Although he is still sidelined for the a few more rounds of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, our man “Filthy” Phil Nicoletti is recovering well from his broken arm suffered during Monster Energy AMA Supercross as he just returned to riding this week. “Filthy” was at home watching the races but he is hoping to return to racing in about a month’s time. Nicoletti still answered some of your questions!
Got a question for Phil Nicoletti? Send it to Phil@racerxonline.com.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Hey Phil,
After watching Thunder Valley with the National NBC broadcast, and the 450’s going first, I’m curious how different the track is for the 250 guys? I’m guessing the 450’s set some different lines, plus they probably chop up differently. I’m not sure you ever got the chance to race a 250 after the 450’s but even if you didn’t, what’s your thought on the track breaking down for them in the last moto?
Hope you’re recovering and maybe get back by Dilla or Budds.
Thanks,
Stan Bruzgulis
The Stump Grinder
Stan,
No matter who gets second or fourth moto, it’s always going to be more rough for them. The 450’s definitely chew the tracks up more. That’s just common sense. The biggest difference when going later in the day, especially for the fourth moto is the dirt. The dirt goes away and becomes a lot more hard packed. So trying to decide on tires and slight suspension changes can make a big difference. You always hear guys saying they went the wrong way or made a good change for second motos. It’s pretty crucial. The bumps lose moisture and become more hard packed and that’s the biggest kicker, I feel. I personally like softer bumps like RedBud and Millville (Spring Creek) compared to Hangtown and Colorado (Thunder Valley). But for me, I don’t mind racing first, just so the day gets done quicker.
Phil,
Best of luck on healing from the injury. I don’t really have a question but more of a request: my favorite thing about this site used to be the photo breakdowns provided by JT. Having a pro explain how another pro is navigating a difficult corner is the closest thing to riding lessons any of us causal riders will ever receive. My request is could you give us a breakdown of something you see a rider doing different than the others? ET standing through that left hander in the ruts last weekend comes to mind. But what does that take? Do you point your toes in? Are you weighting the outside peg? Are you neutral or head over the bars? Etc.
Thanks Phil, appreciate what you do.
-Sweating in Tucson
I guess it all depends! Who do you wanna try and mimic riding-style wise? Tomac, Roczen, Anderson, Dunge, Sexton, or AP? They all have such different style. For instance, Roczen and Sexton I feel have the closet styles out of anyone. Both ride the same bike. Both ride very neutral, and don’t swing off the back fender. Both keep their feet on the pegs, and use their legs to maneuver the bike. But both run completely different set ups. Chase likes a low rear, Kenny likes a tall rear, Eli likes a high rear. Anderson bikes looks like it squats a lot so he can swing off the back of his bike and keep his loose style. It’s all comes down to down to comfort with those guys, so they can do that shit and make it look so easy. It’s quite obvious AP in 2021 was comfortable and becoming the old AP of 2018. Podiums, fast laps, feet on the pegs, swinging off the back end, loose as a goose etc. Now, it looks like it’s back to trying to get to that point. Every guy battling up in the top four, looks comfy AF! Hopping bumps, carving in and out of corners easily. Comfort makes the elite guys do phenomenal things. The average person can even comprehend the shit they pull off out there.
Way off topic, but after Thunder Valley Racer X and Tom Journet put together raw footage of race day. Watch the 250’s in the second moto. Levi Kitchen passes Jo Shimoda going up the rollers to jump over the wall before the finish. The way he did it, feet on the pegs, swinging off the back, around the outside, hitting a line no one else had all day… impressive.
Watch the Infield Access raw video below:
Hi Phil,
I’m not gonna start off with all the ass kissing comments I usually see on UnPhiltered because anyone making a supercross main or a motocross national already know they are a badass on a bike. Anyway, I grew up in Virginia not far from Muddy Creek. Most people that have raced it or race it on regular occasions consider it to be an iconic track. I always wanted to see professional motocross there and finally got it but most pro riders complained constantly about it and then it was gone. My question or questions are: what happened? Why did the pros complain so much about the track? The racing was pretty awesome there in my opinion (here comes one ass kissing comment) and I remember seeing you kick some ass there. Why have two Pala races (which to me that track looks terrible) and not keep tracks like Muddy Creek?
Calvin Glen
Daniel West Virginia
Calvin,
Man, I agree with you. I really didn’t mind Muddy Creek. It is a bit narrow and small, but for a spectator it was good to watch from. Bristol was an okay city, had some decent hotels and restaurants. Johnson City was quite good as well. We had a few autograph signings there, and they always had a lot of people at the dealerships. So, I’m not really sure why it didn’t work. This question is for the higher up people like Weege who make the big bucks. My only complaint with Muddy Creek, was the first corner. Man, that thing suckeddddddddd. Seemed to always, always be a pile up there.
I did have some really, really good races there, though. Maybe that’s why I didn’t mind it. But it always had good moisture, and they brought in saw dust. But I’d much rather race two Muddy Creeks than two Palas. Actually, I’d rather run through two actual muddy creeks than race at Pala. Sorry not sorry.
