LOOKING BACK AT BIRMINGHAM: On the pro side, Triple Crown races are always exciting and seem to be pretty good for our team. Max Vohland had a great first and second race with scores of P4 and P6 respectively. In race three he ran over a downed rider at the start relegating him to the back of the pack. Like the professional he is, he worked his way forward to tenth place in the short race. On the night, he finished a respectable sixth overall – moving him up to nineth place in the standings. With five rounds left, the expectation is that he will continue to propel his way up in the standings.
As for the SMX Next race – how do you console a teenager that threw away his best chance at a victory with a small crash, only to watch his teammate take over the lead. Then with four corners to the checkered flag, he also threw away the victory with a slight misjudgment. Adjectives like “heart wrenching”, “painful” and “gut punch” were circulating and the fact of the matter is, no words can make the situation any better. On the flip side, Alex Fedortsov and Ryder Malinoski made it exciting. They have gained an immeasurable amount of experience riding at the front of the field that will translate into better finishes as the program rolls on. All three of the ClubMX riders, including Jesson Turner, have now qualified for the SMX Next Championship in Pittsburgh at the end of April. This program continues to evolve from a great decision to the clear pathway of giving amateur riders a high level of experience before turning pro.
Rolling across the country and into Seattle, the Western Region will return to action minus Jett Reynolds. Jett unfortunately had a training crash then ended with a broken leg. He had successful surgery and is back on the mend.
COTY SCHOCK #37: Including Seattle, Coty has four rounds remaining to make things happen and he plans to do just that. He has been working overtime during the week to get everything in place for an aggressive run up the points ladder. His fitness is on point, the Flo Motorsports backed bike is on point leaving it up to him to put the pieces together on Saturday to score as many points as he can. As an added incentive Coty and his fiancé Emily have set their wedding date for October this year. It would be beneficial to make the push in the final four rounds for more than just results.
DEVIN SIMONSON #88: Devin has spent a full week riding the turn track and getting his wrist back in shape. It is just a matter of time until we announce his return to racing but would like to hold off until more progress is made. Devin brings a great attitude to the facility and having him back is a ray of sunshine.
MARK FINEIS #62: The Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX team has announced the departure of Mark Fineis from the program, effective immediately. Mark and the team have mutually agreed to part ways, and we wish him well in all of his future endeavors.
https://youtu.be/vugMEtjBAu4?si=BkgSbZNqhSD02woW
We have added another video series to our YouTube channel called “A Day in the Life” that will show a variety of athletes that train at the ClubMX facility and the extent of what they endure in the course of their day. It will give more insights to the difficulty of the sport and how these athletes handle it.
https://youtu.be/4xElouhEnFk?si=_fwSNa0cVWKMwIFQ
And if that is not enough excitement at the facility, Phil Nicoletti has returned to training as the #29. He apparently had a short-lived retirement and has decided to pursue the Canadian National circuit. We wish him well in his return to international racing.