Monday Morning Coffee

It’s time for another Monday Morning Coffee where we talk about some of what happened in the sport of Motocross and usually much more.

By Billy Rainford

Well, the wait is over and we now have an idea of what the 250 East Supercross class is going to look like each time the gate drops. After attending the pre-race press conference, it was obviously one of or even the most stacked 250 regional group of riders we’ve ever seen. Every time you thought you had an idea of who was the favourite, another rider’s name would come up! We were heading into what should be a great battle.

I actually flew down to Florida this time. I’d never been to the event at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa before. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever actually flown to Florida before. I’d stopped there and continued on to some place in the Caribbean, but never to Florida just to be in Florida. But then I realized I had once before way back in the winter of 2011 when I was with MX Ranking. Our RV wasn’t wrapped yet but we wanted to be at the first round of the Winter Ams, so I flew there. So, it was my second flight to Florida in all these years.

It’s funny when I leave the photo den at the end of the night of racing and say “See you later” to the rest of the people in the room. Everyone says something about having a safe drive or something about hoping the red van makes it.

This time, I was picked up by my very old friend, Al Strickert. Al is a couple years younger than I am, so when we used to race each other back in the early 1980’s (ouch!) he was just this little kid who was nipping at my heels. Of course, as time went on, he turned into a very fast rider who even gave riders like Al Dyck and Doug Hoover a run for their money at certain events. Me, not so much.

Al headed down to Florida before Christmas for the moto trip of a lifetime. He was going to hang out in the sunshine for 4 months and ride tracks all across the area. Unfortunately, a weird, 2nd-gear crash in a corner put him down with a sore hip.

It turned out his hip was more than just sore and he underwent hip replacement surgery down there! But did he go home? No he did not. He’s still down there cruising around and is even back on a bicycle already.

Anyway, it was great to hang out with an old friend. We even went to Dade City MX on Thursday night when I got there to check out their open practice.

I mentioned MX Ranking earlier. Well, the first Winter Am race I was able to make it to in the RV was at Dade City. I was going to get there a little late (huge snow storm up north when I left Ontario) but track owner Randy Yoho told me he had a perfect parking spot for me.

I lined the newly-wrapped C class motorhome right behind the starting gate for everyone to see. Sounds great, right? Well, after the first gate dropped, the joke was on me. The RV was completely covered in mud. So much so that I don’t know if you could even read the logo on the side! He got me.

I gave the track a call on our way to the track from Tampa and Randy actually answered the phone. I tried to jog his memory as to who I was but he was actually up in Georgia sitting at the side of a mountain trail in a side-by-side when he took the call and said, “Hey, I’m 66 years old, I can’t remember shit!” Haha Bottom line, we weren’t getting special treatment at the entry gate at the track. Haha

There wasn’t anyone either of us knew at the track, so we watched a few sessions and decided to head back to Tampa.

I stayed at an Air BnB right between the airport and the stadium and it was actually perfect for what I needed. It was neat as a pin but very small. It was a small structure in the back yard next to another slightly bigger unit that would be better if you weren’t alone. Either way, it was inexpensive, clean, and safe. I’d do that again.

Al did #vanlife on the road before heading over to a hotel to stay with a dude who used to ride a 4-wheeler as a medic at Hully Gully way back in the day. I never saw him on this trip, but I wanted to know if I’d recognize him. I didn’t get the chance to find out. I didn’t go fast enough to fall very often so there’s a good chance we never met, but I must have seen him ripping around back then.

It was great to hang out with Al for a couple days while I was down there. I don’t think he’d been to a Supercross race in over 10 years, so he was in heaven. He’s a chatty fella and had no problem stopping to talk with people and snag selfies for his new and growing Instagram page.

He’ll still be down there when Daytona rolls around, so we’ll have to drag him out for a night on the strip during Bike Week. See you in a few weeks, Al.

The big news from the weekend for us as Canadians was that Jeremy McKie was going to line up for his first-ever 250 race. He kept his plans pretty quiet and is on the RMATVMC RIdes Unlimited KTM team. Unfortunately, he came up short on a triple during early Press Day on Friday morning and ended up injuring his wrists. He broke the left and dislocated the right. He came straight back to the track so I had to snap the above photo of him in all his glory.

We grabbed him in the pits on Saturday afternoon and got his take on the situation:

He’s been riding Supercross for a while down in Florida, so it wasn’t something he shouldn’t have been doing. He just got caught off guard with the way the jump actually sent him and how it absorbed his speed going up the face. He knew right away that he wasn’t going to make it and that was all she wrote.

He’s going to stay down south and keep training, which is cool. There’s a chance he gets back on the bike for the final rounds, but failing that he’ll look at maybe riding the AMA Pro Motocross Championships down south this summer.

Keep your chin up, Jeremy. Look what that track did to so many of the top riders on Saturday! Yeesh!

I’ll get into the actually racing in more detail in a separate article. There is so much to talk about that I don’t want to just gloss over this one. Man, there was carnage and there were a lot of people who weren’t very thrilled with the track they were presented with for Round 5.

As a photographer trying to capture some exciting action, I always enjoy the sand section. Normally, they are just a corner, but this time we had a roller section and a corner. As many seem to fell, it was too much sand. Denny Stephenson, who is always witty and intelligent with his comments, said on our Instagram page that “Sand isn’t Supercross.”

We all complain when tracks are too “cookie cutter” but I don’t think 2 sand sections is the answer. I like a good wall to slow things down, but last time they tried that riders ended up launching it and complaining about the hard landing.

What are your favourite obstacles on SX tracks that you’d like to see more of?

2025 Tampa Supercross Results

Raymond James Stadium

Tampa, Florida

250 Main Main Event Results

POS	#	BIKE	RIDER	INTERVAL	BEST LAP (LAP #)	TOTAL TIME	HOMETOWN	TEAM
1	31		MAX ANSTIE Holeshot	16 Laps	55.335 (4)	16/25:13.772	United Kingdom	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
2	34		DAXTON BENNICK	3.326	55.734 (11)	16/25:17.098	Morganton, NC	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
3	50		CAMERON MCADOO	6.430	55.693 (6)	16/25:20.202	Sioux City, IA	Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
4	56		SETH HAMMAKER	8.470	55.915 (11)	16/25:22.242	Bainbridge, PA	Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
5	1		TOM VIALLE	11.058	56.227 (5)	16/25:24.830	France	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
6	10		CHANCE HYMAS	12.225	56.181 (10)	16/25:25.997	Pocatello, ID	Team Honda HRC
7	59		CULLIN PARK	17.950	57.295 (15)	16/25:31.722	Clermont, FL	Phoenix Racing Honda
8	41		NATE THRASHER	19.716	49.461 (4)	16/25:33.488	Livingston, TN	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
9	47		LEVI KITCHEN	21.332	56.683 (15)	16/25:35.105	Washougal, WA	Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki
10	60		CARSON MUMFORD	28.639	57.395 (4)	16/25:42.411	Simi Valley , CA	Quadlock Honda Racing
11	55		HENRY MILLER	29.487	57.822 (10)	16/25:43.259	Rochester, MN	Storm Lake Honda Buddy Brooks Racing
12	75		GAGE LINVILLE	40.890	58.809 (10)	16/25:54.662	Lake Park, GA	The Dirt Bike Depot
13	87		HARDY MUNOZ	44.732	59.106 (14)	16/25:58.504	Temuco, Chile	Munoz Racing
14	195		LANCE KOBUSCH	52.659	59.616 (9)	16/26:06.432	New Florence, MO	SPR
15	125		LUKE NEESE	56.413	1:00.571 (5)	16/26:10.185	Concord	Neese Racing
16	89		TREVOR COLIP	1:02.322	1:00.485 (9)	16/26:16.094	Bowling Green IN	TiLUBE Honda
17	83		AUSTIN FORKNER	1 Lap	57.309 (5)	15/25:16.096	Richards, MO	Triumph Factory Racing
18	24		R.J. HAMPSHIRE	1 Lap	56.431 (2)	15/25:39.977	Hudson Florida	Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
19	192		JACK CHAMBERS	2 Laps	1:01.367 (8)	14/25:18.703	Auburndale, FL	Partzilla Blaster Power PRMX
20	20		PIERCE BROWN	10 Laps	55.413 (4)	6/5:30.618	Sandy, UT	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
21	92		MAXIMUS VOHLAND	10 Laps	57.226 (5)	6/5:47.784	Temecula, CA	Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha
22	73		PRESTON BOESPFLUG	10 Laps	1:01.034 (5)	6/6:16.142	Battle Ground

450 Main Main Event Results

Notes: #46: 1 position penalty for cutting the track

POS	#	BIKE	RIDER	INTERVAL	BEST LAP (LAP #)	TOTAL TIME	HOMETOWN	TEAM
1	27		MALCOLM STEWART	23 Laps	54.013 (5)	23/21:22.497	Haines City, FL	Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
2	2		COOPER WEBB	7.102	54.318 (6)	23/21:29.598	Newport, NC	Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha
3	21		JASON ANDERSON	12.161	55.058 (2)	23/21:34.658	Edgewood, NM	Monster Energy Kawasaki
4	32		JUSTIN COOPER	15.445	55.386 (3)	23/21:37.941	Cold Spring Harbor, NY	Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
5	4		CHASE SEXTON Holeshot	16.726	54.415 (2)	23/21:39.223	La Moille, IL	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
6	51		JUSTIN BARCIA	19.634	55.257 (6)	23/21:42.130	Monroe NY	Rockstar Energy GASGAS Factory Racing
7	17		JOEY SAVATGY	25.257	54.952 (5)	23/21:47.753	Clermont, FL	Quadlock Honda Racing
8	7		AARON PLESSINGER	45.531	55.155 (5)	23/22:08.028	Hamilton, OH	Redbull KTM Factory Racing
9	12		SHANE MCELRATH	1 Lap	57.086 (10)	22/21:32.780	Oakland, FL	Quadlock Honda Racing
10	46		JUSTIN HILL	1 Lap	56.375 (11)	22/21:25.798	Yoncalla, OR	Team Tedder Racing
11	49		MITCHELL OLDENBURG	1 Lap	56.844 (8)	22/21:43.308	Alvord, TX	Liqui Moly Beta Factory Racing
12	45		COLT NICHOLS	1 Lap	57.509 (6)	22/21:44.789	Muskogee, OK	Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
13	57		BENNY BLOSS	1 Lap	57.681 (5)	22/22:03.450	Oak Grove, MO	Factory Liqui Moly Beta Racing
14	72		ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ	1 Lap	58.224 (6)	22/22:10.698	Venezuela	Rides Unlimited RMATV MC Racing
15	11		KYLE CHISHOLM	1 Lap	59.040 (3)	22/22:14.871	Valrico, FL	Twisted Tea HEP Suzuki
16	86		MITCHELL HARRISON	1 Lap	58.833 (6)	22/22:18.704	Brighton, MI	Partzilla Blaster PRMX Racing
17	3		ELI TOMAC	2 Laps	59.540 (6)	21/21:40.412	Cortez, CO	Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
18	122		JUSTIN STARLING	2 Laps	59.966 (8)	21/21:50.529	De Land, FL	MotoWhips Racing Team
19	146		KEVIN MORANZ	2 Laps	59.755 (7)	21/21:52.570	Topeka, KS	Champion Tool Storage Geebo KMR KTM
20	68		JEREMY HAND	3 Laps	59.151 (7)	20/22:05.202	Mantua Ohio	Valley Motorsports
21	94		KEN ROCZEN	12 Laps	54.538 (8)	11/10:07.633	Mattstedt, Germany	Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki
22	711		TRISTAN LANE	12 Laps	58.963 (5)	11/12:00.854	DeLand, FL

450 POINTS (after 5 rounds)
1 4 Chase Sexton 101 25 16 18 25 17
2 2 Cooper Webb 96 18 20 14 22 22
3 21 Jason Anderson 84 20 9 20 15 20
4 94 Ken Roczen 83 22 18 22 20 1
5 3 Eli Tomac 80 17 25 15 18 5
6 27 Malcolm Stewart 77 12 15 13 12 25
7 1 Jett Lawrence 71 10 22 25 14 N/A
8 32 Justin Cooper 69 15 11 16 9 18
9 51 Justin Barcia 68 16 14 12 10 16
10 96 Hunter Lawrence 62 11 17 17 17 0
11 46 Justin Hill 57 14 8 7 16 12
12 17 Joey Savatgy 46 1 12 11 7 15
13 7 Aaron Plessinger 40 13 0 0 13 14
14 12 Shane McElrath 40 9 5 5 8 13
15 49 Mitchell Oldenburg 34 6 3 9 5 11
16 14 Dylan Ferrandis 30 0 13 6 11 0
17 57 Benny Bloss 28 0 6 10 3 9
18 45 Colt Nichols 28 0 4 8 6 10
19 70 Jorge Prado 18 8 10 0 N/A N/A
20 11 Kyle Chisholm 15 2 2 0 4 7

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Vince Friese Wins 2025 AMA Arenacross Title

If there was such a thing as a dictionary that had the two words “polarizing” and “motocross” together, you’d definitely find a photo of Vince Friese. Vince committed to the AMA Arenacross series this year and was the one to beat from the start…literally.

AX Pro Points

1. Vince Friese 339
2. Ryan Breece 305
3. Michael Hicks 292
4. Austin Plitelli 282
5. Kyle Bitterman 175
6. Brandon Ray 148
7. Aaron Siminoe 123
8. Chandler Baker 117
9. Carson Millikan 97
10. Noah Viney 93

X Pro Points

1. Michael Hicks 172
2. Justin Bogle 166
3. Kelana Humphrey 151
4. Mitch Ropelato 113
5. Trevor Stewart 95

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Blake Davies Leads Iron Horse Arenacross

We’ll finish this cup of coffee with the results from the 2025 Iron Horse Arenacross series out in Rimbey, Alberta. This was the first time we’ve seen the Triumph 450’s in action here and they were wll represented by RAD Torque International Triumph teammates Blake Davies and Julien Benek.

The two of them were the riders to beat, but when Benek decided not to race the 2nd round after a crash, it made it much easier for Davies to take the win, and that’s what he did.

Here’s a look at the results and the Pro Am point standing heading into the final 2 rounds this coming weekend:

Pro AM

1. 585 Blake Davies 1-1
2. 43 Tiger Wood 3-2
3. 14 Quinn Amyotte 2-4
4. 22 Tyler Gibbs 4-3
5. 58 Liam Dodds 5-5
6. 50 Wyatt Hasil 6-6
7. 141 Danny Robertson 7-7
8. 801 Colten Beattie 8-8
9. 717 Lane Stupinski 9-DNS
10. 819 Dawson Gravelle DNS-DNS
11. 10 Keylan Meston DNS-DNS
12. 500 Julien Benek DNS-DNS

Full results HERE

Next Round: February 14, 2025

Point Standings

1. 585 Blake Davies 95
2. 22 Tyler Gibs 82
3. 14 Quinn Amyotte 72
4. 43 Tiger Wood 71
5. 50 Wyatt Hasil 65
6. 58 Liam Dodds 60
7. 141 Danny Robertson 54
8. 500 Julien Benek 43
9. 801 Colten Beattie 26
10. 10 Keylan Meston 25

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OK, have a great week, everyone. I’m off to Chicago on the train from Port Huron, Michigan, tomorrow morning as I begin my new journey with Dirt Care. Cycling and Moto – I’m in heaven! Of course, it won’t affect my commitment to Direct Motocross and all things Canadian Moto. In fact, it will give me more opportunities to get to races and places to cover our riders even more than I have for the past 20 years, and I’m looking forward to it!

“It was a tough day in Tampa. I caught my leg underneath the foot peg on a jump during qualifying, and sprained the top of my ankle and bruised my lower leg. I’m going to do everything possible to get back on the line in Detroit.” – Eli Tomac

There’s so much to talk about! Let’s hope Eli Tomac is saying this next time we hear from him: “See you at the races…“