3 on 3: Matthes and Weege Email Exchange

Braswell won 250 Pro Sport. But even he couldn’t catch Cole Martinez in the final Open Pro Sport race! I have a feeling you love this. Steve, I know you’re not super informed on the kids, but Loretta’s is just as much about the old personalities coming back into the spotlight, like Martinez, Heath Harrison, Mike Brown, and this Kris Keefer guy who apparently knows everyone—oh and my guy Barry Carsten. Sometimes the New England guys like Keith Johnson and Mike Treadwell show up. These guys are awesome. Then we have Mike Alessi, who lined up in his gate backwards before his final moto to sling some of the mud out of his rut. He got penalized with the last gate pick. I just love how these older guys always live up to their old character. Admit it, Steve, you love this stuff.

Matthes: I do love the stories from the Ranch, I probably really need to get down there to hang out.

What does it say, if anything, about Braswell winning Horizon Award and not having a clear path to the pros? And look, like you said on the PulpMX Show, Ryder D was a DNF away from probably winning both his classes. So I suppose hold off on any alarms when it comes to the “older” guys like Martinez winning twice, right? 

By the way, if we’re ranking kids of our ‘90s heroes would it go: Haiden Deegan, Evan Ferry, Vincent Wey? Am I missing anyone?

Weigandt: It’s a bench racing extravaganza. Like seriously, just to name one place, if you come over to the Team Green “Greenville” one night you’ll just get endless material and old stories and then solve the world’s problems. Same for 30 other hot spots at the ranch. At the pro races we’re all in and out. Loretta’s is the rare time when you get to have dinner with some buds, hangout, then come back and do it again the next day.

So yeah, Braswell did an awesome job establishing he can handle rough, long motos. The problem is I don’t think he had any sort of pro deal lined up. He’s on a GasGas but he’s not part of the official Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas factory team. I’m not sure what comes next for him. In the old days a week like this sets you up instantly, but now teams are set up with longer-range deals and long-term planning. Wedging a new guy onto a squad isn’t simple.

By the way, I think Ryder D hangs on if his bike doesn’t let go and maybe this story looks a little different. But Braswell was at least able to match him, no doubt.

Yeah, so that’s another thing you would love. Kids of your old buddies means hanging out with your old buddies! Timmy and Nick are there all week. Vincent Wey has real potential he just has to settle down. When he avoids mistakes, he wins. He’s young and I could easily see it happening. I thought Evan was setting himself up for a good week then it went away. Turns out he had COVID-19 before the event and lost some fitness, then tweaked his ankle, and also had a front flat in a moto. I think he showed just enough pace to show he can succeed, even if the results weren’t good. 

But look, there’s no denying Deegan is a beast. Plus, he’s on the strongest 250 team (on average) in the game. Yeah, so a kid in his class tried to claim his bike. There is an AMA rule that says any bike can be sold for double the MSRP. The idea is to discourage the factory kids from racing the full mega-dollar works bikes. If you don’t want to lose a bike for $17,500, don’t build a bike that costs more than $17,500. I talked to Tim Cotter from MX Sports and he says the kid who claimed the bike did everything right and followed the rule properly. He was in his rights to do it, and Cotter and MX Sports impounded the bike so Deegan couldn’t touch it until his final moto of the week. And when Deegan’s final moto was done, the bike was to be handed over to the kid, who bought it and followed the rule fair and square. MX Sports and the AMA were fully prepared to execute the claiming rule and hand the bike over. It’s the AMA’s rule. They’re gonna enforce it.

Then the kid changed his mind. Cotter doesn’t know why. Anyway, Deegan won that final moto and final class (after his wheel broke in his other class). He’s the real deal and now the world is already starting to think about Deegan and the Lawrence brothers on the same starting gate in a mega hyped battle.

I have to say—between all these hyped up kids, new manufacturers joining the series and all these new series offering up big money, it’s a heck of a time to be alive in dirt bike racing.

Matthes: I’m 100 percent behind this claiming rule, I love it! I don’t know all the drama behind this claim being rescinded but I’m here to talk about it. Everyone knows my opinion on amateur racing in America, it’s way out of wack from what it should be and what it’s produced. But as you’ve told me, OEMs seem to be pulling back on this a bit so that’s a good thing. There’s not much winning going on right now from the top American amateurs in the last few years and a whole lot of money spent. But Weege, every once in a while there comes a dude that’s going to be “it”…I don’t even know if Eli Tomac was “it” when he left the Ranch outside of people saying he was going to be very good but maybe not this good? Anyways, is Deegan “it”? You’ve seen all these kids come through, you seem to be pretty high on him. I’m not saying, “Is he going to dominate like Stew or RC?” but can he be the next Justin Cooper or better? Win races, titles and tons of podiums?

Also, just to be factually correct here—our guy Keefer, a past LL’s champion, was up 100cc on a, checks notes, approximately 58-year-old Mike Brown and never really saw him all day?