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Vital MX Pit Bits: Orlando 2 4

Watching the launch of the West Coast series, and the usual assortment of fun in the 450s.

64 GuyB https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/users/64/avatar/c50_110811guyb_redbud_1449985751.jpg?1449984985 https://www.vitalmx.com/community/GuyB,64/all 07/10/06 9429 3581 46002 870 2413 30818 40 1717 2 185

GuyB
2/23/2021 4:16 PM

Ready to blast through a whole bunch of goodies from last weekend? Let's do this.

Justin Cooper had a broken bone in his foot with just about a month to go until the season. Did it slow him down? Sure didn't seem like it. Here he gets some pre-race inspiration from Bobby Regan.

Fastest 250 qualifier? Yep. Justin Cooper.

With the 250 West firing up, it was good to see Jeremy Martin back in action. Less fun was seeing him get landed on during the main event, which resulted in a dislocated shoulder. Here's hoping that he heals up quickly.

Check out how identical the style is between Dylan Ferrandis (above), and Aaron Plessinger (below).

With rain in the area most of the week before, and the track rebuild happening on a lane-by-lane basis when they could, it made for very different track conditions...especially during practice. It was bumpy, choppy, and dusty. Watching guys try to make the pivot into the whoop section was extra-difficult, though Malcolm Stewart is doing an extra-good job here.

As the riders were exiting the corner after the whoops and crossing in front of the mechanic's area, Jeremy Martin was regularly using them as a berm. Then they'd get reset, and he'd do it again the next lap.

Gaerne makes some great cycling shoes. These are not them. It's funny to see the guys doing their warmup in boots.

Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing had two guys on the East Coast, and they both crushed it. In Orlando, they had the veteran duo of Martin and Cooper, but also the rookie duo of Thrasher and Frye. The B practice in the 250 class had an amazing amount of factory talent by itself.

Club MX is back with a stronger roster, and a dialed setup.

Garrett Marchbanks is living the #clublife and looking good on the Yamaha. A podium was a great way to start the season for both him and the Club crew.

Well, if you're just going to sit up there and look pretty...

Club MX and FXR had a really good-looking setup.

Jace Owen is also on the Club MX squad this year.

The Nuclear Blast/Yamaha crew has added Hardy Munoz to the roster.

Robbie Wageman was a returning team member, and looked really strong over the weekend.

With teams like JGR and GEICO Honda going away during the offseason, it was good to see a couple of others pair up to continue the fight. Manluk and Rock River have combined their efforts.

We dig Alex's setup (including that new Arai scheme). Unfortunately, a crash at the start of the main ended his night early.

Jordan Bailey opted to do a last-minute coast switch. He's now on board a Yamaha.

The Chaparral/FXR/Honda crew has stepped up nearly every part of their game for '21.

You couldn't miss Hunter Lawrence on the track...either with his speed, the Alpinestars gear, or matching AP paint on the Alpinstars lid.

It was good to see Hunter back on the track after he dealt with an offseason injury.

There are some bits of the old GEICO Honda squad over at Chaparral/FXR/Honda...both in riders and staff. Carson Mumford is on the squad, along with his mechanic, Richard Sterling. Both are veterans of the old team.

Super-clean to start the 250 West.

The Lewis Hamilton tribute gear that Ken Roczen did with Fox Racing was very cool. One elite athlete recognizing another.

Race-ready.

The Motoconcepts crew has their pit area dialed in.

After Justin Brayton had a hard crash the week between the two Orlando rounds that took him out of action, Mitchell Oldenburg was recruited to fill in as a 450 rider.

Kyle Peters was the line rider under the Phoenix Honda tent. We'd heard that Enzo Lopes was trying to make it back (he was still eligible because he never took a gate drop on the East).

We've seen some people in the forums knocking Eli Tomac for not being more aggressive. The current champ is 31 points down, but we're just at the halfway point, and there's a lot of racing to go.

It was a bummer to see Adam Cianciarulo go down in the main event, and it looks like he'll be sidelined for a bit with a broken collarbone. Those boots and gear, though.

After Austin Forkner went out with a shoulder injury in Houston, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team was down to a single rider on the East with Jo Shimoda. With the start of the West series, they were back to triple that number. That's Cameron Mcadoo in the saddle.

Seth Hammaker was making his rookie debut, and looked really solid, both in practice and during the race.

Jordan Smith is the third part of the trio.

After a bout with the 'rona, Alex Ray was back in action.

Marvin Musqin floating over the finish line jump. You couldn't have asked for a much nicer day than we saw for the second Orlando round. Well, unless you were waiting in the tunnel to enter the stadium, where a cool stiff breeze was blowing through.

Saturday marked Max Anstie's return to action. Thor opted to go with the Hallman route for this race. We dig the old school look.

The team also dialed in the graphics on their Suzukis to match the gear. Nice.

Man, jumping into a season at the midway point is not ideal, but it was good to see Max back on the track.

We got a taste of the BarX Chaparral Suzuki squad during the East series with John Short, but this was the first time out with multiple riders and the full rig. Unfortunately, the smile was short-lived for Sean Cantrell. A hard crash in the whoops left him in a sling as he was boarding Sunday morning's flight home.

During practice, the track looked a bit like some of the So. Cal. practice tracks. Fortunately, Dirt Wurx worked some of their magic, and it was looking better for racing.

The Bar X Chaparral Suzuki squad got a big download of bikes, equipment and engines from the JGR Suzuki gang.

Casual day at the office...at least until it's time to help with a downed rider or errant Tuf-Blox. That's Chris Blose working through the rhythm section on his AJE Motorsports GasGas.

The AJE guys have a much different look this year, with Motul sponsorship, and the new bikes.

Randy Menenga checks in with Justin Barcia. A digger during practice left Justin with some sore ribs, but he was good to go for racing.

Ty Masterpool squeeked in for the night show, but missed out on making the 250 main.

Carson Brown was just outside the top ten in qualifying, but missed out on earning a spot in the main event.

This JMC Motorsports pit bike, though...

Are you ready for another generation of Renners? Jett Renner (Ronnie's son) was a competitor in the KJSR.

Red Bull KTM Team Manager, Ian Harrison, trying on Cooper Webb's 450 for size.

This gives you a pretty good idea of the afternoon conditions.

Ever wondered what the bottom of Cooper Webb's KTM looks like?

It was really quiet under the TPJ/Fly tent on the East, with only Kevin Moranz there. They had several more riders (like Mason Wharton), there for the West.