Phil Nicoletti had to race his way into the motos at the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) race in Charlotte on Saturday, but he came through with a big win in the Last Chance Qualifier. He took 13th overall in the motos, and now sits 18th in the SMX standings, which would pay $29,000 if he holds it, but of course it could go up quite a bit if he can move forward in the standings.
But…Phil has to race his way through the LCQ every week anyway, because those are the rules of SMX. Will he make it in Chicago? We’ll see!
Phil also saw how Charlotte unfolded. You’ll learn quite a bit from Phil’s thoughts below, and if you have something for him, send to phil@racerxonline.com
Awesome job handling the LCQ in Charlotte and getting some good finishes. But what I want to know is, how beat to hell did you get dealing with suspension for supercross on that track?
Timmy S
NorCal
Timmy,
I mentioned this in the PulpMX Show and I believe Sexton did as well: that track beat the shit out of me! Just the stiff SX suspension, along with the high speed chatter and braking bumps, HURT. My wrist was absolutely destroyed Sunday and Monday. It was even tender riding on Tuesday. But unfortunately, that’s what needed to be done. There was no in between on that track with suspension. The track was quite rough and rutted, but with supercross obstacles, you couldn’t change it. I did enjoy the track though. It was fun, even being a bit one lined. So I’m looking forward to seeing how this weekend in Chicago plays out.
Hi Phil. What did you think of the whole SMX deal? Was it fun or stupid? And most importantly….are you thinking about the money?
Jimbo
Dallas, Texas
Jimbo,
I’m not a fan of racing three more weekends back to back. Everyone is tired. Especially the crew. They want time with their families and some of their own personal time. Which I don’t blame any of them one bit. Everyone is doing the SMX races because of the money. If they say they aren’t, then they are lying. It a decent pay day for three rounds. But it’s not just three rounds though. If you divide the money that you’re going to make into 31 weekends, it comes out to being $1,200-$1,500 more per weekend if you finish 11-22 in points. That’s a good thing. It’s a first year attempt. Will it get better? Yes. Were there some hiccups? Yes. For me, the opening ceremonies was a waste of time. Sat up there for 35 minutes just to ride around the stadium. So that can be adjusted. But overall, it was good. I think a lot of the stuff “should” be fixed for this weekend. But the money is a no brainer.
Phil. I was talking to Max Anstie on track walk (he tends to talk a good amount) and he told me how hard it was going to be to get the bike to turn with supercross suspension. SX suspension doesn’t wanna move, so you need a berm to get those forks to compress. Anyway, you know this, but a lot of readers don’t. Could you explain to us why and how SX suspension is so bad on flat turns and why you don’t get traction?
Weege
Weege,
Max is right. I was really surprised Charlotte didn’t even have ONE berm out there. There must have been something as far as insurance or something that didn’t allow that to happen. But to be honest, a lot of the corners had a decent size rut to set your bike into. It wasn’t just a flat skatey corner. The ruts got deep with hard square edge chop that beat the piss out of me. The first 250 moto had some carnage, but I believe that was due to a little water and red clay. The SX suspension just doesn’t have a squat or settle to it. The initial part of the stroke is so much stiffer than moto set up. So when you don’t have the squat or settle, you rely on just tire feel. Unfortunately for Charlotte, it’s really hard to feel when the dirt is red clay and harder than concrete. You’re really just going off instinct more than anything. Also, the track was much different from Friday practice to Saturday practice. They got A LOT more water into the dirt. I’m really curious to see how Chicago plays out. Especially since it’s looking more like a MX track and of course the dirt will be different. Curious to see if they rip and till it. I guess that’s the thing with these. We don’t know until we get there.
