Racer X ReduX: Freestone
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 | 10:00 AM
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Last week I said Hangtown seemed a little more like hardcore motocross than usual. Track seemed rougher, motos seemed longer. But that’s nothing compared to this weekend at the Rockstar Energy Drink Freestone National in Texas. This one was old-school motocross. Like, 1974 motocross or something like that.
It so many ways, motocross has been refined to where perfection is the rule in an imperfect world. When the sport began, the bikes were so unreliable that promoters decided to use a two-moto format. You didn’t want fans buying tickets to see their favorite rider, only to have his frame snap on the first lap of the race. Two motos gave the stars two chances to perform for the fans.
In those days, you needed to baby a bike at times to just finish the races, and OG champions like Roger DeCoster will tell you all about that if you ask. And with 45-minute motos on primitive bikes, riders had to pace themselves, physically, too.
The calm before the storm.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Just about all of that is gone nowadays. Races are sprints instead of marathons. You need to get a good start and push immediately—waiting and trying to save anything at all doesn’t work. [Note: this is the part where old school fans get mad and rant about how Bob Hannah never paced himself, he rode flat out, all out, all the time and never got tired because he was so stinkin’ tough. You know, I used to work at Disney World, and one day a guy asked me when they took all the big loop-de-loops out of Space Mountain. I told him it never had loops, and he said it must have, because when he was a kid it was the craziest, wildest roller coaster ever.]
Anyway, dust off a copy of an old Cycle News and read the race reports. Back in the formative days of American motocross, riders paced themselves, waited, and strategized. And when they crashed or made a big mistake, they would say things like, “That took away all of my energy.” You don’t hear that anymore. Today’s strategy is simple: get a good start and go like mad.
Yes, today’s riders are so afraid of showing weakness that they’ll tell you they’re not tired even when they’re huffing and puffing. That’s part of it. But after Ricky Carmichael made the perfect season seem not only possible, but predictable, the variables have been tossed out. It’s expected that a rider can never crash, never get hurt, never get tired and never break a bike.
It really isn’t that easy. And through two rounds this year, we’ve seen some old school thrown back into the mix. The heat, the pace, the pressure, it’s taking a toll on riders and bikes, and doing in it in equal opportunity fashion.
Dungey lost valuable points to Reed after a DNF in the second moto.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Nothing major, either. Bikes aren’t grenading catastrophically. Riders aren’t passing out on the side of the track, they’re just getting tired. We didn’t have a single “Brett Metcalfe in Texas ’08 incident” where a dude was riding on autopilot with heat stroke. And not a single part broke in Dungey’s Suzuki, instead, the fuel boiled in the heat and vaporized (evaporated, essentially) right out of the vent hose. Eventually, the tank ran dry. I talked to Suzuki team manager Mike Webb this morning to get that explanation, and he added that the team used the same fuel tank they used in Texas last year (where they had no problems) and that they also had plenty of gas left at the end of moto one. It’s a shame for that team and especially ace mechanic Mike Gosselaar, who was the one who wrenched Carmichael to so many of those perfect seasons. Bikes built by Goose seemingly never break (and Trey Canard admitted Dungey’s chain problem at Anaheim 2 happened because he ran into him. None of this is directly Goose’s fault, but he takes this stuff hard). The point is, Suzuki can’t point to a major malfunction here. All they can say is that motocross racing is tough, and in racing, sometimes things like this happen.
Suzuki is not alone—they just had the highest profile incident. KTM obviously had problems with Andrew Short’s bike last week. Broc Tickle DNFed the first 250 moto in Texas. Honda has had an assortment of problems, too, one of which caused Kevin Windham’s bike to give up before the first moto was over (and Reed said he was having the same issue, he was just lucky enough to get to the finish). Bike problems. They’re back!
The riders are also admitting fatigue at times (I swear, the sport ran through a good 15-year run where not a single rider ever admitted they got tired in a moto.) Dungey and Villopoto wore down in moto two at Hangtown, for example. Villopoto admitted that the Texas heat really caught up to him when he crashed in the second moto. I talked to several riders who admitted they were really tired after the first moto and had to go into survival mode in the second one.
Reed was there to take advantage of Dungey's misfortunes.
Photo: Simon Cudby
In supercross, we surmised that, perhaps, the days of single rider domination may have waned in favor of some old-school parity. In motocross, we may be seeing perfection wane in favor of old-school physical and mechanical limits.
Definitely a bummer for Dungey. The dude was putting in an inspired ride, as after Reed got the better of him in the second moto at Hangtown, and then the first moto here, The Dunge had a nice rebound going with a big lead in the second moto. Reed was close at first and looked like he had a run in him, but he crashed, and Dungey didn’t, so Dungey deserved the win and Reed said as much. But here’s what is interesting: The last time I remember a guy having a win in hand only to suffer bike problems was last year at Southwick when Brett Metcalfe ran out of gas—and handed the lead over to Dungey! And we all remember the time that a DNF cost a rider a championship: Christophe Pourcel was in position for the 2009 250 title until he ran into engine trouble at Southwick. And Dungey was the one who took advantage! So I guess this shows that racing is an equal-opportunity offender.
Now Dungey and Suzuki will need to bank on that type of luck catching up with Reed so they can get some points back. But really, even 25 points is small stuff when you have 20 more motos and 500 potential points up for grabs. Remember, Reed had front brake problems at High Point last year and failed to finish the first moto.
Behind Reed and Dungey, there’s a real gap at the end of the motos. Ryan Villopoto has the speed (his first moto lap time was the fastest of the race) but not since the first race of his first pro season in 2006 have I seen him out of contention at a motocross race like this. To me, it looked like he knew this weekend just wasn’t going to be his, so he did what he needed to do to go 3-3 and get his points. The second moto crash dropped him to 3-5, but the point is that RV is in damage control mode and trying not to dig too deep a hole before he gets his A game back. And again, he gets a lot of leeway since he’s been so strong outdoors in the past. I am hearing some people say that Aldon Baker leaned Ryan out too much, but seriously, how could anyone question the Villo/Baker convo? Did they not just win arguably the most competitive supercross championship ever?
Rattray is one of the many championship contenders in the 250 class.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Chad Reed is the benefactor here, but the dude is riding so well I don’t want to make it sound like these are gifts. Just watch how inspired he is throughout the race and you can tell he’s doing everything right and deserves this kind of success. Villopoto and Dungey will be back, but Chad is going to hold onto this series’ lead with one heck of a grip.
If you’re going to pick a rider to win on race days that come down to survival of the fittest, Tyla Rattray is your man in the 250s. We know Rattray is going to be in the hunt every weekend and not throw any points away. His only threat is if one of these younger kids catches fire with some sort of wicked Trey-Canard-last-year burst. Rattray’s own teammates Wilson and Baggett have that potential. Wilson easily had the stuff to go 1-1 but he rushed an aggressive pass on Justin Barcia (you don’t say!) and threw it away in moto two. But man, Wilson looks fast. Baggett does, of course, too, but he crashed hard. Barcia had a wild one, too, taking out Marvin Musquin in a manner that makes Dungey’s day look awesome in comparison.
So, Wilson, Baggett and Barcia crashed. Rattray won. This may be the type of matchup the season boils down to. Can the kids tame the aggression enough and use their speed to beat the veteran?
Meanwhile I’m waiting for Eli Tomac here. Good but not great through the first two rounds. He told me he felt a little off and Hangtown and was happy with the results he got there, considering. We media folks were really playing up the “he’s gonna’ go 1-1 because he’s so mad after Vegas” angle, but in moto, that rarely works. Anger often just leads to tense riding, and it looks like Eli, instead, is relaxed.
Tomac has gotten off to a slow start in 2011.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Kyle Cunningham is improving right before your eyes. He’s come a long, long way this year, finally reaching the potential he would tease with every once in awhile. What I’m impressed with lately with Kyle is that his good results don’t come when he gets good starts. I feel like, for years, in every Kyle Cunningham interview, he brought up how hard it was to get results when you don’t get starts. And that’s true, yes, but no one is every going to get holeshots every week (even the 800 went through a bad summer last year), so you’re going to have to learn to deal. And Kyle has! I feel like calling Star Racing Rising Star Racing, because the stock is going up over there. Cunningham and Ryan Sipes have both gone from “talented, fast guys who keep making the same mistakes” to just “talented, fast guys.”
In supercross, five guys really established themselves, and you ended up with a best-of-the-rest scenario behind them. Kevin Windham made inroads by the end of the season, but otherwise, you had riders probably riding better than they have at any point in their career, but having it go largely unnoticed. We’ll see if that happens this summer. Brett Metcalfe is a great dude, hard worker, tough guy, someone to root for. Davi Millsaps is enjoying a renaissance. Christian Craig’s day was spectacular. Ricky Dietrich is surprising people even though this shouldn’t be a surprise any longer. Jake Weimer is getting his racing legs back underneath him. I don’t know if these guys are going to get to the Reed/Dungey (and RV) pace but that doesn’t mean they’re not bad dudes. Maybe the fact that this outdoor season is making this sport look a little tougher will help add some respect for everyone who is out there.
Enjoy the weekend off. Shoot me an email [email protected]
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misfourtanes
RV still hadnt completely recovered from being sick, and the heat sure brought that out. Sucks, hope he is 100% at High Point. Really sucks for Dungey, all his fuel evaporated from the heat, that sucks. He had Reed destroyed too. but it happens outdoors, its why the perfect season is such a big deal. to avoid all of that and never lose a moto. And Millsaps still looks good, I am happy about that, always liked him, but lost a little faith recently but it looks like he has beat his health problems.
excuses excuses. that's all i hear. villopoto is sick. waah. you guys sound like stewart fans. just admit that he wasn't on it for the last 2 races.
Great article. Good job JW.
Great read. I love the way Weigandt breaks it down. If we could get DC and Eric Johnson back behind the keyboard more RacerX would be even better. Stick with what you know works RacerX. Ditch the fatso and bless us with your OG reporters.
Pay Jason more and have him write all of RX's stuff. Maybe hire his uncle Lord Alfred to do some freelancing.
If RV does not pull out of his funk/sickness I will be pulling for an RD come back. Love to watch RD ride, So smoooooooooooooooooooooooooth. Reed has a nice style also.
@motocross7... He has the speed, 3 out of 4 motos this year he has had the fastest lap time so I really believe it a health issue. Time will tell who is right.
I'm fully expecting RV to catch fire by the next round. This thing is going to get ugly!
Yes I liked this article, just dont let Bob Hannah read it! lol... Yes in the 70's you soetimes had to nursethe bike to make it to the finish.
Good read. Weege - please drop your "Izzi, yes he is!" line. It was tired after all the use last season and twice more in the Freestone broadcast just put me over the edge. Don't make me mute the sound...
Good read. I hate to nit pick but I think Weigant needs to proof read his articles a few times before he puts them up. There are too many typos for a publication like RacerX. Other than that keep up the good work!
@BillC - I agree its got to be his health. I'm sure the other riders have noticed that he has consistently had the fastest lap of the race and its only a matter of time till they look back and see the 2 coming after them. Or better yet a good wire to wire is exactly what RV needs to pick it up after a bit of a slow start.
Cant wait for Budds , JS7 is in ....
Good write up Weege! I remember racing back in the day when you raced up hill both ways in 3 feet of snow. The races were longer, but the tracks were not as rough. You had to baby those bikes because they broke easily. Early day frames would crack from fatigue. Clutches seemed to burn up easily. Before reed valves, if you crashed, the motor would load up. Spark plugs fouled easily. Hitting tracks on a early day Yamaha 125 MX as I remeber was brutal. When I look back, those old bikes were junk campared to todays modern racers. Brakes! You had to stop Fred Flintstone syle. But you did have to kind of pace yourself or these things would break. But that was all there was back then and that is all we knew at the time. I wouldn't trade my CRF250 for anything now. Oh ya, early day motocross wold also run 3 20 minute motos. The natonal level rode 2 45 minute motos. But the women in the pits were just as hot then as they are today. Still built the same!
That was a really cool read comparing the old days vs today. I wasn't around back then, but along with vintage bikes on leaf springs I doubt the sport had the funds for trainers to put riders in top (olympic even) shape. But because of that rather than in spite, I think those old days were indeed gnarlier.
@ motocross7
Stating the obvious isn't necessarily an excuse. Villopto losing by 30 secs to a min every moto is a little more than ' not being on it '. We're talking about a guy who crushed the field at an MXoN on a 250! Including my Idol RC!
There is something wrong with RV......not saying he'd be winning every race if he was healthy but........ He's set the fastest lap in 3 of the first 4 moto's but he physically can't maintain it!? Hell every time the part-timer ( JS7 ) set's a fastest lap he's anointed the ' Fastest man on the Planet '...go figure.
" I will come down upon thee with great vengeance "
On those who spew negativity and vile ............................... Your welcome .
D
Strong writing and analysis by Jason W. as usual....but the question that I am left with in terms of Aldon Baker's training of Villipoto is whether that "lean approach" is what is needed for what I would argue is the more physically taxing form of racing....motocross. Getting RV to the point of perfection for a 20 lap SX race - which this year was sometimes only a 12-14 minute sprint - may not be what's needed for two motos of 30+2 laps.
Not saying that Baker didn't know what he's doing for the indoors series but am just wondering if that cardio-tuned lean body for an anaerobic supercross sprint is giving RV enough of a physical base for much longer racing outdoors.
He wasn't on it for the last two races...... because he has been sick. I can't vouch for RV, but I am a cyclist and I managed to get sick about 4 weeks ago. I have been training since oct 26th for a big Tour race in the south east and even tho I feel fine just standing around, when I have to put the hammer down, all my numbers are just off. I can see it a little more clearly than I they can in moto because of all the monitoring equipment that measures my effort from every angle and it shows up on the computer screen. I am off, I am struggling to shake what got on me and that is very hard to do when you still have to maintain a level of fitness while you recover. If RV got sick, and I believe that he did, depending on what it was, THEN YES, it very well can be still effecting his results. My doctor told me 6 weeks before I could expect to be at 100 percent. My trainer says 4. Regaurdless, I went to a race that I specifically trained for since october of last year, 6 days a week, all winter, rain, snow, wind and heat, and did a crappy job because I got a little bug last month. Lucky for Ryan, he has 20 more motos to make something happen.
Bubba could learn from this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAiMM6SGHd4
Bean Canyon - Not just Stewart, but I think a lot of riders could take note. Stewart is usually pretty good with fans...but times are different these days in all riders defense....Trying to sign hundreds of autographs, ride practice and do all the race day stuff these days is pretty tuff..... As far as heart goes, I am still on the fence with Stewart....You cant question his efforts from coming from amateur, but sure the main stream "hollywood" junk has effected all these guys ......but Stewart obviously has been effected more...with the show and all that.....maybe that is part of the things he is changing...we'll see I guess....
Mookie
I work in the film business , Bubbas World , takes about four days to film one episode , He probably makes about 30 grand per episode , and then it trickles down to all the others , they are shot way in advance , and are scripted , due to lighting , and crew time . It is hard work , and draining , but fun
You guys crack me up. First, Dungey killed it in that second moto, and Reed probably would not have caught and passed him even if he didn't crash. Dungey was riding better in the second moto at Texas, plain and simple. Just like Reed rode better than Dungey in the second moto at Hangtown. Secondly, before Hangtown all we heard from RV fans were terms like, "dominance"; "destroy the field"; "Dungey and Reed don't have a chance"; and my personal favorite, "24-0". After Hangtown all we heard was "wait until next week when RV is feeling better". Texas came and went, and now all we are hearing is, "a two week break will give RV the time he needs to get better, he'll go 1-1 at High Point." RV is without a doubt one of the best riders, but maybe the RV fanboyz should just own up to the fact that Dungey and Reed are just as good outdoors as a healthy RV is. Dominance in the lites class or at the MXoN does not always equate to dominance in the premier 450 class. And coming into the season, fanboyz were basing their predictions on one race in 2009 that RV won in the 450 class. Calm down, fanboyz, RV will win some, but he will not dominate this series and you're just going to have to accept that. Sick or not, RV lost by almost a minute in some of these races, and I don't care how good you are, even a healthy RV is not going to clear that kind of distance and then add another 30 seconds onto it and dominate Dungey and Reed. Dungey is a machine and Reed is on it so let's give credit where credit is due. As much as I like RV, you RV fanboyz have egg on your faces after your pre-season hype, i.e. vitalmx message boarders.
@comfortably dumb - Although I agree the 24-0 was a long shot, if anyone was going to pull that off based on past outdoor performances, it would be RV.....Now, I am sure it is safe to say that most the RV "fanboyz" as you say were thinking he would come in at 100%, which we all know now he is not, so no egg on my face , RV is my pick to win it and although he is starting out slow (3rd overall both races is slow these days, thats funny ) I think he will gain momentum and we will see some of the dominating performances people are expecting......RV went from 23rd to 3rd place in moto 1 with a fall too....Everyone is stepping it up this year and we get to enjoy it....Of course Reed and Dungey are just as good outdoors...but who will prevail......
Nuff Said !
Only a one week break before High Pointe (above says 2 weeks)......Should be enough for RV to get things settled both physically and the bike and ready to show us "fanboyz" what we want to see...Reed and Dungey's bikes were pretty much dialed for Hangtown (their own words) and RV is appareantly still working on some stuff... Round 2 is in the books and we move forward....it will only get better for RV from here on out if he stays healthy....Dungey is going to be a man on a mission after last week, but thats what people said after his chain in SX....he can still pull out the title and if Reed has some bad luck for a change, that will make it more interesting..Reed crashed trying to run Dungeys pace last week and unfortunately Dungey broke down.....the past few years have been boring so its good to see the MX series following suit and if JS7 gets on the track, even better.....
RV may very well go 1-1 at High Point, I don't think he will given the way Dungey and Reed are riding, but it would not be the first time I am wrong. What I'm not wrong about, however, is the rather loud and boisterous claims that RV fanboyz made pre-season regardining RV's dominance. Had Dungey gone 3-3 and claimed to be sick, the same fans would likely be saying that Dungey is simply not as fast, sick or not. RV's stronghold on the outdoors was based on his lites performances (which by all means were dominating), thus any pre-season favoritism for a title seemed to be premature in my opinion. I think these first two races have to some extent, shown us that RV will not be the dominating factor that many said he would, and that Dungey and Reed are the favorites at this point. Anything can change, but I don't think it will. The problem isn't that RV is sick, the problem is that RV fanboyz over-estimated RV's abilities by making him out to be some outdoor god, while underestimating Dungey's performances from the 2010 outdoor season (which he has already proved, was no fluke) and writing Reed off after a dismal 2010 outdoor performance. You guys should really order some bacon with that egg (I just laughed out loud). ;)
Mr Numb - It is only round 2.......So far we have seen a great ride out of the gate by Reed at Hangtown and Dungey fell back in moto 2.....In Texas, we saw the exact oppposite pretty much...meanwhile, both races RV was COMFORTABLY (i laughed at that one) in 3rd place getting his act together and posting some great laptimes.....Me personally, I am not surprised at Dungey or Reed, they are excellent riders, former/current champion of the MX class and they SHOULD be there. Reed has the best equipment out there and the Dunge has a spectacular effort last year and he wasnt going slow....Now when we hit the half way mark, I'll order some corned beef and hash with my eggs if things are the same as they are now.....I want to see Milsaps jump in there....much improvement the past few weeks.....
Let's not forget about CP just yet.
I don't dis-credit the speed and fitness of Dungey or Reed by any means. Obviously RV is fast as hell and has thrown down fast laps at both races so far, he just doesn't seem to be able to sustain it. I think he is fast enough to run at the front but there is an issue. They say he was sick, people around him said he was sick. something is up is all I can say. be it sick, bike, fitness? I do think he will get it together and ride out front. All I can say is at the 2007 MXDN, I saw that kid ride that bike so fast.... it was truly amazing.
Fact is, I want to see him in the mix so it's not a two man show. Reed and Dungey are killing everybody right now. I hope Canard can get back up there when he is healthy, I want to see 800 up front getting good finishes and would love to see James show up. The more the better
The first picture shows a track worker standing in a raised bucket to fasten down a banner/or plastic behind the starting gate.....Come on...this is one of the most basic no-no's....a real unsafe practice and one that can get someone hurt. Start paying attention to what you are doing...take the time to do it right....SAFETY is NOT a mistake.
I thought both the track and the racing was AWESOME and it was definately gruling! I was wondering what happened to Dungey! Both classes were great and Barcia just impresses the heck out of me with his raw speed and fearless riding. Same for Wilson too! It's gong to be a GREAT year for Moto! The sport DEFINATELY needs these wild men to keep it fresh! Hats off to all riders and I LOVE THIS SPORT!!!!