Racer X Redux: Perfection Exceptions
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 | 4:00 PM
Racer X Redux is brought to you by Yoshimura R&D of America, the leader in performance off-road and street exhaust systems, engine management systems, engine services and hard parts.
Tweet
Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Share
Comment
Email
PrintHard to believe in a season defined by injuries, the final stretch of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is going to be remembered for preciseness and consistency.
(And that's what this column is going to be about. Do not, however, let this story shine too positive a light on a dark season. We've seen seasons where a lot of dudes have gotten hurt, but I can't remember one where the injuries collided with such terrible timing. Sometimes, injuries help give a rider a break at just the right time. Kevin Windham was headed down the wrong path when a broken femur let him reset in 2002, and ten years later he's still racing. Ricky Carmichael said he would have retired at the end of 2004 if a torn ACL didn't force him out for a bit. Ryan Villopoto enjoyed his off time with an ACL tear in 2009. But this year has not been like that. When the big names went out in 2012, it happened at the peak of their powers. Chad Reed was pressing Villopoto in Dallas when he wadded it up. Ryan Dungey had just won the Atlanta Supercross when he busted his collarbone. And as much of a disaster as the James Stewart/JGR partnership appeared, Stewart and Davi Millsaps did go 1-2 at Daytona. Then Stewart crashed in the very first turn of the very next heat race the next weekend in Indy. Oh, and Villopoto had super mojo during his Seattle Supercross homecoming until his tore his ACL. Heck, poor Michael Byrne broke his leg while leading Unadilla. It's been a bad, bad year.)
And yet, here we are celebrating consistency as we head into the final round of the season. This year's outdoor year will be remembered for two things: Ryan Dungey's amazing run on a brand-new KTM, and the all-out battles of the 250 Class.
Blake Baggett leads the charge, and has had his most consistent season of his career in 2012, but he's not the only one.
Simon Cudby photo
Dungey is two motos away from avoiding all major mechanical problems on his new 450 SX-F. That's impressive because other riders who have hopped on the Dungey Edition KTM have found some of the typical bugs you'd expect from a new mount. I've heard stories of fried clutches and overheating (one could be leading to the other) for privateers, but Dungey and the factory boys had it dialed. And, the one freak racing thing that grabbed them (losing a gas cap at Southwick) was easily fixable. After Dungey had the 2010 450 title locked up, he bent a front brake rotor at Steel City and DNFed the first moto. And we know he had some bizarre, one-in-a-million things happen last summer. In fact, while we hold those three 24-0 seasons by RC and Stewart in high regard, they're aberrations. Even the champ normally has some bad luck or a big crash at some point—and even when the champion does avoid all the pit falls, the competition is almost always beset by bad luck.
Which leads us to the 250 Class, which has somehow featured not only all out intense riding in every darned moto, but has also produced remarkable consistency from five different riders. Check out 2010, when Trey Canard won the title with six finishes outside of the top five. But Christophe Pourcel crashed out of three motos that year, from a big high-side at Unadilla to the TKO crash at Pala. And last year, while Dean Wilson was crazy consistent with 22 podiums in 24 motos (and just one moto out of the top five) the competition ran into trouble. Tyla Rattray knocked himself out at Unadilla, Blake Baggett tailed off toward the end of the year (went 9-6-4-8 at Southwick and Steel City), and Tomac missed a few races due to a wild superman crash at RedBud. And Justin Barcia's 250 outdoor season last year was both a mess and a disaster wrapped into one.
When it's your year, it's your year, and we've seen champions stay consistent for 24 motos before. But rarely do you see five riders avoid DNF goose eggs all season long. In 22 motos, the Baggett/Tomac/Barcia/Roczen/Musquin group has produced an astonishing 109 top-ten finishes in 110 attempts (Musquin was 14th in moto two at Hangtown, otherwise these boys have occupied five of the top ten spots in every single moto this year). Baggett, Tomac and Barcia all averaging moto finishes under three—averaging a podium in every moto. That's an insane level of consistency!
Eli Tomac has shined in his third season in the pro ranks.
Simon Cudby photo
Steel City, if you watched closely, told that story. This track was gnarly and technical. It wasn't rough and tough like Southwick. It wasn't the type of track where a classic Bob Hannah, hang on and pin it style was going to get it done. Steel City presented a mix of ultra slick dirt (helped by the rain) and deep, rock-hard ruts. The slick conditions and choppy bumps made it tough to put the bike where you wanted, but you had to do that because if you missed a line by even an inch in those ruts, you were going down hard.
All year, we've been hosting a feature on Racer X Online called Breakdown, where riding coaches analyze the top riders to see what they're doing right (and wrong, on occasion). Watching the top 250 riders on that technical track, I saw a lot that was right. These guys were riding up on the balls of their feet (something every single riding coach must even talk about in their sleep), they had their legs out and up for the ruts, they were careful with throttle control and line selection on the slick stuff. In turn, they made very few mistakes on a very difficult track. Today's young riders have been groomed and taught at a very early age. Their programs of riding and training as amateurs outstrip what a lot of pros were doing a generation ago. And now they all have masterminds behind them—we're talking people like Aldon Baker, Jeff Stanton, John Tomac, Mitch Payton and Mike LaRocco. These kids have taken the "surround yourself with good people" mantra to the nth degree.
The 250 guys poured it on at Steel City. Barcia grabbed one of his trademark holeshots and did what he does, which is ride as fast as he can for as long as he can. This year, he has not been fast enough to wheelie away from the pack, so Barcia has ridden under intense pressure race after race. He hasn't won as many of those motos as he would like, but he hasn't cracked under the pressure and crashed them away, either. Several riding coaches have told me that Barcia's biggest strength is his desire. His riding style isn't as picture perfect as others, but he makes up for that by just riding the edge and pushing it. Despite that, he hasn't held any yard sales, and has avoided the Bam Bam stuff, too.
In his first season in the U.S. Roczen has been one of the most consistent riders on the circuit.
Simon Cudby photo
(They all have. For all the great battles we've seen this year, there's been little contact and no dirty riding. No off-track drama, either, even though some of the riders in this battle are teammates.)
Baggett's speed has been other worldly at times—which seems like a style bound to create some crashes. It was last year. This year, he made some mistakes at High Point and Washougal, and a crash at Millville cost him the overall win. He has not, however, wadded it up huge. Last year, he was down hard in the third moto of the season.
Tomac had a few falls at Southwick and Unadilla. He'd surely like to have those moments back now, but in any other year, they'd be minor blips on the championship radar. He was down in a first-turn crash at Hangtown, and salvaged a 10th from last, which is all you can ask. At times, he's been good but not great, and Baggett has left Tomac behind a few times as they were battling in traffic. But even Carmichael likes to say your championships are won on your bad days, and Baggett and Tomac have all played that card to the hilt. Even their bad days are pretty good, and when they're on, well, their speed is incredible. Unfortunately, even putting together superb, fast, consistent finishes still won't be enough, because only one of them can get this title. In a year defined by crashes and injuries, five 250 rides can be proud of putting together one of the most collective, consistent championship efforts we've ever seen.
Did you like this article?
Check out TEAM HONDA AT DAWN
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
Forty years ago, Team Honda arrived on the American motocross circuit with a brand new motorcycle: the game-changing Elsinore CR250. Page 170.
Look for the verified symbol 
Impulse Studios
Wait till all these guys move up to the 450 class!! You will need to go balls out every race like they do now on 250's. They have all stayed healthy so if they can do it on 450's things will change!!
More than likely some of the 250 studs will turn into 450 duds ala Tedesco, but even if half make it a go the big bike class will be extremely stacked even if Stewart and Reed retire.
@BillC, heck yes.. I cant wait untill 2013--We will have a healthy and restless RV1, and Reed back, plus Stewart on his "new" ride.. And always fast and healthy Dungey, and a almost supercross specialist in Barcia.. Shorty back, man its going to be good..
Heck I forgot about Canard and K-Dub too. Lets just start the season early, like October..LOL!
I HAVE SAID FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS--------THE LITTLE BOYS SHOULD BE MOVED UP AFTER 2 YEARS NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!THIS SPORT IS SHOOTING ITSELF IN THE FOOT LETTING TOMAC AND BAGGETT RUN THE MINIBIKE CLASS FOR A 3RD STRAIGHT YEAR!!! SHAME ON THE AMA,!!!!!!
True- it is unbelievable that the 5 top 250 guys have made it through this season without any major issues- especially at the speeds they are riding.
Like to speak parenthetically, do we?
Being a great rider in on smaller displacement bikes doesn't always transfer over to the bigger bikes. Everyone talks about the these young guys moving up, but how many times have we seen a great 125/250F rider jump into the big bike class and then just kind of fade out? It's usually because of injuries, but not always. Sometimes the race results they expect of themselves or that other people expect from the them don't come that quickly. Then their confidence and racing mentality suffers. The mental aspect of this sport is huge. Then, sometimes jumping on a 450 clicks with guys that maybe didn't have a stellar 250f career. Broc Tickle is doing that this year. You see a guy like Dungey, who couldn't really beat Villopoto on a 250F very often and now he challenges him for wins with regularity on a 450. Who would've though Villopoto would have so many injuries on a 450? Human beings are just too unpredictable.
yamalink is right. The 250 guys ride like animals now, but when they move up its different. The pin-it and use the clutch and brake to get around the track doesnt work on the 450's. Some will make the change and be right up there and some wont.
From what I see, and if I had to guess ......Tomac dropped into 450's right now, would be around Alessi's pace +/-..........Then Musquin, Then Barcia/Roczen (tied) Then Bagget.
Unfortunately, Alessi's pace will be around 5th or 6th in 2013 with the "Big Return" of a few dudes.
I think Tomac could be the next multi-champ (say 2015 to whenever)....Marvin's riding style just lends himself to be good on a 450. The others, I dunno, might be the guys yamalink is talking about ??
Not only next year, but the next few years could be awesome! Gonna be fun to watch!!
MX40 is right too.......just a much faster typer than me...lol
Good luck to #12...I hope he just lays down some blistering laps this week and closes the book.....and does the same in Europe.....some Euros have some mistaken strange idea these National guys can't hang in the sand.... My call is RD1 will spank them all....just cause he can and if someone has the stuff to race him we'll get to see how fast the KTM really is.(and we know it is..).........I hope Barcia packs a little Bam in his gearbag just in case of emergency......also props to Tomac who is just gettin started lol (i was at his 1st win at Hangtown)and its fun to watch him get just better and better.....wonderfully quiet and moto only on here this week.
@roger...say what? ...man thats one HELL of a mini-bike class....jump out on your Taco22 and show em how its done.....its the class to watch right now and they will all end up on 4fity's soon enough....the big bike is a different beast....its not just "more' of the same...it bites you and slams you harder also.
@Roger You're on idiot. 2 years?!? They would be eaten alive on a 450. Baggett, Barcia, and Tomac were all good in their first year, but not great. In fact in Tomac's first 2 outdoors he only won one overall. ONE!! By your logic he would have moved up this year, so he would have moved up with ONE win. As I said earlier, you're an idiot. And don't even get me started on calling it a "minibike" class...
If I'm sitting pool side in Vegas then my money is on Wilson to make the biggest 450 Rookie impact, the podium should be attainable for Dean IMO. If everyone stays healthy then 2013 is going to be a Barn Burner to the end. Wish I could fast forward to A-1 right now! actually the final outdoor of the year should be crazy and Tomac is my pick to pull it off, stay healthy to the end Boys! Good luck to all and may the best Man win.
I am a big Tomac fan and while I bleed Honda red, I see Tomac as the ideal teammate to Dungey. With Dungey's ability to very accurately test a bike (and the team's ability to use Dungey's feedback to make positive steps), whoever gets the nod to ride the 450 that Rodger and Ryan built, will truely have a magic carpet ride. Salt in some agression and durability like Tomac has, and you have an Orange powerhouse that will be a factor in each race.
Extreme Bagget like talent has its place, but extremely long term fittness is the best bet in the paddock for representing your sponsors. Solid, compeditive, strong, relentless - those are the watchwords that sponsors will double down on, especially if they are winning championships.
@newman maybe outdoors but certainly not indoors he couldnt even get a title in the lites while barcia almost had a perfect season barcia will be right up fron indoors and not so much outdoors unless he gets over whatever fear he has for going as fast as tomac and bagget
and as for tomac to KTM horrible idea they would slap him on that whack a$$ 350 that they try and cram down everyones throat and he will suffer on it like everyone else if anything he should replace whindam when he retires and that stacks a pretty good deck in hondas favor
Yeah the crap of a 350 that Alessi won a moto on right? Or that has won a couple of World Championships. Yeah the bike that never had a Championship caliber ride it in the US...that 350?
I like Tomac, but KTM is set for the next couple of years with their lineup of Dungey, Musquin and Roczen. Then they have Herlings if he is interested in coming to race in the US.
I would not be suprised if Geico Honda runs a 2nd 450 with Tomac and Windham for 2014 SX(supposedly windhams last year) and set the program for Tomac to run outdoors for them also.
Rogers is not an idiot, the sport is too confusing at the professional level to attract serious new attention for growth. They need to cut the 450 class and combine everything into 1 professional premiere class. What the lites class was once for has trickled down into the amateur level and has been for quite some time now.
They need to run 1 class. Get back to running qualifiers that actually mean something. And have all of the talent on the track at the same time. Out of this will come great racing and make the sport much easier to follow.
Question: Is it possible in the 450 era to have a close, competitive race series such as the 250F's have been this year in the main class without being riddled by injuries?
I think Tomac / DeCoster / KTM is a great venture but, unless that is the direction he chooses to take, I don't see Honda losing him. The only exception to that is if the two main racers, in this case Barcia & Tomac, can peacefully co-exist as the teams' #1 riders. It seems we're in an era of the "lead man & wing man", Villopto / Weimer & Stewart / Metcalfe being examples of such a design.
I think KTM / Red Bull can afford two "blue-chip" racers and DeCoster could manage that dynamic competently. Could whoever is running Kawi, Kehoe, Coy Gibbs or Mike Webb do this? I'm not so sure. I think money is the only thing keeping us from finding out.
No, Roger is an idiot. Look how many seasoned, elite, 450 riders got hurt this year. Guys that know how to go fast on a 450. That class SHOULD have been fun to watch this summer too, thats not the AMA's fault. You could not possibly have made the Lites better if you tried, except add ten more races in my backyard. Its been incredible!
I do miss qualifying races instead of timed practice. I do feel as I've lost a day of racing. But the television and webcasts have been great so if thats what it needs so be it. Dont mess with a very good thing!
@jeramey, I beg to differ with your opinion that's why I have my own! I think Deans size will be perfect for the 450 indoors, only time will tell.
@carlsbad....what tomac decoster ktm venture..?..did I miss something.....getting a little a head of ourselves on that s t r e c h of the imagination aren't we...seems like Honda is a pretty good fit and I think Honda might have as much $$$$$ as KTM...YA THINK...!.and YES is the answer to "are there any other FULLY CAPABLE TEAM owners and managers beside Decoster at KTM...and they've been running them and winning for YEARS...the hero worship is getting out of hand with Decoster (he IS one of my favorite riders ever) but as far as I know he is still a human and only one man ...it takes more than that to run a team...I think thats what TEAM means...also without Dungeys incredible riding skills who knows where would they really be with the still being called brand new untested unridden and sh&t even maybe unstarted lol KTM.............
The talent pool isn't deep enough. 3 People are out with injury and it becomes a snooze fest. That is not a deep enough talent pool for a sport that has such a high injury rate like motocross.
These top 5-10 250 guys are running the same if not faster times than the 450s. They should all be racing together. 1 class. More competitive. Better racing. More compact program. Easier to air on live television. More watchers. Better growth. Better for the future of the sport.