REM GLEN HELEN RACE REPORT: THE WEEK OF THE KIWI CONTINUES

On Jun 4, 2018 Last updated Jun 7, 2018

R.J. Wageman (621) swept both motos of the 450 Pro class. Photo: Dan Alamangos

With the exception of Cody Cooper, New Zealanders are rarely the topic of conversation in American motocross circles, but this week they became subject number one. In an incident that was really two accidents rolled into one, New Zealand came to the news forefront. First, a vacationing New Zealand rider came to SoCal to ride all the tracks he has heard about back home. Unfortunately, he should have taken more time to memorize the Glen Helen National track because he mistook a very steep wall jump for the finish line tabletop jump. They are nothing alike. If you jump a wall jump at speed, you go straight up—and thanks to gravity come straight down. At the peak of his misguided arc, the New Zealnder jumped off (from about 20 feet up). He suffered two broken legs and a reported femur break.

FXR gear and EKS Brand sponsored Richard Taylor went 2-2 in the 450 Pro class. Photo: Dan Alamangos

The quick thinking riders behind him blocked the track to stop anyone from jumping the wall jump and landing on him. The other riders on the track, for this Thursday practice day, were directed around the fallen rider and around the fireman who came to help him. It was just an accident—caused by an inattentive rider (and New Zealand played no part in it—except as an address of the unfortunate rider).

This week’s track layout had a long step-over double-table that only a handful of Pros tried to jump. Here, Shaun Hillion lofts his Honda into the air in an attempt to get over it. Photo: Dan Alamangos

The other riders on the track were directed to veer into the infield before getting to the wall jump and ride around the accident site before reentering the track at the finish line jump and continuing on their merry way—until they came back around to the accident site and had to slow down and ride off the track at a cautious pace again. This included Factory Husky rider Jason Anderson, who by all accounts was obeying the rules of the road. On the third or fourth lap of riding around the crash scene, Anderson and another rider were riding through the infield, when the rider in front of Jason, who was also from New Zealand, noticed that the fallen rider was his friend.

250 Pro Alan Gabrielson sticks his front wheel into this berm so hard that it stuck and threw him forward. He saved it. Photo: Dan Alamangos

The unanswered question is whether this rider veered towards his friend to help or Jason Anderson was going too fast behind him. Whoever was at fault, Anderson and the Kiwi collided and fell in a heap (the collision took place in the infield, not on the racetrack). The bike of the New Zealand rider fell on Anderson’s leg—and something on the bike (footpeg, frame, fork) landed on the top of Anderson’s foot and broke two bones.

John Caper (44) chases Kent Reed (491) in the Over-60 Intermediate class. There were so many Over-60 Experts that both the Experts and Intermediate were given their own separate races. Caper (3-4) was 4th and Reed (5-5) fifth. Photo: Dan Alamangos

Jason Anderson was carried back to the Husky truck and whisked off to a hospital for X-rays and the bad news. The unlucky New Zealand rider, who collided with or was collided into by Jason Anderson, suddenly became the focus of rage for internet jockeys thousands of miles from the accident site. What they posted was mostly inaccurate, very uncivilized and a sad part of modern American motocross life. The internet experts played out all kinds of fantasy scenarios with no basis in fact and attacked the New Zealand rider as a “goon” and worse.

The hardest photo in moto-photory to master is the armpit shot. You have to capture the front rider framed in the chasing rider’s armpit. Ralf Schmidt (73) provides the armpit, while Terry Cook is the target. Photo: Dan Alamangos

What does this have to do with REM motocross? Very little, because it didn’t happened on the REM track, but REM has the largest foreign contingent of racers of almost any track in America. Every weekend riders from Sweden, England, Australia, Brazil, Japan, France and, yes, New Zealand race at REM. And every REM racer from New Zealand had to explain that it wasn’t them who crashed with Jason Anderson. They got very tired of answering that question. They felt bad for their two countrymen and for Jason Anderson, but they just wanted to race.

Steve Edwards leads a freight train of riders. That’s Robby Gilbert (726), Ryan Foster (26) and Russell Brown (44) in the front. Photo: Dan Alamangos

Luckily, REM is about racing and every motocross racers, regardless of what country they are from, has been involved in what Jason Anderson called a “strange crash” at some point in their racing careers. Crashes happen — sometimes on the track, sometimes in the pits, sometimes when unloading your bike and sometimes in the infield at 5 mph.

Whle dad Doug was at Thunder Valley guiding Japanese riders Toshiki Tomita and Yusuke Watanabe in the Pro ranks, Carter Dubach was at home winning REM’s 250 Intermediate class on a YZ125. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

REM loves its foreign contingent and by next week the weird crash that cost Jason Anderson any chance at the 2018 AMA 450 National Motocross Championship will be forgotten.

Val Tamietti (31) and Dave Eropkin (811) are famous names from the days of Saddleback and Indian Dunes. As a rule, Val normally wins the Over-60 Expert class, but this week he got a flat front tire with a couple laps to go. He managed to keep his pace up by using outside lines, but unfortunately he needed to go inside on the finish line turn to keep from getting passed. His front tire refused to turn in and he got passed with 50 feet to go. That pass took him from third to fourth for the moto and from first to third for the day. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Former New Zealand Champion and MXDN rider Tony Cooksey has been racing the World Vet and a handful of REM races over the last few years. This week his 6-3 was good for 5th overall behind Thad Friday (5-5) and a three-way tie for first that went to Bob Casper (4-1) over Dave Eropkin (3-2) and Val Tamietti (1-4). Photo: Debbi Tamietti

New Zealand’s Mark Buxeda was 2nd overall in the Over-50 Novice class with a 3-1 score. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

New Zealander James Lavender (328) went 3-3 in the 450 Intermediate class. Photo: Dan Alamangos

Former AMA Pro Billy Joe Mercier (501) must have thought he was having vision problems as he passed L7 twice in the same corner. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Mike Monaghan raced the Husqvarna TC125 that MXA’s Dennis Stapleton raced at the Hangtown 125 Dream race. He got bad starts in the Over-60 Expert class, but passed 13 guys in each moto. Sadly, that only left him 7th overall. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Australian Dan Alamangos was 4th in the first Over-50 Expert moto. Unfortunately, he had issues in the second moto and ended up 10th. His 4-10 was only good enough for 8th overall. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Former factory rider and Baja ace Bob Rutten was chased by Kirk Bassett (V93) in the Over-60 Expert class. Rutten’s 11-6 left him 8th overall. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Glenn Pietronico (262) leads an angry pack in the Over-50 Novice class. Pietronico would win the overall with a 1-2. Todd Wiseman (918) ended the day in third with a 2-5, while Corby Reutgen (513) was 8th with a 5-9. Jason Aeck (9) went 10-3. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Steve Witzke (747) took the Vet Beginner victory with a 2-1 over Mike Witzke’s 4-2. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Blake Skinner (646) won his first-ever race when he went 2-1 in the 250 Beginner class. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Bradley Denton’s 2-2 would get him 2nd overall in the 450 Intermediates behind Cole Tompkins. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Ron Shuler swept the Over-50 Expert class in front of a top five of Pasha Afshar, Jerry Black, Joe Sutter and CT Falk. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Pasha Afshar (L7), who was second in the Over-50 Expert class, tries to hold off Over-50 Elite rider Jon Ortner. Pasha found out quickly why they are called “Elite.” Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Ryan Foster (26) was second in the Over-25 Novice class. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

MXA’s Jody Weisel (52) touches down in front of Bob Gilbert (427). Jody didn’t stay there long as Gilbert went on to sweep both motos of the Over-60 Intermediates. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Would you put your money on Randel Fout (61) to do anything in this moto after this mid-pack start? You should have because by the end of the first lap he was in fourth and three laps later in the lead. Photo: Dan Alamangos

Curtis Jablonski (3) was the first-ever REM number one rider, but that was 29 years ago. You gotta admire guys who keep racing into their 60s. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Brian Martin (65) and Bill Seifert (37) have their own KTM versus Husqvarna duel. The section of track over their left shoulders is the uphill and the downhill they just came down is on this side of the fence. Photo: Debbi Tamietti

Joe Sutter (111) and Bryan Friday (43) battled in the Over-50 Expert class. Friday’s consistent 6-6 was beat by one point by Joe’s 8-3. Photo: Debbi Tamietti