Round number five of the twelve round Lucas Oil 450 AMA Motocross Championship heads to the beautiful foothills of the Rocky Mountains for the seventh annual running of the Thunder Valley National. While only in its seventh year on the schedule, the Thunder Valley Motocross park in Lakewood, Colorado already boasts a rich motocross history. In 2010, the park played host to the biggest international race in motocross, the Motocross of Nations, and by all accounts, pulled it off to rave reviews. What really sets this track apart from other facilities is it’s unbelievable spectator viewing. The more than a mile long, natural-terrain, National-level track sits inside a valley and can be viewed in it’s entirety from more than one spot on the hills surrounding it. These exceptional views set the facility apart from others and make it a favorite destination for outdoor motocross fans.
Another thing that sets the Thunder Valley facility apart from others is its altitude. The track itself sits 6,182 feet above sea level. With that kind of altitude comes an array of challenges for teams and riders alike. The thin air tends to test the riders’ fitness and drain the horsepower from the bikes. With fitness being a key to victory in the altitude, one has to look to the Two-Two Motorsports/Honda rider Chad Reed when talking about who might get it done on Saturday. Chad has been head-and-shoulders above the rest so far in 2011 and has used his fitness to win every second moto this year. At the last two stops–High Point and Budds Creek–Reedy struggled in the first motos only to come out in the second and hammer out wins. I’m not sure what has gotten into the number twenty-two this year, but whatever it is, the fans are appreciating it–and the other riders haven’t been able to do anything about it yet. Chad comes into round five winning three of the first four overalls and with a solid fifteen-point lead in the points over RV2.
Last weekend, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto brought an eight-moto professional win streak with him to Budds Creek, but left without it intact. The number two stretched his eight-race streak to nine after winning Moto 1, but in Moto 2, the streak would end. After getting a good start, the three-time 250 AMA Motocross Champ would have nothing for the number one and the number twenty-two and would have to settle for a distant third. It was later reported that stomach cramps–casued by the number two having to go number two–played a part in his second moto struggles. In the end, RV2 would give back the points he had made up in Moto 1 and left Budds Creek with the same fifteen-point deficit to Reed as he had when he showed up. As the series moves on to Colorado, though, RV2 must be feeling good. In the last four motos, he’s gone 1-2-1-3 and is heading to another track he seems to favor. Of the six professional motos RV2 has raced at Thunder Valley, he has won five and finished second in one, so expect him to come in with intentions of chipping away at that fifteen-point deficit.
The last time Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey had two wheels on the Thunder Valley dirt, he was locking down the United States of America’s twenty-first Motocross of Nations win–and their sixth in a row. Dungey was in Lakewood as the captain of the U.S. team and did what many of the U.S. captains have done before. He defended American motocross heritage with a 1-1 victory against the best motocross racers the world had to offer. Before that, Dungey had won the 2010 version of the Thunder Valley National with a 2-1 score. Dungey will need to continue his winning ways if he’s going to begin to cut away at the large points gap between himself and Reedy. With his one DNF, he sits twenty-eight points behind Reed, and rides like his 2-2 last weekend at Budds Creek–while solid–will not get it done. Dungey always seems to put himself in great spots, but with RV2 and CR22 both on their game, he needs to begin to get aggressive for wins.
Last weekend was supposed to be the number fourteen’s last weekend of racing for 2011. Factory Honda’s Kevin Windham had announced that with the return of Josh Grant–back from injury–he would be on vacation for the rest of the year. Well, that was before he showed everyone that he’s still in-it-to-win-it by chasing down RV2 in Moto 2 and coming incredibly close to a podium finish. We’re not sure why K’dub decided to continue racing this summer, but he announced earlier this week that he will. Kevin went 4-4 last weekend for fourth overall at Budds Creek, and you can be sure he will be out there doing everything he can to move up one position for his first outdoor podium of the year at Thunder Valley. Check out the press release from K’dub and Honda >
Over the last few weeks, the series has seen injured riders returning to action. Mike Alessi at High Point, Josh Grant at Budds Creek, and this week will mark the return to action of Jimmy Albertson. After embarking on a European vacation in 2010 and racing the GP series for the powerful Martin Honda squad, Jimmy returned to AMA action for round one of the Supercross series at Anaheim 1. His return would be short-lived when a practice incident sent him under the knife for knee reconstruction. Now with rehab completed, Jimmy will bring his Merge Racing/Trey Canard-backed Honda to Lakewood, Colorado for round five. We’re not sure what to expect from Albee in his first race back, but we’ll be happy to see the likable guy from Missouri back in action. Good luck, Jimmy, and welcome back.
One man you cannot count out in Lakewood is K’dub’s Factory Honda teammate, the number thirty-three. Josh Grant considers Thunder Valley his favorite track on the schedule, and his results there show why. Last year in the middle of Ryan Dungey’s incredible win streak, Josh went out and showed the world his raw speed. After a horrid start outside the top ten, Josh put the hammer down and blew by everyone in the 450 class–including Dungey–for the lead. It was a display of speed some thought Grant might have, but few had ever seen. In the second moto, a first turn crash took him out of the hunt for the overall win, but you can be sure when he lines up for Moto 1 on Saturday, he will line up knowing what he is capable of in the mountains of Colorado.
What has made 2011 one of the best seasons in the history of our sport is that most everyone on the line thinks they can beat the guy next to them. For years, with the G.O.A.T. on the line, the thirty-nine riders next to him could not imagine being capable of any better than second spot. Now when you look down the line, a handful of riders know they can win on any given day, and the rest of the gate knows they could be just one ride away from that breakthrough day. Guys like Mike Alessi, Josh Grant, Davi Millsaps, Andrew Short, Brett Metcalfe, Windham, Jake Weimer, Ricky Dietrich and even Christian Craig all truly believe that they are possible podium guys–and on any given day they might be. Combine that with the proven Champions on the line and you get one of the greatest seasons of racing we fans have ever witnessed.
450 Updated Points After Round 4 1. Chad Reed - 183 2. Ryan Villopoto - 168 3. Ryan Dungey - 155 4. Davi Millsaps - 130 5. Brett Metcalfe - 118 6. Kevin Windham - 112 7. Jacob Weimer - 93 8. Rickt Dietrich - 92 9. Christian Craig - 76 10. Andrew Short - 75
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