Glen Helen is planted squarely in the motocross universe epicenter. Anyone and everyone who rides in SoCal has made the trek north to San Bernardino’s legendary venue. The Thursday practice sessions are a who’s who of the motocross world and prime testing ground for summer battle. The track will host some of the fiercest action of the year but that pales in comparison to the star power in the pit area. All of the SoCal industry heavy hitters end up at Glen Helen, making it a networking hotspot. In other words, if you’re looking for a race to “be seen,” Glen Helen is it.
The track is an absolute beast. It is a track of extremes. From the start, to the jumps to the hills, it takes every aspect to the edge. Sporting the most elevation variation on the calendar, I still have nightmares from the high speed descents that Glen Helen presents. For an example of what I am referring to, click HERE. Moments like that typically end with an ambulance ride. Scary downhills are just one of the many challenges that Glen Helen wields. Not to be outdone, Glen Helen also has some of the biggest jumps riders will face. They are generally high speed “floater” type jumps, giving man and machine lots of air time. They are fairly easy but as the day progresses and the bumps evolve, they become more and more treacherous. Watching exhausted riders stretch their bikes to the limit over massive jumps, push their engines to the limit on the endless uphills and then test their courage immediately down the following descents are the images I conjure when I think of Glen Helen.
The start, much like everything else Glen Helen, is the longest of the year. It also marks the only time of the season that riders will go as fast as their motorcycles will take them. The last bit of the start is full speed and riders are using body English, aerodynamics and any other tricks they can manage to eek out another MPH. Forty riders go barreling into the “Talladega Turn” at close to max speed (the guys in the back have checked up by now). The turn is massively tall and wide, giving riders room to run it deep or try to stay low and tight. The most visually impressive route is for those on the outside who simply leave the throttle on and carry all of that speed around the top. The scary part is when they finally finish turning and enter the following turn’s braking bumps much faster than normal. If you watch closely, you can see those riders frantically braking and attempting to navigate those bumps, all while not colliding with riders from the inside floating toward them. It’s easily the most intense start due to the sheer speed from start to finish.
There are several riders that consider this their home track. Josh Grant, Blake Baggett, Weston Peick, Cole Seely, and Christian Craig come to mind when I think of hometown guys for GH. Josh Grant will be thinking podium or better this weekend. His first moto win in 2014 was impressive to say the least. If he gets a holeshot on Saturday, look out! He is more than capable of dropping the hammer on everyone.
Blake Baggett is another one I would look for to be battling for a podium but his broken collarbone is going to make that unlikely. There are rumors of him trying to race this weekend but I hope for his sake they take time to get him back to 100 percent.
For the others, the starts will be critical. Seely ran a strong third for twenty minutes at Hangtown and with another start Glen Helen’s comfort could be the difference maker for the last half of the moto. Peick should be solid as Glen Helen requires elite strength and as we know with Peick, strength is his wheelhouse.
Christian Craig is the wild card here. I really think he possesses the talent to win but he will need everything to come together for that to happen. He fought from the back all day long in Sacramento so that will have to be corrected for any chance of success this Saturday.
Who’s Hot:
Ken Roczen came out firing. He was certainly a podium pick but I don’t think many would have predicted a 1-1 score on Saturday afternoon. He made a statement to everyone including and most importantly Ryan Dungey and Eli Tomac.
Joey Savatgy, just like Kenny, made a serious statement. He was the fastest qualifier and won both motos. It was interesting because for someone who had never won a moto before, he seemed to be right at home.
Alex Martin was a revelation in that second moto. He passed his defending champion of a brother en route to a runner-up finish. I really thought he was going to run down Savatgy and win, but in any case it was an incredible way to start off the summer.
Cooper Webb was a rider that I didn’t expect to really see anything from last weekend. His wrist injury was a huge question mark but he toughed it out and turned in a podium finish. If he can continue to heal without any setbacks, he will be a title contender. I am happy to see him out there because he adds spice to this 250 series.
Who’s Not:
Eli Tomac’s 4-4 finishes might not seem like fodder to land here but when expectations are as high as they were, it was hard to not come off as a disappointing result. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back at Glen Helen. If he starts up front and can’t find the leader’s pace, many will be scratching their heads. If he battles for the win and shows that 2015 fire, most will forget about the Hangtown struggles.
Jeremy Martin had a similar day to Eli Tomac. He just wasn’t on the pace that many expected to see. He seemed more dominant at Glen Helen in the past two seasons so I think he will come out to re-establish his role as the 250 man to beat.
James Stewart simply can’t buy a break. He just wanted to get through the day and put some sort of respectable result on the tally sheet. It wasn’t meant to be, though, as he had yet another big crash and was left with a dislocated shoulder to deal with. Regardless of how you feel about Stew, enough is enough with the bad luck.
Justin Brayton was still trying to recover from his Las Vegas get-off and had little to no preparation for Hangtown. He didn’t seem very comfortable with the hard-packed 2016 version and will look to improve as we move forward. He is usually a slow starter in the outdoor series but he will find his way into the top ten as we move east.
Bold Predictions:
Steve Matthes makes an appearance on the pre-show and promptly induces fines and suspensions from the FCC.
Yoshimura Suzuki spends the week building a superhuman from the working parts of Blake Baggett and James Stewart. USADA has absolutely no idea what to do with this.
Justin Barcia holeshots a 450 moto.
Adam Cianciarulo wears red boots.
Jessy Nelson holeshots a 250 moto.
Jordon Smith is offered a Las Vegas headliner show for his disappearing act he debuted in Hangtown’s second moto.
My Picks
250
Jeremy Martin
Joey Savatgy
Jessy Nelson
450
Ryan Dungey
Ken Roczen
Eli Tomac