Vital MX Pit Bits: Seattle 5

Mud prep, and a whole lot of hurry up and wait.

GuyB
4/7/2018 6:39pm
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The track was covered as soon as it was built, but it still got pretty soaked. Showers after the plastic was removed didn't help, and the racing will be very interesting tonight.

Fox did up a sweet custom set of gear for Chad Reed this weekend. It's too bad it won't look this good for long.

Chad Reed and the CR22/Speedzone crew did up a different look for this weekend, and this is about as good as it'll look.

The powdercoat on Chad's frame is a chrome style, but clear dulls it a bit.

Yeah, Dean Wilson's butt patch sure fit with the weekend's theme.

The 100% goggles had an interesting setup with a prototype piece that allows them to add tear-offs over the film system.

Large batches of goggles (like these Scotts) were being delivered to all the riders.

Bring on the mohawks!

Josh Hill got the factory treatment, with the GYTR cluctch cover that had his number on it. He tried to get 175 (his amateur number), but settled for 751.

With Justin Barcia on the sidelines, Shawn Bell was busy switching the bike over to Josh Hill's setup. That includes the aluminum tank that Yamaha did up for Justin that offers a more firm feel...and it also doesn't "grow" like the stock tank does. Josh was using the stock one.

With minimal practice, there was plenty of time for mud prep. Here's Justin Brayton's mechanic, Tony Berluti, getting busy.

You'll find plastic-wrapped electronics on most bikes.

Bigger radiators are found on some bikes this weekend, like Justin Hill's.

Anywhere around the engine that the mechanics can fill with foam, they're doing it, in and effort to keep the bikes cool and as light as possible.

Foam is found everywhere on the bikes, including airbox vents. Weston Peick is now also using the new BFRC shock.

Handguards were a pretty universal choice today for the riders.

Solid rotors were aboard Christian Craig's bike before practice.

Hmm...what's that cover do? To hear the Team Honda HRC guys tell it, the ski-style shape helps the lug from grabbing so hard in ruts.

Max at Fly had an interesting setup for Blake Baggett's helmet, with a pre-cut foam kit for his helmet to try and shed mud and much.

Blake Baggett is running a fair amount more grip tape (like on the shrouds) than usual.

Brian Kranz swapping out the usual rotors on Eli Tomac's bike for solid ones before practice. Some mechanics we talked to were planning on using parts (like wheels) that are more beat up, knowing that they'd get hammered in tonight's conditions.

There was some kind of breakdown with the LVN100 Nut Up team, which left Cedric Soubeyras with no bike for the weekend. The H.E.P. Suzuki guys stepped in to help out.

Marvin's latest helmet paint from OCD? Sweet! It looked like he was going to use one of his other helmets this weekend, though, as this one wasn't mud-prepped.

The JMC Motorsports guys have changed up their graphics a bit, adding in some red to replace the yellow stripes used earlier in the season.

With extra time at the truck due to limited practices, we saw lots of mechanics getting ahead for future week prep.

BN3TH is an underwear brand with a collaboration with Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM team (and they also do some especially for Troy Lee Designs). We've tried them, and they're super-comfy...and we appreciate the Pucker Panel. (You'll have to try them to see what we mean.)

Blake Baggett and Benny Bloss are both using a little different fuel line setup than the Red Bull KTM team. It's all stock stuff, and provides a little extra length to the system.

Chad Reed stopped by to say hi to Mitch and the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki crew.

Whoa, we haven't seen his and hers McGrath No Fear jerseys in...well, forever.

Dan Cunningham was part of the Dunlop tire crew, and passed away after the St. Louis round. His tire changing stand will stand silent for the rest of the season. A gofundme account has raised some money for his family, and Dunlop will continue to pay his salary through the end of the season.

Yeah, Alex Ray is back in action after a wrist injury.

Brandan Leith was your top 250 qualifier. He'll remember that for a while. Also, the Rockwell/Nuclear Blast team were using some of the LE plastic that Acerbis did recently.

A few guys were experimenting with sand tires during pratice.

Here's a peek at the goodie that the Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha guys have been running on their bikes. Just a guess, but it looks like a damper for the clutch, to ease it out on the starts. Mitchell Oldenburg is running this weekend. Aaron Plessinger isn't. Is that related to the starting line issue that he had during the parade lap in Indy? We'd guess so.

This is about as good as the track's going to look. The forecast? Not pretty.

Fans in the stands were calling out to the riders during track walk, and were pumped to see Josh Hill.

For those who weren't wearing their riding boots, mud boots were the order of the day for track walk.

That lava flow of slop? Yeah, it was pushed off of the start straight. Woe to anyone who ventures in there.

Adam Cianciarulo was the fastest 250... among the usual suspects.

Justin Hill took a quick soil sample during the single practice session.

The whoops were a mess...and very slick. The surface seems like it has more clay than in the past.

Mitchell Harrison seemed like one of the few guys who was excited about the muddy conditions during the track walk.

Rain gear? Check. Leg swag? Also check. Everyone was doubling the triple at the south end of the stadium.

Joey Savatgy was fifth in qualifying...but there were a trio of unexpected guys (Brandon Leith, Josh Pettis, and Dylan Merriam) who were atop the time sheets. The top three were in the first practice, when the track was as good as it's going to get this weekend. Oh, Dylan is also riding out of the CycleTrader.com/Rock River/Yamaha rig this weekend.

Jason Anderson looked like he had things figured out in practice, and was the top qualifier.

The good news is, Josh Hill is back for at least this race. The bad news? It's for this race. Rain showed up just in time for practice, which added to the slop factor.

Chad Reed hard on the gas. It was weird watching guys (not necessarily Chad) mistiming when to shut off for corners, since as soon as they'd back off, it'd slow down way faster than expected.

Lurch was pretty excited during practice, but he's generally always excited.

Blake Baggett's bike looked a bit like a steam locomotive after practice. Tonight's race may be a war of attrition.

The ruts are going to be deep and nasty...but we all knew that, based on previous visits to Seattle. Just how bad? That'll depend on what mother nature has in store for us later with rain.

It's been a bit since we've seen Nick Schmidt in action. All right, let's go racing!


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