Want to know what a former SX winner thinks of what’s going on out there?
Want to know what a former SX winner thinks of what’s going on out there?
Photos by James Lissimore
Rough night for BUD Racing, Maxime Desprey crashed out on the last lap in qualifying spot. What do take away from a night like this, if anything?
I think Max showed a lot of improvement in San Diego. He was 17th fastest compared to 30th in A1 and 2 seconds off the front runners in SD compared to 5 in A1. He rode great in the heat race and was running 4th with 200 yards to go. He just made a stupid mistake when he felt Webb behind him. He looked over to see where he was but drifted toward the tuff blocks. He hit one on the take off of a small step up and crashed. In the LCQ, someone fell in front of him in the second turn and it was over. I think if he rides at his full potential he can be a top 12 guy without riding over his limits. It sucks not to make the main but what we’ve done since getting together 6 weeks ago is paying off. He sees that too but he will have to put everything together on a Saturday night.
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Ryan Dungey’s got that red plate back for Anaheim 2 this weekend. |
What did you think of the track?
I think the track was fun to ride but maybe not too great to race on. Lots of 90-degree turns and a sweeper which makes it hard to pass and have good racing. I thought the track was pretty basic and easy but it seems like even the best, other than Dungey and Reed, were struggling to stay consistent, be smooth and do all the obstacles correctly.
Dungey was just about perfect and he needed to be because Reed rode with him the whole main event. Talk about what you saw from those two?
In 20 laps I saw one mistake from Dungey, he slid out a bit before the whoops taking that useless inside line. After that he moved back to taking the outside line which was the way to do it. Dunge looked to be on rails and he’s tough to beat if you let him have a few second lead. He won’t make a mistake. You have to push him to make one by showing him your front wheel. In San Diego Ryan was textbook though and seeing him not making any mistakes tells me that he could try harder and maybe even go faster.
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” There’s nothing he could’ve done better in San Diego other than starting in front or changing his line before the whoops.” |
As far as Chad, the guy is amazing. Keeping Dungey’s pace for 20 laps is very impressive. There’s nothing he could’ve done better in San Diego other than starting in front or changing his line before the whoops. He was taking RD’s inside line that was flat and slick and he couldn’t get a good drive into the whoops. But the worst thing I saw is his gearing. His bike is geared way too short or maybe he rides a gear lower than Dungey everywhere. I would bet it’s the gearing. His bike sounds like it’s going thru the power too quick. That way, the power is tough to manage, the traction isn’t as good, you get more engine braking which makes you lose in precision in rhythm sections. I don’t know what he runs but it was very noticeable from the sidelines
Webb was great how did he manage to catch Osborne out there? What did you see?
Webb’s move on Osborne was crazy good. I can’t believe he went for it and it worked perfect. It didn’t seem like he was close enough at the time to pull a move like that at that spot. With Nelson being out and Craig not being the same guy I saw at the practice tracks all pre-season, Webb will run away with this. He’s racing Osborne, Smith, Savatgy which on paper are not on the same level. But his starts aren’t helping him and he’s not showing the domination that everyone thought he would. The San Diego track might be another cause for not dominating that much. It was tough to make the difference on that track
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“If you guys like the nice soft riders that take eight laps to pass a lapper and thank their pets on TV, I can’t do anything to save you. I love what Anderson is doing!” |
Anderson had some aggressive passes in the heat on Barcia and in the main on Seely, you see any problems with that?
I don’t see anything wrong with it. Like I said above, it was tough to make a difference on that track. Ten or so riders were in the same second in practice. Knowing that and having five 90-degree turns on a track, you gotta get in there and push people around. If Pourcel or Marvin would ride like that we would so excited because that what they lack. But since it’s Anderson, we make a big deal about it. A lot of riders train together, eat together, go bicycling together, take photos of each other for each other’s social media accounts. Finally there’s a rider that charges hard from start to finish and doesn’t give a crap about anything, it’s refreshing to me. If you guys like the nice soft riders that take eight laps to pass a lapper and thank their pets on TV, I can’t do anything to save you. I love what Anderson is doing!
Weird how a guy like Trey can be so fast one week, so off the next week…you notice anything out there?
Trey is a rider that can win one Saturday and be invisible the next. Consistency hasn’t been a strong point for him. I thought he was riding well and fast in A1 but he still makes too many mistakes. I really didn’t see him much in San Diego. Basically, Trey will have to start riding a bit like Seely if he wants to be more consistent. He has to ride smoother with momentum and he has to stop trying too hard to go fast. That’s when he makes mistakes. Look at Dungey, it’s all momentum and consistency. That’s the way to ride a 60+ horsepower 450 in SX. Talking about this, I’m worried Anderson might not be able to score big points at every round riding like he does even though I love watching him ride
Who should be worried after two races in either class?
I’m worried about the two French guys. Pourcel being 4th on the first lap and finishing 13th isn’t good. Marvin isn’t as prepared as much as he wanted to be but I’d rather see him goes balls out for 12 or 15 laps and blow up than pacing himself. Tomac has to find the spark he had last year. He was amazing in the turns last year but since A1, I haven’t seen him railing them how he knows. To be fair, 4-4 isn’t bad for a rider that hasn’t raced since May last year though. He’ll get better. We haven’t seen the Roczen of A1 2015 which was fast AND smooth. He’s riding very impatiently which leads to mistakes. It all goes back to riding smooth and consistent in the rpm range where the 450s have the most power, which is between 8 and 9000. That’s the way you’ll be scoring the most point in a 17 round series. At that game, Dungey and Seely are doing a great job.
