DirtBikes.com ventured to Glen Helen Raceway for Red Bull Glen Helen National media day. Here’s our take on the race and title prospects.
Cruising through the pits today at Southern California’s Glen Helen Raceway, which kicks off the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship season with the Red Bull Glen Helen National, one can help but be struck by the contrast between the outdoor series and supercross.
Whereas supercross is circus-like in its atmosphere, glitz and glamor hyped to the max, the atmosphere in the Glen Helen pits was one of getting down to business. Supercross is over, and it’s time to go to work. Supercross is about flying high, but motocross is about going fast—tapped-out, fifth-gear fast, as the riders push themselves to the absolute limits of their endurance over 12 rounds and 24 brutal motos, each one being 30 minutes plus two laps. And they all have one goal, the Lucas Oil number one plate.
An added twist to this year’s series is that both of those plates are completely up for grabs. Injuries suffered in the supercross series will force defending 450cc Champion, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, to miss the series. The defending 250cc champion, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac, has move into the 450cc ranks for 2014. Nevertheless, the battle in both classes is expected to be hotly contested among a mix of former champions, talent returning from injury and more than a few names that might well have breakout seasons in 2014.
With Villopoto out, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey has to be considered one of the odds-on favorites along with fellow former champions James Stewart and Chad Reed. While all three men sit right at the top of the list, Stewart’s penchant for bad luck in the outdoors and Reed’s return from a recent shoulder injury might give 2010 and 2012 champion Dungey a slight mental advantage in his bid for a third 450cc title.
“I’m excited,” Dungey said. “Supercross went pretty well for us, considering everything that happened. We ended up second, which is pretty respectable. Outdoors will be a little bit different with Villopoto out, which is unfortunate because he is a great guy and a tough racer, but this season will still be tough. There are a lot of good guys, and you can’t underestimate any of them. At the same time, we have to focus on our deal, put our best foot forward and apply our strategy to raceday. I feel like we have a lot of good testing under our belt, coming into Glen Helen, and we just have to put ourselves in a good position, be there every weekend. We’ll take them one at a time.”
Dungey is a true master at consistency, perhaps the main ingredient in sustaining a championship drive over the grueling Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season.
“Consistency is a key as well as intensity,” Dungey said. “We just have to put in good, solid laps and good motos. Race wins will always be important, but just always being smart will be, knowing the limit and how far to take it and taking advantage of the moments that you have to as well.”
“I feel like I’m more comfortable outdoors,” Roczen said. “I’ve been doing it for much longer, and I feel like I can control more of what’s happening than in supercross. I feel like I have been getting more comfortable in supercross, too, but right now I think it is still motocross.”
“Last year I think I learned a few things that I hadn’t been able to learn from here [AMA], but realistically it is just going to be another knock-down series. The Nationals are always pretty grueling and a test of the fittest and the strongest and the fastest. I just want to get in there and see how the first few rounds go for me. It’s still a learning process with everything with team here, but I feel like I can be competitive.”
Two of the assets that Metcalfe does bring to the table are consistency and a strong history of avoiding injury throughout his career. Both are positives over the course of the 12-round season.
“Normally, I have [avoided injury],” Metcalfe said. “Knowing that, I can keep the momentum going toward the end of the season. It’s a long season, 24 motos, and you have to look at it like 24 individual races. You have to be smart and play your cards right every weekend.”
Muscle Milk Honda will also hit the starting line with two real contenders in Justin Barcia and Trey Canard, the latter making a strong return to the Monster Energy Supercross Series just a few rounds before that series ended. He used supercross to get some valuable seat time following the injury that sidelined him since last November, yet in the few supercross appearances that he made, Canard was a solid top-five contender. Does he carry those same expectations into the outdoor series?
MAVTV/Lucas Oil/Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Malcolm Stewart is one rider who is still finding those limits. Back on a 450 after a 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season that netted him a third-place finish at one round, Stewart, who continues to step out of the shadow of his older and more accomplished brother, James Stewart, is hungry for more. Actually, maybe the metaphor doesn’t fit Malcolm so well, as he pretty much shadows James whenever the two are standing together. Having the more powerful 450 at his disposal should suit the much larger, heavier Malcolm.
“I’m way more comfortable on the 450,” Malcolm Stewart said. “I mean, I weigh 200 pounds without gear. You can get away with that on a Lites bike [250] in supercross, but I would definitely not like to be on a 250 here at Glen Helen.”
Stewart added that another thing he doesn’t want to be at Glen Helen, is outside the top 10.
“My last few years, I’ve finished 11th overall here, so it would be pretty devastating to finish 11th again,” Malcolm Stewart said. “I’m definitely looking forward. It’s time to get into the top 10. If I do everything I’m supposed to, I will, but a lot can happen. We’ll just get through these first few races and go from there.”
Another rider expecting to land on the podium is newly recruited RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki’s Weston Peick. The former privateer Suzuki rider, who got the call to join RCH just prior to the end of the supercross season, will be making his debut with the team at Glen Helen. Peick’s riding style is bullish and his determination dogged. He has the potential for a strong outdoor season on of Ricky Carmichael and Carey Hart’s RM-Z450s.
“I’m really excited and super happy, and I just have to run with it and see where it goes,” Peick said. “Consistency—it’s a long season. I expect top-fives at every round.”
In a sport where injuries are just as severe and can shake up the series as much as any major stick and ball sport, Canard isn’t the only one who is returning after a long layoff. Red Bull KTM’s 250cc rider, Marvin Musquin of France is also getting back off the horse after having to repair a torn ACL that ruined his supercross season. A former World Motocross Champion, Musquin definitely has to be considered a top contender for the Lucas Oil 250cc Pro Motocross Championship number one plate that has been vacated by the ascension of Eli Tomac to the 450cc ranks.
“I’m back, and I am really excited,” Musquin said. “It is just good to see my bike under the KTM tent, but it will be tough because it is so hard to know where you are at. My last race was in December, and that is quite a long time, so we will see. My knee is strong, although it is still sore. There are a lot of riders who are going to be strong.”
Rockstar Energy KTM’s Jason Anderson plans to be one of them, and after a Monster Energy Supercross season that culminated with Anderson winning the 250cc West Championship, he can hardly be counted out of the mix. Anderson said that he is expecting more of the same performances that landed him the West title.
“I feel like I am riding well, and I feel like I definitely have a good shot of being up front all year, and that is my goal,” Anderson said. “I want to get some good starts and be up there on the box every round. Hopefully, I will have a shot at the championship come the last round.”
Despite the fact that outdoor motocross is like having to race two extended supercross main events per weekend, Anderson said that his mindset is the same for motocross.
“I mean, we train for these motos,” Anderson said. “The heat can become a factor, but it isn’t like we really do anything differently. You have to work your hardest no matter what series you are in. I’m not changing anything because what I have been doing has been working for me so far.”
All of these riders and more will be getting down to business when the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship kicks off Saturday with opening ceremonies at 12:40 p.m. First motos for both classes will be broadcast live on MAVTV, while second motos will be carried same day on the NBC Sports Network. For more information on listings, check out MAVTV.com and NBCSports.com. For more information on the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, visit www.mxsportsproracing.com.
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