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• THEY ARE ON THE LINE TOGETHER, BUT THEY AREN’T ON THE SAME RACE

As the AMA 450 Supercross season reaches its “almost halfway” point this weekend in Atlanta, it is a good time to see where riders stand with 7 races done and 10 to go. First, only 33 riders have earned points in the 450 class so far. With 25 points up for grabs at each race, there are 250 points left for any rider who can sweep the boards. However, for every 25-point increment that a rider falls behind the points leader, he is one full race out of the lead. Here are the riders who are one, two, three, four and five races behind the points leader.

Eli Tomac is 24 points behind points leader Ryan Dungey. That is as close as you can get to being one full race behind — without being in the hole.

ON THE SAME RACE
When the 450 riders line up for the main event in Atlanta only Ryan Dungey, Marvin Musquin and Eli Tomac are racing on the same race.

ONE RACE BEHIND (MORE THAN 25 POINTS OUT OF THE LEAD)
Cole Seely is 26 points behind Dungey—thus, even if Dungey DNF’ed Atlanta, he would still be one point in front of Seely. Jason Anderson is 46 points back (largely because he was disqualified from one race for shoving Vince Freise in the tunnel). Although 46 points is a long way back, Jason isn’t two races behind yet.

TWO RACES BEHIND (MORE THAN 50 POINTS OUT OF THE LEAD)
Davi Millsaps is 51 points behind Dungey. He would have to win two races, while Ryan didn’t make either main event to get within one point of Ryan. Davi does join Musquin, Tomac, Seely and Anderson as the only riders within 51 points of Dungey.

Cooper Webb is currently 8th in points, but will fall out of the top ten after this weekend (see story below)..

THREE RACES BEHIND (MORE THAN 75 POINTS OUT OF THE LEAD)
Dean Wilson with 73 AMA points, Cooper Webb with 71 AMA points, Chad Reed with 69 AMA points, Broc Tickle with 69 AMA points, Blake Baggett with 63 AMA points, Josh Grant with 53 AMA points, Jake Weimer with 52 AMA points and Ken Roczen with 51 AMA points are all three full races behind the points leader.

FOUR RACES BEHIND (MORE THAN 100 POINTS OUT OF THE LEAD)
Since Ryan Dungey has 149 AMA points, any rider with less than 49 points is four full races out of the lead. This list includes Justin Brayton (43 points), Vince Friese (42 points), Weston Peick (39 points), Malcolm Stewart (35 points), Justin Bogle (33 points) and Trey Canard (24 points).

FIVE RACES OR MORE BEHIND (MORE THAN 125 POINTS OUT OF THE LEAD)
The remaining 12 riders who have earned points in the 2017 Supercross series are five races behind Dungey.

• COOPER WEEB TO MISS ATLANTA SUPERCROSS, BUT SHOULD BE BACK SOON

After spending time with his doctor and getting an MRI on Tuesday, it has been determined that Cooper Webb’s shoulder has not suffered any broken bones or dislocations—just deep bruising. He will sit out Atlanta, but hopes to be back for Toronto or Daytona. On a side note, Benny Blose also suffered a shoulder injury in Minneapolis, but his was more serious and he will not return to the Supercross series this seaosn. Photo: Brian Converse

• WHAT MXA WAS UP TO WEDNESDAY AT MILESTONE

In what has been a busy week for the MXA wrecking crew we schedule four tests for Wednesday at Milestone MX Park, but lucky a test with WP ell through, so Jody and Dennis were able to split off and work on two test, while Daryl Ecklund and Johnny Jelderda spent their time testing the injured Tyler Bower’s 51Fifty Yamaha YZ250F on the Milestone Supercross track.

Tyler Bowers even came out to spend the day watching someone else ride his race bike. Tyler suffered a broken femur in a crash that rounded-up Jeremy Martin also. Tyler looks good and was getting around with no ill effects showing.

Dave Dye, former AMA National tech inspector, turned the wrenches for the MXA guys on the 51Fifty Yamaha. It wasn’t his first time and it probably won’t be the last time.

Those 51Fifty mechanics know how to live. With an injured rider, the days of health food and Kale are behind them.

After spending a couple months on the kickstart version, we have switched to the optional 2017 Honda CRF450 electric starter kit.

The new CRF450 clutch perch has a mechanism on it that requires the clutch lever to be pulled in before the Honda’s electric starter will kick over. However, the bike doesn’t have to be in neutral. We haven’t had any issues with the electric starter since we started testing it.

Although MXA is scheduled to test suspension at Glen Helen on Thursday with the Honda R&D department, we had our pick of SDI forks on Wednesday.

While we were fiddling with the electric starter, we decided to test a Pro Circuit 2017 CRF450 exhaust system. We had already dyno’ed it, but wanted to run back-to-back tests against the stock system (top) before racing it this weekend.

The Pro Circuit pipes were a breeze to install. Everything line-up and the fit was perfect.

• MEMORIES OF THE WAY WE WERE

If you are even remotely familiar with Montesa motocross bike, you know that their model designations start with “V” as in VR, VA, VB, VG, etc? Ever wonder what the “V” stands for? The answer is the man above. Finnish star Kalevi Vehkonnen was Montesa’s best performing GP rider in the early 1970s, so Montesa named their bikes “Vehkonnen Replicas” or VR for short. And, even after Kalevi left Montesa, all future designations started with a “V.”

• BIRTHDAYS BOYS: COOP IS 55, SHEAK is 42 & K-DUB IS 39

Feb. 24…Guy Cooper 1962
Feb. 24…Jacki Short 1984
Feb. 24…Scott Sheak 1974
Feb. 24…Alley Semar
Feb. 25…Craig Anderson 1978

Feb. 26…Jean-Sebastian Roy 1974
Feb. 26…Billy Laninovich 1983
Feb. 27…Rick “Super Hunky” Sieman
Feb. 27…Ryan Morais 1983
Feb. 28…Ryan Clark 1978

Feb. 28…Kevin Windham 1978
Feb. 28…Cameron Steele
Feb. 28…Wayne Hinson 1949
Feb 28…Glenn Hansen

Mar. 1…Dan Reardon 1986
Mar. 1…Harry Kullas 1992
Mar. 2…Elliott Banks-Browne 1990

• THE CURRENT TOP TEN HEADING TO TORONTO

Ryan Dungey won his seocnd race out of the first eight, and extended his points lead to 25 points over Marvin Musquin and 27 over Eli Tomac.

2017 450 SUPERCROSS POINTS STANDINGS
(after 8 of 17 events)
1. Ryan Dungey…174
2. Marvin Musquin…149
3. Eli Tomac…147
4. Cole Seely…138
5. Jason Anderson…121
6. Davi Millsaps…98
7. Dean Wilson…84
8. Chad Reed…83
9. Blake Baggett…83
10. Broc Tickle…76

Joey Savatgy (17) lost his points lead and the red plate in Atlanta, but is only 2 points behind new leader Zach Osborne.

AMA 250 EAST SUPERCROSS POINTS STANDINGS
(After 1 of 9 events)
(after 2 of 9 events)
1. Zach Osborne…45
2. Joey Savatgy…43
3. Jordon Smith…38
4. Colt Nichols…31
5. Adam Cianciarulo…30
6. R.J. Hampshire…29
7. Luke Renzland.28
8. Kyle Peters… 24
9. Alex Martin…23
10. Fredrik Noren…21

Justin Hill won four straight 250 West races to take a 21-point lead in the West break.

2017 250 WEST POINTS STANDINGS
(After 6 of 8 rounds)
1. Justin Hill (Kaw)…138
2. Aaron Plessinger (Yam)…117
3. Shane McElrath (KTM)…113
4. Martin Davalos (Hus)…106
5. Jimmy Decotis (Hon)…91
6. Austin Forkner (Kaw)…90
7. Dan Reardon (Yam)…72
8. Kyle Chisholm (Hon)…60
9. Jeremy Martin (Hon)…55
10. Phil Nicoletti (Suz)… 54

• MXA PHOTO OF THE WEEK: DOUBLE VISION

Brian Converse captures a life-size Eli Tomac framed by a Jumbotron Eli Tomac.

• MTA WORLD TWO-STROKE CHAMPIONSHIP COMING ON APRIL 15

Just in case you need a little extra time to get your trusty, but rusty, two-stroke ready to race, the 2017 MTA World Two-Stroke Championship is a little over three months away. It will be held on Saturday, April 15, 2017, at Glen Helen Raceway.

• 2017 SUPERCROSS WINNERS AT A GLANCE

Josh Grant (33)hasn’t made the winners list, but his thumb injury is finally good enough for him to race.

Date Venue 450 250
Jan. 7……..Anaheim, CA………….Ken Roczen………..Shane McElrath
Jan. 14……San Diego, CA…………Ken Roczen………..Shane McElrath
Jan. 21……Anaheim, CA………….Ryan Dungey………Justin Hill
Jan. 28……Glendale, AZ………….Eli Tomac…………..Justin Hill
Feb. 4………Oakland, CA………….Eli Tomac…………..Justin Hill
Feb. 11……..Arlington, TX……….Marvin Muquin……Justin Hill
Feb. 18……..Minneapolis, MN….Eli Tomac……………Joey Savatgy
Feb. 25……..Atlanta, GA………….Ryan Dungey………Zach Osborne
Mar. 4……….Toronto, ON
Mar. 11………Daytona, FL
Mar. 18………Indianapolis, IN
Mar. 25………Detroit, MI
Apr. 1………….St. Louis, MO
Apr. 8…………Seattle, WA
Apr 22………..Salt Lake City, UT
450 Points leader...Ryan Dungey (KTM)
250 West points leader…Justin Hill (Kaw)
250 East points leader…Zach Osborne (Hus)

• CLASSIC MOTOCROSS ADS FROM THE GOOD OLD DAYS

You Don’t see a lot of factory riders today doing ads for an aftermarket company that does their suspension, but Rick Johnson and Broc Glover had a good time doing this 1985 ad for Sinons/Ohlins.

• FOREIGN RIDERS WHO MADE THE MAINS IN MINNEAPOLIS

Chad Reed has only had one good night out of the last seven races.

These are the top foreign riders who made the main events in Minnesota last Saturday. There was only one foreign-born riders in the top 5 of the 450 class—Marvin Musquin. Dean Wilson was 12th and the only other foreign rider was Chad Reed in 16th. Now that the 250 East has started, there is a new batch of foreign riders. The best of which was France’s Dylan Ferrandis in sixth. However, four different countries were represented with France, Venezuela, Sweden and England had rider sin the 250 East main event.

TOP FOREIGN RIDERS IN DALLAS’ 450 CLASS
Marvin Musquin (France)………….2nd
Dean Wilson (Scotland)……………..12th
Chad Reed (Australia)………………..16th

TOP FOREIGN RIDERS IN DALLAS’ 250 WEST
Dylan Ferrandis (France)……………6th
Anthony Rodriquez (Venezuela)….7th
Fredrik Noren (Sweden)…………….13th
Paul Coates (England)……………….19th

• HARRY TAYLOR CUP FOR HODAKAS ONLY ON APRIL 28-30

• THIS WEEKEND’S ATLANTA SUPERCROSS TRACK LAYOUT

• THE ATLANTA SUPERCROSS TV SCHEDULE

Check your local listing for times in your region. Set your DVR accordingly.

• 2017 HUSKY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ON MARCH 4-5

This news probably doesn’t affect you unless you own a Husqvarna (and we aren’t talking about just vintage Huskys, but new ones, old ones and pitiful ones). The race will be held at SoCal’s Cahuilla Creek track on March 4-5. For more info go to www.huskywc.com.

• HOW TO SUBSCRIBE & GET MXA FOR FREE: ACTUALLY, WE PAY YOU

The March 2017 issue of MXA is on the news stands now and includes the most commonly asked for shootout ever — the YZ250 Two-stroke versus the YZ250F four-stroke. You should be reading MXA, and if you subscribe now you get a $25 gift certificate from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC which more than pays for your subscription.

Do you subscribe to MXA? You should. We know that you think that print magazines are dead and that the internet will fill the void, but most of the stuff in the current issue of MXA won’t appear on the web for several months, if at all. Luckily, you can get all of MXA on your iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Android by going to the Apple Store, Amazon or Google Play. Better yet get the Digital desktop version at https://hi-torque.com/product/motocross-action-digital-edition/ for $9.99 a year.

The MXA test riders prefer the print version and not just because it is delivered by a uniformed employee of the U.S. Government, but because right now you can get 12 issues for $15.95 and a free $25 Gift Card from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. That means that there is a profit to be made in this deal for you. For the Print magazine go to: https://hi-torque.com/product/motocross-action/

• HOW IS YOUR TWITTER GAME GOING? UP IT BY FOLLOWING MXA

• 2017 MOTOCROSS SCHEDULES: WHERE TO BE & WHEN TO BE THERE

2017 AMA SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Jan. 7…………………………Anaheim, CA
Jan. 14………………………San Diego, CA
Jan. 21………………………Anaheim, CA
Jan. 28………………………Glendale, AZ
Feb. 4……………………….Oakland, CA
Feb. 11………………………Arlington, TX
Feb. 18………………………Minneapolis, MN
Feb. 25………………………Atlanta, GA
Mar. 4………………………Toronto, ON
Mar. 11………………………Daytona, FL
Mar. 18………………………Indianapolis, IN
Mar. 25………………………Detroit, MI
Apr. 1…………………………St. Louis, MO
Apr. 8………………………..Seattle, WA
Apr 22……………………….Salt Lake City, UT

2017 AMSOIL ARENACROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Jan. 7-8…………………….Cincinnati, OH
Jan. 13-15…………………Grand Rapids, MI
Jan. 20-22…………………Baltimore, MD
Jan. 28-29…………………Nashville, TN.
Feb. 4-5…………………….Louisville, KY
Feb. 18-19…………………Kansas City, MO
Feb. 25-26………………..Atlanta, GA
Mar. 3-5…………………….Southaven, MS
Mar. 11-12…………………New Orleans, LA
Mar. 18-19…………………Portland, OR
Mar. 24-26…………………Reno, NV
April 1-2…………………….Sacramento, CA
April 21-23…………………Denver, CO
May 5-7…………………….Las Vegas, NV

2017 FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Feb. 25…………………….Qatar (Saturday)
Mar. 5………………………Indonesia
Mar. 19…………………….Argentina
Apr. 2………………………Mexico
Apr. 16……………………..Italy
Apr. 23…………………….Holland
May 7………………………Latvia
May 21…………………….Germany
May 28…………………….France
June 11…………………….Russia
June 25……………………Italy
July 2……………………….Portugal
July 9……………………….San Marino (Canceled)
July 23……………………..Czech Republic
Aug. 6……………………..Belgium
Aug. 13…………………….Switzerland
Aug. 20…………………….Sweden
Sept. 3……………………..Charlotte, USA (Canceled)
Sept. 3……………………..new USGP track to be named later
Sept. 10……………………Holland
Sept. 17…………………….France

2017 AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
May 20……………………Hangtown, CA
May 27.…………………..Glen Helen, CA
June 3..………………….Thunder Valley, CO
June 17..…………………Mt Morris, PA
June 24.………………….Muddy Creek, TN
July 1.…………………….Red Bud, MI
July 8..……………………Southwick, MA
July 22.…………………..Millville, MN
July 29.…………………..Washougal, WA
Aug. 12..………………….Unadilla, NY
Aug. 19..………………….Budds Creek, MD
Aug. 26.…………………..Crawfordsville, IN

2017 MOTOCROSS DES NATIONS
Oct. 1…………………..Matterley Basin, Great Britain

RICKY CARMICHAEL AMATEUR DAYTONA SUPERCROSS
Mar. 12-13…………….Daytona, FL

MTA WORLD TWO-STROKE CHAMPIONSHIP
Apr. 15…………………..Glen Helen, CA

2017 TRAVIS PASTRANA’S NITRO WORLD GAMES
June 24……………….Salt Lake City, UT

2017 AMA LORETTA LYNN AMATEUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
July 31-Aug. 5…..…Hurricane Mills, TN

2017 SMX RIDERS & MANUFACTURERS CUP
Oct. 7………………….Gelsenkirchen, Germany

2017 WOMEN’S MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Mar. 13…………………….Daytona Beach, FL
Mar. 25……………………Wortham, TX
Apr. 9………………………San Diego, CA
May 5………………………Las Vegas, NV
May 18-19………………..Hangtown, CA
June 2…………………….Thunder Valley, CO
June 16……………………Mt. Morris, PA
Aug. 5……………………..Hurricane Mills, TN

2017 WORLD OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP (WORCS)
Jan. 6-8…………………….Taft, CA
Jan. 27-29…………………Primm, NV
Feb. 17-19………………….Taft, CA
Mar. 10-12…………………Lake Havasu, AZ
Apr. 1-2…………………….Las Vegas, NV
Apr. 21-23…………………Hurricane, UT
May. 19-21…………………Cedar City, UT
Jun. 9-11…………………..Adelanto, CA
Sept. 8-10…………………Glen Helen, CA
Oct 13-15…………………..TBA

2017 ITALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Jan. 29…………..………..Riola Sardo
Feb. 5………………………Malagrotta
Feb.12………………..……Ottobiano

2017 MAXXIS BRITISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Mar. 12……………………Culham
Apr. 9………………………Lyng
Apr. 30…………………….Canada Heights
May 14……………………Hawkstone Park
June 18……………………Desertmartin
July 16…………………….Blaxhall
July 30…………………….Preston Docks
Aug 27……………………..Foxhill

2017 BELGIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Mar. 12……………………Moerbeke-Waas
Mar. 26……………………Kruishoutem
Apr. 2……………………..Genk
Apr 10…………………….Mons
Apr. 18……………………Axel
Apr. 30……………………Wuustwezel
June 11…………………..Comines
June 18………………….Genk
July 22……………………Axel
July 23…………………..Hasselt
July 30…………………..Gooik
Aug. 15…………………..Balen
Aug. 20………………….Wachtebeke
Aug. 27………………….Orp le Grand

2017 CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
June 4……………………Whispering Pines, BC
June 11………………….Blackwater, BC
June 18………………….Wild Rose, AB
June 25………………….Moto Valley, SK
July 9…………………….Gopher Dunes, ON
July 16…………………..Ulverton, QC
July 23…………………..Pleasant Valley, NS
July 30…………………..Riverglade, NB
Aug. 6…………………….Deschambault, QC
Aug. 13………………….RJ Motosport, ON

2017 DUTCH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Mar. 26…………………..Oss
Apr. 9th…………………..Harfsen
May 14……………………Emmen
July 15-16……………….Lichtenvoorde

2017 ADAC GERMAN MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Apr. 9……………………….Muhlberg
Apr. 30…………………….Jauer
May 14…………………….Molln
June 18……………………Bielstein
July 16…………………….Tensfeld
Aug. 27……………………Gaildorf
Sept. 24…………………..Holzgerlingen

2017 AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
April 2……………………..Wonthaggi, Victoria
April 23…………………..Appin, New South Wales
May 7……………………..Connondale, Queensland
May 21……………………Horsham, Victoria
May 28……………………Murray Bridge, South Australia
July 3……………………..Nowra, New South Wales
July 16……………………Shepparton, Victoria
July 30……………………Port Macquarie, New South Wales
Aug. 13…………………..Toowooba, Queensland
Aug. 20……………………Coolum, Queensland

2017 AUSTRALIAN SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Sept. 9…………………..Queensland
Sept. 23…………………Queensland
Oct. 14…………………..TBA
Oct. 26…………………..South Australia
Nov. 4…………………….Victoria
Nov. 11-12……………..New South Wales

Photos: Brian Converse, Daryl Ecklund, Dan Alamangos, John Kerr, Massimo Zanzani, MXA, KTM, Honda.

MXA WEEKEND NEWS ROUND-UP: THE WEEK OF “WAIT FOR THE NATIONALS”