Phil Nicoletti might actually be racing soon! Our man is back on his Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha and testing a YZ450F for an assault on Jett Lawrence, Chase Sexton, Dylan Ferrandis, and more in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Okay, maybe that’s going a tad far, but Phil hopes to be back racing shortly in Pro Motocross. In the meantime, he’s still answering your questions. Shoot him an email phil@racerxonline.com and get some knowledge.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Wassup Phil,
Love hearing you on the PulpMX show! I’m wondering why nobody takes a full-ish victory lap after a win? You could roll most of the jumps, waving and revving your engine at the crowd then maybe huck a huge whip off the triple. I understand that teams don’t wanna risk nac-nacs over the triple on the last lap, but after you cross the finish let the lappers finish the race then do a little show boating that you’ve earned. Hope your recovery is going ok and I get to see you at Southwick!
Masshole Tom
Masshole Tom,
I’m sure most would love to do a victory lap. But we are told we aren’t allowed to, because of TV and what not. They only have a certain amount of time to work with before the show ends, so if you spend three minutes on a victory lap, NBC doesn’t get to interview you about the race, and then sponsors would be pissed and the fans will be wondering what the hell happened. But to win, and then celebrate with the crowd would be a much better feeling, IMO. I will be at Southwick, so come say hi.
Yo Phil,
I hear a lot of people complain about the California tracks compared to the East Coast. I know on practice days they’re super smooth but on race day Pala now or Glen Helen back then look almost like sand tracks. I thought riders like that?
Jimmy Roo
Jimmy,
The tracks prep just isn’t as good on practice like it is for a national. To be fair, Glen Helen on a national day is badass. Well wait, let me rephrase that. Pre 2009 Glen Helen sucked. It wasn’t a fun place. But when we went back in 2014, it actually came around quite a bit. Mainly because it always used to be a 2:45 minute lap time from 2009 and earlier. By 2014 they had shortened the lap times at the tracks, which led it to being about 2:05 to 2:15. But anyway, that made Glen Helen much better because they could water it good and maintain it. Glen Helen on a practice day is nothing like the national. Not even close. If it was, I wouldn’t mind being out there a bit. None of those California tracks get like the nationals do. It just really hard to replicate it all. Pala’s pro practice day doesn’t end up anything like Pala National. But Pala does try, and fair effort for that.
Phil,
I was listening to Ricky Carmichael and Ryan Villopoto on their podcast talk about the tracks being too fast now. They think going back to tighter, slower layouts with more turns outdoors would slow the bikes down and make it safer. Have you felt the change in track layouts through the years? Do the riders actually like that it has moved in this direction?
Ron in Dallas
Ron,
I haven’t watched what you’re talking about with RC and RV. But if they are talking about the outdoors, then I’m not sure. Because some the tracks RC rode are pretty dang similar. A lot of the tracks RV raced in MX haven’t really changed. Most the tracks have a lot of the same layout. Or at least 90 percent of the tracks. But if they are talking about SX, then I agree. [Note: RC and RV were only talking about motocross, but as you will see, Phil has some thoughts on supercross tracks. -Editor] Fast SX tracks suck. Like Glendale for instance. Big fast bowl corners and fast rhythm lanes. It makes for terrible racing and you’re also going Mach 5. But nowadays, you can have tighter smaller tracks that would maybe help, But the real issue is, the bikes are so good and fast, that riders then get into situations with ridiculous rhythms. The sport has evolved so much. I couldn’t even picture what 2006 JS7 would do on a new modern bike! But the new bikes and also the badass talent we have now has evolved an incredible amount. My two cents, go back to a tad shorter race, and allow more track prep time. There is no reason IMO to not allow extra track prep time. I mean, we are there from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. I think that would help a lot. But even with all that said, never forget this: our sport is F$$$$$$ GNARLY! I don’t know how you limit that factor. Always has been, always will be.