2020 AMA motocross preview
450
Eli Tomac is the overwhelming favourite as the three-time national champ aims to make it four titles in a row! With Ken Roczen already announcing he won’t be competing in the championship this year it means one of Tomac’s only title competitors of years passed won’t be troubling him in 2020. With the extra confidence from winning the supercross title and even more testing time that usual, Tomac should be able to win his fourth in a row.
Cooper Webb could end up being Tomac’s closest challenger in supercross but he will have to step up a level outdoors if he wants to be in the same position. Webb put everything into supercross in 2019 to win the title and hadn’t really been focusing on motocross so when the outdoor season came round he wasn’t quite where he wanted to be. He did win an overall but it will be interesting to see if , having time to put more focus on motocross in 2020, if Webb will be able to lift his performance to be able to trouble Eli in the great outdoors.
Webb Image: align media
Marvin Musquin is usually always a title threat outdoors but just coming off a knee injury makes him a big question mark. Adam Cianciarulo won the 250 national title last year and rode superbly but as we saw in his rookie supercross season while he may be fast he is making mistakes that are costing him. Will the outdoors be more of the same or will Adam be able to put it all together again like 2019?
Husqvarna have a strong trio with Zach Osborne and Jason Andersson alongside Brit, Dean Wilson. All three have the talent to be podium men but Osborne and Anderson are probably more likely at this stage carrying more momentum from supercross however Dean Wilson is a former US national champ, albeit ten years ago, but he is injury free and ready to impress in this shortened nine round outdoor season.
With Honda having no Ken Roczen they line-up with the hard-working Chase Sexton who will make his 450 debut for the team plus the very talented Christian Craig. Neither are expected to be title threats or even race winners but do add much needed depth to the 450 class.
Yamaha come in with Justin Barcia and Broc Tickle but by all accounts Barcia and Yamaha aren’t gelling to well anymore and the hard riding American is looking for a new home in 2021, Tickle is a replacement for the injured Aaron Plessinger but Broc is a hard worker and usually strong outdoors.
Anstie Image: HEP Suzuki
Suzuki have potentially two strong riders but on different teams! JGR Suzuki’s Joey Savatgy never got a chance in supercross due to injury so will be coming in very motivated and should be strong while Max Anstie also missed supercross through injury but the extra break has allowed Max some extra time rehab his achilles. if the HEP Suzuki package is good and Anstie’s injury doesn’t trouble him he could be the surprise package for many Americans if he gets the starts!
Blake Baggett is a bit hot and cold these days but when he is on he is fast! Let’s hope we get to see the former rather than the latter this year because Baggett is great to watch when he is on a mission.
MX2
In theory it is Dylan Ferrandis’ title to lose! He is the fastest in class based on last year and another supercross title won’t do any harm for the confidence either. Ferrandis is believed to be going 450 next season so this will be his last shot at a 250 motocross title in the States and he will want to make it one to remember! Starts have always been the achilles heel for Ferrandis but if that doesn’t get the better of him too often he should be the man to beat.
Justin Cooper however will have plenty to say about that. The confident American thinks he has more speed than anyone else in world and he and Ferrandis don’t get along according to Steve Matthes so it will be interesting to see if things get tight on the track if it spills over in the pits! Cooper has signed a three year extension with Star Yamaha so they clearly believe in him as much as he believes in himself, there could be some tense racing between the two teammates this season especially with Cooper renowned for great starts in contrast with the Frenchman!
Star racing teammate Shane McElrath is more known for supercross but when it all clicks he can win races outdoors and now he is on the fastest bike in the class.
Lawrence Image: Geico Honda
Geico Honda look strong this season with former champion Jeremy Martin back and raring to go alongside Hunter Lawrence who proved his speed last year with a couple of moto wins. With a new improved engine for 2020 expect Lawrence and Martin to be up front early. Let’s not forget the new kid on the block, Jett Lawrence, the supremely talented and very confident 16 year old has no issue with speed but he still lacks experience which might bite him at times but if he gets up front expect fireworks!
Alex Martin on the JGR Suzuki can never be counted out, always fast and fit the little man is never far away from the top five. RJ Hampshire should be another fast threat on the Husky, back after knee surgery and teammate Michael Mossiman will also be one one to look out for. He seems to get better each series, ahs a nice style and impressed at times last season outdoors. He will be looking to improve again for 2020.
Sanayei in his MX2 days
The PC Kawasaki team aren’t where they thought they would be with main man and expected title contender Austin Forkner still out (although recently just back on the bike) with Garrett Marchbanks also injured it meant recruiting two US GP riders back to racing in their homeland. Darian Sanayei had a decent GP career in MX2 but aged out last year. He is fast and a great starter so with the PC machine he should get a good look at the sharp end and could surprise a lot of people. Mitchell Harrison was anything from 8 to 15 in MX2 GPs but concentrating on outdoors the last 18 months and riding so many different tracks will have increased his outdoor ability overall but will that translate to more wide open US tracks? Their teammate Cameron McAdoo is showing the best form of his career although can get a bit wild at times! He won’t be scared to hang it out and could well get in amongst the leaders with start.
TLD KTM have the young Pierce Brown and Drake who could impress with starts but again there is a bit of question mark over their consistency with less experience that most but flashes of brilliance are to be expected.
All in all the 250 class in the USA is always great racing with a lot of depth and it could, as it sometimes does, be even more entertaining than than the 450s!
Adding extra intrigue to both series the opener will be at Lorretta Lynn’s the home of amateur motocross in the States and, with most of the field returning to the place where they grew up, it will be interesting to see how they all fair now as well as how the track copes with the professional race. It promises to be some great racing!
Article: Jonathan McCready
