In typical Filthy Phil Nicoletti fashion, something weird happened in the second moto at Unadilla. The Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha rider got tangled with his teammate Garrett Marchbanks, and somehow the vent hose came out of his bike, and Phil got soaked with gas. Anyone who has had that happen before knows what comes next: burns and pain! So that held Phil to 8-38 scores over the weekend.
He’s still burning but we also know you have burning questions, so we fired ‘em off to Phil. Got one of your own? Phil@racerxonline.com and you’ll get the hookup.
Phil,
It was great to see Jimmy D back on the bike recently and his results at Southwick with his terrific 15th overall result. And then the Rippa jumped on a crowd pleasing 125 for Unadilla, but the 32nd overall seemed like a bit of a let down. Maybe it finally makes zero percent sense for a rider to run a 125 against the modern 250F. I wish the AMA would acknowledge the fact that two strokes put fans in the seats and correct the cc disparity between two and four strokes. It seems that changing the two-stroke cc limit to 150/300 certainly wouldn’t hurt racing and it is probably not even enough of a change.
My question: What two stroke cc limit do you believe would be currently fair or do you even care?
Signed,
Jimmy G
Jimmy,
Reality of it. Two-strokes from an AMA PROFESSIONAL STANDPOINT, are dead. Literally dead. Was it cool to have Jimmy out there riding it, for his last national for fun? Yes, absolutely. It’s badass. But if people thought he was going to go to Dilla and be competitive like he would be on a 250f are out to lunch. Only way to make a two stoke competitive in the 250f class is like what you said. You would need a 250cc or even 300cc two stroke to even have somewhat of a fighting chance. But even with that, it’ll be tough. The 125cc factor to race in the 250cc class is long gone, and riding a 250cc in the 450 class is the same deal. Long gone as far as being competitive. Yes, you can still qualify and score points. But as far as any factory team ever considering something like this is GONE. Leave the two strokes for the Schoolboy kids at Lorettas. It’s a great stepping stone for the little guys.
Phil,
Bummer deal to hear about the gas to the balls on Saturday. Probably like a kick in the balls, really. I’m sure missing points doesn’t help your playoff bid for the SuperMotocross deal. Are you gonna do the playoff races if you get in? This means racing a 450 on tracks that have some supercross in them!
Mike Wine
Tennessee
The goal from the start when I came back was to get in the top 30 for SMX. If I could get into the top 20, that would be great. But two motos with no points hurts for the chance of the top 20 spot. So, no matter what we will go racing at the SMX in the LCQ. Kind of hurts having done 250SX and 450MX because points don’t overlap but that’s part of it. Either way I’m looking forward to it. I think everyone has questions as far as how the tracks will be. No one really knows how to set up a bike. Are we going to need SX suspension, MX suspension, or a hybrid type? SMX is three weeks away and we are kind of standing around like UHHHHHHHH what is our set up going to be? So we have a lot to figure out in a short amount of time.
Phil,
Been so fun to watch Haiden Deegan step up this year and challenge the established guys. Kid is gonna be amazing and I’m here for it. I really can’t figure out what he does to go fast besides just push it super hard. I don’t feel like he’s re-writing the technique on how to go fast…he just…goes fast! Is it all just balls and heart with this kid or is he doing something we “regulars” can’t see?
DeegFan
Haiden is fast. His style to me, is refreshing. I enjoy the sending it, off the back fender, panic rev style. I relate to that style more. I respect Hunter and Jett’s style so much, but I can’t ride like that and I never will be able to. I’m curious to see if Haiden’s style changes though the next few years. It will be very interesting. If he’s able to calm the swagger, he can become a tad more efficient. But his energy is high! I think this is more of the young gun mentality. When you look back at Justin Barcia in 2009, it was the same thing. Wide Clyde!
But what makes his style work, is something else. He has some serious grit. A lot of people say he wouldn’t have what he has because of this, that and the other. That’s all fine and dandy. You know what they’re saying: they want to say he had stuff handed to him because his dad was already successful. But there are a lot of other ex pro racers that had kids that raced that didn’t pan out. There a lot of parents who were millionaires that put everything into their kid that didn’t pan out. You can’t buy your way into this sport. You can to an extent, but sooner or later you have to have some kind of results to show for it. The farther you climb, the harder it gets, and you can’t fake it in the pro class against other bad dudes. Haiden has speed. He has grit. Grit can’t be bought. Either you have it or you don’t.
But you know what else makes this so fun to watch? Hunter has grit, too. Both of them have what it takes, but go about it in different ways. Two totally different childhoods, two totally different career paths, but both have the same thing in common. Gritty AF. That shit can’t be bought and paid for. I don’t care who you are.
