Close...Maybe Not

This is the usual conundrum. Jett Lawrence dominates races in a different way,  usually hovering his lead around the two-second mark and just holding it. He will only take as much risk or spend as much energy as needed, with the reserve to push a little harder if an attack comes. So when someone gets close, it’s hard to know if this is a true challenge or not. At Fox Raceway on Saturday, it looked like a real attack, first with his brother Hunter nearly pulling up side-by-side, and then Chase Sexton pushing hard in the second half of the race to apply pressure. Roger De Coster, the Motorsports Director for Sexton’s Red Bull KTM outfit, told me that he thought Sexton rode better than anyone on Saturday, even if he didn’t get the win. Numbers show that Sexton had the fastest lap of that moto and his final lap was nearly as fast as Jett’s best lap at any point.

So how strong was this challenge? Well, Jett’s 1-1 says the answer is simply “not strong enough” but even Sexton himself didn’t boast. He said he needs to find more pace, because each time he got close, Jett was able to keep him at bay.

“My start wasn’t good in the first moto but I made it work and I was probably fifth or sixth,” Sexton said. “Then I went to the outside going up the hill and I think Dylan [Ferrandis] made a mistake and came to a stop and I and tagged his back wheel and went down. So it wasn’t a great start and I came back pretty good, and then I fell again! [Laughs] I felt pretty good at the end of the moto and then, second moto, Hunter came out of the gate like a cannon [Laughs] and I was right next to him, so I kind of followed him around the first turn. Then Phil [Nicoletti] actually came out of nowhere, and passed me and him [Hunter]. So it was pretty chaotic. We actually had a good pace going. I passed Hunter in the switchback right here, and I think the pace went up a little bit. Yeah I went off the track. I tried my best. When I came up to him [Jett] he would answer. I’ve just got to get better at finding more pace.”

Rest of the story at www.racerx.com

Highlights | Fox Raceway National

Why Do Guys Crash on Press Day?

Press day crash forces Hampshire out of Fox Raceway National

Motoonline post: Alex Gobert

Surgery on wrist confirmed by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team.

Image: Todd Gutierrez.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire has been forced out of the beginning of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship with a wrist injury sustained following a crash in the latter stages of press day on Thursday afternoon.

The newly-crowned 250SX West champion will miss Fox Raceway’s opener tomorrow, undergoing immediate surgery on the injury overnight, but a potential return date is yet to be determined.

“The highs and the lows of this sport are sometimes tough to swallow, but unfortunately with RJ taking a spill on press day here at Pala, he has injured his wrist,” commented Nathan Ramsey, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team manager.

“It’s a setback, but we can all get through this – I know that RJ and the crew will stay positive. RJ’s tough and he’s mentally strong, so he’ll be back as soon as possible.”

With Hampshire now sidelined and Guillem Farres still out of action, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing will have Malcolm Stewart and Christian Craig on track in 450MX, as well as rookie Casey Cochran in 250MX, when the gates drop on the new season this weekend.

Stitches required for Marchbanks, sidelined indefinitely

Press day crash at Fox Raceway National the culprit for the Yamaha rider's injury.

Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha rider Garrett Marchbanks will miss the start of AMA Pro Motocross after a crash on press day left a gash on his thumb that required stitches. The injury was sustained on the same thumb that Marchbanks had broken at the Nashville Supercross and the reaggravated injury will sideline Marchbanks indefinitely.

The crash happened when Shane McElrath, Jerry Robin and Christian Craig crashed on the backside of a tunnel jump during press day and Marchbanks was the next rider on scene. Not knowing they were down, Marchbanks jumped right onto their bikes and crashed immediately. He was transported to a local hospital where he received stitches for a gash on the crease of his thumb extending from his palm to the back of his hand.

No timetable has been established for his return to racing yet as he and the team further assess the recovery process. The first four rounds of the series take place in four successive weekends which means Marchbanks will need to return very quickly to not miss many races. The team says they will provide further updates on his plan moving forward when more information is available.

Hangtown Is Coming!

Here's a couple of guys that have been to a few Hangtown races. Danny Turner has logged a few laps and Bruce Young has been there sinnce the beginning with the DDNMC.

Gajser crash MXGP Race 2

Febvre on his French GP

The Marseillaise rang out for Romain Febvre on the podium of the seventh round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship at St Jean d’Angely before post-race penalties lower down the leaderboard sadly denied the Kawasaki rider overall victory.

After his brave victory in a rain-affected Saturday Qualifying as he gritted his teeth against the pain from a thumb injury sustained during the morning practice the Frenchman was less optimistic of further success on Sunday morning as blue skies greeted teams, riders and fans and the drier track worked in favour of his rivals. But, calling on his reserves of determination and willpower together with the unsurpassed power of the KX450-SR, he took a clear holeshot in the first GP moto and, although he surrendered the lead to a tough block-pass on the opening lap, he dug deep to stalk the new leader until the closing stages when the constant discomfort and pain took its toll and he had to accept third three laps from the finish. Rain returned during the interval between motos and, after his second clearcut holeshot of the day, he opened up a three-second lead already on the opening lap, extending his advantage to seven seconds by mid-moto in the slippery conditions.

Victory in moto, and in the overall GP classification, seemed assured until an incident four laps from the finish when an errant backmarker blatantly ignored the blue flags – which warn lapped riders of the imminent arrival of the leaders – and ran Febvre off the track, throwing up a bow-wave which filled the Frenchman’s goggles with water. His vision blurred and his lead slashed the Kawasaki race leader had to surrender the lead halfway round the final lap but was still greeted by the ecstatic home crowd as overall GP winner and his “success” was even honored ten minutes later at the official podium ceremony before an amendment of placings lower down the leaderboard of race two impacted the overall GP placings to reverse the podium in favour of another rider. Officially runner-up on the day after the revision the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP rider retains his third placing in the championship standings and has, despite the amendment which handed the series leader three additional points, now sits just twenty-three from the pace.

Romain Febvre: “I worked really hard to be able to race today but the pain in my thumb was still quite high this morning and I surprised even myself in the first race to finish third as I had to ride through a lot of pain; I did a really good job but I knew before the start I would not be able to hold on for the entire race. But when it started to rain again I said to the team ‘this is what I need’. I was riding great after I took another holeshot and was riding a perfect race; I could ride my own race to manage my gap to second, but with four laps to go I had a really bad time with one lapped rider whose actions meant I had to roll two jumps. That was just not fair and my goggles got filled with water too. When I came to the finish I couldn’t understand why the fans were cheering at first because I thought I had missed the overall after Jeffrey passed me on the last lap, but then someone told me Tim had fallen off. It was so great to share this victory on the podium with the fans; they stood out in the rain for me yesterday and again in race two today. Thank you to every one of you for your support. But then, after the podium celebration, came the disappointment.”

Febvre then posted the following message on social media: I don’t know what to say… At the end I didn’t win the GP. After the podium, tv interview, celebrations… We came to the press conference and somebody from MXGP told us that 2 riders has been penalized in the top five so I don’t win the GP but Tim Gajser wins. In one way, I get it because rules are rules. But something has to change quick, probably people. How can you wait that long, FIM? And why did no one from the FIM come to us to explain it? No one. Nothing like this would have happened in MotoGP… So it means they’re more professional, better and quicker. But it is also FIM, so, I guess it’s our people?!”. 

Highlights | MXGP of France 2024

Qualifing MXGP of France 2024

MXGP World Championship RD7 – St Jean d’Angely

With conditions tricky and wet, taking a good start was important and Romain Febvre made sure he done that. The French rider who hurt his wrist in free practice was third after the first corner but was very aggressive and made sure he was leading after turn two.

Febvre then pulled away at the front to dominate the qualifying race. Prado was second and looking comfortable but Gajser who didn’t get the best of starts made quick passes and caught Prado to pass him for second.

Seewer who is looking much better this weekend on his Kawasaki also passed Prado to get into third – the MXGP championship is now tied at the top between Prado and Gajser!

Herlings took a decent start but got tangled up with Pauls Jonass and had to come from way back – he was able to get back up to seventh but then made a mistake on the final lap dropping down to tenth losing vital points.

Triumph...How'd They Do?

Assessing Triumph Racing's first season in Supercross

Motoonline.com Post Kellen Brauer

One season now complete for the new manufacturer on US soil.

Entering Monster Energy Supercross for the first time in the brand’s history, Triumph Racing saw their rider Jalek Swoll finish seventh in the 250SX East Regional Championship. With the element of unknown coming into the season, it was an overall strong debut season for Triumph on American soil that has set them up well moving forward.

Swoll’s final performance on Supercross in 2024 delivered a P9 result in the Dave Coombs Sr. 250SX East/West Showdown. Swoll was the fourth highest finishing 250SX East rider on the night which pushed him closer to a top five overall result on the season, but he ended up falling just short.

“The big picture was to finish the year strong and healthy, and we go into the outdoor season feeling 100%,” said Swoll. “We missed out on some bigger points scoring finishes this season, but it’s been a good first year with the team and the Triumph TF 250-X.”

There were certainly plenty of question marks entering the season on just how Triumph would perform. It’s rare that a new motorcycle manufacturer enters Supercross, but it’s even rarer when that manufacturer had done almost no racing with a dirt bike at all prior.

The only racing the bike had even done before Swoll went racing at the Detroit Supercross in early February was just offseason races completed by the factory team in Europe as riders Camden McLellan and Mikkel Haarup prepared for the kickoff of their MX2 World Motocross Championship. Having such limited experience with the machine in race trim at all, Triumph Racing felt they ticked off plenty of boxes already in 2024.

“Our aim for the Supercross season was top five, and we were just nine points away from that,” said Triumph Racing team principal Bobby Hewitt. “It was Jalek’s best year in the series and we’ve shown the world we’ve got a good bike, a good team and good program. We now go into the outdoor season leading the way as we’re tied on points with everyone!”

Swoll and the team will lament some missed opportunities as he battled for podium results on many occasions this year. But for an untested bike on Supercross, Swoll proved it to be plenty competitive. He even had to deal with some fractures in his back following a crash in Arlington and still continuously found himself battling at the sharp end of the field.

The team even had to deal with the mutual departure of their second rider Evan Ferry who was only able to compete in one race for the team. While dealing with that situation along with an injury for their test rider Ivan Tedesco, it certainly wasn’t easy for the new program. Regardless, they still never suffered a mechanical issue that pulled them out of a main event and Swoll even told MotoOnline earlier this year that he’s been happy with the progress of the bike in a short span.

“What an amazing first season for our Supercross team!” said Triumph’s head of off-road programs Ian Kimber. “They have done an incredible job of showing what the Triumph TF 250-X can do against the world’s best competition. Jalek adapted to the bike very quickly and showed some incredible speed and determination to get us close to a position where we’re fighting for podiums, not to mention so many strong starts out of the gate with a number of holeshots.”

Now the team gets to turn their attention to AMA Pro Motocross where they already have some footwork laid as their MX2 team has six rounds of their season already done. On top of that, they also have Joey Savatgy finally able to debut for the team as Savatgy was ineligible to race 250SX for them having pointed out of the class.

Savatgy and Swoll could make a bit of an underrated powerhouse team rolling into AMA Pro Motocross where both riders come in with race winning experience on their resume. For now, the team can look back and be satisfied with the foundation they have laid knowing a lot of the hard work is already done.