Our man Phil is on the gas! Phil Nicoletti returned to the race track for the third round of the 250SX East Region Championship for the Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha team in Daytona Beach, Florida. He's shown pretty impressive speed at the first three races this year, and was even fighting for the final spot on the podium (!!!) for a majority of the race. Yes, Phil is in the mix for top fives! Not bad for a guy who has not raced AMA Supercross since 2018.
The Detroit Supercross is tomorrow. As he finishes up his final preparation for the race, today he is back answering your questions!
Got a question for Phil Nicoletti? Send it to Phil@racerxonline.com.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
So Phil, first off it’s awesome how well you are riding, you’ve been in the mix both weeks, has to feel good, especially how stacked the East [Region] is for once. Question: So power to weight ratio has to be a problem in the 250 class, seemed like a few years ago you were or I thought you were heavier when riding the 450s, seeing you last summer at club you seemed trimmer, not quite the size of Troll [Alex Martin] but pretty trim, was that something you thought about when you were considering racing the 250 and it having enough power to clear those big triples? Is this something the team owners considers when signing riders to the 250 class?
Mr. Groomer
Mr. Groomer,
I appreciate the kind words. I’m trying to get back to previous form prior 2021, that sent me off the rails.
To answer your question, I am about 10 lbs. lighter than what I would be on a 450. Overall muscle mass isn’t as high at the moment, and doesn’t need to be to ride the 250. Riding a 250F I weigh around 168-170 and the 450 I usually try to be at 178-182. Also riding the 450 and summertime I try and keep some extra reserve on the body. It very hard to stay at peak weight for 29 races. Obviously, weight on a 450 isn’t nearly as crucial as a 250F. A 140 lbs. 450 rider versus a 180 lbs. 450 rider isn’t as big of a deficit as a 140 lbs. 250 rider and a 180 lbs. 250 rider. As for as teams signing a bigger rider, I don’t think it really matters. Especially with how good the 250F are nowadays. But there is that old saying “every 7 lbs. is a horsepower.”
Hey F#Phil,
Do you have any T-shirts in stock?
I need my more filthy Phil!
Send stuff to me out in Arizona. I want some Filthy march!
Kelly #107
Kelly,
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ll be waiting awhile. I don’t plan on making a Filthy merch line anytime soon. I just don’t want to deal with the headache, or really care about it. If we could sell the stuff at the races out of our semi trucks, I would think about it. That would be easier to do than dealing with orders online.
Phil!
You were really hauling in Daytona and I thought you might have a podium going. Awesome on that! I know you consider yourself more of an outdoor guy, and some people say Daytona is more like motocross than supercross. Is that really true? I’ve heard some guys say it’s not really like motocross at all. Did you feel more comfortable or was it still just deathcross?
Bulger
Bulgar,
To be honest, Daytona isn’t like outdoor at all. The speed is faster of course, but outdoor like, not really. The dirt is softer for sure, and ruts a softer. But the outdoor feel isn’t there. I honestly feel that a normal supercross main even get way more gnarly than Daytona nowadays. That’s my opinion. Our main event, wasn’t really that rough. Obviously the 450 main was much more rough. Daytona isn’t like what it used to be. Not even close. Even the rhythms, and whoops, aren’t like what it used to be. To me Daytona is a whatever race to me. The starts always super unfair, and the track and racing spreads out so fast because it has so much zigzagging and straightaways.
