What Really Happened: Glen Helen National

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Posted: 05/27/09

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Words and Photos: Jeff Kardas

Everything was new at Glen Helen this past Saturday for the opener of the 2009 Lucas Oils AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The track was different, the promoter was different, the sanctioning body, TV coverage, internet coverage, many new top-level riders, the order of the motos, heck even the day of the week was different! What this all added up to was a weekend full of anticipation and uncertainty, and what it resulted in was one helluva epic race weekend in front of 18,000+ spectators in attendance to start off the season.

Of the many changes to the track was the addition of this uphill section at the end of the first turn.

Glen Helen Raceway has long been part of the National Motocross series, but this year was so dramatically different that the track itself was barely reminiscent of years past. Running backwards was just the most obvious change this year – add to that a whole bunch more sand that was formed into a serpentine sand whoop section right in front, a mixed-up combo of formerly huge-air jumps (which resulted in very little air), and a slightly different configuration for the massive up and downhills, and it was a whole different track. To add to that bit of drama, the track was heavily watered and in some particularly bad spots, which resulted in massive and deep ruts (one of which claimed Mike Alessi while he was leading moto one), and that garnered complaints from all of the riders who made it to the podium to talk about it. The overall sense about the rack was that yes, it was epic and rough and tough and difficult and all of that good stuff, but that it also didn't flow very well due to the direction and the almost ridiculous amount of ruts that slowed things down quite a bit. The question is, was there supposed to be more track maintenance or did they just run out of time to do so?

There were several things that may point to the out of time argument, not the least of which was a whole bunch of racing crammed into not a lot of time. This year, both WMA motos are being run as part of the main show – in fact, they started the program with it at Glen Helen. Figuring that was worth at least an extra hour overall, there went a big chunk of time in the middle of the day. Then, there were a few fluke-type occurrences that really ate away at things earlier in the day – such as a pickup truck getting stuck in an inopportune spot on the track early during the practice session that probably cost 15 or 20 minutes of time, and also the inclusion of a 2-stroke race that ultimately ended up at the end of the program.

Wil Hahn cuts through one of the many rough sections of the track.

But maybe that was the plan – to keep it rough as long as safety wasn't compromised – and it certainly did do that. "That was a real man's track" was a quote that came from both Mike Alessi and Ryan Villopoto in the post-race interviews, and when those guys make a comment like that, it was rough. Speaking of those two rivals, if we take them, and add in Chad Reed, Josh Grant, Andrew Short and Davi Millsaps, we've got the Top 6 for the summer figured out (they'll just need to go through the trouble of sorting themselves out). First of all, Ryan Villopoto out-classed the field (just as Ryan Dungey did, more on that later). Mediocre starts forced RV to dice through the pack in both motos and, despite Reed and Grant keeping him at bay for a little while and even hanging on his back wheel for a few laps, Ryan just kept the hammer down longer and dispatched of them to win each moto going away. It was a statement for sure, and the statement was: Forget Reed and Alessi, the title is mine to lose and you KNOW IT!

Who needs practice? Reed put in ONE 30 minute moto before the beginning of the outdoor season.

Reed's arrival on the starting line was met with almost tangible apprehension. Clearly he was fast, having set the best lap in qualifying, but whether he'd be able to adapt to the rough track and whether or not he had the fitness necessary to hold on for the duration of both motos were the questions. In speaking with a member of the Suzuki squad earlier in the day, they made it clear that he'd done precisely ONE 30 minute testing moto prior to arriving to Glen Helen on Saturday. The plan, then, is to ride into shape as the season progresses and to stay in the hunt from the get-go. Another interesting tidbit – Suzuki is paying Reed no extra salary to go out and ride – he wants to be there, and he isn't racing for second in the series. It's all or nothing for Reedy, so expect his intensity to increase as the season continues. This has gotta be a bit of a thorn in Alessi's side, there's no doubt about it. All year, Mike's been talking about how his only goal is to win this national motocross title and now... he may not even be the top guy on his own team.

But both of these guys have Villopoto to think about, who may be even more dominant than previously believed. After watching him Saturday, everyone jokingly referred to him as Ricky Villopoto, and the potential to go 24-0 was being kicked around too – in fact, Tim Cotter even asked him that on the podium, to which he just sort of shrugged. It may not be entirely out of the question, but it does seem somewhat unlikely especially with Reed around. Maybe a better question is: Will Alessi be a factor for the title? Obviously he can start, but when's the last time he actually passed anyone? Maybe he lost that 15 second lead in moto two because he was being careful trying not to ride over his head, but with Villopoto out there absolutely DYING to win every time he's on the track, it means he'll keep losing 3 points per moto for the entire season and he'll never get his championship. Also notable in the 450 motos was Andrew Short going back and forth a few times with Reedy, and showing some good aggression while doing so. Not so good was his 2nd moto finish, where after running 3rd for a couple of laps, allowed Reed, Millsaps, Tommy Hahn (!) around him before running into trouble around lap 13 and ending up 21st. That one bad moto score may really bite him at the end of the season, since the speed of the class up front now is faster than it has been since he's been on the 450 outdoors (and he's finished 3rd in the previous 2 years).

Speaking of Tommy Hahn, the Canidae Kawasaki rider put in a great ride to end up 6th overall, which is by far his most impressive finish indoors or out in a long, long time. Solid starts helped, but he also moved forward both motos and looked fit and fast the entire time. In the group of riders he was around, Tommy should be able to continue making things happen, as we predict he'll be around the Justin Brayton/Cody Cooper/Michael Byrne and possible Nick Wey/Dan Reardon group for most of the summer. Missing from that group at Glen Helen was Josh Hill, who really looked to be suffering and/or struggling all day, both in qualifying and in each of his motos. Not sure what's up with Josh, but it was ugly watching the old-man Mike Brown work his way past and then put a gap on him.

Not a noteable weekend for Hill. Here's hoping for a better finish next weekend.

Valli Motorsports teammates Sean Hamblin and Jimmy Albertson made an impact on the field too, although Hamblin's primary impact was with the ground. 19th and 17th fastest in qualifying, respectively, Sean will be out for quite a while after the injuries he sustained on the tricky downhill double section, while Albertson ended up going 18-16 for 20th overall for his debut on the Yamaha. There were a bunch of remarkable rides in the 450 class really, most of which by privateers. Suzuki City's Matt Goerke rode a very solid 2nd moto for 8th after his RMZ450 failed in moto one. Matt and teammate Steven Clarke (in the 250 class) seem to be a great team and should be solid all summer. Speaking of Clarke, he went down very hard on the first lap of that first 250 moto that ended up being red-flagged. Although he got up slowly, he lined up and raced anyhow, going 20-22 on the day. There were a bunch of riders from the WORCS series who came out to play too, and the best of that group was of course Mike Brown. Sharing the holeshot with Alessi in moto one, Brownie held a very fast pace (althougha bit on the squirrely side) to end up just behind the front group of factory riders and ahead of "everyone else" for an 8-7 score on the day. One of his fellow WORCS competitors – Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green's superstar Ricky Dietrich – managed to sneak past him in the first moto and set off after the lead pack. In the process, he sneaked past Josh Hill, Michael Byrne, Cody Cooper and Dan Reardon, only to end up with a flat tire on the last lap and fade back to 11th at the finish. Hey Kawasaki – how about putting Dietrich on Ferry's bike until Timmy's 100%? Speaking of which, Timmy is reportedly still struggling quite a lot with the heel injury he sustained in Daytona, which is the primary reason he found himself on the sidelines after dropping out of moto one at Glen Helen. But we digress – other WORCS racers on hand were Kyle Summers who went 31-18 and Justin Soule on the factory KTM, who unbelievably wasn't even close to qualifying for the mains.

WORCS Champion Ricky Dietrich charged hard all weekend for an 18th on the day.

The list of non-qualifiers in the 450 class was long and distinguished, actually. Among them was: Gavin Gracyk, Adam Chatfield, Mike LaPaglia, Troy Adams, Tyler Wharton, Bobby Garrison, Kyle Lewis, Ben Lamay, Dennis Jonon and Sean Hackley, Jr. There was a bit of controversy when Tim Ferry lined up for the first moto, too, as he hadn't done much in the way of timed qualifying, and skipped the LCQ, but hey – guess what? Last year's top-10 in points get an automatic spot on the line, and next weekend, this season's current top-10 in points will too. So there.

Weston Peick just barely snuck into the program for the day but suprised everyone with a 13-11 finish for 9th overall.

Also, we can't go a bit further without mentioning the absolute last rider to qualify (2nd place in the consolation race), and that is Weston Peick. His qualifying laptimes put him in 55th spot going into the consi, which means he didn't even get a good gate pick for that, but he beat Chatfield, LaPaglia and Adams to the finish line and earned his spot in moto one. That's when he busted out a 13th in moto one (with the absolute worst gate pick of the entire field) and an 11th in moto two. That's an almost unbelievable performance for a guy who basically just decided to run the pro class because his amateur support had dried up, despite the fact he'd won the 450 B class at Loretta Lynn's last summer. We'll see how he adapts to the other tracks on the circuit though, as he's been practicing regularly at Glen Helen for several weeks now.

We made it all this way with nary a mention of the most insanely stacked Lites (oops, 250) class in recent memory. Heck, maybe EVER. That said, it's tough to find a spot to begin trying to discuss it – should we start with the world champion foreign invaders, the superstar Americans, or the "confident" rookie? We'll go with the latter. Justin ‘Barcia Barcia' BARCIA lived up to his hype, ladies and gentlemen, and there'll be no ifs, ands or buts about it. Showing a whole lot of "Bubba", a few dollops of Ice Trey, and a thick coating of rookie attitude, the 16 yr. old Jersey boy rocked everyone's world on this fine day. He was up front for the first 250 moto 1 start, he was up front for the 2nd 250 moto 1 start, and he was up front (and nearly won) the 2nd 250 moto, all the while throwing down style and aggression that kept the fans entertained for the duration of both motos. How incredibly cool is it that this kid came out in his first race since the MiniO's last November to line up at Glen Helen for his first pro race and give not only the best U.S. riders (like Dungey, Canard, Stroupe, etc., etc.) trouble all afternoon, but also both the current and a former MX2 World Champion! Perhaps even more remarkable was how effectively he managed to recover, both mentally and physically, from the spanking he received after dropping off the pace at the end of moto 1 to come back and lead for over 20 minutes of moto two.

While we received no official word, it seemed to us that he almost had to have been suffering from bike troubles at the end of that first go-round, and the 2nd moto was for redemption. Could Barcia be a dark horse for the championship this summer? While that's a tough call to make about a rookie after only two motos on the track (not to mention the proven season-long prowess of the other guys in the top 5), one must remember too that he lost a bunch of points to Dungey already, and that will certainly be tough to make up no matter how many good motos he has. Another hopeful who lost a lot to Dungey was Christophe Pourcel who, after winning moto one with relative ease, suffered his way around the track in moto two and limped in for a lowly 7th. When coupled with his first moto win, that put Pourcel in 2nd place overall – but wait, how did a 1-7 end up 2nd? Yes that's a question that was asked all over, despite the fact that the overall finish (which is pretty meaningless anyhow, particularly when considering the championship) has been based on the sum of points scored for the day by a particular rider. Pourcel scored 39 points – 25 for the win, 14 for 7th – which was one better than Rattray, who went 5-2 for 38 points. The overall is based on the number of points scored, as it has been since... well, forever we think, in AMA National Motocross competition. There's no scandal or change here, it's just business as usual.

Pourcel had to deal with numerous physical issues well throughout the weekend.

Back to Pourcel, though, and what happened in that 2nd moto. Following moto one, he was clearly in at least a bit of pain due to a rock he took straight to the collarbone which was being rubbed raw by his THOR roost protector. Word in the pits was that it wasn't significant enough to hold him back for moto two, so he lined up apparently ready to battle. Only after the fade was there question as to what was going on with him, and it came out he'd been suffering from a bout of stomach virus during the week. If we continue to dig, there is still a lot of whispering about the side-effects of medication and/or his previous (serious) injury from his off-time prior to this past supercross season. Also, he is still really recovering from having a few screws removed from a collarbone injury from earlier in the year so, suffice to say, there appear to be a few chinks in the armor of the 2006 World Champ (although you never would've known it by the way he rode that first moto).

250 Class heading into turn one for the second moto.

OK now let's take a look at that top 10 overall in the 250 class: Ryan Dungey, Christophe Pourcel, Tyla Rattray, Tommy Searle, Trey Canard, Justin Barcia, Brett Metcalfe, Jake Weimer, Austin Stroupe and Blake Wharton. Folks, if that isn't a world-class lineup of the top guys on 250F's in the sport, then we don't know what is. Literally any of those riders are capable of snagging a win this summer, and look for each of them to do it at some point. Having said that, we'll go out on a limb here to say that Ryan Dungey owned them ALL at Glen Helen. Calm, cool and collected, Dungey ran down just about every one of these guys at least once, and most of them twice, to walk away with a fairly comfortable win in that 2nd moto on what was probably the roughest track they'll see all year. Let's not forget that the 250 guys had to get on the track AFTER the 450 guys both times they were out on the track, and on a soft track like Glen Helen was, to say it was a mess is a massive understatement. Beyond that unbelievable top 10, props must go out to a few other great performances, namely those of Ben Evans (12-12), Broc Tickle (10-15) and PJ Larsen (19-11). When riders like Larsen, Wil Hahn, Matt Lemoine and even Blake Wharton are barely able to get a whiff from the exhaust of the leaders' bikes, you know things are getting crazy up front. In fact, after Canard who was 8th in moto two and 18 seconds out of the lead, 9th place finisher Jake Weimer was another 17 seconds behind Canard and a whopping 35 seconds back.

Team Honda Red Bull Racing's Ashley Fiolek getting ready to compete in front of the 18,000 in attendance.

Another first at the opening round was the inclusion of the WMA as part of the main program for the afternoon. The ladies made an impact, that much is for sure, and seemed to attract quite a bit of attention as they were the first moto on the track, just prior to the first 450 moto. Still battling with whether or not they "belong" in the main program, it looks like MX Sports has made the decision to give them an entire season to prove that people can get into the racing that they provide and that they're a viable asset to include in the sport's premier weekends. From what we saw at Glen Helen, that may be a tough sell. Not only were both motos runaway wins for Team Honda Red Bull Racing's Ashley Fiolek, but watching riders (female or not) who are roughly the equivalent speed and talent of a local intermediate racer on a track that was designed for – and broken in by – the best racers in the sport can only lead to some painful spectating. However, great racing rivalries do exist in this class (Patterson vs. Fiolek, plus up and comers like Sara Price vs. Shari Cruse), so we'll be sure and report on it when there's something to report.

That will have to about cover it for this, the opening round of the 2009 Lucas Oils AMA Pro Motocross Championships. You can bet we're headed up to Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, CA for Round 2, and that we'll have nice, hi-res photos following practice and a bunch of big ones after the racing, too.