It’s a scene that plays out just about every day at motocross tracks across the country. Two riding buddies leisurely open the doors to an old pickup truck parked in a dusty parking lot full of weeds. They climb in, tired and looking forward to relaxing after a satisfying day of pounding motos. Only this time it wasn’t just another day, and it wasn’t just an anonymous pair of friends, and it wasn’t just some random race. This was last Saturday after the FMF Glen Helen National, and the riders? None other than brothers Alex and Jeremy Martin, who’d just gone 1-2 on the day. Oh, and one of them is the current points leader and the other is the defending champ. No big deal. They walked out together—surrounded by no one else—and hopped into the cab of a beat up old single cab Ford Ranger. And off they went.
After the day they’d just had you’d expect some bravado, and rightfully so. Perhaps some chest pounding accompanied by an arrogant strut as they struggled to fight off hordes of opportunistic ladies before hopping into a lifted $87,000 monster truck and roaring off, leaving a choking cloud of dust and diesel billowing behind. But there wasn’t any of that. Not even close. They walked by themselves, somewhat quietly, climbed into a white, single cab Ford Ranger with Minnesota plates, and joined the long line of traffic trying to leave Glen Helen, just like everyone else. If you didn’t know who they were, you’d never suspect they’d just pulled off an amazing feat, or that on this day, they were the two best 250MX racers in America.
This was a united effort through and through. An hour after their race was over, we spotted the two of them standing out of the back of the Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha truck, chatting with each other and no one else. Alex had won his first-ever overall, but by now, his crowd of well-wishers was down to just his brother (although BFF Phil Nicoletti was sure to head over once he was done with his post 450 moto shakedown). Finally Jeremy piped up “Well, you ready?” and the brothers began walking toward the press tent for their post-race interviews. Normally each rider takes the stage solo for the post-race press conference, but in this one, the Martin brothers took a seat beside each other and started answering questions. It seemed so normal, no one even questioned it, and the brothers hung out together, and left together. While there, they joked that they didn't have phone service, so they hadn't gotten any congratulatory text messages or phone calls, not even from their mom and dad, who were busy working away at Spring Creek MX in Millville, Minnesota. On this afternoon, the brothers really just had each other.
Alex and Jeremy going 1-2 isn’t something that’s going to happen at every round, and in fact, it may not ever happen again. But if it does, you won’t hear any trash talking, boasting, or egotistical remarks. It’s just not who they are. And if you want to find them after all they’ve given all their interviews, satisfied the autograph seekers, and posed for countless selfies with fans, just look for a pair of normal dudes walking through the parking lot, jumping into a white, regular cab Ford Ranger, and looking forward to grabbing some dinner and unwinding after a long day of riding dirt bikes. Somewhere down the road, their phones picked up service, and they finally got to tell mom and dad how it went. In some ways the day was really special, in others, it was just like any other.
