Forkner Update

Pro Circuit Kawasaki Austin Forkner is on the mend after suffering a scary crash while leading the 250SX East main event at the Arlington Supercross on February 24. Today Austin Forkner posted his latest update on social media, detailing the struggles he is currently facing. He expresses gratitude for being alive and able to walk again after his most brutal crash.
Forkner said – “Seven/Eight minutes in my left contact lense fell out…it does throw your depth perception off. Your blurry eye takes control over your good eye. Is that why I crashed? I don’t know.” Onto the crash, I came up about 2 inches short, whenever all my weight went forward, I have my bad arm that I had all those nerve surgeries on and it’s weak and I lost all that muscle, which is the arm that blew off and it was game over after that.” I broke my L3 and L4 on my right side, I broke my scapula all the way across the top into my shoulder socket. I had bleeding in my lungs, still coughing up some blood this morning.

They said I was out for 3-5 minutes, I was knocked out for a long time. Those are the injuries I know of right know. I’m going to gey some more MRIs on my shoulder. I may even need another look at my back.” An emotional Forkner then fought back tears saying: “I know I am really lucky and really blessed to come away from that like I did. I watched the crash and jusy broken down and cried because of how bad it could have been.

“I had people texting me ‘are you okay,’ ‘ are you alive,’ ‘can you walk?’ That was probably one of the scariest crashes I have ever had. I am really fortunate and blessed that this is all that did. That I can feel anything below the next or that I am alive in general I am very fortunate and very blessed.”

But that one scared me. That scared me a lot after watching it back. It’s so early but I don’t know what this means for me or my future. Sometimes I always talk to God and ask for signs and ask him to show me this and show me that and maybe this is just another milestone, another thing for me to overcome, it’s just going to add to my story. But at some point you gotta start thinking that maybe he’s trying to show me something. My thought process is I want to be grateful of only having these injuries. And if I jump straight back onto a bike and onto a supercross track, did I get his message, did I get what he was trying to show me? I don’t know…”

McGrath on Ducati

Does Supercross King Jeremy McGrath KNOW why Ducati is entering the sport?

Jeremy McGrath is the King of Supercross. With 72 wins and 7 championships he stands alone as the man inside a stadium. Obviously I am a lifelong fan of MC but it wasn't until recently we got to hang out at Mammoth Motocross where I got to see the secret to all of his success. He really love riding his dirtbike.

SMX Insider

This week on SMX Insider the Jasons look back at the week that was in Arlington: Cooper Webb’s big win, Jett’s mistake and the dramatic crash that cost Austin Forkner so much more than a victory. MX Sports CEO Carrie Coombs Russell talks with Jason Weigandt about the upcoming Pro Motocross season and the growth of the SMX World Championship in year 2. Clinton Fowler drops more Cooper Webb knowledge than you can handle in Fowlers Facts, and also a look ahead to round 8 in Daytona.

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Maico...What a shame to lose

Back in the day this is what the start of a local race often looked like.

Is the Beast Back

Has Tomac brought 'Beast Mode' back into 450SX?

Competition Post: Jeremy Hammer

Two-time champion shows signs of his former self in Arlington runner-up.

It’s the phrase that Eli Tomac has stopped short of saying himself, and following a stellar performance in Arlington on Saturday night, there’s one question everyone is asking: Is ‘Beast Mode’ back in Monster Energy Supercross?

Tomac’s 2024 campaign has served up varied results so far, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider returning from an achilles injury that cruelly denied him of a third 450SX crown last season, which at the time, increased suggestions he would call time on his illustrious career.

Ultimately signing a contract extension with the factory Yamaha squad in July 2023, Tomac only returned to Supercross training in November, limiting him to just two months of preparation ahead of Anaheim’s season-opener in January.

Image: Octopi Media.

At 31 years of age, and with an extended stint on the sidelines, many questioned whether we’d still see the Tomac we’ve become accustomed to – the rider who can seemingly flick a switch and charge his way through the field for wins and podiums.

“You find the right flow, so for whatever that is – if you have a couple of good turns on whatever track you’re riding, and you have that flow – that feeling – it’s almost like things come easy, and they come [at you] slower,” described Tomac, speaking on his state of mind when charging through the field.

“So it’s when everything is working right and you can go in the places you want to go, and you’ve got the flow. In that situation, I can just keep pushing the whole moto.”

The season-opening round only fuelled questions about Tomac’s form, finishing a disappointing – by his standards – P9. He rebounded to finish second at San Francisco’s round two, although considering the difficult and muddy conditions, it still wasn’t a clear indicator that he was ‘back’.

Since then, it’s been a mixed bag of finishes for the two-time 450SX champion, going 9-2-10-4, and most recently, another runner-up result at the weekend’s seventh round.

While not a victory, it was a performance that has the return of Tomac – or ‘Beast Mode’ – in conversation, after the number three overcame an early mistake before flipping the switch and making 14 passes, going from P16 on lap two to second at checkers.

Image: Octopi Media.

“This was a race I needed, even though it wasn’t a win – I’ll tell you that,” Tomac recalled. “I was really struggling with these situations before this weekend, so I feel like I’m a lot better now. I was bummed to make the mistake early on… it was all on me, I overshot a triple and tucked the front end and went over the berm.

“I’ve heard it all season, and I know I’m not there yet. I dunno, maybe some people are right – I haven’t won an overall yet. One thing is for sure, I have improved, I’m getting better, so yeah, I’m ready to put up the fight in this last half and maybe show some of the young guys that they’re still young.”

The uptick in form has been timely for Tomac, who is now in the frame for a late championship charge as Monster Energy Supercross heads to Daytona this weekend. It’s a place that has been a playground of sorts for the Colorado native, winning the last five 450SX main events – for a total of seven – at the unique venue. He currently sits fifth in the championship standings, just 13 points shy of series leader Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC).

Ricky Shakes Down The Triumph

Tomac Ready to Rumble!

Tomac on finding his groove again – I’m ready to put up a fight!

With Jett Lawrence’s late race crash and Eli Tomac’s inspired ride to second after his early race crash, the momentum felt like it changed for the two-time champ. Not only did he find “beast mode” for the first time, he unexpectedly made points on Jett Lawrence heading into Eli’s favourite race of the year, Daytona, in the best form so far this season.

If Eli is going to make a run at the championship, Arlington is where it started. Get his thoughts on the ride, the early season problems and his thoughts on Daytona from the press conference.

The difference between Detroit and when he is in his flow…

Detroit I just had really bad arm pump, and when that happens, your hands are tied behind your back and you’re hanging on for survival, you know. And you drop multiple seconds per lap and that’s it, you know, if you get an arm pump around like lap six or seven, it’s over and I was struggling in that specific condition with the dirt being tacky clay, the way it was, was pulling down my bike and I think I have fixed some of that with that being said, can’t, you know, blame it all on the bike because look how long I’ve been doing this, I should know for that situation, you know, what’s gonna make me race more comfortable and get me out of the arm pump situation. So, that was that specifically for this year at Detroit, you know, that race that, that’s what caused, you know, me riding around and getting lapped. That’s the difference. And, tonight was just being comfortable, you know, riding like I should, I guess.

On being told he’s the old guy

Yeah, they creep in. I’ve kind of just heard it the whole season, and I just know I’m not like there yet…but I don’t know, maybe some people are right. I haven’t won an overall yet, but one thing for sure is I have improved and I’m getting better. So, yeah, I’m ready to put up the fight in this last half and, you know, maybe show some of the young guys that they’re still young.

I love Daytona. It’s the favorite race for me, hands down. So, this was a race I needed, even though it wasn’t a win. I’ll tell you that I was really struggling with these situations before this weekend. So, I feel like I’m a lot better now. Bummed to make the mistake, you know, early on, there was all on me. Just overshot a triple there and tucked the front end went over the berm. But, yeah, obviously looking forward to next week.

It’s just…you find the right flow. So, for whatever that is, you have a couple of good turns, you know, on whatever track you’re riding and you have that flow, that feeling, it’s almost like things come easy and they come slower, you know? So, it’s when everything’s working, right? And you can go in the places you wanna go and you got the flow. So in that situation I can just keep pushing the whole moto.

Daytona next – his favourite track!

I love Daytona. It’s the favorite race for me, hands down. So, this was a race I needed, even though it wasn’t a win. I’ll tell you that I was really struggling with these situations before this weekend. So, I feel like I’m a lot better now. Bummed to make the mistake, you know, early on, there was all on me. Just overshot a triple there and tucked the front end went over the berm. But, yeah, obviously looking forward to next week.

Cairoli rides Ducati

Monster Energy teams up with Antonio Cairoli and Ducati Corse to introduce the FIRST ever Ducati Motocross bike – the Ducati Desmo450 MX. The Italian brand have already signed up some very influential people in the Motocross world as they will develop the bike in 2024 before entering MXGP in 2025.

Make That Old Dog Roar Again!

2004 Yamaha YZ250 Bike Build