February 2020
Racer X Illustrated
February 2020
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Racer X Illustrated
February 2020
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Davey Coombs
Reason For Being
By Davey Coombs
Davey Coombs
Reason For Being
By Davey Coombs
E

very fall, MX Sports Pro Racing, organizer of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, gets together with representatives of the six major OEMs to discuss the state of Pro Motocross in America. My other job is president of MX Sports Pro Racing, a position I’ve held since 2008, when the Daytona Motorsports Group (DMG), led by Jim France, bought AMA Pro racing from the American Motorcyclist Association, then leased us the right to manage and promote the series. The AMA Pro Motocross rulebook is still written by AMA Pro Racing, but we have a lot of input, as do the six OEMs we meet with on a regular basis.

Reason for being - Why not make a high-school diploma or GED mandatory to anyone who wants to participate in the premier 450 Class?
Why not make a high-school diploma or GED mandatory to anyone who wants to participate in the premier 450 Class?

It was at one of those meetings that Roger De Coster, the head of U.S. racing for KTM and Husqvarna (and likely soon GasGas), offered his concerns about the lack of education he was seeing in the sport. De Coster believes the industry has a responsibility to young athletes and their families to be more proactive in pushing younger riders toward at least a high-school education, and I certainly agree. I have said time and again that lack of education is our sport’s dirty little secret, and that too often “homeschool” really means “practice school” for young riders. Too often we see and hear about riders who finish their professional careers and don’t have the proper education or skills for what comes next. Roger discussed how most other sports—especially stick and ball ones—have some kind of scholastic component to them, then suggested we make proof of some kind of high-school-equivalent diploma mandatory for anyone who wanted a professional license.

Jason Weigandt
Voice Box

By JASON WEIGANDT   Racer X Twitter  @JASONWEIGANDT

Jason Weigandt
Voice Box

By JASON WEIGANDT   Racer X Twitter  @JASONWEIGANDT

T

here’s an old study from the 1980s that still comes up a lot: a physical test of top riders helped to prove, somehow, that motocross was the second most physically demanding sport in the world, behind only soccer. This study is now over 30 years old and still gets referenced. Whatever. I’ll give you another subject where only soccer can top motocross worldwide. I would surmise that only soccer can beat this sport for universal international acceptance. We’ve tracked much of this in the pages of this magazine through the years—from the U.S. to Europe to remote portions of Asia, Africa, South and Central America, and the Middle East, motocross exists nearly everywhere. Further, it exists in the same form—the same bikes, the same general idea of a starting gate and a dirt track with some mounds. This isn’t cricket compared to baseball, or rugby compared to football. It’s astonishing how many corners of the globe participate in dirt bike racing, to the point where we take it for granted, kind of like the fitness study. We all know they race moto everywhere, right?

Supercross rider Bret Metcalfe
It really hits home in the late fall, when the international racing circuit comes alive. Yeah, “we” have a big race in Paris. Now “we” have a big race in Australia, and meanwhile smaller races are happening all over Europe. The fact that Justin Barcia and Jason Anderson can go chase money during the off-season at races outside their country seems normal here but is actually quite unique. It doesn’t happen to this degree in other sports—most certainly not other motorsports where the rules and equipment vary wildly. In Paris, Barcia competed on a somewhat stock Yamaha YZ450F. He could have put that bike in a shipping container and raced it anywhere.
2019 Rider of the Year
Cooper Webb is the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion and the Racer X Rider of the Year. It all happened in a most unexpected fashion
WORDS: JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS: SIMON CUDBY, RICH SHEPHERD & JEFF KARDAS
“THERE ARE 11 OF YOU on this stage right now,” the Cycle News reporter said. “So that means all of you have expectations to win races and get podiums and stuff, but at least one of you won’t even finish in the top ten tomorrow night.”

Indeed, a large group of talent had gathered on the Diamond Club stage at Anaheim’s Angel Stadium for the season-opening Monster Energy AMA Supercross press conference. The #deepfield of forecasted frontrunners comprised Jason Anderson, Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia, Marvin Musquin, Justin Hill, Joey Savatgy, Chad Reed, Aaron Plessinger, Blake Baggett, and Justin Brayton. Ironically, the eventual champion wasn’t even part of that initial presser. Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb wasn’t a big enough story. He wasn’t perceived as a contender

2019 Rider of the Year
Cooper Webb is the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion and the Racer X Rider of the Year. It all happened in a most unexpected fashion
WORDS: JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS: SIMON CUDBY, RICH SHEPHERD & JEFF KARDAS
“THERE ARE 11 OF YOU on this stage right now,” the Cycle News reporter said. “So that means all of you have expectations to win races and get podiums and stuff, but at least one of you won’t even finish in the top ten tomorrow night.”

Indeed, a large group of talent had gathered on the Diamond Club stage at Anaheim’s Angel Stadium for the season-opening Monster Energy AMA Supercross press conference. The #deepfield of forecasted frontrunners comprised Jason Anderson, Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia, Marvin Musquin, Justin Hill, Joey Savatgy, Chad Reed, Aaron Plessinger, Blake Baggett, and Justin Brayton. Ironically, the eventual champion wasn’t even part of that initial presser. Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb wasn’t a big enough story. He wasn’t perceived as a contender

Flipping The Script
The fabled Paris Supercross didn’t quite draw the usual star power this year, but in the end, that turned out to be a positive development
WORDS: STEVE MATTHES
PHOTOS: Christophe Desmet
THE PARIS SUPERCROSS has been the crown jewel of off-season international supercross races since its inception back in 1984. The event started as Europe’s introduction to supercross, bringing the brightest of American supercross superstars to French soil to enjoy the City of Lights and put on a show. The French immediately embraced the sport and, as a direct result, have produced many AMA Supercross contenders. Over the years, as the French got better indoors, the Paris race morphed into a genuine competition between the home riders and the visiting Americans. But lately it’s become something between a working vacation and a full-blown competition, as the asking price to get the very best AMA Supercross riders—American or otherwise—has grown out of the organizers’ reach. Time for a reboot.
The fabled Paris Supercross didn’t quite draw the usual star power this year, but in the end, that turned out to be a positive development
WORDS: STEVE MATTHES
PHOTOS: Christophe Desmet
THE PARIS SUPERCROSS has been the crown jewel of off-season international supercross races since its inception back in 1984. The event started as Europe’s introduction to supercross, bringing the brightest of American supercross superstars to French soil to enjoy the City of Lights and put on a show. The French immediately embraced the sport and, as a direct result, have produced many AMA Supercross contenders. Over the years, as the French got better indoors, the Paris race morphed into a genuine competition between the home riders and the visiting Americans. But lately it’s become something between a working vacation and a full-blown competition, as the asking price to get the very best AMA Supercross riders—American or otherwise—has grown out of the organizers’ reach. Time for a reboot.
Paris Reboot
title with tree on the right
title with tree on the right
Challenged to get himself in shape and on the starting line of a GNCC race, our digital sales associate, Trent Lopez, found himself rolling in the deep
WORDS: TRENT LOPEZ
PHOTOS: KEN HILL
There I was, staring down a long start straight into an intense left-handed turn, in the remnants of a culminated cornfield in the heart of the Midwest. I was about to embark on my first off-road race, and it was a big one: the Ironman GNCC finale in Crawfordsville, Indiana. It had just rained the day before—rain the likes of which this Californian had never seen before. I mean, it was raining in different directions. I didn’t know rain could do that. And now I was going to wade into it all.
title with tree on the right
title with tree on the right
Challenged to get himself in shape and on the starting line of a GNCC race, our digital sales associate, Trent Lopez, found himself rolling in the deep
WORDS: TRENT LOPEZ
PHOTOS: KEN HILL
There I was, staring down a long start straight into an intense left-handed turn, in the remnants of a culminated cornfield in the heart of the Midwest. I was about to embark on my first off-road race, and it was a big one: the Ironman GNCC finale in Crawfordsville, Indiana. It had just rained the day before—rain the likes of which this Californian had never seen before. I mean, it was raining in different directions. I didn’t know rain could do that. And now I was going to wade into it all.
Check out the KTM Full Insert
Two longtime friends at opposite ends of the racing spectrum teamed up to take on the Dubya USA World Vet Championships at Glen Helen
WORDS: Steve Matthes & Kris Keefer
PHOTOS: BrownDogWilson
YOU WON’T FIND MORE different motocross riders than Kris Keefer and Steve Matthes. One is a highly respected test rider who stays in shape by working out, watching his diet, and riding dirt bikes every day for hours on end. The other is Steve Matthes. For the 2019 Dubya USA World Vet Championships at Glen Helen, the newly recycled PulpMX Factory Racing rider teamed up with the more seasoned Keefer Testing to take on the rest of the vet racing world.
Flipping The Script
Two longtime friends at opposite ends of the racing spectrum teamed up to take on the Dubya USA World Vet Championships at Glen Helen
WORDS: Steve Matthes & Kris Keefer
PHOTOS: BrownDogWilson
YOU WON’T FIND MORE different motocross riders than Kris Keefer and Steve Matthes. One is a highly respected test rider who stays in shape by working out, watching his diet, and riding dirt bikes every day for hours on end. The other is Steve Matthes. For the 2019 Dubya USA World Vet Championships at Glen Helen, the newly recycled PulpMX Factory Racing rider teamed up with the more seasoned Keefer Testing to take on the rest of the vet racing world.
Flipping The Script
Two longtime friends at opposite ends of the racing spectrum teamed up to take on the Dubya USA World Vet Championships at Glen Helen
WORDS: Steve Matthes & Kris Keefer
PHOTOS: BrownDogWilson
YOU WON’T FIND MORE different motocross riders than Kris Keefer and Steve Matthes. One is a highly respected test rider who stays in shape by working out, watching his diet, and riding dirt bikes every day for hours on end. The other is Steve Matthes. For the 2019 Dubya USA World Vet Championships at Glen Helen, the newly recycled PulpMX Factory Racing rider teamed up with the more seasoned Keefer Testing to take on the rest of the vet racing world.
TEN MINUTES WITH
BY JASON WEIGANDT
TEN MINUTES WITH
BY JASON WEIGANDT
Brett
Metcalfe
Seasoned veteran racer Brett Metcalfe is finding a second home (or maybe his first?) Down Under in both supercross and motocross with Penrite Honda in Australia. We caught up with him at Auckland, New Zealand’s S-X Open to find out more.
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