The new promoters have changed the look and feel of the AMA Pro Motocross Series.
After a two-week break following the conclusion of the Monster Energy Supercross season, it was time to gather up the riders and teams and head to Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA, for the first round of the 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.
This race featured a whole lot that was new, so we’ll focus on that, first. With MX Sports now at the helm of the series, there have been plenty of tradition-busters put in place for this season. For example, rather than having a set of practice sessions on Saturday, and racing on Sunday, it now all happens in one very long day. It’s long been said that the outdoors are for the hardcore fan, and maybe that even more true than ever. If you get there early, practice starts at 8:30 am, and racing doesn’t conclude until nearly ten-and-a-half hours later. Judging by the crowd in the pits (pit passes were free, too), and spread around the track, it looks like the Saturday experiment is working so far.
Fans of women’s racing will appreciate that the Women’s Pro class has been incorporated into the Saturday schedule. Both motos are now held on Saturdays…in fact, they ran as the first and third motos of the day at Glen Helen. The order of the 250 and 450 classes (those names are also new) has been juggled as well. Now the 450s run before the 250s.
As far as the women’s racing goes, the newest member of Honda Red Bull Racing, Ashley Fiolek, blazed to two massive holeshots, and a perfect 1-1 day. Jessica had to put in come-from-behind rides to take the runner-up spot, and Sherri Cruse wrapped up a third overall.
How about a new series sponsor? Lucas Oil is the new title sponsor, as well as a new sponsor for the Troy Lee Designs / Lucas Oil / Honda squad.
There were new teams, like Valli Motorsports (Sean Hamblin and Jimmy Albertson), and some teams, like Division 7 / Star Racing / Yamaha and Geico Powersports Honda, who had five bikes under their canopies, rather than the regular two or four. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki would have also had five, except for the injury to Ryan Morais in the Supercross finals.
Reigning women's champion, Ashley Fiolek, was perfect at Glen Helen and will be the woman to beat this season.
How about some cosmetic changes, like reducing the size of the numbers on the sideplates on the bikes for larger sponsor ID? Some teams took maximum advantage of it, while others, like Honda Red Bull Racing, looked like they hadn’t changed a thing on their graphic package.
The track itself featured the usual combination of the REM and National tracks, with the huge up and downhills, wide variety of terrain, and lack of places to rest. This was no place to show up unprepared, either in equipment, or in your conditioning. There was nowhere to rest.
In the men’s classes, it was cool to see quite a few riders we hadn’t had on hand during the latter half of the Supercross season, mostly due to injuries. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Michael Byrne, JGRMX Toyota/Yamaha’s Cody Cooper, Geico Powersports Honda’s Brett Metcalfe, and Muscle Milk MDK KTM’s Martin Davalos were just a few of the returning riders.
But maybe the bigger story was the crop of international riders making their debut in the series. The top two riders from last season’s MX2 World Championship, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Tyla Rattray, and Muscle Milk MDK KTM’s Tommy Searle were on hand; as well as Rattray’s new teammate, Christophe Pourcel, who’s already shown his Supercross prowess by winning the 2009 Lites East title during the Monster Energy Supercross season. There was also the highly-touted rookie, Justin Barcia, who was ready to make his debut for the Geico Powersports Honda squad.
There were even a few surprises, like a large number of off-roaders, like Bobby Bonds (WORCS champ), Ricky Dietrich (EnduroCross champ), and others, like Timmy Weigand, Justin Soulé, and former MX Champ, Mike Brown. After missing the last couple outdoor motocross seasons here in the U.S., Chad Reed was a late addition to the series as well.
With the turmoil that usually surrounds Boost Mobile / ampm / Monster Energy / Troy Racing’s Jason Lawrence, it almost wasn’t a surprise when he opted to scratch before the start of racing on Saturday morning after missing the first round of practices. Of course, that roused the usual flurry of speculation as to why, but the most plausible story we heard was that he suffered and internal injury in the week before the event and opted to follow a doctor’s advice and not race for fear of injuring it worse.
Ryan Villopoto (2) won the overall, but Chad Reed (22) proved he has the speed to run towards the front. The Aussie needs to get back into the swing of outdoor racing again and he could be a threat.
In the 450 class racing, some of it was expected, but there were some surprises. Mike Alessi (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) grabbed both holeshots, much to the delight of the hometown crowds. In the first moto he relinquished the lead to Josh Grant when he got stuck in a heavily watered corner. But the real story of the day went to Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki) who came from behind to easily win both motos. In fact, in the second moto, he came from nearly 16 seconds back to pick up the checkered flag. Alessi’s 3-2 was good for second overall, and Josh Grant picked up third with a 2-4. Chad Reed showed speed considering he hasn’t raced outdoors for a couple seasons, passing guys like Andrew Short and Davi Millsaps. Can he build on his speed and challenge Grant and his teammate, Alessi? We wouldn’t put it out of the question.
While the 450s feature the more established stars and the horsepower, the best racing of the day belonged in the 250 class. Trey Canard was the holeshot master, scoring two in a row after a red flag restart caused by Michael Hall caused the first race to be restarted. To say the talent level in the class is very deep, and very close, would be an understatement. At the midpoint in the first moto, Canard, Barcia, Dungey and Pourcel were all going for the lead. Pourcel came through to take the first moto, followed by Dungey, Canard, and Tommy Searle.
Ryan Dungey is looking to collect his first outdoor national title and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider has the team, talent and physical conditioning to do it.
The second moto featured more great racing. Justin Barcia was the early leader, but it was Ryan Dungey who took the win and the overall. Tyla Rattray came back from a rough first moto to take second in moto two. Barcia scored his best to date with a third, and Tommy Searle matched his first moto finish with another fourth. Behind them it was a gaggle of riders, including Austin Stroupe, Brett Metcalfe, Christophe Pourcel, Trey Canard, and Jake Weimer. Who’ll win this title? If we had to guess, this one will go down to the final moto of the year at Steel City.
We’re already drooling in anticipation of what might happen in the racing at Hangtown next weekend, and you can check back here for more from the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series.
