Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/674407
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 53 ISSUE 17 MAY 3, 2016 P53 MX trainer Aldon Baker is still unde- feated as a trainer in championships where his racer has finished the season—and even one champion- ship where his racer didn't. Starting with Ricky Carmichael in 2001, his only loss in the RC era was the 2004 Supercross Championship, which Carmichael sat out after surgery on his knee. Then came James Stew- art who dropped out of the 2008 SX championship with an injury, then returned to win the 2008 450cc MX title, then the 2009 SX Champion- ship. After Stewart sat out the 2010 SX title chase with an injury, Baker began working with Ryan Villopoto in 2011, which led to four consecu- tive supercross titles and two out of four 450cc MX titles (the other two he sat out). But the 450cc MX title that Villopoto sat out in 2014 went to Baker's racer Ken Roczen. At the end of that season, Baker switched to working with Ryan Dungey. In the three championships since, Dungey has now won all three. Monster Energy Kawasaki's Josh Grant didn't have one of his better nights but tried to stay positive. He had a terrible start, 19th after the first lap, and just couldn't make up any ground. "My day wasn't bad," said Grant. "I struggled a little bit with practice and then going into the main I didn't have the start I wanted. The track was very hard to pass on tonight and I got stuck in a groove, made a couple mistakes but bounced back the best I could. I was able to make a few passes and finally finished 16th." HRC Honda's Trey Canard had a spectacular wreck in practice that sent him catapulting into the air with- out his CRF450R. Canard was rela- tively unscathed, but his mechanic Brent Presnell had his work cut out to get the number 41 machine ready for the next practice session. Later in the evening, Presnell was recog- nized for his swift work by being pre- sented with the MMI Top Tech Award. "While Trey was flying through the air, his bike had gone off the side of the track onto the concrete and into a wall, so when I got it back it was pretty bent up," Presnell said. "I had to replace the handlebar, clutch ca- ble, both levers, front number plate and fender, triple clamps, fork, rear subframe, exhaust, airbox and rear fender. It was basically a full rebuild, front and rear." There's a plan in place for Yama- lube/Star Racing Yamaha's Cooper Webb to move up to the 450cc class in 2017 as a teammate to Chad Reed on the factory Yamaha 450cc squad. Insuring that there is a Blue home for burgeoning stars Webb and Jeremy Martin was actually a large consid- eration when Yamaha brought back its factory effort this year with Chad Reed. Webb, it seems, is ready for the move up to the 450cc class. He has mastered supercross on 250s, as he's close to his first-ever suc- cessful title defense in his first try in the 250cc West, and has been solid outdoors as well when he's not in- jured. He even raced a 450 quite well at last year's Glen Helen MXGP and the Motocross of Nations in France. There are rumors that Jeremy Martin may end up at RCH in 2017 after Ken Roczen vacates the team for factory Honda, and another rumor points to RCH switching to Hondas next year. But a move up to the 450cc class indoors in 2017 would probably be a mistake for Martin when he will likely have the option to do so a year later while staying loyal to Yamaha. Then again, the rivalry between Martin and Webb could prevent the two from be- ing on the same team again in the near future. For the New Jersey round, the Team Honda HRC bikes wore a Japanese flag on their front fenders, with the phrase "Stay Strong Kumamoto," paying respect to those impacted by the earthquakes that struck in mid- April. 450SX 1. Ken Roczen (Suz) 2. Eli Tomac (Kaw) 3. Cole Seely (Hon) 4. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 5. Justin Brayton (KTM) 6. Jason Anderson (Hus) 7. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 8. Trey Carnard (Hon) 9. Chad Reed (Yam) 10. Justin Bogle (Hon) 250SX EAST 1. Malcolm Stewart (Hon) 2. Martin Davalos (Hus) 3. Jeremy Martin (Yam) 4. Shane McElrath (KTM) 5. Aaron Plessinger (Yam) 6. Tyler Bowers (Kaw) 7. Gannon Audette (Kaw) 8. Dakota Alix (KTM) 9. Luke Renzland (Yam) 10. Cedric Souberyras (Kaw) Briefly...