MOTOCROSS ACTION MID-WEEK REPORT

On Jul 6, 2021 Last updated Jul 6, 2021

#WHIPITWEDNESDAY

Rider: Jett Lawrence
Location: 2021 RedBud National
Photographer: Chad Murray

TWO-STROKE SPOTLIGHT | JAN ANDERSSON’S TORTELLI KX250 REPLICA

“Hi my name is Jan Andersson from Sweden. My bike build is in progress but until now it has been modified to run on E85 premix 2% Klotz Super techniplate oil. It took me 2 years to make it run okay and not tend to get warm. The cylinder has an LA sleeve. I use it as often as i can. It is an 1997 KX250 with engine parts from ’98 and ’97. The carb is the original PWK 38 airstrike drilled choke conection and drilled needle jet, Boyesen intake and home built needle.

The ignition timing advanced to meet E85 and partly homebuilt pipe and original first bit to meet E85. I used SFF Tac 49mm Showa forks and triple clamp from a 2014 KX450F and rear shock is rebuilt and has Race Tech Gold Valve. I then i wanted it to look good so got hold of Sebastien Tortelli replica sticker and seat from 1998.” —Jan Andersson

What Tortelli’s KX250 looked like.

EDITORS NOTE: Please keep those submissions coming. If you would like your bike to be featured in the “Two-Stroke Spotlight,” please email me at [email protected]. All I ask is that you give a breakdown of your bike and a detailed description of the build. Please also send a few photos of your steed. By submitting your bike for the “Two-Stroke Spotlight,” you agree to release all ownership rights to the images and copy to MXA.

ROUND 4 RED BUD NATIONAL RECAP

The fans at the RedBud National are always wild, especially on a fourth of July weekend.

450 RECAP

Fast Frenchman Ferrandis invades Redbud on the July 4^th weekend.
Ferrandis gets his 3^rd win of the season and becomes the 1^st rider to win back to back as he goes 1-2 for first overall at Redbud.
For only the 6^th time in the storied Independence Day weekend, a foreign rider would win Redbud.

Sebastien Tortelli was the first foreign rider to win at Red Bud during the fourth of July weekend. Dylan Ferrandis was the fifth to do it after this win last weekend.

Tortelli, France, 2000
Reed, Australia, 2011
Roczen, Germany, 2014 & 2016
Musquin, France, 2018
Ferrandis, France, 2021

It was Yamaha’s first win at RedBud since Barcia pulled it off in 2015.
Yamaha now has 80 450MX wins.

Eli Tomac. Photo by Chad Murray

Eli Tomac goes 4-1 for 2^nd overall for his 2^nd podium of the season.

Aaron Plessinger pleasing the American fans. Photo by Chad Murray

Plessiinger goes 3-3 for 3^rd overall. Two Yamahas on the podium for the 2^nd time this season.
Ferrandis’ consistency, 3 wins and 4 podiums has helped him build a 14 point lead over Roczen.
Four rounds in and American riders have not won a 450 overall this season.

250 RECAP

R.J Hampshire. Photo by Chad Murray

R.J. Hampshire repeats at RedBud.
After winning RedBud in 2020 on his Husky, Hampshire went 2-2 for his first win of the season and 3^rd of his career.
For the first time in Husky’s history, they won back-to-back rounds with two different riders. Jalek Swoll won last week at Highpoint, and R.J. Hampshire, his Husky teammate won this week.
Husky now has ten 250MX brand wins.

Justin Cooper. Photo by Chad Murray

Justin Cooper goes 4-1 for 2^nd overall for his 4^th podium of the season, and gained 3 points on Jett Lawrence.

Jett Lawrence. Photo by Chad Murray

Jett Lawrence goes 1-6 for 3^rd overall, his 4^th podium of the season as well.
Coming back from injury, Jeremy Martin goes 5-3 for 5^th overall.
Levi Kitchen made his pro debut and went 9-19 for 12th overall.

NIHILO KTM/HUSKY CONNECTIVITY RELOCATION BRACKET

MXA | MOTO | TRIVIA

Who is this factory ’70s racer? Answer at bottom of the page.

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MXA INTERVIEW WITH ROOKIE LEVI KITCHEN

Add Levi Kitchen’s name to the already star-studded Monster Energy Star Yamaha 250 team. The long-time Yamaha amateur took advantage of a ruling that allowed him to race one Pro motocross, before his final amateur race at Loretta Lynn’s later this summer. After that, the Washougal, Washington, native is racing the remaining outdoor Nationals. Levi will be the sixth rider on the 250 team. Will the 20-year-old be ready to finish off the year with some solid rides; I think so.

BY JIM KIMBALL

LEVI, HAS IT BEEN YOUR DECISION TO RACE RED BUD FOR A WHILE, OR MORE RECENTLY? It was recently. I have been riding well these last couple of months and with the rule of being able to do a Pro National and still being able to race Loretta’s, Bobby (Reagan, Team Owner) figured why not. He wanted me to just come out here and learn and get a feeling for what I will be doing after Loretta’s, all the remaining outdoors. So yeah, it was kind of last minute, but I am stoked about it.

WHAT PROMPTED RED BUD, RATHER THAN HIGH POINT OR SOUTHWICK OR ANOTHER ROUND? I am not sure why RedBud, but I know this is one of Bobby’s favorite races, and it is such a fan favorite. There is no better place to go. I initially wanted to do an earlier round, but I just did not think I was quite ready. I had broken my hand a couple of months ago, so I just know that I would be more ready for this one than any of the other ones. It also gives me a little time in between this and Loretta’s to get ready for Loretta’s as well, so I just think this is the smarter one and it looks like a fun race, and I am happy to be here.

HOW DID YOU FEEL COMING INTO YOUR AMA PRO MOTOCROSS DEBUT? DID YOU HAVE A SET GOAL? Obviously, I have goals for myself. I don’t really have a number goal to be honest, just because I know that it is going to be a lot different than what I am expecting, but I know that I belong here. I don’t know, I have high expectations for myself, that is the biggest thing. I want to just do it for myself and see how well I can do. I just want to execute on the start because I know that is one of the most important things. I know if I can get a good start, that I can run up front with those guys for sure, so I am happy to be out here.

IT WAS SOME TIME AGO THAT YOU SIGNED WITH MONSTER ENERGY/ STAR YAMAHA, SO HAVE YOU BEEN RIDING THIS PARTICULAR BIKE FOR A WHILE? Yes. There are a few little things different between my amateur bike and my pro-bike. I rode on the pro bike a couple of weeks ago, and it has been awesome. I was on it before a little bit on Supercross and stuff so I was kind of used to it but I have been on the bike for let’s see, two weeks now, the pro bike and it has been great. Everything is awesome.

I AM ASSUMING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TRAINING AND RIDING IN CALIFORNIA WITH YOUR TEAMMATES; IS THAT TRUE? We all train together with Gareth Swanepoel, well all of us besides Jeremy Martin train together, so it has been good. We have been out in California riding and doing motos with each other. It has been awesome.

COULD YOU SUMMARIZE YOUR MOTOCROSS HISTORY; DIDN’T YOU TAKE SOME TIME OFF FROM RACING? Well, to be honest, motocross was never first for me. It was always like my main hobby, but all the way up until I was about 17, I would just ride on the weekends. I am from Washington, so it was always rainy. I would fish as much as I would ride my dirt bike or sometimes even more, so it was not really the top priority. I went to Loretta’s in 2018 and ended up getting 2^nd on a 125 and after that, I was like, “alright, I need to just focus on motocross because I know that I can actually kind of do something with it.” Then I ended up going to Louisiana and training there with Rob Burkhart from Real Deal and his wife Sherry and then Kevin Windham stepped in there at the end. I was there for two years and had a successful year last year at Loretta’s and MiniO’s and then got signed to Star.

MOTOCROSS WAS A HOBBY, BUT YOU DID SO WELL, IT BECAME A CAREER. Yes, exactly. I would say that I ran off talent for a long time and I was just fortunate that I was talented. Then once I started putting in the work and going to the gym and trying to eat the right foods and stuff like that, it benefitted me.

YOU ARE FROM WASHINGTON, AND DIDN’T YOU GROW UP VERY CLOSE TO WASHOUGAL? Yes, my parent’s house is still right above the track. There is a mountain bike trail or dirt bike trail down to the track from my house. It is pretty close.

YOU WERE PREVIOUSLY WITH THE ROCK RIVER TEAM AS AM AMATEUR, HOW CLOSE WAS THAT BIKE TO WHAT YOU ARE RACING NOW? It is a bit of a big step, but Ed Torrance with Rock River built a great bike, and I was on a 125 for him and then I went to the 250 and 450. I was riding a stock bike and then I ended up doing the mod stuff at MiniO’s and Ed built a great bike. It is not really a huge step feeling-wise. It is all pretty much the same. They are both Yamahas, but Ed’s team is great. It is pretty much a steppingstone to Star. Justin Cooper went through it and several others. When you are on Ed’s team, he wants you to do well and then these guys will recognize you.

ARE YOU WORKING WITH A DIFFERENT MECHANIC FROM THOSE DAYS? No. My mechanic, Conrad, I brought him with me. I was friends with him from back home and when I got that ride with Ed on a 125, he was like, “Hey, you need a mechanic.” I knew he had just been going to school, so I hired him, and he has been with me for like 2 ½ years now. It is awesome!

AFTER LORETTA’S, WILL YOU DO THOSE REMAINING NATIONALS? Yes, I will do five after Loretta’s, and then after the last round at Hangtown, probably take a couple of weeks off you know and go home for a little bit and then get ready and start riding Supercross and get ready for a full Supercross season.

MONSTER ENERGY STAR RACING YAMAHA HAS BECOME THE DOMINANT 250 TEAM, HAS THAT ADDED PRESSURE? Not at this stage. Obviously, I put pressure on myself, and obviously, I was signed to this team to perform which I know I can do. This team is dominant because Bobby just wants to win. They put a good bike under us and a good support group around us and I think that is the main reason we do win. Obviously, he chooses good riders and everyone on the team is amazing. It is the team to be on, it seems like.

WITH THE TEAM RELOCATION TO FLORIDA, WILL YOU MOVE THERE? Right after this race, I am going to Florida for about three weeks until Loretta’s. Then I will go back to California for a little bit of those last five rounds and then in between and then after that couple of week break that we have off after outdoors, everybody is moving to Florida. I am planning to get a house out there and be there for the time being. It should be fun.

NOW AFTER RED BUD HAS ENDED, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? I didn’t know what I was feeling coming into it. I just knew that I wanted to get a good start to show that I can run their speed. I believe I did that in the first moto with my ninth. I have been training with all these guys anyway. The second moto wasn’t as good, with a poor start and some little mistakes, but overall, I am happy. I know what I am capable of. I just wanted to go out there, have fun, and take it all in.

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CLASSIC PHOTO

Here is Larry Brooks (29) and Doug Dubach (41) racing at the 1988 250 USGP at Unadilla.

MXA TRIVIA ANSWER: Billy Grossi.

mid-week