Former AMA MX & SX and GP winner offers up his thoughts on Budds
Former AMA MX & SX and GP winner offers up his thoughts on Budds
Photos by Simon Cudby
A very muddy race won by Justin Barcia and we know what you’ve been saying about his riding technique and you wouldn’t think it would work in the mud but this was just his latest great ride in the slop. Thoughts on his win?
David Vuillemin: To tell you the truth I was surprised about his performance. He rode good in the first moto and was very close to Pourcel at the end. In the second moto, he obviously dominated. He was actually very fun to watch Justin ride in that second moto. You could see he was having a blast on the track. It’s the kind of state of mind you have to have to perform in the mud. Mud is there for everyone and you have to make the best of it. I’ve always done good in the sloppy conditions because I was going out there not to get wet but to have fun. If you say in your head, “Eff, it’s raining it’s gonna suck”, you will never perform.
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” From what I saw since Hangtown from Justin, he never rode like that on dry conditions. If he points out the changes he made to his riding in Budds Creek to any other tracks, he will be a threat to win on any track.” |
Back to Justin’s ride. I don’t know what happened in that second moto but if Barcia didn’t have the #51 on his Yamaha and Alpinestars gear, you wouldn’t have guessed it was him riding. Technically, he was riding very well. There was no excessive revving, no excessive clutching out of the turns and he was riding on the pegs a lot. What a huge difference in his riding style compared to what we saw this season. The mud didn’t help Barcia win his first 450 overall win (I didn’t even know he never won one), Barcia helped himself to win it. He rode like I’ve been asking him to ride in this column or on the radio show since he put his ass on a 450. I guess it’s better to understand late than to never get it and I have to congratulate him on a very nice 2nd moto. I don’t care about the results if the riders don’t ride well. You can get a good result and ride like shit. I actually said it about one of Marvin’s 2nd places in SX this year. Barcia got the win and rode well. I really hope he understands the difference in his riding style in Budds Creek and won’t think it was because of the mud. From what I saw since Hangtown from Justin, he never rode like that on dry conditions. If he points out the changes he made to his riding in Budds Creek to any other tracks, he will be a threat to win on any track.
If you’re Dungey and you go over the bars like that in the mud and then at the end of the day you don’t lose any points to Roczen, you’ve got to be happy. The #1 lost a huge chance to affect the title didn’t he?
It was a great operation for Dungey despite what happened. Ryan endoed bad in the first lap of the second moto, lost a front fender (I hate when that happens. So weird to ride without one) got lapped and actually didn’t lose a single point on the second place guy in the championship. In soccer, we call this the luck of the champion. I don’t believe in luck though but to be champion in any sports, you need…let’s call them favorable breaks. That was one of them. As far as Roczen, he blew a big opportunity to gain a bunch of points on Dungey this weekend. I guess he was sick from what I’ve heard on TV. Michael Jordan had a 104 degree fever in one of the NBA finals games and still managed to win the game. Roczen should’ve went 2-1 in Budds Creek. He lost 6 points in moto 1 (the difference between 2nd and 5th) and 7 in moto 2 (difference between 4th and 1st). That’s a 13 points swing.
On dry conditions, it’s almost impossible to gain 13 points on Dungey in 2 motos. He missed a huge opportunity to make the championship a little more interesting. He would’ve been “only” 24 points down today. When you’re within a moto to the leader you can put a little more pressure on him. Now, he’s a moto and a half behind and will have to gain 6 points a race + 1 point to tie Ryan in the last 6 races. It’s still mathematically possible but the more we go the more the gap is comfortable for Dungey.
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“The next couple races, Red Bud and Millville, will be a good test for us to see if CP can confirm he’s good form. Those tracks in normal conditions with the heat and the fact you have to “go for it” aren’t supposed to be what Christophe likes nor performs well at. I guess we will see.” |
Christophe Pourcel was great…again. The slippery conditions have favored him the last couple of weeks but he’s still been riding great. Thoughts?
The last 2 races were great conditions for CP and suited his style and “lack” of fitness compared to the top guys. Cooler temperatures, technical tracks, ruts and conditions where you don’t have to go balls out but instead, ride smooth. He rode great the last 2 weekends with 36 points in High Point and 42 in Budds Creek. That’s an average of 3rd in 4 straight motos. Despite a lack of preparation prior to the start of the season, those are good stats to have in the middle of the championship. He was the fastest in practice in the last 2 races, got great starts and the way he rides functioned very well at these tracks.
Like I said, the heat and the toughness of the track weren’t a factor in the last 4 motos which helped him even more. I seriously didn’t think he would’ve done so well. I knew the 450 was a better fit for him. That bike suits his style better but the competition is tougher in the big class. The next couple races, Red Bud and Millville, will be a good test for us to see if CP can confirm he’s good form. Those tracks in normal conditions with the heat and the fact you have to “go for it” aren’t supposed to be what Christophe likes nor performs well at. I guess we will see.
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Alex Martin won his first national moto of his career at Budds Creek. |
Alex Martin won a national moto. That is all.
Alex is the surprise of this season’s 250 class. He’s been riding well and dicing with guys and teams that should beat him on paper. I’ve talked about it in a previous column and it’s cool to see someone do that. He could’ve won the overall in Budds Creek with one spot better in moto 2. That would’ve been a big upset! Second is already a great accomplishment. I am sure he’s excited about racing in his backyard in a couple of weeks. I saw he signed with Star Racing for next year and that has to be good for his mind. He knows he has a great ride line up for next year and doesn’t have the pressure of performing and being in the unknown about his future.
Marvin was taken out by his buddy AC in the first moto and dominated the second moto. These next four motos at Red Bud and Millville will probably determine the title…if he can beat or stay close to J Mart going into Unadilla and Washougal, he could be golden.
Marvin’s tracks didn’t really work for him this year and same for Jeremy. Glen Helen and Budds Creek were supposed to be Martin’s tracks and Marvin won. Tennessee was supposed to be the Marvin’s track but Martin won. I don’t think we should see things like that anymore this season. I don’t think Red Bud and Millville will decide the championship either since they’re only separated by 10 points. It’s still anyone’s championship so far. But, Jeremy’s last 2 races weren’t up to par for a series favorite and running Champ. His last 4 scores are 4-4-2-6. That’s not very good since him and Marvin are so much better than anyone else. He lost 16 points on Marvin in the last 4 motos and Marvin had a 7 place finish in those. It looks almost like Roczen in the 450s with Dungey. In that 250 field, Jeremy can’t afford to make only 1 podium in 4 motos. He can’t afford to get bad starts with one of the best bikes of the class and make Marvin’s life easy. He’s got to turn it around and the 2 next races might be what he needs to do so.
Did you think the delay of over an hour would affect the riders at all?
Basically, on a race like Budds Creek in the mud, you want the day to be over quick. It’s frustrating to see the rain fall and have to wait to go out to race the second moto. In a way, it was good thing. They had more time to prepare the bikes for the mud and work on the race strategy. We gotta give props to the Budds Creek crew for cleaning the track up. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. If it was a GP, the track would have been a swimming pool. I always liked the reaction of the track crews in the US. They “get it” in terms of track prep and, in this case, do the best they could to clean the mud off the track. It was actually pretty good for the last moto of the day and we had a good moto. Dungey would disagree but it was pretty fun to watch and the track was very rideable. It was far from Millville 06 or Budds Creek 09!
