Let’s get some more intel on Southwick and racing Lucas Oil Pro Motocross in general. We fired off questions to privateers Cade Clason, Coty Schock and Alex Ray to get some perspective on what it’s like to be in these races.
1). What kind of out of body experience, nuclear war, cheat code or alternative dimension would it take to hold off Eli Tomac late in a moto?
Cade Clason: You remember Loretta’s 2020? When his bike shut off? Probably that. Maybe if we started him at his semi…backwards, without his helmet on.
Alex Ray: I don’t think there’s anything holding him back. If it’s late in a moto especially at The Wick Tomac is hunting you down. Forget an atomic bomb, this is an ETOMAC BOMB.
Coty Schock: To hold off Eli is like trying to get through the Bermuda Triangle. You go in but you may never come out again, because when he comes rumbling, there’s no stopping his storm. It was one thing to hear that Kawasaki rev behind you but now it’s the screaming monster that wants to destroy anything and everything. I’ve felt my body shake from it and it’s kind off cool but intimidating. So pretty much there’s no stopping him, just leave him be and we all move on.
2). Do you have to set up a bike differently for Southwick or sand in general?
Clason: Most people will change up their bikes a little. Run the axle a little further back, lowering the forks in the clamps, these two things lengthen the bike and make it stand up more in the rough terrain.
Ray: Yes, some people like to stiffen the forks a bit or even slide the forks down on the clamps, making the front end of the bike taller and lighter to glide over the sand. It’s more of a chopper feel so the front wheel doesn’t get buried in the sand. Speaking of that, it makes it even crazier to think that Eli is so good at this track, because he says if the rear of his bike is too his arms blow up. So his balance isn’t even typical for what you would do here and he still kills it.
Schock: Southwick setup is kind of similar to a RedBud setup with how the sand rollers and braking bumps develop. May have to slow the rebound a click or two for Southwick and raise the forks up so the front end choppers out a bit but that’s about it. Sit back and relax to ride that sand wave baby! Let’s goooo!
3). Give me your worst (best) sand story of ruining your eyes, stuck in your throat or rubbing you raw. Or anything else grossly uncomfortable
Clason: I hate the sand. So every experience is bad to me. I would say the worst I ever had was at Gopher Dunes in Canada. My tear off pin broke and was letting one grain of sand in at a time. Plus having no tear offs. It was not good.
Ray: Honestly, I don’t have any bad ones. I love the sand. My dad actually bought some land when I was super young and it was a sand pit that we could ride year around. So, I’d like to say I grew up in the sand. Places like WW Ranch and Southwick have provided some good results for me. But I’d say best sand experience was doing the beach race in Singapore. I’ve done it twice now and it’s one of those bucket list things not a lot of people get to do. It’s so fun.
[Wait, ARay, you’ve never had a sketchy sand experience?]
Ray: Okay, maybe just lost a muffler.
Schock: My worst sand story happened to come from when I was on 85’s [laughs]. I remember trying to be the fast kid at the time and fell to get a mouth full of sand. You know that cinnamon challenge… yeah kind of like that. Mouth got so dry that I couldn’t get moisture back in. When I thought I got it out, I kept accidentally chopping down on pieces of sand between my teeth and that was so uncomfortable. Now I’ve also got stories of me at Glen Helen last year getting sand in my pants and feeling like I was riding on sandpaper during my 30s. Motos like that are not fun but it’s part of the experience!
