Tyler Collingwood
Round 4 of the Pro Motocross Championship took place this last weekend at High Point, the ‘country club of motocross tracks’. The 2024 season has been rough for some and positive for others. Let’s take a look at how some of the rookies handled the rough track this weekend and some stats through the first 4 rounds.
Mark Fineis had another stand out ride this weekend. Mark would go down in his first Moto when he had a collision with another rider. He would charge all the way back up to 16th. In Moto 2 Mark would become the first rookie to lead laps this season and would lead three of them! Unfortunately a crash that resulted in a bent radiator would end his weekend. Mark is the only rookie to lead laps so far this season with only four other riders in total to do so.
Julien Beaumer continues his strong outdoor season with his best finish yet at High Point. The rough conditions did not seem to faze the Arizona native. Beaumer was able to finish sixth overall just missing the top five. Beaumer is only one of two rookies this season to have a top ten overall, but is the only rookie to finish a Moto in the top ten. He’s had three top ten’s and missed it by one spot at Fox Raceway.
My choice for Rookie of the Year at the beginning of season, Daxton Bennick continues his struggles this year. With a 21st place finish this weekend, Dax is yet to finish in the top ten and has only finished in the top 15 once. Starts are key and Dax has struggled with those so far, with his average starting position being 20th. We still have seven rounds left and Bennick is sitting 18th in points and third among the rookies. With plenty of racing left there’s still time for Dax to get into the top ten.
Former two-time Canadian MX2 champion Ryder McNabb has been making a lot of progress each week. McNabb had his best overall finish this season with a 16th overall. This was Ryder’s first week, where he did not finish outside the top 20 in either of his Motos. RedBud is in two weeks and McNabb had an eye-catching ride last year here at the combine where he would go 2-3 for second overall coming through the pack. If Ryder keeps rolling the way he is, I think we could see his best finish yet at RedBud.
Casey Cochran had a big crash in the first Moto, but he and his team were able to get the bike back in shape and come out for Moto 2. Cochran would have his best single Moto finish in the second Moto where he would finish 11th to go 40-11 for 17th overall. It was a heck of a comeback for a scary crash that first Moto.
Two new rookies would crack into the top 20 for the first time this season. Crockett Myers and Jorgen Talviku were able to each take a 20th place finish in separate motos. Both missed a top 20 overall with a respected 21st (Talviku) 22nd (Myers).
Images: Octopi Media
