Main image by Mitch Kendra.
Our lovable Phil Nicoletti got to join the Race Day Live booth last week in East Rutherford, New Jersey and he even put on a smile to do so! He may still be out with injury, but he wasn't exactly missing the racetrack when the skies opened up on Saturday night. This week, our fans reached out to him with some more burning questions and Phil is back again with his views on it all. So, if you have questions about the race this weekend or really anything, you can get your questions answered if you just send an email to Phil@racerxonline.com.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Hey Phil,
I hope you’re healing fast and will be racing soon. My question is this, why are the non-factory racers called lappers. I feel that’s very disrespectful especially since they are better than 99% of all dirt bike riders. Yes, I understand they may get lapped by factory guys but, to me they are still an integral part of the race. I find it in poor taste when the factory riders (Ken Roczen, for example) and broadcasters (RC) state that they are ”just a pain” and blame everything on them if things don’t go “right”. If they are such a pain and a detriment to the racing, then why not just eliminate them? It’s because they MATTER!!! I understand the money issue but seriously the lappers all have NAMES and feelings and I just feel that everyone who races deserves the same respect as the factory guys. What do you think?
Disappointed and Disillusioned Fan
I’m actually laughing at this. Pretty funny that you care so much about it. If it was me being lapped, you can call me a lapper. Hell, you can call me a dumbass lapper. BECAUSE I’M GETTING LAPPED! You can call them back markers if you want. But most of the time I feel like the announcers do say “X” is going a lap down or being lapped. I just don’t think they say, “Hey lapper get out of the way”. I mean, I don’t care who you are. Even the privateers that are getting lapped, have one time or another lapped someone. I can guarantee you that they all have yelled at a lapper one time or another. That’s just part of it. I’ve done yelling and I’ve got yelled at. It goes both ways. So for instance this past weekend at MetLife Webb, Anderson, and Nichols all got lapped. If you asked them, I promise you they will admit to being a “lapper” and “got lapped”. It isn’t a disrespect thing. A lapper is only a detriment if they cause someone from winning a race or a podium for $100k and more. Then you deserve the criticism.
Phil,
Hey man, I heard you write a few weeks ago that whoops are one of your strong points compared to some of the younger guys you ride with. I notice a lot of the older dudes are usually great in whoops. Like Chad Reed can still rip ‘em better than the kids I would bet. That seems crazy because you’d think being young and dumb would help. Are whoops more a matter of experience and technique?
Elrod
Kentucky
Elrod,
Yeah, whoops are a lot of technique, and a lot of confidence. You need both. No matter what, if you have a bad bike set up but good technique you can still manage to control what the bike does. A good bike and bad technique is good until you need technique to set the bike a certain way for different kinds of whoops. Being young and dumb does help a lot. But it’s not a matter of IF you crash but WHEN! Ninety-five percent of the coaches that say you need more entry speed for whoops to make it through are delusional. I hate that statement with a passion. When I mean hate, I mean hate. I want to headbutt someone. Having a good bike makes a huge difference, but you need a rider that can set that up and a suspension guy to tune it. But to tell a kid they need more entry speed for the whoops to get through them are fighting words for me. There are a lot of things to fix with whoops before you worry about the speed coming in. Whether it’s front wheel placement, rear wheel placement. Shock too stiff or too soft. Rebound issues. Body positioning. Gearing. Chassis length etc. I’m sure every good whoop rider with tell you that it’s “not all about speed.” I can come into whoops slower than someone and be ahead of them on the way out. The motto “pin it to win it” doesn’t work. If you have someone that’s told you that, give them the bird.
Hey Phil,
When you saw that mud in New Jersey, were you extra bummed you weren’t out there?
BattleCross
I was bummed all day long until……they evacuated the stadium. Then I was in the press box with my sister and Steve Matthes, and I was thinking, I’m not too bummed anymore. I do love the mud. But no one likes dealing with it. It destroys everything. Everything! I feel bad for the crew especially. Nothing worse than destroying the bikes, gear, tools, semi etc. for a 15th. Especially a factory rider. It’s quite demoralizing. If you win like Barcia or Anstie then it’s the greatest thing ever. You can burn the bike and semi down and celebrate.
Mud is the greatest equalizer. But it’s the master destroyer too.