It’s obvious now that everyone is fully focused on the upcoming Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championships, which begins May 16 at Hangtown. Just about all the factory teams were out testing and prepping for the “outdoors” today at Glen Helen Raceway. KTM, Husqvarna, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha were all taking advantage of the track’s weekly Thursday open practice.RCH Suauki’s Ken Roczen and crew, however, were one of the few teams chosing to go elsewhere. They headed north to Zaca.
Ben Schiermeyer keeps track of his rider’s (Justin Barcia) lap times. Barcia, on the AutoTrader.com/JGRMX/Toyota Yamaha, was pounding out the laps all day. (Photography by Kit Palmer)
TLD/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson is back in action. He’s returning from a concussion suffered while training at Glen Helen about six weeks ago. Nelson said that he’s feeling good on the bike again and is anxious to get back to racing.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Wil Hahn has been putting in the laps these days. He’s been out of racing action since his big crash during practice at Anaheim I. Hahn has been on the bike for about six weeks, and according to his team, he’s coming along well and has been working on getting his strength back. This will be Hahn’s first experience on a 450 outdoors. So far, the team has made no plan to replace Davi Millsaps, who was released from the squad a few weeks ago.
Tommy Hahn, Wil’s brother, has been looking real good on the bike lately. After competing in the 250 West Supercross Series on a Motorsports.com-backed Honda, he’ll be remaining with the team but on a 450. Hahn is in good health and says he very excited to get the outdoors started. (Photography by Jason Abbott)
Recently crowned 450 Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey (5) and East 250 Supercross Champion Marvin Musquin and the entire Red Bull KTM crew were out at Glen Helen today. The team officially started outdoor testing during the Easter Holiday break but has been really hitting it hard this week. Team manager Roger DeCoster said that they’ve been working on a little bit of everything when it comes to testing and his happy with their progress. He added that team rider Dean Wilson recently had surgery on his wrist and will most likely miss the entire outdoor series. There is a chance that he he’ll ride the last couple of rounds in August.
Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsport’s Josh Grant was flying today. Grant hopes to get off to a good start to the series, which could very well happen, since he likes both the Hangtown and Glen Helen circuits, which make up the first two rounds of the series. His teammate, Chad Reed, is currently testing closer to his home in Florida. (Photography by Jason Abbott)
HRC Honda’s Cole Seely says that he and his team are about to wrap up testing and then spend the next week leading up to Hangtown “just riding.”
AutoTrader.com/JGRMX Yamaha’s Weston Peick is one of the hottest riders coming off the Supercross Series. He hopes to keep the fire burning next week at Hangtown.
Marvin Musquin definitely looks already back in outdoor mode.
Jason Anderson (21) and the Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna crew were putting in the time today, including Martin Davalos.
Sometimes practice turns into a little bit of racing. Shan McElrath and Seely had a little bit of fun.
Justin Hill had the Red Bull KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition flying around the Glen Helen track.
Rockstar Husqvarna rider Christophe Pourcel put in some laps.
BTO/KTM’s Justin Brayton says he’s feeling healthy and ready for a fresh start in the outdoors. (Photography by Jason Abbott)
