Welcome to Racerhead. Monster Energy Supercross is in Nashville with not two, nor even three, but FOUR red plates at the top of the rankings. With his win last weekend in Foxborough, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb put himself in position to take over the points leader completely, and if not for a late-race pass by HRC Honda’s Jett Lawrence on Webb’s teammate, Eli Tomac, Coop would indeed have it alone. And with this being an East-West Showdown in the 250SX class, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasakis of Cameron McAdoo (East) and Levi Kitchen (West) leading their respective regions, both green bikes will be adorned with red plates. With the weather looking like it’s going to cooperate, it should be quite a night at the races in Music City!
Unfortunately, one of our earlier title contenders and race winners will not be on hand, as Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger’s SX season is officially over after he fractured his elbow last weekend in New England. But while the entire series did not go the way Plessinger would have planned, his first-ever win is something he will be able to build on.
Nissan Stadium Mitch Kendra Tristan Lane helps build some bikes. Mitch Kendra Members of the industry build over a dozen Strider bikes for Ryan Dungey's All Kids Bike program. Dungey and crew took the bike to local schools shortly after. Mitch Kendra Dungey's many helpers. Mitch Kendra Ryan Dungey and family. Mitch Kendra Mitch Kendra Kevin Moranz's St. Jude Children's Research Hospital gear. Mitch Kendra Love Moto Stop Cancer Mitch Kendra The Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX bikes take in the sights. Mitch Kendra
We also had a big announcement of a second impending retirement. Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha rider Phil Nicoletti let the world know that he will be done at the end of the season, joining Kawasaki factory rider Adam Cianciarulo in signaling that he’s almost at the end of his professional career. Matthes will have more further down on “Filthy” Phil and what his friends are saying about his big decision to call it quits on his career.
Finally, in some very unfortunate news of bad things happening to good people, the Phoenix Honda race shop and showroom was broken into and many of the team’s championship bikes were stolen. It appeared to be a professional job by a gang of thieves who knew what they were looking for: Two #42 Honda CRF450 Loretta Lynn race bikes, six #1 Honda CRF250 Arenacross bikes, one #99 Honda CRF250 US Sprint Enduro bike, one #11 Honda CRF450 Moose display bike (black), and one #140 Honda CRF250 Rookie of the Year SX bike. If you have ANY INFORMATION or see a bunch of good-looking Honda race bikes pop up at your local track (or city street) please call: 980-371-4775.
KING PHILLIP (Matthes)
With the news that our guy “Uncle” Phil Nicoletti is going to hang it up at the end of the year-most likely due to the tons of cash Racer X Online pays him to do his weekly column—we thought it’d be appropriate to get some of Phil's peers to tell us what they thought of the news.
Alex Martin: "Ohh Phil… Where do you even start? I had some of the most fun years of my career with Phil. He has been grinding for a long, long time and I honestly thought he might just go until he’s 40. I’m excited to see how miserable he can be in retirement."
Cooper Webb: "Although I knew it was coming it was a sad, but also happy day seeing Phil’s video! The guy has been a lifelong friend of mine and is a true journeyman who made the most of it. He has helped me throughout my career with a lot of different things, believe it or not. He is a dipshit but always does give good advice. He’s also a very tough dude who isn’t scared to work. I’ve always admired that about him. Gonna miss him every weekend but I’m sure he will be around!"
Marshall Weltin: "Phil… I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I'm at in moto today, or potentially not even in the sport without your guidance. Not only have you made a career for yourself, but you’ve helped many others along the way without ever changing character, and staying true to who you are. You inspire me, and as a whole, you’re respected by the whole moto community. Cheers to whatever’s next brotha’. Congrats!"
Justin Brayton: "Over the years I’ve seen a lot of different versions of Phil, from the privateer barely making it to the races, all the way to a factory rider on the podium, and everything in between. And I will say the last couple years have been the best version I’ve seen—on the track and off! Happy to see him accomplish a lot of his goals, other than that elusive supercross podium (come on, Marchbanks!) and he’s gonna be successful in whatever he chooses next and be as grumpy as ever, I’m sure!"
Kyle Chisholm: "Congrats to Phil on a good long career. We're gonna’ miss all the pissed-off throat-slit gestures and middle fingers. Another old guy leaving me hanging with all these young guns!"
Although this will be Phil's last year in the sport (and at one point he told he was going to be a jail guard in upstate New York), I think we'll see plenty of Phil around the races. He'll do some one-off races, probably help some riders out, represent the FXR guys, continue signing posters of his Racer X magazine cover, show up on the PulpMX Show time to time... In other words, there's no way we'll get rid of the grump this easily. But before then, he's still got some SMX LCQ races to win!
Pro Circuit at 299 (DC)
Ever since Mitch Payton rolled out his first Pro Circuit bikes for the 1991 Orlando Supercross opener, his team has been a winner. Right from the start, when the late Brian Swink won that first night on the white #42 Honda CR125 over Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes and Suzuki's Tallon Vohland, Payton's squad has managed to win at least one race—including SX and MX—in each of the 34 years that the team has been in existence. From Swink to Levi Kitchen two weeks ago in St. Louis, Pro Circuit riders have won a total of 299 wins across the board. Among the riders in between those first and most recent wins are quite a number of all-timers, including Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, and Ryan Villopoto. Even now, going into the Nashville East-West Showdown, two Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders have red plates on their bikes, Kitchen in the West Region and Cameron McAdoo in the East. Our colleague Brett Smith of, We Went Fast, broke down all of the Pro Circuit winners going back to 1991 with this data-driven feature.
Prado vs. Bayle vs. Everts vs. Tortelli (DC)
Over in Europe the MXGP circuit visited Trentino in Italy but the results were the same as they were in Brazil, Spain, and Sardinia, as Jorge Prado extending his winning streak to four straight to start the season. This after having spent the month of January here in the U.S. on a "supercross vacation." The Spaniard was only learning the ropes of supercross as he ponders a fulltime move here, which is looking and sounding more and more like it will indeed happen in 2025. We've discussed how other Europe-based riders have done in coming over here during the off-season to race AMA Supercross, most notably Jean-Michel Bayle in 1989, when he was the reigning 125cc World Champion, Stefan Everts in '92 (also when he was 125 World Champion), and 1998 when Sebastien Tortelli came over (one year removed from his 125 world title). JMB was able to win an outdoor national and get one SX podium in '89 before he left, and Tortelli famously won the '98 season-opener at Los Angeles Coliseum. As for Everts, he cracked the top ten a couple times in '92—his finishes match up more squarely with those of Prado's in January.
So let's look at these interlopers in a different way. How did they do when they returned to the FIM World Championships? (And we're limiting this to the premier class, as Alessio Chiodi and Ken Roczen also came and did time on the AMA circuit, but they rode the 125/250 classes.)
Let's start with Bayle. The French Honda pilot actually missed the first GP to start the '89 250cc World Championships in Switzerland with an injured arm, then DNF'd the first moto he entered, which was in Sittendorf, Austria. But from there he won five straight motos to take control of the series. He would win at every other round of the series but two, his home race in France (he struggled after having re-injured his wrist) and his future home in the U.S. (he was beaten by Rick Johnson at the Unadilla race). He clinched the world title with a round to spare, then came back to America and actually added a 500 National win at the end of the season.
Everts was riding for Suzuki in 1992 and was moved up to the 250 class. Upon returning to Europe he promptly won the season opener in Valkenswaard, Holland, a sandy race in which the American contingent of Donny Schmit, Trampas Parker, Bob Moore, Mike Healey, and Micky Dymond all struggled. Everts also won the opening moto at the second round in Switzerland, but then the pack started to catch up to the then-18-year-old. He would end up injured before the fifth round in Germany and that was it for his '92 season. The '92 250cc World Champion? Donny Schmit.
Tortelli shocked the world when he won the '98 LA Coliseum SX race, then went back to Europe to take on Stefan Everts in the 250 GPs. Everts took the first two rounds, then it was the Kawasaki-mounted Tortelli's turn. An epic duel ensued, and from the fourth round through the last round, either Everts or Tortelli won every moto but one, as Germany's Pit Beirer beat them both in the Czech Republic. Toward the end of the series Everts went on an epic run, sweeping three GPs and six straight motos to take control of the series, only to have Tortelli end with a flourish, taking the last four motos to win by 8 points.
When you add it up, it's Prado who's done the best since returning to the Grand Prix circuit, with four straight MXGP wins to start 2024. He's still got a long way to go in successfully defending his title, but in all four cases—Bayle, Everts, Tortelli, and Prado—the time spent in AMA Supercross definitely helped them be ready for the FIM World Championships.
Oh, and while Prado may still have an undefeated season going, he’s the only one now, as Husqvarna rider Kay de Wolf had some bad luck in the second moto in Trentino and failed to win the overall for the first time this season. After winning the first moto with authority De Wolf got caught up in a first-turn crash in the second moto and could only work his way back up to eighth. The overall winner turned out to be KTM’s Liam Everts, who missed the start of the season with an injury but has worked his way up to seventh in the standings, though he’s 85 points behind the Dutchman De Wolf.
VP Fuels (Keefer)
VP Racing Fuels had some troubles with a few of their moto related fuels so we rang up VP and got some answers. If you do run VP race gas, you may want to read this article.
Win Ads Continued (DC)
It was a big week for Yamaha in Cycle News as they not only swept the Foxborough Supercross in New England with Cooper Webb and Haiden Deegan, but also a WORCS race in Blythe, CA, with Justin Hoeft on his YZ450F. KTM got a 1-2 from the Oliveiras, as brothers Dante and Mateo topped the AMA West National Hare Scrambles in Oregon, and finally Kawasaki got wins at the new Old Gray GNCC in Tennessee, via Steward Baylor and Rachel Archer. Yet none of these winners made this week's Cycle News cover, as they instead went with U.S. MotoGP winner Maverick Vinales for Page 1.
Navy Distressed Shield and Dirt Cycle Racer X T-Shirts Now Available
The Racer X Brand Spring 2024 release is here! Take a look at the latest line that features two T-shirts: the Navy distressed shield and the dirt cycle tee.
The navy distressed shield T-shirt is a simple design with our classic Racer X shield. The dirt cycle T-shirt features a vintage program cover from 1973 with an old-school feel to it.
Hey, Watch It!
Our buddy Jeff Cernic spotted this extraordinary KTM car:
Team HRC MXGP - R4 - Trentino
MXGP's Behind the Gate series follows Jorge Prado home to Spain for a big race and reunion with his fans:
Levi Kitchen doing some practice laps with Ken Roczen during the most recent Chef's Vlog:
Ricky Carmichael discusses his favorite parts of the Triumph:
Head-Scratching Headline/s of the Week
“Caitlin Clark's boyfriend reacts to Iowa star's WNBA draft outfit with just 3 emojis”—Fox News
"Taylor Swift could actually become an even bigger deal after ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ album"—CNN.com
"Jontay Porter betting scandal: NBA issues lifetime ban to Toronto Raptors forward"—CBS Sports
The NBA found that, among other violations, Porter limited his own participation in games for betting purposes
“The Rain Makers In Dubai Screwed Up And Dumped 2 YEARS Worth Of Rain On The City, Causing Mass Flooding”—Barstool Sports
"Escaped circus elephant stops traffic in Montana"—AP News
Random Notes
If you're looking for more to watch tomorrow afternoon in between SX qualifying rounds, Glen Helen is hosting their 15th Annual Wiseco 2-Stroke MX World Championship hosted by Fasthouse. The race will be streamed live, courtesy of Motocross Action & Dirt Bike Magazine, starting at 11 a.m. (Pacific time) tomorrow on the Dirtbike Magazine Youtube Channel.
Thanks for reading Racerhead. See you at the races!