Justin Bogle will be on the starting gate in Dallas for the opening round of the East 250 Supercross Series.
Next weekend’s race in Dallas marks the opening round of the 250 East Regional Supercross Championship and Cycle News checked in with a few of the team managers to see how things are shaping up as far as riders for that series.
Several riders are coming off of injuries, and while Pro Circuit’s Blake Baggett and GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle will be ready to go, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin will not be ready until later in the year.
Baggett broke his ankle about five weeks ago at the Kawasaki practice track and according to Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Mitch Payton, Baggett has been looking good in practice this week and should be in good shape for next week’s race.
“I saw Blake ride the second day he was on the bike, which was this week, and both me and Bones were blown away,” said Payton. “He jumped everything, looked good in the whoops, and I think with the week of practice he has left he’ll be ready to go, no problem.”
As far as one of the other Pro Circuit guys, Adam Cianciarulo and Martin Davalos, Payton says they’re looking good as well.
“AC looks really good,” says Payton. “I would say the last three weeks everything has been ramping up as far as he’s concerned and he’s getting faster and faster. Martin [Davalos, PC’s other rider] has been blistering fast, and Adam is close to Martin’s pace.”
Over at GEICO Honda, Blake Wharton is happy to be back on a Honda and says he’s excited about opening up at a hometown race.
“I don’t live to far away from Arlington, so that’s a home race for me and I’ll have a lot of family and friends there cheering me on,” said Wharton. “I’ve had a good few weeks of practice leading up to this week, and next week I’ll fly home to Texas to make final preparations for the race.”
GEICO Honda will also have Justin Bogle back in time for the Dallas race. Bogle had a horrendous crash in December and had injuries to five vertebras, and a broken scapula. The Oklahoma rider was in San Diego and he told us he’s been back on the bike for a week-and-a-half and he feels good.
“I’m feeling good on the bike and I got some testing done and my body feels ready to go,” said Bogle.
Unfortunately, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin will not be ready for the Dallas opener for the 250 series, and according to team manager Roger DeCoster, Musquin has been at home in France recovering from ACL surgery.
“Marvin has been riding a stationary bike in France, and he’s scheduled to return to the United States next week and then he should be able to start riding about a week after that,” said DeCoster. “Hopefully, he will be able to ride one or two rounds of the series to help prepare him for the outdoor series.”
