Welcome to Racerhead, coming to you on the eve of a very busy weekend for racing. We've got the Atlanta round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross taking place tomorrow afternoon (3 p.m. EDT), as well as the fourth round of the FIM Motocross World Championships (MXGP) at the beautiful Arco di Trentino at the foot of the Dolomites in Italy, and also the fifth round of the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series at Camp Coker in South Carolina. And spring racing is up and running all over the country, so get out there and either do some racing yourself or at least watch some.
How to Watch: Supercross, GNCC, and MXGP
Defending AMA Supercross Champion Eli Tomac keeps on trucking, as the Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha rider moved past James Stewart in their tie for second on the all-time wins list when he captured his 51st win at the Glendale SX, a Triple Crown round. The win came on a night when Red Bull KTM's Cooper Webb didn't have his best stuff and finished fourth. That lifted Tomac to a seven-point lead, having gone into the race tied in points. Webb is going to need to rebound quickly at Atlanta Motor Speedway before Tomac starts stacking more points on him.
In the 250 SX division the Lawrence brothers continue to lead the way, staggering their wins as the series goes back and forth, East and West. Glendale was a West Region round, which meant it was Jett's turn to show off the red plates on his HRC Honda CRF250. His Glendale win was the first time he ever won a Triple Crown, and he now has a 26-point lead on Rockstar Husqvarna's RJ Hampshire, who finished second behind Jett for the fifth time in six '23 races. Atlanta is in the East Region, so now it's back to Hunter on the HRC Honda CRF250 with the red plates. He has a 35-point lead on Nate Thrasher in that region. Thrasher, who hails from Tennessee and rides for the Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing squad, has won here twice, both times in 2021 (when there was a three-race set), and both times after coming out of the LCQ (which is pretty incredible stat when you think about it).
On the subject of stats, here's another one that I think is really interesting: Believe it or not, it was Atlanta, and not Daytona, that was Ricky Carmichael's best city of all in Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Of course, back in Ricky's day the ATL SX was held in the Georgia Dome. As a 125cc rider here, Carmichael scored his first-ever 125 SX win here in 1997, and then again in '98 when he had the perfect season in the 125 East Region. In '99 and 2000, as he was learning the ropes in the premier class, he finished 14th and third, respectively. From there, Carmichael won every year he entered the Atlanta SX from 2001 to '06, five visits in row when you drop ‘04 when RC sat out SX with a knee injury. Finally, in 2007, Carmichael barely lost to James Stewart when he was riding only a partial schedule as he closed in on retirement. (A record 70,133 fans turned out that night to see Carmichael race in the Georgia Dome for the last time.) Needless to say, come tomorrow night, both Webb and Thrasher could use some of Carmichael's Atlanta success if they want to reel in Tomac and Hunter.
And speaking of Carmichael, who will be calling the races tomorrow alongside James Stewart in the booth, his name came up in a press release from Triumph that I found very interesting. Ricky's now the Triumph Off-Road Ambassador, and he's been helping the British brand along the way as they get closer and closer to going into the global motocross and off-road racing market. This week Triumph announced the addition of Ricky's longtime friend and former teammate at Suzuki, multi-time champion Ivan Tedesco, to their testing team, along with longtime MXGP frontrunner Clement Desalle. Keefer will have more on this below, but I have to say that Triumph, which has based their U.S. operations in Atlanta, are definitely heading in the right direction. Unlike some past new-to-motocross start-ups like Cannondale, Buell and more recently Alta, they are proceeding with a methodical, patient approach, bringing in lots of industry veterans that know the space and the market. They plan on being on the 250SX starting gate for the start of both the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in January as well as MX2 in the 2024 FIM World Motocross Championships in March, GNCC, and more. The Triumph 450 is planned to debut in 2025.
I'm not in Atlanta this weekend Jason Thomas and Mitch Kendra all are, so let's get into what's happening there right now...
SPEEDWAYS (Matthes)
I've got to be honest, I thought that the Feld guys would work more speedways into their series after our Covid SX season. It seemed to be a no-brainer—the big NASCAR speedways have a lot of advantages with longer tracks that can better handle and hold up to 20- and 15-minute mains as well as SX Futures, a built-in base of people who cross-over to our sport, and I'm guessing cheaper to rent these than the stadiums, lots of room for fan pit parties, etc., etc. I thought we'd see Atlanta, Charlotte, maybe Texas Speedway or COTA pop up on the schedule but it hasn't quite worked out like that yet. Atlanta I get because the new Mercedes Benz Stadium is quite a pain to deal with for the riders and teams so I'm guessing Feld is loving this particular race. Yes, weather is an issue with the open-air speedways as opposed to the domes but to me, looking at it from Feld’s point of view, the positives outweigh the negatives. But just not enough yet, I guess?
For what it’s worth I also thought we'd see some Saturday/Tuesday doubleheader races in order to make it easier on everyone, but that hasn’t happened either. Then again, now we have the SX and MX people working together on those three more races at the end of the season, and two of them are in big motor speedways and the other one (LA Coliseum) is as big as stadiums get with its peristyle and all.
And after a lot of people complaining about the air quality due to dust/pollen/pyro/exhaust fumes at last weekend's Glendale event, it will probably be a relief to not have a roof overhead tomorrow to hold it all in.
ATL Press Day (Mitch Kendra)
Tom Journet and I touched down in the A-T-L, made a quick stop to Chick-Fil-A and set course for Atlanta Motor Speedway. About 45 minutes south of downtown Atlanta, the NASCAR venue will host this weekend’s 13th round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross.
Unfortunately, on Thursday it was announced the riding session of press day was canceled with rain in the forecast. But by the time we got to the speedway, the weather was rather nice. We made our way out to the grandstands to get a full overview of the track and happened to catch the Dirt Wurx crew removing the last few parts of the tarps as the sun was shining. After walking around the pits some, we caught up to Jeremy Martin and Marshal Weltin before stopping for some work in the media center. Don’t count out Martin as a podium/race-winning threat this weekend. Then some big black clouds came over the speedway. And then came the rain! Uh oh, had the tarps been pulled too soon?!
Once the rain came, we took shelter under the NASCAR garages where the teams and riders have set up shop for the weekend. Then we caught up to Nate Thrasher (two-time Atlanta Motor Speedway 250SX main event winner and second in 250SX East Region points), 250SX rookies Haiden Deegan (third in 250SX East Region points), and Caden Braswell (19th in 250SX points). Thrasher has been dealing with a knee injury—not something he is using as an excuse, but something that has been hindering him—but he said he has been able to ride more during the week. He said there are “good vibes” coming into this venue where he claimed his first two career 250SX race wins. He is hoping to replicate those performances this weekend.
As for Deegan and Braswell, this race will be the first visit to the speedway for either rider. Deegan said he has been riding motocross—doing clutch-less motos on a YZ450F—and it got him pretty excited looking ahead to Pro Motocross, although a few rounds of supercross still remain. Braswell has been testing and riding with his experienced Phoenix Racing Honda teammates and wants to get better results as he continues to build in his rookie campaign.
After about a half an hour, the rain stopped and riders and team members started to explore the wet track. While out on the track, we ran into KTM’s Aaron Plessinger and GasGas’ Justin Barcia, who were taking in the layout of the obstacles. Both have shown the speed to run up front this season. Oh, and they’re both good mud riders! So, we decided to ask the duo to share some of their insight with us, which is worth a watch itself.
In all seriousness, the track did take somewhat of a beating today, as puddles sat in the low spots of the now muddy circuit. But we do expect dry conditions with a high of about 80 degrees tomorrow. The riders we talked to are excited to get another shot at a speedway race and for the 250SX East Region riders a nice break since the Detroit Supercross (March 18) meant some time at home and some motocross testing. We have seen some wild racing here in the past and might expect to see some tomorrow as well. Make sure to tune in at 3 p.m. Eastern/12 p.m. Pacific.
Eli Tomac's Yamaha YZ450F. Mitch Kendra The race machine of 250SX East Region points leader Hunter Lawrence. Mitch Kendra Atlanta Motor Speedway Mitch Kendra The Dirt Wurx crew taking the tarps off the track. About an hour later rain would come. Mitch Kendra Jo Shimoda's race machine set for his return this weekend. Mitch Kendra Atlanta Motor Speedway Mitch Kendra Atlanta Motor Speedway Mitch Kendra A Dirt Wurx member accidentally using the over/under bridge as a slip n slip. Mitch Kendra Mitch Kendra Atlanta Motor Speedway Mitch Kendra Justin Barcia Mitch Kendra Mitch Kendra Mitch Kendra Talon Hawkins Mitch Kendra Mitch Kendra Mitch Kendra Cade Clason Mitch Kendra
Life Flop (Keefer)
Well, it was happening until it wasn't… You might be thinking why would two 40-somethings want to trade lives? The simple answer is that since Steve and I lead such different lives, it would make for a good story, our “Life Swap” for a week, but also neither side would be easy. Getting Matthes to ride four days as well as all of the other tasks attached to my job would be hard, but doing all of the work Steve does would also be stressful so as we were both sitting there before the Pulp Mx Show Monday night we just decided to shake hands and go into our corners for a bit. Even though we got a lot of upset listeners showing their frustration (thanks, Randy Richardson) we both understand. It would have been interesting!
Waiting in the Wings (DC)
With the start of the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championships less than two months away, things should start taking shape as far as the 250 class goes. We all know that Team Honda's Jett Lawrence is moving up to the 450, foregoing a chance to win three straight class titles on the table, a feat he could have shared with Broc Glover (1977-'79), Mark Barnett ('80-'82), Ricky Carmichael ('97-'99) and Ryan Villopoto ('06-'08). Jett’s move has thrown the door open to a whole host of other potential title contenders, including former two-time champion Jeremy Martin of the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha team. The veteran seems to be just trying to make it through the supercross season in order to get a clean and healthy shot at what would be his third outdoor title. Same could be said for Red Bull KTM's Tom Vialle, who will also be looking for a third title--he's already got two FIM World Championships in MX2 (250) and will be much more comfortable on the outdoor tracks here in the states than he's been on that steep learning curve that is Monster Energy Supercross.
Two riders we haven't seen much of in supercross but can expect to see a lot of this summer are Jo Shimoda of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team and Star Yamaha Racing's Justin Cooper. Shimoda, who crashed just before the start of the season and broke his collarbone, will finally make his '23 debut this weekend in Atlanta, which was a surprise to some who thought he might just wait for the outdoor opener at Fox Raceway. As for Cooper, he's been in a weird sort of limbo, having been moved up into 450 SX by the advancement rules (which have since been revamped) but not really wanting to go all-in on 450s just yet. Cooper rode five rounds of 450SX and acquitted himself well, finishing in the top ten all five times (and he's still 16th in the point standings), and then parked the #32 YZ450F to focus entirely on outdoors and his 250 since the Daytona SX. Both Shimoda and Cooper should be raring to go by the time the second half of the season starts on Memorial Day Weekend.
And then there's the other Lawrence, Hunter, who has been methodical and fast all year long in the 250SX East Region. He has a chance to inherit his little brother's two titles in 250 Pro Motocross, and he's certainly shown serious speed outdoors in the past. If he has improved on his outdoor game as much as he has in supercross, Hunter has to be the early favorite this summer. Sure, there are other wild cards and long shots out there, plus some very fast kids on the rise, but it seems like this one is going to be decided by these more seasoned 250 riders like Hunter, Justin, Jeremy, and Jo--and the interloper Tom Vialle.
TP in 2002 (Matthes)
Weege and I did a Leatt ReReaceables this week with Travis Preston on his win in 2002 at Dallas where he went in 10 points down on James Stewart and left 10 points up with one race to go. Preston would go on to win the 125 SX West Region title and admits that before the season there was "no chance" he thought he could win it. After all, he was sort of a journeyman guy who rode for Husqvarna the year before and Moto-XXX before that. But as he tells us, he really loved that Honda CR125 that year and Cliff White from Honda was noticing him the year before in nationals as someone with potential. Preston would be the first champion for the Factory Connection Honda team (which eventually became GEICO Honda), kicking off their incredible run. That Stewart guy turned out alright despite his terrible Dallas ‘02 race. Also, whatever happened to that Coombs guy that was the pit reporter?
Listen here for TP's great interview.
Triumph Test Rider Announcement (Keefer)
With Triumph announcing their race team test riders it shows you how serious the brand is and their commitment of coming into the 2024 MX2/250 season with a great machine for their riders. When will the bike be announced? Who are the actual racers? Well, I think we will have to wait a little longer, but the time is coming! I appreciate how well Triumph is keeping this all under wraps and how they landed two respected retired professional riders to help advance their machine. Ivan still can haul ass on the track and is very good at picking out things on a bike that could use some work. Even though I don't know much about Clement Desalle, I have heard through mutual friends in Europe that he was always a great test rider when he was a factory Suzuki and then Kawasaki MXGP rider. You're only as good as the people you surround yourself with and it looks like Triumph is doing that with everyone they are drafting.
The American in Europe (DC)
Here is some information on Jack Chambers, via MXLarge.com.
We mentioned last week that Jack Chambers was headed to Switzerland for a ride with the Steve Dixon's Big Van World MTX Kawasaki team in MX2. Racing with very limited time on the bike, the 20-year-old Chambers had a really impressive debut, going 14-12 for 13th overall. He also had the red, were, green carpet rolled out for him by everyone in MXGP, as they really embraced the Floridian and welcomed him to the paddock. Chambers has been working with Zach Osborne here in the U.S., and Zach and Steve Dixon go away back, as Osborne spent several seasons with Dixon's team.
Said Chambers of his initial experience in MXGP, "The riding style and the tracks over here in Europe are different to the US and I haven't ridden outdoors since last June so the first thing is to have fun, gain experience and learn from the GP regulars, but I'm thankful for this opportunity. I only flew in on Monday but I had two days on the bike before we got here and already feel at home on the KX250. I mean the biggest thing is have fun and gain experience from these other riders, the top guys.
"I only arrived on Monday and rode the bike, first time I ever rode a Kawasaki," added Chambers, who was riding the #192 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM 250 SX-F here in the 250 SX East Region. "I feel like for me, mentally I am not reading jerseys, I was up with the fast guys, where I think I belong. I don’t have expectations and I haven’t ridden outdoors since June, I have been riding supercross, but I am here to race and excited for the opportunity."
His new boss Dixon added, "We had some stuff to sort out and then I made a quick phone call to Zach (Osborne), and he gave us an American. We did an hour on the bike and decided to come here. Everyone said don’t come here, but you know me. He has had two solid races and he is going well."
For Chambers, the change in racing culture has to be as extreme for him, going from SX to MXGP in Europe, as it's been here for two-time FIM MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle in Monster Energy Supercross. Vialle has shown a lot of potential, but when you've never really ridden this level of supercross, the learning curve is very steep. For Chambers, it's almost as steep, as the pure motocrossers of Europe are very, very fast. Fortunately, he's got a great chance with Dixon's team—he also helped Michael Leib come over to fill-in for Osborne once, and he almost ended up also winning the Grand Prix of Italy at Fermo! (Coincidentally, Chambers and Leib are both graduates of On Track Schools, Andrea Leib's program that is featured in the new issue of Racer X Magazine.)
Jack Chambers will be racing again this weekend at Arco di Trentino in Italy. Good luck to this young American in Europe!
Young Lions (DC)
AMA Minicycle Champion Cooper Webb and FIM Minicycle Champion Jett Lawrence.
Triple Crown Thoughts (Chris McGraw)
The term “Triple Crown,” in any racing venue, lends credence to the regal pageantry by which a sporting event was founded. The grandest amongst grand spectacles, if you will. In the 144 years since the three biggest horse races in America—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes—were all inaugurated, only thirteen horses have accomplished a "triple crown" victory. In Monster Energy Supercross, this past weekend was certainly a spectacle, leaving many riders finding it hard to stay on their machines. At least two ended up riding in ambulances, but there were also two undisputed victors.
Before the cameras could even crank up Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Christian Craig down and out with a dislocated hip, as well as a dislocated and fractured elbow, putting a rather abrupt end to his first full season in the 450 class (which showed a good deal of consistency, though not podium speed). And if you were watching and saw the first race, you know that the #40 Monster Energy Star/Yamaha Racing Yamaha YZ250F of Stilez Robertson become more of an obstacle than an opponent after taking a deep plunge and being unavoidably struck by other riders, and consequently suffering injuries to his leg and ankle. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for both Christian and Stilez, though we probably won't see either again this season.
Privateer Hunter Yoder suffered troubles of a different sort, losing his clutch in the first main, having his bars drop in the second, and then getting tangled up and stuck in the back of Cole Thompson's bike. To add insult to the injuries that came with getting drug down the track, Yoder's number was one of two drawn for a random engine tear down by the AMA (along with the 250 podium finishers). At this point, I choose to stay out of the political pool and suggest any conspiracy theory that this was not a coincidence after all of his recent good starts. Instead, I prefer to believe that the AMA was just making sure he and his bike were safe, taking into account that Hunter seemed to be losing more parts than Will Smith did after he slapped Chris Rock. (Yoder's bike passed bore and stroke inspection, as did Jett Lawrence's, RJ Hampshire's, Levi Kitchen's, and the Bar X Suzuki of Brandon Scharer.)
On the bright side of things landed Eli Tomac. The defending series champion took his Star Racing Yamaha YZ450F to his 51st SX career victory. Eli’s quiet, humble determination proved almost infallible, as he looked as infinitely smooth as the Gulf Coast on a clear day, ripping through an extremely slick track with laser focus. This is a man on a mission, and though he doesn’t have the points cushion that Jett Lawrence has in the 250 SX West Region, he suddenly seems to have all of the momentum in his favor. It's strange to think that he started the night in a tie with Cooper Webb for the points lead... And it was also strange to see that while Tomac won this Triple Crown round, it was Team Honda up on the podium celebrating Chase Sexton winning the season's "Triple Crown" (Anaheim 2, Arlington, Glendale). There were three different winners--Sexton, Webb and Tomac--but when adding all of the points up, Sexton and his Honda got the nod.
So, what’s the moral of Glendale? He who rides smart, rides well. If you didn’t taste the Arizona desert on Saturday, you came out ahead. With more crashes than my sugar-induced two-year-old on Easter morning, Glendale thrived on unexpected excitement, while managing to keep the grace and pageantry of this fine season of supercross alive.
MXGP Trivia (DC)
First, the answer to last week's question: In 1952, the first year of the FIM Motocross World Championship, Bud Ekins became the first American to score points in a Grand Prix. The question was: Who was the second American, after Ekins, to score an FIM Grand Prix point?
The answer was Bryan Kenney, the Ohio-born rider who finished 10th overall at the 1972 West German 500cc GP aboard a Maico, earning him a single point. The winner of our contest and some Racer X swag? Tim Walker, who grew up in Southern California and actually attended the 1972 Superbowl of Motocross as a fan.
For this week, we have a very cool prize for this week's MXGP trivia. We're giving away this cool set of limited edition Acerbis Linear gold handguards as the brand is celebrating its 50th year as a company.
According to the Acerbis press release, "2023 marks our 50th year as a company and we couldn't be more excited to celebrate with several special unique events and projects. To begin, we will be debuting our all-new Linear handguards with a limited-edition Gold colorway. Look for top Acerbis Athlete team bikes debuting this LTD edition Gold handguard this weekend at the Arco Di Trento MXGP, the AMA Supercross in Atlanta, and at the Camp Coker Bullet GNCC. A limited release of this special color will be available beginning April 17."
Finally, here's this week's trivia: Name the first rider in FIM World Motocross Championship history to have won a Grand Prix in all three divisions: 125cc, 250cc and 500cc, or later on, MXGP, MX2, MX3? First person to answer correctly in the comments below wins a set of the gold Acerbis handguards.
2023 Racer X Inter-Am (DC)
Looking ahead to next weekend, Racer X publisher Scott Wallenberg has once again put together an amazing weekend for old-school motocrossers with his Boise Inter-Am Vintage race, run at possibly the oldest motocross track in America, the Owyhee Motorcycle Club outside Boise. It's a full weekend of vintage fun, beginning with a Special Yamaha Blu-Cru Blues Party on Friday night, April 21, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the nearby Sandbar Grill on the Boise River (2900 W Chinden Blvd, Garden City, ID 83714). It's free admission and live music from the Blues Addicts, and certainly endless bench racing about the good old days. And then for the actual Inter-Am event Scott, as always, has a very special guest coming: Five-time Carlsbad 500cc U.S. Grand Prix winner Gerrit Wolsink, all the way from the Netherlands! And our friend Curt Evans of Down/Up Designs penned one of his famous illustrations of Wolsink, which you are eligible for if you pre-enter the event.
And former Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha factory rider Warren Reid will also be on hand, giving a fireside chat on Saturday night at the OMC fire pit right at the racetrack. It should be another awesome weekend of vintage fun at the Racer X Inter-Am.
Hey, Watch It!
The Vurbmoto.com gang revived the World Mini GP last weekend in Mesquite, Nevada, and it looks like it was an excellent restart to the once-grand spring classic. Here's a 250 B battle from event, shot from the GoPros of the riders involved, Nico Isreal and Dakota Bender:
Here's the Atlanta track preview with Josh Cartwright:
Here's Jason Weigandt's post-race walk-around, better known as the Weege Show, from Glendale:
Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week
“Dalai Lama apologizes for asking boy to suck his tongue at event in February; 'He regrets the incident.'”—Apple News
“Pittsburgh Maulers throw out the first pitch…in Cleveland”—Audacy
"Why Does It Seem Like French Workers Are Much Better at Protesting Than American Workers?"—Vice.com
“PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: FOOD FIGHT! During $1 Dog Night”—TMZ Sports
“Anne Frank novel banned in Florida school over 'sexually explicit' content: 'Minimization of the Holocaust'”—Foxnews.com
Random Notes
Former karting champion Jonathan Silva and former factory rider Eric Sorby have started a company together called Fund My Race. It is a 501c3 company which designed for motocross privateers, and up-and-coming amateur racers, and fans. In a nutshell, it is a motocross donation platform for crowdsourcing support of riders like Justin Starling, Logan Karnow, Tristan Lane, and more. They debuted their unique program in the pits at the Glendale SX last weekend for "crowdsourcing the heart of motocross." You can learn more about out right here: www.fundmyrace.org.
Spotted this on Axios Sports app, and Axios.com: A fantastic finish-line shot with all of the candles going off was the #7 Photo of the Day:
7. Pic du jour: Supercross!
For its Loretta’s Area Qualifier race, Oak Hill MX will have an image of the late Josh Demuth on the pit vehicle stickers. Additional stickers can be purchased for $15, and all proceeds, from sticker sales and pit vehicle passes, will go to Josh’s children. Demuth, who has previously lost the lower half of a leg to a bad accident, passed away last week after crashing on his motorcycle and breaking his femur. A dangerous blood clot formed that doctors did not see and he succumbed to the complications.
For the latest from Canada, check out DMX Frid’EH Update #15.
Thanks for reading Racerhead. See you at the races.