The third round of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross saw Levi Kitchen log his breakout ride leading from start to finish during 250 Moto 1. Thunder Valley also had some large jumps that the guys were getting loose on, especially in practice, throwing some impressive whips. The next round will be at High Point Raceway this weekend, a track that is known for its downhills and long rutty corners. We enlisted privateer racers Cade Clason, Coty Schock, and Alex Ray to share thoughts on these topics. Here is what they had to say:
We got a good look at Levi Kitchen this weekend as he won 250 moto one. What do you think of his style? How tough is it to lead and hold the nerves back when you're leading for the first time?
Cade Clason: His style is loose for a big man, he’s probably the tallest on his team and he makes tall look good on the bike. I would know, because I don’t! The starts are usually really important for newer pros. Sometimes these youngsters who won everything as a kid only know how to start from the front. That’s where they feel comfortable. Starting in the pack is the problem because they aren’t comfortable around everyone else. The pack is much deeper in the pro ranks.
Coty Schock: Levi Kitchen is like the silent assassin, just comes out swinging and has hands down one of the best styles. Kinda like a mini-Aaron Plessinger in a way! Levi has a bright feature and I feel there’s gonna be more break out rides from him especially at Washougal because that’s his home track. As for holding it down once you get the holeshot, my opinion is if you train the way you race it’s not as hard. This way you’re ready for it rather than it being a “schock” to you. You know the guys on his team ride together a lot so they replicate the feeling of a moto. Getting up front pumps you up in a good way. If anything, it’s exciting and tend to go faster and build off that momentum!
Alex Ray: Kitchen reminds me a lot of KDub [Kevin Windham] with some of the things he does on the bike, with a mix of Plessinger. Love his foot work on the bike, very technical on the pegs. Hunches over a bit with his upper body but makes it work. He’s very good in deep rutted conditions like we had this past weekend at Denver. Toward the end of his amateur career, he was up front a lot and sometimes all you need is that start up front for it to feel like a local race or even an amateur national. I haven’t won anything like an outdoor national, but I have won some LCQ’s 😂 and to me sometimes when you’re in the lead like that it can feel so natural if it's a day when you’re on. He looked flawless in that first moto! I can imagine it came natural to him just like any Saturday at the races.
Sometimes we see riders airing out some of the bigger jumps with whips and their own style. How much fun are some of those big jumps - and do they ease the stress levels on race day at all when it comes to the motos so you're enjoying it more than overthinking/stressing it? Have you thrown some whips just to ease the stress?
Clason: Honestly to race on, sometimes the big jumps are the most stressful since they get so torn up and sketchy, but if you can find a flow and get saucy, that always help the confidence and looseness.
Schock: The nationals tend to have one or two big jumps on the track and it’s personally my favorite part to throw whips for not just myself but for the fans! Whips definitely ease the stress levels for me anyways because my dad always said, “If you aren’t throwing whips, you’re not having fun!” I’ve definitely thrown whips to ease the stress especially on site laps before the motos because it gets me fired up knowing I’m comfortable and the fans are into it!
Ray: It’s always fun having a nice floater jump at the outdoors mainly because we can take a big breath of air during the moto! But yeah, some of the iconic jumps like the back triple at Thunder Valley or the one at High Point, both of those jumps are so much fun and you see a lot of the guys like Justin Bogle, Justin Rodbell, Ken Roczen etc. really show that even on a day when it’s 100 degrees, and they’re eating roost all day, they can still have fun and do it for the fans. Maybe they only get to do it on a sight lap before the motos, but it still gets you going. The only stressful part would be the first lap when you have 39 guys and girl [Jordan Jarvis] hitting it at the same time. Not a good time to get sketchy!
What’s the key to High Point?
Clason: SEND IT DOWN THE HILLS. Don’t be scared of the outsides, they are sneaky good. Find good lines early and stick to them. Get good at your line. Don’t keep searching.
Schock: High Point is a tricky one on the circuit. My biggest battle there is learning to follow the long ruts and be patient on not cutting down on them too quickly. It’s important to point your toes in and ride on the balls of your feet so the deep ruts don’t pull your feet off the bike. Not doing so will potentially do damage to your leg or knee. Oh, and don’t forget to get a good start because the roost there is unreal and hurts… I would know from getting lapped a few years ago. [Laughs]
Ray: Keys to the race for High Point is to stay smooth with the ruts and carry good momentum. That track ruts up a lot like Lakewood. Getting a good start there is key but it’s not really the first turn to worry about but turns two and three. A lot of people get caught up on the insides and it’s just a chain reaction after that. I have my best overall finish ever there 12th overall, but honestly, I’m not good at the off camber turns so I struggle a bit there. All I can say is that staying out of the super deep ruts is gonna help.
