When it comes to Monster Energy AMA Supercross, there are always certain riders who have speed but never seem to be able to stay off of the ground enough to land a good result. On the East Region, Pierce Brown and Jeremy Martin are two riders who come to mind when speed and bad luck are mentioned. This year though Pierce Brown has really turned his luck. He has been the picture of consistency with 5-5-5-4 results. Jeremy Martin on the other hand crashed out in Detroit, missed Arlington, placed 12th in Daytona, and finally executed a solid ride in Birmingham for fifth place. Even though both riders were able to stay up on a very tricky track, only one was content with his ride, while the other was left wanting more. Our Aaron Hansel caught up with both riders after the race to get their take and their expectations for the future.
Pierce Brown | 4th
A little better for you, you’ve gone 5-5-5, now 4. I can see from the expression on your face you’re not too pumped about it though.
It’s a little frustrating, 5-5-5-4 on the season. We’re third in points, so I can’t complain about that, but I feel like we’re so much better than what we’ve been showing. We just haven’t been up there on the start. I had another bad start in the main, I was fighting guys all night and ended up fourth. From where I came from, it’s not bad on a track like tonight, but I think we could’ve had a podium. I made a couple mistakes after I got onto Seth [Hammaker] and I just lost him, I lost the tow, and that was all she wrote. It is what it is, and we have next weekend. It’s a Triple Crown, and things are going to be hectic. We’ll see how it goes.
Up in the press box we were looking down at the track, and it looked basic. But it didn’t turn out that way. What was your take on tonight’s track?
It was a basic track. I think the rain we got yesterday was the best thing for us, in terms of making the track technical. Otherwise, it would have been a freeway. In the main tonight there were ruts everywhere, and it was a challenge to make it through every lap, just like it’s been at the last few rounds this year.
It’s been a rough year for that.
Yeah, it’s been a rough year! Daytona was hectic, the week before at Arlington too. It’s just been soft all year.
Well, we’ve got a roof next week.
Yeah. Indy is always soft, but at least we have a roof and we don’t have to worry about any rain. The track was technical. Probably looking from the box upstairs it looked easy, but it wasn’t so easy on the floor!
We probably shouldn’t make those observations from up in the press box.
[Laughs] Well I mean, the heat race, yeah, I can see it. The triple was a double, the whoops were gone, and all the rhythms were doubles and triples. No quads or anything like that. It was basic, but the soft dirt was definitely a separator.
Well, you seem a little bummed on your night now, but before the season, if someone told you you’d be third in points four rounds in, no crashes, you’d be pumped, right?
Yeah. Overall, big picture, it’s a big step up from where we’ve been the last couple seasons. I’m stoked. I think consistency has been my Achilles heel the last couple years, so to come out this year and be solid every single weekend has been cool. But the work we’ve done this off-season and where we’re at with the bike and speed, I feel like we need to be winning.
Jeremy Martin | 5th
You led! It was brief, but you led! It counts! You also held third for a while before taking fifth. How do you feel about it?
Yeah, it was a good night. To me, it was a good night. On the ground at Hangtown, on the ground in Detroit, I’ve had some really big injuries the last couple years of my career. It’s just nice to get a good start. Those guys passed me a little bit, and I just tried to hold my own. I was like, ‘Dude this is your race. Ride it to the finish. Do what you can do, take risks where you feel safe and comfortable,’ and that’s what I did.
Was it tempting for you to let it hang out to try to hang onto that podium position?
Well, obviously for the Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha team I’m like, ‘Dude, let’s get it!’ You want to get that podium for them, but every time I extend myself to that level, I’ve kind of gone down. The scars are deep, so we try to hold ourselves back [laughs].
How’d the track form up? It was still wet during qualifying, but then they smoothed it out. Were the ruts funny at all, or was it pretty normal?
I guess it was normal, it was kind of like Indy, which is next weekend. But it was really gnarly. The ruts just kept getting deeper and deeper, and you can’t see the bottoms of them. You’re just trying to double. We’re out there racing everybody else, but I’d say it was a race just to try to get around the track [laughs].
With the layout being basic, did that make it harder to make passes?
The track was tight. It was a very tight and technical track, and it was tough to pass on. I was grateful I got a start!
