Motocross is a tough sport, and as a result it is easy for us as riders to get into slumps after a few weekends of bad results.

It can be mentally hard for people to get out of slumps because it is hard to improve your results when it seems like everything you do is in vain. It takes a lot of work, but it is definitely possible to get out of a slump and once you do, it will feel great to be getting good results again.

Hard work
One of the best ways to pull yourself out of a slump is through hard work. You cannot expect to ride at your best ability if you haven’t been riding for the past couple weeks. It is crucial that you are in in tune with your bike in order to ride your best, and this only comes from riding during the week. Confidence is a key element to doing good on the weekend, and riding throughout the week is the only way to achieve this confidence. Try to ride with people who you think you should be able to beat on the weekends and try your best to keep up with them. The more you ride during the week, the better you’ll be able to do on the weekend.

Think positive
Being in a slump can be depressing. It is hard to keep your head up if you are not getting the results you think you deserve. However, it is very important that you think positive at the races. Instead of going to the line expecting to do bad, go to the line expecting to win. Don’t assume that you cannot win because “the track is muddy” or because that guy that beat you last year at Southwick is at the race. Always try your hardest no matter what the track conditions are, and no matter who is there. Always believe that you can win.

Set small goals
Because of the mental beating you go through during a slump, it is important to do things to help raise your confidence. Set small goals on the way to bigger ones. For example, if you have been finishing top 15, try to finish top 12 next weekend, then top 10 the week after. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t reach your goal, us it as motivation to work harder and try to achieve it the week after.

Make it fun again
It is hard to ride good if you are not having fun. Try to change things up a little at the races to make it more fun. Hang out with your friends the night before at the track instead of stressing over cleaning your goggles, or try to get in line with your friends for practice. Don’t get worried about your results, just use motivation. If you don’t achieve your goal, don’t worry. But when you do, reward yourself with an ice cream after your moto or something similar that you enjoy. Feel free to loosen up at the races. Getting too serious will only make you stressed out, and make your results worse. It’s hard to do good if you’re not having fun.

Ride different tracks
Too often do we get stuck in ruts where we ride the same race tracks every weekend and the same practice tracks on during the week. Try to switch it up a little and race on different tracks with different organizations. Riding with different people adds a whole new layer to the sport, and makes it a lot more fun. this will also help you to regain confidence as you conquer new obstacles on new tracks, and beat new riders that you are not used to racing.

Motocross is a tough sport, and sometimes it can be pretty depressing if you are not getting the results you want. However, with some hard work and some confidence building it is not all that hard to pull yourself back up and get back to the results you think you deserve.

Do you have any tips that help you get out of a slump? Let me know in the comments.

Posted on May 16.08 to tip | No Comments »  

The inauguration of the DEP 2 Stroke British Championship marks the true death of the two-stroke

Motocross aficionados will remember the 4 Stroke Championship in America, where riders would go to ride heavy, slow, and loud bikes that were simply not competitive in the true AMA nationals. While these events marked the rise of the 4 Stroke, the DEP British Championship marks the end of the two strokes reign.

This event shows that the two stroke is no longer competitive at the highest level of motocross racing. The two stroke is now an antique technology that is only rode by people who wish to have fun an outdated bikes. If Yamaha decides to drop it’s two strokes (highly doubtful that it will happen soon, but it will certainly happen eventually), then the development of two stroke technology will stop completely and its demise will spiral.

It is certainly sad to see the two stroke die, but it is evolution that every technology must go through. It is replaced by new inventions that are better, stronger, and more reliable. This is a necesary step for the sport, and once it is fully completely, it will eventually help to advance the sport.

Posted on May 15.08 to News | No Comments »  

Since moving up to the 450 class, James Stewart has simply not lived up to his excpectations.

Year after year, he has been hampered by injuries. However, even when he was not injured, he still could not ride at the level he was expected to. Various industry insiders have blamed his ill performances on various different aspects of his racing program…

The bike
When he first moved up to the 450 (I guess it was still the 250 class then), James and many other observers blamed his poor finishes on his underpowered 250 two-stroke. This appeared as a good excuse, and it seemed logical that an underpowered bike would lead to bad finishes, especially in the extremely competitive outdoor nationals. But he has sense moved up to a 450 four storke, and his results have not improved. Many people continue to blame his bike, but Tim Ferry proved last Summer that the Kawasaki 450fs are plenty capable of keeping up in the nationals. Kawasaki is certainly capable of producing extremely competitive 450fs, so the bike is almost certainly not the weak link in Stewart’s program.

The team
Most professional riders kniow know that in order to be successful week after week, year after year, you need to surround yourself with supportive people. One of aspects of Stewart’s setup that has been largely ignored by the press is his team. While on 125’s Stewart appeared to be extremely happy with Jeremy Albrecht. The two seemed to click, and everything seemed happy in the Kawasaki pits. After Stewart’s poor performances in the early days of his 450f career, Albrecht left to wrench at JGR. While many viewed this move as simply a good career move more than an expression of “J-Bone’s” unhappiness with Stewart. But why would Albrecht, who is an extremely competent mechanic, leave one of the fastest riders in the world. Clearly, something was wrong in the Kawasaki pits. Furthermore, Stewart’s results have not improved since his new mechanic arrived. Something is clearly flawed with Stewart’s inner circle of supporters.

His fitness
Fitness is a huge aspect of professional motocross. The industry has seen riders fail time and time again due to poor fitness. Over the past couple years, Stewart’s fitness has been questioned multiple times. Especially, in his first couple of years in the 450f class when he had to drop out of multiple races due to being “lightheaded.” It has become clearer and clearer that his fitness is not where it should be in order to be a competitive long term professional motocross competitor. There is no doubt that he is in great shape, but he just is not in good enough shape in order to compete at the level he needs to ride at. Maybe he is not training in the right way, or maybe he is not training at the intensity he should be. He should consider giving Ricky a call for some info on fitness.

Burnt out
It is very possible that james is simply burnt out on motocross. He has been a nationally ranked rider from an extremely early age, and it is possible that he just needs a break. He hass been riding at unhumaley levels for so long, maybe he just isn’t having fun anymore. It is very hard to go to the races each weekend, and push yourself to the limits if you are not having fun doing it. He certainly does not need to ride for financial reasons, he is set for life on that front, so if he isn’t having fun, why even try? He uses injuries as a way to take breaks from the rigorous schedule of a professional motocross racer. I’m not saying that he tries to get hurt, but when he does, he does not exactly rush back to the races.

It is very hard to tell exactly what is wrong with James Stewart’s plan. It is clearly not his bike, as Kawasaki is more than capable of making excellent bikes, but it is a combination of his team, his fitness, and his mental view on racing. Some serious things need to be adjusted in Stewart’s career. Maybe he needs to switch teams, or maybe he needs a break to regroup as a racer.

What do you think is the cause of James Stewart’s poor performances in the 450 class?

Posted on May 14.08 to Speculation | No Comments »  

This past supercross season was one of the most exciting ones in history.

The clear favorite for the Supercross class, James Stewart was out for much of the year, and Villopoto who is considered by many to be the fastest motocross and supercross lites rider in the world was off his game due to injuries. This winter brought three championships which were all decided at the last round, and 2 new lites champions were crowned, one of them a rookie. But what will the nationals bring? The nationals are longer, the tracks are rougher, and it is hotter. The outdoor season requires you to not only be extremely fast, but also confident, and in tip top physical condition.

Many motocross pit pundits are predicting that Stewart and Villopoto will dominate their respective classes. Historically, Stewart and Villopoto have been the outright fastest, but Stewart has yet to make it through an outdoor season without injuries, and Villopoto has been off his game lately. In addition, Stewart should have dominated last years nationals, but he was taken out with injuries leaving the door wide open. This year, Windham is coming off a great Supercross season, and is ready to challenge Stewart in the great outdoors. In the lites class, Villopoto faces even greater competition. Lawrence is carrying a tong of confidence out of his Supercross title, and Canard and Dungey have proven that they can beat Villopoto straight up.

While it is very likely that Villopoto and Stewart will be huge players in their classes, the upcoming wave of new riders will be huge competition for them. For the Motocross class, Stewart’s biggest competition will be himself. While he has always been fast, he has suffered countless serious crashes on the 450fs, and he has never gotten into the groove of the premier class. While Stewart suffers this season, a whole new wave of riders will be ready to fill in. It is unknown if Windham will race all of the Nationals, but the ones that he does race he will be serious competition for Stewart. In addition, Alessi has been training hard since his injury in preparation for the Nationals, Tim Ferry will be ready to challenge Stewart, as will Millsaps and a slew of other riders. The Motocross class will be interesting to say the least, but if Stewart can hold it together I think that he can be head and shoulders above the other riders (in speed).

The lites class will be a whole other story. Villopoto has even a less of a hold on his class than Stewart. Villopoto definetly did not have the supercross season he wanted, and now Canard knows that he can run with the #2 Pro Circuit bike. In addition, Lawrence has a ton of confidence and will be a player without a doubt. Lawrence’s fitness has been questionable in the past, but it is clear that he has really improved his program and is much more serious about results than in the past. In addition, Suzuki hot shot Ryan Dungey was able to straight up catch and pass Villopoto in Vegas. Week in and week out, new winners and new contenders will be competing in the lites class, which will make the lites class much more exciting than the Motocross class.

This outdoor season will, without a doubt, be one of the most exciting in hitory. New contenders will give the established heros a run for their money each and every week, and tons of riders have the speed, confidence, and endurance to win their respective classes.

Posted on May 13.08 to Prediction | No Comments »  

In his recent 5 Minutes with… article on RacerXill.com, Motocross legend Jeff Ward gave Chad Reed quite a bit of criticism.

Some of Ward’s comments were certainly controversial, but I cannot say that I do not agree with the number of comments he made. The first area where Ward was ‘disappointed’ with Reed was in reed’s latest comment that “he says motocross isn’t his life… “(Jeff Ward via Racer X). I totally agree with Wardy on this topic. There are tens, if not hundreds of people who go to work every day that allow Reed’s racing possible. The number of people involved in his bike, his gear, his training and his transportation is astronomical, and I’m sure that they would be heartbroken to hear that he only views motocross as a hobby. Reed really needs to center his priorities if he plans on ever winning a championship against Stewart (and I mean win by legitimately earning more points than Stewart, not winning because Stewart dropped out do to an injury.)

Ward, also an immigrant to the US, touched on the fact that Reed is proud to race against the USA at MXoN. I’m not sure if I totally agree with Wardy here as I can definitely see how Reed wants to ride for his country at the MXoN, but I also see where Ward is coming from. America has made Reed who he was. If it were not for America, Chad Reed would simply be a local hero in Australia, not an International motocross superstar. I do respect Chad’s desire to represent his home country, but he should be more gracious that he has made his living riding/racing on America tracks, riding for American teams, wearing American gear, and riding American races.

Finally, Jeff ward touched on a recent photo of Chad Reed “pounding” some Jack Daniel’s. I wholeheartedly agree that this is inappropriate behavior for a professional athlete. It is okay for him to have a drink in celebration of a win, but to see him chugging alcohol is just not the type of behavior that a professional athlete who is allegedly in tip top shape should be displaying.

The majority of Jeff Ward’s claims against Chad Reed were completely legitimate and I believe that Reed needs to look at the way he views his profession, and his current home. Reed is a great rider, but he has a lot of work he needs to do in order to be a great role model.

The full article can be found here.

Posted on May 11.08 to Responses | No Comments »  

Ryan Villopoto is considered to be the fastest 250f rider on the planter, but is he losing control of his position as #1?

Since turning pro, Ryan has had a nearly flawless career, winning multiple championships along the way. He has almost always been the fastest on the track at any one time. He has had an awesome career up to this past winter, and proved time and time again that he was better than any other professional 250f riders. However, ever since this past supercross season, It seems as though Villopoto may be loosing his grip on his throne. Was this past supercross season the turning point (for the worse) for Villopoto’s career? Or was it simply a result of a injury that will heal in time and allow him to return to his dominant self?

Will his Broken wrist have long term effects?
Unfortunately, motocross is a very dangerous sport, and it is very often that great riders are taken down by small injuries that hamper them throughout their careers. Villopoto’s recent wrist injury may be that injury that will affect him long pas the standard healing period. Since suffering the injury before this supercross season, he has simply not had the same speed that he used to. He was beat multiple times by rookie Trey Canard. It is hard to tell if this was a result of Canard’s speed, or is Villopoto loosing speed? I believe that he may be genuinely loosing speed as he was caught and passed by Ryan Dungey at the East/West Shoot Out. It is unknown yet whether or not his wrist injury will hamper him in the future, but it is clear that it definitely affected him during this supercross season.

Can he handle losing
Since turning pro, Villopoto has always been at the top of his class. However, he lost multiple rounds in this past supercross season, and did not have the same level of dominance that he maintained earlier in his career. The key to how this will affect Villopoto will lie in his own determination. Will he be able to dig down deep, work hard, and climb back up to the top? Or will he get discouraged and give up on his hard work ethic? Time is the only way to tell, however, if his past is any indication, I believe that he will be able to work hard enough to regain his throne. He has consistently shown an extremely hard work ethic, and he trains with Randy Lawrence and Nick Wey. Hopefully Villopoto will be able to pull through these tough times, and get back on top.

Is he ready for 450fs?
It is clear that Villopto is almost through with the 250f class, and the natural progression is to move up to the 450f class, but is he ready? The jump between 250f and 450f is a big one, and he will be forced to race against high class riders like James Stewart and Chad Reed. Villopoto is used to racing relatively new riders to the pro scene, not established heros of motocross. In addition, he has had the advantage of the extremely powerful Pro Circuit bikes, which many say gives him a huge advantage over the other riders. In the 450f class he will not have that advantage, as the extreme power of even stock 450fs ensures that all of the professional riders have realitvely close bikes in terms of power. In addition, these larger bikes take a lot more finesse to ride, and you cannot simply wring them out like Ryan is used to doing on his 250f. It will definitely be a huge change for the young rider, and we will have to wait and see what will happen.

Ryan Villopoto is a great rider who is currently in somewhat of a slump. His wrist injury, recent losses in big races, and the upcoming jump to the 450fs will all pose intense roadblocks on his roads to success. However, he appears to be a very hard worker who can pull through these tough times.
What do you think? Can Villopoto return as the #1 250f during the 2008 Nationals?

Posted on May 09.08 to Speculation | No Comments »  

This weekend will mark the fifth weekend in a row that I have not raced.

This season has definitely started out very different than prior season. Usually, I start my season very early, and race every weekend until sometime in October in November. However, this year has been unique from the start. My dad worked this winter in California, and got back to New England after the start of the season. However, with the help of my mother, I was able to race the first NESC race. My dad was back for the next weekend, however, after seeing me struggle on my KX100 due to my size, we decided that it was time to call it quits until I got a bigger, more powerful KX250f that would better suit my size. However, it is easier said than done. For the past few weeks we have been looking for a good used 250f, and getting ready for our return to racing.

Just because my spring has not been filled with motocross racing does not mean that I have not been somewhat busy. In the meantime I have been occupied with a good amount of homework, and working at Falls Creek Farm during the weekends. In addition I have been going on daily bike rides in an attempt to stay in somewhat decent shape during my hiatus from racing. However, this does not mean that I have not been missing going to the races. Weeks just feel empty without going to the track, working on the bikes and racing. It is definitely odd not racing, and I cant wait to get back to motocross.

Things are starting to look a little better as far as my return to racing goes. There are a few options in front of us as far as bikes goes, and it looks like I should be back racing by June. It seems like a long time, and it definitely is, but I guess its better late than never. I most certainly miss the races, the tracks, and the people at the races, and I can’t wait to get back out onto the track.

Posted on May 09.08 to Racing Update | 2 Comments »  

With the sudden increase in serious motocross accidents, safety is in the forefront of our sport more and more.

No one likes to see riders get hurt, and thus advanced safety gear is becoming more popular week in and week out. However, with the increased popularity of safety gear, lots of misconceptions about motocross safety have also developed. Here are a few of the biggest ones:

Money can buy safety
Don’t get me wrong here, I am in no way saying that putting a good amount of money into safety gear is a bad idea, but there is a large misconception about the reach of safety gear of motocross. Safety gear is a net for riders, there to protect you when you need it, but it should not left to do the job alone. There are 3 other major factors that should be given the same, if not more consideration than safety gear. First of all, safe tracks is priceless. Supercross style tracks are very fun, and are becoming very popular, but there is a limit where safety is sacrificed. Technical, challenging, and fun tracks are great for the sport, but dangerous and ill maintained tracks are not. Track designers and owners should keep safety in mind while designing their layouts. It is ok to make it challenging, but just ensure that it remains safe for all riders. In addition, it is very important for riders to ride within their limits. A 65C rider should not be jumping a 60′ triple. The major source of injury that I see at local races is riders riding extremely over their head. I think that Jimmy Lewis says it best in the June ‘08 issue of Dirt Rider:

The level at which I ride my motorcycle determines my safety, and my gear is there to protect me when an accident happens.

Cheap protective gear is worthless
With the recent increase in expensive high class protective gear such as the Aplinestars BNS and the Leatt brace have made people believe that only very expensive gear can protect you. This is simply not true. For a high class of rider, a$600 helmet is a great value and will make a difference, but for a beginner rider just starting out riding around their yard, this level of protection is just not needed. People need to keep in mind that any protective gear, no matter how inexpensive has its place in the motocross world.

Protective gear will protect you from anything
This is very similar to the first point, but too many riders believe that safety gear will protect them from anything that can happen on the track. Sure, an all out rider who gives no consideration to his safety, or the safety of the rides around him will often turn fast lap times, but their success will be short lived. Take James Stewart for example. He rides all out every time he rides, and is one of the fastest racers on the track at any time. However, he has been plagued by injuries since turning pro. He has access to all of the best protective gear in the industry, and none of it has saved him from the myriad of injuries he has suffered.

Safety is one of the biggest issues facing our sport right now. It is a complex, in depth problem that has many different smaller issues intertwined with it. I hope that by clearing up some of these popular misconceptions about safety in motocross, it will help you to better understand where our sport stands in the war against injuries. Increased technological advantages that drive down price and increase the reach of advanced safety gear, safer tracks, and safer riding is where our sport needs to be concentrating our energy to ensure that serious injuries are kept to a minimum.

Posted on May 07.08 to Speculation | No Comments »  

One of the longest lasting debates in AMA professional Supercross is the discussion of the lites class. Should it remain as a split east/west region based class, or should it be combined like every other AMA professional racing class? Supporters of having a single class argue that having one class would make the Supercross lites class more unified, make it easier to acknowledge a champion, and make the Supercross lites class easier to understand for newcomers to the sport.

More unified
Many argue that all three other professional classes have are national classes, the lites Supercross should be a national class as well. This makes it more unified and in sync with the rest of the AMA professional classes.

One ultimate champion
It makes more sense when there is one ultimate lites supercross champion. It makes it harder to describe to a large corporate sponsor that your team/rider won the lites championsip, as opposed to the lites east championship and another rider on another team won the west.

Easier to understand for newcomers to the sport
Newcomers to the sport will find it much easier to understand that there is a lites supercross champion, as opposed to one for east and one for west. It looks much more professional to crown a lites champion. Have two different regions seems too amateurish for AMA pro motocross.

However, there are just as many arguments supporting the split east/west supercross classes.

More rides
A team can afford to give more rides to more riders because they will get more exposure. If there is only one region, only the top 7 or so will get exposure, but with the east and west regions the top 7 in each region gets exposure and thus it is profitable for a team to give rides to more riders.

Purse money spread to more rider
although no one will make as much money, more riders will make some money. For example, if someone were to win all of the races in the Supercross class they would receive all the purse money. However, in the lites class, it is only possible for any one rider to make half that money, but someone else will make the other half. This spreads the wealth, and makes it possible for more riders to make a decent living racing lites Supercross.

Cheaper to do all the races for privateers
Lets face it, Supercross is extremely expensive. For a rider to do all of the races without having a factory ride puts a huge strain on their bank account. The lites class is the starting point for the careers of many motocross riders, so it makes it much cheaper, and thus much financially easy for the riders to attend all the races. It is only feasible for a rider to make a serious dent in the point standings if they attend all the races. In addition, the money the riders save by not going to the west cost races can help them to pay for extra modifications to their bikes, or help them afford racing the nationals. Basically, the reduced cost of only racing in one region helps riders financially further their career.

More riders get noticed
There is no way around it, the press only covers the top 5 riders about 90% of the time. This becomes quite a problem in the Supercross class, as it makes it extremely difficult for a rider who finishes in the bottom of the top 10, or worse, to get noticed. There is no doubt that these riders are amazingly talented, and they deserve much more attention then they deserve. With the split east/west Supercross lites classes more riders can get noticed because more riders can do good. For example, 10 lites riders will be top 5 finishers in their region, 20 lites riders will be top 10 finishers and 40 riders will be able to qualify in their region. This considerably increases the number of riders who are in the eye of the media, and thus the public week in and week out.

The Supercross lites class should remain as two separate regions. The split east/west regions make it easier for more riders to get noticed, attend all of the races, and kick start their racing careers. Without the split region, it would be much more difficult for riders to make a break in AMA professional supercross.

Posted on May 05.08 to General, Speculation | No Comments »  

TWMX.com is reporting that Grant Langston has been injured at Glen Helen Raceway.

He reportedly left the track on a stretcher and his arm was also in a sling. Hopefully it is nothing too seriously, Grant is a great guy and I hope him the best. I’ll keep you posted as this story develops. The full story can be found here.

Posted on May 02.08 to News | No Comments »