If you happened to make it to Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, this past Friday before the racing got underway on Saturday, what you would have seen was a quagmire, as torrential rain swept through the area, leaving the track a soupy mess. Come Saturday, though, things were drastically different, as the rain turned out to be a blessing, leaving the track in the best condition that it's been in for years.
The track and rain, however, weren't the only news from the weekend of racing, as quite a few top factory stars returned to action after being off their bikes due to injury, James Stewart cemented himself as the man to beat, a few new faces were on the Lites podium, and the second season of the Racer X Motocross Show on Motocross.com kicked off with a special guest commentator-David Bailey. But enough of the re-cap, lets get into it. Without further delay, here's What Really Happened at the opening round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championships at Glen Helen Raceway.
Like we mentioned, very uncharacteristic weather hit the Southern California area in the days leading up to the race, leaving the track a muddy, and many people questioning how well it would turn out for racing on Sunday. If you want to see what we're talking about, take a look at this video over at Racer X Films. When it all came down to it, though, more rain never materialized and the racing surface turned out to be the best that anyone has seen Glen Helen in years. The track held moisture really well, and developed good lines throughout the course of the day. One thing that was the same as previous years, though, were the massive jumps found littering the demanding GH course. Yes, the gigantic crowd-pleasing step-up could be found in the back section, as well as the hilltop tabletop where riders were regularly throwing their bikes completely flat. All in all, most riders liked the track.
New changes could be seen everywhere. The NPG and everyone involved with the Nationals this year have really stepped it up. There is now a Media Center for us media types to get some work done, a new finishline set up, a Monster Energy hospitality area in the infield, and a new covered mechanic's area. Those are just a few of the visible changes, but we're sure there is a lot more to it than that. All in all, Glen Helen this year was far more enjoyable that previous.
Despite the weather, track, and new changes by the NPG, the big news of the weekend was the return of numerous riders returning from the injured reserve list. Of those riders that many people were anxiously anticipating was James Stewart. After pulling out of the Supercross series after two rounds, Stewart got his injured knee repaired, and has been healing ever since. With only three weeks on the bike before GH, James really only wanted to leave the track with some points and in one piece. As it turned out, though, he flat out dominated both Motocross class motos. "I feel good and I was just trying to concentrate on what I was doing today. I'm just glad to be back, and I'm happy to have only ridden for three weeks and be able to come out here and get a 1-1," Stewart said. "I didn't know where I would be at or how my race speed was. I felt awesome out there. I was actually having a blast out there. Every lap, I was just looking forward to that sand section-I was having fun out there."
As for Mike Alessi, he was pleased with his runner-up finish, however, said that he wished he could have won at his hometown race. Despite being the only rider to hang close to Stewart for a few laps, Alessi just couldn't match the Kawasaki rider's speed. "I've been working hard the last couple months and have really been putting in the effort," Alessi said. "It's nice to see that it's starting to pay off. I was expecting to come here and win this weekend. I really, really wanted to win in front of my hometown crowd. I figured that if there was a race I could win, this would be it."
Another rider that was returning to action was Red Bull Honda's Ben Townley. Like Stewart Townley has been out of action for the SX series due to injury. And also like James, Ben hasn't had much time on the bike. At Glen Helen, Ben looked to be slightly off the pace, but still fast nonetheless. We also saw him hobble out of the team Red Bull Honda rig and on to the team mule. Our guess is that he was headed to the Asterisk Medic trailer to get his previously injured ankle checked out. Here's hoping Townley can turn it around, because he definitely has the speed to run up front.
While we are on the subject of returning riders, one that has been away from the U.S. scene for quite a while now is Sean Hamblin. After a season of racing on the Grand Prix circuit in Europe, Hamblin is now back aboard a privateer TUF Yamaha, and looking to be back up to the speed that he once had back when he was picked up by Factory Suzuki. "So far so good. I think I qualified 14th, which isn't great, but it's not bad and I'm in. I know I race better than I practice, so we're looking for a couple top-10 finishes," Hamblin said before Sunday practice. When asked if it was difficult to find a ride he had this to say, "It was and it wasn't. No matter what, I was going to do the first few anyway, but it was good the way that things came about. I have some good people behind me." Hamblin finished seventh overall on the day.
A former full-time racer turned test rider for the Gibbs/Toyota/Yamaha team Eric Sorby was filling in for injured Gavin Gracyk. Gracyk was injured at the final Supercross round in Las Vegas, and will likely be out for a few rounds of the outdoor series. Until his return, team test rider Sorby will be filling in.
One interesting sidenote about the Gibbs bikes is that we caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a Honda steering damper mounted up behind the front number plate. While we didn't get a chance to snap a photo-the mechanics were too quite to put the plate back on-we can tell you that it looked to be the same as the ones on the Honda's that you can buy.
Many times, the Nationals bring out a lot of young talent that is just beginning to break onto the professional scene. One example this weekend of that was Mid Cities Honda's Sean Borkenhagen. Sean has a very interesting story, but if you want to hear it, you're going to have to check back on Tuesday for a full video interview with the always-friendly Huntington Beach local. Let's just say he's been through quite a bit this past year.
Right now, we're going to hand off this portion of WRH to our intern Kristen Beat. She spoke to Lites class winner Austin Stroupe before the racing got underway.
In the lites class, qualifying held true to the competitive nature of the day. Villopoto walked away with the fastest qualifying time, followed by a close Austin Stroupe who would come to play as an unexpectedly dominant competitor in both the mains. Stroupe commented after his first moto, "The race was long and the track was developing lines as it went on, but overall I just need to get a better start."
Concerning being able to perform as well he did consistently Stroupe said, "Yeah, I should be able to be up there as long as I keep training hard during the week. My bike was awesome and I can't say enough about the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team."
The track obviously worked towards Stroupe's advantage during both motos. "The track was sweet; I think its going to be rough at times but it will be all good."
Stroupe made the optimistic statement that he hoped to, "get a good start and ride smart, see how it goes." It seems as though he did this and much more by finishing out the day with a 2-3 moto score for first overall. Villopoto, Lawrence, Dungey and Metcalfe and Metcalfe followed behind Stroupe to round out the top 5 in points after this first round.
Well, that's about it from the opening round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championships at Glen Helen. Next week we'll be coming to you from Hangtown-the former first round of the series-and we'll be bringing you all the same coverage, as well as the live audio broadcast of the racing action and the Racer XMotocross Show. Talk to you all then!
Courtesy of MotoCross.com
