There’ve been plenty of epic mud races in the history of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and we just witnessed another one over the weekend in Northern California. It was so wet in fact, that Jason Thomas even donned a hat! When he was done cleaning the mud out of his teeth, he broke down the slippery chaos that was in San Francisco.
San Francisco was shaping up to be a mudder all week, and boy oh boy, was it! Aside from total blowout lake races in the past, where does this round rank on your wet-weather radar?
It was pretty bad. I would rank East Rutherford higher simply because of the sheer amount of water involved. A good reference was this same venue in 2006, but I am giving 2023 the nod. By the end of the main event, the 450 riders could barely circulate the track. I raced that 2006 event and while it was a mess, it didn’t look to be anywhere near as treacherous as this past weekend.
The old saying, go-slow-to-go-fast, is always brought up at races like this, but does it still apply? Did it seem like Chase Sexton or Jordon Smith were employing this tactic as they rolled their way to victory in San Francisco?
I believe it was more of very talented riders getting the start and then benefiting from the advantages that provided. Having clear vision, dry hands, and the ability to grip with their legs (dry pants) creates such a big advantage over everyone who got drenched in the first corner. Their talent is a critical piece of the puzzle for retaining the lead, but spotting them those benefits exponentially increases their odds of success.
![Jordon Smith]()
Jordon Smith Align Media ![Chase Sexton]()
Chase Sexton Align Media
On the flip side of the previous question, were there any examples of riders who tried to push the limits and were punished for it?
I didn’t see any riders crashing because of that, but I do think some riders failed to protect their motorcycles and were unable to finish because of it. Those who rode in lower RPMs and consciously avoided over-using their clutch had a much more likely chance of seeing the checkered flag. Some riders seemed to have issues unrelated to this (Vohland, Shimoda) but it was still something that should be mentioned. There were more clutches cooking in San Francisco than Rice-a-Roni.
Let’s get into the mud. How would you describe the mud in San Francisco, and what kind of strategies were necessary to excel in those conditions?
It was the worst kind of mud. Some races (think Dallas, pre-Jerry’s world) have such a hard base that the rain just sits on top of the dirt and it’s more of a water race than a mud race. When the dirt is soft and muddy before the real rain arrives, like in San Francisco, it turns into a colossal mess. The only thing creating a base is the plywood at that point. The ruts don’t have any structure and are constantly just giving way to any pressure. That creates the endless meandering that we witnessed in the whoops. The dirt is too soft to hold and the tires just “push” through it and slide instead of creating forward drive.
The distance between the paddock and the stadium was greater than normal. Does this separation present any logistical challenges? If so, are those challenges compounded by rainy weather?
It was a big factor this weekend. The distance coupled with the mandatory bike wash before returning to the pits, severely impacted the available time to service, or worse, repair motorcycles. The mechanics and technicians were the real heroes of the weekend. Getting everything back to race prep in those conditions had to be a complete fire drill. To make matters worse, they will have to completely start over this week and rebuild their motorcycles from scratch for San Diego. Whatever race mechanics make, it’s not enough for scenarios like this.
Jorge Prado won a heat race! Did you see this coming, even in the mud?
I can’t say I saw it coming but I did feel that the mud increased his chances of success. The struggle he faced and will likely face again in San Diego is the raw speed that the other riders have earned over years of racing this series. The comfort level required to push the edge takes time to acquire. To expect Prado to pick that up immediately is foolish at best. The mud changed that dynamic, though, slowing the racing down and allowing him to methodically do his thing. Couple that with his starting prowess and a heat race win pencils out nicely.
Eli Tomac, at one point, was about 12 seconds back of Chase Sexton in the 450SX main event, but got that number down to just over three seconds at one point. Where was Tomac making up time?
It was just a matter of mistakes for both riders. Oftentimes, a lead will yo-yo back and forth as each rider makes their share of mistakes. If a rider can put a few clean laps together, a la Tomac, he can cut that lead down fairly quickly. Once Sexton cleaned up his laps a bit, the lead stabilized. I think Sexton also realized he needed to hunker down once Tomac got within striking distance also. Riders will typically cruise as much as is allowed when out front and in precarious conditions. Sexton began to relax a little too much, saw his lead shrink, and had to infuse a bit more intensity back into his game.
Chase Sexton got the win and took over the points lead, but alluded to the uncertainty of mud races in the post-race press conference. What should Sexton take out of this race, and what should he leave on the curb?
I don’t think it was necessarily a signal for how the season will go. Mud races are their own animal. I would just take it for what it was, a great points haul and first win on Red Bull/KTM. Make no mistake, all of his foes will be back with a vengeance at Snapdragon Stadium next Saturday. He will have to prove he can win on a dry racetrack before I am going to be convinced he’s the same Sexton of 2023. This was a huge night and he should be ecstatic, but the work is far from done.
Dean Wilson and Vince Friese found themselves fender to fender yet again in their heat race as the duo battled for the final transfer spot. Were you surprised nobody got parked?
I will tell you what I wasn’t surprised at all about—Friese got penalized for doing something he shouldn’t be doing. It’s almost comical at this point.
Note: Friese was penalized three spots in his heat race for cutting the track.
Jett Lawrence struggled to find his stride all day. Were you surprised he was never in the mix?
I don’t think mud is a point of strength for Jett. He’s capable, sure, but he doesn’t wield the same level of excellence in it that he does everywhere else. He will improve over time if he continues to work at it. For example, Ricky Carmichael nearly blew championships because of his mud struggles in the late 90’s. That liability turned into him lapping the entire field at Spring Creek 2006. Jett will hone his skillset as he matures. If anything, it proved that he still has places to improve upon. I was running out of questions for him. Now we have something to ask.
