Bring on the outdoors! We can say that now but luckily we didn’t say it much during Monster Energy Supercross. In some years, injuries and general struggles usually sap a ton of stars during the slog of 17 races in 18 weeks. That was not the case this year. Ryan Dungey rode a giant points lead all season, but most of his chief competitors also remained healthy and ready, and nearly every single top 450 rider was racing in Las Vegas, sans Christophe Pourcel and James Stewart.
So you’ve got a big group of riders coming into Lucas Oil Pro Motocross with momentum, but there are a few that really, really need the opening motocross rounds to mark a turnaround.
We’ll have a ton of Nationals stuff over the next week and a half to get you pumped up. Let’s start with this: four riders who could really catch fire once the motocross season begins.
Justin Barcia
No one needs to have a big summer more than Barcia. And no one is more capable. The hope is that Barcia literally takes the same playbook from last year—injured in supercross, struggled in the return, then catch fire during the nationals—and uses it again. He won two Nationals and coulda shoulda woulda had Washougal, also, if not for a late bobble while trying to hold Dungey at bay. Problem is, the fast Barcia didn’t show up until about five rounds in, so he was way out of the points by then. It’s been a rough year for Monster Energy/Autotrader.com/Toyota JGR Yamaha and they desperately need a jolt, and soon.
How can it happen?
With starts. Barcia lives and dies by them, perhaps more so than any other rider. When he got hot last year, it coincided with a massive holeshot run—11 of them in 24 motos. JGR Yamahas are usually crazy fast. If Barcia comes around turn one at Hangtown up front, it could give him some mojo back in a hurry. But this is total chicken and egg. Barcia’s starts didn’t turn last year until he found his groove. This year, can he find the starts first, or does his find the finish and then the start? He needs both.
Christophe Pourcel
CP377 was one of the rare “waiting until the Nationals” victims this year. He hurt his neck, came back and suffered internal bruising in his first race back. He’ll be okay for Hangtown. As always, you never, ever know with Christophe. He was decent last year—this Husky is much better than the 2015—and he’s been part of this team for over a calendar year now. That should add up to something good, but you never know with this guy. He’s signed through 2017 and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna is extraordinarily patient, but at some point he really needs to get a result. Any one of these next 24 motos could be the one.
Blake Baggett
Last year Baggett was the surprise of Monster Energy Supercross. This year he missed a lot of Monster Energy Supercross. But wait, what’s that? Dig into the results and you’ll see two good races for Blake—fifths in Vegas and Indy. Indy was rugged and rutted; Vegas was rugged, rutted and muddy.
Yep, that’s where he shines and he seemed very excited when we talked to him on Saturday night. Last year he wasn’t letting on that much. He turned out to be steady but not the spectacular force like he was in his 250 days. This time Blake was talking about coming out of hibernation. Is Blake and his Yoshimura Suzuki much more ready than last year?
Josh Grant
Time for ye olde annual “Glen Helen is coming up so watch out for JG.” Look, Grant is much better outdoors than in supercross, so don’t judge anything by his quiet rides since joining Monster Energy Kawasaki. His potential for surprise wins in supercross lasted only through the 2009 season, since then he’s been hurt way too much to hang it out in the stadiums. Outdoors, though, the dude can still bring it. He just needs to stay healthy between now and the first three races, which are all tracks where he has crossed the finish line first on a 450. Last year, unfortunately, he got jacked right before Hangtown. If the #33 is 100 percent, no one will be surprised by anything he does.
You total up Barcia, Baggett, Pourcel and Grant and you’ve got a lot of talent, race wins and titles. Yet not even really a sniff of this year’s supercross podium for any of them. That can absolutely change as soon as things shift outside. And that’s one of just many reasons to get excited about the coming season.
