Freestone MX - AMA Motocross Meets Texas Pride

At least there are a lot of shade trees...

Steve Matthes is not a US Senator.

The first MX national in Texas since who knows when is well under way here in Freestone Texas, conveniently located about 90 minutes south of Dallas, and 2 1/2 hrs north of Houston - but that is a short drive in Texas, your pickup barely warms up.

Pics are not uploading from here, so this update is all text.

The weather is hot but not unbearable. The Texans are saying "Heat? What heat?" The crowd is filling up pretty good as of the last practice. 

The first impression a lot of people had of the track is "Troy is Back!" It's flat and hard to see. That may change once people learn where to get (writers included).

Some notes:

-Tyler Wharton makes his pro debut this weekend, on a KTM pitted next to the team semi. Based on his practice times, he is ready.
-Wil Hahn is making his pro debut.
-Kiwi Cody Cooper is here and looking very fast.
-Factory Connection is hosting Team Mexico for the MXoN at Budds in 3 weeks. The team is sending it's Lites semi, mechanics, and 3 bikes for the three riders representing Mexico! They will be totally factory.
-DeCoster said he was surprised at how many old friends from his days of racing Texas are here. Texas used to hold nationals at Rio Bravo and Lake Whitney.
-Yamaha's Josh Hill is riding 450 this weekend.
-Ryan Mills is in. Chris Gosselaar is still out (crash last weekend).
-The organization is good and a lot of effort is going into making this first national here a success. So far, so good.
-Jason Lawrence is out.
-Jake Moss is here racing for Lucas Oil.

Pro Circuit guys were the fastest three in Sunday practice. Villopoto was fastest (and his time would have been second in 450s), then Townley and Stroupe. The series is already down to either RV and Townley. RV wants to win convincingly to make next weekend less stressful, and Townley wants the points lead back.

In MX, Langston has the advantage in points (barely) and the knowledge that he does well under pressure. The mood is good at Yamaha.

Guy on left - "That's BS, you aren't quitting racing..." Guy on right - "Yeah, and you ain't leaving Mototalk either!"

Freestone Weekend Wrapup

Bring on the racing!

It was hot (not THAT hot), it was flat, but the first Texas National since 1987 went off big somewhere in the middle of Texas. The nearest hotels were like in the next state or something, or an hour away, but it didn't seem to matter. Sunday had a full crowd and they all seemed to be happy that AMA motocross was back in Texas..

This guy brought a shirt from the last national in Texas.

The track had big sand whoops.

The track is really spread out, so lots of places to find a spot along the fence.

Short was on fire in the first moto and checked out, and was leading the second until he cross-rutted in a turn, which cost him the overall and the points lead (that he had for about an hour).

Short's moto 2 holeshot. 

BBMX mechanics want the gate for moto 2 to wait for Jason Thomas' bike to get back from a quick pit stop to do something with the steering. The 30-second board goes anyway.

WTF? As it turns out, you can't return to the pits after going to the track for a moto.

Kiwi Cody Cooper was really strong, finishing 7-6 for 5th overall!

Motobowl 2007!

Where did you get the idea this was a Monster event?

Welcome to the Fourth Annual WMXF Motobowl presented by Monster Energy, aka http://www.wmxf.org/
What makes this event cool is the riders and attached people really do get behind it and have a relaxing night mixing it up with fans. Half of them suck at bowling so they just laugh it off. Well except Pingree. He was like really bad. At Motobowl you just forget half your game and wander from lane to lane anyway. Fans are chatting and posing with Erin and Leticia, and all of the MX class contenders, Langston, Short, Ferry, and Alessi, KW - all were there, and Millsaps, and Villopoto, Mitch Payton, plus lots of hotties :) . It was more fun than a track walk. 

Even Jeff Ward was there.

All the championship contenders in MX were there.

Sorby, Beeker, and Tedesco.

Ferry has style.

Lots of cool stuff to bid on.

"You want to buy a raffle ticket, don't you?" OK, whatever, here's $5, can I get a hug too? (I bought some and figured I would give them to some kid.)

How did I get mixed in with such a fast crowd? 

Leticia and Little D.

Hey check it out, it's Matthew, Mototalk's favorite jr photohound. "Here kid, take some raffle tickets and pay attention, you might win a hat or something.." (I give him the raffle tickets.)

Ashley Fiolek, WMA superstar. 

DV12 is back in the US, and he's with his son David Li.

Some racing heavy duties - Bruce Stjernstrom, Dave Gowland, and Mitch Payton. 

Dana K messing with Paul Lindsey. Dana K is giving our man Matthew $1 for every pin he knocks down... 

NHRA drag racer Ron Capps is a Roger DeCoster fan!

Young Albertyn.

Getting a picture with Erin.

Millsaps ear is doing OK, but he's not racing any time soon.

Sel and Tortelli.

What's that all about?

Nice going! Matthew scores $50 from DanaK, then something called 50-50 with the raffle tickets! That's another $450, now the kid is rich. OK, next time I pass a slot machine, I am putting in a $20 to score big and charge it to my karma card.... 

Amy Albertyn and their youngest.

KW had style, but sytle isn't everything. He did better than Pingree though. :)

Glen Helen Saturday

Internet rumors that Chad Reed would join the last national of 2007 at Glen Helen were bogus, but Mike Brown did make an appearance and was 5th fastest Saturday.

The best times Saturday were posted by Ferry in MX, and Villopoto in Lites. The MX top ten were:

Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 2:33.207 
Grant Langston, Clermont, Fla., Yamaha, 2:33.448 
Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Wash., Yamaha, 2:34.646 
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 2:34.975 
Mike Brown, Johnson City, Tenn., Honda, 2:35.816 
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 2:36.211 
Kevin Rookstool, Klamath Falls, Ore., Honda, 2:36.418 
Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 2:36.481 
Michael Lapaglia Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 2:36.955 
Cale Wallace, Walnut, Calif., Honda, 2:36.960 

With the MX title chase so close, it never hurts to have as many names as possible on the track if you can. Yamaha's strategy to put Josh Hill in MX paid off big last weekend when Hill passed Short in moto 2, knocking him back 2 points to benefit Langston. And to make it worse, he rode the last few laps ahead of Short "mooning" him, since his gear wasn't staying on! 

Tedesco crashed out of the first practice and will miss tomorrow, so that's it for his time at Suzuki.

The Lites top ten:

Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 2:34.450 
Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Kawasaki, 2:35.382 
Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 2:35.459 
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 2:36.349 
Ben Townley, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 2:36.658 
Jake Moss, Corona, Calif., Yamaha, 2:36.948 
Trey Canard, Elk City, Okla., Honda, 2:37.096 
Broc Hepler, Kittanning, Pa., Yamaha, 2:37.276 
Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 2:37.335 
Jake Weimer, Rupert, Id., Honda, 2:37.980 
Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 2:17.732 

Villopoto is going into the last round with the points advantage over Townley, but those two are so far ahead, no one else has a chance even if both stayed home. Villopoto has put together his second motos in the latter half of the season and made less mistakes.

Some other buzz:

-Millsaps was at Motobowl and his inner ear problem is cleared up, but he's not racing yet.
-Stewart's knee is much better than expected, and his recovery time is more like a month, instead of 4-6 months. A lot of people were assuming his injury was an ACL, but it doesn't look like that was the case. He might even make the US Open but they are not pushing him.
-Kyle Lewis is retiring after this season, so Glen Helen is his last pro national.
-Langston made the switch to MSR gear and Bell Helmets. This must be his season to change everything. A couple weeks ago he signed on with Monster Energy too.

Cody Cooper's Glen Helen Crash

Visiting Kiwi Cody Cooper, who set the fastest time in Sunday timed practice wadded in the second moto. Here is the crash. We didn't get a full status, but at least he got up.

Motocross of Nations 2007 - Thursday

This track is wide, cut deep, and ready. It doesn't look anything like the "shithole" track RC was talking about after the national.

[This track has RC written all over it. One of RC’s favorite tracks is Red Bud, which is disked deep like this. RC will really like it, and most of the GP guys are not used to it. GP tracks typically are not worked as much. Tracks like this get rutted and rough, and the worse it gets, the more RC likes it. When you ride a track cut like this when it’s fresh, the bike just sinks.

The news that is going to consume the rest of the year and much of 2008 starts today. Youthstream has been trying to figure out how to run more MXoN events in the US for years, and they want to do USGPs too. They are always meeting resistance from the NPG side. Beasley, the owner of this track is in the NPG and is always getting crap for it.

Youthsteam learns that the AMA is going to put the MX series up for bid, and will meet the next day to talk about Youthstream working up a bid. Conspiracy theories will spread immediately, and it just gets ridiculous.]

Doc Bodnar shows off the cool custom stretcher Asterisk brought for this weekend.

Bikes are getting un-crated and assembled today (Thursday).

This is part of the area Fox has set up inside the paddock for Team USA.

A view of the start area.

Villopoto's Team USA bike.

Setting up the semi that RC rides out of.

Track view.

The Thor/Parts and Red Bull setups. 

Team Ireland people.

Putting a bike together out of a crate.

Close up of RV's bike.

Townley's bike.

Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki, home of some of the fastest Lites guys.

Setting up.

KTM has bikes for about 10 countries!

An old sign and a new sign.

Scott Taylor has to model the team hat.

Everything you wanted to know about Maryland.....

Motocross of Nations - Friday

Lookin perfect. Today they cancelled the amateur riding on the MXoN track and sent everyone to the SX track instead. 

RC and Everts chatting about things in the morning.

Team Italy - Philippaerts, Guarneri, Cairoli, and team manager Andrea Bartolini. The bikes did get released! The great wine and cheese scandal is over. As far as we can piece this together - The Martin Honda's were sent from Italy, and with one of them, some wine and cheese. Someone at US customs had a cow about it, and delayed a container holding up the Italian Yamahas too - including Cairoli's bike. At the time of the Friday afternoon press conference, they did not know for sure if they would get the bikes from customs for Saturday. Right after the press conference, the report came in that the bikes were released.

UK - Noble, Mackenzie , Searle, team manager Mark Eastwood.

New Zealand: Townley, Hurley, Cooper, team manager Russell Burling .

Jeannie Carmichael and "Thing 1" and "Thing 2."

Ferry's bike.

Team USA - Villopoto, Ferry, Carmichael, and team manager Roger DeCoster.

Speaking to the large press gathering on Friday.

Honda is hosting 2/3 of Team Japan.

Trevor Vines has it going on - hot wife, puppy, America, and a 2-stroke.

Tarah Geiger - Team Puerto Rico.

Moto XXX is hosting Brazil.

Beasley's Moto Woodstock is really filling up.

Goose gets RC's outdoor bike ready for the last time.

[On Monday, Suzuki kept Goose around, and media were invited to take RC’s last bike for a spin. I went by there to see, and Goose said “Get your gear on!” It was tempting, but I rode this track after a national before and crashed after about 4 turns, and jacked up both shoulders. This was the second time I turned down a chance to ride one of RC’s factory bikes. (I was at his home track once and could have rode his CR in SX trim, but it had a flat. I could ride it if I fixed the flat, but I probably would have crashed my brains out.)]

The Yamaha semi has two visitors.

RC holds "Thing 1."

Gotta use the right bike washer....

Here's our special salute to Chile and the three Israel brothers.

Saturday Update - RC, RV, Ferry Sweep Saturday

The showdown between Cairoli and Villopoto didn't happen Saturday. RV got the holeshot in his qualifying race and totally checked out. Cairoli maybe 5th or 6th on the start but had too much battling to do to even see RV on the track. RV was maybe half a lap ahead after 20 minutes.

RC checked out in his qualifying race, even though Grant Langston made a move on him early, but RC got back by. 

Ferry battled with J-Rod and Byrne to take the third and final qualifier, making the day a full Team USA sweep. 

New Zealand is out of the event. Townley hurt his shoulder Saturday morning, and Hurley got a concussion, so that's a bummer for a very strong team.

Silly Season bit - Jeff Alessi to AMA Arenacross riding for Tuf Honda (Pre-confirmed rumor).

2007 Motocross of Nations - Saturday Wrapup

It's on! RC leading Langston Saturday.

RC squeezes inside the first turn of his qualifying race.

Venezuela.

This is where the Americans hang out. 

Villopoto totally checked out of his qualifying race.

First turn of the MX2 race.

Leticia makes the cover of Playboy's Sexy Girl Next Door!

Cool crowd for a Saturday.

This T-shirt came from the MXoN at Unadilla 20 years ago!

RC is wrapping things up tomorrow.

Valejo checking out Factory Connection's holeshot gadget.

Team USA talking to press Saturday after sweeping all three qualifying races. 

RV getting the 2-lap board.

MX2 racing.

RC and Langston race across the finish line early in their moto.

Costa Rica cooking at the WMR rig.

Everts' new biography in English and his new riding DVD, #1, on riding in sand.

Moto 1, RV Checks Out

In the first MXoN moto, MX1/MX2, RV had the inside gate pick and got the holeshot after a little tangle with McFarlane, then just checked out. 

RC started in the center and fell within a couple of corners, then had to work his way up from dead last!

Cairoli fell on the big tabletop in the infield and left his bike - DNF.

RC caught back up to third and got close to Reed, but didn't catch him at the end.

The opening ceremonies were really cool, including a tribute to DeStefano, Magoo Chandler, Lechien, Sun, Hansen, and Emig. Then Everts and RC took a lap to welcome the crowd.

USA Wins, RV Steals Show

The pitboard says "win it." He did.

[I stole a ladder and snuck up on the podium behind the riders for this pic. Check out nerdy in the bottom right going "What a jerk!"]

[2- By the end of the weekend, the word is out. The NPG is not going to get a long deal from the AMA like SX did, and Youthstream was asked to bid on running MX in America. The NPG will do everything it can to block it, and the rest of the year gets crazier and crazier behind the scenes. Pressure builds, people are under stress, and paranoia sets in. All of a sudden Loungo (President of Youthstream) is hiding behind every shadow and anyone who doesn’t join the lobbying for the NPG must be working for him. It only gets worse…]