1. How did this happen to Jeremy Martin again?
Jason Thomas: It was a combination of unfortunate circumstances and bad decision-making. His crash on the first lap of the heat could happen to anyone. Crashes will always be a part of the sport and he was riding well enough to put himself into a position to still qualify even after going down. His decision to try to ride around the outside of Taylor Potter was ill advised and he paid the price for that.
In the LCQ, he was winning and would have qualified easily until the red flag flew, causing a restart. That was beyond his control and truly bad luck. In that restart, however, his start was much worse and he was mired in the pack. He moved up quickly, though, and was in a good spot on the second lap. He could have methodically picked an area to squirt by riders much slower than him. Instead, he decided to blitz the whoops when almost everyone had given up on that route due to such high risk. He didn't need to take that chance, especially after crashing in the heat in that exact spot and then nearly crashing there again on lap one of the LCQ. He knew the whoops were in terrible condition, and that blitzing them was opening the door to disaster. He should have assessed the situation, realized he didn't need to take desperate action, and responded accordingly. The result was another crash and a DNQ. He is better than that.
Chase Stallo: This has me stumped. It’s reminiscent of the “Bizarro” episode of Seinfeld. You know the characters, but no idea what’s going on. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like this. Sure, we’ve seen bizarre circumstances where Villopoto (2011) or Roczen (2013) miss a main—but nothing like this. Not even close. JT made some valid points in Breakdown—pushing the envelope when it wasn’t quite necessary—but I think it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly the root cause is. Missing the main in Indy is one thing, but it’s happened four times in three years. One thing is certain: it’s not due to lack of talent. Long story short, I don’t know at this time. But, I guess this means he’s a shoe-in for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross title.
Steve Matthes: Yeah, it wasn't good. As a factory rider in the 250SX Class you have to make the main events. And, for Jeremy, the reigning 250MX champion, to miss his fourth main event in just seventeen races is bizarre. And he's got two wins along the way. Like JT said, there were a host of bad decisions when Jeremy was not in qualifying position that contributed to him DNQ'ing. It's surprising to see someone who was so good for twenty-four long, hot, and grueling motos make said decisions, and I'm sure one day after a long and successful career in the sport he will look back and still not understand how he didn't make four (and counting) main events. The question was "How did this happen?" and I don't have an answer to that. I just know he went from having a shot at this title to being right out of it with one bad race.
2. Dungey: The bike or the trainer?
JT: I think a bit of both, but I would lean more towards the bike. The new bike has looked better all year long, and the consistently good starts by both he and fellow factory KTM rider Andrew Short have been noteworthy. Dungey's settings seem to be a bit more stable also. In years past, he would bounce around on his setup and never seemed quite content with how the bike was working. I haven't seen him as frustrated on setup, and he hasn't had "off days" this year because of it. He seems to be in a very happy place for 2015.
Stallo: It appears to be a combination of things and I don’t know if the bike tips the scale one way or the other. So, I’ll lean on some telling things Dungey said to me following Indy in regards to Baker. He used words like “trust” and “something was missing” and “putting more focus on race day rather than Monday.” To me, this is invaluable. The mental side of the sport is so demanding and oftentimes an afterthought. Dungey has faith in Baker’s program, which goes a long way. He’s found a good mixture and we’re seeing in action.
Matthes: It's too easy to pick one of the other. I spoke with Roger DeCoster, who perhaps knows him best as a racer. Roger had him when he was a rookie and has managed him every single year but one of his career. Here's what DeCoster had to say:
"He is like a new person. It’s a combination I feel of many factors of why he’s like that. One is our bike is definitely a big step forward, but also working with Aldon [Baker] has given him confidence. Ryan always had fitness but now he is convinced. He’s on the top of his game. Personal life, everything is in order. It cannot be any better."
There you go. The Man has spoken.
3. If the riding coaches of Canard (Ferry), Barcia (O'Mara), Baggett (RJ), Seely (Ward), and Peick (Antunez) all raced, who would win?
JT: This is an easy one and it's really based on age. Today is Tim Ferry’s fortieth birthday, so he is younger than most of these guys. He also rides quite a bit still at a pretty high level. If they were all the same age, that would be a tough call, but for now, Red Dog gets my vote.
Stallo: NEVER BET AGAINST RJ. Sure, Ferry is younger and rides a lot, and Ward is like a machine, and O’Mara is O’Mara, and Antunez probably still hauls the mail, but I just can’t bring myself to go against Too Hip. Even if he loses, he’ll probably look cool in doing so.
Matthes: Is this a trick question? Of course Tim Ferry would win right now, but even I, as biased as I may be, cannot say if you line up all those guys in their prime that Red Dog would win. Rick Johnson and Jeff Ward are legends of the sport, animals on and off the track and two of the most badass dudes to ever slide a knee-high cotton sock on. But right now, with RJ's bad wrist, Wardy's age, Ferry has them covered. I'll take it…
