Millville [Spring Creek] took place this past weekend and if you’ve listened to anything I’ve said or written the last few years, you know I’m a fan of this track. Could be some bias in here as Millville is by the far the national track I’ve ridden the most but really, it’s got it all! There’s a long-ass fast start where almost any gate is good enough to grab the holeshot, a great sand whoop section to test the riders, and huge hills to test the bikes’ horsepower and rider skills. Great dirt, big jumps, and big hills. What more could a guy ask for?
We had Eli Tomac on the PulpMX Show Monday night and yeah, he didn’t agree with me. He said it’s a little tight in spots, you can’t ride everywhere you want to, and passing is tough. Hey, what does he know? My co-host that night, David Vuillemin, said the best track was Hangtown so I immediately ordered a drug test for him to take.
Speaking of Tomac, he also said the second moto at Millville was in the “top five” of toughest motos he’s been a part of in his career. Full props to Chase Sexton there, he really pushed Tomac hard all moto long. And that’s after passing Tomac in moto one and going down. So that’s nine points that Sexton has gifted Tomac this year with tip overs (including the last lap tip over while leading at Thunder Valley where Ken Roczen got by, which cost Sexton three points, then a six-point swing by crashing in moto one and losing more to Tomac at Millville.) That number isn’t huge but hey, Tomac leads him by five, so you do the math.
Regardless, it’s been very impressive to see both riders raise their level lately with Tomac and Sexton going 1-2 in SEVEN straight motos. Remember when Jason Anderson won? Or Ken Roczen? Yeah, that was cute. Right now there’s no one on their level and I don’t imagine it changing anytime soon. Reminds me of that 2007 season when RC was part-time and he and James Stewart took off every single moto.
I don’t know how it’s going to end (I think ET will get this title if I had to bet) but Sexton is really deserving of praise here for the way he’s riding. Last year’s champion, Dylan Ferrandis, is coming back here soon and you figure he will be good in 2023, so he can give anyone a run for this title but right now, Sexton has to look like a heavy favorite for next year’s outdoor title, right?
As for Motocross of Nations, Tomac said on the show he’d like to sit down with Sexton to talk about who they want as the MX2 guy, but that it’s a little tough right now with them in a title chase! From what I know, it’s between Christian Craig and Justin Barcia for that spot, but Vuillemin made quite an impassioned plea to Tomac to move to the 250F for the race stating that it’s the 250 class that is often the key to winning the race (he’s right) and that ET, as the best rider, can deliver the best results on the smaller bike. ET didn’t dismiss that as crazy talk either so who knows? Can you imagine if Eli did drop down to a 250 and Team USA won? He’d be a legend for sure in many fans’ eyes.
Well, Jason Anderson didn’t make any mistakes and he ended up going 3-4 for third overall on the day. That seems about right—Jason has been his worst enemy this outdoor season but when he’s on, he’s the third best guy right now. He really showed some good fight in moto one when he rode about two seconds ahead of a Ryan Dungey, who was pushing very hard. In the second moto he fought his way to fourth and Craig was checked out in third so he settled in for a third overall.
Craig, at a track he’s ridden a bunch when he was living in Minnesota, went 5-3 for fourth and hey, that’s a good ride. That’s two races in a row that Christian has stood on the podium at the end of a moto. Last week he appeared to be quite worked in moto two at The ‘Wick and I wondered if something like that affects him during the week. He said not really, he recovered pretty quickly from that race, but did admit that he was physically finished there.
Another National, another Jett [Lawrence] show in the 250 class, although you had to feel for his brother in this one. Hunter was leading until getting trapped with a lapper in moto one and watched his brother zoom away. Second moto he had the lead, Jett was back near tenth when a red flag came out and poof, there went that lead. You know how the rest played out. After the restart Jett got the lead right away and Hunter was buried.
Jett’s won every national but one and that one was where his bike broke. It’s quite a title defense for sure and indicates, to me, that he’s ready for 450MX in 2023, which I believe is the plan.
This Jo Shimoda “thing” is starting to be really cool. He’s been working with Nick Wey for a while now and on the PulpMX Show on Monday, Nick said that he’s been making Jo do things that are “uncomfortable” for him. Twelfth to third in moto one after a crash was impressive (just like last week when he caught Jett in moto one) and he had a 3-2 on the day for second overall. I think Nick is being a bit tougher on Jo than his old trainer was and it’s showing. There’s nothing better for a rider who throws himself into a trainer’s program and sees results from it—it just motivates them even more.
Some other news and notes:
Alex Martin’s last ever Millville national (when I asked him about maybe doing one off-race here or there he def made it sound like there was no chance of that) and it was cool for MX Sports to let him go out for the parade lap before the motos. He admitted he was tearing up out there on the last lap and that emotionally, the whole day got to him.
Joey Savatgy’s starts were on point as the fill-in Kawasaki rider grabbed both holeshots. He had, in his own words, a “dorky” crash early in moto one and then a big one later on. And that crash caught up to him in moto two as he went backward after the start. On the PulpMX Show, he admitted he was pushing himself in moto one to go Sexton’s speed even though, as he admits, he’s not there yet. So down he went and perhaps he got a new life lesson as well.
Ryder DiFrancesco showed up again and to me, showed some real speed. He didn’t lead like at RedBud but he was consistent and fitness seemed a bit better this time going 13-8 on the day. I think when I reported that he didn’t have a deal for 2023, I was speaking about a pro deal (because I know he wants to go pro) and things got a little out there from there. He does indeed have a deal for 2023 with Kawasaki on the amateur side of things. And maybe he’ll jump to pros for the nationals next year, who knows, but I do think Kawasaki has zero intentions of letting him get away. As for supercross, I heard that some people were looking at his lap times from the SX Futures races and also noted that he wasn’t blitzing whoops at the final round in SLC while his competitor, Chance Hymas, was, and therefore think he’s not “ready” but yeah, uhhh, how many kids are blitzing big whoops like pros a year (or two) before they're actually pro? Maybe calm down a bit here?
I thought Seth Hammaker’s ride last week was perhaps sand-induced as maybe the PA kid didn’t grow up in the stuff or something? Either way, he was back this week with consistent 8-7 scores. Sixth in the points and he’ll move into fifth this weekend. Great year for Hammaker.
I spoke with RJ Hampshire after the race and you could tell he was biting his tongue pretty hard when it comes to his thoughts about the bike. He’s not stoked with what’s been going on during the week preventing him from practicing, as well as not being comfy on the bike on race day. He admitted he came back early for a shot at the MXoN team (he’s very good at Redbud) and it’s not working out right now. Very frustrated for sure. You can listen to the interview HERE (starting at the 0:58 mark):
Max Vohland lost the last spot on the podium on the last lap of moto one. That’s got to hurt and if I’m honest, I was cheering for him to get it. Good day for Mad Max at Millville.
Benny Bloss is putting together a very nice string of races here lately. He’s definitely not on the pace of the guys ahead of him but he’s beating the other dudes, including guys on factory bikes like Shane McElrath. Good job to Benji and Jericho over there!
Oh boy, the less said about Ken Roczen’s day the better. Crashes in both motos left him way back but he also was going backward pretty fast in moto two before he went down. I think he stays at Honda next year but someone else closer to the deal told me he’s 50/50 right now to stay. I mean, where else can he go? Then again, Ken’s agent is not adverse to ruffling feathers so I could see the 50/50 thing.
Max Anstie crashed down Mt. Martin in the second moto and Aaron Plessinger told me that he had a front row seat for that and “wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.” It was ugly. I didn’t see it but Anstie was okay afterward, although his bike was mangled. He and his team are done with the nationals now and they’ll get ready for WSX this fall, with Anstie on a 250F and Dean Wilson on the 450 (not announced yet).
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing has enjoyed some very good times the last few years so let’s not start weeping for them now but it’s been a rough national series for them. Justin Cooper’s foot is still not 100 percent so he’s not been the same guy. Levi Kitchen did win a moto but he’s out now with a broken wrist. Matt LeBlanc broke his collarbone last week and Nate Thrasher and Nick Romano collided in the second moto and both guys went down hard, with Romano having his knee wrapped. He was limping after the moto. Hey sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail.
For some reason, Kyle Chisholm came back for this race and the next one. He didn’t quite “Chiz” all over the field like usual, as it’s pretty tough to just jump in and do that, especially in the nationals. Still, he made the top twenty in both motos. He didn’t impress anyone with his outright speed, but what Chiz can do is ride the entire 35-minute moto at the same speed. This weekend he’s going to Washougal he said because his dad Gary hadn’t ever been there before and he’ll be wrenching for him.
Thanks for reading, we’re onto Washougal this weekend! Then a much-needed break for the teams and riders. Email me at matthes@racerxonline.com if you want to chat about the best track on the circuit or anything else.
