On Friday before the RedBud National this past weekend, the first of three Scouting Moto Combines for 2022 commenced. These events are designed to help amateurs soak up a ton of information before making the transition to Pro Motocross as they are coached throughout the day by former professional athletes, media members, and high-ranking series personnel. Then they each run two 25 minute plus two lap motos on the RedBud racetrack.
When all was said and done from RedBud, we caught up with several of the riders to hear about the experience and how helpful something like this event is for their careers.
Patrick Murphy | 9th Overall (7-10)
I had to actually ride my practice bike because my race bike blew up, so practice was a little tough. When it came moto time, I had good speed. I ended up seventh in the first one, but I actually got a flat tire halfway through. It was a rear flat tire. So, a little sketchy on some of the jumps and stuff. Second moto, came out, had a good start. Was about fourth and then [Chance] Hymas slid out right in front of me. Kind of jumped his bike, fell, was about dead last, and then came back to tenth.
Julien Beaumer | 12th Overall (5-18)
It was good. Good qualifying in the morning. I qualified I think third. Moto one was good. Got off to a good start. Just rode my own race, stayed consistent, finished fifth in that one. Then moto two I got off to a good start again. I think I was running fifth or sixth and I fell, and then downhill from there. Other than that, the day was pretty good.
Noah Stevens | 13th Overall (13-11)
It was an early morning. Really busy day. I struggled to just find a flow all day, so not where I want to be but now know what I got to do to get ready for Loretta’s.
Grant Hoffman | 14th Overall (15-12)
Combine was a great experience. My day was all right to start out with. It got better as the second moto came around. Track was pretty good. Other than that, it was a pretty good time. I had fun. It was a great experience.
Noah Schuring | 15th Overall (17-13)
Today started off okay, I would say. The track was pretty smooth, just wide open. No one had touched it. They raced amateurs here today, so as the day went on, the track got super gnarly. I also learned the track a lot better throughout the day. I think qualifying, the first one, I was like 19th, and then the second qualifying I went 17th. I don’t really remember. I ended up getting 13th in that second moto today. So, definitely progressed throughout the day. It was pretty good.
Lucas Geistler | 17th Overall (16-15)
I thought I was riding all right. I think I could do better, but again, it’s just a fun experience to do. The first moto went pretty good. I had a really good start. I think I came out top ten, maybe eighth. So, that kind of put me in a good position. In the late moto, I started taking bad lines and it kind of cost me, using my energy a lot. Then I was just trying to hang on. But again, I finished off with a 16th and that was pretty good. Then the next moto came by, and before that it started raining. The track gets slick in a couple spots. I had a decent start. I think maybe top 15, nothing crazy. Throughout the whole race, I was sitting all right. I was making a couple passes, but then ended up crashing over the launch pad where the American flag is. I hit braking bumps and it kind of kicked my back end sideways and it was slick, so it just slid me, and I just fell. But I got back up and rode my race and passed a couple other guys and then just hung on after that.
Landin Pepperd | 20th Overall (18-17)
It was a little bit of a rough day. First time at RedBud. Definitely taught me some lessons and showed me who’s boss. It was overall a takeaway learning day and I’m happy with that. Ready to put my head down and go back to work.
Ethan Eslinger | 21st Overall (20-19)
The day was fun. It was a very well-ran program. We were on the minute on literally everything, which was good. Being on a 250 was a little tough for me with my weight and height, but we got 'er done.
Watch the reactions from each rider here:
