Motocross: Gearing Up For Glen Helen National

Kit Palmer | May 2, 2014
  Weston Peick prepares for the 2014 outdoor Nationals on his new RCH Suzuki team. Photography by Kit Palmer

Weston Peick has been working overtime with his new Soaring Eagle/RCH Suzuki Team. Photography by Kit Palmer.

Now that the 2014 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series is winding down with the final round taking place tomorrow at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, many riders are already looking forward to and preparing for the upcoming Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship that is just around the corner. Many of those riders have been taking advantage of the open practice days at Glen Helen Raceway, which will host the opening round on May 24. And one of those riders was Weston Peick who was testing the other day with his new Soaring Eagle/RCH Suzuki Team crew, which was in full force. Also on hand was another one of the team’s newest members, Ivan Tedesco, who recently came on board.

Peick said this was his fifth day of testing with the RCH Team.

“Everything at RCH has been going great,” he said. “We’ve been putting a lot of long days testing in and the bike is getting really good now. From here on out it’s just a matter of getting everything fine-tuned, finding what I like to use.

“I’m just getting used to the team and feeding off of everyone’s energy. Like I said, we’re just putting the laps in on the Suzuki and getting ready for the opening round at Glen Helen.”

It’s no secret that Peick is one of the hardest working riders on the Supercross and motocross circuit, and his strong work ethic and results have finally netted him a ride on one of the premier teams.

“All that work I’ve been doing over the years is definitely paying off,” Peick said. “It’s a long-time coming to get a deal like this and I’m super excited. This is definitely a game changer for me for the 2014 outdoors, and I’m really looking forward to getting the season started. I think it’s going to be pretty good.”

Peick is now working with his new teammate Ivan Tedesco, a former 250 Supercross Champion and long-time factory racer.

“Me and Ivan are kind of going back and forth on settings and stuff, and trying to get the best thing to work for us. It’s been good working with him. Obviously, he’s been on the top of his game for a long time, so it’s good to have someone around like that. I can feed off of him. He’s smart and knows a lot of things, so I’ll be able to learn things from him.”

Peick says he has yet worked with one of the team’s high-profile owners, Ricky Carmichael, but is looking forward to that time.

“I haven’t worked with Carey (Hart, team co-owner] or Ricky yet, but I’ve known Ricky for a little while now, and I think once he comes out to Southern California, we can do some testing and stuff, and I think I can learn a lot from him and definitely step up my game again.”

Peick says he has high hopes and expectations going into the opening round.

“I love Glen Helen, it’s my favorite track, so we’ll see, it should be a good week.”

Toyota/JGRMX/Yamaha’s Josh Grant was putting in the laps at Glen Helen, as well as Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Darryn Durham, who is looking forward to getting back to racing again following a concussion he suffered at the Anaheim 2 Supercross.

Also on the track and getting back up to speed was Rockstar Energy Drink’s Joey Savatgy. Savatgy suffered multiple injuries in a crash while practicing for the Supercross Series in December. A broken wrist was the most serious of his injuries, but he’s been on the KTM for quite a while now and he says he’ll be good to go come May 24.

Former National MX Champion Jeremy McGrath was also pounding out the laps at Glen Helen, testing parts for the Honda Muscle Milk Team riders, Trey Canard and Justin Barcia.

Maybe little less known but could be that one rider who seemingly comes out of nowhere and captures the attention of the crowd and the industry at a National round this year is Blake Savage. Savage has also been putting in the laps at Glen Helen and could be one of the sleepers in the 250 National class. Savage, originally from Utah but now calls Southern California home, was a top minicycle racers and has ridden for many teams in his young career, including Kawasaki Team Green. Since turning pro, Savage, who has recently spent some time competing in the Canadian National Series and also raced off-road, which included nabbing two class championships in the WORCS series, has struggled to find a home on a motocross team in the U.S., but Suzuki recently approached the 21 year old and will provide him with some support in the outdoors. Savage also once competed on Suzuki’s off-road team alongside Mike Kiedrowski.

Savage has won some high-profile races in his career, including the A Day In The Dirt’s premier Coup de Grace GP just last year, which was held at Glen Helen. Savage is hoping for that breakout ride.

It’s been five years since a national was last held at Glen Helen Raceway, and those who attended some of the previous races will notice a few big changes, the biggest being the downsizing of the national racetrack. To shorten its length, it will no longer utilize any portion of the REM track, which is built in the hills next to Glen Helen’s main track.

 

Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes ever since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.