Finally, the end. The 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship wraps up tomorrow here at the Ironman National in Indiana, and another chapter in American motocross will come to an end. All season long we’ve been celebrating fifty years since the birth of American motocross as we now know it—the partnership between dirt bike importer/promoter Edison Dye and his invite of Swedish motocross star/ambassador Torsten Hallman to the U.S. in 1966—and now it’s time to wrap it up. The championships have already been decided, of course, as Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb both put their respective points leads out of reach in the second motos at Budds Creek last week, which means we have two new champions. The last two, Ryan Dungey and Jeremy Martin, called it a season earlier with injuries and went home to Minnesota (or maybe Florida).
We’ve had some great races, huge crowds, and historic wins—like Zach Osborne’s breakthrough at Budds Creek, which marked the first for Husqvarna in the 250 Class and made him probably the longest-tenured first-time winner ever (Osborne started racing pro in 2006). Jeremy Martin’s older brother, Alex, got himself not one but two overall wins, and Roczen’s championship made the “RC” in RCH Racing the first man in American motocross history to win a title as both a rider (ten of them) and a team owner.
Other developments weren’t as positive. The BTOSports.com KTM rig caught on fire at Unadilla and all of the team’s bikes were lost, but the hard work of all of the mechanics, as well as members of the Red Bull and TLD KTM and Rockstar Husqvarna teams, made sure that Andrew Short, Justin Brayton, and Benny Bloss could race the next day—and Bloss ended up with a career-best finish in his rookie year. Of course, tomorrow we will bid farewell to Andrew Short, who will retire at the conclusion of the second 450 moto. Well done, Andrew; from start to finish, well done. And of course there was a string of injuries that started in supercross and just kept coming as the races mounted and guys like Dungey, Jeremy Martin, James Stewart, Trey Canard, Jason Anderson, Cole Seely, Brock Tickle, Will Hahn, Josh Grant, Christian Craig, Martin Davalos, and now Justin Brayton all went to the sidelines early. And worst of all was the crash of Jessy Nelson at Unadilla, which left him with a broken back and an uncertain future. Yes, that was the lowlight of everything.
Now, with one race to go, the titles decided, we will have a race that may not seem like it means much, but it will to the people who watch it (and of course win it). Remember, Ricky Carmichael never needed the final round in any of his ten straight AMA Motocross Championship seasons. The GOAT liked to wrap things up early. So when Ken Roczen realized he might have a chance to do likewise, he had his team manager, Kyle Bentley, ask MX Sports’ Jeff Canfield for an approved equipment list. Because if it were possible for him to maybe race a Suzuki RM250 two-stroke here at the last round, Kenny just might do it. Needless to say, everyone was interested in the idea. Think of how popular Gared Steinke’s 125cc summer has been with premix-loving motocross fans, and just a couple of years ago GNCC #1 Kailub Russell raced a 150 two-stroke at the Ironman GNCC and won the overall going away, then raffled the bike off to help an injured friend. Five years ago, Kenny himself, after clinching the title early, entered a KTM 125 at the 2011 Italian Grand Prix and finished the first moto in fifth, which is amazing considering steep the hills of Fermo, Italy. He told me he was going to at least get on the podium the second time out, only to crash hard early. And what better way to celebrate fifty years of American motocross than getting a two-stroke back out there in the lead mix?
Unfortunately, the rules apply here, and Suzuki has not homologated their RM250 since maybe 2006 or ’07. Roczen’s bike (which still isn’t completely rebuilt) is an ’08 and is not eligible according to current AMA SX/MX rules. To be homologated, a minimum of 400 motorcycles of the same model must be available to the market by June 1, whether in warehouses or on the water as they ship to the U.S. There’s also a modest filing fee, plus releasing a host of what are called control part samples, which Husqvarna immediately did when Steinke told them he wanted to ride a 125 all summer long. Had it not been for the California privateer, Husqvarna would probably not have gone through the process. As it stands, only Husqvarna’s 125 and 250 two-strokes and KTM’s 125 and 250 two-strokes are homologated with the AMA and will remain so for the next five years, whether those brands keep building them or not. Yamaha still builds a YZ250, but they have not homologated it, so no one is allowed to ride one of those either, and the AMA turned one rider away earlier in the season who wanted to enter his 2009 YZ250.
So as cool as it would have been to see #94 rip around the Ironman track tomorrow on that 250 screamer, the OEM would have first had to have done the paperwork and homologated the bike, and Roczen’s team would have had to finish the build-out (the motor is still sitting in the Pro Circuit race shop in Corona). And as my friend and fellow moto historian Roy Janson said earlier, “As much fun as it would be to see, I doubt it would do the series as a whole much good to have maybe three-quarters of the field beaten by a vintage bike.”
When I relayed that to Kenny himself this afternoon, he laughed and said, “Three-quarters? No way! I would have been on the podium.” I would not have bet against him!
Welcome to Racerhead.
Rookies of the Year (Jason Weigandt)
Not much in common, it would seem, for professional rookies Benny Bloss and Austin Forkner, besides the fact that they’re both doing really well this year. They don’t race the same class (450s and 250s, respectively), they don’t have the same stature (Forkner is built like the typical motocross kid, while we’ve been calling Bloss “Big Rig” on TV), or even the same hype (Forkner came in as a highly touted amateur, while Bloss’ success has been more recent). But there is one thing these two rooks share though: Robbie Reynard.
It’s renaissance time for RR, himself one of the most highly touted rookies of all time. (Fun fact: Robbie’s Steel City National victory at 16 years, 4 months old in 1993 still makes him the youngest winner of an AMA National). Robbie is a coach and trainer down in Oklahoma these days, and he actually has both Forkner and Bloss under his watch during the week. I talked to Robbie recently about the success of his two young charges, but he gave most of the credit to them.
“Obviously, they both are going really great,” he told me. “Obviously, they’re great riders. You have to have that ability first. But I’m just trying to keep them calm and keeping their structure so that they don’t overdo it or underdo. It’s really about the balance. In our sport sometimes I think we get so wrapped up into it where it becomes like this is all we do and there’s nothing else for us. With Austin, I kind of try to get him to go have some fun on his scooter and stuff like that because you have to have escape. If you have a bad weekend it adds up, and then you can’t get away from it. It just keeps on going until it’s this big old tumbleweed, pretty much.”
Injuries prevented Reynard’s considerable talent from producing championships. His pure speed was never a question, and it still isn’t—he won a Junior +25 moto at Loretta Lynn’s, coming from last to first, in the mud, on a Yamaha YZ125 he bought on Craigslist! He realizes now a lot of that came from the desire to push too hard during the week.
“Yeah, I was just pretty much working my butt off, coming back from injuries, working my butt off, and coming back from more injuries,” he said. “My big thing was I just didn’t give myself time to get 100 percent. I did a lot of bad things. I needed somebody to say, ‘Hey, take another week, take another two weeks and let your body heal.’ Even when I was on 250 two-strokes, Travis [Pastrana] would come stay and train with me, and everything between us was a competition. Just pushing harder, doing it bigger, whatever. I know Ryno [Ryan Hughes] is the same way. Everything is competition. Everything as hard as you possibly could do it back then. That’s the way we all did it, so we all just kind of stayed hurt the whole time!”
Normally, when you think of the veteran rider cracking the whip on rookies, you’d think the stories involve discipline and sacrifice. On Reynard’s end, he’s actually encouraging Forkner and Bloss to be a little less serious from time to time. Can’t argue with the results.
Oh, and there are a couple other thing that Bloss and Forkner have in common: both hail from Missouri, and both will be named AMA Rookies of the Year in their respective classes.
Pro Perspective (David Pingree and Jason Thomas)
Ping: This weekend marks the last round of the 2016 professional racing season. Well, except for the two USGP rounds that many riders have been asked to compete in. Oh, and also the Motocross of Nations for a few of our guys. And of course there is Red Bull Straight Rhythm and the Monster Energy Cup and Bercy and Geneva and Genoa and a new SuperMotocross event in Germany and the AUS-X Open in Australia. I guess we either have a way to go still or, more accurately, we don't really have an off-season anymore.
As a fan, I'm loving the extra events. But having been on the other side of the autograph line, I can't imagine adding all these events to an already-full calendar. It is unrealistic to think that riders can complete an entire season of supercross and motocross without having some injuries or physical issues that need time to work themselves out. On top of that, these guys have families and rarely get to spend time with them outside of the races. The bottom line is that the month of September, at a minimum, should be completely off for the riders. Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen are both taking some serious heat for passing on the MXoN, just as Ryan Dungey did last year, and Ryan Villopoto before that, and so on. While I believe the event is important and prestigious, you can't expect the sport's best to commit to that many events in the off-season. If Eli's team is asking him to do two USGP rounds and the Monster Energy Cup, when does he get down time? When does he get to focus on testing, training, and prepping for what really matters in January? After all, he's paid to win races from January to late August. Let's respect these riders’ decisions to focus on the titles they've worked their whole lives to win.
JT: Ping really hits the nail on the head here. I have written and talked about this subject ad nauseam lately because of the recent turn of events surrounding Eli Tomac and Ryan Dungey's absence from the MXoN and their respective national teams. For the fans, I would agree that these one-off races are awesome. There simply can't be enough events if you're on the outside looking in. For the riders, team personnel, and industry, however, adding multiple events really takes a toll. I read somewhere recently that it was "only three more days of work" to add three races. I sincerely hope the author was joking when he wrote that.
Let's take the SMX Cup for example. A U.S.-based rider will need SX prep time after having done four months of outdoors, though we can discount that some because he has the Monster Energy Cup to contend with, assuming he will be riding anyway. To race in Germany on a Saturday, teams and riders will have to leave on Wednesday for a Thursday arrival into Germany. That means the mechanics spent the previous few days assembling parts and pieces to build a new bike once they arrive in Europe.
Upon arriving, the mechanics will work on Thursday and Friday to get everything dialed in, and of course trying to get over the jet lag. Riders will be resting Thursday and probably do some sort of press event Friday, which helps them acclimate anyway. Saturday will be race day, with most flying back to the USA on Sunday. They will arrive Sunday night after a 16- to 20-hour travel time, making Monday a full recovery day. Tuesday they will start to feel somewhat human again and probably get back to the normal training. So assuming we disregard the travel hell everyone just put their bodies through in the last week (anyone who has flown to Europe understands the jetlag hangover), that's six full days minimum that have been eaten up by one race.
Following that, they will have to be in Vegas by Friday morning at latest for any press events, leaving only a couple of days to get back 100 percent. So, yes, a race like the SMX Cup is "just one day," but it's really more of a six-day timespan for one event. And that's really where the problem lies for many teams and riders. It's not the actual race that causes second thoughts; it's how many days that one event can absorb, when those days are so preciously savored as "off-season." That's why riders like Eli and Ryan end up opting out of the Motocross of Nations, simply because it's not mandatory and the other races are. I would be willing to bet if Eli were able to choose between Charlotte, Glen Helen, or Maggiora, he would gladly choose the MXoN. Unfortunately, I don't think he has that choice. It's a shame, but that's how this seems to have shaken out.
NUMBERS GAME (Steve Matthes)
The titles are decided but there are still some things at stake for the last Lucas Oil Pro Motocross event of the year. And that would be…the national numbers! My buddy at GET, Dan Truman, keeps a running log of numbers all season long and I got him to send me what he’s added up to see what’s at stake this year. I tweeted some stuff out and got a bunch of texts from riders—so they do care about this stuff, people.
I’m not going to go through the national number rules again, so if you don’t get the rules that were put into effect in the year 2000, then I can’t really help you.
Cooper Webb gets to pick a single digit number for his career and there’s #2, 8 and 9 open. Most people think he’ll pick #2 and Truman’s list is assuming that. If he sticks with #17 or goes somewhere else, things will get bumped by one or two.
His teammate Aaron Plessinger has, by virtue of finishing in the top ten in combined points from SX and MX, earned a career number. Most people think he’ll stick with #23 but he could go #17 (if Webb leaves).
The battle this weekend is can Alex Martin remain tenth overall in combined points and get a career number. He’s twelve points up on Zach Osborne (who’s got a career number) so I like his chances. And in talking to A-Mart, I think he’d stick with his #26.
So assuming Webb takes #2, Plessinger takes 23 and Martin takes 26, here are some other notables.
The first guy that will get a number assigned to him is TLD’s Mitchell Oldenburg who’s got a six point lead on Austin Forkner (who has zero SX points, so this is impressive). Number 13 is available but I wouldn’t look for Oldenburg to get that so the next lowest available number is #17 (which has been great for Webb, Tomac, Barcia, Anderson, etc, etc)
The next one available (again going on our assumptions above) is #24. 17 to 24 is a big gap so Forkner is going to be stoked if he beats Mitchell by six points, right?
Besides, Forkner dropping from #214 to #17 or #24, Benny Bloss of the BTOSports KTM team is looking at #32 for next year. Nice work, Benji!
Wil Hahn is in line to get #69 next year and that’s so Wilbur.
Zac Commons has #99 with nine points right now. Tevin Tapia is one point behind for the last national number, but he won’t race this weekend due to injury. Canada’s Kaven Benoit is racing his first national this weekend and I think he’ll be good for at least 10 points or so. Potentially Commons could be bumped.
James Stewart will keep his #7 for 2017 by virtue of gaining more than 25 points but if we counted points, he’d be around #78. Wow! His brother, Malcolm, is going to be #45 or so.
GOING-AWAY PARTIES (DC)
Coming up here in a few minutes in the Ironman paddock, we will not only have the Team USA photo shoot featuring Cooper Webb, Alex Martin, and Jason Anderson, but Honda HRC Factory Racing is having a farewell party for Trey Canard. For ten years, Canard has been on a Honda, first with GEICO and Factory Connection, where he won both a 250 Motocross and 250 Regional SX title, and then with Honda proper. Now the team’s making room for at least one big name (who seems to still love two-strokes but won’t be able to race a CR250 either) in 2017 and another said to be coming in from, say, Slovenia in 2018 (and maybe even earlier, but that’s a long shot). Where’s Trey going? We’ve been told he will soon find himself under an orange tent. Canard’s time with Honda was beneficial for both, but it could have been so much more without some really lousy luck and some big crashes. He and the team hoped he would be the one to end their dry spell for AMA 450-class championships, which stretches back more than a dozen years: ’03 in SX, ’04 in 450 MX, both leaving with Carmichael and yet to return. Their hope is that next year will be their year.
Andrew Short was one of the men Honda tapped to maybe get them back on top, and while Andrew got some wins on red, he was never able to get a major title. No matter, his career was the model of how a champion should conduct himself, both as an athlete and a role model. Shorty will end as a BTOSports.com KTM rider, probably with more respect than any other rider currently in the paddock. His presence, his professionalism, and his outright friendship will be missed by many. Congratulations to Andrew; his wife, Jackie; and the whole Short (and Hudson) family!
The Number: 1 (Andras Hegyi)
Zach Osborne is now in the AMA record books, not only for his first 250 National win, but also Husqvarna’s first win in the 125/250 National Championship, which has existed since 1974. Husqvarna has now won in all the AMA Supercross and Motocross categories, having added AMA Supercross when Jason Anderson won earlier this season. In the 470th round of 125/250 Nationals, Husqvarna is now the seventh brand to win a race. The others (in chronological order) were Honda, Can-Am, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM and now Husqvarna.
Prior to Osborne, Husqvarna only enjoyed podium success in the 125 Nationals. Between 1974 and ’76, Husky was able to get several podiums. In 1974, Robert Haag and Dan Turner got one podium each. In ’75, it was Mickey Kessler—the father of current pro Dakota Kessler—who got a podium, and the Swedish import Nils Arne Nilsson got two more podiums in saddle of Husqvarna. Finally, in 1976, Arlo Englund of Colorado got one last 125 National podium with Husky.
Winning brands in 125/250 National/
Kawasaki: 161 wins (first win in 1978)
Honda: 114 (first win in 1974)
Suzuki: 88 (first win in 1976)
Yamaha: 85 (first win in 1974)
KTM: 20 (first win in 2000)
Can-Am: 1 (first win in 1974)
Husqvarna: 1 (first win in 2016)
Another (Hypothetical) Number (Aaron Hansel)
Adam Cianciarulo won his first AMA Supercross race, but in motocross, it’s been a bit of a different story. Heck, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider wasn’t even on the line on what was supposed to be his first pro race at Hangtown in 2013 (thanks to salmonella poisoning). Since then he’s been unable to finish a complete season, but that’ll hopefully change tomorrow when Cianciarulo races the final round of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season in Indiana, and judging by how he’s been riding lately, he just might break through for his first career MX win too. If he does, his first win will come on his twenty-sixth start.
That’s fewer starts than you thought, right? Maybe that’s because if he hadn’t gotten injured a bunch of times, he would have lined up forty-eight times. No matter, the past will be all but erased if he starts winning, and if he does it tomorrow, you could make the argument, at least in terms of starts, that he’s really not that late to the party. The current champ, Cooper Webb, won his first National on his seventeenth attempt, and Jeremy Martin won his sixteenth National. For an extreme example look at Jeff Emig, who took thirty-nine starts before notching his first win! He then of course went on to three AMA Motocross Championships. Tomorrow is the end of the season, but it just might be the beginning of a new chapter for Cianciarulo.
Flash Trivia: Name three guys (not including Grand Prix imports) that won the first 125/250 National they ever entered.
2016 Racer X Amateur Film Festival (Jordan Roberts)
The 2016 Racer X Amateur Film Festival presented by MotoSport, WASPcam, and BAK Industries is just around the corner. We’re accepting submissions from around the world through October 20, and a panel of professional videographers and Racer X staffers will hand-select eight semifinalists. Only four will make it to the finals, where they’ll have a shot at some high-end prize packs courtesy of MotoSport, WASPcam, and BAK Industries.
The Racer X Amateur Film Festival is an unprecedented contest that gives amateur videographers a chance to showcase their films and editing skills in front of a global audience and get recognized by moto industry professionals who have an ever-growing demand for video content. Racer X Online, MotoSport, Red Bull, Feld Entertainment, and more have commissioned past participants of this contest to produce video content.
This is your chance to take your work from the local track to the big leagues. Think you have what it takes to get paid to do what you love? Then visit filmfestival.racerxonline.com for details. In the meantime, check out the prizes on offer.
Winner
- A BAK Industries Revolver X2 Hard Rolling Tonneau Cover
- A $400 MotoSport.com shopping spree
- WASPcam 9905 Wi-Fi Camera
- Two Racer X Brand T-shirts
- A Racer X Brand hat
- A one-year digital subscription to Racer X Illustrated
Second Place
- A BAK Industries BAKFlip MX4 Hard Folding Tonneau Cover
- A $300 MotoSport.com shopping spree
- WASPcam 9905 Wi-Fi Camera
- Two Racer X Brand T-shirts
- A Racer X Brand hat
- A one-year digital subscription to Racer X Illustrated
Third Place
- A $200 MotoSport.com shopping spree
- WASPcam 9905 Wi-Fi Camera
- Two Racer X Brand T-shirts
- A Racer X Brand hat
- A one-year digital subscription to Racer X Illustrated
Fourth Place
- A $100 MotoSport.com shopping spree
- WASPcam 9905 Wi-Fi Camera
- Two Racer X Brand T-shirts
- A Racer X Brand hat
- A one-year digital subscription to Racer X Illustrated
Cooper Webb's SX/MX Sweep (Andras Hegyi)
Yamaha has had many champions over the years. In the seventies it was Gary Jones, Bob Hannah, Pierre Karsmakers, Jimmy Weinert, and a young Broc Glover. In the eighties they had a slightly older Broc Glover, Mike Bell, Ricky Johnson and, at the end of that decade, the great expectations of Damon Bradshaw. In the nineties there was Jeff Emig, Kevin Windham, Jeremy McGrath, Doug Henry, and John Dowd, followed by Ernesto Fonseca, Stephane Roncada, Chad Reed, Grant Langston, Jason Lawrence, James Stewart, and then Jeremy Martin and now Cooper Webb.
But out of all the AMA champions that Yamaha has ever had, Webb has done something unique to the brand. Webb has become the first Yamaha champion who was able to be win a championship in small-bore class both in supercross and motocross. Of course, those guys in the seventies and halfway through the eighties had no chance to be 125 SX champ because the class didn’t come into existence until 1985. Since then Emig and Martin were only champions in 125/250 Motocross on Yamaha, while Reed, Windham, Dowd, Roncada, Fonseca, Lawrence, and Bradshaw were only 125 SX champs.
Prior to Webb, only Suzuki, Honda, and Kawasaki riders were able to win both. Also, the South African Grant Langston was able to do that, but he is an exception. Langston was 125 National champ with KTM, while he got his two 125 SX titles with Kawasaki.
Riders with 125/250 titles both in SX and MX
Doug Henry (Honda) – 1993 (SX), ‘93, ‘94 (MX)
Ricky Carmichael (Kawasaki) – 1998 (SX), ’97-‘99 (MX)
Travis Pastrana (Suzuki) – 2001 (SX), ‘00 (MX)
James Stewart (Kawasaki) – ‘03, ‘04 (SX), ‘02, ‘04 (MX)
Grant Langston (KTM, Kawasaki) – 2005, ‘06 (SX), ‘03 (MX)
Ivan Tedesco (Kawasaki) – 2004, ‘05 (SX), ‘05 (MX)
Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) - 2007 (SX), ’06-‘08 (MX)
Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) – 2009 (SX), ‘09 (MX)
Trey Canard (Honda) – 2008 (SX), ‘10 (MX)
Eli Tomac (Honda) – 2012 (SX), ‘13 (MX)
Cooper Webb (Yamaha) – 2015, ‘16 (SX), ‘16 MX)
Riders with 125/250 titles both in supercross and motocross in the same season
Doug Henry (Honda) – 1993
Ricky Carmichael (Kawasaki) – 1998
James Stewart (Kawasaki) – 2004
Ivan Tedesco (Kawasaki) – 2005
Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) – 2007
Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) – 2009
Cooper Webb (Yamaha) - 2016
Flash Trivia Answer: Marty Smith (’74 Hangtown), James Stewart (’02 Glen Helen), Eli Tomac (’10 Hangtown).
Headline of the Week
"JLaw tops Forbes' highest paid actress list for second year in a row, making $46 million." Huffington Post
Hey, Watch It!
Before Ken Roczen and the whole Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John's/RCH Suzuki team had themselves an epic party in the pits, K-Roc had to do the press conference in the media center. Needless to say, Kenny was in very good spirits.
And speaking of the new champ, here’s a video of his early visits to America when he was doing big amateur races as a kid at Loretta Lynn’s, the Mini O’s and more, courtesy of Red Bull.
Random Notes
Congrats to Racer X Publisher Scott Wallenberg on being inducted into the 4th Annual Jack Morgan Hall of Fame later this year. Midwest Vintage Motocross will honor Carl Berggren, Olav Aaen, Eric Gorr, and Wallenberg on Saturday, September 24, at Motosports Park in Byron, Illinois. The weekend festivities will include a meet-and-greet, picnic-style dinner, award ceremony, and memorabilia display giving tribute to the gone but not forgotten Elkhorn Track that was located in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
The weekend will also feature the 2nd Annual Race of Champions on Saturday, a four-man team race on different-era bikes along with a vintage bike and memorabilia display. Also on Saturday will be a Racer X Vet Series event. Sunday will be the season finale of the Midwest Vintage Motocross series where you will see a large variety of vintage and evolution bikes racing the historic Byron Legends track, which has been in existence since 1970 and is still going strong today.
For the most up-to-date information, visit www.midwestvintagemx.com and click on the Hall of Fame 2016 tab.
Stay hydrated this summer with a Racer X stainless steel water bottle. Just stop by the Racer X booth in Sponsor Village to subscribe or renew and get 13 issues of Racer X Illustrated plus a Racer X water bottle for just $20!
Don't forget stickers are always free at Racer X! Be sure to stop by and get your 2016 Ironman event sticker.
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Quantities are limited, so stop by the Racer X Pit Pass booth Saturday morning if you haven't pre-ordered yours yet.
Thanks for reading Racerhead. See you at the races.