Photography: Campo/Fisk/Stallo

The WMA Goes Factory: Part Deux

In the blink of an eye, Trey Canard’s season was over. An unfortunate turn of events left the friendly Oklahoma native sidelined with a broken wrist but, as the saying goes, “One man’s misfortune is another man’s providence.” This time, though, that man happens to be a woman.

Four rounds into the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, privateer and WMA series rookie Vicki Golden got the tap to fill the void Canard’s injury had created at Geico Powersports Honda. Her solid finishes in the opening rounds of the series had garnered her the chance at a factory ride and, for Vicki, it was just the chance she had been waiting for. “We were putting everything we had into it—with what we had—and it was working out really well. But, It was definitely hard on me for overcompensating on a bike that just isn’t as up there as the other bikes. Getting on with Geico, I think it takes a lot of pressure off because I don’t have to work as hard to overcompensate [on the bike]. I just have to get used to the bike, so I think it will be a lot easier for me.”

Simply making it to the pro ranks was not an easy undertaking for Vicki, either. She didn’t have the shining amateur career that some riders enjoy and injury plagued her for much of early 2008. That’s when things changed. “I came into Loretta’s just training all the months and then I came out with the win. So, it was good for me.” She didn’t just walk away with the win, but engaged in one of the most epic battles of the week with Sara Price that lasted the entire third moto—whoever won the final moto would win the title. Vicki was that person and, ultimately, used her title as the propellant needed to head for the pros and a rendezvous with destiny.

Why Vicki?

The concept of a fill-in rider is not new to the industry or to the Geico Honda Team (Daniel Blair replaced an injured Brett Metcalfe for the remainder of the 2009 Supercross series) but the move to put sixteen-year-old Vicki on the team raises the obvious question: Why a WMA rider rather than a male, 250-class competitor? The answer isn’t a single cut-and-dry factor but, rather, how a series of variables came together to make Vicki the best candidate for the ride. Co-owner of Geico Powersports Honda, Jeff Majkrzak put it this way, “The popularity of the WMA has grown a lot this year and when Trey got hurt, we were looking at our options with our sponsors and, actually, the Fox people first brought it [Vicki] to our attention. We spoke about it with Geico and they were very pumped about it. It’s a good fit. Vicki was already in Fox and already on Hondas so it was a real easy thing to pull the trigger on.” Typically, when looking for a rider to fill a position like this, teams run into problems with conflicting gear sponsors or competing bike brands—among other things. With Vicki, it truly was a perfect fit.

In today’s economy, business decisions that maximize return on investment have become paramount for team owners like Jeff. However, the decision to pick up Vicki wasn’t based on her being a bargain. “This day and age, of course, economics are always part of a decision, however, we had a number of options that really weren’t going to be that costly to execute. This was just one that has a lot of exposure coming from the WMA. Vicki’s been doing really well. She’s young. She’s got a lot of potential and we’re coming up to the X-Games and there’s a great opportunity there with the Women’s Supercross. It was a really good opportunity for our sponsors to get that kind of exposure.” All the pieces came together to make Vicki the one who was offered the ride.

Despite Saturday practice at Thunder Valley being her first taste of a factory bike, Vicki performed well throughout the day: grabbing a moto holeshot, battling for the lead with the likes of Ashley Fiolek, Jessica Patterson, Sherri Cruse and Mariana Balbi, and finishing the day a strong fourth overall. As the season progresses, the young Californian is bound to top her factory debut and, with the backing she has now received, the sky is the limit for Vicki.

Number Two

Pioneers open the door for others to follow through. That’s the nature of being a pioneer. Had Ashley Fiolek been passed over for a factory ride in 2009, would the door be open for others like Vicki to earn their own ride? It’s hard to say. It’s not necessarily that teams try to top one another by matching the actions of others, but the concept of how the sport of women’s motocross has progressed because Ashley was put on a factory bike—combined with better exposure given to the WMA by MX Sports. It wouldn’t be a stretch to speculate that the way these factors came together created the opportunity for Vicki.

However the opportunity materialized, it did. Vicki Golden has become the second woman in history to receive a factory ride, and that’s something to be damn proud of.