Welcome to Racerhead, and welcome back to racing with tomorrow night’s Santa Clara Supercross in Levi’s Stadium, one of the newer and nicer buildings on the professional sports landscape. The twelfth round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross will be the beginning of the stretch run, with another crisscross of the country to come back east and then end up in Las Vegas the first Saturday night in May. You can watch tomorrow night’s race live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern; here’s the complete schedule for following the race.
Before we start, a tip of our visor to our friends at Honda, the title sponsor of Racerhead for the past fifteen years. As every racer in the pits knows, sponsors sometimes change, and as Honda takes a step back, we are proud to welcome our new title sponsor, Yamaha. Thanks for helping our team!
So what’s been happening? If I told you that Stewart is leading the points, you would probably think it’s an April Fool’s joke, but Stewart is the new points leader—Malcolm Stewart, in the 250SX East Region, which is now on hiatus. And if I told you that European brands swept the podium in the last round, you might think we were back in 1975, which is the last time that happened. But it did happen, two weeks ago at Detroit. And if I said the winner was docked two spots after the race for jumping on the red-cross flag, you would probably think I was talking about a minicycle race, and certainly not Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, the defending champ, but that’s where we ended up. Apparently, Rockstar Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson found out he was the winner during the world’s most intimate podium celebration—he was in a hotel elevator with Josh Grant when he found out via his phone. And Dungey’s teammate Marvin Musquin must have been kicking himself again for a late-race mistake that cost him second spot to Anderson, but in actuality it cost him that coveted first career 450SX win, after Dungey got docked post-facto.
Come to think of it, all of those things might have passed for some sort of April Fool’s joke, but they really happened. Besides, we pretty much retired our annual April Fool’s pieces after some really good ones—remember Ricky Carmichael racing both classes outdoors, or Stefan Everts Coming to America?—as well as a few groaners. (And anyway, the production of these jokes has gone up exponentially, as you will see below in “Watch It.”)
But what if I told you that two of the most important people in the supercross world over the last twenty-five years would no longer be a part of the series? While they don’t have the name cachet of a rider like Jeremy McGrath, a team manager like Roger DeCoster, or a TV duo like Art Eckman and David Bailey, Charlie Mancuso and Ken Hudgens were two of the biggest, most powerful behind-the-scenes organizers of AMA Supercross. They were the flagships of the management side of Feld Motor Sports—and before that Live Nation, and before that Clear Channel, and before that SFX and SRO/PACE Motorsports and so on… Through it all, Charlie Mancuso helped reshape supercross into what it is today, joining forces with Gary Becker in the mid-nineties to pull together and unify the events, upgrade everything after the “Night the Lights Went Out in Vegas,” and turn this into the single most important championship in the dirt bike world. Hudgens was the driving force behind the ever-evolving TV package that has reached the live, start-to-finish coverage SX fans all over the world now enjoy. The idea of both of these juggernauts sailing off into the sunset this week is jaw-dropping. If you knew them, you would think this really was an April Fool’s joke.
But it’s not. Both Charlie and Ken are moving on to fresh waters and will now join that understated Industry Hall of Fame that got this series where it is today, joining such past game-changers as Allen Becker, his aforementioned son Gary, fellow promoter Bill West, TV pioneer Lou Seals and director Scotty MacLemore, Art and David, the iconic announcer Larry “Supermouth” Huffman, as well as the late promoter Mickey Thompson and the incarcerated godfather of it all, Mike Goodwin.… There’s more, but I think you understand the magnitude of what these men did. They put countless people in the seats and eyeballs on the TV screens that helped propel this sport to where it is today.
Thanks, Charlie, and thanks, Ken. This whole series is better because for your work. See you at the races.
Okay, here’s the off-week that was.
News and Notes (Chase Stallo)
It’s a rarity to have a news cycle like the one we just had this week late in the season—especially following an off-week. Alas, here we are, approaching round twelve of seventeen with plenty to talk about. Here’s a quick recap of a big week of news.
Cole Seely Out
As we were going to press, Honda HRC announced Cole Seely would miss this weekend due to a practice crash yesterday where a piece of his C7 vertebra was chipped off in the fall
Bubba’s Back
James Stewart returns after missing the past two rounds (and past three main events) after sustaining a back injury in a crash at Daytona. Injuries have diminished the return of Stewart this year, who’s completed just one main event in 2016—a fourteenth in Atlanta.
Pourcel Out
Christophe Pourcel will miss a third straight race due to a fracture of his C3 vertebra sustained in a practice crash prior to Toronto. We spoke with a member of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team this week and they hope Pourcel can return next weekend in Indy.
BamBam Returns
Justin Barcia will return after missing the previous nine rounds due to a thumb injury sustained in a preseason mountain bike crash. Barcia told Racer X’s Eric Johnson on Thursday that he feels good. “I think being on the bike a few weeks here, I feel a lot better than I thought I would feel. So that’s good. I think we’re all real excited and I’m glad I’m back racing and we’ll just see what happens.”
Josh Hansen Makes Debut
Following a short-lived stint in the UK’s Monster Energy Arenacross tour, Josh Hansen will make his 2016 Monster Energy Supercross debut in 450SX with support from Nut Up Industries, RBI International, Shift, and Kawasaki among others. Hansen last full-time season in 450SX was 2012, where he had two top-five finishes.
Tonus Out for SX
Injuries are beginning to pile up for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Already without Adam Cianciarulo, the team will now be down another rider on the East Coast as Arnaud Tonus announced this week that he dislocated his shoulder in a crash in Detroit and will miss the remainder of supercross.
Kiesel In, Politelli Out at BPRMX Yamaha
BPRMX/Home Depot/Yamaha announced this week that Brady Kiesel would join the team for the final two 250SX West Region rounds of Monster Energy Supercross. The team has also parted ways with Austin Politelli. We reached out to team manager Scot Steffy earlier this week via email and he told us that it was a "mutual decision to part ways." He added that Politelli " is a great guy with a ton of talent and we wish him the best."
Cole Thompson Out
A member of YP.com/Nuclear Blast/Slaton Racing KTM has confirmed to us this afternoon that Cole Thompson will miss this weekend after crashing during a testing session this week. Guaranteed MX was first to report the news.
Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas and David Pingree)
JT: Coming off of a long break can completely change the momentum of what we saw in the first two months of the season. The West boys were just heating up when we last saw them in Arlington. Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb regained his points lead while GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy became embroiled in a controversial situation that left Savatgy upside down in the Texas whoops. Surely tempers have cooled over time, but it will be interesting to see if anything rekindles those harsh feelings. That's generally the way these things go: everyone is calm and cool until some seemingly insignificant action takes place, then all hell breaks loose. This could be a block-pass or even simply a dirty look. It won't take much.
There are a ton of underlying currents flowing in this 250SX West series, and it will be fun to see how it evolves after this round. Can Webb take advantage of the Craig/Savatgy saga or can Savatgy put that to rest and go after the win? For Christian Craig, he will only be focused on winning so he has nothing to lose. Hopefully all three get good starts in the main. We, the fans, have the most to gain if that happens.
Ping: I think momentum is on Cooper Webb’s side going into this weekend, and it will take a major event to keep him from winning this championship … which it may have, if the rumors I’m hearing of a big practice crash are true. [Ed Note: We spoke with a team member that says the crash was just a rumor and that he is fine.] The thing about racing is that those events can and do happen. The long break makes this round interesting because it’s like starting all over. Nerves are back, there’s a little rust on each of the guys, and most of the riding they’ve been doing has been outdoors. This return to the stadiums can serve as a reset of sorts for riders who struggled during the opening rounds as well. Zach Osborne comes to mind as a guy who has nothing to lose and everything to gain by letting it rip on Saturday. This should be good.
THE NUMBER: 7 (DC)
In the last seven rounds of AMA Supercross, we've seen seven different 250SX main event winners. It started back in February in Glendale, California, when GEICO Honda's Christian Craig won his first 250SX main event. The following week Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy took his second win of the season. The next week it was Yamalube/Star Racing's Cooper Webb, winner of the first three 250SX West Region races, finally getting back on top at Arlington.
After the Texas race the 250SX West Region went on hiatus, the 250SX East Region started. In the course of four races, the winners were Rockstar Husqvarna's Martin Davalos (Atlanta), Yamalube/Star Racing's Jeremy Martin (Daytona), TLD KTM's Justin Hill (Toronto), and GEICO Honda's Malcolm Stewart (Detroit). Add it all up and we've got seven winners in seven races. The series moves back to the West Region with this weekend's Santa Clara race in California. In order to make it eight different winners in eight races, someone like Rockstar Husqvarna's Zach Osborne or CycleTrader.com/Rock River Yamaha’s Colt Nichols needs to make it happen.
Has seven in a row happened before? Yes, as recently as 2014, when we saw this parade of winners: Martin Davalos, Jason Anderson, Cole Seely, Justin Bogle, Dean Wilson, Jeremy Martin, and Justin Hill.
And when the 2015 season started, the opening-round winner was Jessy Nelson, which meant eight different riders were winners over the course of eight races.
The cool thing about all of those race winners and contenders mentioned above is the fact that they will all be racing in the 250 Class this summer when the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship gets up and running. Add in names like the currently sidelined Adam Cianciarulo and pro-in-waiting Austin Forkner and you’ll have quite a talent pool. The 450 Class speaks for itself: Dungey, Roczen, Tomac, Anderson, Musquin, Canard, Seely, Barcia, Grant, Stewart. It’s going to be another very cool summer.
THE NUMBER: 50 (Andras Hegyi)
Dutch sand master Jeffrey Herlings has already become a legend in Grand Prix motocross. The 21-year-old picked up his 50th GP win on Monday in Valkenswaard, Holland, reaching a level few have ever achieved. In fact, only the Belgian kings Stefan Everts, Joel Smets, and Joel Robert and Italian superhero Tony Cairoli have been able to get to as many wins.
The first rider to reach the 50 GP victories was six-time 250cc World Champion Joel Robert, who got that historic milestone in the 1972 season when he won the 250cc GP of the Soviet Union at Kishinev on June 18, 1972. It was also Robert's last win. All of his wins came in the 250cc class. He debuted in the world championship in 1962 and raced until 1976. His 50th GP win came in his eleventh season, when he was 29 years old. (It should be noted that there were much less GPs on the schedule back then, usually 12 as compared to the 18 on the current calendar.)
For almost three decades, nobody managed to break Robert's record. Then on August 5, 2001, at the 500cc GP of Belgium at Namur, Stefan Everts equaled the record. Everts won in the saddle of a Yamaha, getting the 50th win at age 29, just like Robert. Born in 1972, Everts' first season as a pro was in 1989. He didn't race in 2000 due to injuries, so he got his 50th triumph in his 12th season. For Everts, it wasn't even half the distance: he collected 101 GP wins and ten world championships. Everts raced until 2006. (It should be noted that in 2003, when the GPs were utilizing a one-moto format, Everts raced multiple classes, winning 18 GPs that year alone.)
The oldest rider to get the 50th GP win was the five-time world champion Joel Smets. The Flemish Lion was 34 years old. He was born in 1969 and would celebrate his 50th GP win on the May 4, 2003, at 650cc GP of Germany at Teutschenthal in the saddle of a KTM. Smets debuted in the world championship in 1990, which means his 50th win came in his 14th season. Smets finished his career with 57 wins, having raced until 2005.
The eight-time world champion Tony Cairoli celebrated his 50th GP win four years ago in 2012. The Sicilian KTM rider got it on August 5, 2012, at Czech GP at Loket in the MX1 category. Cairoli debuted in the world championship in 2004, so he reached his 50th win in his ninth season, when he was 27 years old. Since then Cairoli has been able to accumulate 74 wins and counting.
On March 28 of this year there was a huge Dutch party at Valkenswaard. The home crowd was there to celebrate the most successful Dutch motocrosser ever, Jeffrey Herlings. The two-time world champion got his seventh consecutive win in the sandy track. In fact, since 2010, Herlings has won every moto in the MX2 class, giving him a record 14 straight moto wins on a single track. The more important record is that Herlings collected his 50th win in what was only his 85th race. Herlings is only 21 years old, and this is his seventh season. With a nod to the extended schedule of today compared to yesteryear, Herlings became the youngest rider ever to reach the 50th GP win, as well as the quickest, and he needed the least seasons to get it.
While in the motocross world championship there are already five riders to get at least 50 GP wins, in the history of AMA Motocross there is only one rider to reach the 50th win, and of course it's Ricky Carmichael. The most successful American crosser, the GOAT was able to collect 102 national wins in all during his magnificent career. Carmichael got 76 wins in the premier class (250/450cc), and 26 wins in the small-bore category (125/250cc). Carmichael got his 50th AMA National win on July 21, 2002, at Unadilla. It bears mentioning that Carmichael accumulated his wins in 12-round seasons. Compared to Herlings' 50 wins in 85 races, Carmichael got his 50th win in his 70th race.
Close Family (Jason Weigandt)
We've seen plenty of proof that wives don't slow racers down—in fact, a lot of riders (like that Ryan Dungey guy) seem to get faster once they’re married. The wives work closely with the riders, and that seems to help them maintain focus and motivation. But defending Amsoil GNCC Champion Kailub Russell got a little too close at the last GNCC race two weeks ago in Georgia. His wife, Chandler, was trying to give him a bottle of water as he came through the pits (standard GNCC fare), but he accidentally bumped into her and knocked her down! Worse yet, that slowed him enough for Josh Strang to make a pass for the lead, and then Strang nearly ran Chandler over—obviously accidentally. Luckily, Chandler is tough and she was fine. I've seen how hard the wife/racer combos work at the GNCC races, and it will take more than this to faze any of these women. From pedaling and running miles to get pit boards out to remote locations in the woods to working as integral parts of the goggle/gas/water pit-stop process, wives from the off-road set are made of stern stuff.
Check out the highlights of the previous race to see the incident, which starts at about 2:30. Good thing everyone is okay!
Ultimately, once Strang got away he pulled out to win his second race in a row. Now round three of the GNCC series looms this weekend at the picturesque Steele Creek campground in Morganton, North Carolina. FMF KTM's Russell is still working his way back from off-season ACL surgery, and Strang is taking full advantage on his Rockstar Husqvarna. There's further intrigue now that 2011 GNCC Champion Charlie Mullins is set to return this weekend after missing all of 2015 with two badly-broken wrists. I got the chance to ride with Charlie this week, and he definitely seems to have his speed back. Can he go the distance and challenge Strang and Russell like he used to? Should be fun to watch. You can go to RacerTV.com at 1 pm EST on Sunday and watch the whole shooting match live.
Pole Position (Kyle Scott)
Last night Feld Motor Sports held a fun event at Pole Position Raceway in Corona, California, that was accompanied by a handful of Amsoil Arenacross stars and the GOAT himself, Ricky Carmichael. Chris Blose, Kyle Regal, Jacob Hayes, and more were on hand practicing their close-racing craft.
It was an all-around good time. All the riders were spinning lots of laps, and those in attendance were even able to line up against them and battle. If you missed it, there’s an arenacross race tonight and tomorrow at Citizen’s Arena in Ontario, California. This is the first time arenacross has made its way to SoCal, so if you’re in town and not at the Santa Clara Supercross, check it out. (Also, check out our video from press day.)
Headline of the Week
Well, maybe not a headline, but you want to see how you start a press release? Check out the start of this one from RCH today:
Pro Football Hall of Famer Chuck Noll, the late head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, was famously quoted as saying, "A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning." While the context of that quote was directed at the life and times of the coaching profession, the same notion applies to RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing riders Ken Roczen and Jake Weimer…
That’s good stuff!
Watch It
Here’s what happens when you’re on the best team in basketball, and your teammates are having too much fun on April Fool’s Day:
Random Notes
Check out the cool new website from one of oldest and most famous motocross tracks in America, Unadilla (established 1969).
Heading to Santa Clara for the twelfth round of Monster Energy Supercross this weekend? Stop by the Racer X booth—located in the Party in the Pits—to pick up a free copy of Racer X Illustrated. You can also sign up or renew for just $25 (60 percent off the cover price) to get a one-year subscription, a FREE Racer X beach towel, and an extra issue!
Who is going to catch this FMF handmade trophy this weekend in Morgantown, NC at the FMF Steele Creek GNCC? Tune into RacerTV.com Saturday at 1 p.m. ET for the ATV pro race and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET for the bike pro race.
The 9th Annual Racer X Inter-AM is this weekend at the famed OMC track in Boise, Idaho. This is the same track that hosted both a Trans-AMA and Summer Inter-AM/250 National MX in 1971 and 1972. This year’s race will feature a special 125cc race called The Pomeroy Cup for 1974 and earlier. 6 time Champion Broc Glover will be on an Elsinore battling the Monark team of Danny Turner and Scott Wallenberg. Hodaka factory rider Jay Lael, Team CZ’s Ed Sims, and more!
Special celebrity guests also include World Champion Brad Lackey plus Mark Blackwell, Gunnar Lindstrom, Carl Berggren, Lars Larsson, Bill Silverthorn, Gene Fetty, Team H&H Houston, Ron Pomeroy, Chuck Sun, and Damon Bradshaw
The races are all day Saturday and Sunday and admission is free!
The April issue of On The Pegs is live and ready to view. This month's issue features a wrap up of the X-Trial series, with coverage of the final two rounds in Austria and France; a report on the Knuckle Buster National Enduro in Alabama; the Alligator Full Gas Sprint Enduro in Florida; Colton Haaker's SuperEnduro championship victory in Madrid, a feature from Dan Fahey on Eating to Win; and a look at several new bikes, including the KTM 450 XCF, 2017 Gas Gas, Scorpa 20, and the 2016 Sherco Special Edition. We also have a really nice 450 Off-road Shootout from Don Williams, plus a review of the R-Racing Shock for Trials.
Thanks for reading Racerhead. Enjoy the weekend. See you at the races.