Yes, today is April Fool's Day, but this Craig deal Matthes is reporting is legitimate news that he has been able to confirm. Craig is currently in the second year of 250SX for supercross then the 450 Class of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing—but has stated numerous times he wants to race 450s full time. Now, it appears he will have that chance. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team currently has Malcolm Stewart (in the first year of a two-year deal) and Dean Wilson in the 450 Class. So what will happen to Wilson at the end of this year? Or will Craig become a third rider? Remember, Zach Osborne was supposed to race for the team this year, as he retired and then un-retired but then retired again. So, Husqvarna was expecting to run a three-man team in '22, so maybe it sticks with it in '23.  With Justin Cooper and Colt Nichols being pushed to the 450 Class for next year and Austin Forkner and Jeremy Martin also wanting 450 rides, this could be an interesting off-season of changes before 2023. Kellen Brauer recaps Matthes’ Craig report and more silly season news in the video below.

Remembering Jaroslav Falta (DC)

When Jaroslav Falta, the great Czech rider of the 1970s, passed away last Sunday due to a heart attack, the motocross world lost one of its all-time favorite underdogs. The world was a much different place back in Falta’s peak years, with an ongoing Cold War between East and West, communism and democracy. Because he was from Czechoslovakia, an Eastern Bloc nation that has since split in two, Falta had to race his homeland’s outdated CZ motorcycles against more advanced equipment from Austria, Germany, Sweden, and of course Japan, but he made it work—for the most part. 

American fans knew Falta because in 1973 and ’74 he was allowed to participate in Edison Dye’s Inter-Am tour, where he won several rounds. Falta also won the 1974 Superbowl of Motocross, making him the only CZ rider to ever win a supercross race—though in ’74 it didn’t actually count as part of the first AMA Supercross Championship. He did, however, beat Suzuki’s Roger De Coster for the win!

Falta competed primarily in the FIM 250cc World Championships, where his main rivals over the course of his career were Suzuki’s Joel Robert, Yamaha-mounted Hakan Andersson, Puch rider Harry Everts, and Husqvarna’s Heikki Mikkola (for a couple of seasons) and Hakan Carlqvist. And of course his main adversary was Gennady Moiseev of the Soviet Union. Moiseev was also from the Eastern Bloc, but he was allowed to park his CZ in the middle of the ’72 season and race KTM motorcycles. That’s part of the reason the Russian Major won three world titles to none for Falta. As a matter of fact, every rider mentioned above won a 250cc world title—everyone except Falta. 

Beginning in 1971, his rookie year on the GP tour, Falta finished ninth in both ’71 and ’72, sixth in ’73, and second in ’74. That was the year Falta was targeted by the injured Moiseev’s fellow Russian riders, who tried to block him or knock him down in the last race of the series in order to keep Falta from overtaking Moiseev. It was an ugly, terrible afternoon, but Falta prevailed despite the dirty tricks of the Russians. But then, an hour after the race, Falta was told that he had been protested for jumping the starting gate. He was docked one minute, which pushed him back enough spots to give Moiseev the title instead. (We featured the story of this race in Racer X magazine called “Stolen Glory” by Ken Smith, and you can check out the pdf here):

Read “Stolen Glory” by Ken Smith

Falta started the ’75 season with a big win at the Austrian 250 GP but then got hurt and only managed to finish 11th, another unlucky blow for the Czech. He won a couple motos early in ’76 but got hurt again on the CZ, which was falling further and further behind in development. For the rest of his career, the story would remain the same for the underappreciated, underequipped Falta: some wins here and there but constantly falling off or behind. One of his last big wins came in 1978 at Schwanenstadt, Austria, on the #7 CZ, which was filmed and set to a pretty cool U2 song that you can watch here:

The next year, Falta started the season with a moto win in Spain, then he won motos in Spain and Czechoslovakia to start the following season, only to get hurt yet again. Falta’s final moto in GP motocross, once again in Sabadell, Spain, he finished third. This was in 1982, and he was still on a CZ.

Falta’s Grand Prix career ended there, but his motocross story continued after the fall of the Iron Curtain in the early 1990s. Falta soon found himself being celebrated by Western European fans he probably didn’t realize he even had, as he and other Eastern Bloc riders were often kept away from fans and even fellow riders due to the paranoia of their bosses that they might defect or give away some kind of state secrets, or even just bring home news that the West wasn’t so bad after all. Falta became something of a regular on the vintage moto tour, popping up all over the place. He was even a special guest at an AMA Supercross in the mid-nineties, competing in a four-lap legends race on a modern Suzuki along with Marty Smith, Gary Semics, and Mike Bell. Only one of the guys in that four-man race—Semics—is still with us now.

On a personal level, Jaroslav Falta was one of my heroes growing up, along with Heikki Mikkola and Marty Smith. Of course I could only follow him through the pages of my dad’s weekly Cycle News, as well as Motocross Action, Popular Cycling, Modern Cycle, Dirt Bike, and whatever else I could get my hands on. He was a mysterious underdog, battling the Russians and the Belgians and the Japanese bikes on that antique CZ of his. But I did get to see him race exactly one time. It was the summer of 1974, and my dad loaded up the family kidnapper van and drove us all to Lexington, Ohio, to see the Inter-Am race there. Falta was there, along with his CZ teammate Zdenek Velky, but they were separated by everyone in the main pit area as the “security detail” that used to follow any Eastern Bloc athletes to events to keep them from defecting. It was impossible to get close enough to my hero to ask for an autograph, which seemed almost important to this little kid as seeing him actually race.

That day, Falta and Velky traded moto wins, with Suzuki’s Roger De Coster third and Bultaco rider Jim Pomeroy fourth (and top American). Soon it was time to start the five-hour drive back home, but I didn’t want to leave yet. I had gotten all of the autographs I wanted except for Falta’s. I remember getting really upset as we loaded into the van, crying because I didn’t get that autograph. That’s when my dad finally snapped: Okay, give me your program, I’ll go get it… And off he went back to the pits.

Ten minutes later, Dad came back with a smile on his face and handed me the program, folded open to the page with Falta’s photo. And right there in the lower left-hand corner was the most important thing in the world to 8-year-old me: Jaroslav Falta’s autograph. Well, his last name, anyway. Falta. My tears dried quickly, replaced by a big smile. All was right in my little corner of the motocross world.

Years later, I was cleaning up some of my old files in the Racer X office when I found my big box of old event programs. I found the ’74 Mid-Ohio program and started thumbing through it. There was Marty Smith’s autograph, Marty Tripes’, Jim Pomeroy’s. It was a walk down memory lane … and then I got to Falta’s page. Falta. I remembered not being able to get it and being super bummed, but then my dad stepped in and saved the day by going back into the pits and getting through all of the security around Falta. And then I began wondering why Falta didn’t actually sign his first name too. And then I realized just how similar Falta’s signature looked to my dad’s handwriting.

Godspeed, Falta. Jaroslav Falta.

Four Winners, Many Surprises (Jason Weigandt)

Here’s something amazing: Monster Energy AMA Supercross started with four winners in four rounds. Since then, we still only have four winners! Eli Tomac and Jason Anderson have combined to take every win since, and many riders we thought would be sure winners have yet to get there. It starts with defending champion Cooper Webb, who is well into the longest non-winning streak of his tenure at KTM. Dylan Ferrandis seemed like a guaranteed 450SX winner after rolling through Lucas Oil 450 Class Pro Motocross Championship last year, but now he’s out with a wrist injury and, incredibly, has only one podium this year. One podium! Sheesh, didn't the 2020 450 National Motocross Champion, Zach Osborne, also only have one 450SX podium in 2021? Interesting.

Webb was building some momentum at midseason but took a big hit in Detroit and had another crash in Seattle practice. It is very possible that he ends the year winless, especially since several other riders have actually been better than him as of late, and not just Anderson and Tomac.

First, Malcolm Stewart is about nine months pregnant on getting that first AMA Supercross victory. He’s been close, and it feels like he’s due, but each week it’s another wait for another week. Also, veteran race winners Justin Barcia and Marvin Musquin have really surged lately, and they’ve been in the hunt each week. Tomac is proving tough to topple, and Anderson has been fast at every round, but if the ball bounces the right way, it wouldn’t be surprising for Stewart, Barcia, or Musquin to snag a win. Then you have Chase Sexton, who is of course plenty capable of grabbing a second race victory, but the big hits keep coming for him, and at some point, you figure they’re going to add up and slow him down. Maybe not?

The point is, it’s hard to believe we started the year with four winners in four rounds and might end the season with still only four winners. Often you see the title contenders back it down for points (or when motivation is sapped) at the final few rounds, and that might open up the best chance for a victory. Musquin won last year’s next-to-last round, and Sexton almost grabbed last year’s season finale. In the 2020 finale, Anderson and Zach Osborne battled for their first wins of the season (which went to Osborne) while Tomac was cruising home safely with the title in hand, and contenders Webb and Roczen had figuratively thrown in the towel after getting into a first-turn tangle. So as the series zooms to a close, there could be some more surprises in store. It’s just surprising, right now, how unsurprising it has become.

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

Greetings from sunny Portugal! With a weekend off in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, I chose the natural path: fly to Europe for more racing! I’ve been coming to Europe for two decades now, and I continue to enjoy it. MXGP is in full swing, and it’s not often I get a chance to visit this early in the calendar.

Injuries have been the theme as of late for both the USA and MXGP. The MXGP series lost both Jeffrey Herlings and Romain Febvre to off-season injuries, and the hits just keep coming. Jeremy Seewer suffered a concussion last time out in Argentina, Thomas Kjer Olsen suffered a hand injury that will keep him out of action, and Brian Bogers dislocated his shoulder. Add a collarbone break from Isak Gifting, a day-ending crash from Kay De Wolf, and a multi-race injury for Roan Van De Moosdijk for MX2, and you can see why everyone is looking for a timeout. It’s been a rough and tumble beginning to 2022.

As we enter the Portuguese event in Agueda, the healthy are looking to capitalize. Tim Gajser has been on a tear in MXGP while both Jago Geerts and Tom Vialle have shared success in MX2. The series have very different feelings, as MXGP is desperate for a shakeup at the top while MX2 has a championship showdown ready to explode. If Maxime Renaux, Jorge Prado, and Jeremy Seewer can’t win and win now, Gajser might push this thing out to an unreasonable gap before summer even arrives. For the MX2 contingent, the story is and will be Geerts and Vialle from here. Two titles with very different storylines. What will Portugal bring? If 2022 is consistent, the only thing we can expect is more inconsistency.

Evgeny Bobeyshev (DC)

In last week’s Racerhead I mentioned the unfortunate situation that Evgeny Bobryshev and other Russian racers and drivers are finding themselves in as many of the world’s governing sports bodies are suspending participation by athletes from Russia or Belarus, in light of the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Bobryshev, who has been training in Florida for the past three months, hoping to do races in both the British Nationals as well as the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship this summer, was told by the AMA and FIM North America that he would not be able to race here until the situation in Ukraine is resolved.

"FIM North America has unanimously concurred with the FIM Board’s action to prohibit the participation of riders from the Russian and Belarusian motorcycle federations in FIM North America activities," explained Mike Pelletier, Director of Racing for the AMA. "Consistent with this action, riders from these federations will also be prohibited from participation in the activities of both FIM North America member federations, the Canadian Motorcycle Association and the American Motorcyclist Association."

I feel really bad for Evgeny and told him as much when we exchanged emails this week. Making this situation even more unfortunate and complicated is the fact that Evgeny’s wife, Elena, has family in Ukraine. We’ve covered them over the years as Evgeny competed on the MXGP circuit, and we even did a big feature about how his family in Russia has long been ingrained in motocross. “Meet the Bobryshevs” appeared in the December 2012 issue, and you can read it here

Read “Meet the Bobryshevs”

Evgeny is a motocross racer who is one of the many unintended victims of this situation still unfolding between Ukraine and Russia. I hope it all ends soon and we do get to see him out on the racetrack.

Michelin Starcross 6 Intro (Keefer)

I met up with Randy Richardson and the boys at Michelin this week as they introduced their new Starcross 6 range of off-road tires. The Starcross 6 has incorporated Michelin's Adaptive Design that gives specific positioning of the tread blocks on three separate zones: central, intermediate and lateral associated with a specific shift of these zones. Michelin's single goal was to offer and exceptional grip behavior compromise for the front and exceptional grip/traction with longevity. Sounds like a dream, right? I can't tell you how hard it is to get durability and performance with off-road tires. It's like a unicorn. Almost doesn't exist! Michelin is now using silica technology that is said to help with durability up to 11 percent without sacrificing performance! 

I only got about two hours on the Starcross 6 medium/soft tires, but I can tell you that the carcass is stiffer feeling than that of the Starcross 5 medium/soft so extreme lean angle tire roll isn't as apparent as the older 5 model. Front tire lean angle grip is better than the older, but straight-line bump absorption was a little stiffer so going down to 12.5 PSI in the Starcross 6 medium/soft was important to get back some bump comfort. 

I get asked all the time if Michelin will be coming back to AMA SX/MX and that answer is not at this time, but they have partnered with off-road's elite series, which of course is the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Racing series. You can look for the Starcross 6 medium/soft as well as the medium/hard terrain tires in dealerships starting April 1st. if you want to learn more, you can also check out our video from the launch, right here on Racerxonline.com! 

GET WELL SOON, KATo! (DC)

Longtime industry journalist Mark "Kato" Kariya suffered a heart attack earlier this week while out riding. Karyia is something of a legend in off-road, which is the primary focus of his work. He has also always been in fantastic shape, as he not only loves moto and the outdoors, but he's a runner and a hockey player. So to hear that he of all people would find himself in this situation—in the ICU recovering from a heart attack—is unsettling. But if anyone is strong enough to come back 100 percent, it's Mark. It will be a long and costly battle, which is why friends have set up a GoFundMe account on his behalf, to help him out with what will likely be some serious hospital bills. Please have a look and pitch in if you can to this quiet champion for all things off-road. And get well soon, Mark!

Cover Me

Here’s Malcolm Stewart on the cover of the April issue of American Motorcyclist.

Eli Tomac on page one of this month’s German Cross Magazine:

Hard to believe how far we've come—and gone—since this issue of Racer X Magazine went out in April 2020.

Hey, Watch It!

In case you’re into parades and ninjas, this is the story for you:

If you're a fan of ATV four-wheelers, or just industry history, check out the latest from our friend Tony Blazier:

Garrett Marchbanks won the Daytona SX in the 250 class, and this year he made his 450 SX debut there. Check out this cool short film by director Chad Murray about Marchbanks' big step up, called Turning the Tide:

SEASON 2: Chase Sexton | Two Three Episode 2

Yamaha Beyond the Gate - S2E5

MotoStarr just released a podcast with Roger De Coster. From MotoStarr: