After each AMA Pro Motocross Championship round, we like to hit up former racer Jason Thomas to get his take on all that transpired. However, a wild day at Ironman left us with so many questions!
Rain has been known to play a role in the past at Ironman, but this year the ruts were more from watering the track in certain spots. How did the ruts affect line choice and passing opportunities?
The ruts are super tricky and why there were so many mistakes at Ironman. Also, the track crew didn’t fix them after qualifying so as they hardened, they got less pliable and more punitive. Ironman is underrated as far as technical difficulty. Small mistakes become big ones very quickly.
The dirt at Ironman isn’t consistent across the whole track. In some places it’s quite hard, in others it’s noticeably softer. For riders intent on running the scoop tire, was it worth the tradeoff in the hard spots?
It is a good trade-off because the start is so important. The dirt is deep, and you basically disqualify yourself from a good start without it. It’s that simple. There are many sections of the track that the scoop tire would suffer but a bad start is much more costly. All of the tire companies are working on hybrid tires that offer a balance of the two (Pirelli is using this in MXGP at the moment). That would offset some of the sketchiness of the scoop while retaining the straight-line acceleration largely.
One of the newer sections of the track enters an area that’s covered by trees, thus bringing shadows into play. What’s it like trying to navigate this dark section, which can be filled with nasty square-edged bumps, when you’ve just come out of the sunlight?
It’s the absolute worst. There’s nothing more terrifying than entering a sketchy section and having the lights turned off suddenly. I don’t see anything changing but I can tell you as a rider, it’s a harrowing experience. Hopefully for MXON, it’s a bit overcast which would negate some of the contrast.
Jo Shimoda has been on a hot streak lately, and if there’s one thing we know, it’s that Haiden Deegan always does his best to show up with a fire extinguisher in these situations. Did you notice any extra urgency from Deegan to beat Shimoda at Ironman, or has he gone into championship management mode?Yes, you could see the fire come out in Haiden at the halfway mark of moto one. He has quietly taken his medicine for the last few rounds while injured. Finally healthy, I believe he wanted to send a message to Jo and everyone else that the new boss is the same as the old boss. Jo had a lot of momentum and was systematically building confidence. Haiden needed to shut that down and he did just that. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Haiden has grit.
Let’s get right to it. What in the world happened on that start and penalty?
Well, there’s a lot to unpack here. First, anyone thinking Jett was trying to jump the gate needs to check themselves into the local psyche ward. He said he saw someone flinch (maybe Jeremy Hand?) and he jumped. This happens all the time. He ended up hitting the gate and then pulled back as the gate failed and got all sorts of squirrelly. He was mid-pack at best leaving the line and was 21st at best guess on the first lap. It was certainly not intentional to hit or “jump” the gate. He’s arguably the best starter since Mike Alessi and logic alone (plus history) would tell you he wouldn’t attempt something that foolish. So, this was, logically, a mistake.
As to the penalty, I understand the rule is old and also in absolute terms. That seems like a bad idea in concept but that’s an argument for officials to make. What I don’t agree with is that this was viewed as an attempt to gain an advantage or jump the gate. This was an unintentional mistake and him “being ahead of the field” is laughable when you look at the start as a whole. No one in their right mind would say that was any sort of advantage, intentional or not, that should be penalized by an entire lap. Read that again if you didn’t understand me the first time. Absolute nonsense. The rule is the rule but, in this instance, its enforcement is a farce.
On the flipside of the above question, did it look like Sexton was riding a boost of confidence from his Washougal win?
I do think he was. His first moto was incredibly impressive. He fought off Jett and chased down Hunter to win. The second moto was a disaster, but he looked like he had more fight in that first moto than he had prior to Washougal. The question now becomes “did he unwind that progress with the crash?” Unadilla will be an interesting one.
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Tue Aug 12 Ian Harrison: “We now know that debris got into the rear brake system, preventing Chase from activating the rear brake.” 
Mon Aug 11 One Crazy Day 
Sun Aug 10 Chase Sexton Suffers Crash, DNF in Moto Two at Ironman National 
Sun Aug 10 Hunter Lawrence, Haiden Deegan Victorious at Ironman Raceway Eli Tomac was struggling with setup for a few races, but at Washougal he was much better and stated they’d found a good setting he could work with. Did it look like he was gelling with his machine better at Ironman, or is it back to the drawing board for Tomac and company?
His starts were absolutely on point but apparently, he wasn’t feeling well. I say apparently because he didn’t share this news until after the race day concluded so many were left to wonder why he faded, especially in moto one. I do think he’s back to “good Eli” for the most part which bodes well for the SMX Playoffs and the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.
With the season, and contracts, soon coming to an end, there are plenty of riders who are in desperate need of putting in some head-turning rides. Who left Ironman saying, “Phew, I needed that!”
This may be too obvious, but Shimoda is still unsigned. He has offers so it’s not like he’s in a tough spot, but the fact that he isn’t signed says he doesn’t have the deal he’s looking for, yet. As he continues to battle for wins, though, his leverage continues to increase.
The WMX was back in action this weekend after not having raced since Thunder Valley. The break gave Charli Cannon, who broke her finger less than a week before the season opener, time to heal up. Did you notice a big difference in the Australian’s performance?
She was definitely better and that flat tire derailed any chance for a fight but Lachlan "LaLa" Turner was the story. She has turned a corner and looks to be the dominant player for now. That Ironman track is a difficult one and could cause a more dramatic gap than what we see at the final two. But, for now, Turner deserves the lion share of credit.
