Welcome to Racerhead, coming to you from the road to Southwick and the sixth round of the 2022 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Tomorrow will mark the halfway point of the series, with both red plates still on Hondas, albeit a different Honda in the 250 Class. After Jett Lawrence’s bike blew up while he was leading the first moto, his older brother, Hunter, now holds the points lead. (This must be the first time in motocross history that a #96 was leading a championship.) Hunter went 2-2, losing the overall to a very impressive Jo Shimoda of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team and his 1-3 moto scores. Shimoda came from way, way back to reach third in the second moto, which gave him one point more than Hunter (45 to 44). Shimoda’s historic day—he became the first Japanese rider to ever win a moto, as well as an AMA Pro Motocross overall—meant that international riders have won all five of the rounds so far in the 250 Class. Has that ever happened before? I decided to ask our resident statistician Clinton Fowler—and if anyone else had a points lead this late without having won a race.
According to Fowler, international riders have only won the first 5 rounds once—2021 in the 250/450 class. Ferrandis won rounds 1, 3, 4, and 5 while Roczen won round 2. Note that Roczen won rounds 1, 3, 4, and 5 in 2016. In the 125s, the closest was 2005 when Langston won rounds 1, 3, and 5 and in 2013 when Roczen won round 1 and Musquin rounds 3 and 4.
Series leaders latest into the season without a win, in the 125/250 class:
- Grant Langston won the 2003 championship and never won an overall. He led from round 8 on.
- Dean Wilson didn't get his first win till round 9. He had led rounds 2 and 5 on.
- Mike Brown led round 7 of the 1995 series but hadn't won.
Ivan Tedesco won his first race at round 7 of 2005 and that's when he took over the lead from Brownie.
Before we get into the rest of the week, and a preview of the weekend, let’s not forget about the elephant in the room: the livestreaming debacle with MAVTV Plus that’s mired the first half of the series. Michael Lindsey of Vital MX called and asked to do an interview about the misadventure that’s been our streaming service, if you want to hear it out loud:
So now we’re at Southwick, a track that dates back to the early 1970s. It was originally built by members of American Legion 338 as part of the Jimmy Fund, a New England charity that helps kids by giving them places to play whatever sport they choose. The first national was held here in 1976 and was won by the Dutch sand master Pierre Karsmakers. Over the years it’s earned a reputation as a rider’s track, which makes sense because it’s now run by a group of some of New England’s best riders ever—Keith Johnson, John Dowd, Doug Henry, Mike Treadwell, and more. Johnson and his father, Rick, are the leaders of the group, handed the reins by Mike Grondahl, who picked up the lease from the American Legion and revived the track and the national, which went away briefly after 2013. Grondahl isn’t around the sport much anymore, as the GEICO Honda team he supported is gone now, but I hope he sees what the alumni—Chase Sexton, the Lawrence brothers, Jo Shimoda, Christian Craig, the injured Jeremy Martin, and more—are doing right now. His support of that team and the bosses Rick “Ziggy” Zielfelder and Jeff Majkrzak still shows in the results, and his hand in saving Southwick MX-338 should never be forgotten.
Broc Glover is on this week's decal:
The Heart of The Wick (Jason Weigandt)
The world is right when you see a photo of Southwick racing legends Keith Johnson, John Dowd, Doug Henry, and Mike Treadwell standing near a skid steer getting ready to go to work. These four guys used to battle each other on the track here, but now they actually build the darned track, and help operate the race. Dowd told me they each have different roles and expertise. Johnson is the true operator of the whole track and the event, including the business side. Dowd is the heavy equipment master, he owns a bunch of equipment and he comes in to move the big stuff. Henry is great on a skid steer and tunes up the small details that bring the track to life and make it look cool. Treadwell brings his experience in when they need things like wiring or moving electrical parts. These guys are also all-time characters. They’re workers, no doubt, but they also aren’t afraid to give each other a ribbing and keep it fun. Southwick as a track is awesome. Southwick, though, is about the people of New England as much as anything else.
By the way, Dowd might have jinxed the whole thing by telling me it’s not expected to rain this weekend, and he’ll probably have it pretty easy. Yup, we’re in for it now.
I know this sixth round of the series looks pretty pivotal with Eli Tomac gaining momentum and closing on Chase Sexton in points. I don’t know if we should really use this weekend at Southwick as a judge of the series as a whole, though. Tomac loves sand and flies on this track. Sexton has admitted this year that sand is a weakness, and he’s trying to shore up that part of his game. He has help from Tyla Rattray, who won the 250 class here in 2010 and 2011 and knows plenty about rough sand tracks. Sexton rides at Rattray’s place in Florida, and they’ve got a sand track there to put in some work. Sexton feels he is improving, but he has more work to do. To me, if Eli wins again and makes up more ground, it doesn’t mean as much as it would on other tracks. This particular place just favors Eli, in my mind.
Right now the 250s sure look like the domain of the Lawrence brothers and the one man to get a win from them this year, Jo Shimoda, but I’d like to send out a reminder that Michael Mosiman has been very fast this year and could (should?) have one of those overalls as well. Mosiman won a moto at Hangtown then crashed out of moto two. He came from way back at Thunder Valley to nearly catch Jett Lawrence in moto two, only to run into bike problems. He left everyone behind at High Point until he crashed. He had more bike problems and even threw up before a moto at RedBud. The list of weird things continues, but the speed is there, and Mosiman even led some laps at Southwick last year. If he gets a win, do not be surprised.
Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)
The Wick 338 presents a unique challenge for many of the 450 series regulars. With the 450 Class going first this weekend (NBC rounds), the 450B practice will be on the perfectly groomed track before anyone else. That means that the local riders and those that haven't previously qualified will get their best shot of the season to best the regulars. The Wick is a track that really favors this dynamic. In that first practice, the 450B riders will literally be holding their throttles to the stops and ripping around the outside berms with reckless abandon. There won't be any sort of braking bumps or ruts to worry about, and these riders are also the most familiar with the track, being NESC locals. This will create some incredibly low lap times that riders like Tomac and Sexton may best, but the middling privateers will be wide-eyed at. It adds pressure to those typically on the cusp of the Fast 36, adding in locals and giving advantage to those in that first practice. It also mandates the best effort in that first session. If you have any sort of issue in that first session, you're likely headed to the LCQ. The second qualifying session simply doesn't offer a smooth enough track to log a qualifying lap (unless you're on a different level a la Tomac, Sexton, Roczen). So if you're a privateer headed to The Wick and feeling good about your season, my advice is to make sure you get your warm up dialed in and come correct that morning. Things can go sideways quickly if you don't mind your p's and q's.
This isn't anyone's fault, nor is it unfair. It's just a unique dynamic for this particular event (the 250 Class would be the same if going first). It's been an interesting dynamic to watch unfold ever since the change to timed qualifying versus 4-lap races. We have seen unfamiliar names walking their bikes to the starting line first over the years because of this very thing. So if you're looking over 450 qualifying results Saturday morning and are wondering if there was some sort of glitch, this flip of the schedule and track characteristic is why.
WHITHER TEAM USA? (DC)
Already seeing some interesting scenarios about Team USA for the upcoming Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at RedBud in September. Both Justin Barcia and Jason Anderson have let it be known that they would accept a role on the 250F for the MX2 class if called upon by Team USA manager Roger De Coster (and yes, he's still the team manager, no matter how many write-ins for Broc Glover or RC they get). Add this to the bonfire: Eric Johnson had a chat with current 450 Pro Motocross points leader Chase Sexton, about his interest in riding for Team USA.
“The Motocross of Nations is something that I really want to do,” said Sexton, who actually grew up competing in youth and amateur races at RedBud. “Last year I was supposed to race it in Italy. We didn’t send a team, so I missed out on that. This year with the Motocross of Nations being at RedBud, it couldn’t be a better storm for me. I feel like I have a lot of fire under me and I want to see the United States win. I want them to send the best team whether I’m on it or not. I want to see the United States win, but obviously I’d like to see those guys come over here and race our track and race us. I want to race it and I think I have what it takes to go out there and mix it up with those guys. I’m super keen to hopefully get invited. It would mean the world to me to be able to race the Motocross of Nations at RedBud and to be on home soil.”
Anderson for 250 at MXoN (Weigandt)
Filling that 250 slot for Team USA isn’t a simple job, because traditional candidates like Justin Cooper are struggling. At RedBud, Steve Matthes asked Justin Barcia if he would ride a 250 for Team USA and Barcia said he would. Mosiman has proven the GasGas is a capable bike. I like that idea. I’m 100 percent all-in on moving a 450 guy to a 250. To that end, I suggested on Twitter and in The Weege Show last week that a Sexton/Tomac/Jason Anderson team would be very strong, and Anderson said on Twitter that he would love to ride a 250 for the squad. He’s into it, so let’s do it. Think outside the box. Do you really think Jason Anderson is a worse pick than a current 250 rider? He, Sexton, and Tomac have been the best riders this year all season, on average. He’ll figure out how to ride that bike, I’m sure. Shimoda just proved this year’s Pro Circuit KX250 is solid. Anderson has ridden (well) for Team USA before and understands the pressure. Also, he has not been a great starter at times in his career, and has proven he can come through the pack, which is what he will have to do on a 250. I’m down with either Barcia or Anderson getting the 250 spot, but I edge toward Anderson just because he’s been slightly better than Barcia this year on average, and his experience coming through the pack. (I think Barcia does his best work from the front, but that’s not gonna be the scenario on a 250.)
Will it happen? For some reason I don’t think it will. Team USA has been allergic to this 450-guy-on-a-250 idea for decades. Oh, and in that time, our 250 rider has struggled huge at the event for the most part. Think about that, people.
That’d be kinda dope I would race a 250 fasho
— Jason Anderson (@elhombre_21) July 6, 2022
Dunlop MX14 Tire Intro (Keefer)
Dunlop has introduced their new scoop tire, the MX14, and it is not just a redesign of their MX12 scoop, but is an all new design from the ground up. The MX14 now has optimized tread blocks that are able to effectively penetrate/scoop sandy/muddy terrain thanks to Dunlop’s RST and V—BT designs. The MX14 has a taller 18 percent knob height as well as a new Flexible Fin Technology to help in the aid of braking. The carcass is stiffer, compared to the MX12 version, as Dunlop added a third ply to help the linearity when load is applied. After taking the MX12 for a ride at Glen Helen Raceway recently it amazed me how versatile the new MX14 really is. A better feeling carcass on square edge as well as increased lean angle traction on intermediate terrain could have me sticking with this rear tire even in the afternoon hours of riding in Southern California. What is interesting is how long the factory moto guys have been on this tire. Dylan Ferrandis used a pre-production version of this tire last year at Red Bud and now it has trickled down to us mere mortal riders. I haven't put too much time on the MX14 yet so durability/life span is still a question mark but you can bet you'll see a complete review of the tire past the 10 hour mark over on keeferinctesting.com in the near future.
RedBud Win Ads (DC)
I’ve always been a fan of the win ads that companies have run in Cycle News since the mid-sixties. They personify the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" concept of racing. Here are the ones we spotted in this week's Cyclenews.com magazine online...
TROLL (Matthes)
Sad day in the sport as Alex Martin announced he was hanging up the boots at the end of the year, I spoke with Troll about this a while ago and he wanted me to keep it quiet but also wanted me to know that he was kind of getting a bit burned out, he wanted to move back to Minnesota and start a family and also, his Troll Training on-line business was doing pretty well and he could focus on that.
Obviously, I play it up on the various shows and such my love of Troll as a rider and a guy but I really do admire how he basically made himself into a national winner, SX podium guy and MXoN choice from, well, not much. His amateur results weren't great, his early pro results were nothing to write home about, but the guy never quit grinding away trying to make himself better. I wrote about his early years on the Eleven-10 Mods team and you can see what kind of obstacles he had to overcome. Yeah, his parents ran Millville and he had some advantages that others didn't and yeah, his younger brother Jeremy had more success but in the end, Alex had a terrific career in the sport, he was always very real, very honest and as we've all seen in his Troll Train Vlogs, he's a good guy. Every team he left had nothing but good things to say about working with him and that might be the best thing you could say about a veteran in the sport. Congrats to Alex and Kelsie on everything they've accomplished in the sport and hopefully we see him around next year.
Of course, nothing would be sweeter than "us" going out with a 1-1 at Millville!
Hey, Watch It!
Red Bull posted this really cool behind-the-scenes video of Antonio Cairoli's first AMA Pro Motocross race in America, the Fox Raceway opener at Pala:
And KTM did their own cool cut of Antonio Cairoli's American Trip:
James Stewart continues to put out excellent race reviews--we can't wait for him to co-host Budds Creek with Jason Weigandt on MAVTV--and his take on RedBud is his latest hit:
Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week
“Man Busted For Battering Cop With Hot DogPolice: Floridian, 47, ignored their order to "put the hot dog down"—TheSmokingGun.com
Random Notes
“Vista Outdoor, Inc. announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Irvine, CA.-based Fox Racing, the manufacturer of motocross, mountain bike and lifestyle-related gear, at a purchase price of $540 million, with the potential for an additional $50 million earnout based on the company’s financial performance. Vista said Fox Racing, with its 50-year history, “aligns perfectly with Vista Outdoor’s existing portfolio of leading outdoor brands. Vista Outdoor’s product segments include CamelBak, Bell, Giro, Camp Chef, Bushnell, Bushnell Golf, Foresight Sports, Stone Glacier, and QuietKat.”
Thanks for reading Racerhead. See you at the races!