Troy Dog
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Welcome to the offseason and our new ongoing “Team Previews” column. Every week from now until the Monster Energy Supercross season starts in January we will be profiling a big team in the sport. We’ll go through the changes that have been made, analyze results, and give each team a grade on all of their offseason moves. This week we have Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki and you will find the full schedule below.
The Biggest Question Mark: Will a fresh stable of riders translate to more success in 2024?
Who’s In:
#40 Dilan Schwartz – 250SX East/250MX
#52 Derek Drake – 450SX/MX
#87 Max Miller – 250SX West
#100 Anthony Bourdon – 250SX West
#128 Preston Boespflug – 250SX Futures/250SX East/250MX
#154 Leo Tucker – 250MX
#334 Nathan Abbott – 250SX Futures
#343 Cole Timboe – Amatuer/250SX Futures
Who’s Out:
Ty Masterpool
Robbie Wageman
Chase Yentzer
Last Season’s Supercross Results:
Dilan Schwartz – 16th (250SX West)
Derek Drake – 15th (250SX West)
Max Miller – 22nd (250SX West) 39th (450SX)
Anthony Bourdon – Did Not Race.
Preston Boespflug – Raced 250SX Futures
Leo Tucker – Raced 250SX Futures
Nathan Abbott – Did Not Race.
Cole Timboe – Did Not Race.
Last Season’s Motocross Results:
Dilan Schwartz – 13th Overall (250MX)
Derek Drake – 15th Overall (450MX)
Max Miller – 31st Overall (450MX)
Anthony Bourdon – Did Not Race.
Preston Boespflug – 44th Overall (250MX)
Leo Tucker – Raced three rounds 250MX
Nathan Abbott – Did Not Race.
Cole Timboe – Did Not Race.
Best 2023 SX Finish:
Dilan Schwartz – 11th (250SX/Denver)
Derek Drake – 12th (250SX West/Anaheim 1, Glendale, Denver)
Max Miller – 14th (250SX West/Denver) 18th (450SX/Nashville)
Anthony Bourdon – Did Not Race.
Preston Boespflug – 3rd (250SX Futures/Arlington)
Leo Tucker – 12th (250SX Futures/Anaheim 2)
Nathan Abbott – Did Not Race.
Cole Timboe – Did Not Race.
Best 2023 MX Finish:
Dilan Schwartz – 12th Overall (250MX/High Point and RedBud)
Derek Drake – 7th Overall (450MX/Hangtown)
Max Miller – 29th Overall (250MX/Hangtown) 17th Overall (450MX/Thunder Valley and High Point)
Anthony Bourdon – Did Not Race.
Preston Boespflug – 20th Overall (250SX/Washougal)
Leo Tucker – 33rd (250MX/Ironman)
Nathan Abbott – Did Not Race.
Cole Timboe- Did Not Race.
Offseason Grade: A
The Rundown:
The BarX Suzuki team didn’t have the 2023 that they would have hoped to have. In the past they’ve had success with Dilan Schwartz putting himself well into the top ten of 250MX, however lately things haven’t peaked that high. They’re looking for a fresh start in 2024 and they’ve invested heavily in their team!
The team will field eight riders, four of them on the pro side (Schwartz, Drake, Miller, and Bourdon) and four on the amateur/250SX Futures side of things (Boespflug, Tucker, Abbott, and Timboe). Schwartz and Drake lead the team with best past results and have been with this program for many years. They have the speed to be in the top ten, but lately it’s been tough to find it. Drake has made the move to the 450 class full-time in 2024. He’s got the speed to run up front, it’s just been putting in the consistency that has proved difficult. With more experience in the class in 2024 he should have better luck finding just that.
Max Miller raced a little bit of everything last year in each class. He’s found a new home at BarX after being on KTMs since he was a young amateur rider. This fresh start and team environment behind him should ignite his results and put him close if not inside the top fifteen more often than not indoors and out.
Frenchman Anthony Bourdon is making his debut in Monster Energy Supercross. We’ve seen him have success in the World Supercross Championship and in Paris, but not yet in the USA. This will be a new challenge for him to adjust with a new bike, new team, new environment, but he’s got SX skills, so he should surprise some people this season. He has had some experience racing the American riders and he always holds his own.
The other four riders on the team in Boespflug, Tucker, Abbott, and Timboe are here to further their careers on an established team platform. Wherever they race this season they should be favorites to run up front and show the team their progression. It’s smart on a team like BarX to load up on amateur riders to help establish themselves for the future. This brings them back to their roots when they were an amateur only team and came to the pro ranks with Schwartz and Preston Kilroy having success along the way.
The future looks bright for Suzuki as they will be supporting 11 riders in 2024 with BarX and HEP.
2024 Rider Projections:
Dilan Schwartz – Schwartz should be close if not inside the top ten both indoors and out.
Derek Drake – He’s got the speed, but consistency has held him back. If he can figure that out he can be in the top 15 of the 450 class at his peak.
Max Miller – Max can be top fifteen with the possibility for more, especially indoors.
Anthony Bourdon – Bourdon will be a 10-15 place guy, with a potential peak in the top ten.
Preston Boespflug – A top amateur, Boespflug will continue to progress and perform well in 250SX Futures before making his pro debut on the east.
Leo Tucker – Tucker will look to progress into a frontrunner in 250SX Futures on the BarX platform.
Nathan Abbott – Abbott will look to progress into a frontrunner in 250SX Futures on the BarX platform.
Cole Timboe – Timboe will be a favorite and frontrunner at all of the amateur nationals in 2024.
Thanks for reading my series of team previews for the coming season. If you’d like to talk about these or any of the other stories that I’ve written you can email me at [email protected] You can also reach me on Twitter/Instagram: @troydogvurb.
2024 Team Preview Schedule:
10/13 – Troy Lee Designs / Red Bull / GASGAS Factory Race Team
10/20 – Monster Energy / Pro Circuit Kawasaki
10/27 – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
11/12 – Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing
11/27 – Heartbeat Hot Sauce/Team Solitaire
12/4 – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
12/6 – Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha
12/15 – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
12/26 – Liqui Moly Beta Racing
1/ 6- Bar-X Suzuki
Main image: Suzuki Cycles
