What's this "Throwdown"? It's a digital home for rumour, fact and innuendo, delivered on a weekly basis. Covering a broad spectrum of the off-road world's news, the Throwdown will touch on everything from racing to trailriding; from industry tidbits to issues facing the sport. It's about delivering you timely information all in one place so you don't have to scour the internet looking for it.

KTM has released details of the 2012 KTM 450SX-F Factory Edition - the all-new machine rushed into production for Ryan Dungey to legally race in the AMA Supercross. The bike's engine is 2kg lighter with a bore/stroke of 95mm/63.4mm and five-speed transmission with hydraulic clutch. It also has a new Keihin 44mm throttle body with repositioned fuel injector and new piston and crankshaft. The swingarm gets an update, with a 5mm larger rear axel, black excel rims, an orange anodized rear sprocket and new bodywork and graphics. The fuel tank cap has a threaded inner screw instead of the locking cap seen in previous models, too. With a limited production run expected, don't hold your breath to purchase one in Australia.

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The AMA Supercross Championship kicks off at Anaheim 1 this weekend and it's sure to be a thriller. Marking the 56th time the gate will dropped at Anaheim, riders will be attempting to get a leg up on their competition and secure an early points lead. But a new racing season means stepping into the unknown once again and anything can happen. See what Jason Weigandt has to say about the exciting season ahead.

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TwoTwo Motorsports Chad Reed has swapped from Alpinestar boots to the all-new Fox Instinct boot, which he'll debut at Anaheim 1. Fox Australia tells us it will be available in mid February.

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JDR/J-Star KTM's PJ Larson broke his hand during practice last week and will be forced out of the AMA Supercross West Coast Lites series. The team is hopeful he will be back to 100% for the East Coast Lites championship, which begins at Arlington in six weeks time. Australia's Ryan Marmont will take Larson's place in the West Coast Lites SX and race at selected rounds. Marmont competed in the AMA Supercross last year and cracked the top 10 at Los Angeles, Oakland and Anaheim 2.

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Trey Canard suffered a fractured collar bone and was set to miss out on the start of the AMA Supercross

Rumour has it Geico Honda's Trey Canard will show up at Anaheim 1 this weekend after suffering a fractured collarbone a month earlier. After seeing footage taken of Canard at Lake Elsinore MX Park on January 3 it certainly looks like he'll be on the A1 starting gate.

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KTM's wonder-kid, Ken Roczen, has broken his left arm after a practice crash at the manufactures test track in California. The Red Bull KTM Factory Team tell us the German star is expected to make a full recovery and will be ready for the East Coast Lites Supercross Championship on February 18. Roczen posted this gnarly shot of his arm on Twitter (warning: it's graphic).

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Germany's Max Nagl underwent corrective surgery for his back at the end of the World Motocross Championship last year but complications meant he had to go back under the knife. Nagl's off the bike for more than a month but should be back training in February to prepare for the opening round on April 9.

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The Monster Energy Kawasaki team is about to go on a two week break after working right through Christmas to get prepared for the 2012 season. Team Manager, Troy Carroll, tells us it was because his team was still race fit, "We decided to do a block of testing right after Super X in December and work through Christmas while our riders were still at their peak fitness. It worked really well as Jay Marmont and Kade Mosig were very keen to do testing on their new bikes." Carroll goes on to tell us there are some big changes next year with the team's sponsors but isn't ready to release details. Although we've heard Kawasaki International wants standardised equipment used in all their race teams... And we did get Carroll to admit the entire team will be running the all-new M2R X-4 helmet next season.

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The 2012 Motul Pirelli Suzuki line-up has been finalised with British rider, Steven Clarke, joining the team fulltime next season, racing both motocross and supercross in the Lites class. North Queensland's Todd Waters has also joined the team after finishing sixth in the Opens class at last year's Super X (riding for Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing). And it's expected that New Zealand's Cody Cooper will return for the MX Nationals once again.

Finke.

We've received word from a Northern Territory local that the Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team was spotted around Finke last week. It sounds like team rider, Jarrod Bewley, wants another crack at winning the event after finishing second during his first attempt last year.

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The big news coming out of Europe is the retirement of five-time consecutive EWC Champion, Mika Ahola. The Finnish rider had signed a two-year contract with Jotagas after his contract with Honda ended but he announced this week he's hanging up his boots. The 37-year-old says he will now explore his other passions.

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The 2012 Dakar Rally is well underway with Leg 4 completed today. Riders tackled 424km from San Juan to Chilecito with defending champion, Marc Coma, winning the stage. However, Coma only salvaged two minutes to General Classification leader, Cyril Despres, which puts him eight minutes behind after loosing 10 minutes in yesterday's leg when he took a wrong turn. Catch a spectacular video recap of Dakar: Day 4.

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Competitors are getting amped up for the inaugural Melbourne Enduro X on February 4 which takes place less than 10km from Melbourne's CBD at Broadmeadows Motocross venue. Top enduro riders like Motorex KTM Off-Road's Toby Price, reigning AORC Champion, Chris Hollis, and Ballard's Yamaha Off-Road's Stefan Merriman will be competing. For more information check: http://www.enduro-x.com.au.

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Word is Yamaha rider Josh Green was out at Coonabarabran last week and had a unfortunate confrontation with a Kangaroo. The roo clipped him at speed and he split his kidney open in the crash. Green is expected to make a full recovery.

Metal Mulisha's latest film, Black Friday, will go on sale tomorrow via iTunes. Starring the full Mulisha team, including founder Brian Deegan, Ronnie Faisst, Todd Potter, Wes Agee, Taka Higashino and Jacko Strong, Black Friday takes viewers behind the scenes with one of the world's most famous freestyle motocross teams.

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Maddison and LaValle making the 125m jump on New Years.

Aussie FMX daredevil, Robbie Maddison, and snowmobile expert, Levi LaValle, made an epic 125m jump at the 2011 Red Bull: New Year. No Limits event in California, USA last weekend. Check out the clip.

Australia's Lucas Mirtl, founder of LM Action Sports Management, has partnered with seven-time AMA Champion, Jeff Ward, to form Jeff Ward Racing (JWR). The team will compete in the 2012 AMA Supercross and Motocross series, as well as the X Games, with Josh Grant and Kyle Chisholm spearheading the effort.

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Shift Australia has signed the Australian Hart & Huntington Race Team for 2012 and say Dan McCoy and Lewis Woods fit the brand perfectly.

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Shift has also signed Cheyne Boyd for the up coming season. Boyd will also be wearing the Fox V4 Helmet and Instinct Boot.

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Purchase a Honda CRF50F, CRF70F, CRF80F, CRF100F, CRF150F or TRX90 before March 31 and you'll receive a kids Great Outdoors pack valued at $310 for free. It includes a gear bag, fishing rod, reel and tackle box, sticker pack, toolbox, beach towel and cricket set. If you finance your bike through Honda you'll also receive $250 HondaDollars. They also have a deal on the CRF250X. Buy one and you'll receive $200 HondaDollars.