Garage Finds | Ernesto Fonseca’s 2005 Answer Racing Gear

Garage Finds | Ernesto Fonseca’s 2005 Answer Racing Gear

Presented by Throttle Syndicate

Ernesto Fonseca is a racer who needs no introduction, as the Costa Rican is the most successful rider to ever emerge out of Central America, having earned 125 Supercross Championships in 1999 and 2001 with the powerful Yamaha of Troy team. My fondest memories of Ernie came in late ’99 when Yamaha invited me to join him and some of the US Yamaha staff on a trip to Japan, where Fonseca would become the first rider to race the revolutionary new 2000 Yamaha YZ250F. While the race was certainly memorable – Fonseca won pretty easily on the new four-stroke in spite of having no real four-stroke experience – it was the nights on the streets of Japan I remember most…most notably Fonseca belting out La Bamba at a karaoke bar, or struggling with the native cuisine.

Ernie signed with Team Honda in 2002 and raced there until he suffered paralyzing injuries in 2006 in a practice crash at a private Supercross track. During his first two seasons on Honda, Fonseca wore Troy Lee Designs, but he signed with Answer Racing for the 2004 season and beyond. At the time, Answer was making huge strides forward in design and popularity, thanks largely to its new Brand Manager Erick “Big E” Bartoldus, who came to the brand from TransWorld Motocross in mid ’03. It was in ’05, though, that Big E’s influence was seen on the apparel. “In 2005 we parted ways with the existing ‘Anarchy A’ logo and debuted a new look with new materials and cut,” remembers Bartoldus. “That’s also when we debuted the new high-end Alpha line for Ernie. He wore a small jersey and size 28 pants…he was tiny!”

I’ve got many pieces of memorabilia in my collection, but this set of Ernie’s gear from the ’05 US Open of Supercross is especially special to me as he was injured the following year. “I first signed with Answer in ’04, and that gear had the “Anarchy A” on it, I remember,” said Fonseca in a phone call from his home in Costa Rica. “I hurt my knee at San Diego that year and missed the whole Supercross series, and came back at like Millville. By then, Big E showed me some samples of the ’05 gear and I was really excited about it. I think that was the start of a new era for Answer; Big E changed the image of the brand and made it cool. I don’t think guys like James Stewart would have ever ridden for the brand later if it wasn’t cool, you know?”

Throttle Syndicate Bike Graphic of the Week

Swapmoto Live Yamaha YZ250F

Price: $199

Throttle Syndicate has a wide variety of graphics kits to choose from, but if you’re looking for something truly custom – if you own your own company, for example – the design team is ready and willing to bring your design idea to life. Whether you want to start with an existing design and modify it to suit your tastes – or start completely from scratch – there is typically no added service charge. Can you believe that? Our picky asses required a few design tweaks on this Yamaha YZ250F kit – self admittedly due to our “difficult” logo – but in the end, we got exactly what we were hoping for. Looks badass, right? Why not order a set of Swapmoto Live graphics for your bike? We’ll be your best friends…

Throttle Syndicate is a new name in the motocross graphics business, but the company has been around since the start of the graphics revolution. These days, every kid with wealthy parents seems to be starting a graphics company in their garage, but it’s the big players who have been around since the beginning that deliver the best-fitting and longest-lasting products. Proud sponsors of the Monster Every/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki and Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM teams, Throttle Syndicate produces the best stuff in the game. Check them out at throttlesyndicate.com