Racer X - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X

  • Subscribe Now
  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News

Racer X - Motocross & Supercross NewsRacer X

  • One Click Sign-In

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    OR

    Sign in with your username and password

    • Sign In
  • Features
    • 10 Things
    • 30 Greatest AMA Motocrossers
    • 3 on 3
    • 250 Words
    • 450 Words
    • Arenacross Report
    • Between the Motos
    • Breakdown
    • Deals of the Week
    • GNCC Report
    • Great Battles
    • How to Watch
    • Injury Report
    • Insight
    • In the Mag, On the Web
    • Lockdown Diaries
    • Longform
    • MXGP Race Reports
    • My Favorite Loretta Lynn's Moto
    • Next
    • Next Level
    • Observations
    • On This Day in Moto
    • Open Mic
    • Privateer Profile
    • Race Day Feed
    • Racerhead
    • Racer X Awards
    • Racer X Redux
    • Rapid Reaxtion
    • RX Exhaust
    • Saturday Night Live
    • Staging Area
    • The Conversation
    • The List
    • The Moment
    • Things We Learned at the Ranch
    • Unphiltered
    • Wake-Up Call
    • Where Are They Now
    • 50 Years of Pro Motocross
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Photo Galleries
    • The Weege Show
    • Racer X Films
    • Video
    • SX Preview Shows
    • Factory Tech Tip
    • MX Preview Shows
    • Behind The Bars
    • Racer X Rapid News
  • Races
    • Series Schedules
    • TV Schedules
    • Results
    • Champions
    • 2023 Numbers
    • Teams
  • Results
    • Points Standings
    • Race Results
    • Riders
    • The Vault
    • Loretta Lynn's Vault
  • Shop
  • About Us
  • The Mag
    • Digital Magazine Bookstand
    • Customer Care
    • Current Issue
    • Newsletter
    • Store Locator
    • Subscribe
    • Free Stickers
    • Sell Racer X
  • Table of Contents
  • Subscribe Now
  • Latest
  • Features
  • Breaking News
Results Archive
GNCC
The General
Articles
Overall Results
  1. Craig Delong
  2. Josh Strang
  3. Ben Kelley
Full Results
XC2 Pro Results
  1. Angus Riordan
  2. Evan Smith
  3. Cody J Barnes
Full Results
Supercross
Indianapolis
Articles
450SX Results
  1. Ken Roczen
  2. Justin Barcia
  3. Cooper Webb
Full Results
250SX East Results
  1. Hunter Lawrence
  2. Nate Thrasher
  3. Jordon Smith
Full Results
MXGP of
Patagonia Argentina
Articles
MXGP Results
  1. Ruben Fernandez
  2. Jeffrey Herlings
  3. Jorge Prado
Full Results
MX2 Results
  1. Jago Geerts
  2. Andrea Adamo
  3. Thibault Benistant
Full Results
Arenacross
Salem
Articles
Supercross
Detroit
Articles
450SX Results
  1. Chase Sexton
  2. Cooper Webb
  3. Eli Tomac
Full Results
250SX East Results
  1. Hunter Lawrence
  2. Nate Thrasher
  3. Haiden Deegan
Full Results
Arenacross
Little Rock
Articles
Live Now
Supercross
Seattle
Articles
450SX Combined Qualifying
  1. Eli Tomac
  2. Chase Sexton
  3. Adam Cianciarulo
Full Results
250SX West Combined Qualifying
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. R.J. Hampshire
  3. Levi Kitchen
Full Results
Live Now
MXGP of
Sardegna
Articles
MXGP Results
  1. Jeffrey Herlings
  2. Calvin Vlaanderen
  3. Maximilian Spies
Full Results
MX2 Results
  1. Jago Geerts
  2. Arvid Lüning
  3. Lorenzo Ciabatti
Full Results
Upcoming
Arenacross
Lexington
Fri Mar 31
Articles
Upcoming
GNCC
Tiger Run
Sat Apr 1
Articles
Upcoming
MXGP of
Switzerland
Sat Apr 8
Articles
Upcoming
Supercross
Glendale
Sat Apr 8
Articles
Full Schedule
250 Words: The Biggest Team
Jason Weigandt

Jason Weigandt

250 Words The Biggest Team

December 21, 2020 5:00pm
by: Jason Weigandt
  • Home
  • 250 Words
  • Bobby Regan and Star Racing’s Want to Win

Yamalube® engine oils, lubricants and care products. No matter what motorsports vehicle you have, you need an oil formulated specifically for your engine, operating environment and application. Yamalube is behind every reliable engine. Trust Yamalube for incredible performance every time. Look for the full line of Yamalube Care and Maintenance products at your nearest Yamaha dealer.

Advertisement | Advertise with Us

The pics from the Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing shoot are downright comical. Hilarious. Ridiculous. Those pictures only show the pro team, with amateur riders Nick Romano, Matt LeBlanc, and newest recruit Levi Kitchen not pictured. Total up those ams and you’ve got TWELVE riders on board Star for 2021.

That includes Dylan Ferrandis, Aaron Plessinger, and Malcolm Stewart on the new 450 program, Justin Cooper, Christian Craig, Jeremy Martin, Colt Nichols, Nate Thrasher, and Jarrett Frye on the 250s. Three 450 riders in an era when many teams run two, and six 250 riders when many teams run four.

The 2021 Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing team photo shoot.
The 2021 Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing team photo shoot. Octopi Media

Everyone wants to know how the team can afford this. I’ve asked team owner Bobby Regan and he can’t even really come up with an answer, because he doesn’t seem to care about the money.

“Jason, we’re not here to make money, we’re here to win,” he repeats several times.

Regan says he’s never taken a dollar of pay out of the team, and he pays all the expenses for he and his wife to come to the races. So that’s a budget saver. It also helps that the 450 team is much more of a mashup of Yamaha Racing and Star than it might appear. Yamaha provides funding, staff, and its existing race shop in Cypress, California, for the 450 operation, so Star’s 450 crew uses the same work space that housed the Monster Energy Yamaha factory 450 team (Plessinger and Justin Barcia) the last few seasons. Yamaha is adamant that the move to Star is not a sign that they’re pulling back on racing or budget. Yamaha went down this road a decade ago, shutting the factory team and working with L&M/San Manuel and JGRMX, and that was a budget saver during the recession. That’s not the case here. The Star turn in the 450 class is designed around performance and results. Star Racing has delivered them, big time, in the 250 class. Yamaha hopes for similar success on 450s.

Recommended Reading

  • Exhaust Podcast: Plessinger on the Rebound Exhaust Podcast: Plessinger on the Rebound December 19 - 11:30am
  • Gallery: 2021 Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha Team Shoot Gallery: 2021 Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha Team Shoot December 18 - 12:15pm
  • Open Mic: Aaron Plessinger Part 2 Open Mic: Aaron Plessinger Part 2 December 15 - 1:20pm
  • The Conversation: Aaron Plessinger Part 1 The Conversation: Aaron Plessinger Part 1 December 14 - 12:30pm

The Star 250 team stays in its existing shop, in a separate California space. There are more moves in the future, though, as Regan says the team is in the process of buying the GOAT Farm from the Carmichael family, and will eventually have a full race shop in Florida. They keep making moves. With Ferrandis and Plessinger, the team was set on 450s, but Regan and company added a third rider in Stewart, to dive deeper into the new class. Three bikes and riders bring more data, more experience, and more chances to win.

That’s what it’s always about for this team. They didn’t have any expectations that Jeremy Martin would be available, but they wanted him back, so they found a way to make it happen. I have a suspicion, by the way, that Star’s outsized results on the YZ250F has led riders to come to the team at a discount, kind of how Mitch Payton’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team used to work in the early 250F era. Regan says he knows it worked that way with Pro Circuit in that previous generation, but he says Star isn’t at that point yet. Perhaps, but those bikes seem like one heck of a negotiation tactic.

  • Colt Nichols
    Colt Nichols Octopi Media
  • Justin Cooper
    Justin Cooper Octopi Media
  • Christian Craig
    Christian Craig Octopi Media
  • Jeremy Martin
    Jeremy Martin Octopi Media

Everything you hear from this team right now is about a show of strength. Strength in numbers, strength on the dyno, strength on the track. However, even this squad wasn’t immune to the dark days of 2020. When the pandemic first hit and racing stopped, it almost stopped the entire operation.

“It almost ended us,” says Regan. “Just like everyone else, sponsors had to stop paying, and we didn’t know what we were going to do.”

The team was able to hunker down and survive, and then Monster Energy AMA Supercross resumed in late May. A month later, Yamaha’s plan to possibly upgrade Star to a 450 program in 2022 zoomed forward—the brand asked Star if it could have a 450 program ready for 2021. The squad dug in and got to work immediately, with everything happening faster and sooner than expected. Whatever the challenge, though, Star is ready to tackle it. Bobby Regan always dreamed of having a professional team, but says he’s never dreamed run a 450 factory outfit. With a squad this size, now he’s definitely dreaming big.


Main image by Octopi Media

Don’t Miss a Moto!

 

Sign up for our newsletter to get headlines, info, and scoops as soon as they break. As a bonus, you’ll be entered into our weekly giveaways too!

TGI Freeday - Newsletter Giveaway
By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy. Must be 18 years of age or older to win.
Forms on this page are protected by reCAPTCHA, its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
  • The List: Racer X Rider of the Year Part 2 The List: Racer X Rider of the Year Part 2 1:00pm
  • One Race, One Page: 2013 Lake Elsinore National One Race, One Page: 2013 Lake Elsinore National 11:00am
Presented by:
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Website
Read Now
May 2023 Issue Now Available
Get Racer X on your iPhone
Check out all the exclusive content this month on any device!
Read Now
The May 2023 Digital Issue Availalbe Now

Motocross & Supercross News - Racer X

122 Vista Del Rio Drive, Morgantown, WV 26508 | 304-284-0084 | Contact Us
©1999 - 2023 Filter Publications LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
designed at: Website DesignImpulse Studios