Hangtown Motocross - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Motocross Feature

The great outdoors are finally here! There was a lot of excitement coming into Hangtown, and it did not disappoint as we had an unexpected winner in the 250 class, the usual assortment of over- and underachievers, and several crashes. Now, let's get into the best and the worst of Hangtown.

250 Class

The Good: Joey Savatgy | 1st Overall

While it's not necessarily a surprise that Joey won the 250 overall in Hangtown, it was a surprise to see him go 1-1 and really be "the guy" the entire day. He qualified in the top spot earlier in the day, and had first gate pick which definitely helped him rip a good start in each moto. Then he just rode his own race and inched away from the pack. Alex Martin was able to close the gap on him in the second moto, but I think Joey was in cruise mode at that point in the race. Then, when Alex did get a little too close towards the end, he was able to up his pace and pull back away in the closing stages. This was a great way to start the season for both Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki and Joey, and it'll be interesting to see if the red plate #37 can repeat this performance in a week's time at Glen Helen.

The Bad: Jeremy Martin | 5th Overall

Hangtown wasn't a total disaster for Jeremy, but it could have definitely been better. He got off to a decent start in moto one, but he just settled into fourth until the very end when he passed Cooper Webb for third place. Then, in moto two, he got another decent start and was immediately passed by his brother. A few laps later he started closing the gap back up and was right on Alex's back wheel when he went down, falling to about 11th place in the process. After re-mounting, he was only able to get back to ninth and claimed fifth overall on the day. Not a terrible opening round, but he has some serious work to do over the next few races. Hopefully, he can rip a couple of good starts at Glen Helen and start to claw his way back into the points chase.

The Ugly: None of the Suzuki 250 Riders Scored Points

Suzuki's first year back in the 250 class has not gone well at all. Both teams, Mad Racing and Motorcycle Superstore, suffered injuries throughout the Supercross season as well as some disappointing results. Then, at the opening round of the MX season, Matt Bisceglia was sick and couldn't race, Kyle Cunningham had bike issues and didn't make the gate, and the three Suzuki-backed riders that did make the gate didn't score points in either moto. Oh boy, that's not good. To make things even worse, the first Suzuki rider was 27th overall. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a bad opening round for a manufacturer. Hopefully that's as bad as it will get for both of these teams. Otherwise, it's going to be a long season for Suzuki.

450 Class

The Good: Ken Roczen | 1st Overall

I fully expected this from Ken after watching him race the final few rounds of Supercross. He seems to be getting along well with his Suzuki now, opposed to earlier this year, and he seems to be very fit. Overall, his dominance wasn't quite as impressive as Eli Tomac's 2015 Hangtown performance, but he still straight up beat everyone by a decent margin. I hope Tomac and Dungey can close up the gap some over the next few rounds so we can witness some great battles.

The Bad: Christophe Pourcel | 14th Overall

Christophe didn't have the best Supercross season, but I thought it wasn't that big of a deal because he hadn't raced Supercross in a few years. I did, however, expect for him to do better this summer. Well, he didn't do that great at the opening round. He got mediocre starts both motos and just hovered right inside the top twenty throughout the races. I don't expect him to put on a charge like Eli Tomac or Blake Baggett and come all the way through the pack to the front, but I would like to see him charge back into the top ten where he belongs. He needs to get a start at Glen Helen so he can show us that he belongs up front.

The Ugly: Both of Yoshimura Suzuki's Riders Went Down and Got Injured

What is there to say about this subject at this point? James Stewart had a horrible Supercross campaign, riddled with injuries, crashes, and disappointing finishes. Then, coming into Hangtown, the team said he was finally healthy and ready to go. Well, he didn't stay healthy for long as he crashed in the first moto and dislocated his shoulder. At this point, I don't know if 2016 can get any worse for James.

Oh, you thought that was the extent of the bad news? Nope, Blake Baggett got hurt, too. This is may be an even bigger hit to the team as Blake looked great during the first moto. He charged through the pack with Tomac, and then passed him in the closing stages of the race for third. He looked to do the same thing during the second moto, but a small crash left him with a broken collarbone. It won't keep him out forever (he could be back as early as Thunder Valley), but it has definitely taken the wind out of his sails for the time being. I hope Blake and James heal up fast, and are back racing soon.