Round four of AMA Pro Motocross at High Point is in the books, and it was an epic one! Ken Roczen came off the couch and nearly ended Jett Lawrence's win streak, RJ Hampshire won another moto, and Tom Vialle had a career best finish in a moto. On top of all that, the action took place on a drenched track! Here to break it all down and make sense of the madness is former pro, Jason Thomas.
Weather frequently plays a role at High Point, and this year was one of those times. You’ve raced High Point a lot, what’s it like when it gets hammered with rain like that?
It seems like it’s often the case. High Point has a very hard base in its static form. When it’s watered and disced to perfection, it can change into a loamy, rutty track. Add too much of that water (rain), and that loam turns to mud and the bottoms of the ruts get down to that hard base. That hard base becomes incredibly slick and treacherous with no remaining soil to add traction. These sections are very easy to spot as they will appear shiny to the naked eye. So, the problems are twofold. The muddy conditions create sloppy chaos until deep ruts form. Once the ruts form, the base of those ruts is incredibly slick and tires lose traction instantly. Some riders will try to stay out of the ruts and power through the muck. Others will try to be smooth and precise, winding through the maze of ruts as they tie the track together. Neither method is a lot of fun but both are usually necessary. Knowing when to apply each approach is where the magic happens.
The track was dramatically different for the second round of motos, and some riders seemed like they’d gone in the right direction with setup. Haiden Deegan, for example, looked like the team had played the right cards with setup. Who did you notice out there who looked like they’d improved for the second moto?
It’s really hard to know who’s changing what and how impactful that can be. Factory bikes have so much adjustability that one incremental change can affect several other handling characteristics. Changing a fork setting will undoubtedly have an unintended effect on the shock. I was never a big fan of sweeping changes in between motos because there is no time to know if you are going backwards. Small changes are ok but fundamentally changing the setup is a dangerous habit. On paper, it looks like Hunter Lawrence is doing a great job of making small improvements that are leading to big results gains in the second motos.
Tom Vialle was great in the second moto and took second, his best moto finish yet. Was this a product of High Point’s “Euro track” properties, or is he simply starting to get a better feeling for the nationals?
I do think the conditions helped. That track was very typical for a muddy, tricky MXGP weekend. His ability to navigate the long ruts and adapt to an ever-changing racetrack really stood out. Further, the top three in each class in the second moto were born outside of America. That’s a difficult stat to ignore.
RJ Hampshire won the first moto, but he had to come through Deegan to do it after going down while leading. Do you think he was purposefully waiting until the end to make that pass for the lead like that, or would he have done it sooner had the opportunity presented itself?
I don’t think RJ has much in the way of patience. He seems to only know one speed and that’s full noise, full time. He made a few big mistakes trying to catch Deegan and those seemed to be the problem. Every time he got close, he would lose time and have to start over again. Once he finally got within striking distance, he went for the move, but I think he would have done the same if he had gotten there sooner.
High Point marked the planned end of Caden Braswell’s fill-in stint with Troy Lee Designs Red Bull GasGas, and he finished it off pretty well, going 9-13 for 11th overall. What’d you like about his final outing?
I liked the steady improvement he showed. He has potential, especially outdoors, and not getting time to develop that would be a letdown. Hopefully the need will meet the opportunity over at Red Bull Gas Gas and he can stay on for longer.
Even though he still went 1-1, Jett Lawrence seemed, at times, like he might not have been feeling as comfortable as in the first three races of the season. What’s your take on that observation?
He mentioned that he was having an off-day. He specifically pointed to a lack of balance but I think he was half joking at the crashes he suffered throughout the morning. Some days just go that way, I know I certainly had them in my career. The crazy part is that he still was able to go 1-1 and keep the streak alive. He even said they tried a fork change that didn’t really help for moto two, yet, he actually settled in, learned the bike on the fly, and then turned in some blazing laps late to get the win anyway. He doesn’t have many off days so if the goal is to beat the #18, wasting them isn’t the way.
Adam Cianciarulo had some great moments at High Point and finally got back on the box. Was there anything you noticed about High Point that suited his style? Was he simply just riding better and would have had this day anywhere?
I think most of his issues have been arm/hand related. When he is at full strength, he can match the speed of most. His qualifying speed at the opening round was proof of that. He seemed to be able to sustain that for longer at High Point, and when it counted. Hopefully this is the start of an uptrend for the likable kid from Port Orange, FL.
Wild day for Kenny Roczen, who came off the couch and led a ton of laps in both motos. It shouldn’t come as a shock, he’s a two-time 450 National Champion, but even so, it was very impressive. Did you expect him to be able to pose a threat to Lawrence’s streak like that?
I did not. I assumed he would come in unprepared and struggle to keep Jett in sight, as everyone else has. His freakish talent said otherwise, though, as he led laps and nearly won each moto. Kenny loves to prove people wrong so this type of ride fits that narrative perfectly.
Speaking of wild days, how about Garrett Marchbanks going 2-8 for sixth overall, despite spending time in the mechanic’s area in moto two? Did you think he’d be this good, this fast, after competing in just his second 450 race of the season?
I was very impressed. I watched him closely at Thunder Valley and his riding was not the problem. I saw him pass Plessinger and pull away before losing the position several laps later. Most of his problems have been in first lap positioning, impairing any chance for a top finish. With a decent start in the first moto, Pandora’s Box was blown wide open. I still think we will see a lot of volatility in his results because that’s who he has been for years now, but the ceiling is much higher than I previously thought…if he can get some more good starts.
How brutal is the roost at High Point when conditions are they way they were on Saturday? Is it enough to affect the lines riders take when following?
It’s really heavy with the amount of moisture in the dirt. It was easy to see riders turning their heads in the opposite direction when in the line of fire, trying to save their goggles. It was heavy enough to blow Jett’s visor off and most will adjust their exit angles to avoid the spray. It can be as easy as moving over 2-3 feet but the difference is significant.