he 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season is up and running, and with it comes the usual excitement and intrigue that accompanies the start of every new year. As I write this, after three rounds, we’ve seen three different winners in each class, plus a whole bunch of drama. Just refer back to the front cover to see what I mean!
Speaking of that moment—the Anaheim 2 collision between GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig and Monster Energy/Star Racing Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis—Craig was back to racing after he took the FIM (Federation of International Motorcyclists) to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Geneva, Switzerland, in December over his botched drug-testing case. Craig and his lawyer argued that his case was handled poorly, and they managed to reach a settlement with the FIM (which co-sanctions the supercross series) that saw him immediately eligible to return to racing. That was welcome news to Craig and his supporters, though it surely rubbed Broc Tickle fans the wrong way, since he got no relief from the FIM or CAS and will not be eligible to race again until mid-February, a full two years after he violated the FIM’s anti-doping rules in 2018.
By JASON WEIGANDT 
@JASONWEIGANDT
By JASON WEIGANDT @JASONWEIGANDT
oes it look like we’re in Anaheim 1 freakout mode?” asked Dan Fahey, team manager for Monster Energy Kawasaki.
It did not. Although Eli Tomac’s attempt to finally win the Monster Energy Supercross Championship started with a lowly seventh at the 2020 season opener, panic was not in order on the first day to fix the problem. The Monday after the race, I was driving along Interstate 15 (“The 15” in California-speak) in Corona, California, when I saw the Kawasaki K1 practice track off the side of the highway. I saw a rider in a #3 jersey putting in laps, so I quickly pulled over and fired a text to Kawasaki PR rep Vanessa O’Brien. Could I drive up and hang out? Vanessa said it was too late to plan anything, so she advised me to literally walk inside the gates and ask Fahey if I was allowed to watch. So I did that, nervously parking my rented Jeep off to the side, then walking along the fence line—as far from the actual track as I could get—and trying not to look prying. Adam Cianciarulo was off practicing starts in the center of the track, but I didn’t look that way. I wanted to see and hear little until Fahey gave me the green light, no pun intended.
PHOTOS: ALIGN Media
It’s pressure enough when a rider’s entire week of practice motos and training sessions gets summed up in one 20-minute race on Saturday night—of which 90 percent hinges on the first three seconds out of the starting gate. It’s even harder knowing that an entire year of work could boil down to eight of these races, and that one year can define an entire career if you get over the hump (like Jason Anderson or Cooper Webb have in recent years) or if you don’t (like Eli Tomac or Ken Roczen).
PHOTOS: courtesy of Daytona International Speedway Archives
PHOTOS: courtesy of Daytona International Speedway Archives
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA
BRIAN
MOREAU
LUKE
CLOUT
BRIAN
MOREAU
LUKE
CLOUT
BM: Well, because I’m French, I’m going to have to go with Jean-Paul Belmondo.
LC: Bradley Cooper. He’s a solid all-rounder.
LAST PERSON WHO MADE YOU NERVOUS?
BM: Our team trainer, Mike Brown.
LC: Justin Brayton at AUS-X for the championship.
Best thing about your home country?
BM: The food.
LC: Coffee.
Worst thing about your home country?
BM: The strikes and riots.
LC: Housing prices, and our bushfires at the moment are insane.
Favorite person in the pits?
BM: My mechanic, Tony Archer.
LC: Anyone who’s nice enough to have a chat with me. I’m always down to meet new people.
BM: If you ask my mechanic, he would probably say my brake-pedal spring.
LC: Rear tires and clutches are like tear-offs.
Most useless item in your gear bag?
BM: My goggle bag. I don’t use it, even though I probably should.
LC: Probably the 20 sets of socks I pack.
Biggest rival?
BM: Myself.
LC: Justin Brayton for sure at home, and everyone I race here.
Favorite obstacle?
BM: The finish line!
LC: A triple out of a bowl turn or a big rhythm section.
Least favorite obstacle?
BM: Whoops. I’m still getting used to them.
LC: Whoops that you end up having to jump through.
BM: Everything is bigger over here: the track, the obstacles, etc.
LC: The intensity, depth, and the tracks.
Vegemite or Escargot?
BM: Escargot.
LC: Vegemite.
Common misconception about people from your country?
BM: That all French people are rude.
LC: That we have bed snakes, spiders, and we ride kangaroos to school.
