You may have heard about this two-stroke challenge thing that happened at Washougal. Jettson Donuts, the Moto Memes IG account, Red Bull, Motosport.com and some others all threw some money into a pot to pay the top placing two-stroke rider in the 450MX class. We had a whole bunch of dudes out there trying to collect the cash and, in the end, predictably, hometown hero Carson Brown won the money but not without some struggle!
We asked Brown, Anthony Rodriguez and Kevin Moranz some questions about two-smoke life.
Racer X: So, how was this whole two-stroke thing for you?
Carson Brown: I had an absolute blast and was stoked going into this with the whole two-stroke challenge going on. It’s so fun to mix it up in the 450 class on a 250 two-stroke in general, so with a bunch of us doing it on two-strokes it was epic. I struggled with getting food and water in my system all day both Friday and Saturday for some reason. So, I held back a little bit going into the motos. Moto one, I got a good start and threw down some good laps early so that I could maintain and save energy for moto two. I was pretty stoked to put it in the points and had a ton of fun out there. Moto two, we had to do a restart after the gate malfunction and I was starting to cramp up a bit. I got another pretty good start after the red flag and maintained for a little while knowing my body was going to struggle with nothing in my system. The last 5 laps I was really on the struggle bus and then started to get dizzy. Managed to make it to the finish line and the fans helped by getting water to me quickly. Overall, it was lots of fun and I can’t wait to do it again sometime when I’m hydrated!
Anthony Rodriguez: Pretty awesome experience, lots of work went into it since everything was super last minute but it was worth it.
Kevin Moranz: It was so much fun, I’m for sure down to do it again next year.
Was it harder to race a two stroke against the four-strokes than you thought? Carson Brown: Going into this race I knew how much of a disadvantage it was since I did Washougal on a two-stroke the two years prior to this. The main thing is it’s really, really hard to get a start since the two-stroke likes to spin once it’s over the gate and then the horsepower disadvantage. Both motos I was able to get the jump on at least one guy next to me so that helped big time. The other thing that’s weird is line choice. All the ruts and lines are cut in by national pros on four-strokes. So, the typical lines you’d use on a day at your local track on a two-stroke to keep momentum are not there, so you’re having to jump across lines as you go. But a lot of the fun of racing the 2-stroke is holding that thing pinned and making it work!
Anthony Rodriguez: One hundred percent harder than I thought (laughs), we were lacking some power on them two-strokes for sure and not only that but the amount of energy needed to make the bike go fast is way up there.
Kevin Moranz: Tougher than I was expecting, I’m known to be a good starter, but the torque of a four-stroke will win over a stock 250 four-stroke. Additionally going up the hills and out of corners, the 450’s pull harder, so it makes it challenging to “out drive” someone to pass them. Again, it was an absolute blast but moving forward for me was tough until the end of the motos when I’d start picking people off left and right as they got tired.
Did you have any fan interactions that were cool?
Carson Brown: The fans always go absolutely crazy for two-strokes! So, between it being my home state national and ripping a two-stroke, it seemed to make everyone double as stoked! The two-stroke challenge was great for the racing and spectators, so I think it really had a lot of fans excited not just there but all over the country. So many people came down to the pits to check out everyone’s two-strokes and talk about them. I think it’s more relatable for someone to walk up to a two-stroke and check it out since it’s something exciting that they might have in their garage too, rather than an unobtainable factory bike. I appreciate everyone out there for all the cheers and for the help making this all happen, looking forward to next time!
Anthony Rodriguez: I was kind of parked in the woods far away from the crowded part of the pits so nothing really happening over there but I sure heard all the fans around the track while racing!
Kevin Moranz: Absolutely! Tons of fans coming by before the motos stoked that we were ripping the two-stroke. On the track I could hear them and especially when I’d throw out the occasional fender slap mid moto on the triple tabletop jump before the big roller into the sand.
