At the 2021 250SX West Region kickoff in Orlando, Florida, Garrett Marchbanks scored a third-place finish in his first race with his new ClubMX Yamaha team. He would record several rides inside the top five, but ultimately, he would not return to the podium again throughout the remainder of the season. In the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship last summer, he ran into some health issues that impacted him significantly. But he has since worked through them and came into the new year with a strong off-season.
The Utah native was expecting to be a title competitor in the 250SX West Region of 2022 Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Back on the ClubMX training program, race team, and Yamaha YZ250F for a second straight year, Marchbanks wanted to establish himself as a constant championship threat. But this year, the results have yet to deliver as he expected, as he finished 4-8-22 in the first three rounds before missing the Anaheim 3 Supercross main event. He earned two straight fourth-place finishes at the fifth and sixth round but sits eighth in the 250SX West Region standings with 73 points, 75 points behind leader Christian Craig (148 points).
With the natural break in the 250SX West Region schedule, racers tend to test outdoor settings in preparation for Pro Motocross before resuming their supercross season in several weeks. This year the Seattle Supercross on March 26 is the first 250SX West race since A3 on February 12. But Marchbanks and the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha team decided to go another route. The 2019 250SX Rookie of the Year decided to enter the 450SX Class for the ninth round Daytona Supercross tomorrow. Essentially out of the 250SX West Region championship fight, the 2020 Daytona 250SX main event winner figured why not give it a shot at the premier class at Daytona International Speedway? He recently released a vlog with him training on the Yamaha YZ450F—which the team says he has trained on before due to his larger stature (about 6’1” and 190 pounds). He jokes, “I’ve got power now, it’s f***in’ awesome!”
Note: Strong language is used, viewer discretion is advised.
ClubMX media man Mike Bonacci explained the thought behind Marchbanks making the jump to the YZ450F for Daytona, saying the #35 has been all-in with the decision.
“As the press release announced, Garrett will be making his first 450 appearance aboard the Yamaha YZ450F in Daytona. It worked out well that the schedule would allow a break before and after the event to keep him prepared for the West Coast Regional series. We did not decide on a whim that this was a good idea, Garrett has trained on a 450 in the past for Supercross and the outdoor series. The difference is that since the decision was made to go in this direction, he has been “all in” on training with the big bike. When you have that kind of natural ability, going from a 250 to a 450 is not a big leap. His speed and comfort on the big are at a high level already as he completed his final session with a video production to document his experience leading up to Daytona. Racers always go faster when the camera are rolling! Even though he is a prior winner at Daytona on a 250, please wish him luck because no matter the result – coming home safe and enjoying the experience are what matters to the team.”
In the release, the team also hinted towards Marchbanks being one of three 450SX riders at Daytona. We already know one of them is Alex Martin so who is the third? A few days later ClubMX confirmed team trainer Brandon Scharer will also be lineup in the premier class at the speedway as well. Scharer is a ClubMX trainer and official fill-in rider for the race team if needed, but most of his 2022 has been spent training other riders at ClubMX. According to the team, when the practice day is done for the other athletes and the track is beat up, that is when Scharer hops on his bike and gets his practice in to stay sharp.
“He [Scharer] mostly gets to train at the end of the day when the track are at their worst. A few times though, Brandon Haas asked him to join in the ‘group one’ pros to see where his speed was at. I am happy to report that a few of his fellow competitors called it a day and went home after he turned in the fifth fastest time out of sixteen riders. Can you imagine the part time rider/trainer rolling out to spin a few laps on a bike that is not perfectly set up – just to kick your ass?”
The California native jumped into the 250 Class of Pro Motocross last summer and earned a career-best overall finish at the Ironman National en route to earning national #91 in the five nationals he competed in. Scharer last raced supercross at the Foxborough Supercross on April 21, 2018, finishing 17th in the 450SX main event.
Crazy enough, Scharer actually filled in as a mechanic for Martin at the Minneapolis Supercross two weeks ago. Trainer, mechanic, racer—Scharer can do it all! This weekend Scharer looks to make his third career 450SX main event on his #91 machine.
On top of the 450SX trio, 250SX East Region riders Phil Nicoletti, Enzo Lopes, and Jace Owen will also be competing, meaning the ClubMX truck will be packed on Saturday. Below is the full press release from the ClubMX team on Marchbanks, followed by some information on Scharer as well in a second release.
Garrett Marchbanks to compete in the 450 class during the Supercross Western Regional series break.
In a bold move, the young racer will test his skills in the premier class at Daytona.
CHESTERFIELD, South Carolina—It was March 11, 2017 when Jeremy Martin was on break from the 250 Western Regional Championship and decided to try the premier 450 class at Daytona. He had an inspiring third place qualifying time and an unexpected second place overall finish on the night. It is a mystery why other top riders have not tried this idea over the last five years. Perhaps they were in the 250 title hunt or maybe just needed to take a break from the long eight round regional series.
Well, it is time that someone took a chance and did it again and Garrett Marchbanks is the man for the job. Some oddities in the regular series currently have him sitting outside the top five in overall points and he loves to race his dirt bike so ... why not try Daytona.
Daytona is the perfect race to do this for a variety of reasons. Marchbanks is a past Daytona winner so the place has special meaning to him. He will get some time off his regular schedule before and after the Daytona event. Daytona is an amazing venue with a wild atmosphere. And it is close to the ClubMX homebase in South Carolina. All of these factors lean towards this being a good idea.
“The season has not progressed like I imagined it would to this point so given the opportunity to add Daytona to the list is something I am very interested in. Brandon (Haas) and the team have been very supportive of me all season so the thought of adding this race to the calendar seemed fun for everyone,” said Marchbanks.
Team owner Brandon Haas is known for his vision and support of the riders and echoed Marchbanks’ comments: “We will be fielding a big team at Daytona and we drive to this round, so it made sense to add Garrett to the roster. We all know that Garrett has the skills, he just needed a bit more luck to fall his way this season. We are a very nimble team so given the opportunity to bring him with us to Daytona on a 450 seemed like a logical choice. He practices on a 450 during the week so it should come naturally to him to race one. As the biggest racer in the 250 class he is always searching for more power and moving to a 450 is the easiest way to get there. Add to that, he is excited for the opportunity and it should make for a special night.”
At the last race in Anaheim before the schedule break, Marchbanks won his first heat race of the season and then went on to an exciting fourth place overall finish on the night. Not an easy fourth place finish – but one of those storybook races where he goes down in the first corner, falls thirty seconds behind last place and then claws his way back to the front. It was a night to remember and a highlight reel for his resume. The screaming crowd, the electric atmosphere and the racing action all culminated with a shift in momentum for the twenty-year-old. Now he carry that excitement with him to Daytona!
The event will kick off at 6 pm on Saturday, March 5, 2022 and it will be a night to remember for the ClubMX team. They will field a team of three 250’s and three 450’s at the famed speedway. It certainly gives fans one more reason to tune it. And like that night five years ago, perhaps Marchbanks can strike lightning in a bottle to give people something positive to talk about.
This is the press release on Scharer making his 2022 supercross debut.
Brandon Scharer returns to Supercross at Daytona
The ClubMX trainer will put his teachings to the test at the famed Daytona International Speedway
CHESTERFIELD, South Carolina—Brandon Scharer is no stranger to racing at a high level. The twenty-seven-year-old has been preparing himself for this event since the beginning of the year. Scharer’s full time job is training both amateur and professional riders at the ClubMX Training Facility in South Carolina. He will spend the mornings working with the amateur riders of all skill levels. In the afternoon he transfers to the professional riders as they prepare for Supercoss and has developed the respect of everyone. His easy- going personality and calm delivery fits with the program. It is no secret that Scharer can walk the walk. His recent overall wins at Loretta Lynn’s and Mini O’s are just the icing on the cake of a great career to this point.
Crack open the vault and you will see Scharer raced the 2018 Supercross season as a rookie, making his first main event in Tampa. He followed the series to his last race at Anaheim 1 in 2019 near his hometown. Opportunities in his career path took him to across the country landing him back on the east coast and ClubMX in early 2021. He has been an integral part of the facility and its growth since his arrival and his desire to race at the highest level still burns strong. With the team driving to Daytona, it was an easy decision to add him to the roster and be a part of the program for a few reasons. He works well with the pro riders and can share his knowledge throughout the race weekend. He can fulfill his desire to once again race at the highest level and with many of our amateur trainees on-site he can increase the level of respect he will get when he returns to South Carolina.
Scharer brings a great story line with him. He works with up to twenty pros on the Supercross track when it is groomed and pristine. At the end of the day, when the others are gone home, he finally gets to roll out his bike and prepare for racing. Scharer gets the rutted and hard remainder of what was once a picture-perfect track and never complains. That work ethic and desire to succeed transfers over to his training credentials without ever saying a word. Look for the #91 in Daytona and cheer him on!
Main image by Midwest Moto Media/Jason Friberg
