This was the topic last year also. All the same riders are back, with the very talented Lawrence brothers added to the mix. Musquin the only rider to not return. There will be plenty of storylines to follow, once the racing starts. I agree with you! AP7 will have to step up his game to get a win this year.
Talent pool is deep every year. By round 4, give or take, some will be hurt and we’ll realize a few others really aren’t contenders. There will be 2-4 remaining to actually fight for wins.
Then petition Feld, AMA, and the venues, to make tracks that dont have huge do, or die obstacles, that hurt the riders, and sometimes, end their careers. I understand trying to slow them down, due to the advancements in motor power, and technology but, making rhythm lanes where guys try to quad gaps, wall jumps, is not the answer. Limit cc size, hp, increase bike weight, etc... But, it has been proven, making the obstacles more difficult, just leads to a few that can do it, and the rest not doing it (making for boring 1 sided racing) or injuries. It makes no sense to me. Ski
Good NBC / Peacock preview show tonight. I've been cipherin' up on SX and Dakar intel lately, and forgot to mention the best news I've read that isn't hype for 2024: All West coast races will be starting the pre-race show at 8:30 PM EST, with the main program beginning at 9:00 PM EST. Long overdue change! https://racerxonline.com/2023/12/20...permotocross-smx-broadcast-schedule-announced
My friend and former pro MX racer Warren Reid believes that eliminating 'bowl' turns and returning to flat turns would both slow average speeds down everywhere, along with increasing the passing opportunities. Flat turns require more rider skills, and collisions between riders would occur at slower speeds. Riders would enter whoops, jumps and other obstacle at lower speeds in general. Crashes and injuries will never be eliminated, but lower average speeds would reduce the forces of these impacts.
I'm mostly a Road Race fan but certainly do enjoy SuperCross in the winter. So much to watch, Jett & Hunter on Honda, Coop to Yam, Eli seeking redemption (revenge?) can Champ Sexton mesh with the KTM and eliminate the mental mistakes? Deegan, will he be consistent, he's fast as hell and so is his mouth! I have a soft spot for Roczen on the Suzuki, but i'm still pulling for Coop! Triumph should be interesting to watch as well. Plus I love Weege!!
With the front of the 450s so stacked, it will be interesting to see who takes it just a little easy at the first rounds, and who dares to go super hard from the git go. As always, the championship can’t be won in the first rounds, but it can certainly be lost there. The trick as always is to get off the West Coast rounds healthy. There will almost certainly be guys injured and out after A1, but I’m guessing the front 3 or 4 will make it just fine, perhaps by dialing it down just a little. That’s why A1 sometimes has unexpected winners. But if any of the front guys hangs it out from day 1, I’d guess it’d be Jett to be the one.
I believe the SMX championship money Jett, Chase and Kenny won will have more veteran racers looking at their long-game for this year. There has been a lot of talk about how racing the 450 series wears you down, throughout the season.
I'd bet on Jett trying to beat down the other contenders in A1, too. The only thing is I heard on Racer X that the forecast may cause a mud race. I would not be surprised if AP or Malcom try and push hard in those conditions just to get their first win. Good show from Racer X below. I also linked the Peacock preview.
Rain no longer in the forecast for Saturday. AM rain tomorrow, Wednesday, then cloudy next couple days. 66 and sunny Saturday, supposedly.
Sexton grew up about 25 minutes from me. Always saw him at the local track. There’s a video floating around of him beating the 450s on his 85 or something it was wild. Hopefully he keeps it together this year and has less crashes. He had some nasty ones in 2023. I was able to go to a private test of his to watch last summer at the track about 2 miles from my house. It was unbelievable the speed he’s got. The crazy part was watching a local A guy out there absolutely ringing the neck of the bike and chase looked like he was put-putting around, effortlessly and some 10-12 second a lap faster. Hopefully KTM was a positive switch and not a negative. I don’t know shit about dirt, I just love watching.
Anything will be a positive switch for him. It was very clear he didn't mesh with the front end of that Honda, and they just flat couldn't or wouldn't get it right.
