Vital MX Pit Bits: RedBud 12

Get ready for a maximum overload of patriotic red, white and blue...

There's a reason the RedBud weekend is one that fans, riders, and teams all look forward to. It's a heck of a party, and a visual feast. For those who didn't make it, we'll try and give you a dose of what the scene is like, both on and off the track.

There it is, a little bit of moto heaven on Friday night before Saturday's pro action. Those are the pro pits on the left, and public camping and night track on the right.

There's always lots of red, white, and blue to go along with the Independence Day weekend, and this year was no exception. Monster Energy Kawasaki had their bikes done up in the patriotic colors, as well as some custom team hats for the crew.

Blake Baggett's Rocky Mountain ATV/MC-KTM-WPS 450.

Normally the GEICO Honda bikes feature a yellow logo...we kind of like the white.

The Team Honda HRC bikes of Cole Seely, Christian Craig, and Toshiki Tomita got the stars and stripes treatment.

Here's a top view of Cole Seely's bike.

The entire Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha roster had the bleu, blanc, and rouge, including Dylan Ferrandis.

AutoTrader.com/Suzuki/JGRMX wasn't missing out on the custom fun...especially since they're doing their own graphics these days.

Fredrik Noren has been traveling with Josh Mosiman for most of the season, but the TiLube crew brought out the rig to house their rider this weekend.

Traders Racing changed up their look for the weekend.

Ronnie Stewart's Team MicroBilt/PRBC Suzuki.

With the brake damage that Marvin Musquin suffered at Muddy Creek, the word went out to all the KTM and Husky teams that they needed to engineer some protective guards for their brakes and clutch reservoirs. That led to a variety of approaches for the solution. Apparently the ding on the front of Marvin's bike was large enough that at first it prevented him from pulling the brake. Then once he gave it a good pull, it was stuck on...and he was a very long way from the mechanic's area. His bike had a handmade carbon guard.

Dean Wilson's bike had simple add-ons to the handquards that he always runs. Also, note the lips added to the radiator shrouds on his bike, to prevent the long-legged Scot from hooking his boots on them. They've experimented with carbon and aluminum versions. The current ones are manufactured on a 3D printer.

Modified handguard components also make up the protectors for Zach Osborne...

...and Jason Anderson.

Blake Baggett's crew went a slightly different route, with a fiberglass construction. We expect that they'll all end up with a more permanent solution before too long.

Spoke safety-wiring? Yeah, that's still a thing among the Red Bull KTM guys.

We got a tour through the TV compound this week, and were impressed with the amount of crew and hardware it takes to get the show up and running each week. For some of you who might say that one network or the other has a better crew, you'll probably be surprised to know that the same equipment and crew rolls between both Supercross and National MX events. Crews get to the track as early as Tuesday each week to start running miles of cables around the facility.

Here's a peek into the area where the show is directed. There are similar rooms for graphics, pre-selection of shots, camera color and exposure adjustments, and "tape" archival. When we were in here, the director and producer were reviewing some of the pre-produced segments and intros.

The announcing crew of Jason Weigant and Grant Langston are in a separate trailer from the director and producer, and have monitors for timing and scoring, the live view being shown to viewers, a preview screen for upcoming replays, and a telestrator (behind Grant). There's also a countdown clock so they know how long before the show starts, and to count in from breaks.

This van handles the video uplink, and there's also a separate dish so that he can preview what the viewers are seeing.

Let's dig into some of what makes RedBud the annual Woodstock of Motocross that it is. First up, how about the custom helmets that Beam Designs did for Broc Tickle and Justin Bogle? RedddBuuddddd!

RedBud has something for everyone. You want to race on the main track? Yep, that's possible. Night races? They've got those, too. There's family-friendly stuff (it's almost a fair-like atmosphere by the night track). There are also regular campers, and Lot B for the heavy-duty party crowd.

The night track is a lot more condensed than the main track, and jump-filled. We doubt there are any fans who come to the weekend who leave feeling like they didn't get to watch all the moto they could handle.

Finishing up practice before the night's action got started.

We saw practically anything you can imagine being used as a beer bong. Handlebars? Yep. A stuffed deer? Yeah. The two-stroke pipe was a first, though.

Lot B is where the serious partiers go over the weekend, and where recyclers descend at the weekend to clean up piles of aluminum cans. A whole lot of beer gets consumed here. Typically you'll also find a lot of pro riders visiting here...mostly before darkness descends. Of course, this time of summer, it doesn't get dark until almost 10:00.

Nightly fireworks show? Yep, they've got that covered.

We're not sure that the roof of this truck will be the same after the weekend.

No, that's not a hat. Yes, it's a front fender.

Everyone has their "thing". For this guy? It's drinking beer from his boot. Apparently he's been doing this for years.

We dig the RedBud 'do.

The trophies for the weekend were really cool. It's amazing the variety of awards that you'll see during the year.

Ben Schiermeyer's hat is an annual thing here. We're sure it makes it a lot easier for Justin Barcia to pick his pit board out of the crowd.

We dug Austin Forkner's butt patch...and the shirt is part of a red, white, and blue ensemble that he wore to the track.

Yeah, the moustache is getting strong for Alex Martin's mechanic, Jordan Troxel. Almost Magnum-like.

It was cool to see Nick Wey back on the track, and we dig the new graphics on his rig.

Oh yeah, Nick knows.

Coming back and scoring points after not racing here for a year or more? That's pretty strong. Way to go, Nick.

Toshiki Tomita always has some really awesome custom helmet graphics from Colors Designs.

Aaron Plessinger saw the same set of boots on Jimmy Albertson earlier this season, and was in awe. Georgia and Jimmy hooked him up with a set, which she delivered at RedBud. Aaron was a happy guy.

Mitchell Harrison has made huge strides forward in speed and fitness this season, and he put in his best-ever moto result, a second, hot on the heels of Zach Osborne.

Mitchell was pumped to get up on the podium for his second moto finish, and was nearly on there to score a trophy. Jeremy Martin's win in the first moto gave him the extra points needed to keep him up there.

Weston Peick made it to press day just in time, after coming from Idaho, where Fly Racing was introducing their new gear, and showing off their facility to the assembled press. Look for their new gear on the track at Washougal.

How about some style shots as we get ready to close this one up? Eli Tomac knows style.

Austin Forkner.

Cameron McAdoo.

...and last, but not least, Trey Canard.

And finally, to all our military personnel around the world, thanks for all you do. A pair of A-10s buzzed over the track on Thursday during press day. We're not sure if they were moto fans or not, but either way, we appreciated the show.


Pit Bits 2017 - RedBud
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