Weekend Recap: January 21 - 22, 2023

Monster Energy and Yamaha Racing Meet to Celebrate Successful Global Competition Partnership, Unveil New Livery

In concert with the Monster Energy AMA Supercross round in San Diego, Monster Energy and Yamaha Racing took the opportunity to celebrate their partnership and highly successful competition heritage that spans not only American supercross and motocross, but also global MotoGP and MXGP involving Monster Energy’s title sponsorship of the Yamaha factory teams.
 
Said Dave Gowland, VP Motorsports Marketing, Monster Energy: “Monster Energy is all about winning, and we're enthused to enter the 2023 global racing season with Yamaha Racing. Monster Energy competes and excels in motor racing disciplines and championships the world over, and when we go racing, we go to win. We couldn’t be happier than to enter the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, the MXGP World Championship with the Monster Energy Factory MXGP and MX2 teams, and the MotoGP World Championship with the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team. Powering into 2023 with Yamaha and our collective new global livery for 2023 puts us in a position to fight for race wins and championships, and that's exactly what we're about. Bring on 2023. We're here to win.”
 
Paramount on the special Monster/Yamaha global press conference at San Diego was the announcement of the new race livery that will combine the traditional Monster Energy green and Yamaha blue with a camouflage scheme, showcased on all the bikes – from the YZ dirt bikes to YZR-M1 road racing bikes.

SKI AND SNOWBOARDING

Monster Energy Dominates at Laax Open 2023 With Eight Podium Spots

One of the world’s most iconic snow sports events is back! Monster Energy congratulates its team of snowboard athletes on a strong performance at the LAAX OPEN 2023 in Switzerland this weekend. In the iconic competition on Crap Sogn Gion Mountain, team rider Zoi Sadowski-Synnott from New Zealand claimed first place in the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle event.
 
Monster Energy riders also claimed four second-place finishes, including Mia Brookes (Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle), Dusty Henricksen (Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle), Sarah Hoefflin (Women’s Freeski Slopestyle) and Alex Hall (Men’s Freeski Slopestyle). Bringing the team’s podium spots to eight total, Japanese team rider Yuto Totsuka took third place in Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe, Birk Ruud finished third in Men’s Freeski Slopestyle, and Sven Thorgren rose to third place in Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle.
 

PBR

Kaique Pacheco Reigns Supreme in Duluth, Jumps Into World Top 3

For the second week in a row, 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco rode all three of his bulls. Instead of finishing second, like he did a week earlier in Chicago, the Monster Energy newcomer won his first elite, televised PBR event of 2023 and, more importantly, vaulted all the way to third in the world standings. Pacheco is one spot behind fellow Monster Energy teammate Jose Vitor Leme, who finished fifth in Duluth, Georgia, after posting back-to-back elite event wins.
 
Pacheco is lucky to have escaped severe injury in Round 2 when Cherry Bomb literally exploded end over end out of the bucking chute and nearly crushed the 27-year-old Brazil native. Thankfully, he was unscathed and rode Chanler’s Dream to become one of only two riders coming into the Championship Round with an opportunity to finish the weekend 3-for-3. He rode Smokestack for 90.5 points — his first 90-plus score since going for 90 three times during the PBR Team Series Playoffs — to take the lead in the average and ultimately win the event.
 
Lockwood, who finished second in Duluth, tied for the opening round win and was the high-marked ride of the weekend with 92 points on I’m Legit Too in the final round. Next weekend, the Monster Energy bull riders travel to Indianapolis.