PJ Larsen

A solid showing for PJ this week at Hangtown as he battled hard against some extremely strong opposition. With four Factory Connection Honda’s and four Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s, plus Dungey, Searle and a couple others, getting a top 10 finish in any race will be a struggle. But after the way the Canidae Motosport Kawasaki rider raced this weekend, he knows he has the pace to challenge for top finishes, all it needs is a bit more stamina work and he’ll be able to hold off most people. Even the PC freight train that motored through the pack in the 2nd race. PJ has recently began work with one of the most respected trainers on the West coast, Ryan Hughes, and it looks as if things are already starting to pay off.

Steven Clarke

After last week’s disappointing effort at Glen Helen, it was good to see Scuba running up front in the first moto. Starting off just behind Barcia, Clarke managed to stay pretty strong through the first half of the race, only really tailing off towards the end, eventually finishing 15th. Although getting another 15th, the second race was a lot different as a bad start left him fighting with a whole host of riders. Still not showing the same sort of speed as last year, we all hope Clarke can continue to improve and by the time he gets to the east coast, battle his way into the top 10.

Max Anstie

It’s never nice to see a rider pulling off the track mid-race, but when it’s the third time in three races, it’s especially bad. Max has had zero luck so far this year, so when he finally got a good start in the second moto, it looked like things might be turning around for the young Englishman. After an extremely disappointing debut at Glen Helen, which left him with an injured back, and a 39th in moto one at Hangtown, Anstie bounced back huge with a 12th in moto two. You young Orangeman was able to salvage a 16th overall on the day and garner some much needed confidence heading into Freestone. As with the other rookies, holding off all the big guns in such a stacked class will be tough but at least now Max has actually finished a race and knows what sort of pace is required.

Tyler Wharton

Not a good week for the elder of the Wharton brothers, finishing 21st in moto 1 is bad enough, but then having to start ½ a lap behind everyone else in moto 2 after a problem in the first couple of corners left him with little chance to redeem himself. He eventually battled through to 28th, but I’m sure he is looking for greater things come Freestone. On the bright side, Freestone is held on Wharton’s home turf in Texas and is a track that he feels comfortable on. He’s used to the heat, he’s used to the dirt and, with any luck, he’ll get used to seeing the top ten outdoors come next weekend.

Justin Barcia

What is there to say about this kid?  He has really shown his speed in the first two rounds.  Barcia has lead more laps this season than anyone. The youngster is for real and once he learns to put an entire moto together it is going to be a scary thing.  In moto one he jumped out of the gate and pretty much checked out.  He pulled a 20 sec lead over 2nd place Christophe Pourcel.  By the time the 2 lap board came out Barcia dropped anchor and Pourcel reeled him in and took over the lead,  Barcia settled for second despite a last ditch effort on the final lap. As the second moto got underway Barcia’s luck took a turn for the worse; he found himself back in about 20th.  Never one to back down from a fight, he punched his way through the field and worked his way past a number of the top racers in the world.  He would eventually find himself around the 8th spot when he hit a wall and began to drop back again.  Unfortunately, he and Austin Stroupe got tangled up, resulting in them both hitting the ground. By the time Barcia got his bike restarted he was a lap down, but still managed to finish 10th overall.  If this kid performance last week didn’t make a believer out of you, this week had to.

Ben Evans

Evans came into the year a little under the radar but, then again, he’s always been under the radar. For some reason certain riders find it more difficult to market themselves as a top guy, no matter what their results. Evans seems to be one of those guys. He put in some solid rides in supercross and is trying to carry it over into the outdoor series.  He is receiving help from Brown Motorsports, but we have a feeling if he were to find his way onto some more competitive equipment then his results would improve even more. Evans 12th overall at Hangtown earned him 15 more points and landed him in the 13th spot overall, just one point behind PJ Larsen and Austin Stroupe. Ben has the speed to run up front with the factory guys it is only a matter of time before we see this kid in the top 10.

Bruce Rutherford

Bruce has never been a name that many have taken notice of. He’s a fast regional rider from California who never really caught the attention of the factories as an amateur.  He has never had much help from anyone other than his parents, but if someone can put in results on heart alone it is this kid.  He busts his hump working his 9-5 job during the week to scrounge up enough gas money to get him to the races on the weekend.  Bruce had a rough run in the first moto finishing 30th, but rallied back in the second moto and finished 20th for 24th overall.

Weston Peick

After last weeks awesome rookie debut Peick picked up a ride with Moto Concepts and was looking for another stand out ride.  Things did not go Peick’s way though as he had some bad luck in the first moto. He tangled up with Ryan Villipoto and Tommy Hahn in the second turn and was forced into the mechanics area.  His mechanic struggled to get his bike straightened out but was unable to fix the damage in time for Peick to re-enter the race. The second moto didn’t get much better as he finished 34th overall. Was Glen Helen a home track fluke for Mr. Peick? We doubt it, but you can bet everyone will be watching close at Freestone next weekend.

Alex Martin

You can’t really bag a kid when he’s improving, and that’s just what Alex Martin is doing. While we agree that Martin has an uphill battle on his hands if he wants to make good as a pro, he’s improving each week and, with a little luck and a cracked throttle, he could have his breakout ride this year. An atrocious start in the first moto left him in 36th after the first turn and he was only able to make his way up to 25th…not super impressive. However, in the second moto Martin was singing a different tune. He got off the gate in 18th and after losing a few positions early, was able to make his way up to 16th for one of his best moto finishes of his career. Martin’s 25-16 moto scores would prove enough for 21st overall. Not exactly an improvement from his 16th at Glen Helen, but a far cry from his struggles to make main events in supercross.

Cole Seely

Seely had some breakout rides in supercross, opening the eyes of a lot of the factory guys with his solid rides on sub-par equipment. However, we are still waiting to see what he can do outdoors. A 22nd overall on his home track at Glen Helen and an even worse performance at Hangtown with a 23rd has us wondering what happened to the Cole Seely we saw holeshotting supercross races two months ago.

Topher Ingalls

Topher is another rookie that we feel could do more. He showed flashes of his talent in the supercross but, much like Seely, has yet to do anything of real importance outdoors. A 21st at Glen Helen followed up by a 25th at Hangtown has him sitting around the mid-pack mark, but is not what we expected to see from the youngster heading into the season.

Buddi Bruner
You’ve got to give it up to Arizona’s Buddi Bruner. Never a huge amateur talent, Buddi managed to qualify for both Glen Helen and Hangtown. And like much of the field he’s doing it with little help. Brunner improved dramatically on his 34th from Glen Helen with a 28th at Hangtown. We are unsure as to whether or not he will be able to fund the entire series, but are excited to see what he can do if he does.