What We Noticed: Off-Season
December 11, 2024
Most off-season events have already wrapped up… Here’s what we noticed.
- Busy Schedule for Lawrence Bros.
Despite Jett complaining about the SMX season being too long, both brothers raced an additional 3 races this fall: MXdN, Paris SX, and Melbourne’s AUSX Open. They were about as busy as they could have been (minus WSX)! The extra time racing I’m sure was nice though… they were able to return home to Australia for the first time in many years, and also get some valuable gate drops in supercross on the new 2025 Honda 450. It definitely cut their typical off-season bootcamp grind down… but perhaps they don’t need it?
- Improved Webb
We all saw a struggling Cooper Webb last fall… the new bike took him a long time to adapt to, his fitness was lacking, and his speed just wasn’t there. This off-season was completely different! He looked just as fast as ever and had the pace to pressure Jett in some moments. Winning Paris SX was impressive, and he was well-positioned to win in Melbourne before crashing in Main 2. Despite a poor off-season last year, we saw a very fast Webb in A1… does this mean we can expect even more from Webb heading into 2025? New gear deal: new guy?
- Momentum for Tomac
It has been a couple years since Eli has strung together a full year without injury… 2024 including. He has made note that the lack of time on the bike hasn’t allowed him to build up momentum and his race pace. However, a full off-season of racing and staying healthy could be exactly what he needed? He looked great in all events: was the fastest for Team USA at the Des Nations and coasted to the WSX Championship. I expect to see Eli back in peak form for 2025.
- WSX Technical Tracks
Let’s be real: the 2024 SX tracks were lacking in technicality… really easy whoops (essentially no whoops), typical rhythm sections, and generally not much creativity. It was refreshing to see WSX deliver some exciting tracks… big peaky rhythms and long, tall, difficult whoops. Here’s hoping it will inspire Feld/Dirt Wurx to amp up the SX tracks for 2025!
- New Savatgy?
Joey Savatgy’s 450 career has had a lot of up and downs… his short time on Factory Kawi was great but he couldn’t retain the ride and has since struggled to find consistency. With a new ride this off-season and into 2025 on FirePower Honda, he seems to finally have found his home. He looked awesome racing WSX and Australian SX... winning the championship down-under will no doubt bring him confidence heading into 2025.
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Time to Grind
With off-season events done, riders are now head down in bootcamp… A1 is less than 5 weeks away! Off-season gate drops have helped riders fine-tune settings and build some confidence, but generally speaking, most of the work happens in this next month. Can’t wait for A1!
