As for the racing, the 250 races were both won my Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy, who did not succumb under the pressure in either moto. GEICO Honda’s Jordon Smith rode the best race of his life in the first 250 moto, placing second. But then he tangled with Yamalube/Star Racing’s Alex Martin in the second moto and got punted off the track in the half-pipe, quite literally landing at my feet! He was pretty hot afterwards, but to the older Martin’s credit, he apologized to Smith on the podium. And how Martin got second overall with an 8-2 is a real head-scratcher for me. I hope he gets an overall win this season; same goes from the very capable Smith.

The 450 races were not quite as exciting, with Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/RCH Racing Suzuki’s Ken Roczen leading every lap on his was to a solid two-moto sweep. It’s best I’ve seen K-Roc ride outdoors—maybe he’s this year’s Eli Tomac, only he’s not doubt hoping to keep it going throughout the summer and not gobble himself up in Colorado, which is what happened to the last two points leaders in James Stewart (’14) and Tomac (’15).

I missed James Stewart’s crash on the third lap of the first moto but I heard it was a doozy (and the GoPro footage from his helmet is frightening).

I hope he’s okay for this weekend, but what a horrible run of luck for the former champion. And that other former champ, Ryan Dungey, had a decent opener and can take consolation in the fact that he’s never actually won an overall at Hangtown, at least not in the nine visits he’s made there so far. But Dungey, as always, was gracious on the podium. Look for him to push his speed way the heck up sometime soon.

And speaking of former champions, I was really impressed by Blake Baggett in the first 450 moto—been a while since I saw anyone run down Eli Tomac at an outdoor national! But then he cracked his collarbone in that second moto and will be out until High Point. The Yoshimura Suzuki rider was looking like his old self, and I hope he comes back with confidence.

The rookies, Austin Forkner and Tristan Charboneau, both rode great and both found out how cutthroat Lucas Oil Pro Motocross can be—and for every single position! Same goes for Josh Mosiman, who was also out there with the big boys for the very first time, and Stone Edler, who suffered a frightening crash in the third turn of the second 250 moto and caused a red flag to come out. (Hero of the Week: Tevin Tapia, Stone's friend who was also caught up in a different crash, but then spent the night on the floor in UC Davis hospital with Stone as he was by himself. MX Sports' Nick McCabe went to visit Stone the next day and he had a serious concussion and some compressed vertebra but will be back soon; Tapia is racing this weekend at Glen Helen and here's hoping he does well, his karma is good!)

And finally, the GoPro Hangtown trophies were once again on point. Hats off to David Harvey and the whole team for a great event and presentation. While the track wasn’t as usual due to the threat of rain, and not digging too deep, the place set up and held up well. The Dirt Diggers always set a high bar for the rest of the promoters to try to match, and that always gets the season off to a great start.

Now we have moved south to Glen Helen Raceway for the FMF Glen Helen National, which big jumps and hills for the riders and some pretty epic bench-racing for me as I try to help Jody and crew out on the track, compare notes and jokes, shooting the occasional iPhoto for @promotocross and @racerxonline and just try to pitch in.

And stay tuned to Racer X Online for all kinds of cool content from the event. Hate to cut this short but it’s been a busy week out here!

THE HILLS OF HELEN ARE ALIVE (Steve Matthes)

Round 2 and we should start to learn a lot more about this thing after we leave SoCal. Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey were pretty far ahead of third-place in both motos and if you're Eli Tomac (who wasn't in third at the end of either moto) you have to try and stop this ASAP. This sport is such a mental thing along with the physical part that you can't let someone beat you by that much time and just cross your fingers that you can make it up. Of course with Tomac, starting ahead of either the 94 or 1 would help. I think we could really see an improved performance from the #3 this weekend; I don't know if he'll beat the two guys but I think he'll be much closer than Hangtown. Testing went well for the green team and hey, he went 1-1 there last year. If the beat downs by the top two guys continue, then morale among the other riders will be pretty down—or however that sign goes. It gets harder and harder to improve as the weeks march on.

Silly season news: The word on the street is that Trey Canard, who had Monster Energy Kawasaki and Red Bull KTM both after him, will be going orange next year. Us experts had the 41 heading green; goes to show you what we know. This Canard to KTM thing is coming from a pretty solid source so I fully and completely believe it to be happening. Word is KTM may have a fourth guy as well next year, which may be Dean Wilson. We think the Honda team will be Ken Roczen and Cole Seely next year and I hear Kawasaki is leaning towards re-signing Josh Grant for that second spot next to Eli Tomac. 

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas and David Pingree)

THOMAS: Glen Helen is a monster. It is easily the most intimidating, fear-inducing track on the calendar. The fast descents, huge jumps and overall level of difficulty add up to quite a challenge. I was always a bit nervous when pushing the edge at Glen Helen. Other riders, like Josh Grant, find comfort in the San Bernardino foothills. Spending countless afternoons out there when no one was watching has set riders like him up to shine when everyone is watching.

This is the home race for all of the Southern California hopefuls and they will wake up ready to roll tomorrow morning. It's the only outdoor race of the year that riders will sleep in their own beds. It's also the only race of the year that over 90 percent of the industry will attend. That means it's high pressure for those in need of a great result but it also represents a great opportunity to make your case for a new contract in 2017. There are several riders in limbo entering next season and a breakout ride tomorrow could really swing things their way. Riders like Weston Peick, Broc Tickle, Blake Baggett, Justin Brayton, Josh Grant, Mitchell Oldenburg, and Justin Bogle immediately come to mind as those who could benefit from a great performance. Sometimes all it takes is one eye-opening ride to win over the hearts and minds of those writing the checks. Tomorrow is a chance to make it happen.

PING: Glen Helen is a favorite for some riders and seventy minutes of torture for others. The track has some of the most extreme elevation changes on the circuit, always a good thing for a motocross track. But they couple that with jumps that force you to tap into your supercross skills or make you close your eyes, pin it and hope for the best. There is some pretty dirty footage of a guy over jumping the big step up and blowing his wheel apart.

I'm not sure jumps like that are necessary or good for tight racing, but they do get a lot of attention. And Glen Helen does a great job of prepping this track before the national; the standard weekly prep consists of a quick dragging with a tractor and a splash of water. This FMF Glen Helen National requires balls, fitness and outdoor skills to be anywhere near the front. Good luck, men.

SAVATGY! (Andras Hegyi)

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Joey Savatgy has obviously gathered more speed in 2016. In the 250SX West Region he got his first career win, then added two more. He became the 100th winner in small-bore supercross history and he finished second overall to Cooper Webb, with only one point between them. In the 250 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross opener at Hangtown he got his first moto win, then his first double-moto win two hours later. And besides Jeff Ward (1984), Mike LaRocco ('92), Robbie Reynard ('95), Ricky Carmichael ('97, '98, '99), James Stewart ('02, '04), Mike Brown ('03), Grant Langston ('05), Ben Townley ('07), Austin Stroupe ('08) and Blake Baggett ('11, '12) Savatgy became the eleventh Kawasaki rider to win the opener in this class. And when you add his Las Vegas 250 SX final, Savatgy has his first winning streak going on, as well as his first red plate outdoors.

Injury Updates (Aaron Hansel)

If you watched Hangtown or read our coverage from the season opener of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, you know it was a rough day for Yoshimura Suzuki. James Stewart crashed in the first moto, went over a berm, and then to quite literally add insult to injury, had his bike land on him. Somewhere along the line his shoulder popped out, and his status since has been day to day. Same story for Blake Baggett, who broke his collarbone in the second moto, yet somehow managed to finish it out. Well, Stewart is still day to day, but today we learned he’s going to ride practice tomorrow and see how he feels. Love him or hate him, you’ve got to give him credit for gritting it out. Baggett, who had surgery on his collarbone on Monday, won’t be back until High Point. He wanted to ride tomorrow, and if that didn’t work out he planned on coming back for Thunder Valley. But after talking with some doctors, he learned he could do some big damage if he suffered an impact in the right spot. A bummer for Baggett and the team, but the right move to not risk a more serious injury that could take him out of action for much longer.

Elsewhere in the tough as nails department is Kyle Peters, who suffered an AC separation last week at Hangtown. You’d think that’d be enough to put Peters on the sidelines, but turns out his contract with Ride365.com Honda is only good for the first three rounds, and Peters has no choice but to race in the hopes of earning a ride for the rest of the summer. You’ve got to admire his determination, as he’ll be competing on what’s one of the roughest tracks of the summer.

Other STORIES This Week

Johnson Featured in Racer X Illustrated.

Dave Mirra Diagnosed with CTE.

Hey, Watch It

Racer X Films: Hangtown, Remastered

MXA’s Glen Helen preview.

Vital MX’s One Lap Around with Broc Tickle.

Red Bull MX Nation Season 2 Trailer

Monster Energy Supercross: Chasing the Dream Episode 4

Valentino Rossi: The Doctor Series Episode 2/5

Random Notes

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Didn't see enough great photos from Hangtown? Check out FTE's gallery right here.

That’s it for Racerhead, see you at the races!