (Bakersfield, Calif.) who’s making his first trip to the Mini Os.

On the 65s look for some quality motos out of Michigan’s Jaiden Taylor, along with local Floridian racer Tommy Rios on his Cobra CX65.

With Cobra providing full factory support with its team of engineers, make sure to stop by the Cobra hauler and check out the new 2013 “Works” CX65 featuring its revolutionary full A-Kit 37mm CARD front forks.

Up now for Cobra: 41^st annual Thor Winter National Olympics, presented by Pro Circuit, Gatorback Cycle Park, Gainesville, Fla. (Nov. 19-24).

Cobra starting line photo courtesy of Rodney Webb