As far as 2024 goes, it’s Good Friday, with Easter on Sunday, and smack-dab in the middle is the 12th round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, smack-dab in the middle of the country in St. Louis, Missouri. Eleven rounds in and Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence has a 16-point lead on Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb, who won a thriller last weekend in Seattle after holding off Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton in the closest race we’ve seen in sometime. The race appeared early on to looking like it would be Lawrence’s sixth win of the series to date (and fourth consecutive), but he made a couple of impatient mistakes that cost him (Jason Thomas will have more on that below). St. Louis will be another Triple Crown round, as well as a 250SX West Region round, which means Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen has a good chance to become the first guy in the West Region to win two straight races, as well as the first rider in the 250 class in either region to win three races in 2024. Kitchen’s win in Seattle was popular with his local fans, and also a little frightening for the competition because he rode with some newfound authority and confidence, coming out of the weeks-long break looking better than ever.

And here’s some food for thought: Jett Lawrence is younger than Levi Kitchen.

Also happening last weekend was a first for Ken Roczen, but not necessarily a great one: For the first time in 143 career 450 starts, Kenny went to the LCQ. He won, then had a decent main event to finish fifth, despite a way outside start.

Also happening for a first-time last weekend was the fact that the Lawrence brothers, Hunter and Jett, became first brothers to ever both win the two 450 heat races in the same night. It may have happened in 250 but never in 450...

And one other first last weekend, but not in Seattle, but rather South Carolina: West coast off-road hero Dante Oliveira grabbed the first Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) overall win of his career. FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Oliveira was riding as a replacement for the injured Ben Kelley and put on a superb ride at the FMF Camp Coker Bullet GNCC, which is held on the property of ‘80s Kawasaki Team Green minicycle legend “Hammerin’” Hank Moree. Well-known for his exploits as a WORCS Champion, AMA National Grand Prix frontrunner, Team USA’s winning ISDE Trophy team and more, Hollister, California’s Dante was very impressive in the southeast woods, edging out teammate Johnny Girroir by just 1.2 seconds in a thrilling finish. Oliveira may have found himself another championship title to pursue, only on this side of the country. For more on Dante’s big day check out “Between the Arrows” in the Hey, Watch It! section below.

Finally, here’s a get-well-soon for our longtime friend Denny Stephenson, who was involved in a bizarre and unfortunate road rage incident in which another person stabbed him! Here’s what happened, according to Denny’s Instagram feed. 

WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE USED

But back to Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and the upcoming St. Louis round. Let’s start with Matthes…  

Happy 100th birthday again Motocross, and Happy Easter everyone!

St. Louis (Matthes)

Round 12 of 17 this weekend for Monster Energy AMA Supercross and it should be a good one. We've got a Triple Crown (always fun!) and an indoor stadium (thank Jesus) and great dirt (yay!). I believe this is the second year for this dirt as well so it's going to be good. Now the TC format does take its toll on the track, the Dirt Wurx guys have more breaks at a TC race to work on the track, but they're shorter breaks. Plus we have the Supercross Futures and I think KJSC (track tear with the KJSC is minimal though) but even still, should be an improvement on what has turned into a tough year for SX tracks.

I got some pushback from listeners about talking about a "normal" SX and how I was wishing for one. Here's the thing: When I go through the pits talking to riders, the guys outside of the very elite tell me how they're just trying to survive out there, they can't push that hard and are trying to just double the jumps, never mind triple or quad anything. So, it's a survival contest and yes, that does equate to mistakes and passing for sure, but it's also a tamer racing. I would like the guys to have a bit of a reprieve from what we've seen at San Diego, San Francisco, Anaheim 2 (somewhat), Daytona, Birmingham, Indianapolis, and Seattle. We've had five races directly affected by weather and two that weren't but got really tough from the dirt consistency. 

But all that's in the past now, St Louis is going to be a great one! 

Pro Perspective (Jason Thomas)

Last weekend Jett Lawrence left an opportunity on the table. I would bet he knows that and would roll his eyes at me mentioning it, but the "how" is important. Looking at the lap times he was on absolute rails as he moved up towards the front. He was passing riders like Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia with little to no trouble. In laps four, six, and seven he was nearly two seconds a lap quicker than anyone else on the racetrack. That lap seven brought him to the rear of Cooper Webb and a chance to increase his points lead if he could displace the #2. Jett's pace was undeniable and surely both Webb and Chase Sexton could see him closing in quickly. With such a speed edge, there was no reason to rush things or get hasty. That's the benefit of being so much faster—he could be choosy with where he made his move. His ability to triple through the rhythm sections could have allowed a stress-free pass when the door opened. 

Instead, I think Jett's youthful exuberance got the best of him—again. He rushed a move entering the sand and hit the rear of Webb's Yamaha. That pass attempt had a very low chance of success. When he talked about the incident on the podium, he expressed that maybe he should not have been so nice, instead making harder contact. To me, this is the exact opposite of where his head should be. There was no need for contact or risk. He had the edge; he could have been patient and waited for an easy move. His thought process of being more aggressive, not less, tells me that he is still figuring this thing out. Or, maybe he doesn't realize the weapon his raw speed can be. In either case, he will mature and realize when and where there is urgency. Often times, he does show this patience, to be fair. His Indianapolis performances were great examples that he is on his way. Further, his heat race win over AP7 was a great exercise in patience and selective aggression. 

Big picture, Jett is going to win a lot of races. He's the closest thing to the whole package that I have ever seen. Speed, fitness, technique, charisma, situational awareness... Jett has these in spades. There are still lessons to learn along the way and Seattle was another. When he is at full power, though, he has the chance to make this sport very predictable for a very long time.

Chase Sexton Talks (Keefer)

I think it's refreshing that Chase Sexton speaks openly about his motorcycle, when he's struggling and when he feels good. Matthes had Sexton on the PulpMX Show Monday night and he said that he actually got a little heat from speaking too much about his bike set up and that he had to back it down a bit. However, we still managed to talk about how the KTM has been a little tough to set up from track to track and the window (or the track toughness, as we call it in the testing world) has also been a little narrow for comfort. This is the whole reason for the "KYB-type" fork and that change has helped him feel more at home quicker once out on a new track come Saturdays. Chase also mentioned that he very much is a feeling type of rider and that he needs to feel his way around a track and is not just a "twist it" kind of dude. Being that I can relate a little to that, I thought his remarks about just the KTM in general were spot on. The KTM is great in a lot of areas but once the track gets a little hard pack or edgy some of that feeling goes away for a rider. Going to a "KYB-type" fork set up allows for a different feel for the rider through the bars. When going stiffer with a WP/Showa set up sometimes it can feel rigid as you build up the valving stack/spring rate and as it should, but for whatever reason (again, I am a feeling guy) the stiffer you go with the KYB fork spec, that dead/harsh feel that you get with Showa/WP isn't quite as apparent. The KYB suspension has more of an active feel (even with SX settings) over the Showa/WP suspension. 

I just thought all of this was interesting as sometimes even a factory bike can feel a lot like a production bike. Sometimes factory riders can learn a lot by riding a stock/production machine, as Chase found out as well. The reason for this whole change in suspension was that he went out and rode a stock KTM 450 FE and said that he had such a great time on it that it made him rethink what the team (as well as himself) was doing to their race machine. Again, all of this is just so freaking cool to me! Thanks, Chase, for being a factory racer that is more "normal" than most.

Startcross (Matthes)

MX Reference put together a little column over on Pulpmx.com about whether or not 2024 SX has become “Startcross,” where the gate drop has somehow become even MORE important than it usually is. This data is through ten rounds and comes from the riders position at the white holeshot line.

Out of 30 podiums awarded through ten rounds (including the two TCs), only three times has a rider made the podium after being outside the top ten.

Only two winners started outside the top three (Tomac at Anaheim 2 TC and Jett Lawrence at Daytona).

Jett, Cooper Webb, and Chase Sexton are 1-2-4, respectively, in best start positions in those first 10 rounds and they're 1-2-3 in the points. Next up is Justin Cooper whose third in starts but sits eighth in the points. 

You can read more here in the holeshot data feature.

Arenacross Now (DC)

The first U.S. championship of 2024 will be awarded this weekend at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The AMA Arenacross Championship has gone down to the wire between perennial favorite Kyle Peters and challenger Ryan Breece. This after a very interesting and tension-filled previous round in Daytona, the highlights of which you can watch right here:

For more information on this series and the final showdown in New Orleans, visit arenacrossusa.com.

A Farewell in Argentina (Sergio Luis Clot) 

We received the following note from our Argentinian contributor Sergio Luis Clot on the popular motocross track in Patagonia that's hosted MXGP over the years...

Hello friends. Today with great sadness to tell you that the track proclaimed "best in MXGP" seven different times, the 'Patagonia Race Track' in Villa La Angostura, Argentina, began to be dismantled. The land was sold to an individual and he does not want to continue holding the event, which also brings great discontent among the population of Villa La Angostura, since the race attracted thousands of tourists that generated a great economic impact on the city. Just a few weeks ago, when the 2024 MXGP season started here, the rumor was already in place, but we were hopeful that it could be held once again in 2025, but this recent news really leaves us hopeless.

On March 28-29, 2015, the Patagonia Race Track hosted MXGP for the first time and put Argentina back on the FIM World Motocross Championship circuit again after 20 years, as Argentina last hosted a round of the 125 World Championship in Cosquín, Cordoba. The Patagonia track, which was designed by Lucas de La Fuente, simply dazzled everyone. On that first occasion in '15 the winners were Dylan Ferrandis in MX2 and Max Nagl in MXGP.

The MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina also ran in 2016-'19, but then could not be run due to travel restrictions and shutdown issues over Covid-19. It returned in 2022 and ran successfully through the '24 opener, which was won by Jorge Prado (MXGP) and Kay De Wolf (MX2). Argentina has a current contract to have the MXGP until 2027, so now it will have to be seen where the event will take place, although everything seems to indicate that it would continue to be in the province of Neuquén, on a track yet to be determined. 

Now, we simply have the best memories of a magnificent track, as we say goodbye to Patagonia Race Track.

Oh man, we really hate this news and feel for you guys, Sergio! But I did happen to meet the promoter of the Argentina MXGP, at the Indianapolis SX the weekend after the MXGP. I was walking along inside the stadium concourse with David Luongo of InFront, and we literally bumped into him in a crowd of thousands of people. He was going on holiday with his family and, as you said, he is in fact looking for another track for the MXGP. We'll keep our fingers crossed for every moto enthusiast down there!

MXGP Man Down and Out (DC)

The FIM Motocross World Championship has had a terrible run of unfortunate luck in the past few years with having former world champions getting hurt at the start of the season. Jeffrey Herlings, Tim Gajser, Antonio Cairoli, and Romain Febvre have all missed out on championship title shots due to preseason or early-season injuries. It just happened again for former MX2 World Champion Maxime Renaux, the French who has been a standout at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations the past couple of years. Renaux has actually been injured last year, breaking his foot in the same complicated way that cost Herlings most of his 2019 season. The Yamaha rider finished fifth in the opener in Argentina earlier this month, though he was in a lot of pain. He was in even more pain this past weekend in Spain at round two, and then posted on his social media after the race that he and his team are shutting it down. 

"I gave my best to try to go over the pain but it was just not enough," posted Renaux. "The team and I have put all the chance on our side to avoid another intervention on my foot (injury from last season in Spain) and try to fight through the season.  Today in Madrid we took the decision to step back and treat my foot with another surgery. We will be looking to find a way to have my foot back pain free as on those 2 first races in the season I couldn’t even stand or walk on it during the weekends.

"Tough pill to swallow but I will never give up and I will be back."

1ST ANNUAL BLOCK PARTY + FUNDRAISER

Check out some information on the first annual Block Party and Fundraiser event on April 3 (4/3) to honor Ken Block. 

More information.

Stepek Takes on The Netherlands (Mitch Kendra)

Quick shout-out to Maryland native Tyler Stepek, who is overseas this weekend with his good buddy Rob Windt. Stepek made a name for himself in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship the last few years, gaining multiple top-20 finishes and even national number #93 in 2022.  This year, he was competing in his first 250SX East Region season of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, but he is now over the pound and set to race the Dutch Masters this weekend with support from Windt. Good luck, Tyler!

Merch Madness Sale (Dustin Williamson)

We are having a Spring Blowout Sale to clear out the shelves over at Racer X Brand. One could even call it a “Merch Madness” sale in honor of March Madness happening right now. Anyway, head over to racerxbrand.com now and take advantage of some heavy discounts across the entire website. Free shipping over $45. Valid for U.S. orders only. Sale ends on March 31, 2024: 

• Select T-shirts - $28 $15 
• Oversized Cover Wall Decal - $100 $70
• OGIO x Racer X Rev Backpack - $139 $120
• Shade Hats - $40 $30 
• Pit Jacket - $50 $40 

SHOP NOW

Hey, Watch It

Between the Arrows: 2024 FMF Camp Coker Bullet GNCC Motorcycles

ClubMX's latest vlog: Every Second Counts Ep 8: Seattle

Damon Huffman's "Mini me"

Kawasaki's Science of Supercross with Jeremy McGrath talks power modes this week:

The Stark Varg's first championship run, to the British Arenacross Championship:

MXGP's excellent "Behind the Gate" series has started up again, check it out:

GoPro: Pro Motocross Testing at Star Yamaha with Nick Romano