No Concern Knee-ded
After Eli Tomac faded in the first moto at Fox Raceway and didn’t have the pace of the leaders in the second, the first thing a lot of people thought was that he must be having problems with the knee injury that fettered his speed down the stretch in supercross. Well, put those concerns to rest because Tomac was great at Hangtown, going 4-1 for third overall. He was best in the second moto too, when the track was at its worst, which isn’t something you’d expect from someone dealing with knee issues. And with the series now headed to Colorado, where Tomac will race in front of his home fans, the competition will need to be on point if they want to battle.
Box Checked
“I’m really excited I don’t have to hear about not having that outdoor win yet. That’s pretty nice.” Those were the words of Jason Anderson in the post-race press conference after finally getting his first national win. He’s right too—we, and plenty of other media, have mentioned Anderson’s unfavorable streak plenty. And as long as the streak was, it’s not surprising to see him snap it—he’s clearly on another level in 2022. The only question now is, when’s he getting the next one.
True Grit
Chase Sexton may not have won the overall at Hangtown after being in a position to do so, but he’s still got to be happy with how he performed. Gone were the small mistakes that have cost him big in the past, he led a bunch of laps in both motos, and after Tomac and Anderson got by him, he didn’t just let them have it. Afterward he said he learned from their lines, and made a conscious decision to give a final push to try to get the spot back, which he was nearly successful in doing in both motos. Watch out for the summer version of Sexton, he’s going to be tough all season. Oh, and if you’re a lapper, be extra sure to look out for Sexton.
Start to Finish
Michael Mosiman’s had front-runner pace for a while now, but small mistakes have repeatedly cost him wins and podiums, both in supercross and motocross. That was absolutely not an issue in the first moto at Hangtown, however. Mosiman was strong from start to finish, and showed no sign of faltering. Afterward he told us he was able to relax out there and just race his race. “If you have a fear of getting caught and passed then you’re not worrying about what you need to worry about. That was huge, letting that go and letting my natural ability take over,” Mosiman said. A mistake in the second moto did result in a DNF, but now that he’s got a moto win, how long before he gets an overall? Based on today’s qualifying, in which Mosiman was the fastest 250 rider, it might be soon. –Hansel
Coming in Hot
Had you said Justin Cooper was going to go 2-3 at Hangtown for second overall immediately after going 11-13 at Fox Raceway, people probably would have assumed you’re a Cooper super-fan. But, that’s exactly what Cooper did, and he even had a very real shot at winning the overall! That’s a huge, huge improvement in just a single week, and, and with another week between then and Thunder Valley, it makes you wonder how much more he’ll improve. At his current rate, he’s going to be dicing it up for wins!
Missed Opportunity
There’s no question the 250 Class missed out on a big opportunity last week at Hangtown. Both the Lawrence brothers, especially Jett, were sick, and there was no question it affected Jett’s performance. Yet, somehow, due in part to mistakes from others, he still managed to notch the overall win. If you’re Jett, this has got to add to his already-brimming pot of confidence. After all, if they can’t beat him when he’s throwing up on the line, how can they beat him when he’s at 100 percent? Someone needs to get in Jett’s way, and soon, or this thing is going to turn into a bloodbath.
Like Mercury
Cooper isn’t the only rider who rebounded at Hangtown after a bad day at Fox Raceway—Jalek Swoll is also in that group. Kinda. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider crashed in the first moto at the opener, hurt his shoulder, and that was it for him. He came back at Hangtown though, and he looked awesome in the first moto. He held off eventual moto winner Mosiman for a bunch of laps, and ran in the top five for most of the race before going down late and DNF’ing the moto. He didn’t line up for the second, but he will be racing at Thunder Valley. Will he be up front again, or will he not make it to the second moto?
Six-Six-Six
Hold your Satanic panic, we’re not making some whacko reference to an evil number, we’re talking about Levi Kitchen’s results from Hangtown. The Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing rider quietly slid into sixth overall, with 6-6 moto finishes, which is pretty good, especially for someone as green as Kitchen. Sometimes these results from young riders turn out to be nothing, but sometimes they turn out to be a sign of things to come. Swoll, for example, logged a career-high of 10-6 for seventh last year at round two (then Thunder Valley) and went out and won the overall the next week at High Point with 1-3 finishes! If Kitchen is on the verge of breaking out, we could see it happen this weekend.
New Layout, Who ‘Dis?
There are sections of Thunder Valley that are unique to the venue that should never change, like the uphill start followed by a right-hand turn, and the deep ruts everywhere. But a stagnant layout is never good, and this year the riders will be see some new stuff at Thunder Valley. The downhill section now has more turns and wraps back and forth more, effectively reducing speeds, and on the other side of the track there’s a huge uphill triple. How big? Some of the riders in the 250 Class were having a hard time clearing it in qualifying this morning. The changes shouldn’t have a positive or negative affect on anyone specific, but it’ll be fun to see how the lines develop in these new sections come tomorrow.
Summer Breakout
Justin Barcia is capable of better results than he’s produced this summer. So far he’s gone 8-9-10-11 in the first four motos, and sits ninth in points. Not only are his results trending in the wrong direction, he’s simply better than this, especially four motos in a row. Yes, there’s plenty of talent in this class, but if you went back in time before the season and told Barcia these would be his results, he’d probably block-pass you into the gutter. We’ll see if Barcia can have a better outing this weekend at Thunder Valley.
