What We Noticed: San Diego
January 23, 2024
More rain! Here’s what we noticed from San Diego.
- Best Race of the Year so Far
Despite the rain, we actually had “good” conditions! Well, good might be an overstretch, but the track was actually really race-able. Jumps were being done, super triples and rhythms were being busted out that separated riders from others, and people were making lots of passes! All of this led to an amazing race in both classes: passes for the lead, underdogs leading, and leaders crashing out of the lead; it had everything you wanted!
- Plessinger is For Real?
Perhaps it’s no surprise that Plessinger finally got his first win in muddy/tricky conditions. However, AP’s reaction to that win tells us more… instead of his customary puddle belly flop, we got a more low-key, business-like celebration. In the press conference he was smiling, but hinted that this is where he belongs. We have never seen Plessinger as a consistent podium contender in the past, but this year feels different. He was very fast in dry conditions at A1, and has noted that the bike is the best ever. With only 3 rounds done (and 2 of them muddy), it’s perhaps too early to tell, but don’t be surprised if Plessinger continues to be a podium threat in 2024. For now, he has the red plate!
- Lappers Changing the Narrative
Lappers, lappers, lappers. Tons of them to contend with for the leaders. Unfortunately in the 250 class, Garrett Marchbanks ran into Matti Jorgensen and lost the lead. Hard to tell if Garrett would have won if not for this; he was flying but so was Thrasher behind him. Regardless, it’s a shame for him to lose the lead like that.
In the 450 class, lappers were also in contention, but in a different way… Plessinger and Webb had to lap their respective teammates Sexton and Tomac; both of these guys were racing their own races coming through the pack with fast lap times to boot. Tomac let Plessinger by but stuck right on him for a few laps matching his times; Tomac even busted out a big triple in the rhythm after the start (the only rider I saw do this). Plessinger mentioned that he thought Eli was Webb for a while, and led him to push harder. Webb seemed frustrated that Eli was between them for a few laps and didn’t let him by. In my opinion, Eli was riding fast enough and far enough ahead of Webb to not impact the race; once Webb got close enough, Eli quickly pulled over.
On the other hand, Sexton definitely did slow down Webb. Sexton apparently didn’t realize Webb was so close in that corner and intended to let him by in the next… this was a massive mistake by Sexton and potentially cost Webb the win. Lappers should never interfere to the point where they take the lead riders down, and that’s almost what happened with Chase. Eli wasn’t close enough for it to be a factor, and Chase could have safely let Webb by right away. I’m not saying this was intentional for Chase, but he needs to do better next time (if he ever finds himself getting lapped again).
- Jett Boxing Intro Gets Real
If you’ve been to a race in 2024 you know that Jett has a special opening ceremonies intro where he gets announced with a boxing robe on. This got a little too real Saturday night when him and Jason Anderson got into it off the track, culminating in some helmet grabbing and tugging. It’s still somewhat unclear why Jett was so frustrated with Anderson (we haven’t heard directly from Jett himself) but Anderson was holding him up, occasionally brake checking, and playing hard to pass. From what I’ve seen, Anderson’s behavior is not worthy a post-race conversation. Remember 2021 when Jett did the exact same thing to Colt Nichols when Colt was riding through the pack, only to have the two of them laugh it off afterwards? Jett needs to be the bigger person and let it slide for now… he has bigger things he needs to focus on (namely the championship) and Anderson is not an enemy he wants on the track.
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Classic Hampshire
Classic it not a good way! He’s no doubt fast but his struggles in the past have been crashing out of contention, and he did that again in San Diego. What should have been a points gain on Smith turned out to be him losing 4 points with a couple corners left in the race… not acceptable. He has the speed to compete for this championship but he needs to clean up his act and stay on 2 wheels…. So far his competitor Smith is doing exactly that.
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450 Huskys Need to Turn it Around
I don’t think a single team has had worse results to start 3 rounds despite having both riders in the main events and healthy…. Craig and Stewart continue to find themselves on the ground in the opening lap of all main events. Please stop this!
