250 Words: Budds Creek
Monday, June 18, 2012 | 9:25 AM
GYTR (Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing) is Yamaha’s performance and racing accessory brand. GYTR products are developed and tested to the highest standards by Yamaha’s in-house factory engineers. Used extensively by the Yamaha Race Teams, these factory parts are readily available to every Yamaha rider.
Tweet
Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Share
Comment
Email
Print
The 250 class has been super thrilling this year with the four amigos each taking turns at the top spot of the proverbial bench racers title rankings. But each of the riders has had something holding them back through the first five races.
For Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett, it’s been his starts and opening laps. For GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia it’s been his inability to back up a moto win the second time around. His teammate Eli Tomac hasn’t been able to bring the Texas/High Point super-human speed every weekend and for Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen, his Achilles heel is not being able to close the deal after leading laps.
Out of the four riders, Baggett leads in two important categories, which are the points chase (duh) and experience in winning races. He’s led this series before and won plenty of races in it, the others can’t really say that. The Pro Circuit team knew that they had to get Baggett out of the gate respectably (his team owner Mitch Payton says a top five start is good enough), then let him get his outside lines established and his incredible fitness going. This is a recipe that equals, according to Payton, lights out for his competitors.
Baggett would use 2-1 moto scores to capture his second overall on the season.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
After a close second in the first moto at Budds Creek, Baggett caught Roczen from a ways back and motored away with a big gap considering how late he took the lead. The 2-1 score was enough for the overall.
Afterwards, Payton was being coy about what it was they changed on the bike between motos -- but it worked. Looked like the recipe needed a final ingredient. Although Baggett is the only one of the four amigos in this title chase without a major professional title, he may just have the right combination to get his first.
Did you like this article?
Check out ACTION FIGURE
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Cole Seely is a man of many talents— skateboarding, BMX, import drifting … and he’s pretty good at this motocross thing, too. Page 156 .
Look for the verified symbol 
Impulse Studios
Picking the 3rd rider for USA's MXoN is going to be difficult!
Yeah Go "Big " Blake, His late charges are somthing else!I do feel bad fro Roczen as I under stand the feeling of not being able to close the race out many times. I even knew it was all in my head,just like him , had the speed and would loose just a bit of conentration or tring to pick up my pace and instead lose ground. Roczen has plenty yet to learn and I hope, the time to do it. It is all in the mmind at that level.
Good luck to all and thank you all for giving it all and leaving it out on the track. There is a long way to go yet.I remember when the 125 class was the class everyone wanted to watch and now it is again. OOPs it the 250 tiddler's now though.
@ yamalink , heck I only have Dungy on my list so far. not sur who I would pick for the other 2 yet.
MXoN will be suuuuuper deep sand. So i would see Dungey and Barcia, as far as a third rider is concerned let's hope Stewart makes it back until then...
Sending Stewart to Belgium would be like playing Russian roulette with 3 bullets in a 6 shooter. Sure, he's got the speed, but there's a good chance he won't finish at least one moto. Weimer is looking better than he ever has outdoors, and Short will be strong down the stretch. We can easily win without Stewart, and leaving him home will give us a much better shot at the win, it may not be by a mile, but it's better than losing it to DNF's. As far as 250's, I'd have to say Tomac right now, simply because Baggett had his shot and struggled in France. I'm not trying to get down on Baggett, I think he'll hold on for this title, but it's Tomac's turn for MXoN.
MXON is easy. Dungey, Stewart & who ever is leading the 250 championship at the time of selection. Baggett, Barcia or Tomac would be a hard team to beat.
MXoN: Its gonna be sandy!! Dungey(for sure), Stewert and Barcia they are all great sand riders!!
We have a great 450 back up guy in Barcia if we need him, Tomac and Baggett are both great pics for the 250.
How many times does Roczen get beet on the last lap or close to the last lap before it really starts messin with his head? How about the girl asking about it after the race?? OUCH!!
There are few riders that have the speed in deep sand that JS7 has but I agree he's definately not a sure fire asset.
Dungey, Barcia and Baggett for the MXoN. How could you not want Baggett in there right now? Too bad Bogle is out....
warrior462 No way I would send Short or Weimer, Short is WAAAAAAAAAAAY off the pase and went backwords again i think. Weimer is better but still way off the pase. If JS can't go put Barcia on the 450. I know ya don't care for JS but before the jackass walked across the track he was PERFECT and if he comes back and starts spanking RD again he has to go.
And last year, this is how the best of the 250 mx'rs were listed (this list from Europe mag)
From MX Large – Last month’s Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations proved once again that when it comes to the MX2 class Ken Roczen is head and shoulders above all his rivals, both in Europe and in America.
1. Ken Roczen. (GP #1)
2. Jeffrey Herlings. (GP #2)
3. Tommy Searle. (GP #3)
4. Dean Wilson. (AMA #1)
5. Tyla Rattray. (AMA #2)
6. Marvin Musquin. (AMA)
7. Blake Baggett. (AMA #3)
8. Zach Osborne. (GP)
9. Max Anstie. (GP #6)
10. Arnaud Tonus. (GP #5)
I agree with BillC........ Dungey, Barcia for sure, then a toss between Tomac and Baggett for the 250 ride.
It will be a tough race in the Sand, but BamBam has proven speed on a 450, and can race the sand very well (Southwick will be the test tho) as well as for Tomac and Baggett.
Anyway you slice it, Team USA will be very strong at the MXdN every year.
KidRoc needs to exorcise his end of race demons, keep his head down and forward, and finish off a moto win. He is blazingly fast, but must finish it off......
I would love to see barcia on a 450, I bet he is so much better after his year of "maturing", I like bagget but i'm still waiting on him to self destruct like in the past. I love the way he rides though carrying alot of momentum
The 250's are so very unpredictable, about the time you think you got it figured out, they make you look foolish for your picks. Here is my break down of the Fab Four..Blazin Baggatt, has speed, fitness and the ability to find lines that no one else is using. He is fearless off jumps, if he keeps starting in the top five, its going to be tough putting him out of 1st place...Bam Bam has speed, fitness and aggression, but seems to be feeling the pressure in the second motos. This leads to mistakes either off the line or on the track, I think he just needs to relax a bit and ride his race...Tomac the Destoyer one week, to just Eli the next. He has speed, fitness and drive, but he has been lacking the consistency. If he finds it after the break, Eli might destroy his rivals title hopes..Kroc the German Whiz kid, speed and style, great starts, leads laps but seems to be lacking in fitness. May be to many trips to Chipoltes. Motocross is such a mental game, you know the guys behind him feel they have him covered at moto's end. Being a rookie and a Euro transplant, all works against him, but don't be surprised, if after the break, he doesn't come a out and go on a winning streak. Bonus...Musquin, The Candy Man has starts and runs consistent lap times, needs to find just a little more speed to run with the Fab Four. Maybe this break will let his break heal up and allow him to ride a more aggressive race.. One thing for sure, we are all enjoying the 250's in the Great Outdoors!!!!
At Budds Creek Baggett was the man! As for the MX Nations its a long wayyyyy off.
Roczen is probably my favorite 250 guy, but Is it me or does there seem to be a lack of comradery in the KTM pits. You would think that they would have the 250 guys training and riding alot with Dungey. Instead Roczen is eating Chipotle and training to be "Average" with Shorty (nothing against Short). Dungey would be a great mentor.
BillC, you seem to get dumber by the day. If we send Short or Weimer and they get a couple top 5's, which would be easy for them, we should have it in the bag. If we send Stewart and he crashes out of the first moto, which he's been known to do, we'll be beaten. You forget that we just want the best chance at winning. We don't need to take a risk to try to go 1-2 in all three motos. It probably won't be an issue anyway, if Stewart comes back, he won't let Dungey get away, and at tracks like Millville, Washougal, Southwick, where Dungey is really good, Stewart will hurt himself again trying to win.
Motocross of Nations....Dungey, Stewart and Barcia...If Stewart is healthy, he hauls in the sand and he deserves a shot at redemption...
Warrior, why are you so certain that JS is going to crash? Because he had a freak crash in Colorado that involved someone walking across the track? He has had his problems in SX on the Yamaha but when comfortable on the bike especially outdoors he's a hard guy to beat. He looked pretty good the first 2 rounds, and I would bet money that when he comes back in a few weeks he is going to be solid.
My pick would be RD, JS, and whoever is leading, or the most consistant in the 250's. I do agree that Barcia would make a great 450 replacement rider if one of the others can't ride.
Once Kenny gets a win I think he will be ride better at the end of the motos.
@MustardDog - I think the last 5 races have proven that list is inaccurate.
Short or Weimer for MXoN?! They both just got spanked by Alessi and Tickle- again. My 2 least favorite top riders are Stewart and Barcia and there's nobody I'd rather see go to Lommel with Dungey. Herlings deserves the Bam-Bam treatment.
Barcia over Baggett for MXD.I say no way.But if I think about it.Barcia is a great starter and good sand rider.He could probably even get a great start with 450's at MXD.Hum,I have to think about that one.Baggett came from way back at Freestone on a sandy track.
I guess lets see what happens at Southwick.
@ BD25, That is a very good analysis! If my fingers could work that long I would have mmaybe said the same thing? Just gotta ad this though after last weeks article about Goug Henry hhey if we/He could he would be the one for the Des naitons no doubt. PS this is a new keyboard and it seems to keep bouncing on the keys , but it just might be mee?
I think we could win the MX Nations with Ryan Hughes, Bob Hannah, and Jeff Ward. How about Johnny O, Rick Johnson, and Ron Lechien?
RD 450.....JS 450 OR RV IF HE CAN GET RIDEING JB 250....
Ya, RV in 2013 for sure.......
I think Dungey and Barcia for sure and probably Tomac. Bagget is still not ready mentally. He blew it last year and sending a guy to MXoN on a new track against unfamilier riders in a different country is not where Bagget is at his best. Stewart doesn't deserve to go to MXoN! He has raced 6 outdoor motos since 2008 and quit twice!!!!! What kind of racer that is leading the series quits because of a sore hand that is capable of a fifth place finish!! I will tell you, a guy that knows those 4 moto wins were enough to get all his outside sponsors to over pay him for another 2 years and to keep Suzuki drooling till January thinking that they have the golden goose. They don't!!! Stewarts best days are far behind him and he will have a very hard time getting on the podium at all in SX 2013. How his fans can still support him when he has quit every series he has started in the last 3 years. I guess if your willing to believe that his crash was caused by the photogragher then your living in a make believe world anyway, get ready for a huge dose of reality in 2013!
Uh and back on topic:
I haven't seen anyone consistently rail the outsied line like Baggett does since RV ....Wow !
JimM
Pala374
Welker ..Glad you agree...but you better check the spring rate and rebound on that board, may have to lighten up and slow it down to go faster!!
Uh!! sorry about that Jim, I just got into a rant and couldn't stop. Your right about Baggets ability to rail the outside, it is starting to look a lot like the way RV was able to keep his momentum and make it look like he has more Hp. than everyone else. Baggets fitness is unbelievable for his age, it sure makes you wonder if it is a huge advantage to be so small (lite). That dude is fit!!! Also I think Roczen is going through a crash course of WFO from start to finish, he seems to be getting stronger at each round. Roczen is doing much betterr than I thought he would do, everyone else up front has been racing those tracks for 3 years.
Although people are entitled to their opinions, the RacerX readers who choose to talk about the MX Des Nations and/or the 450 class in the middle of perhaps the best 250 outdoor season ever appear to be unfocused at the least ....
@BILLC, that is a good idea having Barcia the 3rd rider on a 450, for the Des Nations. He is a great sand rider, and seems to do better on a 450 outdoors.. But I think Stewie should be back way before then. And he is good in the sand as well. Dungey, Stewie and Barcia. Sounds like a title in the sand to me. Not sure how good of a deep sand rider Tomac or Bagget is..
MXON i would say Dung, Stew and Barcia. dungey for obvious reasons, stewart for his past at mxon and he can def ride sand, and barcia because of his sand skills and also a farewell to the 250 ride for barcia would be nice
I am just happy nobody has suggested Alessi. The idea of Tony Alessi abroad representing the USA in any way makes me want to hurt myself.
U.S. Suzuki doesn't have the funds to send / support anyone in the MXdN, whether it be Stewart, Alessi (Elsinore Racer), Baggett or Anderson.
Also, Roger Decoster is team Captian and I'm pretty sure of who he WON'T be picking.
Baggett is a smart pick based on the level of support / assistance he could get through the Euro based Pro Circuit team (Pourcel's dad's team).
While he's not a full-time 450 guy (yet), Barcia is a pretty solid pick for the MX3 spot.
Dungey, Barcia, Tomac / Baggett........
@ ElsinoreRacer, on the off chance they DO pick #800, with any luck, someone will "mix-up" TA's ticket with tickets going to the other side of the world........Somalia maybe.......
carlsbad, you have given me the hope to carry on.
I'm sure that if Suzuki can't fund JS7 Redbull would be more than happy to fund Stewart.