June 1, 2008 marked the 34th anniversary of the Hangtown Motocross Classic, which has long been considered Nor-Cal's finest contribution to the sport of motocross. Although the modern race isn't located on precisely the same spot as the original (which was down the road in Plymouth), the Prairie City SRVA park just outside of Rancho Cordova, California. And just to be truly correct, we'll toss out the ‘official' name of the event, which was: 34th Annual Honda Hangtown Motocross Classic Presented by Jackson Rancheria Hotel and Casino. It's good to see that another Native American tribe has gotten involved to support the sport, and outside money is of course always welcome in a sport and industry that is genuinely struggling in the current economic times. Throughout the weekend, we had lots of coverage on Motocross.com, so as a service to you, and to make things easier, below are some links.
A good portion of the sponsorship proceeds for this year's event was no doubt spent in the many track and facility improvements and changes that were evident as we pulled up for practice on Saturday morning. Most apparent was the huge new permanent ultra-VIP seating area and administration building, located adjacent to the start straight. Hangtown has had a nice big VIP seating area under a large canopy in nearly the same spot for the last few years, but this new structure definitely added a sense of ‘permanence' to the facility. Also new were staging areas behind the start gate for each rider/mechanic. While not a permanent addition, it just added to a newer, more ‘big-time' feel to the event, as the crew worked hard to keep an orderly staging area all weekend. Without a doubt, a large chunk of the rest of the money went toward altering the track and paying for the diesel fuel to do it. This year, the racing direction was reversed (from counter-clockwise to clockwise) which, of course, meant re-facing all of the jumps and completely re-working the first turn area.
That last bit was what proved to be somewhat of a headache for the Dirt Diggers MC (the caretakers of the facility), who re-worked the transition from the upper portion of the track into the new first turn area a few times before it was deemed safe and acceptable to the riders. Originally, the transition was a single jump straight down onto the exit area for the first turn, which was described by many of the riders as ‘dumb, clumsy and dangerous'. In fact, it was this very transition that caught Ben Townley off-guard as he cart-wheeled off his factory Honda early in Saturday's practice and tweaked one of the only portions of his body that wasn't already tweaked-his left ankle. But alas, the Dirt Diggers dug up that dirt and smoothed out the transition, and all was well. We just wish they'd be more stringent with their security, as we spotted this homeless mountain man out on the track after the race was over...
The track surface itself, aside from the fresh sandy area around the start area, ended up being quite hard-packed, slick, rutted, and choppy by the start of the motos. Many riders commented on it during the press conference. "It was pretty gnarly really, and it felt like we were always turning, for some reason, and it was sort of hard to pass and a little one lined," said Lites double-moto winner, defending champ, and current points leader Ryan Villopoto.
"I guess I liked it better going the other direction last year, but this wasn't a bad track at all, it got rough and it was fairly warm out there, at least compared to last week, so I'm happy with the way it turned out." RV's sentiments were echoed by everyone in the well-attended press conference in the fancy new Media digs that will make its way to all of the Nationals this summer. Typically a chance to get some standard, canned responses from the top riders about their afternoons, this time it was a chance for double-moto Motocross class winner James Stewart to do a bit of venting in response to a question from Cycle News correspondent Steve Bauer. When Bauer asked Stewart if he'd have trouble remaining focused in a field with such light competition, James replied, in essence, that he and every one of the competitors on the track took offense to the question, and that it belittles the sport when "you people" think like that. He went on to say that he has the utmost in respect for every single rider who even qualifies, and that he truly believes he's out there with the best in the world every weekend.
It was a breath of fresh air by a more animated than usual Stewart, and it drew a round of applause from everyone in attendance (except Bauer, of course). Regardless, props to Steve for asking such an intriguing question! Another welcome edition to the PC was Ivan Tedesco, who'd long been missing from the podium in the Motocross class. In fact, he looked a little out of place at first, but quickly settled in and commented on how hard he's been working with Ricky Carmichael to get to where he is, and he plans to keep pushing hard. Nice to see you back, Hot Sauce.
Along the lines of a current rider working with another great rider, we overheard a conversation between Big James Stewart and Ryan Dungey (who's been spending time at the Stewarts to try and improve his game), which effectively was, "Boy, I see we got some more work to do!" This is no doubt in response to Dungey's inability to run down the rabbit, which has become Ryan Villopoto in the Lites class.
While there was no real ‘talk of the pits' this weekend that stood out as the premiere story, several are worth noting. The first of which was the premiere ride for Gavin Gracykon the JGR YZ450F. Gracyk, who's been side-lined with a sprained ankle since a Vegas heat race incident several weeks back, only just started riding this past week. His comeback round was initially set to be High Point next weekend, with this weekend at Hangtown being an option. Since Eric Sorby (who's been hired as team test rider and filled in for Gracyk at Glen Helen) wadded it up last weekend, Gavin decided to give it a go at Hangtown instead. Although clearly riding tentatively, he ended the day with a 33-24 for 28th overall. Expect him to turn that around in a couple of weeks as the series heads east, as High Point is about as close to a home track for Gavin as any on the circuit. Speaking of Joe Gibbs Racing, we just had to show you this excellent little setup in their pit/hospitality area to showcase their new headline sponsor-SPIKE Energy Drink.
Speaking of interesting things to see, check out this killer little miniature Supercross track built by a bunch of local middle-schoolers-it's an exact replica of the 2008 Toronto Supercross track and was featured prominently next to the Monster Energy/Kawasaki pit area.
Just beyond the pits was the starting area, of course, and on the starting line was a bit of a fashion show, at times, as several gear manufacturers continued sneaking out 2009 gear for their hired photographers to capture on their riders for use in upcoming ads and catalogs. Answer, THOR, and NoFear were a few of those, and we caught Daniel Reardon striking a pose (this dude seriously could take up a career in modeling if he wanted to) before the start of moto two.
Other cool moves by the riders that took place off the track were in vogue as well, such as Mike Alessi adding to a flood of donations aimed at helping out ailing moto photo icon Joe Bonello (www.helpjoeb.com) by donating his holeshot moneyduring the rider's meeting. After Alessi's generous gesture, AMA's Jay Mitrowitz suggested the other three riders who won the holeshot awards from Glen Helen do the same thing, and shortly thereafter James Stewart, Jason Lawrence and Ryan Dungey all handed their checks over to Doc Bodnar to add to Joe's fund. Great move, guys, and good luck, Joe!
But really now, if there's one story that's thus far defined the series it's the success of privateers in the Motocross class. Beginning last weekend in Glen Helen with Sean Hamblin'sgreat race, the trend continued this weekend with unbelievable rides by Steve Boniface (fifth overall via 6-6 scores), Jeff Alessi (7-15 for 11th overall), Cody Cooper (who ran up in the top 3 for a while in moto one before a crash broke his clutch lever off), and Sean Collier (who ripped a fifth in moto one but struggled in moto two for 14th O/A). The story of the day no doubt belonged to Boniface, though, as the France-born veteran was absolutely the ‘talk of the pits' after a great ride in moto two following an unbelievable first moto, which saw him holding down the number two spot behind James Stewart and ahead of... well, everyone else, for several laps. Boniface was absolutely giving these guys fits in moto two-guys the likes of Ben Townley, Davi Millsaps, and Andrew Short. David vs. Goliath went down at Hangtown, and David did alright. In speaking with him after the race, we found out he's actually planning to skip Freestone at this point due to a prior commitment he'd made with Yves De Maria to race the GP of France next weekend in the MX3 class. He'll actually be aboard a 2007 works Yamaha YZF450'ish-look for a win from this guy in that class. We must say, though, that Steve said he'd cancel that plan if he got a call from a solid team based here in the U.S. that's looking for a solid top-five Motocross class rider on this side of the pond. We also must mention just how stock his CRF450R really was. His dad did the motor, and he tweaked the suspension himself-then they loaded it up in the box van and headed up the I-5 to race (and beat) the best in the sport. Unbelievable performance for Boniface, for sure-good luck in France, Steve!
Not to be outdone by the great second-on-back racing going on in the boys' class, the AMA/WMA Motocross Nationals presented by Kawasaki opened up this weekend as well. Running their first moto after practice on Saturday and finishing up with moto two during intermission on Sunday, the WMA may be in the midst of a ‘changing of the guard', so to speak, as Red Bull athlete Ashley Fiolek claimed the first WMA win of her professional career via 1-3 moto scores. Despite that first moto win coming after a few key crashes-Fiolek had been on the move toward the front anyhow-before defending champ Jessica Patterson fell over in a corner and couldn't restart her bike. In moto two, it was Fiolek who was leading and conceded the lead with a crash, but she got up quickly and managed a third for the overall win ahead of Patterson and Sarah Whitmore.
Sadly, that about wraps it up for What Really Happened from Hangtown-we simply ran out of space for any more! Next weekend, the series heads east to Freestone Raceway between Dallas and Houston, where the riders can look forward to more heat, and a track that last year proved to be quite brutal, despite it's lack of elevation change. Be sure to check back here at Motocross.com for the usual race report, What Really Happened, and tons of killer wallpapers, just like usual.
Courtesy of MotoCross.com
