For the first time since September 2010, 40 of the best 250f riders on the planet will be on one gate at one time racing for one championship. Round one of the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship heads to Rancho Cordova, California and incredible batch of hungry 250f riders come with it. With the graduation of Trey Canard, Austin Stroupe, Jake Weimer and Christophe Pourcel into the 450 class—along with the arrival of new rookie blood—we can expect an all-out war over who will become “the man of the 250 class” as the year wears on. We’ll begin the discussion of who will be trying to become “the man” by talking about the top returning point earners from 2010.
Photo by: Brian Robinette
On the top of that list are the Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammates Tyla Rattray and Dean Wilson. Tyla finished the 2010 championship second overall in the championship points after winning at High Point and Southwick and having numerous overall podium finishes. We interviewed the South African native earlier in 2011, and when talking about the Nationals, he made it clear that anything short of a championship in 2011 would be a disappointment for the former World Champ. Tyla is entering his twelfth professional motocross season and would love to add an AMA Outdoor National Championship to his already incredibly accomplished resume.
Dean Wilson, like Tyla, will probably be disappointed with anything less than a championship in 2011. Last year in his rookie season, Deano banked his first two National wins and finished a solid fourth overall in the championship. The kid, originally from Scotland, won his first-ever AMA National at Budds Creek and annihilated the class with a perfect 1-1 at the last stop of 2010 at Pala. He now enters his sophomore year with championship aspirations and championship expectations. Can Deano turn those aspirations and expectations into his first championship, or will those two words turn into too much pressure? We will soon find out.
Photo by: Devin Davis
Broc Tickle and Blake Baggett will also be suited up for the powerful Mitch Payton squad. Tickle is coming into this year’s Outdoors straight off the West Region SX Championship while Blake Baggett is coming straight off the Las Vegas SX Main Event win. Last season in the Outdoors, Tickle struggled with starts, but fought every moto from the gate drop to the checkered flag and finished seventh overall in the points. This season, we expect more, and you can be sure that he does as well.
Baggett is one of the biggest question marks in the 250 field. In his 2010 rookie Outdoor National campaign, we didn’t get to see much of him. Blake struggled some in the first couple rounds, but was able to finish on the box for a moto—and fourth overall—at High Point before exiting the series with an injury. Since then, the only clue as to how Blake might do at the Outdoor Nationals came at Daytona SX—where he crushed the field by some thirty seconds. If that race was a sign of what’s to come, Blake may have one heck of a 2011 Outdoor Championship.
Finishing the 2010 motocross season just behind the Monster/Pro Circuit teammates in fifth and sixth in the points were GEICO Powersports/Honda teammates Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac. Justin came into 2010 a favorite to possibly win the title in just about every bench racing session between fans, but the season didn’t quite go that way for “Bam Bam.” By season’s end, Justin had won a moto at High Point and one at his old stomping ground of Southwick, but was not able to get an overall at any of the twelve stops. After the disappointing 2010 motocross season, Justin came out for 2011 SX a new man. If there were any knocks on Justin as a racer before 2011, it was his lack of consistency, and he clearly put that problem to bed this year. So far in 2011, he has not finished off the podium one time and even logged his first professional championship by winning the East Regional crown. Expect to see the new and improved Barcia fighting for the MX Championship all the way to Pala.
Photo by: Brian Robinette
Barcia’s teammate, Eli Tomac, has been regularly mentioned as a solid title contender for this year’s MX crown. Eli enters his second season of AMA motocross with a year of experience and a true belief that he can win at this level. Last year, Eli came out on fire and won the first National he ever raced in. Soon after, though, he was treated to a reality check at Freestone when he overheated from heat exhaustion. From that point on, Eli never seemed the same, and he struggled to regain that fire and belief he had at the opener. Now a year and two SX wins later, Eli comes in looking more ready than ever. Look for Eli to try to start 2011 like he did 2010—but to keep it going all year long.
GEICO’s third and fourth men outdoors are crowd favorites Wil Hahn and Jimmy Decotis. Wil had a solid 2010, but has not raced since September of last year due to a back injury sustained at A1. Wil is itching to race that new GEICO Honda and has been preparing for Saturday for quite some time. Jimmy Decotis is also coming back from an injury. Jimmy just so happened to be Wil’s fill-in for SX and was recently signed on to fill in for the injured Blake Wharton for MX. Jimmy is one of the most naturally gifted riders on the circuit, and we wouldn’t be surprised in the least if he was able to parlay this chance with GEICO into a some solid podium finishes.
The DNA/Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha team also looks to be a powerful one this season. Kyle Cunningham and Ryan Sipes come to round one at Hangtown with a whole new outlook on where they fit in. Sipes waited seven long years to be a winner at the professional level, but now that he is, don’t expect him to rest. The Kentucky kid has always killed it outdoors, and he will be 100% focused on adding National wins—and even possibly an Outdoor National Championship—to his portfolio.
Photo by: Devin Davis
Cunningham has always had the speed to win indoors and out, but has lacked the consistency and support to get it done. He has floated back and forth from fill-in ride to privateer for the last couple years and has never been able to just focus on racing. This year, that’s all changed. With the Star Racing team as a family, we believe Kyle may just be ready to take it to the next level in 2011.
Just when you think the field can’t get any deeper, in walks the 2009-10 MX2 World Champion Marvin Musquin. The Frenchman’s plan A was to come over and race both SX and MX in 2011, but Marvin had to go with plan B because of a knee injury sustained at the Bercy SX. If you’re wondering if Marvin is the real deal, the answer is yes. He is a beast on the Red Bull/KTM, and you better believe he will be in contention for the National Championship in 2011. We expect him to slowly race himself back into race shape, but once he’s back to 100%, we expect him to be racing for wins. Nobody wins two World Championships on accident.
Photo by: Devin Davis
As we review the line-up from top to bottom, there are so many variables that could make this season incredible. We have talked about so much talent and still haven’t even scratched the surface on all of it. Looking up and down the roster, the talent in the AMA right now is as deep as it’s ever been. There are some unknowns that will be lining up this year—including Malcolm Stewart, Jason Anderson, Nick Paluzzi, Martin Davalos, Cole Seely, PJ Larsen—and we wouldn’t be surprised to see one or more of them battling for wins and podiums throughout the season. All we know for sure is that it is going to be a blast to watch unfold!
See you all at Hangtown!
