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Who Else Likes GP Motocross?

Back when I first got interested in motocross (yeah, you smartasses in the back row, it was a loooong time ago), the scene was completely different from the way it is now. We were the snot-nosed punks of the motocross world, and regularly got thrashed by the European Grand Prix riders. Back then, they dictated the style…both on the track and for what to wear. They had the experience (we had little), and heck, even a large portion of the equipment came from there. Who remembers Maico, Husqvarna, Greeves, Montesa, Bultaco, Ossa, DKW, Monarch, CZ, and Zundapp?

Among the first races I attended back in the day was one of the Hang Ten USGPs at Carlsbad. It’s hard to imagine now, but one of the U.S. guys getting a sniff of a top ten in a moto used to be a big deal. Finishing on the podium? That was barely worth considering, it sounded like such a crazy idea.

Of course, things have completely turned around since then. A lot of the focus is now centered over here, both on the Supercross and National scenes. But one thing that hasn’t changed is that I still like to check out the action over there, and rather than looking at it as quirky and odd (like some of my friends do), I like that it’s different, whether it’s the bikes, gear, or overall scene. I also like keeping track of who’s who, and who’s doing what over there. That always comes in handy around MXoN time. And with the MXoN coming to the U.S. more often in the future, and with the return of GPs to the U.S. starting next year, it makes it easier to feel more connected to the global scene.

I’ll be traveling to Holland for next week’s GP season opener, and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve always wanted to see a Dutch sand race, and it’ll be cool to see the full MX1 and MX2 classes in action, since we only get a limited selection of each one at the MXoN. Be sure to follow along on Vital next week for updates, and besides the race action, we’ll be checking out some of the team introductions on Friday from Valkenswaard.

Whoa, what a crazy couple of weeks!

Between the launch of V2.0 of Vital MX and the late hours of testing that went into that prior to (and during) the Dealer Expo in Indy, the show itself, then heading to Atlanta for the start of the East Lites series, and a couple days spent at a Champ Factory school with Rick Johnson and Sebastien Tortelli (more on that later), it's been a crazy couple of weeks. There has been little time for sleep, and maybe not as much content as usual, but as things smooth out, that should boost considerably.

So what do you think of the new design, and all the accompanying features? We've been really happy with the response, and though there are still some tweaks to work on, we like this custom-coded version much better than the heavily-modified open source software that we launched the site on. Once again, the credit for implementing the new stuff was our ace programmer, Aaron, who has been pretty much on call 24/7 lately, as we rolled out not only the new VitalMX.com, but new versions of VitalBMX.com and VitalSkate.com as well.

One thing I've been missing over the last couple of weeks is my trusty Canon 70-200mm lens, which suddenly turned not-so-trusty at San Diego, when it abruptly stopped focusing. Maybe that had something to do with being dropped out of my photo vest a couple times. We have new Alpinestars vests that are supplied to all the floor photographers at Supercross events, and this year's design is different than in years past. Unfortunately, I discovered which pockets you can't leave the 70-200 in while crouching down. The good news is, it made an appropriately expensive noise when it hit the ground. The other good news is that Canon's repair service isn't far from my place, and they're exceptional at fixing my gear.

Besides all the other assorted things going on, Racer X's Steve Cox and I have been trying to work out the details of bet between the two of us to see who can lose more weight. Maybe that'll result in few calls from Mike LaRocco Sr. to the Live Nation staff on the floor of some of the Supercross events ("Tell number 14 to move, he's blocking some of the trackside signage"). Among other things, we still need to figure out the actual wager, the time span, and exactly how to judge it.

Earlier I'd mentioned the Champ Factory school. I'm working on a separate story for that, but I do have to say that it's something I wish I'd done years ago. Having guys like Ricky Johnson and Sebastien Tortelli watching what you do, and then telling you what you how to correct what you're doing wrong is exceptional. I definitely have a lot more to say on that topic, but you'll just have to watch for the story next week.

In the meantime, it's time for me to pack for Indy (again, this time for the Supercross), and to start eyeing the event at Daytona. It looks like the treadmill's not slowing down anytime soon.

Counting Down to 2.0

We’ve got some exciting changes in the works here at Vital MX. Our ace programmer, Aaron, has been toiling for months on a new content system for all the Vital Media Network sites (www.vitalbmx.com, www.vitalskate.com and our personal favorite, www.vitalmx.com). That includes not only what you see when you visit the site, but what we deal with on the admin sides as well.

For several months Aaron went all nocturnal on us, grinding away on code until the wee hours of the morning. He’d send occasional photos to the office, showing the hermit-like beard that he’d adopted in his highly focused state. He, along with our President, Brad McDonald, also sweat thousands of details, big and small, all with the goal of making the sites speedier and easier to use.

We knew things were going well when he made the transition to working back in the office recently, and after a couple rounds of alpha and beta testing, www.vitalbmx.com went live on the new platform yesterday. (They got to be the guinea pig this time around, and if you want a sneak peek of the new site, you can check there.) From all the reports we’ve heard, www.vitalmx.com will not be far behind…maybe as soon as this weekend.

What can you expect out of the new platform? Well, virtually every facet of the site underwent serious scrutiny, and you’ll find tweaks and new features sprinkled throughout. Everything from log-in to your profile administration, to the new forums and speedier photo galleries, as well as the ability to comment on nearly anything on the site. it’s a vastly different site, but with a familiar feel. Think of version 1.0 as being a bone-stocker, and the new version as being the web site equivalent of a Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki.

We can’t wait for you to check it out, and we'll be curious to get your feedback.

So What Is 100%?

Driving up to San Francisco for the Supercross in the Vital MX Toyota (yep, I love road trips), I was thinking a bit about the concept of 100 percent. What constitutes 100 percent? How do you determine a percentage? And how do some riders actually give 110 percent?

Coming into the season, I’d interviewed James Stewart at Kawasaki’s Supercross Kickoff event at their corporate headquarters. At the time I’d asked him the standard question of whether he was 100 percent coming into the season. It’s not a question I really like asking, because I’ve seen riders get queried with that so many times in press conferences that you often just get an inevitable eye roll for an answer. But given that he was just coming off a previous knee injury that caused him to miss the end of the outdoor season, as well as the U.S. Open, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Obviously we now know that James had an additional pre-season injury to his left knee, and that he was trying to keep it quiet. None of the top athletes ever like to show any sort of weakness that their competitors can latch onto, and James is no exception. Ricky Carmichael was also pretty adept at hiding injuries during his career. So while I’m not crazy about putting James in the position of having to smile, nod, and say, “Yeah, I’m 100 percent, and training’s been going great,” when in fact he hadn’t been able to train, I can at least sort of understand it.

And how you figure a percentage? Most of these guys have had so many injuries over the years, 100 percent is a concept that’s probably somewhat foreign to them. After a while they have injuries that are, for lack of a better term, just…there. We’d guess a lot of the riders have a certain level of pain that they deal with all the time, and they just work around it. It’s part of the job. They may also have some injuries that hinder them in some way, but they’ve adapted and found ways to work around it. So does that mean they can never make it back to the 100 percent they had on their best day ever?

Often you’ll hear guys who say they’ll give back from an injury when they’re 100 percent…or that they don’t want to race because they can’t give 100 percent. I guess that if they’re out there, they want to be on top of their game, and also be safe…and who can blame them? But generally, I think even when they’re hurt, the top guys bring 100 percent of what they’ve got to the track on a given day. Is that their full potential? Maybe not. But it’s their 100 percent at the time.

And finally, we come to the dreaded over-100 percent number that someone inevitably busts out with on the podium. The only possible reasoning I can give for that one is if they felt like they overachieved on that day; or though a mix of talent, luck, and karma, they rode to way beyond even their own expectations. But I also think that should be their new high water mark that they shoot for the next time they hit the track.

Now that I’m wrapping this up, as far as the San Francisco weekend goes, the only thing I’m 100 percent certain of is that there’s going to be a whole lot of mud in AT&T Park on Saturday, it should make for some very interesting racing, and at the end of the night, you’ll be able to look at the results and figure out who gave 100 percent.

Are You Ready For the Start of the New Season?

Nope, I’m not talking about A1. Sure, the rain stayed away, the crowd showed up, and the riders raced, but to be honest, the race had (at least to me) a slightly weird vibe to it. It felt like everyone was going through the motions just trying to survive it and move on. In some ways, that makes Phoenix the start to the real first race of the season.

Phoenix is guaranteed to feature something more akin to what we’re used to seeing on the track, and a whole lot more like what the riders have been preparing for over the last several months. No one preps for the kind of conditions that we had last weekend. You’d destroy your practice track, equipment, and maybe yourself. I will admit that I was relieved to see just about everyone get out of there healthy, though I am waiting to see how Jake Weimer is, and whether Chad Reed’s hand injury becomes a factor to his season. He obviously did a great job last week, and he has plenty of experience riding through pain.

How about James Stewart? Well, I think there’s little doubt in anyone’s mind that it would have been a very interesting race had he not gone down in the first turn. Did he back off after carving through the pack and getting to second spot? Definitey. That’s a good thing, too. There wasn’t much reason to take all the chances necessary to try and close the gap to Chad.

Watching some of the message boards this week, I was bummed to see some of the tongue-waggers piling on various targets. Sure, the JGR MX/Toyota/Yamaha squad didn’t have the greatest intro, but I wouldn’t be in a hurry to write them off after one race…particularly one like A1. Also, the Honda Red Bull Racing guys are definitely better than they showed. There are still plenty of questions to be answered about the season.

Obviously the work that Ryan Dungey and Johnny O’Mara have been putting in paid off last weekend, as he scored his first Lites win of the season. Jason Lawrence looked impressive as well, and many expected him to be a little closer to Ryan, especially in the mud. But a daring pass by Dungey, and a mistake or two by Lawrence separated the pair at the finish line. But there’s little doubt about the message that Boost Mobile Yamaha of Troy Team Manager, Chris McAvoy, flashed to Jason on the podium. Your time will come.

Be sure to check in here and at www.motodrive.com throughout the weekend. I can do quick updates on MD via my iPhone, and we’ll be adding updates from the track, along with our usual Pit Bits and post-race coverage over on Vital MX.

Lasik Update

I’ve received several e-mails asking for updates on the Lasik surgery I had a couple weeks ago, and the good news is, everything went great.

Actually, that whole experience was probably the fastest and easiest procedure (of any kind) that I’ve ever had done. I’d worn glasses since I was six years old, and without glasses I couldn’t see anything in sharp focus that was further than six inches from my nose. I went back for a one-week follow-up a few days ago, and tested at 20/20. Now I’ll be able to shoot photos glasses-free (no more scratched lenses or sweat and dust streaming down the inside of my glasses), and hopefully that translates into better photos.

I knew going in that I might end up with reading glasses for up close and computer work, and that looks like it’ll be the case. I guess I’ll either have to start carrying a pair with me while shooting, or I’ll be one of the few photographers out there who isn’t doing a lot of chimping during an event.

But being able to live without them full-time? Or throw on a helmet and goggles without having a pair of glasses underneath? That’s a pretty cool deal. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.

• 

  suzukirm12594 Posted:

  about 4 hours ago

  "We're sorry, but something went wrong. We've been notified about this issue and we'll take a look at it shortly." Has been showing up for a while...Its annoying...Id greatly appreciate it if you take a look into it Thanx
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  AXO Posted:

  5/9/2008 3:18 PM

  Perfect, Thank you Steve.
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  Matt Lofty MX Art Posted:

  5/4/2008 6:56 PM

  cant seem to message you..but
  
  Hi GuyB
  Your photos from Vegas are awesome!!
  
  Basically, im wondering if you have an email for K-Dub? as i did a drawing of him just after the McGrath Invitational and have been trying since to get it signed....as i live in England. DC has some prints to give K-Dub, but hasnt got round to it as due to been too busy at the races.
  
  Ive just done one of Mike Alessi, David Vuillemin, just got my on back from J-Law, and also Billy Laninovich and all the top Gp riders and all really like them............K-Dub's been my favourite rider since 01 and im really desperate to send it him and give him one!
  
  Thanks alot if you can help me or know anyone that can?
  
  Matt Lofthouse,19 UK
  I might post my DV one up within a couple of days
  
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  Motocrossmikey Posted:

  5/3/2008 5:03 AM

  Thanks for the cool pictures. You take pretty cool pictures.
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  squid48 Posted:

  4/27/2008 9:06 PM

  Steve, Did u happen to get any shots of Tony in Seattle???
  
  I know he wasnt in the front... but he was trying. haha.
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  JackieIron Posted:

  4/24/2008 4:13 PM

  I know I know, I'm a slow poke. ha
  I love it though... like a myspace for moto freaks
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  jon(#42) Posted:

  4/14/2008 12:42 AM

  whoa, i didnt no that u ran the website. so basiccly ur the more kick ass mx version of tom from myspace?
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  Tom Shields Posted:

  4/8/2008 4:00 AM

  We can't forget about our awesome amateur racing. Night racing is Texas is getting started this weekend. The National is just another weekend with a few more people you might say. LOL. Transworld is doing DIRT DAYS again, the weekend before the National. With the date being moved up, it has placed the changes to the facility that much more difficult of a task on Tony. New permanent sound system, a new spectator hill is being added to the base of the hillside, new walking areas to allow everyone to get 360 degrees around the track, you name it. Traffic issues have been addressed to get everyone out faster, etc. Yea, its busy.
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  MXPUNK511 Posted:

  4/6/2008 11:00 PM