Welcome to Racerhead and a rare off-weekend in what’s become a 10-month racing season—and may soon become even more. There’s still the Motocross of Nations to be run in Maggiora, Italy, next week; the new SMX Cup in Germany; the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas; Red Bull Straight Rhythm in Southern California; and then assorted international SX races all over the world. [For a full guide to the off-season, check out The List from earlier this week.] And then, before we know it, Anaheim. It’s all made for a sort of rolling off-season, where some people are still hard at work on their 2016 results, while others are gone from the starting gate and already focused on 2017 preseason testing and training. Some are home, wherever that may be; others are in Florida or Georgia or the Carolinas doing work. It’s a much different world than it was, say, 20 years ago.
Late last week I took a detour up to a place that was once an important hub in the SX/MX world. Castillo Ranch, which is above Santa Barbara, was The Place to be if you were interested in doing some lock-down training, supercross testing, freestyle video shoots, team photo shoots, and even the occasional Racer X Ride Day. Built by Jim Castillo for himself and his son Dave, the ranch had a state-of-the-art supercross track, a bitchin’ motocross track, and just lush valleys with steep hills and ledges that made for spectacular leaps. Castillo Ranch was a playground for the likes of Jeremy McGrath, Jeff Emig, Buddy Antunez, Denny Stephenson, “Factory” Phil Lawrence, Sebastien Tortelli, Travis Pastrana, Billy Laninovich, Lance Coury, Cole Seely, and more. This was the place where McGrath shot his epic scenes for Fox Racing’s Terrafrma 2 video, and also where Dave Castillo had his own epic crash in the filming of Moto XXX 6, where he crushed his front wheel after over-jumping one of the hills. (Check it out at the 2:20 or so mark here.)
Castillo Ranch was remote, and there’s not a lot to do up there but ride, but it was also fun. The guys who were there often hung out together, whether they were training together or not, and it wasn’t nearly as cutthroat in, say, the nineties, as it is right now. For that we can probably mostly blame Ricky Carmichael, who flipped the map and did most of his work in Florida rather than California, setting off a slow migration east by those who wanted to mimic his success. You can also point to Pastrana’s crash when he tried to jump over all of the fences above the supercross track at the ranch just before the 2003 season, blowing out his knee while also becoming a cautionary tale for future “pros at practice and play.”
Riding around the ranch last week was like riding through an empty stadium long after the crowds and the competitors had all gone home. Most of Castillo Ranch is covered over now with weeds, but if you know where to look, you can still find the hits atop the hills, and even the freestyle ramp that Billy Laninovich used for those masterpiece whips of his. It was sad that it was so empty, but things changed after Castillo himself went from racing to working as a stuntman/double in Hollywood, and the rest of the old gang peeled off their own ways.
But right when this trip down memory lane was ending, Castillo told me that Shane Schaefer was on his way—someone had decided to use Castillo Ranch for a boot camp to start getting ready for 2017! Welcome back to the nineties! #MakeCastilloRanchGreatAgain
One other note about long seasons and the off-season: In working on the edit of Andras Hegyi’s bit on Eli Tomac below, I came across a strange anomaly in the standings of the 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. Of the 46 riders who scored a point in the 450SX Class, only one of them—third-overall Jason Anderson—will be racing in the 2016 FIM Motocross of Nations. How is that even possible?
Well, #1 Ryan Dungey is still recovering from injury and wasn’t available for Team USA. Runner-up Ken Roczen is switching teams and passed on his chance to ride for Germany. Fourth-place Eli Tomac just swept the four USGP motos but passed on riding for Team USA, taking a well-deserved break instead. Fifth-place Chad Reed will not be lining up for Australia, focusing on getting back up to speed in SX after taking the summer off. Sixth-place Cole Seely has been hurt and wasn’t available for Team USA, which will have Anderson joined by 250SX riders Cooper Webb (on the 450 and captain of Team USA) and Alex Martin. Seventh-place Marvin Musquin was part of defending MXoN champions France, but he wasn’t invited to be on the team this year. Justin Brayton, Trey Canard, Jake Weimer, Justin Bogle, Mike Alessi.… The list goes on.
I can’t remember there ever being a year where this might have happened, but it’s still strange to think of a race as big as the Motocross of Nations with so few participants from the biggest motocross series of all. Weird. Anyway, here’s Racerhead.
JESSY NELSON TIME (Jason Weigandt)
(This was posted earlier in Breaking News but we want to repeat it here.)
The motocross industry and Road 2 Recovery have been busy collecting items for an eBay auction to benefit Jessy Nelson, and now the items are up for bidding. Go here to see them. This is a pretty amazing collection up for bid, with tons of full race-worn gear from the biggest names in the sport.
Nelson broke his back in a crash at Unadilla a month ago and lost feeling and movement below his waist. He continues to rehab and recover, but even with health insurance, he will go through a tremendous expense.
This is a 10-day auction with a five-minute staggered start and finish. The first item will close on Sunday, September 25 at 9 AM Pacific, with each item closing five minutes after that. This staggered start and finish will ensure that if you might have missed one item, you'll still have an opportunity to bid on something else before it closes. All shipping in the US is free. Each item won will help Jessy out in a major way, so start bidding now.
Road 2 Recovery would like to thank everyone who has donated items to Jessy's Benefit eBay Auction. The moto industry, athletes, and community really pulled together to make this a once in a lifetime auction that you can't miss! Without your support this type of turn out wouldn't have been possible. There really is something for everyone and every budget. Big thanks to Red Bull, Troy Lee Designs, Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen, James Stewart, Cooper Webb, Marvin Musquin, Justin Bogle, Ivan Tedesco, the Motorcycle Superstore team of Kyle Cunningham, Jimmy Albertson and Josh Osby, Trey Canard, Eli Tomac, Justin Barcia, Andrew Short, David Vuillemin, Brian Deegan, Ashley Fiolek, Rockwell Time, Yoshimura, Chad Wienen, Wil Hahn, MiniMe Moto, and everyone else who has helped and donated.
For more info on the Road 2 Recovery fund for Jessy, go here or check out this interview with Jimmy Button, detailing the fund.
Good luck and happy bidding. Fill out your garage or man cave with some of the coolest stuff ever, while also helping Jessy Nelson!
The Latest (Jason Weigandt)
I remember the dark days of the Great Recession back in 2008 and everyone fearing the worst during that off-season. Would there even be teams or rides in 2009? What would things look like? Well, budgets were slashed, and a lot of deals came together late, but by the time Anaheim rolled around, most riders had a home. Since then, each off-season seems less stressful than the next. Until this one. Now we've reached a perfect storm, though not of slashed budgets and economic doldrums, but simply too many riders for too few spots. It's just a numbers (not dollars) game right now, although the dollars for the few spots left available are dropping because teams have a ton of leverage at the moment.
It doesn't help that the old Yoshimura Suzuki team is now finished, and with it two 450 seats (held by James Stewart and Blake Baggett in 2016) gone in this annual game of musical chairs. Matthes outlined who is on the market right now and ventured some guesses as to where they might end up, but there's no doubt there are more riders than spots. However, I remember how this stuff worked back in the dark days and I have a feeling some seats might get invented—at a very low salary—which will allow most of these riders to find a home.
For example, right now GEICO Honda is absolutely noncommittal to a 450 program, which would have been an easy landing spot for Malcolm Stewart. GEICO needs the Honda factory team to build the works bikes. I talked to Mike LaRocco this week, and he said if the 2017 450 was a carryover bike, the team might be able to build its own stuff, but it definitely will not have the time or resources to develop its own all-new 450 and be ready for the season. That would normally be fine, as Justin Bogle's 2016 450 was handled by factory Honda, but Honda is in a pinch with an all-new CRF450R which will require a giant pile of new parts just for factory boys Ken Roczen and Cole Seely. The earthquake in Japan from earlier this year that rocked the actual production facility didn't help things either. I hear a lot of people at Honda really want to have Mookie on their bike, it's just a matter of logistics, and an answer won't be available until probably October. (I can also guarantee Honda folks want to take zero chances now that Roczen is on board; they have to be absolutely sure the new recruit has zero holdups when it comes to parts or testing.)
However, if I were a betting man, I'd bet on this Malcolm deal happening. Again, I go back to those scary days of 2008 when it seemed like everyone was screwed in September, but things were somehow, someway worked out by January. And now I just have a feeling this might work out. Between his talent and popularity, Malcolm on a factory 450 is just too good of a combo to not make happen. None of this is based on any insider info, as everyone involved over there just keeps saying they won't know until October. So, Honda, make it happen, please!
And if that does happen, it takes some serious pressure off of all the other riders, because one GEICO Honda 450 on the track is one more ride for one more rider. But what about Dean Wilson, Justin Brayton, Broc Tickle, Justin Bogle, Jake Weimer and even James Stewart? Again, I have a feeling rides will materialize that aren't even necessarily on the radar yet. We've got talent on the market and now that talent will do anything to get a slot—usually that helps not just open doors, but create some new ones.
Motocross of Nations News (Chase Stallo)
Next week in Maggiora, Italy, Cooper Webb, Jason Anderson and Alex Martin will look to end a four-year losing streak at the Motocross of Nations. And Team USA caught a big break this week in their hopes of winning the Chamberlain Trophy for the first time since 2011. Team Belgium’s Clement Desalle announced on Instagram that a knee injury sustained at the final round of the FIM World Motocross Championship at Glen Helen will keep him out of the event.
As we were getting Racerhead ready, Belgium team manager Joel Smets announced (also on Instagram) that Brent Van doninck will replace the injured Desalle. The surprise: Van doninck, an MX2 regular, will ride the 450 in the Open class. As Smets said in his post, sometimes you have to dare to think outside the box.
Behind Desalle and GP regulars Kevin Strijbos and Jeremy Van Horebeek (who was expected to drop down to the 250), the Red Knights were one of the early favorites to capture the overall this year. Now? The jury is out.
Three-time MX2 World Champion Jeffrey Herlings, who hasn’t raced the MXoN since 2012 due to injury, left the door open to opting out of the event post-race at Glen Helen. Here is what he told Racer X’s Kyle
Racer X: Obviously, you still have the des Nations coming up. Do you have anything planned for the off-season?
Herlings: Obviously, des Nations will be in two weeks, so I don’t know if we can be ready for that. We’ll start testing straight when we get home on Wednesday or Thursday. But still, it’s going to be a long trip home, and then with the jet lag, so it will be pretty tough on our bodies. For now we haven’t decided anything yet. We’ll just start testing, and we’ll see day by day.
According to MX Large, Herlings has spoken with the Dutch Federation and will race the Open class (on a 450) as expected. He’s racing the final round of the Belgian Championship this weekend on a 450 to prepare.
Herlings will be joined by Glenn Coldenhoff (MX2) and Brian Bogers (MX2), who both return from last year’s sixth-place team. Check out Racer X Online next week for a full preview.
Eli Tomac (Andras Hegyi)
Tomac came, saw, and conquered in overwhelming fashion against MXGP big names like Tony Cairoli, Tim Gajser, and Romain Febvre. It’s also worth noting that Tomac has never been 450 champion in any AMA series, though he has won a 250SX and 250MX titles. Eli was second in the 450 Nationals in 2016 behind Ken Roczen, and he was fourth in 450 supercross behind Ryan Dungey, Roczen and Jason Anderson.
Eli’s dominance in the last two MXGP rounds made him the first American Kawasaki rider since 1990 to get two consecutive GP wins in the FIM World Motocross Championship. Twenty-six years ago, Billy Liles won two consecutive races in saddle of a Kawasaki in what was then the 500cc category.
Tomac is also the sixth American to win back-to-back Grand Prix events, and the first man in history to win the first four motos he ever entered in the FIM World Championship.
The other Americans to win back-to-back GP events are Donny Schmit, Trampas Parker, Bobby Moore, Billy Liles, and Danny LaPorte. Parker is the record-holder, taking four straight wins in his miraculous 1989 season while racing a 125cc KTM. In 1994, both Moore and the late Schmit were able to get at least two GP wins in a row—three in a row for Moore, who was riding in the 125 class on his way to the world title.
And way back in 1982, Danny LaPorte took three successive GP wins in the 250 Class, and then in ‘83 he got two consecutive GP wins in 250 as well.
The Number: 16 (Andras Hegyi)
MXGP's new world champion, Slovenian Honda rider Tim Gajser, was kept off the podium only twice in 2016. All told he finished on the podium in 16 out of 18 rounds, making him the first rider to get 16 podiums in a season in the history of the FIM World Championship (in existence since 1957 but usually shorter than the 18 rounds we now have). Gajser has overtaken Sebastien Tortelli, Stefan Everts, Tony Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings, all of whom had at some point earned 15 podiums in a single season. But this record comes with an asterisk of sorts, as you will see.
Sebastien Tortelli got his 15 podiums in 1998 while racing in the 250 World Championship Series that consisted of 16 rounds. We can remember what a thrilling battle was between Tortelli and Stefan Everts for that title, with Everts earning 14 podiums, which still wasn’t enough to top Tortelli!
For his own part, in 2006 in MX1, Everts was on the podium in all the 15 GPs on that year’s schedule, and then of course he famously swept the Motocross of Nations in England from James Stewart, then called it a career.
Eight-time world champ Tony Cairoli was very consistent in the 2013 MX1 season, landing 15 podiums in 17 rounds. And then Jeffrey Herlings actually has two MX2 seasons with 15 podiums. First he did it in in 2013 when there were 17 rounds, and this year he got 15 podiums in 18 rounds.
Now here’s the asterisk. Gajser may not be the first man to reach 16 podiums in a single season, depending on how you feel about single-moto races and the ability to race two and even three different divisions at the same event. That’s what Stefan Everts did in 2003 when the FIM World Championship employed a single-moto format and ran three divisions: 125cc (125 two-strokes and 250cc four-strokes), MotocrossGP (250cc two-strokes and 450cc four-strokes) and Open (up to 650cc). From the fourth round on that season Everts, focused on the MotocrossGP title while riding a Yamaha YZ450F, began racing a Yamaha YZ250F as well—there was nothing in the rules about him not doing it, and the superbly fit and versatile Everts started winning both classes! Over the next nine rounds, he swept both classes eight times. And then he saved the best for last, entering all three classes at the season-ending French GP at Ernee. Of course he won them all. Add it all up and it’s actually Everts who has the most podiums in a single season—18—but they were spread over three classes, and in a single-moto format.
Gear Launches (Kyle Scott)
Last Friday Leatt held a gear intro in Southern California. The majority of the media companies invited were European and were in town for the USGP at Glen Helen. To give them a real taste of the American style and flavor the event was held at a shooting range and there was BBQ and Budweiser, classic. Many of the European's had never fired a gun before, but after some suds they warmed up to the idea and were knocking clay pigeons out of the sky like it was 4th of July. For a South African based company, Leatt sure knows how to put on an American event.
Now the real reason we were there was for Leatt's riding gear. That's right, Leatt has branched out even further and is now selling gear. There's a lot of ventilation and it's even designed to work with your neck brace. I haven't had a chance to ride with it yet, but there is tons of flex throughout the pants and I'm excited to give a set a try. You can check out their GPX line here.
On Tuesday Seven had their 2017 launch party at 7° at 7 o'clock in Laguna Beach, CA. Axell Hodges, Jimmy Albertson, Jake Weimer, and the rest of the amateur Seven athletes were in attendance. It was a good time at a cool venue with great food.
One thing I discovered about the premium level Seven gear is the jersey is actually two pieces. It's a tighter fitting material so the two appear as one if you're any more than two feet away. One thing cool about this is you're able to mix and match under layers with outer layers so you can mix and match sets for a larger selection of color ways.
On Wednesday morning there was a ride day at Perris to test out the new stuff. I'm a big fan of their vented jerseys as it was a warm one out. Axell Hodges was throwing down some fat whips and Jimmy Albertson was showing some impressive speed. Most of the editors were given the neon orange gear set so the track looked a bit like the 91 freeway with orange hazards everywhere slowing down the faster traffic. Check out the rest of their color ways at sevenmx.com
Hey, Watch It!
Gymkhana_Nine stars Ken Block and his super-trick Ford Focus in a set called Raw_Industrial_Playground, another epic film of Block burning rubber and having more fun in a car than any one man should be allowed to have!
David Bailey talks about the 1986 Motocross des Nations at Maggiora.
Head-Scratching Headline of the Week
You know a race is in Europe when you get a headline like this:
FRECCIAROSSA IS THE OFFICIAL TRAIN OF THE MONSTER ENERGY FIM MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS
Random Notes
Southeastern motocross lost a longtime friend with the passing on Kenneth Hayes of Jim's Motorcycle Sales, the longtime sponsor of Mike Brown and many others. Brownie wrote this of Hayes on his Facebook page:
This past saturday we lost a special friend,mentor,husband, dad Kenneth Hayes the owner of Jim's Motorcycles my long time sponsor from day one! Ken was know around the world for kindness, business man and great racer I been in all part s of the world and people speak about how great a man he was he's going to be be missed by many but you can bet he's up building race bike for all his buds saying let's line them up boys see how fast you can go! He will on the top of the box I'm sure with his never quit attitude and biggest heart I know! Old man until then keep it full throttle and keep watching over us!!! Going to miss you! Love to the Hayes family!
Found a cool moto destination in Ventura, CA, last weekend: Iron & Resin Garage. Cool place, cool products, lots of nostalgia on display here! Check them out on Facebook too.
Former 250SX race-winner and current Racer X contributor Blake Wharton will be attending the University of North Texas and the school newspaper, The North Texas Daily, wrote this cool article about him.
For the latest news from Canada, check out DMX Frid'Eh Update #38.
And finally, if you’re in the neighborhood this weekend, we’re planning on having a whole bunch of fun at High Point Raceway with the 26th Annual DC Vet Homecoming Race. The “DC” part of it actually is for my dad, who we called Big Dave, and whom passed in 1998. He started the Vet race back in the day, and then it sort of morphed into a fun memorial to him in the years that followed his passing. Now it’s part-race, part-swap meet, all fun! I think we’re even having a Racer X “Challenge” tomorrow on an extended “GP” track, and I think I might have a pretty good shot at that, though I need to find a bike first! It should be a lot of fun. He is a preview of the track we captured with our GoPro's yesterday.
Thanks for reading Racerhead. See you at the races.