Survival of the Fittest

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Survival of the fittest | BY Jason Weigandt

I

t’s easy to believe athletes of the past were tougher and gnarlier, but the reality is that, 25 years ago, riders were hurting. Literally. Like, during the motos. In the 1994 AMA 250 National Motocross Championship, only Kawasaki teammates Mike LaRocco and Mike Kiedrowski appeared fit enough to charge for 30 minutes plus two laps. Then Kiedrowski, the ’93 champ, got hurt, leaving LaRocco to suck up all the race wins.

“I’ve been able to ride with him for 20, 25 minutes, but he’s really strong, and it’s going to take someone who is equal to that,” Jeff Stanton said of LaRocco to ESPN. “I’ll be honest, there’s nobody here right now that’s equal to him, and that includes myself. I’m not fully up to strength, and right now no one has the strength he has, none of my teammates, and no one in the Yamaha or Suzuki pits.”

Stanton was an ironman but on the verge of retirement by then. Only 28-year-old veteran privateer John Dowd, taking an unlikely star turn as a Yamaha factory replacement rider, was able to beat LaRocco for a few race wins. LaRocco won the title by a ridiculous 150 points.

Nineteen ninety-four marked the first season of AMA Pro Motocross without a 500 class. From 1986 through ’93, the nationals featured a half season of 250s and a half of 500s, leading to two short series, with 500-class competition truncated because Yamaha and Suzuki had long since quit producing competitive 500s. The 250s raced the full ’94 season, and by ’95, that move paid off. The field and teams were much stronger—Kiedrowski and LaRocco were back, 250 World Champion Greg Albertyn moved to the U.S., 125 champions Doug Henry and Jeff Emig moved up, and Jeremy McGrath—who admitted he didn’t train much in ’94—got in shape. (McGrath, third in ’94, won the ’95 title.) The field began to strengthen, and after a while, fitness through the moto had become the rule, not the exception.

The level keeps rising. Much of the fitness talk now goes back to the Ricky Carmichael/Aldon Baker tandem that won the 250 title from 2000 through ’06, and Baker is still applying his methods today. That brings us to Eli Tomac, son of mountain bike legend John Tomac—certainly not someone to be doubted over 30+2. Tomac is sitting on two straight 450 championships, and his 2018 heroics eclipsed his up-and-down 2017 run. What really separated Tomac last year? Late in the moto, he found something extra. The track would be rougher, but Eli’s lap times never wavered. His late-race “Beast Mode” charges reached legend status.

Marvin Musquin has given Tomac a run each year, with seven 450 overall wins to his credit. Now Cooper Webb, revamped under Baker and a new man in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, is set to be a factor. Blake Baggett logged his best supercross season ever, and his El Chupacabra charges of the past make him a constant threat outdoors.

Ken Roczen made it back to last summer’s races off of a second gruesome arm injury, but he was far from 100 percent. As he got stronger, he nearly pulled off a few wins, and while he’s experienced some physical troubles during supercross, he’s still far ahead on prep compared to last year. The last time Roczen entered the 450 scene healthy and ready, in 2016, he won 20 of 24 motos.

Jason Anderson spent last spring trying to lock down the Monster Energy Supercross Championship, so he was not prepared for motocross. This year he was hurt early indoors and is putting his full focus on motocross. Justin Barcia ended last season with a 1-1 sweep in Indiana, and a tough crop of rookies—including Zach Osborne, Joey Savatgy, and Aaron Plessinger—will enter the fray with lots of 250 race wins under their belts. This is one tough group, all hoping to be strong enough to dethrone Tomac.

Should be one heck of a fight.

CC’s
BY THE NUMBERS

65Percentage of readers in a Racer X Online poll who think Eli Tomac will win the 2019 450 Class Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

62Percentage of readers who think Tomac will win the 450 Class season opener at Hangtown.

50Career podiums for Eli Tomac in 250/450SX after he won the Denver Supercross. He’s the 12th rider to earn at least 50.

49Percentage of readers who think Adam Cianciarulo will win the 2019 250 Class Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. 46 percent think Cianciarulo will win the 250 Class season opener at Hangtown.

1,477

Days between 250SX podium finishes for GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire, who finished second at the Houston Supercross, which was a Triple Crown event. His only other podium as of press time came on March 14, 2015.

1,199

Seconds between overall winner Kailub Russell and runner-up Thad Duvall at the Camp Coker Bullet GNCC in South Carolina. The race lasted nearly three hours.

19

Years since a pair of French riders swept a round of AMA Supercross. In 2000, Yamaha factory rider David Vuillemin (250) and Yamaha of Troy’s Stephane Roncada (125) won at the New Orleans Superdome. It happened again in March when Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin (450) and Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis (250) won in Seattle.