The Wick 338 is physically grueling on riders, and awfully tough on bikes. A scary crash from Julien Beaumer in the second 250 Class moto led to a red flag at the the end of the first lap. Luckily, Beaumer appears to be okay, although he will be undergoing more tests this week.

But just as the gates were about to drop on the restart, Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha’s Mark Fineis was seen waving his hands with what looked like a bike issue. The #705 quickly pulled his bike out of his state gate and began pushing it behind the other gates with hopes of getting it bump-started before the race began. Unfortunately, Fineis was not able to race, and neither was his teammate Jett Reynolds. It was an odd situation to see two bikes have issues, especially after just one lap followed by a long break.

This morning, Mike Bonacci, who handles the press for the team, sent out a very honest press release explaining what happened. As Bonacci explained it, an electric water pump and fan were both added to the team's bikes for the race, with hopes of keeping the bikes cooled and running properly. However, the brief break following the red flag kicked on both electronics, which drained the battery in both Reynolds and Fineis' YZ250F machines. The two had finished 12th and 14th, respectively, in the first moto before both not making it a single lap after the restart. Reynolds' 12th was a season high, and Fineis was coming off a High Point round where he was battling for the race lead in the second moto until he crashed and damaged his radiator, which ended his moto early. 

Also, returning 450 rider Garrett Marchbanks ran out of gas in the first 450 moto!  Southwick can do a number on bikes. Props to Bonacci, team owner Brandon Haas, and the entire ClubMX team for their honesty.

The following press release is from ClubMX:

ClubMX - Post Race - Southwick

Well, if we claim to be one of the most transparent teams on the circuit, I would be a hypocrite not sending a note after Southwick. Likely not our best moment as a team, but we will chalk it up to a learning experience.

Moto 1 went fine for the 250 guys. Reynolds ended up at a season high of P12 and continues to build. You will see his breakout moments at RedBud. He likes that track and is ready to show his stuff. Fineis was up there also but had a late moto tip over pushing him back to P14.  For the 450 guys, good run as well, but Garrett ran out of fuel with ten feet to the finish line. We run the big tanks so we are not sure what happened, but if his clutch was any indication, he was on the gas the entire moto.

Moto 2 started off ok for the 250's but then came the red flag. We have added electric water pumps and electric fans to the bikes for Southwick. When they came back to the line, both of those pieces ran longer than expected and totally drained the batteries on both bikes. We have tested and used these components for the two weeks leading up to Southwick, but we did not simulate a red flag condition - so that is on us as a team. It was no fault of the bike or components, just us as a team not planning for every scenario. The 450's were much better although Garrett drove into the first turn pile up causing him to start 35th. He came all the way back up to 12th for the moto.  Phil was the highlight of the weekend going 9-9 for 8th overall. Guy is a stud.

We always tell our guys, don't let the highs be too high or the lows be too low. We will find out who we are through adversity and be better for it in the future. See you at RedBud.
MB