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Matthes Report

A Matthes Report: Washougal

Insight from PulpMX’s Steve Matthes.

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Off weekend here in the USA and there are just three Lucas Oil Pro Motocross races left until the whole thing is a wrap, then we can start debating about the MXoN and all that. I mean, I will engage with you people on the Herlings/Tomac debate, but I would rather not. How about we not let one race on a fall day decide on who is better? How about we just say that both riders are amazing and the crown for “Fastest Man in the World” is shared? That is where I am at with this despite some media wanting to feed the flames constantly for clicks.

Ok, whew. Glad I got that off my chest.  Here are some random topics for a random day.

– Blake Baggett of the RM ATV/MC KTM team has not had the kind of year he would have wanted, although he is a podium threat at most races. Last year, of course, we saw him capture a win and be a race-winning threat. Baggett’s adaptation to the new KTM 450 SX-F has not been as smooth as last year and he has also been the victim of some bad starts and crashes. There are times though when the “old” Chupacabra lurks in there. Practice times, late moto charges… That kind of stuff.

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Blake Baggett has not hit the heights that he expected in the outdoors.

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I found it interesting that Baggett said on the podium at Washougal that he might need to ride with some other fast riders to try and up his game on the weekends. Of course, uber-trainer Aldon Baker really made this popular with his pairing of elite guys. Riders like Chad Reed, Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart have usually had someone pretty good around them to practice with. But generally speaking, there is a pecking order of speed. Two main rivals do not usually work out well together although there have been exceptions.

So, while I admire Baggett’s search to try something to get better, I am just not sure it will work. He was not riding with anyone on his level last year and he was, until injury, pretty amazing. Hey man, whatever works I suppose. I just do not have faith that these long-term riding buddy relationships work when two guys are the same elite speed. Heck, Jason Anderson barely rode with Marvin Musquin this year at Baker’s because, once Ryan Dungey retired, both guys wanted to be the alpha-dog.

– Chad Reed. Remember him? I texted back and forth with Reed this week about his plans for next year and he reiterated that he wants to still race, but only if someone can hire him. It didn’t sound like he wanted to do his own thing like he did last year. 2018 was a disaster for Reed, he hurt himself at Red Bull Straight Rhythm (an event he says he is doing again) and was never prepared for the season. It never really got any better for the 22.

Smash cut to this year and he looks to be in shape, he has been training a bit and hopefully he gets a chance at going out the way he wants to. I am not super optimistic that a factory team will pay him but what if he got some factory parts from Honda (he seems to be leaning that way) and does a deal with Bullfrog/MCR Honda alongside Justin Brayton? Team owner Mike Genova would seem to be the type of guy that would love having Reed under his tent, he has got the means to make it happen and the team has come a long way recently. I do not know anything for sure, just spit-balling here folks. I hope Reed races again, because I do not want that 2018 season to be my lasting memory of the legend.

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Chad Reed is eager to race again next season, but needs some support.

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– Recently Fly Racing had their launch up in Idaho for their 2019 line of gear. That part was cool and all that, but what was interesting to me was getting a chance to have Zach Osborne and the great Damon Bradshaw interview each other for a Racer X podcast. I found it pretty interesting in that their careers were totally different. Both were highly touted amateur racers, but Bradshaw was amazing right away and then, like some sort of comet, flamed out early. Osborne was a bust as a pro early on, went to Europe and slogged his way back to the USA to become a three-time champion.

Those parts of their careers are different but another similarity they have in that Osborne’s return to USA on a factory team (GEICO Honda) and Bradshaw’s return to racing after a year and a half off (in 1996) they both said they appreciated the chance more than they did the first time around. Anyways, have a listen, I found it very insightful, but I am a tad biased.

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Zach Osborne will contest 450SX and 450MX with Husqvarna next year.

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– 2019 silly season is in full effect right now and it looks like just about everything is settled for the big OEM factory teams. So, what is after that for some big names? I am not exactly sure, there are always the fill-in rides that will pop up when, unfortunately, injuries strike but seriously, there are going to be some great riders that have nothing when the music stops. We talked about Reed above but what about Malcolm Stewart, Justin Bogle, Dean Wilson, Tyler Bowers, Phil Nicoletti and Jake Weimer to name just a few? MotoConcepts Honda might take a guy, maybe HEP Suzuki, but the pickings are going to be slim for some of these riders and that is too bad.

With the big salary demands of the very elite few, there are only twelve 450F factory rides out there while, because of the regional series and lower salaries, there are twenty-three rides in the 250 class. Theoretically the goal should be making it to the premier class, aka 450s, to make serious money, but instead it seems to be a race to stay down in the 250s to preserve your career. If you are one of twelve riders, life is good. Other than that it is slim pickings, despite the fact that a tenth in the 450SX class is approximately thirty times harder than a tenth in 250SX. Yes, this is all ridiculous but, hey, at least I do not have to be one of those guys looking at 250SX wins and titles and wonder why my phone is not ringing at all. Tough gig for the 450 guys.

Words: Steve Matthes | Lead Image: Monster Energy Media/Octopi

Matthes Report

Matthes Report: Daytona

Predictions from Steve Matthes!

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The 2021 Monster Energy Supercross series riders and teams just had their first week off of the season this past and when the halfway flag gets thrown this Saturday night at Daytona, we’ll officially be halfway through the 450SX series.

Here are some random predictions on some random things in regard to both the 450SX and 250SX classes.

– It’s been a while since we saw anyone not named Cooper Webb or Ken Roczen win a 450SX main event but we may finally get someone different this weekend. Now, don’t hold me to that because the top two riders in the points have been so good. This is Daytona though. This is something different for the guys and we know how good Eli Tomac is down at the speedway. I’m not going to stamp a Tomac win but it says here he will be more competitive this weekend than he has been. Good vibes will be hanging in the air for ET and even if he does not get a start, he can make it work there. I predict a strong performance for Tomac this weekend with either a win or a runner-up ride.

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– Honda’s Chase Sexton makes his return to racing after a crash in Houston while leading the 450SX main. The #23 will be a boost to the series and I think he’ll do something memorable this weekend. I do not know what exactly; maybe win a heat, lead some laps or podium the whole thing? I’m not sure but Sexton will make a splash. You watch!

– Jason Anderson has been getting progressively better since his awful opening round and subsequent finger injury. Now, how much his improvement had to do with the harder packed Orlando track is something we’ll see. I think he’s on the right track to be top five or on the podium at Daytona.

– Marvin Musquin is very good at Daytona – he’s had some hell of good rides there with a couple of 450SX podiums and a win in 250SX. It’s been a hot and cold season for Marv, but he’ll be hot this weekend.

– Dylan Ferrandis was great at Orlando 2 but had just an eleventh to show for it after he had to pull into the mechanics area for mid-race repairs. On this track, with more of an outdoor-ish feel to it, I think Ferrandis really shines. I predict a top five for the Yamaha rider. Yeah, I said it.

– I predict Justin Cooper wins the 250SX West main event. Boring, right? I know. This series is his to lose now with Jeremy Martin out with a shoulder injury. Cooper was not even at one hundred percent at Orlando 2 and he did that. Wait until he gets an extra week of prep for this one.

– I’m not sure what Star Yamaha team owner Bobby Regan said or did to rookies Nate Thrasher and Jarrett Frye in the time since Orlando 2 but I guarantee you it was not good. I’ve heard many stories about how Regan has talked to riders under the Star tent and with both kids underperforming at their first ever supercross, I predict they both come out with better performances than what we saw in Orlando. How much better? I do not know, just better.

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– Garrett Marchbanks does not win this main event like he did last year but he does end up on the podium, which is a good result for him and his team.

– Troll Train will shine this weekend and redeem himself after KO’ing himself last race. That’s what “we” do.

– I think Martin Davalos will fall down at some point in this weekend’s main event. I hate being a negative Nancy here but he’s done it in every single race this year but one. I cannot see how Marty gets through a rough and tumble Daytona track where things change every lap without making a mistake but maybe this is exactly what Marty needs to stay on two wheels!

– I predict that Kyle Chisholm will continue to Chiz, because Chiz will always Chiz. In fact, he might have some extra Chiz happening because he is usually pretty solid at Daytona.

– This one is not tough to predict but Ken Roczen will continue his great season with another great ride. Hey man, I can’t be wrong if I just predict stuff like this!

Thanks for reading!

Words: Steve Matthes | Lead Image: Align With Us

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Matthes on: Alex Nagy

Feel-good story from Orlando.

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There are a lot of cool stories in the pits in the course of a year of Monster Energy Supercross but let’s face it, these days with COVID-19 still affecting everything, things still suck. Although the racing in Orlando was cool, in terms of some fans being there, it’s still not supercross, you know?

In Orlando, we had a cool story going on though. Privateer Alex Nagy made his first ever main event via his third in the 250SX LCQ. Nagy is a privateers privateer, you know? There are guys that are what you would call privateers but they are on teams and sometimes have expenses covered  some guys get everything paid for but not factory help at all and we still call them privateers. The word “privateer” has changed a ton over the years for sure, but there is one thing that’s not in doubt and that’s that Alex Nagy is a privateer.

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Nagy had lined up for 132 races and had made 118 night shows, most of them in the 450SX class. The 250SX East series has been wrecked with injuries so that definitely helped Nagy’s case, but he’s also been riding very well. In Orlando, we saw history!

“I honestly haven’t even kept track of how many night shows or how long,” Nagy told us after the race. “My first year of racing supercross was in 2013, and I did that on a 250. Then every year after, I’ve been in the 450SX class. This is kind of like my first time back in the 250SX class. I’m glad I was finally able to capitalise on a good coast to ride and be able to put it in the main finally.”

Look, once he made the main the rest was gravy, right? Nagy rode pretty well in the 15-minute main event though to end up with a fifteenth on the night. That’s pretty decent for a guy who’s not used to racing that long. Nagy got six points toward ditching his three-digit number and getting one of those two digits that the cool guys get.

Surely Nagy was going to reward himself with some sort of extravagance for his efforts, right?

Nope.

“I’m going to spend the night here. I spent the night here last night. I spent the night in the van the night before, and I’ll probably spend the night in the van tomorrow night too,” he told me. “It’s kind of funny because even in Indy I stayed in the van. I didn’t run it, didn’t use the heat in it and didn’t have a heater. I just had four sleeping bags and I just ground it out.

“Honestly, it sucked. It was cold waking up in the morning. Then when you are kind of cold and then you’ve got to put cold clothes on or cold gear on, that was rough. Like I always say, you don’t even really think about it. It’s just in the past.”

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Nagy spending the time in freezing cold Indianapolis sleeping in his van for rounds four through six is next level. Hey, he loves the sport and it shows!

This is a part of the issue I have with the MXGP series. Yes, there are wildcards out there that some riders can get but it’s not easy to show up at an MXGP and race like it is for riders over here in SX and MX. That’s one of the things, in my opinion, that make motocross great. A guy can get a bike, modify it a bit and line up with the world’s greatest riders. Talent is the separator, not money spent. Nagy has spent time riding in the winter down in California but unfortunately not this year. His program is, how we say, pretty loose!

“I didn’t even have an off-season because I was in Illinois the whole time. All I did was ride. I would ride with a track that was half snow, and then two jumps of dirt. That was all I did. I wasn’t in California. This was the least prepared I’ve been going into a year, and I did the first round on a 450 and was able to get in on it which was sweet. I was stoked on that, to make the night show.

“Then I wanted to do a 250 the whole time, but I didn’t get the bike that I’m riding until the night that I left for Houston. I pretty much just had a brand new 250. I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ll race the 450 at the first one and then switch the suspension over.’ I broke the bike in in the parking lot. The first time it ever saw dirt was the practice at Houston 2, which is pretty funny.”

The thing about that is he broke the bike in around the pits and he hadn’t ridden the bike on a track until the first practice at Houston 2! The bike had stock bars, stock grips, a stock head pipe and suspension modified last year. Yet, somehow, five rounds later he’s in the main!

Nagy’s now going to race the much-more competitive 450SX class while the 250SX East series is on hold and I don’t like his chances to make the main there. However, Alex Nagy will be out there sleeping where he can and practicing where he can. Nagy’s enjoying his life and now he’s got that main event on his record. We need more Alex Nagy’s in the pits.

Words: Steve Matthes | Lead Image: Align With Us

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Matthes Report: Ken Roczen

A look at Ken Roczen’s triumphs.

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It’s not too hard to imagine that, although Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen just grabbed his second win in a row in the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross series, he should actually have four wins. He passed Houston 1 winner Justin Barcia a couple of times in the first main of the year and, of course, we all know that lapper Dean Wilson cost him another win.

It’s not a stretch to imagine Roczen with four wins out of five races to start the season and his current points lead being even bigger, right? He has been amazing and on it right from the first round and it’s cool to see; having Roczen healthy, happy and fast in SX is a good thing for the sport.

One of the things I was wrong about, and boy there’s a lot, was Kenny’s adaption to the all-new 2021 Honda CRF450R. The bike barely shares anything with the 2020 model and I’ve seen plenty of riders and teams at the highest levels struggle to figure out new models. The most recent Kawasaki, for example, wasn’t easy for Eli Tomac and the Team Green guys to get a handle on right away. The 2009 Honda. The backwards-motor Yamaha – there could be a book written about trying to get that bike set-up and working right.

The point is that with data acquisition teams are able to get improvements done to the bike but it usually takes a year. Then of course parts and 2021 Honda 450 bikes themselves were late getting to the USA only adding to my thought that this might be a year where the team and Roczen are constantly learning. The fact that Tim Gajser was on it all last year in the MXGP’s probably helped a bit but SX is quite a bit different from MX as we all know.

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We had Roczen on the PulpMX Show on Monday and I asked him about the bike.

“There’s always little things that could be better, but I think ultimately it comes down to the stock bike has to be good from the get-go to be able to start off and not have huge problems,” Roczen said. “Our previous bike was not quite like that – it was a very difficult bike to set up, especially for all different kinds of conditions. We are in a super good spot.

“My bike is very raceable, especially in the conditions that we have had. It’s been rough. It’s been rutty and tacky. I think it will just be that much better even when it gets a little bit more hard-packed. I think we have had the most difficult conditions. I think everybody would agree with that. We are just solid.”

Honda’s had former SX/MX winner Trey Canard aboard to help with the testing the last couple of years and there’s no doubt that he has been a huge help to the team as far as getting a base set-up down so that the team does not waste a lot of time with Roczen testing. He’s able to just focus on himself.

“I’ve said this a few times; this bike is not a revolutionary bike. Honda has done this in the past with big steps like the dual mufflers or the aluminium frame and, although this bike is different, it’s not so different from the previous model. We were never so far off with this bike; it was pretty good the first day we rode SX. We could race it like this. It gave us a good head start on things

The biggest thing for me is there is less rigidity in this frame. At the end of the mains when the ruts are choppy and bumpy, you have to be perfect. This bike makes a difference and the rider can sustain a hard effort. These guys are going fast the whole time. The power is also more usable in more ways.”

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The new “thing” for the factory teams is having someone like Canard, or Ryan Morais at KTM, who is still a great rider, knows how a bike works and can eliminate some directions that the team wants to try. I’ve been there as a mechanic and spent some long days at the test track trying clamps, bearing races, cams, pistons etc. and trying to get through what works and what doesn’t. The riders themselves don’t really enjoy those days. The quicker you can get the testing over, the better. The riders can then focus on putting in laps and getting themselves ready for the season.

“I think the last three years, I’ve learned a lot. At first we would come up with something and he [Roczen] didn’t like it or he didn’t win. The wins for me as a test rider were hit and miss. I’ve gotten to know him better,” Canard says about specifically testing for Roczen.

Yeah, maybe I was off on my take of him figuring out a new bike or maybe Canard has been such a massive help that they have overcome those usual new bike blues. Either way, Roczen looks as good as ever here to start the series. I wondered if Canard himself was surprised at how good the #94 and the new Honda 450 look so far?

“I’m not surprised at how good he looks. The last year and a half, his health has been a struggle. Even the races he did win, it seemed to me he wasn’t happy with the way he rode. He came a long ways since we started SX – we started a bit late due to the nationals going longer. When he took that time off this past summer, I got a sense he would get things sorted and he did.”

That’s the understatement of 2021 so far.

Words: Steve Matthes | Lead Image: Align With Us

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