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MXA MID-WEEK REPORT
By: Zap
This Mid-Week Report is dedicated to the Glen Helen weekend that made up the opening round of the AMA/Toyota National Motocross series. After consecutive years of triple digit temperatures, this year’s event was hit by unseasonably cold & wet weather. A full day of rain on Friday cast plenty of doubt on the weekend festivities, but in the end only the cooler temperatures prevailed making for near optimum conditions.
FRIDAY: THE AMATEUR DAY
QUOTE: “It’s not a mud race, it’s just an aggressively wet track!.” Ever the optimist Chuck Sun as he surmised the track conditions on Friday.
The "aggressive watering" made life tough for everyone who braved the elements for their one four lap moto.
SATURDAY: THE TWO STROKE RACE
About two weeks before the two-stroke race at Glen Helen, former 500cc national champion Chuck Sun called and asked if he could borrow a bike for the race. Turns out we had a KTM 300 for him to ride. Chuck wasn’t ever with the front runners, but he rode well before getting on a plane to compete in round two of the FIM Veteran’s GP series in England.
Moments after this photo was taken, Glen Helen local Doug Dubach suffered one of the worst starts of his career and headed into the first turn about fourth from last. “Dr. D” (as he is still known to some) battled his way through the pack, running out of tear-off’s mid-way through the race to finally finish 5th.
With Dubach mired in the pack, former world champion and factory Suzuki rider Greg Albertyn ran away from the field to take the much hyped and enjoyed two-stroke race. The premix event was definitely a good idea and many people wished it would be duplicated as an exhibition class at all the nationals.
Zip Ty Racing/Malcolm Smith Motorsports backed WORCS rider Nick Brozovich decided to mix it up with the MX’ers and he impressed many with both his speed and big air jumping prowess. With teammate Bobby Garrison now a hot commodity in the off-road world, there might be room for Nick to move up the team mantle
QUOTE: “Just stay out of my way or I’ll put you in the cheap seats!” Greg Albertyn offering a good-hearted threat to Doug Dubach. Had Doug not suffered such a bad start the duel between these two could’ve been epic.
SUNDAY; THE BIG RACE
Over the years Mike Alessi has worked hard to gain fans and results alike. At Glen Helen he made big strides in both categories. Mike came to Glen Helen thinking he could win, but he didn't. Still, after Stewart, no one could stay close to the Suzuki rider either. As for the fans, after throwing a big wave to them when he cleared the triple on the first lap of practice, Mike later showed some real class on the podium by making mention of Glen Helen regular Matty Dowell who was injured a few weeks ago and then donating his holeshot award money to help out photographer Joe Bonello who is in a bad way. A rider with a conscience - wonderful! Bravo Mike. For more info on Joe, Click Here.
 Although Kyle Lewis had announced his retirement during the Supercross season, the veteran figured he’d like to try and hold on to his number for three more years until he turns 40. In fitting fashion, Lewis used his well known starting prowess to holeshot the consolation race. Kyle went 27/20 for 25th overall.
Probably one of the biggest disappointments of the day was the performance put in by Yamaha’s Josh Hill. He was reportedly unhappy with his bike and with his 34/15 motos for 19th overall it showed . It didn't help that he almost lost his pants in the second moto when the belt failed.
If Austin Stroupe hadn’t have passed teammate Brett Metcalf late in the second moto, there would’ve been five riders with a six point tally from both motos: Stroupe, 2/4: Villopoto, 5/1; Jason Lawrence, 1/5; Brett Metcalf, 3/3; Ryan Dungey 4/2. As it was, the rookie made a stunningly brave pass into the sand section to finish third in moto two to take the overall.
Grant Langston's # 1 plated Yamaha sat in the pits awaiting Grant to heal up. Should be a few weeks still.
Celebrated minibike rider Derek Costella showed up with a Husqvarna 450 ready to do battle. Unfortunately, no one at Husqvarna had yet provided the AMA with the neccesary paperwork to meet their homologation rule so they showed up ready to race only to find out they couldn't.
QUOTE: “I feel like Anthony Hopkins in “The Worlds Fastest Indian” when they wouldn’t let him run his bike at Bonneville – only these guys aren’t willing to work with us!” said All Access president, Erik Eastland about getting the sweet looking Husky in. In the end everybody realized that there's more to entering a National than just cutting a check and passing tech inspection.
New Zealand’s Cody Cooper impressed plenty of people when he showed up for the last two Nationals last year on his way to the MX des Nations. Slated for a Moto XXX ride this year, the deal fell through at the last minute and Suzuki picked him up and placed him on the Suzuki City team out of Biloxi, MS. Fast in practice, Cody kept his speed up to go 14/6 for 8th overall in the 450 class. A lot of people expect Cody to be a real spoiler as the season wears on.
With his 7/5 scores, Ivan Tedesco didn't set Glen Helen on fire, but it was good to see him back in action.
Just when you really, really thought there couldn't be another energy drink sponsor to show up, the Joe Gibbs team was sporting a new title sponsor with Spike Energy.
No one could figure out why Villopoto never got past fifith place in the first moto. Everyone could figure out why he rode away from the pack in the second moto.
No longer a full-time racer, MXA test rider Dennis Stapleton currently works at MDK and races the WORCS series. Back in his moto mode, but not in prime condition, Dennis was the last rider to transfer out of the consolation race and rode steady for a 33/27 finish for 31st overall.
Michael Byrne outfit # 1: With the 2009 catalogs headed to the printer, Answer-backed riders; Ryan Dungey, Michael Byrne and David Vuillemin were wearing new outfits for each round of practice and the motos.
Michael Byrne outfit # 2:
Michael Byrne outfit # 3.
Former MX rider Bobby Bonds (r) is now a top WORCS racer and he rode well to finish 15/17 for 15th overall. David Vuillemin on the other hand is an MX rider and he didn't ride so well with 16/18 finishes for 17th overall. Getting beat by a privateer off-road guy is not a good thing when you're a factory backed rider.
Like the Answer guys, Nick Wey was also using the National to facilitate the 2009 catalog. Of the various MSR outfits he rode with, the new orange kit was the most striking. Nick went 10/10 for 9th overall.
The crowd was definitely stoked to have James Stewart back at the races. Despite all the talk of the elite riders being too removed from the fans, try to find another big time sport where the most celebrated participant will take time to sign autographs during the mandatory athlete meeting!
Other than Ryan Villopoto in the second moto, no none was attacking the sand section with as much force and skill as Stewart. After the race James acknowledged that the tricky, whooped out section was his favorite part of the track.
Okay, it’s not without any basis that most of today’s up & comers are frequently chastised by the old school set for their lack of mechanical prowess and all around technical skills….well, here’s Cycra/Fox backed privateer Michael Willard giving it the ol’ college try by safety wiring his own grips.
Just as it proved at a handful of Supercross races this year, the sand section at Glen Helen proved to be the trickiest obstacle on the track. Bring on the sand!
Out with the (week) old and in with the new....as is their common practice, all the Monster/Pro Cicrcuit bikes got fresh motors for the races on Sunday.
Even though he's only been back on the bike for a few weeks, Honda's Ben Townley rode well in moto one to finish 6th. Ben probably could've been a top five rider overall had his bike not broken in the second moto. Kawasaki's Tim Ferry rode his ususal smart & steady race to finish 4/4 for 4th overall.
Okay, so the conventional wisdom says no one is supposed to like Jason Lawrence because he’s such a goof-off which is “bad” for the sport. Case in point, just prior to a Saturday qualifier while most riders were doing their best to deal with the pressure of the season opener and contemplating the effort at hand, J-Law was trying to lock a friend in the port-a-can. Later, as he completed the first lap while leading moto one, Jason was pumping his left fist as he rode full throttle past the mechanic’s area. Hey, you gotta admit, the kid is determined to enjoy the ride and his 1/5 effort proved he has the talent to back it up.
 We first took notice if Gibb’s Racing wrench Alex Ewing when he was prepping bikes for former rider Josh Hansen. Alex’s bike was standout in the pits for its high gloss finish on nearly every aluminum part. The bike was as much of a show bike as it was a race bike! Now working for Eric Sorby (and Gavin Gracyk on his return), Alex once again delivered a stunner of a bike (and title of unofficial best looking bike in the pits) – note the polished oversized aluminum tank. Unlike the dull boys over at Team Yamaha who hide the bigger tanks by painting them black, Alex understands what spectators and pit gawkers alike expect to see in hi-end race bikes.
Two years ago Alan Olson took home the AMA award for Mechanic of The Year when he wrenched Chad Reed to his first Supercross title. At Glen Helen Alan showed up as the wrench for former Rookie of the Year Juss Lansoo who has returned from Estonia to try his hand on the National circuit one more time. Juss ran 17/29 for 21st overall.
Probably one of the biggest surprises was of the day was Sean Hamblin. Following his uninspiring results in Europe the last two years, which followed his uninspiring results in America, Sean returned to the track where he first gained a top ten finish and eventually a factory Suzuki ride years ago. With 8/8 moto scores, Sean was both the top privateer and topYamaha rider of the day.
Reigning WORCS champion and KTM factory rider Kurt Caselli recently underwent a second bout of forearm surgery, but that didn't stop him from coming out to work the pit board for Kyle Summers who finished 20th for the RPM Racing Team.
Not everything went as planned with the Red Bull Honda squad, but after a Supercross season that was plagued with injuries, the red guys were stoked to have the entire squad up and running under the the tent.
It looks like Jeff Alessi is healthy again and he was involved in some fierce battles in each moto as he went 13/9 for 10th overall. After the race his brother Mike tried to inspire him, “What did you finish, 8th, 9th? You need to do some work son!”
The 2008 season is not short on brother acts. Besides the Alessi, Sewell, Marsack and Blose brothers you can now add Fletcher & Hunter Shryock who traveled all the way from Newcomerstown, Ohio to qualify for the 250 and 450 class respectively. Unfortunately, neither of them made the program.
Thanks to the rain storm two days prior, the track at Glen Helen kept itself moist all day and offered plenty of line options.
Following his charge from waaaay back in the pack to 14th in moto one, Trey Canard will go down in history as the first-ever recipient of the Ricky Carmichael Hard Charger award which goes to the rider in either class who passes the most riders in either moto. The newly crowned east coast Supercross champion went 14/6 for 8th overall.
Jason Lawerence pegged the holeshot in the first moto and rode away from the pack. In the second moto he sat never gained on the front runners, but prevailed in a good battle for fourth with Trey Canard. Jason is rumored to have rekindled his relationship with trainer Ryan Hughes and it seems to be paying off.
Ryan Dungey & Austin Stroupe get close at the start - this really personifies the action found in the 250 class.
 The big question following the season opener is whether Stewart can make a run of the entire series. Will anybody beat him? Will he beat himself? Stay tuned.
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