The 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship sure is delivering exciting racing in spades! Southwick upheld the trend too, as a rough track and wild second motos made for some seriously unpredictable results. To learn more, we sent former pro and NBC Pit Reporter, Jason Thomas, our questions on The ‘Wick.
Southwick saw a lot of rain in the week before the national. How did this affect the track and/or track prep leading into Saturday? In what ways was the track different than normal?
The rain definitely had an effect on the soil. All morning riders were talking about how slippery the base was underneath the surface sand. It made traction tricky. The temptation is to be very aggressive with the throttle at Southwick. The deep-ish sand begs for more and more aggression, but with a slippery base made harder by rain, that handful of throttle could create a lot of wheelspin in a big hurry. There were many instances of riders spinning as they exited corners as they dug down into the base. Southwick is always a fickle foe but the heavy rains a week ahead of time added another wrinkle.
Sometimes the tracks get faster for the second set of qualifiers because the track is breaking in, but with Southwick it was the opposite. Does a slower track in the second qualifier change a rider’s strategy? Jett Lawrence pulled off after only three laps in the second 450 qualifier.
Southwick is almost always this way. It does add a level of pressure and removes any margin for error. We have seen this dynamic create drama many times. Back in the late 2000’s, Andrew Short had a mechanical malfunction in the first session and had to use a provisional qualifying rule to get into the motos. You can forget having a really good qualifying time in the second sessions. For most, there is just a bit more urgency and focus on that first session than at some other rounds. In this scenario, riders will spend much more of the second session working on their race settings instead of trying to burn hot laps. They can pull into the mechanics’ area and make changes without worry of missing their window for a fast qualifying lap.
All tracks change over the course of the afternoon, but is more pronounced at Southwick? How much tougher is the second moto when the track gets beat up?
It is tougher but not only because of the track, but temperatures climb as well. Thankfully, this was an unseasonably cool year for Southwick. The energy spent in moto one takes a toll, though, and everyone is feeling it late in that second moto. The time gaps from lap-to-lap start jumping higher and higher late in that second moto. If you’re fit enough to push in the final laps, you can make up a lot of time.
Before the weekend, the belief was that Southwick was one of Haiden Deegan’s weaker tracks. That certainly wasn’t the case on Saturday, however. What’d you see in Deegan’s riding that was different than the last time he raced here?
Stating the obvious, but he’s much better. Certainly the testing and track time helped but I think his confidence played a very important role, too. Last year was a “feeling out” process and he wasn’t quite sure where he fit in just yet. This year, he knows he’s the best rider in the 250 class so he isn’t reluctant to exert that confidence in every way possible. Southwick was the only round that I personally wondered about, as far as him running away with this title. Outside of injury or a mechanical DNF, this championship has been decided.
Deegan crashed in the second moto with Tom Vialle right behind him. Do you think this was a product of the pressure being applied by Vialle?
I want to say yes but I think that’s going to become a thing of the past. Every time he’s able to come from behind and overcome adversity, he is going to be less and less vulnerable to that type of mistake. He didn’t like the suggestion that his Hangtown crash was due to Vialle and I doubt he would like it applied here. Doesn’t mean it’s not true, just means he isn’t going to give these guys an inch.
Same question as above, only applied to Vialle’s crash on the final lap of the second moto.
That crash was a bit different. I chalk that up to just being on the limit on the last lap. He was trying to catch and repass Jo Shimoda just as much as hold off Deegan. Any time riders are on the limit, the likelihood of a crash goes up exponentially.
Take us through what Levi Kitchen was thinking after the red flag came out following his brilliant opening lap in the second 250 moto. How hard is it to maintain concentration for the restart in a situation like that?
Surely he was upset, but there’s no upside to dwelling on it. He has to try to reset and get back to his pre-moto focus, and quickly. For anyone with a great start in the first go-round (Hymas also), they have a tough task of forgetting about the opportunity that was just ripped away and focusing on making sure they repeat the exact same process.
What are we to make of Jo Shimoda’s win in the second moto? Is there something about Southwick that agrees with him, or should we be looking for him up front from here on out?
That’s a great question and I don’t know if anyone can truthfully answer it. Shimoda revealed in the post-race press conference that he had suffered ligament damage in his ankle at the Salt Lake City finale for Monster Energy Supercross, and he had to be careful about dabbing his foot in corners. Now he's gotten better. But this is a pattern we've seen many times. Shimoda is capable of being this rider every weekend, but poor starts and early-lap mistakes seem to plague him, especially early in championships. If his past trend continues, he will be a serious player down the stretch but again, it will be too late to contend for the title.
Chase Sexton sure seemed like he was out of the fight in that second moto when he dropped about eight seconds back of the lead, but he exploded late to get the moto win. What even happened there? And if he could go that fast, why didn’t he do it earlier when he was challenging Jett for the lead?
He mentioned that he was struggling in the middle part of the moto. I believe he was also watching the battle unfold at the front, too. When Hunter lost his rhythm and fell into Jett’s clutches, Sexton was monitoring. He also knows that he can rely on his fitness when things get their toughest. So, as he saw Jett and Hunter beginning to labor, I think that gave Sexton confidence to push. Momentum mid-moto is a fluid thing. Hunter had it early, Jett regained it around the 15-minute mark, but Chase’s fitness surged him forward late. His top end speed wasn’t where he wanted it early in the moto but he stayed close enough to strike when everyone else was suffering.
Jett had two weeks after High Point to rest up. Did it seem like he was back to himself at Southwick, or did it look like he was still favoring his shoulder?
He’s not 100 percent yet but he’s getting closer. He got some of that burst back and was able to utilize it in the first moto. The wear and tear of Southwick caught up to him in that second moto, though, and when he needed to push, he simply couldn’t.
It was evident that he still had more speed in his repertoire but his body won’t let him sustain it. It’s a matter of time until he gets that strength back and is able to unleash his full potential. In that moment, he will be able to fight back against Sexton’s late surge and we will have a real dogfight to behold.
