GLEN HELEN STOPWATCH NATIONALS: THE UNOFFICIAL OUTDOOR SEASON OPENER

For years there’s been an outcry among Southern California MX fans for a return of the Glen Helen National. Some day, it might happen, but for now, regulars know that come spring, there’s a mini National every Thursday at the iconic San Bernardino track. Glen Helen still provides a crucial testing element for virtually every motocross team. Even the teams that are based in the Southeast make regular trips there because the conditions of a real race are hard to duplicate elsewhere.

Pierce Brown put his GasGas 250 up front in moto one, beating a hoard of 450s to the first turn.

This year, Troy Lee and Bud Feldkamp decided to take a random Thursday in May and make it legit. They lined up the riders–who are there anyway–for a low-key two-moto race and put up $10,000 in prize money. It made for a good preseason warm-up with real gate drops and bar-to-bar racing.

Jason Anderson was all about business. He was there for testing, not racing.

Not all of the Thursday regulars wanted to line up. Riders like Jason Anderson, Jo Shimoda, Cameron McAdoo and Seth Hammaker were there, but elected to watch from the sidelines. They were there for their own testing and even the $4000 cash prize for first place couldn’t tempt them to line up against a full gate. For the riders in lower tax brackets, the prize money was plenty of incentive.

Broc Tickle is still on top of his game. his 3-1 score was good enough to earn a big paycheck. Not bad for a Thursday.

When the gate for moto one dropped, there were some interesting riders in front. BarX Suzuki rider Derek Drake and Pierce Brown were right up front. Brown was actually contending for the holeshot on his Troy Lee GasGas MC250F Factory Edition against a full gate of 450s. So was his teammate Ryder DiFrancisco and Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer. Eventually Brown established himself in front and the 450s had nothing for him. Ryder DiFrancisco finished in second and Pro Circuit test rider Broc Tickle finished third. In the second race, Brown and Drake both went down early. Up front it was all Tickle. DiFrancisco held second until late in the moto when Beaumer passed him. His 2-3 score was still good enough for second overall behind Tickle.

Ryder D was fast, but faded in moto two. His 2-3 score was good enough for second.

Will the Stopwatch National become the real season opener for the pro motocross season each year? There’s no telling. As it is, when you combine Supercross, pro motocross and SMX, the season is already so long that most pro teams are struggling to be at every round. But, as Bud and Troy knew going in, they already have Glen Helen in the plan. The only difference is now there’s a payout.

Robbie Wageman is a Glen Helen regular. He scored 17/9 for 11th overall.
Jo Shimoda was another factory rider who watched from the side of the track.
Derek Drake led much of the first moto.
Julien Beaumer had to pass a bunch of 450s on his way to third overall.
NGPC champion Dante Oliveira was fourth against all the dedicated motocross riders.

BROC TICKLE 3/1
RYDER DIFRANCESCO 2/3
JULIAN BEAUMER 5/ 2
DANTE OLIVEIRA 4/6
MARSHAL WELTIN 6/5
DEREK KELLEY14/4
PARKER ROSS 12/7
CJ BENARD 10/10
MATEO OLIVEIRA 13/8
ROMAIN PAPE 9/13
ROBBIE WAGEMAN 17/9
JOSH MOSIMAN16/11
BROCK BENNETT19/12
REVEN GORDON18/14
PIERCE BROWN 1/31
COLE MARTINEZ 8/27
JAXON PASCAL 20/16
DAYTON BRIGGS 7/30
CAMERON HORNER 21/17