AMA Pro Motocross invades Minnesota this weekend at the famed Spring Creek circuit in Millville. The season has reached the halfway point and of the 12 combined trophy presentations in the 250 and 450 classes, seven different riders have topped the overall podium.
Ryan Dungey is getting the art of champagne spray down to a science. He's well on his way to collecting the 450 title.
The 450 class has developed a very predictable feel with Rockstar Makita Suzuki ace Ryan Dungey collecting five consecutive wins (eight individual moto wins) after a rough start at the opener. Right now, he’s unbeatable – humble, but unbeatable.
"The move up into the 450 Class has been an incredible experience to race guys like Chad Reed, Andrew Short, and Ben Townley and more," he said in a press release. "I'm learning why they're the best in the world, and they're definitely making me put in the work during the week in preparation for the races. Also, the tracks have been extremely rough and challenging, with multiple lines, and have made strategy a major part of each moto. That makes for great racing for the fans who have blown me away this season with their support and enthusiasm for what we do."
The only other rider to taste victory at the end of a long Saturday is Chad Reed, and the Monster Energy Kawasaki pilot isn’t necessarily happy about being forced out of the limelight by the 450 rookie. As the series reconvenes following a short break, Reed is anxious to get back on the starting gate and establish himself as the top guy. He’s got 64 points to make up on the Suzuki rider if he intends to defend his 2009 championship, but all it takes is one bad day…
"The weekend off was good, but I would have rather been racing," said Reed. "I've been training hard in the Florida heat and I'm ready for anything thrown at me this week."
Josh Grant has been suffering from poor starts. If he can get out front early in both motos, the JGR Yamaha rider could pick up an overall win.
The only thing Josh Grant plans on throwing at him is a face-full of roost courtesy of his Muscle Milk JGR Yamaha. Grant has been hot and cold thus far, with his most recent result a 6-6-6 at Red Bud. Spring Creek was the site of an epic battle between him and Reed last year, and could be the perfect jump-off point for the last half of the season. Currently sixth in the point standings, JG is only seven points behind a two-way tie for fourth
Andrew Short picked up his first career win here in 2005. The Red Bull Honda rider has ripped more holeshots than any other 450 rider this season (five), but has only been able to convert that to a moto win in a single moto. His strong starts should propel him into excellent position to find his winning Millville mojo. Perhaps his new teammate will be able to run some incidental interference for him and allow Shorty to get away from the pack. Short missed a moto earlier this year, but still resides in fourth overall alongside Ben Townley – another fast Honda rider racing for the TLD squad. Both of these men are riding well and will be trying their damndest to take sole possession of the spot.
“I've been working on my early speed and starts, and it has been really paying off for me,” he told MX Sports. “I have a great team supporting me, and my Honda is working great. I'm really looking forward to the second half of the season.”
Ivan Tedesco will rejoin the fray this weekend. Hot Sauce has been MIA since busting some ribs and collapsing a lung at the end of the SX season. The Valli Motorsports Yamaha rider is obviously out of the championship run, but that doesn’t mean he can’t shake up the standings on his YZ450F. Seeing him inside the top-10 isn’t unrealistic, perhaps a top-five? This will be a good test to see where Ivan is after the long layoff. Good to have you back, #9.
Windham hasn't raced outside a stadium in forever, but we're sure it will come back to the wily veteran.
Tedesco isn’t the only new 450 rider making an appearance. Red Bull Honda is one rider short with Davi Millsaps down for the count. The factory team offered his vacant CRF450R to Kevin Windham, who accepted. The Geico Powersports Honda rider should feel right at home on the familiar equipment. He will run all his personal sponsors, and it’s a very generous agreement between the two teams. Good to see that monetary squabbles didn’t ruin this awesome opportunity. K-Dub is one of the most popular riders, not to mention gifted. His smooth style on a motocross bike lends itself well to the rough nature of the outdoors, and Windham reported that testing over the past weeks has gone well. The #14 rider is a virtual MX grandpappy, but the young-at-heart veteran is coming off one of his most successful Supercross seasons ever, and it would be plain stupid to think he won’t have some measure of success at the Nationals. Win? Probably not, but he’ll get up there after awhile. This weekend is a test to see where he stacks up for the last half of 2010.
Mike Alessi. What? Who? That’s pretty much been the case for the sole factory KTM rider this season. A good showing at Hangtown indicated that we were in for another summer of blistering holeshots and championship fights. Unfortunately, the scrappy rider from Victorville, CA hasn’t been able to repeat the performance on his new Jagermeister KTM 350 SX-F. Come on, Mikey, season’s half over and hopefully you’ve got some development issues sorted, now it’s time to start laying down the laps.
Justin Barcia and the Geico Powersports Honda crew are taking on Tyla Rattray and the Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki squad.
In the 250 class it’s a battle of the powerhouse teams. This Saturday marks the 28th time the 250 riders (formerly 125cc) have sprung from the starting gates
With seven moto wins, it seems like Christophe Pourcel should be clearly leading the 250 class, but the Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider is still close enough for others to strike. It was just last year that a mechanical DNF crushed his title hopes, and the same could have disastrous effects at this stage of the game as well. The Frenchman enters Millville with a 33-point advantage over his teammate Dean Wilson with fellow PC Kawi rider Tyla Rattray in third. Behind them are a host of Geico Powersports Honda riders Trey Canard (4th), Justin Barcia (6th) and rookie Eli Tomac (7th).
"It has been fun staying on the podium, but I want to win again," said Wilson. "Millville should be a good race and I know my teammates are some of my toughest competition."
"We are only halfway through the season, so anything can happen," said the South African, Rattray. "I'm just focused on getting good finishes. The weekend off helped me heal a little so my thumb will be no issue this weekend."
The TV package this weekend is exciting and will allow fans outside of Minnesota to enjoy the racing with same-day coverage. Back-to-back coverage on SPEED starts at 8 p.m. (EST) with an exclusive broadcast of the 250 racing action. The 450s will follow at 9 p.m.
