There’s a long history in our sport of privateers putting in some great rides in the premier class outdoors. Whether it’s injuries to factory riders creating some spots, the fact that motocross, unlike supercross, is something everyone grows up doing and can ride well, or that longer motos in heat equal out some advantages of factory bikes. Sometimes, it just comes down to heart, and privateers have that, no doubt.
This summer we’re seeing it also with Ty Masterpool, Grant Harlan, and now semi-supported team riders like Garrett Marchbanks and Derek Drake to name a few. It’s banner year for non-factory guys in 450 Pro Motocross. So, in honor of these great privateer islanders, we’ve rounded up a few great seasons past by the little guys that could.
Coty Schock | 2021 | 14th OA 450MX
Matthes: Schock, currently riding for the Phoenix Honda team and out with an injury, was riding for FXR/Chaparral Honda in 2021. It was his first real chance at a team and although his 14th overall doesn’t look that impressive, he had a few mechanical issues that held him back in the points. Where he really put himself on the map was his 9-6-7 overall finishes in the last three nationals that got him that Phoenix Honda ride.
Weege: Yup, Summer of Schock! At round one that summer, I was talking to Michael Lindsay, Schock’s team owner at the time. (If anyone is not aware, Michael Lindsay likes to talk!) He was saying that the goal was for Coty be a top-ten guy that summer. I asked Coty if he was aware how deep the 450 class was and how hard that would be to do, and yes, Coty was well aware as he laughed about this ambitious goal. Well, by the end of the year, he was doing it!
Dean Ferris | 2017 | 2-14 at High Point
Matthes: Just a quick shoutout to Dean Ferris who came over for one race at High Point for Rock River Yamaha, got second in the first moto, 14th in the next and was gone. Australia’s Ferris was already well-established as a racer, from GPs to even a quick run with Red Bull KTM here in the U.S., but on this day, as a full privateer, showed everyone what was up in that moto. Ferris then got a fill-in ride at Factory Yamaha in 2019 but didn’t make it through the year before he was gone.
Weege: Ferris is a high-end guy to put in a privateer list, because he’s had factory deals at home in Australia, and was darned fast at one point in MX2 in the MXGP Series. But showing up out of nowhere and getting second in a 450 moto? That was a wild one.
Gavin Gracyk | 2007 | 9th OA 450MX
Matthes: The Ohio native Gracyk was a very good amateur racer but had at this point moved into the arenacross series, Canadian series or had been hurt a bunch. His pro career was at a crossroads, but coming out in 2007 wearing #273 with help from the Cycra Plastic guys, on a Yamaha, Gracyk crushed it that summer with five top ten OA’s on his way to a ninth overall in the points. He earned himself a TLD Honda ride in 250SX for 2008 but that didn’t work out, but then he was picked up by JGR Yamaha for 2008 AMA Nationals. Gavin never again did as well as that one magical summer, but that whole season definitely stands out.
Weege: For years I’ve been tooling around with the idea of making a trophy called the “Gavin Gracyk Cup” and handing it to whatever privateer guy goes crazy in 450MX. It’s practically an annual tradition, and I feel like Gracyk’s 2007 season was really a high water mark. Everyone was rooting for him, especially since he had a side story of his father, struggling with ALS, watching from the sidelines every weekend. This was the classic tale, talented kid, has his rough patch, then makes a comeback. It was good stuff and really represents what a lot of these annual privateer stories are about.
Cody Cooper | 2008 | 5th OA 450MX
Matthes: Suzuki City’s Cody Cooper came to the USA in 2008 and the Kiwi had himself a hell of a summer. The closest James Stewart came to losing his perfect season in 2008 was when Cooper caught him in a muddy Unadilla! His best race was second overall at Southwick, and he got a third overall that day in New York. This performance got him a JGR ride (shades of Gracyk!) where we learned that he wasn’t that great at supercross, but he had a decent 2009 450MX year, just nothing like 2008.
Weege: It’s all-time trivia when we say the guy who came closest to derailing Stew’s perfect season was… Cody Cooper! In fact, I remember announcing the race that day and just repeating it over and over for effect, “Cooper is catching Stewart! Cody Cooper might be the one person who can end James Stewart’s perfect season.” If that didn’t get your attention, what else would? Coops is an awesome, super-friendly guy and even though he moved back to New Zealand, you still see him around at races from time, and he’s always a friendly dude.
John Dowd | 2005 | 7th OA 250MX
Matthes: The Junkyard Dog’s factory days were long over when he got on a Cernic’s Suzuki and showed he still had it. I don’t know how old John was this season, but probably late 30’s. Or 40s, 50s, it really doesn’t matter when it comes to John Dowd. He beat Chad Reed, Nick Wey and James Stewart in the points with consistent rides all season long. You’re probably not going to believe this but his best result this year was at Southwick where he scored third overall via 3-3 finishes.
Weege: I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Don’t ever compare anyone’s career to John Dowd’s career. It’s as unique as anything ever seen in this sport. This was a dude who wasn’t even riding dirt bikes until his twenties and then was a fast pro within a few years of that, and then winning races at the highest level soon after. None of it makes any sense. Go John Dowd, go!
Jean-Sebastian Roy | 1998 | 9th OA 250MX
Matthes: Late in ’97 the Canadian Motocross Champion showed up at Englishtown for the Kawasaki Race of Champions and led defending AMA 250SX and MX champion Jeff Emig the whole race until, like, two turns to go when he fell over and hurt his shoulder. In 1998, while privateering it in the USA on a Kawasaki while also moonlighting here and there in Canada to make some money, Roy put up some good finishes (6th OA Budds Creek) all year outdoors, finishing ninth in points while missing a race. He used these results to get a Planet Honda ride full-time in the USA in ’99.
Weege: Oh Matthes, you know I was at that Kawasaki Race of Champions event at Englishtown! Here’s Emig, in ’97 at the peak of his powers, unable to do anything with JSR. I could…not…understand. Later, I found out the Kawasaki guys would usually have a fun night on the town in New York City before this race, so I actually do understand what was going on now. You think 1997 Jeff Emig maybe had some fun in New York? Maybe just maybe? Yeah, now it all makes sense, but teenaged me was in shock just watching the race.
Oh yeah, JSR was fast, also. Props to him.
Kyle Lewis | 1994| 7th OA 250 MX | 1995 | 5th OA 250MX | 1996 | 6th OA 250MX | 2002 | 5thOA 450MX
Matthes: Lewis, a SoCal native, could make this list three different times when he did a great job outdoors, like on a Noleen Yamaha or a Moto XXX Honda in 2002. Lewis never got that factory shot, and he was always a good starter. Then, when he got on the 450 Honda in ’02 against a lot of two-strokes, well that ability got even better. In ’02 he was third OA in Washougal and another couple of top five overalls. “Lucky” Lewis was probably better than you remember.
Weege: Davey Coombs has always said Kyle Lewis might be the best rider to never get a factory ride. Seriously, he killed it for years, taking seventh, fifth and sixth in 250 National points from 1994-1996. He was never quite as good in supercross, but he was far from terrible, and man could he pull starts.
Larry Brooks | 1991 | 8th OA | 1992 | 5th OA
Matthes: Brooks, the current team manager for HEP Suzuki, had missed most of the 1990 season with a badly bruised arm that required a few surgeries and come into ’91 as a three-digit privateer racer looking to rebuild his career. He scored an 8th overall in points and sure, he was helped by a 4th in the hella-mudder at Hangtown ’91, but his comeback season was quite a nice one. The next year he would be even better with a 5th overall, ahead of Jeff Ward and some others.
Weege: Brooks had those solid seasons on the back half of his career on a 250 but was also darned good in his younger days in the 125 class. Brooks was all heart on a bike.
Fred Andrews | 1989 | 6th OA 250MX
Matthes: Andrews, the Ohio native who might be more known for his great GNCC career, was a long-time privateer in SX/MX. He finished second in a 250SX race in ’87 at the Coliseum and two years later, wearing #17 on a Honda scored five top ten’s (season best 5that High Point) in the six race 250MX series to get a very impressive 6th overall.
Weege: I’m biased because Fred was one of the first guys to give me interview time when I was breaking into this industry as a GNCC reporter. He was still crazy fast then, in the early 2000s, some 15 years after that race at the Coliseum. When you go into the 1980s, you see how small factory teams were, and how little support was available. In a modern era, Fast Fred has multiple years as a factory guy.
Alan King | 1984 | 5th OA 250MX
Matthes: King, a former Suzuki factory rider, was racing as a privateer for Team Tamm in ’84 when he actually won Hangtown on a Honda. Wearing #10, he went 2-3 on the day to beat Rick Johnson’s 1-6 and Ron Lechien’s 7-1. King scored a second at the MX opener in Gainsville and a third at the next round in Saddleback so clearly, this was well earned for the Michigan privateer.
Weege: Yeah, kind of a legendary story here, with the ahead-of-its-time Team Tamm taking it to the factories for a bit. This was David versus Goliath, but a dozen or so years later factories would eventually start to work hand-in-hand with privately-owned teams. It’s normal now, but this stuff, for its time, was absolutely massive for privateers.
