The 250 classes continue to be dominated by Lawrences. Last weekend it was Jett’s turn as the series reverted from the East Region to the West. The younger brother had a bit of a scare in his heat race when he tangled with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo, leading to a little animated mid-race discussion, but the main event was easy sailing. As things stand, Jett has lost one race on the year, just as Hunter’s done in the East Region.

Lately we’ve been seeing big-number breakthroughs for guys like Eli Tomac (now tied for second in all-time SX wins with James Stewart at 50) and Jeffrey Herlings (100 Grand Prix wins, one away from the all-time record owned by Stefan Everts). Here’s another that I just spotted this week, in regards to 250SX wins:

James Stewart (18) + Malcolm Stewart (3) = 21 combined wins

Jett Lawrence (11) + Hunter Lawrence (10) = 21 combined wins

Yes, the Lawrence brothers of Team Honda have tied the Stewart brothers in 250SX main-event wins, and with the way things have been going for Hunter and Jett, the Stewarts’ record won’t last much longer. Of course James went on to those aforementioned 50 450SX wins, two AMA Supercross titles, and a perfect outdoor season on the 450 in 2008. Malcolm hasn’t neared that success on the 450, but he’s had a solid career and still has some years to go. In other words, while the Lawrences are about to take over the standard for brothers with the most 250SX wins—adding it to the record they already have in 250 Pro Motocross wins—they still have a ways to go to earn that title of best brothers ever on the AMA circuit. But they have a lot of years ahead of them, and Jett will begin on the 450 this summer. We’ll have more on some of these big numbers farther down.

Related: History of High-Profile Transitions to Premier Class of AMA Supercross and Motocross

Earlier this week both Jason Weigandt and myself flew out to California for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new headquarters for the KTM North America Group, which of course includes Husqvarna and GasGas and more. It’s actually two big buildings in Temecula, totaling a $53 million investment in the U.S. market. The buildings, which will house what’s also called Pierer Mobility, are truly state of the art. And Mr. Pierer himself explained during the ceremony how the U.S. market is by far their most important, and how it’s grown step-by-step after the last few decades. He also paid homage to the late Rod Bush, the former woods racer (from West Virginia, by the way) who guided the company in the ’90s as it struggled for relevance, and ultimately ended up helping the brand win its first major MX championship in America when Grant Langston won the ’03 AMA 125cc National title. Mr. Pierer talked about how the U.S. subsidiary moved from Ohio to California, and also mentioned long, longtime staff members Selveraj Naryana and Tom Moen, joking, “They started with me thirty years ago, and they are still here, like rock-n-rollers, for as long as it gets!”

All of the teams’ top riders were there from KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas, both SX/MX and off-road. They all share the racing building, while the sales and marketing and executive staffs are all in the other building. And really cool: all of the meeting rooms are named after iconic U.S. tracks like Hangtown, Ironman, Glen Helen, Southwick, Daytona, Loretta Lynn’s, and more. Spencer Owens on hand to film it all, and he produced this look at the ceremony and facilities. 

And ceremony host Jason Weigandt did this week’s episode of the Weege Show as a tour of the new buildings, which you can watch right here:

So with no SX or MXGP happening this weekend, we might all be looking for something to watch to get us through until the Glendale SX. Might I suggest the Tiger Run GNCC from South Carolina, which starts on Sunday shortly after 1 p.m. EDT and can be streamed live and free on racertv.com.

And in case you missed it above, this week’s List is about how various top riders made the transition from the 125/250 class to the 250/450 ranks—something that Jett Lawrence is about to embark on when the ’23 Monster Energy SX season ends.

At one point I mentioned how Kevin Windham won the ’97 Charlotte SX while riding 125cc West Region SX and how he was the only full-time 125 rider to have pulled off that feat. Jason Weigandt and reader Shanda Rae then reminded me that John Dowd did the exact same thing one year later, winning the ’98 Charlotte SX. They were correct, and I had left Dowd out because he already been a full-time 250 rider for several years, then did the transition in reverse when Yamaha needed someone in the 125 West Region. I definitely should have clarified that and also mentioned Dowdy!

And before we move on to the rest of the week, here's a great off-weekend read about supercross track design via none other than Sports Illustrated, and featuring Mike Muye (Feld Motorsports' Senior Director of Operations for Monster Energy Supercross) and track designer John Blankenship.

Yamaha’s Free Cheat Code (Jason Weigandt)

Boy, have I got a deal for you. I just attended two different Yamaha BluCru camps in South Carolina, a motocross camp over the weekend at ClubMX, and another for off-road at Randy Hawkins’ property yesterday. I got to work with riding coaches, bench-race with old friends, ride a ton at maybe the best facilities you’ll ever find for moto or trails, and get free lunches and dinners. The whole thing was free, and not just for me! Yamaha’s BluCru camps are like a cheat code. Buy any Yamaha product—seriously, like just buy a Yamaha generator—and then sign up to join the BluCru. Yes, BluCru is the Yamaha contingency program, but it includes a lot of other perks. For example, all BluCru members can attend these camps for free .You do need to ride a Yamaha, so if you have an older one, or have a Yamaha you can borrow, just buy any Yamaha product (like that generator) and sign up for BluCru to attend.

Over the weekend, ClubMX hosted a Friday night dinner, then there was riding instruction all day on Saturday, then open riding and motos on Sunday. Club’s coaches and trainers, including the likes of Garrett Marchbanks, provided training and coaching. And of course you already know ClubMX has some amazing tracks. My son got a chance to try a YZ65, learning how to use a clutch and shifter for the first time. It went better than I expected, and he had a fun day, especially because he hooked up with a bunch of other Yamaha mini riders as his friends for the day. I also got to ride—I own a YZ250FX—on the GP sand track and the big public moto track. Really good.

We went to Randy Hawkins’ place yesterday. Hawkins, an AMA Hall of Famer and National Enduro icon, has been operating Yamaha’s GNCC team for decades, and his property is a trails heaven. Randy and his AmPro Yamaha team provided coaching, including new GNCC recruit Zach Osborne, as well as Jason Raines, Ricky Russell, Liam Draper, Rachel Archer, and Prestin Raines. Shoutout to Zacho for taking my son off to the side to give him some more tips on using the clutch. I mean, where else are you going to get one-on-one coaching from Zach Osborne?

The brand is really trying to make the Yamaha experience more than just buying a bike. Did you also know that Yamaha is now holding BluCru motocross races, kind of like the old Suzuki RM Cup? Yes, in the fall/winter they’ll hold an East Coast race at Lazy River and a West Coast one at Glen Helen. The races are for Yamahas only and they pay good contingency. More info on those will come later in the year, but for now, if you’ve recently purchased anything from Yamaha, sign up Sign up for BluCru, get some swag, and get in line for next year’s camps.

The Century Mark (DC)

Last weekend Jeffrey Herlings, the Flying Dutchman himself, reached an epic milestone when he won his 100th career Grand Prix in Sardinia, off the coast of Italy. It was Herlings’ first win since the fall of 2021, when he clinched the MXGP world title. (Herlings missed all of the ’22 season with a broken heel.) The wins puts him within a single victory of matching Stefan Everts’ all-time record of 101 wins. 

Herlings now joins a very exclusive club. In all of professional motocross, very few riders have ever hit the century mark. Here in the States, Ricky Carmichael scored 102 AMA Pro Motocross wins (in just 127 starts), while over in Europe, Belgium’s Everts scored those 101 Grand Prix victories from 1990 through his retirement in 2006. Now we add Herlings, who has 100 and seems likely to surpass both RC and Stefan in MX wins soon. Of course, RC also has 48 AMA Supercross main-event wins, so his total should really be 150. And with those 102 AMA Pro Motocross wins, he has more than double the next highest total, James Stewart’s 48.

Stewart’s also second overall here in combined wins. He has 48 outdoors and 50 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, giving him 98 to Ricky’s 150. James was just tied for second on the all-time list by Eli Tomac, who now sits 22 behind Jeremy McGrath’s SX wins record of 72. As Jason Weigandt tweeted earlier this week about Tomac’s milestone, compared to Jeremy, "Something insane to think about: Eli Tomas just tied James Stewart or 2nd in all time Supercross wins with 50. At 72 wins, Jeremy McGrath has 44% more victories. 44% more than second all-time is absolutely staggering in any sport, and any standard." 

One other rider who gets honorable mention here is Buddy Antunez, the King of Arenacross. Bud Man won 107 AX main events during his career. That is an astonishing number at first glance, but remember that AX events back in the day often had four main events per weekend, with 125 and 250 classes both Friday and Saturday night. 

Also, in last Friday’s Racerhead, we mentioned how both Herlings and Tim Gajser had 38 career wins in the MXGP class, and both Hunter and Jett Lawrence had 10 wins in 250SX in 27 starts. Those ties are all now out the window, as Jeffrey’s at 39 after Sardinia and Jett is now at 11 out of 28 after Seattle. But here’s another interesting bit: Herlings totals 100 Grand Prix wins, as mentioned above, which is exactly double what Eli Tomac now has in 450SX: 50 main event wins. Neither will move off those nice, round numbers this weekend—both have the weekend off.

Two more things on Herlings: All 100 of his GP wins came aboard a single brand, KTM motorcycles, which is something no one else here can say. And did you know that in 2007 Herlings, Tomac, and Ken Roczen were all Suzuki-supported RM80 riders?

Our colleague in Europe, MXLarge.com's Geoff Meyer, took a look at Jeffrey's "Road to 100" with this feature.

More on Sardinia (DC)

Besides Herlings hitting the century mark, there were a few other interesting tidbits to the Grand Prix of Sardinia. First, the Belgian rider Jago Geerts extended his points lead in MX2, winning his second straight race to start the season. And 15-year-old Dutch girl Lotte Van Drunen made her debut in the WMX World Championships aboard a Kawasaki KXK250 and won the first moto by 30 seconds. A bad start in the second moto left her scrapping to finish second overall, but she served notice to the rest of the field that she will be an immediate force. And while 38 women lined up for the opening round of their championship, the participation in MXGP and MX2 continued, despite changes to make it easier for wildcards to participate. Just 21 riders were on the MX2 gate, with 23 to start MXGP.

There also continues to be a mixed reception of sorts for the Saturday qualifying races, which now pay 10 points to win, 9 for second, and so on. Despite the fact that he has won neither of the opening rounds, GasGas rider Jorge Prado continues to lead the MXGP points, based in part on his two wins in the two Saturday qualifiers. Prado left the opening round in Argentina with the red plate, rather than race winner Ruben Fernandez (who had a rough go of it in Sardinia). If not for the 20 points he’s tacked on for qualifying wins, Prado would not be the points leader—Herlings would, 84 to 80. Instead, the quick-starting and fast sprinter Prado totals 100 points to Herlings’ 93. And because he’s only totaled four qualifier points so far, Switzerland’s Jeremy Seewer is already 43 points down on Prado. At least he has a chance to rebound when the next round takes place in his home country in two weeks. 

Still, the racing has been fantastic, especially in the MXGP class, where we saw Herlings climb through the ranks toward the end of the second moto and make some clutch passes to get that 100th win. Now he’s on the brink of history, one win away from Everts’ career standard for race wins—once thought to be unreachable. When the series reaches the European mainland with the next round, hopefully the participation will spike and we will start seeing full gates again. 

Here are the highlights from the MXGP of Sardinia:

Barcia Edition (Keefer)

While everyone was at the open house at the Pierer Mobility building (KTM Group), I was out testing Justin Barcia’s ride. Well, not literally, but almost! The 2023.5 GasGas MC 450F Factory Edition is available at your local GasGas dealer, and I had the chance to spend all day on the new red steel machine. You may think it’s just another KTM, but the new FE feels more compliant on the track and doesn't give me that harsh feel the KTM can have early in its life. Usually, a new KTM/Husqvarna takes 8–10 hours of break-in time, but the GG had about three hours on it when I left it on the first day and it felt more broken in than our eight-hour-old KTM 450 SX-F FE. The all-aluminum subframe, along with possibly a slightly different sleeve in the swingarm pivot area, may help the compliance of this machine. The new Factory Edition is a relatively easy 450cc to ride, as it is very linear and friendly to your throttle hand. There are no big hits in the power, and you can actually ride this 450, unlike some others where they want to ride you. We’ll break it down in an upcoming Racer X Films shortly. 

Four-Stroke Pioneer (DC)

I am on an email chain with a moto friend who sends a batch of "Photos of the Day" from all over the motorcycling world: race photos, bike photos, and other general moto goodness. One of the photos he included in yesterday's batch really caught my eye. It was a picture of the late Buck Murphy of Washington riding a Honda at the 1973 Puyallup Trans-AMA race. At first glance it looks like an Elsinore CR250M, at least from the tank and fenders. But a closer look shows that he's actually on a four-stroke, and written right on the photo is "Honda XL 4-Stroke 250cc." That really piqued my interest, so I decided to dive into the Cycle News Archives and found the coverage of the '73 Puyallup Trans-AMA out in Washington to find out if Murphy really raced this bike in the Trans-AMAs. Turns out he did! According to Cycle News, Murphy showed "gallant perseverance" in finishing seventh in the 250cc Support class aboard an Elsinore-framed XL250 four-stroke. Apparently, the bike was a mash-up of the popular CR250M chassis and the trail-friendly XL four-stroke model. 

Buck Murphy, who passed away in 2015, has always been an interesting character. He was a top rider in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-seventies aboard a Penton. He got second at the first official Daytona SX in 1974 and then won the first “moto” of the ’74 Houston Supercross on that Penton (which technically would make it the first race win for what would come to be known as KTM in AMA Supercross) and ended up third overall in the first AMA Supercross Championship. But after '74, Murphy disappeared from pro motocross for all of 1975, then showed up for one last race—the ’76 Daytona Supercross, where he finished 20th in the 40-man field. And that was it. He went back to the Pacific Northwest and then did some racing in Canada. According to his obituary, he then qualified for the first Washougal 500 National in 1980 aboard a four-stroke Honda. After that, he apparently got into flying small airplanes. 

So if anyone out there in the Pacific Northwest knows anything about Buck Murphy as a four-stroke pioneer, both from the '73 Puyallup Trans-AMA and the '80 Washougal 500 National, we would love to know more about this forgotten mystery of motocross!

1974 AMA Supercross Standings (DC)

I mentioned above that Buck Murphy finished third in the first AMA Supercross Championship in 1974. Here are the top ten from that series. Please remember that they scored things differently back then—completely reverse from how SX is scored now. They did it like local races, where a win is 1 point, second is 2, and so on. (And like at a local race, or even the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, the lowest points total won, not the highest like modern SX/MX.) And remember, the series was only held at two venues—Daytona and the Houston Astrodome—with a total of seven "motos," three at Daytona and four over two nights at Houston. (Just for the record, we included the 500 class as well, which was equally star-packed and was won by Gary Semics over Tim Hart on a tie-breaker.)

1974 250cc Supercross Series Standings

1.) Pierre Karsmakers (YAM) 15

2.) Rich Thorwaldson (SUZ) 37

3.) Buck Murphy (PEN) 53

4.) Gary Bailey (BUL) 61

5.) Tony Wynn (HON) 68

6.) Ron Pomeroy (BUL) 70

7.) Gary Jones (CAN) 71

8.) Peter Lamppu (MON) 75

9.) Jim Pomeroy (BUL) 76

10.) Ron Huffman (PEN) 86

1974 500cc Supercross Series Standings

1.) Gary Semics (HUS) 29

2.) Tim Hart (YAM) 29

3.) Tony DiStefano (CZ) 49

4.) Barry Higgins (MAI) 52

5.) Steve Stackable (MAI) 57

6.) Wyman Priddy (KAW) 95

7.) Jody Foust (BUL) 99

8.) Joe Bruer (MAI) 103

9.) Doug Wilson (HON) 105

10.) Mike Runyard (SUZ) 109

Coach France (DC)

Chasing the Cool (DC)

The Icon himself, David Bailey, is one of the most stylish riders of all time, both on and off the motorcycle. Bailey’s form as a Honda factory rider (and with Kawasaki Team Green before, and Bultaco before that) remains the dictionary definition of perfect style. But he’s also an accomplished designer, as is his little brother Mitchell. The Bailey boys have now teamed up on a new product line, and they posted their first T-shirt collaboration, the Bailey 1982. That was the year David was on the verge of breaking through with Team Honda, after being scooped up from Kawasaki. He wore #23 and Fox Racing gear and ended up part of the Danny "Magoo" Chandler–led Team USA’s wins in both the FIM Trophee and Motocross des Nations. Keep an eye on their website for future offerings from David and Mitchell.

Sold: Swan MX (DC)

The news came as a bit of surprise: highly respected and appreciated promoter Trey Clingfost and his family have decided to sell Swan MX Park, located east of Dallas. A former racer himself, Clingfost went into the promotion business and brought a rider’s touch to the family track. Fortunately for Texas motocross, the buyers are another motocross family. Here is the press release we received Monday morning:

Hey, Watch It!

Since this is an off-weekend, here are the extended highlights of the Seattle SX to help get you through your supercross withdrawal!

Spencer Owens went out to Fox Raceway and filmed a few of the guys starting to work on their outdoor games, including co-series points leader Cooper Webb, Jason Anderson, Justin Barcia, Christian Craig and more:

Nothing like a post-race Arenacross brawl, right? Welcome to Little Rock: