Tyler Collingwood
Rookie report, it’s back! I thought I was bringing this new great idea to the table. Then Troy said that Vurb did this 14 years ago, but to hell with that I’m taking over now. Each week I’m going to report on the rookies in the 250 class and give you a little insight on how the new guys are doing.
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy / Star Racing Yamaha
Qualified – 11th
Heat – 14th
LCQ – 1st
Main – 10th
Grade – B+
Dax Diesel (check out our “If I was a Car” interviews on the YouTube page) had a bit of a rougher weekend than how his first round went. While Detroit seemed to come so easily to him, he had to work for it in Arlington. Dax qualified solid and just outside the top 10, setting him up for a decent gate pick. He had to fight through the pack in his heat but came up short. In the LCQ he did exactly what he needed to do by getting out front and checking out. Having just minutes to get back onto the gate for the main, he managed to get a 10th place and keep himself in the title hunt. I think we see Dax bounce back next week and get back into the top 5.
Nick Romano – Monster Energy / Star Racing Yamaha
Qualified – 13th
Heat – 2nd
Main – 12th
Grade – B+
Man this kid is showing what he’s capable of a little bit at a time each week. While qualifying is probably a little further back than what he would like, he made up for it in the heat race. Nick got out front and led five laps of the heat before getting passed by Mcadoo. His main event started out strong, running third for a little bit before falling back to around eighth. Then a small mistake towards the end would land him in 12th. I know that’s not the result he wants, but damn did his riding look good this weekend. That heat race may have been what Romano needed to show himself that he’s still got it. Time will tell.
Guillem Farres – Rockstar Husky
Qualified – 6th
Heat – 4th
Main – 9th
Grade – A-
Dude, they aren’t talking about it much, but like, Guillem is off to a hell of a season. His qualifying and heat races have been super solid, but he seems to lack the intensity in the main. Daytona is next week and I think this is a solid chance for Farres to get on the podium and have his breakout ride this rookie season. The outdoor style SX track will suit him better, in my opinion, and should be a good confidence building race for the Spaniard.
Preston Boespflug – Toyota of Redlands / Bar X Suzuki
Qualified – 18th
Heat – 15th
LCQ – 5th
Grade – B
Preston seemed to be frustrated with his weekend. He posted a picture on Instagram of the 250 main on the gate and he said that he was upset to not be out there. Things just didn’t seem to go Preston’s way this weekend and it seemed as if he was always having to come from behind. He had the speed to be in the main event, but would just run out of time trying to fight through the pack. Seems like this kid is hungry and doesn’t want to be missing anymore mains. Bounce back weekend in Daytona?
Trevor Colip – Ti Lube Honda
DNS – Injury
Grade – C+
Trevor posted that he was nursing an injury and tried to go out for practice. The team decided they would be better to rest it for a week. Colip will be back for Daytona and while he did not race this past weekend, I’m still giving him a C+ from the impressive round in Detroit.
CREO KTM
Grade – B
I’m giving the boys over at CREO KTM a grade together. I got to watch these guys race the Arena Motocross series a few times this year. Jorgen Talviku qualified 22nd and Tyler Gibbs was able to get up to 34th. I know Tyler can run with Jorgen so I think we will see more speed out of him. Both riders seemed to struggle with starts and had to fight from behind all weekend. If they can knock down some starts this week while training and get comfy on the gate, I think we will see these guys fighting for those transfer spots and possibly LCQ wins.
Bryce Shelly – Dirt Bike Depot Racing
Qualified – 30th
Heat – 16th
LCQ – 7th
Grade – C-
Bryce has been struggling. While he had some super impressive rides towards the end of the outdoor season last year, he’s yet to put together a SX race. He’s missed the main both weeks, but Shelly is 100% capable of getting into the main. His heat races have been poor and has had to fight through the pack in LCQ’s with a short amount of time. Hopefully he can get whatever he’s struggling with dialed in and turn his season around.
Mitchell Zaremba
Qualified – 38th
Heat – 13th
LCQ – 8th
Grade – C+
Mitchell has had almost back-to-back identical race weekends. Both just missing the cut for the main.
Evan Ferry – Triumph
DNS – Injury Press Day
Jett Reynolds – Muc Off Club Mx Yamaha
Injured during practice this week.
Tyler Stepek
DNQ
Keegan Rowley – Gizmo Mods Rock River Yamaha
DNQ
Main Image: Octopi Media
