250 Words: Thunder Valley
For the second consecutive weekend we’ve seen the return of a title contender in the AMA Motocross Lites class. Last weekend it was Team Yamaha’s Broc Hepler and SoBe No Fear/Samsung Honda’s Ryan Sipes making their way back to racing; this weekend it was Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe.
But how would the Australian-born rider fare, being throw in the middle of an all-out war between his teammates, RV and BT? Add in the cast of Grant, Dungey and Lawrence, among others, and one could argue that Metty may not be able to crack the top five.
If you haven’t noticed, Metcalfe is on a green Mitch Payton-tuned Kawasaki, and it didn’t long to see the #123 in the lead. In fact, each of the Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders led at some point throughout the day, and that includes #102 Chris Gosselaar, as well as Villopoto and Townley.
Metcalfe’s lead was short-lived, though, as a crash relegated him to a fifth in the first moto, and he backed that up with another fifth in moto 2, good enough for a solid fifth overall among a very deep talent pool. In hindsight, it’s really disappointing that Metcalfe was injured back at High Point, because looking at how this year has gone so far, it wouldn’t be that far out of the question that we could possibly be having a three-horse race for the Lites championship—all being teammates and all hailing from different countries. Nonetheless, let’s hope they all stay healthy for the Motocross des Nations in September!
