#WHIPITWEDNESDAY

Rider: Phil Nicoletti

Phil was a strong amateur as he made his way through the ranks. Growing up in New York the East Coast dirt suited him well. He raced at Loretta Lynn’s seven consecutive years in a row amongst other amateur nationals. He never was able to grab a win at Loretta’s but he did have multiple podium finishes in a field of riders that all were very successful in the pro ranks. Since 2007 Phil has been racing at the top level and has had many different rides along the way. In this photo, he was racing the 250 East class for the JGR Suzuki team. He has more success in motocross rather than Supercross and in 2016 he finished fifth overall. Phil just completed his final season of racing and will now be having fun on the bike racing select events like the World Vet Championship just a few weeks ago.

2024 BAJA 1000 MOTO RESULTS 

At this year’s Baja 1000the SLR Honda team showed up in dominating fashion, winning the Pro Unlimited class. 

Honda teams enjoyed remarkable success in the 57th SCORE International Baja 1000 this weekend, highlighted by SLR Honda taking their sixth win in the Pro Moto Unlimited class, and Honda Talon Factory Racing earning victory in the Pro UTV Normally Aspirated division. This year’s grueling course for the legendary off-road event started and finished in Ensenada, with an 864-mile counter-clockwise loop circling the northern half of the Baja Peninsula.

The SLR squad’s first win came back in 2018, and it was followed by four more in a row, before last year saw them taken out by a hard crash while fighting for the lead. This year’s lineup of Justin Morgan, Tyler Lynn, Brandon Prieto and Ryan Surratt was not to be denied. Lynn was the first rider off the start at 1 a.m. on Friday, and he built a 14-minute lead before Prieto took over 260 miles later. His 200-mile section was relatively smooth apart from some wire becoming tangled in his front wheel, but the team was able to remove it at the next pit. Despite the delay, the lead was 17 minutes when the bike was taken by veteran Morgan (competing in his final Baja 1000 as a motorcycle racer), who added another 10 minutes to the lead during his 260-mile San Felipe section. Surratt continued the dominance until Lynn took over again for the final 80 miles, finishing with a total time of 17 hours, 52 minutes, 33.799 seconds later, nearly an hour ahead of the second-place team (Arturo Salas, Carter Klein and Ciaran Naran, also Honda-mounted). It marked Honda’s record 33rd Baja 1000 overall motorcycle win and the 17th for the CRF450X—the winningest vehicle in the history of the race. It marked the seventh time that Morgan had been on a winning team, but it was just the second for Prieto and the first for Lynn and Surratt.

“After what happened last year, it was a little nerve-wracking coming into it this year, but it felt really good to have a really smooth race, like normal,” said SLR owner Mark Samuels. “This was my first time not racing on the team, and it was cool to just focus on managing things and watch the next wave of the sport coming in. It was nice to have everything come to fruition.”

1. 7x Justin Morgan, 34, El Cajon, Calif./Tyler Lynn, 23, Mona, Utah/Brandon Prieto, 33, Ensenada, Mexico/Ryan Surratt, 27, Corona, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 17:52:34 (48.34 mph) (Pro Moto Unlimited)
2. 11x Arturo Salas Jr, 2, Chula Vista, Calif. (Tecate, Mexico)/Carter Klein, 20, Agua Dulce, Calif./Ciaran Naran, 24, Huntington Beach, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 18:47:09 (46.00 mph) (Pro Moto Unlimited)
3. 15x Eric Holt, 41, Panaca, Nev./Brian Whiteside, 31, Farmington, Utah/Daemon Woolslayer, 22, Mona, Utah/Cooper Ashton, 28, Las Vegas/Axel Pearson, 30, Panaca, Nev., Husqvarna FE450, 19:01:12 (45.43 mph) (Pro Moto Unlimited)
4. 4. 13x Adrian Ortiz, 23, Dulzura, Calif./Albaro Ortiz, 18, Dulzura, Calif./Sergio Garza, 26, Spring Valley, Calif./Manuel Gomez, 21, Tecate, Mexico/Chris Sandoval, 29, Tecate, Mexico, Honda CRF450X, 19:18:04 (44.77 mph) (Pro Moto Unlimited)
5. 10x David Walsh, 34, Australia/Liam Walsh, 24, Australia/Ben Grabham, 43, Australia/Jacob Smith, 35, Australia/Kenny Armstead, 35, Australia, KTM 450XC-F, 19:31:02 (44.28 mph) (Pro Moto Unlimited)
6. 8x Fernando Beltran, 48, Ensenada, Mexico/Max Shapiro, 18, Livermore, Calif./Chad Goodsell, 19, Holtville, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 20:51:12 (41.44 mph) (Pro Moto Unlimited)
7. 31a Estevan Ramirez Jr, 27, Tecate, Mexico/Jesus Osuna, 23, Tecate, Mexico/Omar Murillo, 24, Tecate, Mexico/Hector Chavez, 29, Tecate, Mexico/Javier Robles Jr, 32, Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico, Honda TRX450R, 20:55:54 (41.28 mph) (Pro Quad)
8. 308x Ryan Liebelt, 44, Reedley, Calif./Shane Shorno, 35, Discovery Bay, Calif./Jason Alosi, 40, Reno, Nev./David Ausserbauer, 30, Santa Barbara, Calif./JD Triffon, 41, Sanger, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 21:05:27 (40.97 mph) (Pro Moto 30)
9. 9x Austin Eddy, 21, Oak Hills, Calif./Matthew Combs, 19, Barstow, Calif./Clay Hengeveld, 27, Phoenix/Tucker Hopkins, 30, Venice Beach, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 21:07:26 (40.91 mph) (Pro Moto Unlimited)
10. 300x Jano Montoya, 53, Winter Garden, Fla. (Peru)/David Zarate, 35, La Paz, Mexico/David Smith, 37, Escondido, Calif./Roberto Villalobos, 35, Tecate, Mexico, KTM 450XCF, 21:27:09 (40.28 mph) (Pro Moto 30)

RIDE ENGINEERING HOLIDAY SALE

MXA PHOTO TRIVIA

Who is this rider? Answer at the bottom of the article.

LOVE THE SOUND OF A 125 TWO-STROKE? WATCH THIS RAW 2022 KTM 125SX VIDEO

It’s a quiet morning at Los Angles County Raceway (LACR). The air is still, the sun has just risen and all is right with the world. Nothing could make it better—except for one thing. MXA test rider Brian Medeiros breaks the silence of the idyllic scene on a 2022 KTM 125SX two-stroke. At first the sound is faint, but as he gets closer, it begins to crackle and grow into what can best be described as a shriek. It’s just another day of testing at MXA, but on this day it’s a chance to see who can hold it on the longest, hit the whoops and hardest and fly the farthest…and, by being the first bike out on an empty track, the KTM 125SX gets to play morning reveille. Enjoy the sound by cranking up those speakers.

CHRISTIAN MOTOCROSS CLUB JERSEYS FOR SALE

The Christian Motocross Club has some new jerseys for sale. They come in three sizes; Medium, Large, and Extra Large.

The Christian Motocross Club was started in 1991 by Clayton Nix with one purpose in mind, to witness to as many people within the Motocross Community (and beyond if the opportunity arises) as possible

If you ever have any prayer requests, have questions about the Club or our products, please email at [email protected].

If you are interested in purchasing a jersey feel free to head over to www.christianmotocrossclub.com

ASK THE MXPERTS: SILENCE IS GOLDEN

SILENCE IS GOLDEN

Dear MXperts,
When I repack my silencer, I can’t get all the packing material into the muffler can. Sometimes I have to take scissors and cut the stuff off that sticks out. Is there a trick?

Once you have wrapped the silencer packing around the core, take masking tape and wrap it around the packing. The masking tape will keep the packing secured to the silencer core so that it can be installed in the cannister. No, the tape doesn’t hurt the performance of the muffler, but if you don’t pack the muffler tightly, it will cause problems.

STOCK CRF250 OR WORKS EDITION? LAP TIME COMPARISON

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: DALTON SHIREY RETURNS TO HARE AND HOUND WITH A WIN

“It’s been a very tough year for me and hard on me physically, so I’m stoked to pull this win off and prove to myself that I can do this, I didn’t expect it yet since I’m still rebuilding from my injury, but I was able to keep going and we’re getting stronger with every race now.”

NIHILO CONCEPTS MAP SWITCH

The Nihilo Concepts Map Switch is the ultimate tool to fine-tune your two-stroke motorcycle’s performance. This switch gives you the ability to switch between 2 engine maps preprogrammed from the factory on the fly, you can tailor your bike’s power delivery to suit any riding condition.

Take control of your bike’s performance with the Nihilo Concepts Map Switch. Order yours today and change the power characteristics of your of your two-stroke machine with the flip of a switch. If youre looking to purchase, click here.

MXA PHOTO OF THE WEEK

The MXA guys are everywhere—including laying on the track, blocking their teammates. Here, Josh Fout  (946) finished this deep rut on his behind, while Brian Mederios isn’t tall enough to get either foot on the ground.

CLASSIC MXA PHOTO

1985 racing with Allan King, Johnny Omara, Rick Johnson, Erik Kehoe, and Rodney Smith.

MXA Photo Trivia: Brock Sellards who was the 1999 AMA Pro Motocross 125MX Runner-Up.