Being involved with motocross means spending a significant amount of time on the road. We went full privateer status for Hangtown, doing the seven hour drive from Orange County up to Sacramento on Thursday night before the race.
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There's nothing like a good road trip with four full grown guys shoved into a Toyota Tacoma crew cab. Booking it up the I-5 through California is an emotional roller coaster: horrible drivers, beautiful sunsets, the lovely smell of cow manure from an enormous roadside feedlot...and more horrible drivers.
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Kevin McCarthy from Mind-FX has been helping Bryan out with his racing efforts. Along with being his mechanic for the weekend, Kevin also drove the YZ450F up to Sacramento.
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Bryan shuffles through the melee. With Hangtown being the first race of the year, the Promoter Will Call on Friday is practically a who's who of professional motocross as everyone on the tour needs to stop by to pick up their credentials.
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We have been testing out the Rekluse Core EXP for a little while now, and Wallace has come to prefer it over a standard manual clutch. Here he discusses clutch setup and adjustment with Rekluse technician, Austin Paden.
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Austin Paden put the finishing touches on the Yamaha before the bike headed off to tech inspection. He is Rekluse's go-to guy for the company's supported riders on the pro tour.
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There was no sound check at the Hangtown tech inspection, and without it, Bryan and Kevin were in and out within a few short minutes. With a mostly stock 2013 Yamaha YZ450F, there really was not much to worry about anyways.
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Having never been to Hangtown before, Wallace was excited to see the track for the first time. Understanding the layout for any race is important; at the pro level it is absolutely crucial.
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Amateurs raced on most of the National track on Friday, with the exception of a few turns and jumps. Nevertheless, they chewed up the track enough to provide a good example of how the track might develop on Saturday.
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This is no factory machine...in fact it is basically stock and almost everything is a bolt on item except for the Pro Circuit suspension mods. The other major items are the Pro Circuit T-5 exhaust system and the Rekluse Core EXP auto-clutch.
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Also on the bike were some Pirelli Scorpion Mid-Hard tires, Sunstar chain and sprockets, Pro Taper bars, a DT1 air filter and cage, Renthal Direct Fit IntelliLevers, and Scott grips. This YZ is the epitome of a privateer machine.
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Rice hulls! The Dirt Diggers have been mixing this stuff into the soil on the Hangtown National track for the last several years. Along with helping to retain moisture, the mixture creates a somewhat spongy feel under foot...and makes for a rough track!
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Hey, you would be pumped too if you were racing the Hangtown National for the first time.
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The varying track crews that handle the different rounds of the AMA Nationals are top notch. Transforming a course from a rut laden mess into a buttery smooth, perfectly watered track is an art form.
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Hangtown is one of the longest running races on the tour and draws a huge amount of fans from all over Northern California, which also means long lines to get into the track at 7am on race day.
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Everyone get's race jitters. For the opening round of the 2013 AMA Pro Motocross Nationals, multiply that feeling by about 1000.
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Bryan walks his bike down to the line while doing one last check of the controls. It's go time!
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For practice, there are basically two different methods a rider can take: 1) treat it like a race and get out front; 2) take your time and let everyone else go since the first couple laps are not timed anyways. Wallace chose option two the first time out.
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Remember those first race jitters we mentioned? They'll get you sometimes. On Bryan's first fast lap he caught a little more traction than he was expecting going through the second turn. When you're expected to lay down your top time within minutes of riding a track for the very first time, unplanned wheelies like this are no surprise.
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The hills began to fill in with fans as the first practices got underway. Floating over the old finish line jump, Wallace was getting the track dialed and it was time to lay down some quick times.
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Dealing with traffic in practice is part of the game. As Bryan found out, it can be difficult to even get one clean lap in without another rider in the way or some type of caution flag.
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Wallace drops down one of the many highspeed downhill sections at Hangtown. With most leading into sharper turns, Bryan found that the Rekluse clutch helped practically eliminate his chances of stalling.
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In the first practice, Bryan's best effort was a 2:09.6 minute lap time.
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Welted up from roost in the first practice, Bryan contemplates what he needs to do the second time around.
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Walking his bike to the line, there was no getting around it: Wallace needed to lay down some blazing times if he wanted to avoid the LCQ.
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The level of urgency with the riders is even higher in Practice 2, yet it is the rare rider who can lay down a faster lap in the second practice when the track is rougher.
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Wallace clears his vision while keeping his eyes on the prize.
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Creativity can go a long way during qualifying. Scrubbing bumps like this can save precious fractions of a second.
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While Bryan had all of the jumps dialed within two laps, such as this well-known step-up, it was still not enough. His best effort in Practice 2 was a 2:11.8, which meant he would be lining up for the LCQ.
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Bob Wallace, Bryan's dad, flew out from New Jersey to help support his son in any way that he could.
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Bryan takes a rest after practice while his father cleans the YZ450F.
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Having helped guide Bryan through the mini and amateur ranks in and around Englishtown, NJ, Bob knows what motivates his son. Now it's a matter of making the jump to the next level.
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The lineup for a National LCQ is one of the more tense gates a rider will ever participate in. Forty riders and only four spots available to make it into the main motos. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for Wallace when the gate dropped as you will see in the next sequence.
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Take a look on the far right of the image. On the starting line for the LCQ, Bryan experienced a clutch related issue that caused the YZ450F to wheelie out of control once the gate dropped. While he was able to recover from the issue without crashing, it did severely hurt his start, relegating him to last place going into the first turn.
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Bryan was able to jump off the back and keep the bike from completely looping out, but started the race in last place.
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Bryan was able to jump off the back and keep the bike from completely looping out, but started the race in last place.
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Bryan was able to jump off the back and keep the bike from completely looping out, but started the race in last place.
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After speaking with race support at Rekluse, we determined that there were likely a few factors that contributed to cause the clutch to come out of adjustment range. We are working with Rekluse to get this issue dialed for additional testing.
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With the initial problem behind him, Bryan could very well have thrown in the towel. However, even after rounding the first turn a few seconds behind 39th place, Wallace put his head down and charged.
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By the end of the first lap, Wallace had somehow managed to pass more than half the pack.
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In the matter of just a couple of minutes, Bryan worked his way from 40th all the way up to 16th. If you want advice on passing techniques, Wallace might be a good guy to talk to.
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As the laps clicked off, Bryan knew there was little chance at a qualifying position, but he still gave it his all.
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Every one of these riders are the working class of pro motocross racing. On the bubble and doing everything they can to be make it into the program and hopefully pick up a ride.
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This story focused on Bryan Wallace, but all of these privateers deserve major respect for putting stock machines up against factory equipment.
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Looking a little like Le Cobra (David Vuillemin) here, Wallace dug deep. It was clear that, while his start suffered, Bryan was very much at home with the bike, his setup, and the track.
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It should be noted that while the malfunction may have hurt Bryan’s chance at a qualifying position, racing is racing and there is no guarantee he would have had a good start, or even qualified, if nothing had gone wrong mechanically. He also still feels that the Rekluse Core EXP gave him an advantage once out on the track, and performed well during practice and qualifying.
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By the end of the four lap 450MX Class LCQ, Bryan had put in a spectacular ride. Unfortunately, his efforts still did not amount to a qualifying position as he came away with ninth place. Still not bad after starting in 40th.
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Along with the bike, we would like to give a big shout out to Fly Racing for the helmet and gear, TCX Boots, and 100% Goggles. And, once again we would like to also thank Yamaha, Pro Circuit, Rekluse, Renthal, Scott, Sunstar, Factory Effex, Pro Taper, DT1, and Pirelli for helping Project Privateer come together.
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We took our Yamaha big bore up to the first round of the 2013 AMA Pro Motocross Nationals at Hangtown to see how it would fair against the big boys. With our test rider and pro competitor, Bryan Wallace at the helm, it was a privateer level effort on the YZ450F. Take a look to see how the weekend went down.
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