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

Well, that's a wrap for the 2016 motocross season! It was a great season of racing, and I enjoyed writing about it every week. So without further ado, let's dive into my picks for the best and the worst of the final round of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.

250 Class

The Good: Aaron Plessinger | 2nd Place

After having a pretty lackluster motocross season, Aaron Plessinger delivered at the final round of the season with a moto win and second overall on the day. This was exactly what we were hoping to see from him all season, and even though it took him a while to deliver, I'm glad he finally got a moto win and finished out the season strong. Hopefully he makes some more progress this off-season and comes out swinging in 2017, because I'm expecting him to win a 250 championship next year.

The Bad: Zach Osborne | 13th Place

Zach already had way too many mechanical issues this year, so I was in damn near disbelief when he had to enter the race almost a lap down during the second moto. He put in a great ride and got back inside the top 15, but I'm sure he was pretty pissed at the end of the day. Now, obviously I don't know what's been causing all of these issues, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's just bad luck. Martin Davalos is on the exact same bike and has had barely any mechanical issues, so I have no clue. But it sucks that several mechanical problems are essentially what derailed his season. It wasn't crashes, fitness, or speed, it was the bike failing. On the bright side, Zach can hit the reset button now that it's the off-season and start preparing for Supercross.

The Ugly: GEICO Honda

A mediocre end to a mediocre season for GEICO Honda. They may have started the season out strong with both RJ Hampshire and Jordon Smith showing some serious speed at Hangtown, but things started to go south pretty fast. Christian Craig went down at Glen Helen and was ruled out for the season, Hampshire and Smith started to become more and more inconsistent, and Jimmy Decotis underperformed at the nationals the team brought him to. The only rider that met my expectations on the team was the rookie, Tristan Charboneau. Granted, he did get injured early in the season and missed some races, but overall he had a very solid rookie season. He was consistently around 10th-12th place, which I think is pretty solid for any rookie not named Austin Forkner. And at some rounds he was even the top finishing GEICO Honda rider. So yeah, Charboneau was a nice surprise, but otherwise it was a pretty rough season for GEICO Honda.

450 Class

The Good: Justin Barcia | 2nd Place

Justin has started to return to his 2015 form over these past two rounds and has racked up two straight second place finishes. It's awesome to see him starting to make progress, but he is just a tad too late because, well, the American motocross season is over. He does have one more motocross race (the Charlotte USGP) this coming weekend, but after that he should start Supercross testing. Hopefully the momentum he has from the last couple of nationals helps carry him to the podium in Charlotte, and then he can go into Supercross testing with confidence and make some progress there, because he really needs to have a solid Supercross season in 2017.

The Good Bonus: Andrew Short's Career Comes to an End

Shorty's career is now over, and it was very cool to see him end it on his terms. He couldn't go out without some issues, though, as he almost didn't make it to the line for the second moto due to a shock issue. They couldn't get the shock fixed, but he lined up anyway and pulled the holeshot! What a way for him to leave the sport. I wish him the best in whatever he does next.

The Bad: Dean Wilson | 12th Place

As far as we know, Dean still doesn't have a ride locked in for 2017. That's pretty insane considering how much talent he has, but that's just how our sport is right now. Nonetheless, I do think that he'll end up somewhere for 2017, but so many teams are full that it's hard to say where. I could see him going to RCH if they're still around, Monster Energy Yamaha if they want a third rider, or maybe JGR if they do start the rumored second team. Or maybe he doesn't go to any of those teams and ends up somewhere else, it's anyone's guess at this point.

The Ugly: The Season is Over

Yep, the season is over. Now what will we do? Well, there's actually plenty of stuff to watch over the next few months. There are two USGPs, the Motocross of Nations, an all-new SMX Riders' Cup, Monster Energy Cup, Red Bull Straight Rhythm, and an assortment of international off-season Supercross races. So yeah, we have plenty of racing to watch until Supercross rolls around in January.