When I sat down with California native Weston Peick a few weeks ago to talk about his surprising decision to skip out on the rest of his amateur career and turn pro at Glen Helen, who would have guessed he would start the season with such a bang? Click here to check out Weston Peick interview. With no factory support Peick has outshined many of the “bigger” names in the sport. Names such as Hill, Lawrence and Moss, all currently sit behind the rookie privateer in overall points.

After a solid but unspectacular amateur career many around the pits were, for lack of a better word, shocked when news came down that Peick was skipping the rest of his amateur career and going pro. While Peick has taken home numerous titles, including a title at the ranch last year, no one could have foreseen him challenging the best riders in the world so early. He had gone up against names like Wilson, Regal and Craig, and came out on top. But now was to face off against names like Reed, Alessi and Hill. Would the results stay the same?

There are many different opinions on how to begin an amateur career. Some would love to begin on their home track. Others would want nothing more than to get as far away from the pressure of home as possible. For Weston Peick there wasn’t really a choice seeing as the 2009 Lucas Oil Motocross Championship was set to begin at Glen Helen, Peick’s home track. But for the # 631 of Peick there was nothing better than some home cooking to began his career. Busting out of the gate with a (13-11) for 9th overall in his first pro race things could not have gone any better for the Honda rider. Sometimes it takes a handful of races, if not an entire year or more, for a rookie to crack the top-ten, all Peick did was take home a 9th place finish if his first pro race EVER, against the best riders in the world. After such an impressive start you would figure teams would be lining up to sign the young rookie. But there were a lot of whispers circling the pits that Peick was just taking advantage of riding on his home track and that his results would quickly fade once the championship left Glen Helen.

After a surprising finish to start the season, Weston was looking to silence the critics and show that he was more than just a home track rider. But after a disappointing ride at Hangtown, although he did have some bike problems, Peick did nothing to prove the critics wrong. Going (39-34) at Hangtown was not the way he wanted to back up a remarkable debut, but it showed the young rook that there is no such thing as taking a week off in motocross.

A rookie in any sport will always have their ups and downs. But how they rebound from disappointment shows the true grit and determination in any athlete. As the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship moved east Peick showed everyone that he is in it for the long haul. An impressive (9-11) in Texas, for another top-ten finish- 9th overall, proved Peick can handle the heat and his competition. After flying under the radar for the first three rounds Peick is no longer a shot in the dark, he has been thrust into the spotlight, the question now is how will he handle it?

With the economy making a slow return to normal, but still lacking in stability, factory and satellite teams are looking for more than just a three round pony. They’re looking for a thoroughbred that they can ride for the long haul. Can Peick be that guy? Many think he can. He has outperformed factory guys like Josh Hill and Davi Millsaps, doing it with no support from the manufactures. Now imagine if he were riding under the support of the manufacturing giants. Could that kind of support propel him into the top-5, that question remains to be answered, but if Peick continues to ride like this the answer could come sooner than expected. We would like to ad that, as a result of his premier start to his rookie season, Peick has received help from the Motoconcepts Honda Team and is looking strong as a possible top ten overall finisher for 2009.