MXA INTERVIEW: GRANT LANGSTON’S LONG, LONG JOURNEY

From South Africa to Europe to the 125 World Championship to the fateful phone call to the 450 National Championship to eye problems

By Jim Kimball

GRANT, HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN MOTOCROSS? My dad’s friend owed him some money, and my dad took a bike in lieu of that money—that is how it started. Motocross very quickly became my life. At 6 years old I was on video saying, “I am going to go overseas, and I am going to dominate and be a World Champion.” You can hear people chuckling in the background, but that is how I felt from an early age.

YOU MOVED TO EUROPE TO RACE THE GPs. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A BIG STEP? I went to Europe in 1998, and it was my first year of doing GPs. I actually did not qualify for that first race. It was frustrating to chase your dream and then have to watch the race from the sidelines. It was like the end of the world for me. Here we were in a foreign county and my dad was telling everyone how his kid could ride, and I did not even qualify. I was 15 and the youngest rider there. But, I soon progressed to qualifying, then to qualifying in the top 20, and then to finishing in the top 10. In 1999 Factory KTM picked me up. There was no salary, but they provided a motorhome, bikes, housing, travel expenses and everything we needed. 

WAS THERE CULTURE SHOCK BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND EUROPE? Yes. When my dad and I moved in 1998, I rode for Harry Everts, and we lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Belgium. I was going to any local race to make money whenever there was not a GP. Moving to Europe was a big adjustment. I was dealing with being homesick. We did not speak the language. We didn’t have any money, and I didn’t know anyone. Plus, it was much colder than South Africa.

WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THAT YOU COULD MAKE IT IN GRAND PRIX RACING? In 1999 it started feeling like I was becoming a true contender. I had some top 10s and then a couple top fives, then I broke my wrist and I missed a few GPs. But, being young and training hard, I returned quickly. Towards the end of the season, I was on the podium a few times and then dominated the German Grand Prix. Going into 2000, I ended up re-signing with the team for another one-year deal. I got my first paycheck. I went into 2000 thinking, “I have the speed to win this Championship,” but not many others believed me. Kurt Nicoll, the team manager of KTM, was saying, “The kid is fast, but he has a lot to learn. He might win a race or two, but he is a little erratic.”

WHAT WAS THE TURNING POINT? I had just turned 17 in 2000. It was a good year. If I did not win, I was usually second or third, so I got the points lead early. I just held on to it and did not do anything crazy or stupid. I won seven GPs that year out of 15. Then in June, not even halfway through the season, I got a phone call out of the blue from Mitch Payton, asking if I wanted to race for him in 2001. Of course I said, “Yeah.”

THEY SAID, “YOU’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE. YOU CAN DO WHATEVER, AS LONG AS IT IS ON A KTM.”

WHAT DID YOUR DAD SAY? After I hung up, my dad said, “Well, you said your dream was to be World Champion. What if you don’t win this year?” I was a little cocky and arrogant and just said, “Oh no, I am going to win and then leave; it is that simple. I’ve got this. We are going to go win this title.”

WAS COMING TO AMERICA YOUR BIG DREAM? Yes. I wanted to follow in Greg Albertyn’s footsteps. I wanted to be in America. I told KTM that I spoke with Pro Circuit Kawasaki and was planning on going to America. They said, “You’re not going anywhere. You can do whatever, as long as it is on a KTM.” So, they offered me the choice of racing the 125 GPs, 250 GPs, 125 AMA Nationals or 250 Nationals in the States. It was a nice offer, but I said, “I have made up my mind. I want to go to the U.S.”

SO YOU TURNED MITCH PAYTON DOWN? I negotiated a while with KTM, and even Mitch some. Then I had to make that hard call to Mitch and say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” I told him my reasons for staying at KTM but said, “You never know. Maybe one day we will work together and it will be cool,” which later ended up happening. With KTM, I just felt like it was the best decision at the time, sticking with what you know and whom you know. Obviously, when I came here, things were not quite the same, because with the production rule, the handmade factory bike I had been racing in the GPs was useless over here. It was weird to go back to a production bike, because it felt like taking two steps back.

YOU HAD NO DESIRE TO DEFEND YOUR 125 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP? No. I achieved that goal, and once I accomplished it, I wanted to move on. I admire guys like Tony Cairoli who can be motivated to race the same class, the same tracks and the same people year after year. I chose to walk away in search of something new.

HOW WAS THE RED BULL KTM 125 U.S. TEAM’S EFFORT WHEN YOU ARRIVED? In the GPs, the Kawasaki KX125s were getting smoked. My Factory KTM could easily pass them on the straights. I believed that the KTM was a better bike and had more power than the Kawasaki. But, the AMA production rule leveled out the playing field. In the USA, Mitch’s Kawasakis were the bikes to have.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THE KTM 125 IN THE USA? We still had fast bikes. The biggest issue was that the PDS shock did not work in Supercross.

BUT YOU CAME CLOSE TO WINNING THE 125 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP THAT FIRST YEAR; WHAT HAPPENED? It was about 30 minutes into the second moto of the final race of the year. If I would have crossed the finish line, I would have won the Championship over Mike Brown. During that second moto I knew the rear wheel was collapsing. I tried everything to keep from slamming the rear wheel down. I even quit doing the big double. Worse yet, Mike Brown had gone down on the first lap, and it was my Championship to lose. It was a slow nightmare unfolding. I was an 18-year-old kid, and I was thinking that I was going to be the first guy to win a World Championship followed back to back by a U.S. Championship.

AFTER AN INJURY-PLAGUED 2002, YOU MOVED TO THE PREMIER SUPERCROSS CLASS IN 2003. KTM had promised Jeremy McGrath and me a new 250 two-stroke for 2003, but it never came. Jeremy left, but I had just signed my contract. Supercross was a nightmare. The only silver lining was that because KTM realized how frustrated I was getting, they gave me the option to ride the 125 Nationals. I jumped on it just to get off of the 250.

THE GUY SAID HE WAS FROM THE AMA AND WANTED TO CONGRATULATE ME. I SAID, “IF YOU GUYS ARE MESSING WITH ME, THIS IS NOT FUNNY.”

AND YOU WON THE 2003 AMA 125 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT IT WAS CONTROVERSIAL. That year it seemed like I could not win a race but was always in the points. Heading into the last race in Ohio, I thought, “I can finally win this Championship.” But, the race got rained out. I didn’t know what the AMA was going to do. I assumed it would be rescheduled. I was staying at Brock Sellard’s house in Ohio when the phone rang. Brock’s wife answered the house phone and said, “Hey, Grant, the last race is canceled. You are a champ.”

So, I got on the phone and I was pretty sure it was a prank call. The guy on the other end said he was from the AMA and wanted to congratulate me. I said, “If you guys are messing with me, this is not funny. You are toying with my emotions right now.

HOW DID IT FEEL TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP OVER THE PHONE? That was not how you envision winning a championship. You envision going over the line with your hands in the air. It was really strange.

YOU WON OVER THE PHONE AND YOUR TEAMMATE RYAN HUGHES LOST OVER THE PHONE. WHAT WAS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH RYAN LIKE? Ryno had the kind of personality where he wanted to hate his competition. His way of hating his competition was to run his mouth. There was a lot of tension at the KTM truck, and it made everyone on the team feel uncomfortable. Towards the end of the Championship I moved over to the 250 truck with Joaquim Rodriguez, while Hughes and the other 125 guys stayed in their truck. At one point, Ryno complained that the engine builder was giving me the best engines, so KTM gave us both separate engine and suspension guys.

IN 2004 YOU HAD A MEDIOCRE YEAR AND SAT OUT THE NATIONALS; IS THAT WHEN YOU DECIDED TO SWITCH? In 2004 things were not good. I was not in a happy place. KTM offered me a deal to ride the 250 for 2005 and 2006. I just said, “No, this is over. I am moving on.” I wanted to ride for Mitch Payton because I wanted to win. I knew I wouldn’t make as much money as KTM was offering, but Mitch and I talked, and I signed the contract. I needed to reinvent myself.

WITH MITCH PAYTON, YOU STARTED WINNING250 EAT/WEST SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS. That was the first time that I ever felt comfortable in Supercross. I won the 125 East Supercross titles in 2005 and the 125 West in 2006. I remember 2006 the best. It was the most fun that I had in Supercross. I loved the bike, loved the team and I loved being on the West Coast. When you win that second Championship, it makes it all that much better. From the opening round in 2006, I was the guy to beat. And, I started getting some 450 offers.

WHO WERE THE 450 OFFERS FROM? Obviously, I could have stayed on green and rode for Monster Kawasaki—and been second to James Stewart. Or, I could go to Yamaha and be “the guy.” At Kawasaki, they let me know that I was going to be the number-two guy. That did not sit well with me. Call it ego, but I felt like the best step was for me to go to Yamaha.

YOU WON THE AMA 450 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOR YAMAHA IN 2007. I had a gearbox issue at the Supercross test track and broke my collarbone. I ended up missing about seven or eight rounds of Supercross. Going into the AMA 450 Nationals, the only guy who concerned me was James Stewart. I felt like I had these guys covered. James had a decent points gap on me, but the day James got hurt, he was trying to catch me. He was pushing it because he was not used to anyone running away from him. He tweaked his knee, and all of a sudden this was anyone’s Championship. I got on a nice roll at the end after we switched from the 2007 chassis to the 2008. I had been struggling with the turning on the YZ450F. It was my biggest gripe. My worst result in the next five rounds after the chassis change was a second. I won the final three Nationals of the season to win the title.

WAS THAT YOUR GREATEST MOMENT? The Europeans might say the GP Championship is the most important, but many of their World Champions come over here, including me, so I personally think the biggest feather in anyone’s cap is the 450 National Championship. I felt confident going into 2008, and then the wheels came off.

THAT IS WHEN YOU HAD YOUR EYE PROBLEM, RIGHT? I got diagnosed with a melanoma tumor in the eye. When you are in great shape and you hear the word “cancer,” it is scary. I felt angry at the world, but eventually you have to put your big-boy pants on and tackle the next thing in life. I only raced the first four Supercrosses in 2008 and took the rest of the year off to sort out my problem. It took all of 2008 and half of 2009 to sort it out. I planned to do the 2009 Nationals with Factory Yamaha, but I crashed at Glen Helen just before the start of the outdoors and had to have my knee reconstructed.

I CAME BACK AS A PRIVATEER, BUT I WAS NOT THE SAME. “PRETTY GOOD VISION” IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

BUT YOU CAME BACK IN 2010. I came back as a privateer, but I was not the same. “Pretty good vision” is not good enough. I had one good eye, but I just kept crashing and crashing. A lot of people remember the big crash that I had at the Daytona Supercross. It was right then, after I woke up in the hospital, when I just started crying and said, “I am done. I can’t do this anymore.”

ANY FINAL THOUGHTS ON YOUR MOTOCROSS CAREER? I am glad that I got through all the hard times, because it made me appreciate everything. There was a point in Europe when I did not qualify for a couple of GPs. It was cold. We were broke. It was raining, and we did not have any friends. I remember saying to my dad, “I just want to go home. I think I am done.”

I will never forget what he said: “You don’t have a home. I sold it to get you here, and we are going to stick this out.” It was probably the best thing he ever said, because I would have probably given up and that would have been the biggest mistake ever.

Webb Tops Tennessee Knockout

Share to More 

Eight weeks of “couch surfing” doesn’t stop Cody Webb winning his sixth straight Kenda Tennessee Knockout ahead of Manuel Lettenbichler and Mario Roman. 

The multi-round format at Tennessee Knockout at the Sequatchie course mixed slippery and challenging conditions this weekend but couldn’t stop Cody Webb from returning after a foot injury to top the podium ahead of an invasion of riders from Europe.

262 Amateurs competed two-races on Saturday with the top 30 riders progressing to the four round Sunday race alongside the 31 pre-qualified pro riders. 

Hawaii’s Kekoa Estrella took the Amateur win to earn the AMA Amateur Extreme Enduro Grand National Championship and move forward to Sunday.

The Sunday morning program started with a ‘Hot Lap’ on a mile long course which Webb won with a 4:33 lap to earn the first starting position for the next Knockout round. Wade Young, the 2018 Red Bull Romaniacs winner, was second with 4:43, ahead of Manuel Lettenbichler (5:12), Mario Roman (5:26) and Colton Haaker in fifth (6:06).  

 

Photo Credit: Darrin Chapman

Round two

The second round sent the riders out on a 14 mile loop in thirty second intervals, based on the hot lap times. Young and Lettenbichler hauled in quickly Webb and the three riders battled until Young finally opened the gap in the last few miles. 

Young set the fastest time at 1:08:54, Lettenbichler was second at 1:09:30 and Webb third with 1:10:20. Roman was fourth and Austria’s Lars Enockl came home fifth at 1:19:57. The fastest twenty-six riders moved on to round three.

Round three switched to a multi-rider head-to-head format for the fastest 25 riders split into five groups of five with a 26th rider was added to group six as the LCQ alternate. Haaker, Lettenbichler, Webb, Roman and Enockl won their respective groups to earn front row starting positions. The second and third place finishers in each group also moved on to the fifteen-rider main event.

 

Photo Credit: Darrin Chapman

Main event

The main event moved back to the short course for a 30-minute plus one lap battle, which Webb took after 41:31 racing. Haaker jumped into the lead off the start and led the field into the woods but struggled on a tough climb exiting the water fall that proved to be one of the most challenging obstacles. 

Webb capitalized on Haaker’s mistake and quickly opened a small gap with Roman and Young not far behind with Haaker and Lettenbichler 20 plus seconds back. On lap two, Young and Haaker struggled again on the same hill allowing Lettenbichler passed with Young also taking Haaker in the melee.  

The top five remained the same for several laps with Roman closing in on Webb. At the halfway point, Roman began to fall back towards Lettenbichler who went passed for second on lap five of seven. 

This ended up setting the final top five results, with Webb finishing 1:28 ahead of Lettenbichler. Roman was 2:15 behind the leader and Young fourth, 5:17 back. Haaker went a lap down on the final lap but held fifth.

 

 

Webb broke his foot at Erzberg in June, so he had limited preparation for the 2018 TKO: “I was definitely worried, especially with all the competition coming over from Europe,” Webb said. “Some of Hard Enduro’s biggest hitters came over here and I had eight weeks of couch surfing and only eight days on the bike since my injury so I was happy to get another win. I kind of conserved some energy in those early races and I think that helped me for the main, but I still felt like I was going to die out there.” 

Lettenbichler, the twenty-year-old German who has had great season, including podium finishes at Erzberg and Romaniacs was impressive in his first TKO visit. “It was a nice event, I really enjoyed it, the main event was super gnarly with the slippery rocks and humidity, it is not like this in Germany,” Lettenbichler said. “I am super proud of second place and I passed Mario a few laps from the end, so I am stoked about that.”

Roman finished third at the TKO for the second consecutive year. “I came here with more preparation because last year I suffered a lot, so I prepared more for the short, sprint main event,” Roman said. “I have to thank Sherco USA and the friends I met last year for helping me for this event.”

Trystan Hart had a pretty quiet day to finish sixth in his first ever TKO. Enockl finished seventh on his GasGas. Tennessee’s Jordan Ashburn finished eighth on his Beta. Ben Kelley took ninth on his Trail Jesters KTM and Chris Satterfield rounded out the top ten on his KTM.

 

Cairoli set for Bulgaria

Great news is that Antonio Cairoli will be ok for the GP of Bulgaria next weekend. He commented today that his knee is okay and he will be ready to battle Jeffrey Herlings for the World MXGP championship.

"Good news," Cairoli wrote. "Nothing is broken and we will be riding next weekend in Bulgaria. Stretched PCL with fluid between the joint. Some days of rest and we will be ready to race again."

Discussion: Jeffrey Herlings

Jeffery Herlings on yet another great day! 

What more can actually be said about Jeffrey Herlings at this point? After taking his twenty-fifth moto victory and thirteenth overall win of the season at the Grand of Switzerland, he is now sat on an incredible advantage of fifty-eight points. Remember that he actually missed a round! All of that is discussed in this exclusive MX Vice interview from Frauenfeld-Gachnang. This interview was originally posted as a podcast and listening to that adds another element.

MX Vice: Another 1-1 and similar to every other week, just dominant. Talk us through your races that were obviously picture perfect.

Yeah, if you get a result it looks picture perfect. A little crash in qualifying, but it is not a big thing. Today was good. Two good starts. Put ourselves in a good position and managed to win both motos and, most importantly, extend the championship points lead.

Jeffrey Herlings now leads the premier division by fifty-eight points (KTM Images/Ray Archer)

That qualifying race yesterday was great to watch. Obviously, it sucks that you crashed in the second corner and you do not want to have to do all that work on a Saturday. Do you enjoy the challenge though? Every single race seems to follow a similar pattern for you. Start fourth or fifth, get into the lead lap three or four. Just doing something different, is that fun?

Most fun is just holeshot, check out, do not look back and win the GP. That is the most fun. It is racing. You cannot plan things. It is the same in life. Things are just happening. I did not plan to crash there. It is racing. Nobody expected, for example, Tony [Cairoli] to go 8-5 or 8-6 today. Just things like that are coming unexpected and the same with my collarbone, so that is why I also do not want to plan too much for the championship.

Just look race to race and do our best possible. It is hard to keep improving, but we try to still improve. The competition is not slowing down. You see the Yamaha guys and the Kawi guys. They have been working on the starts and trying to get closer to our bike, also us at KTM. Even though we’re really strong currently, me as a rider but also as a team, we need to keep improving to stay at the top.

Obviously, you came back to sixth in that qualifying race on a track that maybe tightens everyone up a little bit. Were you surprised by that? If it was a full-length moto, it’s easy for me to say stood in front of you, I honestly think you could have won it. You were only fourteen seconds down at the end, so I think it could have been possible.

I think if I would not have crashed I definitely could get up to second or third. Tony started up front and if he would have saw me coming he could maybe give an extra push. I had to still pass five guys and the further you come through the top guys, the more difficult it gets to pass. I am strong physically I think, obviously, so I am good in the end of the motos still, but I got sixth. I do think if it was a full thirty-minutes plus two I would probably get up to second or third.

Jeffrey Herlings has won twenty-five of the thirty-two motos this year (KTM Images/Ray Archer)

In that second moto it obviously took you a little while to get into the lead and you were involved in quite a tight battle. Was that just a calculated race on your part? Just kind of bide your time and wait for the right moment?

I was trying to find some lines. There were plenty of lines. They did a good job on the track, I think, but there was only one fast and good line, so it was hard to overtake Clement [Desalle]. He is known as a rider who is not a dirty one, but hard to overtake. He puts his elbows up and he is a tough guy to pass. He rode really great. He took good lines. He did not ride dirty or anything. He just was riding strong and good.

I also need to be on a good day to pass those guys on those types of tracks. I was just focused on Tony, where he was. I saw I made a bigger gap towards him. At one-point Romain [Febvre] came back and started to push me, so then I knew that if I was going to win the overall I had to shift a gear up, overtake him and try to put a little gap.

I think you have got a gap of more than fifty points again now, which is obviously nice to have. I have heard you mention it a few times, but just talk about the amount of work that has gone into that from eating, training and everything. It sounds like you just have not let off at all this year.

No, I started on the first of December and I think we are August 20 almost. It has been long. I just cannot wait for the season to be over with. I know it is seven weeks until ‘Nations and six more until this championship is over anyhow. There is like a finish in sight. It was tough mentally and physically to do it every day, day in and day out. Wake up, go train, come back, eat, go train again and always make the sacrifice for the food and eating all that god damn salad every day to try to lose weight. I am only human.

Tony, for example, he is smaller, so for him… He probably also watches his food, do not get me wrong, but for me I am a taller guy, so I need to watch it extra to get a good start and things like that. I am not a good starter for myself, so I need to work on everything. If you are not a good starter you also need to have a good physical [level] to work your way up through the front, so it was many things and reasons why I had to do it. If I do not win the championship, I just want to go to bed on September 30 and say, "Hey, I gave it all I could. I was not good enough, something happened or whatever." I just want to go to sleep then and say, "Hey, I gave it one hundred and ten percent."

It is likely that Herlings will clinch the title at his home race next month (KTM Images/Ray Archer)

Is it actually weighing on you a little bit now then? Obviously physically it does not look like it. You are still just as strong as ever, but mentally maybe?

Yeah, mentally it is tough. Whenever I pass a McDonald’s, I go past it with my friends and they are like, “Hey, let's get some food." I'm like, “Let's get a salad!" They are eating the big hamburger, Coca Cola and stuff like that. It is part of the job. I have seen it and learned it with Aldon [Baker]. KTM gave me the chance to go there for two weeks and experience that, so it was nice to see how those guys work. I try to copy their system to try to make it even better for myself and do a personal thing, but I like Aldon's way of working. If he would have been here I would definitely work with him, but he is in the US so it is not really possible. I try to copy his system.

We are going down a path a little bit now. The two weeks you spent with Aldon, it sounds like it really meant a lot to you? You really took a lot from that, right?

Yeah. I learned a lot. I have heard about it, but I never witnessed it. To witness it, it was nice. Once again, I have to give it up to KTM for giving the chance to me to work with Aldon for only a little bit of time, but I learned a lot. I think that's one of the reasons I am pretty strong this year.

Herlings will join Calvin Vlaanderen and Glenn Coldenhoff at the Motocross of Nations (KTM Images/Ray Archer)

Finally, since the last time we spoke, the ‘Nations team was announced. It is looking pretty strong. I might even have to become Dutch for the event! I like your chances. It sounds good! It all looks good on paper.

Yeah, we are looking good I think with Calvin [Vlaanderen] on board. He is maybe half South African, but he is Dutch for the weekend. Let's keep it that way. I think we have got a really strong team. I think we have got one of the best chances ever, but we should not underestimate France and definitely US. The US guys on home soil, they are always fast. From my feeling, they always have something extra on their home soil, so we will see. It is going to be tough. I am just going to do my personal best. Our main priority is to obviously win this championship, but I definitely want to go there and do my best and fight those guys.

Win or lose at the ‘Nations, an In-N-Out Burger at the end of the day sounds good right now, hey?

If I drive back from the ‘Nations, win or lose, I do not really care. Just best thing to go and sit there and get that big McChicken burger or whatever. I will definitely feel good, even if I lost that day. To finally have some time off, because I have not planned to do any races after the ‘Nations until next year in January or February. If you would see me at the end of November, you will see me like big and fat probably.

Interview: Lewis Phillips | Lead Image: KTM Images/Ray Archer

Davey Coombs interview - MXoN

For the last eight months or so, Davey Coombs has been working hard as his AMA Nationals has been running around the country, stopping off at some of the most beautiful race circuits in the World. As the series ends, and the American industry get a small rest before the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations, Coombs is also thinking about quality time with his family and looking at what the next step is in a series that continues to bring many fans in America and around the World a lot of entertainment.

We caught up with DC and asked him about his series and of course the MXoN.

MXlarge: Davey, how’s it going over there?

Coombs: Its going well. One round to go, we finished Budds Creek, it was a fantastic race and we have one champion crowned and another on his way.

MXlarge: We talked about it earlier in the year, but you must be pretty happy to have the rest period coming up after a long season?

Coombs: Definitely. Its fun to go to the races all summer long, but at this point I am just looking forward to grilling out in my backyard and focusing on my kids. They don’t get to go to many races with me, although they do have the summer off, but I will have my own chequered flag come Saturday afternoon in Indiana.

MXlarge: You will be at the Nations though in October?

Coombs: Of course, I haven’t been able to go the last couple of years in Europe, but this one we will take all the staff up and help out Youthstream or Redbud as much as we can. Hopefully this one will be bigger than Italy in 2009, which is the biggest one I have seen.

MXlarge: Team USA has been picked, and its probably your first A-Team since 2011 when you had Dungey, Villopoto and Baggett. Would you say that?

Coombs: Well, I would in the sense that Justin Barcia is pretty good, but it sucks that Jason Anderson wasn’t healthy enough to be considered. He was just back last week, but it seems like so long ago that he wrapped up a supercross championship and him not going would be like McGrath not going in 1993 when he won the supercross championship. I would say its our B+ team, and no offence to Justin, but Jason did beat Jeffrey Herlings straight up when he raced him last. It would have been good to see Jason in the team.

MXlarge: True, AMA SX champ, AMA MX 450 and MX250 champion would have been pretty much perfect.

Coombs: I will say though, the US, like France, we have an embarrassment of riches and just because one guy can’t go, doesn’t mean we don’t have a very strong team. Barcia goes very well at Redbud and giving that he is getting on in his career and hasn’t won a major title, I think he will be very motivated. The cool thing about Justin, let’s not forget last year in October, he was riding a privately-owned Honda he bought with his own money in Morgantown Honda, right here in my own town. He has come a long way in a year and nobody would have pegged him to be on the team this year, but he will be wanting to go out there and show the World he is still one of the elite riders.

MXlarge: Obviously Team USA are the favourites, but with this event its anyone’s guess who wins it. France have picked a team again that nobody agrees with, but they did that last year and still won. The big talking point is obviously Herlings vs Tomac. We the GP fans are watching him every week and feel like he is unbeatable, and I am sure you guys in America, who watch Tomac and saying to us, hold on a second. What is your feeling on it?

Coombs: I think we are lucky as fans, that right now, you have an ascendant, Jeffrey Herlings, who is still getting better by each race, and you have a peak Eli Tomac. Tomac has been doing unbelievable things this summer and while he isn’t as dominant as Jeffrey, he is doing some amazing things coming through the pack. So where I am sitting, we see Eli every week and at times we wonder how anyone can go faster and then boom, Marvin Musquin does. I don’t see that right now in Europe. Tony has had injuries, Gajser is up and down, Febvre doesn’t seem to have the pure speed of Jeffrey. Jeffrey is having one of the most dominant seasons in the premier class since maybe Everts in 2003 or 2005. I remember this time last year and we were all scratching our heads and wondering if Jeffrey was going to reach the potential he had, because he struggled early, but around this time last year, and he started turning it on, he has been amazing.

MXlarge: Obviously the Nations is about the country winning and not individual honours. Team USA has a great shot, and if you look at the AMA 250 champion Aaron Plessinger, he  has a great chance of winning the MX2 overall, and if Tomac doesn’t win the MXGP overall, he has a great chance of going 2-2, and Barcia will be reliable as he always is and has won a moto at Nations. As a fan you must be going there with a lot of confidence.

Coombs: You know, I am like you, I love motocross and I will be pulling for Ken Roczen, or Jeffrey and of course I want to see good racing, and I also want Team USA to win and get some momentum, but don’t look at America, look at France. Apart from that 2001 win, when Team USA didn’t go because of 9/11, they had never won, and now they are looking at five in a row. The des Nations is such a complex event, you have Max Anstie dominate two motos and the French pick an enduro rider and he does enough, or we sent a factory Honda over and the shock breaks twice. That is the kind of up and down stuff you don’t expect, and we have had a lot of bad luck over the last few years, but sure we have just been straight up beaten. With it being a Redbud, and if the weather works out and knowing the motivation that Eli and Aaron have, let alone Justin, then I would be surprised if we don’t win. Individually, it’s a toss up between Eli and Jeffrey. I just want to watch it.

MXLarge: 2007, in many ways I don’t want to talk about it, because that was one of the worst beat downs the GP riders have ever had. The AMA and FIM riders are much more level now in talent, and you guys don’t have RC and Villopoto.

Coombs: Think about that. I mean we have seen RV all summer long and nobody knew he had that all out speed, and he did have some things going his way, like Townley banging his head, and Cairoli’s bike arriving late because of the cheese wheel, and all those things, but when they dropped the gate, Villopoto became somebody else, and stayed like that for the rest of his career. It was something to behold that 2007 event, and everything came together. He even beat Carmichael in the middle moto.

MXlarge: Talking about 2007, as I mentioned, for us, it was horrible, but how was that for an America. The racing, well there was no racing, because RV and RC just dominated, but was that as enjoyable for you as a fan watching that type of domination?

Coombs: Well, for us it was what was Lommel for you guys.

MXlarge: Yes, but Lommel there was racing and you guys didn’t get smashed.

Coombs: You know, when Belgium win in Belgium, it’s a big party for the red devils and when the yanks win in USA, it’s the same. It happens everywhere. We got so used to winning in the 80s and 90s and that run from 2005 until 2011, we got used to winning. So it was hard (Lommel). We have had more bad luck in those years than we had in all the years we were winning, back in the day. The closer the racing the better, but 2007 was a double celebration, because we hadn’t held it for 20 years (Unadilla in 1997), it was Carmichaels last race and it was Villopoto’s coming out party. I wouldn’t want to see that every year, but I wouldn’t mind see it this year. I think there is a good chance we go into the final moto just needing to clinch it.

MXlarge: What about the whole thing around Marvin Musquin. Should he have been picked for Team France?

Coombs: Absolutely. I know the French sent the team coach over, he was at Redbud when Marvin went from dead last to second in the first moto and then won the second moto, and he also saw Ferrandis get beat handily. So he goes home and says we will take Ferrandis, Paulin and Febvre. Now those guys are very good riders and been there for their country. I mean Gautier for a decade, but still, I am surprised given how Marvin rides at that track, the resources Marvin has with KTM over here. On the other hand, France have a good thing going, and they do things in a way and they have a good comradery, while Marvin is working away at Bakers factory, maybe it doesn’t say team to them, compared to having a camp in France. I do think it was bullshit that the French Federation guy said Marvin lacked motivation. I don’t know the man, but I read on mxlarge his comments, and I hope for his sake they win, but I don’t think they are going to. I mean to say Marvin isn’t motivated, as far as the French go, there is a team aspect they are relying on and if Marvin didn’t fit into that, I can understand the situation, but to say he isn’t motivated, it must have been devastating for him. I hope Paulin and Febvre do well, so they are not second guessing the decision, because I know everyone in America is.

MXlarge: Gautier hasn’t been in the best of form lately.

Coombs: You know what, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Paulin retire if France win, and if America win, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Roger (DeCoster) also retire his duties for Team USA. If everyone thinks it’s a challenge now to get on top and win, I don’t see us any way in hell Team USA winning in Assen. We might have to bring Covington back, because there is no sand like that in America.

MXlarge: Final question is about the Puerto Rico Team. I saw your racerhead and you don’t seem to be a fan of the idea?

Coombs: I am a fan of an American passport holder/rider being involved, because its been done before. What I am not a fan of is a cartoon character, a fictional rodeo clown lining up. I know its fun, and I know people like the sound of a two stroke, but I also know it makes a mockery of what the French had made an important race to them, a race Roger De Coster holds very dearly, what the FIM see as the crown jewel, where Youthstream have invested millions of dollars and to turn this platform over to a cartoon character makes zero sense. If they want to get a third rider, a real rider, they should, and everyone should support that. For anyone thinking its ok to have Ronnie Mac racing, I don’t know if everyone in Europe realizes what a polarizing character he is to the motorcycle industry in America. At first, we all thought it was funny, but it isn’t funny when you start making a mockery out of the things you hold dear and that is the Motocross des Nations.

MXGP of Switzerland

Cairoli injury!!!!

Antonio Cairoli is concerned with an injured knee he picked up in the opening moto of todays GP in Switzerland. If the injury makes it impossible to race in the coming rounds, then there is a chance Herlings will be crowned world champion in the coming days. Depending on the outcome of a doctors appointment for the Italian. 

“There is something wrong with me knee,” Cairoli said. “It doesn’t feel good. I want to see how my knee reacts, first moto I finished but it was barely with one leg and I checked with my physician and I hope it’s isn’t the ligament, not broken, just stretched, and I will try and ride, and see what happens in the second race.”

 Herlings lead over third placed man Clement Desalle is close to 200 points with four rounds to go.

Herlings wins in Switzerland

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings has won his 80^th GP (13^th of the season and 18^th GP victory from 22 GPs), and extended his championship points lead to 58pts to defending MXGP champion Antonio Cairoli. 

The big news was not so much the victory by Herlings, but the injury picked up by Cairoli in the opening moto of the day, as the Italian twisted his knee and was concerned he had damaged his ligament. He did ride the second moto for sixth place.

Herlings went 1-1 and Cairoli could only manage 8-6 results. With 733pts for Herlings and 675pts for Cairoli the points lead is now 58 points. Anything can happen, but its going to be hard work for the Sicilian to regain his title and get that 10^th world championship.

“I am on top of the world right now,” Herlings said. “That is my personal feeling. Two pretty good starts, second wasn’t as good but I managed to do my own pace and to win on difficult tracks like this is pretty amazing for me. I want to thank the team and all the support. I can’t wait for Bulgaria, we did some pretty good things today for the championship. We did a good job, they guys are working so hard on the bike and we keep trying to improve and get better. Today was about points and went 1-1. Four more to go and thanks to everyone around."

"To be on the podium is always nice," Febvre said. "The team did a good job. Now we work hard on the start and it is really good now and when yo ustart on the front it is easier. i had the speed of Jeffrey but he pulled a gap. I am happy."

"Actually," Desalle said. "Three good starts and the first moto was good. I was disapponted with the second moto, I was leading and got passed by Herlings and Febve and finished fourth, but I am still positive."

At the start of the second MXGP moto, it was Desalle in the lead from Lieber, Febvre, Cairoli, Montichelli, Paulin, Herlings, Gajser, Simpson and Anstie. Herlings quickly into third place and flying as usual. Cairoli slowly losing places and seemingly struggling with his knee. Herlings into second place and just amazing again.

After one lap it was Desalle, Herlings, Febvre, Gajser, Cairoli, Lieber, Anstie, Seewer, Simpson, and Bobryshev 10^th. Lieber went down hard and dropped out of the top ten.

Desalle riding brilliantly in first place as he kept Herlings from closing up, and Coldenhoff moved into the top ten with Lieber in 17^th place.

Febvre doing what seemed impossible close up on Herlings and was putting pressure on the red plate owner. Cairoli was still in fifth, but right on his tail was Anstie.

Desalle, Herlings and Febvre all locked together in a great race up front. Herlings knew he had to get past Desalle, because Febvre was looking very hungry.

Herlings suddenly took the lead from Desalle as he dived up the inside of the Belgian rider, and Seewer was out of the race with a dead bike. Lupino into the top ten with Seewer out.

Anstie passed Cairoli for fifth place and the Italian losing more points to Herlings.

Febvre went past Desalle, as did Gajser, and the points Desalle is losing is making the championship picture for Herlings very strong. If Cairoli is out for Bulgaria, and Turkey, will Herlings be crowned in Bulgaria next weekend?

Herlings wins the moto, the GP and makes a big brake in Cairoli in the points race. Herlings in fact is 190 points ahead of third placed man Desalle, who will more than likely drop out of the championship picture after Bulgarian next weekend (200 points available going into Bulgaria).

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 - Classification

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:40.600; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:14.868; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:17.722; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:26.984; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:37.939; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:46.833; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:51.700; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:55.465; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:04.298; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:09.295; 11. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Suzuki), +1:12.971; 12. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), +1:14.490; 13. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +1:24.088; 14. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:27.285; 15. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:32.335; 16. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +1:34.119; 17. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +1:42.332; 18. Todd Waters (AUS, Honda), +1:43.439; 19. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:59.395; 20. Petar Petrov (BUL, Honda), -1 lap(s); 21. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 22. Ander Valentin (ESP, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 23. Nathan Renkens (BEL, Honda), -1 lap(s); 24. Andy Baumgartner (SUI, KTM), -1 lap(s); 25. Jason Clermont (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 26. Nicolas Bender (SUI, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 27. Yves Furlato (SUI, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 28. Robin Kappel (FRA, Kawasaki), -2 lap(s); 29. Alessandro Brugnoni (ITA, KTM), -2 lap(s); 30. Cyrill Scheiwiller (SUI, Yamaha), -3 lap(s); 31. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, Yamaha), -5 lap(s); 32. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), -5 lap(s); 33. Davide Bonini (ITA, KTM), -7 lap(s); 34. Kim Schaffter (SUI, Kawasaki), -14 lap(s); 35. Thomas Marini (SMR, Kawasaki), -15 lap(s);

MXGP - GP Classification

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 42 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 31 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 29 p.; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, YAM), 24 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 21 p.; 11. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, SUZ), 20 p.; 12. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 20 p.; 13. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 18 p.; 14. Tanel Leok (EST, HUS), 13 p.; 15. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 13 p.; 16. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 10 p.; 17. Todd Waters (AUS, HON), 9 p.; 18. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 7 p.; 19. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 7 p.; 20. Petar Petrov (BUL, HON), 3 p.; 21. Klemen Gercar (SLO, HUS), 1 p.; 22. Ander Valentin (ESP, HUS), 0 p.; 23. Nathan Renkens (BEL, HON), 0 p.; 24. Andy Baumgartner (SUI, KTM), 0 p.; 25. Jason Clermont (FRA, KAW), 0 p.; 26. Nicolas Bender (SUI, HUS), 0 p.; 27. Yves Furlato (SUI, HUS), 0 p.; 28. Robin Kappel (FRA, KAW), 0 p.; 29. Alessandro Brugnoni (ITA, KTM), 0 p.; 30. Cyrill Scheiwiller (SUI, YAM), 0 p.; 31. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, YAM), 0 p.; 32. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), 0 p.; 33. Davide Bonini (ITA, KTM), 0 p.; 34. Kim Schaffter (SUI, KAW), 0 p.; 35. Thomas Marini (SMR, KAW), 0 p.; 36. Michael Docherty (RSA, HUS), 0 p.; 37. Graeme Irwin (GBR, KTM), 0 p.;

MXGP - World Championship Classification

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 733 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 675 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 543 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 510 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 507 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 455 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 420 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 371 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 350 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 298 p.; 11. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, SUZ), 261 p.; 12. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 232 p.; 13. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), 227 p.; 14. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 205 p.; 15. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 201 p.; 16. Shaun Simpson (GBR, YAM), 170 p.; 17. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 130 p.; 18. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HON), 111 p.; 19. Tanel Leok (EST, HUS), 102 p.; 20. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 94 p.; 21. Maxime Desprey (FRA, KAW), 89 p.; 22. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 80 p.; 23. Todd Waters (AUS, HON), 42 p.; 24. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, YAM), 41 p.; 25. Graeme Irwin (GBR, KTM), 41 p.; 26. Benoit Paturel (FRA, KTM), 40 p.; 27. Petar Petrov (BUL, HON), 40 p.; 28. Harri Kullas (EST, HUS), 18 p.; 29. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 15 p.; 30. Lewis Stewart (AUS, HUS), 13 p.; 31. Ander Valentin (ESP, HUS), 8 p.; 32. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, KTM), 7 p.; 33. Aldi Lazaroni (INA, HUS), 6 p.; 34. Rizky Hanif Kusparwanto (INA, HUS), 6 p.; 35. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 5 p.; 36. Jetro Salazar (PER, HON), 5 p.; 37. Erki Kahro (EST, KTM), 5 p.; 38. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, YAM), 3 p.; 39. Stefan Ekerold (GER, KTM), 3 p.; 40. Gregory Aranda (FRA, KAW), 3 p.; 41. Andre Sondakh (INA, KTM), 3 p.; 42. Paulo Alberto (POR, YAM), 2 p.; 43. Klemen Gercar (SLO, HUS), 1 p.; 44. Sven Van der Mierden (NED, YAM), 1 p.;

Is Colton Haaker riding the best track you’ve ever seen?

This might be the most radical RadSHT track you’re ever seen. Colton Haaker ripping it like never before on one awesome stretch of dirt all in the name of Real Moto, the freestyle FMX video contest for X Games

Paul Whibley Team Suzuki Off-Road 2007-2008

Paul Whibley always got tough as the conditions worsened. He was hugely fit and dug deep and smiled when others grimaced at ugly- weather plagued events.

When Paul used a whole roll of duct tape to protect his hands in a mudder, the team frowned because the bike looked ‘hack’ heading to the line. When he was on the podium after a three hour grueler all bad thoughts vanished.

In the OMA world Whibley took over Jimmy Jarrett’s reign with 5-straight championships from 2008-2012, then won again in 2014.  

Paul Whibley was one of the most dominating off-road racers on the U.S scene from 2008 all the way to 2014. He won six OMA Championships, had 19 wins in GNCC competition and one championship. Paul could win on any machine, racing a Honda early on, switched to Suzuki, then Kawasaki and finished his career racing for Team Am Pro Yamaha. In 2007 and 2008 he raced for Team Suzuki Off-road, which was a powerhouse in the off-road arena. These words come from Mike Webb, who was the team manager.

“Paul raced for two years with the team. I always admired his work ethic, he worked as a lumberjack in his native New Zealand before coming stateside and he carried that blue collar discipline with him. When I first hired him, he and his late wife were living primarily in their beater Ford van traveling from race to race.

He was a no nonsense guy and stubborn as hell, but I liked that. Of all the great off road racers I had he might have been the best mudder, he wasn’t the fastest but was far and away the toughest.

One year at the GNCC opener in Fl., Paul was getting his gear on prior to the start and had tossed his chest protector in the grass outside the semi as he dressed- he wore it under his jersey Euro style. He then put on his chest protector and then his jersey. Suddenly he’s frantically ripping off his jersey and pulling off his chest protector. Turns out he had tossed the protector into a mound of red fire ants hidden in the grass. He immediately had huge welts appearing all over his upper body. I looked at him and asked “Paul what can we do”? He just started getting dressed again and said “nothing mate”, and calmly went to the line, I think he finished on the box.

His bike was set up like the other team bikes but with his suspension spec. I do remember him at a mudder taping small sticks length wise on his grips, we all looked in disbelief but then he went out and won the OA. He additional edge on the grip when muddy let him hold on far easier. He was a gnarly dude who was hugely underrated in his career.”