Observations: Hangtown
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 | 4:35 PM
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Ahh the great outdoors! Forget the sub-one minute lap times and the manufactured jumps and bumps, this is motocross and this was the 2011 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross season opener at Hangtown! Generally by the time the end of supercross comes, I’m ready for the outdoors and then near the end of nationals, I want to start seeing supercross again. It’s a ying/yang thing. Or maybe it’s a circle of life thing. Whatever it is, let’s get it started!
Metcalfe finished fifth overall after missing the last part of the SX season with injuries.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Dietrich finished ninth overall in his return to outdoors.
Photo: Simon Cudby
It’s quite a shock to the system to see the guys just hanging off the back, flying around the track and exploding berms after 17 weeks of the guys not getting out of third gear. Ever since I’ve been coming to Hangtown (1996), it seems to get better and better ever year (except for that one year that they put in an S-turn and it caused everyone to crash). It used to be hard pack, slick and not much fun but now it’s like the rest of the national tracks: prepped perfectly with perfecto traction most of the day.
It’s a good spectator track and speaking of spectators, it seemed like there was a ton of people there (22,000 was the number I saw). More than I can remember in the last few years anyways and a very big contrast to the USGP that was held just one week earlier. American fans want to see American racers- that’s not right or wrong or anything, it’s just a fact and I think we have the proof right here (along with Pala’s packed house).
You know Chad Reed has been discounted by a lot of people over the years, myself included. When he won Hangtown last year on a Kawasaki, it definitely came as a shock, but not a huge one. I was only shocked because of his struggles in supercross in 2010, because after all, he did have a number one plate on last season.
This year though, he took the shock to a new level, I think. Reed split moto wins with Ryan Dungey to take the overall and the way he did it was amazing. Dungey didn’t collide with Ryan Villopoto in the first turn and have to work through the pack. Nope, nothing like that. Reed had to pass both Ryans to earn the second moto win. In the process he did something that no one could do all of last year.
He broke Ryan Dungey.
Reed caught and passed both Ryan's en route to the overall at Hangtown.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Besides hauling ass on a motorcycle, one of Ryan Dungey’s strengths lies in the fact that he is in great shape. This is a kid that works as hard off the track as he does on, and last summer, he simply demolished the field. Around the twenty-minute mark, he would just pull away while the other dudes got tired. Last summer he crushed the spirit of other riders with his incredible endurance, guys like Reed, Ben Townley, Andrew Short- guys who are professional and work hard just like Dungey but yet, he still beat them down.
So smash-cut to second moto at Hangtown, Dungey crushed everyone in the first just like we saw all last summer and now, with four laps left, he pulled to within a second of Reed who had led for half the moto. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that Dungey was going to get by--that’s just what he does. And allow me to quote one of my favorite movie lines right now:
Listen. And understand. That terminator (this would be Dungey) is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear (or get tired) And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead beaten.
Dungey lost out on the overall to Reed, but managed to win moto one.
Photo: Simon Cudby
But this was different, Reed managed to break back away from Dungey at the end. He had broken Ryan and that my friends, is a different thing altogether. There’s winning (duh!) and then there’s winning. This was in that second category.
It was a well-earned win and one that’s unlikely. After all Reed was full-on into the supercross title and didn’t ride outdoors at all. Even during that Easter week off when Ryan Villopoto and Dungey got to go outside and test a little bit, Reed stayed with the jumps and bowl turns. He didn’t even know he was going outdoors until a week and a half or so ago!
Very impressive win by Reed. It’s a long series, lots of motos to go and I’m sure Dungey will have something to say about this title, as will Villopoto. The rest of the field? Well, judging by the gap the top three had in the second moto, it’s going to be a long summer.
Villopoto rounded out the podium in his first outdoor race in almost two years.
Photo: Simon Cudby
On the positive end for Dungey, he looked to be a different guy this weekend than he was in supercross. He seemed confident and assertive and like I was saying, he took off for the first moto win and reminded everyone why that number 1 plate is on his bike. He had some sweet lines out there as well that Reed and Villopoto never seemed to catch onto like in the third turn, which was a right-hander. It was money for sure. It’s with the utmost respect for Dungey that I talk about Reed being able to motor away at the end being a big deal. You just don’t do that to Ryan.
As far as the other Ryan, Villopoto- he gets somewhat of a free pass this weekend because he was sick all week and wasn’t 100 percent going into this race. And it showed as he got worked late in the race by the 1 and the 22. RV led the second moto for half of it but he knew he couldn’t hold those guys off forever, he was just making sure he had the speed covered and he did that. Another week of rest and getting back up to strength and we’ll see what RV can do. Although we might not even see him at his peak powers until High Point.
In the 250 class, on the pre-season prediction podcast right here on Racer X Online our own David Pingree called out Blake Baggett for the win and although Blake should be in any discussion of potential winners, I don’t think too many people thought he was the favorite.
Maybe we should listen to Ping more.
Tomac ran into the Pro Circuit buzzsaw at Hangtown.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Baggett put on a phenomenal bit of riding to win Hangtown with a 2-1 score and trust me, if you were there, you know that Blake was the fastest guy. Not even a crash in the first moto could deter the quiet Baggett’s fiery charge to the front. So Baggett was the first national winner and that sets up a very interesting Freestone national this weekend because Baggett was hella-fast there last year as was his teammate Dean Wilson. Then the other amigo, Tyla Rattray, won the second-moto last year.
If you’re Eli Tomac I’m not sure if you’re bummed or content with your Hangtown weekend. There are two sides of thought to this: One is that a solid fourth overall isn’t a bad way to open the year, but the other side is that Tomac won this race last year and at one point, he led the first moto. So I’m not sure if Eli Tomac’s Hangtown was good or bad and you know what? Maybe it doesn’t have to be good or bad, maybe it can by just okay.
I knew that Marvin Musquin would be good going into this series but I have to admit that after watching him at the USGP, I wondered if I was off. I didn’t think that in his first race since last November he’d be beating Kenny Roczen or Jeffrey Herlings, but I definitely thought he’d be in that next group but instead, Tommy Searle, Max Anstie and Zach Osborne all seemed to be better than him.
At Hangtown, though, he was on it and worked his way up from the back each moto and hear me now and listen to me later, Musquin will be winning motos before long.
Musquin came back from dead last to sixth in moto two.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Davi Millsaps always seems to do well at Hangtown, and he came through this weekend (although his second moto wasn’t that good) as he ended up sixth overall. You may think that it’s not a big deal but in the first moto he carded a fourth and was one of a few guys (Tommy Hahn as well) that was moving forward.
Hangtown saw the debut of Christophe Pourcel for the Motoconcepts Yamaha team and it definitely was an interesting development and added some intrigue to the day. And then when he went by Ryan Villopoto early in the first moto, it was definitely a “Hmmm” moment. Soon though, RV got back by and Pourcel started going backwards before turning it on the last two laps. In the second moto, he got a terrible start and worked his way from way, way back to get eleventh.
Pourcel’s day to me was mixed, he can obviously go the speed but his endurance isn’t where it needs to be, but that shouldn’t be a surprise. He’ll get better as the series goes on.
Millsaps had a solid day at Hangtown, finishing sixth overall.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Brett Metcalfe went 5-5 and as usual, not too many people talked about him but really, he’s been out for a few months recovering from injuries and stepped right in to finish top five both times out. I’d say that’s pretty good and like Pourcel, he’ll get better. Remember last summer!
The Honda’s of Kevin Windham and Chad Reed both suffered some airboot problems in the first moto and the bikes were down on power once they got hot. No telling how it affected the guys out there but you could hear KW’s bike sounded a bit like a vacuum cleaner out there. For the second moto, Honda figured it out.
Speaking of Windham, his magic carried on when he holeshot and led the first moto for some laps. The crowd was going nuts and KW must have been thinking it was pretty cool for him to be leading the best riders in the world with virtually no motocross testing. His 6-4 was probably the most popular 6-4 in the history of the sport!
Metcalfe finished fifth overall after missing the last part of the SX season with injuries.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Let’s take a look at the results shall we?
Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Hangtown - Sacramento, CA
450 Overall
1. Chad Reed (2-1) Hon
2. Ryan Dungey (1-2) Suz
3. Ryan Villopoto (3-3) Kaw
4. Kevin Windham (6-4) Hon
5. Brett Metcalfe (5-5) Suz
6. Davi Millsaps (4-7) Yam
7. Tommy Hahn (8-8) Yam- good ride for T Hahn!
8. Christophe Pourcel (7-11) Yam
9. Ricky Dietrich (11-9) Yam- Dietrich was pretty solid on the day and him and his teammate Nick Wey suffered terrible starts both motos.
10. Christian Craig (14-10) Hon- To get tenth overall in this 450 class is definitely solid and good ride for Craig.
11. Michael Byrne (10-14) Suz- Byrner was up there in the first moto.
12. Jake Weimer (21-6) Kaw- Weimer had a terrible first moto with crashes but he rebounded nicely in the second moto. A sixth is about where he should be- around Metty I would think.
13. Kyle Chisholm (16-12) Yam- The Chiz should be happy with this ride. He’s still recovering from his injuries suffered in SX.
14. Nick Wey (15-13) Yam
15. Mike Brown (13-15) KTM- Brownie rode a 450 and although he was pretty good for a part-timer, he didn’t get the 25 points he needed to keep his number. He’ll have to come back out.
16. Tye Simmonds (12-16) KTM
17. Andrew Short (9-34) KTM- Just another bad start of the nationals for Shorty. As he was coming up in the first moto, something let go in his motor and he nursed his bike home. Second moto, the same thing happened to the bike. I’ve been on many teams and that’s not good.
18. Calle Aspegren (26-17) Hon
19. Kevin Rookstool (19-19) KTM
20. Robby Bell (17-22) Kaw
Dietrich finished ninth overall in his return to outdoors.
Photo: Simon Cudby
250 Overall
1. Blake Baggett (2-1) Kaw
2. Dean Wilson (1-3) Kaw- Wilson did nothing to not make me think he’s in the running for this championship. Dean-o’s got good style out there!
3. Tyla Rattray (5-2) Kaw- All Rattray did was almost win the second moto and log a solid third overall. Good race for Ratters!
4. Eli Tomac (3-4) Hon
5. Marvin Musquin (4-6) KTM
6. Gareth Swanepoel (9-5) Yam- This was pretty good right? I have to ask you guys because I never really noticed Gareth out there.
7. Kyle Cunningham (8-8) Yam- Generally with Cunningham, you see scores like 5-28 or 37-7 so anytime he can go 8-8, it makes me think that maybe he’s harnessed himself a bit.
8. Darryn Durham (10-9) Hon-DDT rode well and was up front in the first moto with that silky smooth style of his. He’s the first real privateer as well.
9. Broc Tickle (11-5) Kaw- Tickle had some bad luck with his throttle and a crash and as he told me afterwards, if he can get ninth with everything that went wrong- he’ll take it.
10.Cole Seely (7-13) Hon
11. Martin Davalos (12-11) Suz- Good ride for Davalos in the second moto because he was down there with Musquin in the first turn.
12. Jason Anderson (11-12) Suz
13. Justin Barcia (6-18) Hon-Barcia’s wrist injury might be a little too much to overcome in the outdoors.
14. Gannon Audette (14-15) Yam
15. Nico Izzi (30-10) Hon
16. Austin Howell (15-19) Suz
17. Alex Martin (24-14) Hon
18. Ben Evans (19-16) Kaw
19. Nick Paluzzi (17-20) Suz- Tough day for Rockstar Suzuki.
20. Scott Champion (16-22) Hon
GEICO Honda is down a couple of riders with Blake Wharton, Jimmy Decotis and Wil Hahn all out with injury. Hahn’s gone for a while, Wharton is gone for the year and Decotis I imagine is coming back soon but if his injury lingers, it’s interesting to see if the Honda guys try to put someone on the bike.
Everyone I talked to in the post-race podcasts http://www.pulpmx.com/podcasts/hangtown-pulpcasts remarked on how rough the track was. It was pounded by rain, then amateurs, and finally was disced up and watered, which always makes for a rough course. It was gnarly, you could see the guys coming down the hills and just getting swapped and kicked around. Generally Anaheim 1 is a little tame for the guys as the track builders want everyone to get their sea legs under them but outdoors, there was none of that! After the backbreaking Hangtown, we’re going to the heat of Texas this weekend. There is no rest for the wicked in the American motocross series!
Alessi will be out until High Point after a big get-off at Hangtown.
Photo: Simon Cudby
You may have wandered around the pits and noticed that Star Racing Yamaha has 450 rider Kyle Partridge on the team and you may be like I was and wondering, Why does Yamaha’s official 250 team have a 450 guy on their team? And no offense to Partridge but he’s a journeyman privateer who’s been around for a few years so why the ride? Turns out that Partridge has bought himself a spot on the team and is giving himself a shot with good equipment and support to do the best he can. And there is your answer.
Poor Mike Alessi. The 800 is on the bike that he wanted to be on and has been, according to people that have seen him, riding well in the pre-season. In the first practice Mike went out and set the fastest time proving that he would be right there for podiums. In the second practice, I was leaning against the fence when Mike went by me and another team guy hauling ass. It was a little bizarre because practice had just started and everyone was sort of cruising. The guy turned to me and said “Wow, he’s really on it, he must want to win this practice also.” Then, half a lap later, the ambulance flags were out and the practice was red-flagged after Alessi took a big header.
So that was it, he was out for the day and I would say, seeing as how he hit his head at the Vegas SX (and maybe at the previous week’s Salt Lake City as well) a third knock to the noggin isn’t good. Alessi definitely had some serious speed but he’s going to have to wait a while to show it and that’s too bad.
Thanks for reading and email me at [email protected] and we can talk!
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Great weekend, lets hope everyone stays healthy and we get this all year. Good writeup Matthes
Hope the boys enjoy the heat in Texas and Dungey can get back on top! Good luck to all !
So Mr. reporter, did you get to the bottom of Shorts engine problem? Just ask right?;) Oh and good job this time! Ratty in the heat, can he win it this saturday?
Matthes writes about Reed that "He broke Ryan Dungey." Despite the fact that I am a Reedy fan, in my opinion, it is too early in the race for the title to make that kind of statement. Although the competition appears to be better this season, I have to claim that Dungey is NOT broken and has the potential to win the series ... again.
After being there and seeing it I have to agree with Matthes that the way in which Reed won was impressive. Basically outlasting the guy that outlasted everyone else last year. Hopefully it'll be just as good as supercross or maybe better because I'd like to see Reed, Villo, Dungey, Allesi, Canard (once he comes back), Grant (once he's better), and Windham (he'll get better as this season goes on with his fitness) all up fighting for this thing
Matthes why don't you give us a real observation that we want to know.Like what happened to Larry Brooks or Is Pro Circuit going to use Kaw next year.Your the one who made such a big deal out of Team Kaw using FMF pipes.You are kind of like that Rock guy thats always on the Moto-News site.He'll bring something up like he's in the know and then will not tell what it is.
Fred, Larry's not talking to anyone right now. Soon, the story will come out. As far as PC not on Kawi, I don't know anything about that.
I've never said this before, but GO DUNGEY!!!!!
I would think that Mitch isn't going to let something like that get in the way of him winning. Although it would be interesting to see him switch brands, I don't think he will.
In my opinion, the main thing wrong with the outdoors? Supercross only contracts. The Nationals are what the majority of racers race. Just an opinion.
I have to say it after watching and listening to riders and tests and actually riding one, I don't get it the 350 does not give any advantage over the 450 and loses considerable power especially bottom and mid. I feel espically outdoors the rider will have to work harder to keep pace. Just my opionion
He broke Dungey..............give me a break. What did RD do to him in the first moto? Aren't they tied in points? So what did Reed do to RV then. Hey I'm a big Reed and RV fan but come on man, he broke him in the first race. That was awful.
A smaller engine is not necessarily a bad thing. Look what RV did at the MSDN a few years ago. And Baggett would have been near the front racing against 450's! Brute horsepower can't guarantee a win. In the right hands, the 350 could be a threat.
Matthes, right away you get to your anti Glen Helen agenda by telling us how packed Hangtown was and what a ghost town GH was, oh, and throwing in a little nod to how great Pala was. News flash! Pala was a DEBACLE! Most people who went (including myself) won't be returning this year due to the atrocious ingress / egress situation (that, by the way, cannot be solved). I read through the rest of the article in an effort to put your horses azz comments behind me but, you sir, are a knob and until you learn to respect those that came before you, you will always be 2nd rate hack material.
What gives? do they call you "fatty" at GH? Have you ever been? Did you fall / roll down one of the hills and now have an aversion to it? Expiring minds would LOVE to hear why you carry this grudge, something reporters (I say reporter because a journalist, you are not) are not supposed to do. I guess you're breaking new ground in ethics as well as bear claws consumed in one sitting. Jeez, how I miss EJ.
Rant over.
@ carlsbad,,ha ha ha thank you,,well said!!,,,,,the sport is slowly goin backwards and not that many seem to realize it,,started with the sx only contracts and continues to backtrack with this ragtag thrown together tv coverarge,,2 motos here 2 motos there one pair live the other taped,,oh well
Pala National a "debacle" ?
30K plus the first year , great track and great racing
Yeah the backup for the late comers sucked but the parking snafu will mostly be a non issue ......................... funny I left my house in Carlsbad at 7:30 and was in the pits by 9:00
Carlsbad what really sucked is GH and the FIM late scheduling the USGP a week before the first National of the year. Coincidence .............. ? Oh and then at the last minute offer 100K if an American wins Nice , the old divide and conquer strategy.
Way to make American Motocross look bad. Whats next hold the USGP hostage ?
With the crowd (?) you had its gonna take your entire five year contract to draw what Pala does thsi year. HA HA HA
I expect a classless moves like that from that no purse payin Luongo............... but not from the GH folks.
Jim
Pala 374
Great Stuff Matthes, this is going to be a wicked outdoor season!! but few questions that observations normally digs up, Whats up with JS7?? we hear all sorts of rumours that hes on a suzuki? then stuff with his team? do you honestly have any idea what he's doing? look at Reed he's hardly had any outdoor training and he smokes nearly everyone!! and the FMF kawi saga? i see they running there pipes but no FMF anywhere? come on Matthes give us the real observations mate, your the man keep up the good work
Steve ,
Reed "broke" Dungey ? bet you'd like to take that back.
CP had stamina issues on his 250 and its gonna be better now ?
I root for both 22 and the Dunge but RV was a Monster on that 250F.
Baggett - Freestone - Daytona - Hangtown................................
Dirt
Oh Seely and Tickle.............
Las Vegas karma !
Dirt
also,,mxa(the magazine) is involved with glen helen,,so the glen helen bashing is politics,,steel city is still on the tour and pala was new last year (last minute) and ryno is tied to that track,,so guess it looks like a war of magazines,,ha ha ha,,,it is what it is,,,,but but supercross was great this yr has been in the past few yrs,the tv package was great the past few yrs and has been getten better,,now if they could do the same with mx
WHY DOES EVERYONE CONTINUALLY BASH DUNGEY?
Show the man some respect dear god.
Show the man some respect dear god.
Matthes - that article was a great summary of Hangtown and a very good read. Well done!
It would be nice to see DDT on a Geico ride.
And i agree with those calling the "he broke Dungey" thing absurd!! Seriously Matthass?? They swapped moto wins and Reed won the second moto for the overall....nothing more. RD, you have everything you need to win against every one out there.......use it and do it!!
matthes, dont listen to these haters. yes gh is gone, but pala is only 30 mins at most from where 90% of the pros live (murrieta area, or my home town), its almost a home coming race in my eyes. cant wait to see dietrich killing it there, as i have riden with him at a spot only the true locals know. good writing as always, love it man.
"American fans want to see American riders." Not true. If you noticed Reed and several of the guys are from other countries..
What we want to see is the best. That's what we have in the US. The best guys want to come here and they do. They battle the best that the US can produce.
The USGP is held during the worst possible time of the year, when the riders get one weekend off before starting the grind again. The fans check out too for one week. That's why no one is showing up for the USGP.
Who cares about Pala(4 months away), USGP(they dont have dentists in italy?), Pourcel(he paid to get on a team too), the real story is Wilson finally found some pants that will stay up(suspenders?) so mx on tv gets a G rating again. Oh yeah, does anybody know where I can get that A-Stars gear Allessi wears? Looks good, can't find it anywhere.
@Jimbo,
30K, really, you must be on Pala’s / Davey’s payroll or hoping for a brownie button from your local track. You might be able to say the TV coverage hid them all, but the couple people I know that attended stated “maybe half that many - 12K” and reverberated the same thoughts as “Carlsbad“. Before you go off on a “ how would you know, you didn’t even attend” tangent, they have a hell of a lot more credibility then the Pala/Davey crew which has NONE! The DC/Pala clan have proven to be in your face liars. Obviously Dictator Davey has instructed his loyal sheep to take digs at GH to promote his state run track with his state run media. Great track Jimbo??? Pala is at best a poor club track, that is by far the least “National Motocross“ worthy track on the circuit. Flat as a ping pong table (oh I’m sorry, they added that mound of dirt at one end), crappy dirt (they brought sand in with hopes “that” would make it a “real National”), no facilities or at least very few at the time DC christened them, the poor location, the parking situation, the horrible narrow winding two lane road that normally has more traffic then it can handle, etc……. I do agree with Matthes in that Americans want to see Americans race, but YOU MATTHES (AKA RacerX/DC)should be making digs at the riders and factories for not attending, and not GH for bringing a GP to our shores.
As someone mentioned in another conversation. Is there a possibility doping was on display at Hangtown?
Looks to me like there's some keyboard jockies on here just looking for a reason to bash Matthes. Team Two Two did break Dungey the 2nd moto, plain and simple. Matthes wasn't speaking of the entire series. And his comparison of Hangtown to the USGP has been twisted into some kind of Glen Helen beat down. I don't see that as being Matthes agenda. It was a comparison to show how Americans are way more interested in American racing. And RacerX has more character & class than ANY other pub out there. How many other pubs promote the competition in their mags. And aren't we all way past the Brooks & ProCircuit/Kawasaki deal. It's a new season. Focus forward, man. Anyone that bashes RacerX and their staff are ignorant.
don't forget Reed had bike issues in moto 1, But I also don't think RD is broken, Stuned... maybe a little shocked by Reed but not broken.
I think Dungey is fine. Reed just had more than him that day on that track. It happens, maybe Dungey got a little tight while in the lead and tired himself out?? Who knows, but Reed Dungey and RV will all be battling up front all year, and will trade wins back and forth. Its what we all want, great racing.
I dont see were anyone can bash Glen Helen, it has great hills and a great natural terrian layout. If you want to bash something, bash Pala. To me, it looks like and outdoor supercross track. All man-made jumps and everything, nothing natural like an outdoor track is supposed to be. Its what they want, so they can build bleachers everywhere and then charge you again to sit in the seats. Its what the promotors want. Seats everywhere like a supercross track. They can make more money off the fans that way. Freestone too, and flat field with a man-made track like an outdoor supercross track.
Someone brought up doping about who, Reed?.... Guess you never knw these days.... Reed seems to be gaining a little weight though.....My girlfriend brought that to my attention and I have to agree.....
I thought the same thing about Freestone until we went there. Its actually pretty good, about as good a national MX track you can have without hills. Rough, rutty, lots of lines, great dirt, and a great crew running it. There are natural terrain tracks that are worse........Thunder Valley.
Doping???...........yeah lets just test and settle this. Why don't they test at outdoors like supercross or do they? Well do they really test at supercross?
Thats pretty harsh Carlsbad.... You were pretty hard on Matthes. But I must say, he is a disgusting fat pig. Steve, why dont you try jogging and maybe get on weight watchers? Do you have diabetes yet?
I'm not trying to start anything here, anybody who's been around this way of life a while knows which way the wind blows. For track promoters (and series promoters), this is business first and foremost (if you don't understand that, you won't understand this). Racer productions & Racer X are kissing cousins if not outright siblings. Of course the company line will be towed here, I just am sick of the digs @ GH. Matthes has shamelessly done it several times (as well as the MXA staff) and I'm just calling him on it. You don't see "Hi-point and/or Steel city sucks" in MXA unless they (Jody) are editorializing and even then he's not bashing the track or the mag (or website), he's questioning what's best for the sport. How was Pala better for the sport (as opposed to better for Racer productions)? I like Pala, I do. Any time a track moves closer to me, I can't complain but, a world-class facility (with world-class infrastructure) it is not.
Addressing MXoriginals comments, he wrote " Americans are way more interested in American racing" , "how many other pubs promote the competition in their mags" and "Anyone that bashes RacerX and their staff are ignorant"
1) Have you seen the top 10 in the 250 class (or 450's for that matter)???? There are more foreigners here than Americans over there, BY FAR. American racing? What's that?
2) If you call that promotion, I have a service contract to sell you.
3) I "bash" people that lash out at the things I care about. If someone somewhere else attacked RX, I would defend them just as well (as I have defended Matthes' & Ping's comments before, not that they needed it).
Lastly, I consider being informed more important than being opinionated.
Good luck to us all.
There are probably a few people who have used or may be using performance enhancing drugs at the top level. It's unfortunate, but every sport has them and there is no reason to think motocross is any different. The detection methods always seem to be one step behind.
GH had it coming. Bummed it went to Pala though. Isn't there any other options........CE or other?
If GH had any smarts they would have befriended MXA long ago. MXA now has very little credibility in this sport. Their race reporting is non-existent, their bike tests are blatently biased (publishing misinformation), their technical advise is a joke, and they continually slander the AMA, FIM, and any other promotional organization when the mood strikes. The sport passed those guys by long ago. Take your fiber and ride off into the sunset already MXA.....
@Carlsbad
keep suckin that GH d*ck buddy
You're right Matthes, he broke him. That day, that race, Dungey may have thought, I can't catch him and settled. Looks to be a great outdoor season!!
You're right Matthes, he broke him. That day, that race, Dungey may have thought, I can't catch him and settled. Looks to be a great outdoor season!!
JD805- that's all I was saying, he broke him on this day and this weekend, in Texas, it's an all-new race and all new deal. I'm not saying it's for the rest of the year but just like in bicycle racing, you win one day and "break" your rival and the next day- you have to get up and try it again.
Carlsbad- When I was at TWMX, I sang the same tune. No conflict here at all, just calling it like I sees it and that's from a guy that's been to every GH national and every GH USGP. My email is right here, send me a note and we can debate this further and maybe I can try to get across what I'm trying to say and mean.
Give Partridge a break... cant blame him for trying. As for buying his way in... how many of these others guys have bought their way into their position over the years? From what I can see; most of the top amatuer riders have their parents deep pockets to thank for their success.
Give Partridge a break... cant blame him for trying. As for buying his way in... how many of these others guys have bought their way into their position over the years? From what I can see; most of the top amatuer riders have their parents deep pockets to thank for their success.
Matthes, I'm over it, I blew my stack and it's done. I apologize I said flip things 'cause I was worked up. It shouldn't bother me that much. You have as much right as me to say what's on your mind and that's that. I didn't need to go gravedigging and stir things up that much, it just struck a chord I suppose. I changed crack dealers and I think the switch is affecting my moods..........
I'd rather babble about Moto anyways (something else I know nothing about).
Matthes, don't give this douche bag Carlsbad the time of day. Hey Carlsbad, I can understand your disagreement with the article but digging into Matthes about his weight and shit is just stupid. As Kenny Watson would say, go hang yourself. Matthes, keep up the good work. I was at GH and was disappointed with the turnout but I still think the weather had alot to do with it. I agree Americans want to see American riders but the event has a good vibe and these guys flat out can ride.
I personally can not understand the appeal of Steve Matthes. I realize he used to be Tim Ferry's wrench. (which he constantly reminds us) but to me he seems like a bitter fame whore that can't (digest if you will) the industry not having any use of him, he constantly backhands riders with sarcasm as if he needs to test the boundary's of animosity against them.
I also don't understand how a guy who is as bitter and off the cuff as he is gets associated with this sport, riders are professional, dedicated athletes with a desire to reach their personal best, all qualities a guy like Matthes will never know anything about. I know he's "retired aka fired" from the factory's but quit trying to drag these athletes down to your level Matthes, they all have something you'll never know anything about, character!