Fred Noren's 'Crib' from Racer X

What a legend!

Freddy is a great outdoor rider. The results he´s managed this year has been great considering he´s only a mostly stock bike compared to all the factory guys he´s racing.

He finished 10th outdoors 2015 and again 10th outdoors 2016.

He didnt quite reach his results from previous years but then again both 2015 and 2016 he got to fill-in for HRC mid-late in the season both years. This year best was an 8th in Southwick (on a borrowed 100% stock engine) and previous years he´s been making it into the top 6-7 on several occasions.

People like Freddy or Henry Miller or Justin Hoeft or whoever else privateers that battle it out with the factory boys should really get more help.

IMO the problem is that few gets too much. Imagine how much money is thrown at a selected few riders on the circus (ET3, RD5, RC94 etc) and because of that, the top 10-15 guys have to pit out of a van to go racing. The salaries for the top guys are just too ridicoulus. Take some of that money and pour it into factory-backed satellite teams that can house the Norens and the Millers etc.

Would a guy like Freddy benefit from racing the Canadian, Australian or British championship etc moreso than the AMA? I mean would he make more money because he could most likely get a factory ride in one or the smaller series?

So much respect for these dudes that are keeping their dream alive on a shoe string budget.

agn5009 wrote:

Would a guy like Freddy benefit from racing the Canadian, Australian or British championship etc moreso than the AMA? I mean would he make more money because he could most likely get a factory ride in one or the smaller series?

Probably yeah and he´s stated in interviews that he would be really interested in a MXGP ride if it came up. Guy must make a living and even though he and Amy looks happy doing the privateer thing and all that it just must be taxing on life having to doing everything like that year after year. I could see him going to Canada if a good offer showed up.

If he gets a similar offers in both Europe and the US, I would think he chooses the US without a doubt but since he´s so behind in supercross he wont ever land a properly "great" ride in the US whereas in Europe the deals are MX only so hi´s options should be more lucrative.

Bearuno wrote:

Finished 12th overall in the US Nationals this year, and, I think higher up than that a few times previous to this year?

And, there'd be a lot of others with far less support.

This is Not a 'knock' on the US Nationals, for the those prone to hysterics here.

It's the sort of thing you see through all branches of our sport, well, all sports.

The privateers and small teams in a Series are the life blood of the sport.

Fred has done very well over his years in the States, and, at times has had a few appearances for Honda. He, and his Wife , his Mechanic, seem such a great group of people - as are so many within our sport.

I just wish there wasn't such a disparity from the top riders, through to even blokes just off the top ten, let alone those making the top 30 / 40 etc.

They seem a happy group. Heck, it might just be a great example of people making do, and not wasting a single cent, that they can use with the rest of their lives away from the race at hand. And, the co-operation / help given to them by other riders / teams show the best part of our sport, I think.

To me it says a lot about the sport!

Love their attitude but it's kinda sad that they have to live like that. I really hope that he lands a good ride for the next year.

agn5009 wrote:

Would a guy like Freddy benefit from racing the Canadian, Australian or British championship etc moreso than the AMA? I mean would he make more money because he could most likely get a factory ride in one or the smaller series?

AMA = 2400$ 11th place finish
Cmrc= 200$ 11th place finish

Make more money rolling around in 35th at Glen Helen then 11th at Regina .

r.sal923 wrote:

AMA = 2400$ 11th place finish
Cmrc= 200$ 11th place finish

Make more money rolling around in 35th at Glen Helen then 11th at Regina .

Maybe you should compare AMA 11th to CMRC 2-3rd?

Very interested how that compares actually

agn5009 wrote:

Would a guy like Freddy benefit from racing the Canadian, Australian or British championship etc moreso than the AMA? I mean would he make more money because he could most likely get a factory ride in one or the smaller series?

r.sal923 wrote:

AMA = 2400$ 11th place finish
Cmrc= 200$ 11th place finish

Make more money rolling around in 35th at Glen Helen then 11th at Regina .

I don't think Freddy would be an 11th place rider in the Canadian series. He would be fighting for top 5s and wins. Plus he could probably have a factory ride in Canada, which would obviously pay him to race.

Anyone know what a guy like Alessi makes racing full time in Canada?

And this lucky guy has the absolute loveliest wife in the pits!

agn5009 wrote:

Would a guy like Freddy benefit from racing the Canadian, Australian or British championship etc moreso than the AMA? I mean would he make more money because he could most likely get a factory ride in one or the smaller series?

r.sal923 wrote:

AMA = 2400$ 11th place finish
Cmrc= 200$ 11th place finish

Make more money rolling around in 35th at Glen Helen then 11th at Regina .

agn5009 wrote:

I don't think Freddy would be an 11th place rider in the Canadian series. He would be fighting for top 5s and wins. Plus he could probably have a factory ride in Canada, which would obviously pay him to race.

Anyone know what a guy like Alessi makes racing full time in Canada?

Cmrc 1st place finish in the 450 class is 1000$. Cannot comment on sponsorship money, only the public info on the internet. Alssei must be making more money racing Canada than the USA nationals, but he sure is not making it with purse money.

r.sal923 wrote:

AMA = 2400$ 11th place finish
Cmrc= 200$ 11th place finish

Make more money rolling around in 35th at Glen Helen then 11th at Regina .

agn5009 wrote:

I don't think Freddy would be an 11th place rider in the Canadian series. He would be fighting for top 5s and wins. Plus he could probably have a factory ride in Canada, which would obviously pay him to race.

Anyone know what a guy like Alessi makes racing full time in Canada?

r.sal923 wrote:

Cmrc 1st place finish in the 450 class is 1000$. Cannot comment on sponsorship money, only the public info on the internet. Alssei must be making more money racing Canada than the USA nationals, but he sure is not making it with purse money.

$2400 for 11th? You sure its that high?. Does anyone have the current payout at the nationals? I believe 21-40 gets $200.

Hey, at least Christian Craig got to ride HRC 450 this year....

tprice07 wrote:

Hey, at least Christian Craig got to ride HRC 450 this year....

I think that is the point someone made earlier... its SX holding him back.

Craig had some great SX rides and was "rewarded" with the HRC 450 this summer...

just the way it goes. SX is more important than MX right now... (Not my opinion, the factories opinion based on the decisions they make)

tprice07 wrote:

Hey, at least Christian Craig got to ride HRC 450 this year....

dirtdog36 wrote:

I think that is the point someone made earlier... its SX holding him back.

Craig had some great SX rides and was "rewarded" with the HRC 450 this summer...

just the way it goes. SX is more important than MX right now... (Not my opinion, the factories opinion based on the decisions they make)

Christian Craig also gets better results in MX though. You're essentially comparing a guy (craig) who is capable of putting in solid top 5 finishes in SX and solid top 10 finishes every week in MX to a guy (Noren) who is typically 15th-20th in SX and 10th to 15th in MX.

I'm totally on the pay Noren bandwagon, but you can't compare him to a guy like Craig who is all around faster, gets better results consistently and has way more upside.

tprice07 wrote:

Hey, at least Christian Craig got to ride HRC 450 this year....

To be fair, Craig kicked ass this summer on that bike. I would have loved to see Freddie on that bike but let's not act like Craig was a poor choice.

I don't get why Honda can't throw Freddie's bike and parts in their hospitality rig or something. Being able to stay home, train/ride, eat right, sleep well and then fly to the races is such a huge advantage. These guys stayed with me for the Thunder Valley round and I couldn't believe how much stuff they fit in the van. It filled my garage when they unloaded! And then we get to the track and I see 2 Honda semis sitting there solely for Seely to go racing. I can see if they were new to the series or the brand but a relationship exists between Freddie and Honda. How can they not help a dude like that out at almost zero extra cost or effort on their part? The Norens are such great ambassadors for the brand. This sport is so backwards sometimes.

DRAGONBACK wrote:

And this lucky guy has the absolute loveliest wife in the pits!

Sacre bleu, what would Mathilde say!

tprice07 wrote:

Hey, at least Christian Craig got to ride HRC 450 this year....

Who else would you really have wanted to ride it? JMart was going for a championship...thats all I got. Might as well give it to the guy that puts in the effort and usually keeps it on two wheels...not to mention CC48 gets along with CS14 and KR94 so their very little BS drama.

Honda should sign Freddy, I can't imagine he would demand a huge paycheck to ride the red bike.

tprice07 wrote:

Hey, at least Christian Craig got to ride HRC 450 this year....

nascarnate326 wrote:

Who else would you really have wanted to ride it? JMart was going for a championship...thats all I got. Might as well give it to the guy that puts in the effort and usually keeps it on two wheels...not to mention CC48 gets along with CS14 and KR94 so their very little BS drama.

Honda should sign Freddy, I can't imagine he would demand a huge paycheck to ride the red bike.

I like Christian Craig, have his jersey/pants on my wall. I was just bummed that he took that 450 ride when he already had a 250 ride..now if Geico would have thrown Freddy onto the 250 that would have been cool. Just sucks to see a ride go to someone who already has a ride.

DRAGONBACK wrote:

And this lucky guy has the absolute loveliest wife in the pits!

brewrabb wrote:

Sacre bleu, what would Mathilde say!

Dragonback is a huge fan of Musquin. He would never make that kind of comment about Mathilde, he has way too much admiration for his idol for that.

DRAGONBACK wrote:

And this lucky guy has the absolute loveliest wife in the pits!

brewrabb wrote:

Sacre bleu, what would Mathilde say!

Yeah, man...Mathilde Musquin has her beat in the "lovely" dept.

davistld01 wrote:

Yeah, man...Mathilde Musquin has her beat in the "lovely" dept.

You kiddin', right?

I can't believe they would live like that for more than maybe 1-2 seasons chasing "the dream". Looks like more of a nightmare.

tprice07 wrote:

Hey, at least Christian Craig got to ride HRC 450 this year....

nascarnate326 wrote:

Who else would you really have wanted to ride it? JMart was going for a championship...thats all I got. Might as well give it to the guy that puts in the effort and usually keeps it on two wheels...not to mention CC48 gets along with CS14 and KR94 so their very little BS drama.

Honda should sign Freddy, I can't imagine he would demand a huge paycheck to ride the red bike.

tprice07 wrote:

I like Christian Craig, have his jersey/pants on my wall. I was just bummed that he took that 450 ride when he already had a 250 ride..now if Geico would have thrown Freddy onto the 250 that would have been cool. Just sucks to see a ride go to someone who already has a ride.

I may be wrong but I don't think Craig was going outdoors with GEICO.

Looks alright to me...

nascarnate326 wrote:

Who else would you really have wanted to ride it? JMart was going for a championship...thats all I got. Might as well give it to the guy that puts in the effort and usually keeps it on two wheels...not to mention CC48 gets along with CS14 and KR94 so their very little BS drama.

Honda should sign Freddy, I can't imagine he would demand a huge paycheck to ride the red bike.

tprice07 wrote:

I like Christian Craig, have his jersey/pants on my wall. I was just bummed that he took that 450 ride when he already had a 250 ride..now if Geico would have thrown Freddy onto the 250 that would have been cool. Just sucks to see a ride go to someone who already has a ride.

tcallahan707 wrote:

I may be wrong but I don't think Craig was going outdoors with GEICO.

Ahh I didn't know that. I like the guy don't get me wrong. Just feel for Noren in this situation. He's got a good chick to deal with all that hassle and headache.

Freddy and alot of these other guys could make more money running around the midwest doing fair races all summer

Just watched. Ton of respect for Fast Freddie. What he's accomplishing with such limited resources is absolutely amazing.