Everyone's favorite two-wheeled grinch, Philthy Phil Nicoletti, will return to action this week in 250SX West Region racing in Seattle. But before he hopped on a plane for the Pacific Northwest, got down to business answering your burning questions. This week Philthy digs into topics like start tactics and outdoor prep, and revisits getting penalized for being injured.
And, as always, if you've got a question that can only be answered by our saltiest staffer, ship it to Phil@racerxonline.com.
Hey Phil,
Just finished reading the latest UnPhiltered and was shocked to hear that contracts with the teams have injury clauses. This is absurd to me, especially when pay can be docked for a bike malfunction. Y’all are the whole reason we fans watch and love the sport.
My question is, what can we as fans do, if anything, to discourage this type of behavior by the teams? Or on a more positive note, how can we best support those companies that will not enforce these injury clauses? Not expecting you to list out which companies have or have not enforced these clauses with you, but is there anything we fans can do to look after the greatest asset in moto, the riders?
Best,
-KF
KF,
Yeaa, like I said, I have a really bad taste in my mouth over shit like this. Trust me, it’s not just me. It’s elite level guys as well. There are certain companies that really don’t care, which sometimes is a real shame. It’s not like a rider CHOOSES TO GET HURT! But a company can choose whether to dock a rider or not. If the rider is at Lake Havasu drinking beers and back flipping off a boat and gets hurt, then sorry dude, that’s on you. But if a rider is doing sprints on a Tuesday and cartwheels in a rhythm lane or the whoops and breaks his wrist and will miss five rounds, CLIP! It’s like, what? I wish I could stick those people who make that call on a dirt bike, duct tape their hand to the throttle in second gear at 12K RPM on a supercross track for 15 minutes, plus a lap, on a Tuesday. Okkkaaay buddy, good luck out there, and remember, if you snap a forearm you’re getting clipped pay. Like I said, this is a sensitive subject and gets overlooked in our sport. Remember, the risk on a Tuesday is just as high as it is on a Saturday. Other sports aren’t like that.
-Phil
Hey Philth!
I’m a fan of your stuff and happy to cheer for you when come and race in Australia. Anyhoo, I’ve raced a bit of motocross and more recently when my kids raced BMX I gave that a crack as well. The starts were pretty much the same—if someone gets a handlebar in front of you and starts closing you off, you back out so your front wheel doesn’t get clipped and you go down. If I get a handlebar on someone I don’t necessarily turn at 45 degrees to take someone down but I point my bike toward the inside of the first turn to control the corner.
Now, that said, what was your take on the Haiden Deegan/Seth Hammaker incident? To me it looked like Deegan did what everyone does and exactly what I teach my kids to do and control the corner. Did he do something wrong or are fan so infatuated with hating him that they’ll blame him for anything?
-The Peachman
Peachman,
I don’t blame Deegan at all for that start. That had nothing to do with him. As soon as it happened I thought it was on Hammaker, honestly. Deegan had the first corner handled. That’s my personal opinion. Hammaker had nowhere to go. If you watch the broadcast Hammaker was still driving even after Daxton Bennick shut down. Bennick realized there was no hole, and recognized where Deegan was coming from. Very good race awareness. I’m not taking a dig at Hammaker and I’m not sticking up for Deegan. I couldn't care less. But Hammaker about clipped and cleaned Bennick out after Bennick shut off. Same sort of deal happened in Detroit. I have no idea where you think you’re going! Again, I’m all for trying to find a hole and squeaking it in here and there, but those two incidents, there was nowhere to go. I saw RV’s take on it as well and he and I are on the same page. People that see it the other way around haven’t really been in that situation.
-Phil
Phil,
I know it’s early, but if you are healthy going to the outdoor season, are you willing to share this year’s goals? When does your process start to get ready for outdoors? And if you had to pick one, would you rather run a 250 supercross season or a 450 outdoor season?
-Jimmy G
Jimmy,
My outdoor prep has been lacking a bit. Not gonna lie, I’m a bit burnt out. Since I came back for High Point last year, I really haven’t stopped. With SMX, then training for WSX, then going straight into AMA SX it’s been a grind. So at the moment I’m not really looking forward to it. But after St. Louis I’ll be back on a 450 cruising. The 450 class is a beast of a class. If I can go between 8th-12th outdoors I will be happy. The 8th will be because of a few gifts here and there. But who knows, maybe I’ll be 10 years younger again and be 4th-8th! I’m joking obviously. But to be fair 8th-12th like where I was at the end of last year consistently and I’ll be happy.
-Phillip Nicoletti
