Vurb’s 2023 Team Previews: Pipes Motorsports Group (HEP Motorsports Suzuki)

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 Pipes Motorsports Group and you will find the full schedule below.

Who’s In:
#11 Kyle Chisholm (450SX)
#12 Shane McElrath (450SX)
#37 Brandon Hartranft (Injured)
#50 Marshal Weltin (250SX)
#85 Dilan Schwartz (250SX)
#94 Ken Roczen (450SX)
#722 Adam Enticknap (450SX)
Team Manager – Larry Brooks
Addition of another semi. 

Who’s Out:
Justin Bogle

Last season’s Supercross Results:
Brandon Hartranft – 8th 450SX
Justin Bogle – 13th 450SX
Adam Enticknap – 39th 450SX

Last Season’s Motocross Results:
Marshal Weltin –  15th 450MX
Brandon Hartranft – 17th 450MX

Offseason Grade:  A++

The Rundown: 

No team has made more moves this offseason than Pipes Motorsports Group, which is the HEP Motorsports Suzuki team’s new name going forward. Look, although team owner Dustin Pipes and I go way back, he’s been super busy this offseason growing his team. I did reach out to him to confirm the lineup and never heard back, so I’m going off of my insight and what I think will happen with this team.

The biggest signing this offseason was obviously the free agency acquisition of superstar Ken Roczen. The Roczen saga has been well documented the past few months and he has ridden everything under the sun. He had the chance to test the Suzuki and decided to go in that direction. This is the biggest signing in this young team’s history and a step in the right direction to instantly become a race winning organization. The team is adding another truck to allow Roczen to stay a Red Bull athlete as well as a couple of other key sponsors, like Fox. This is exciting times for the Suzuki brand and if it goes well, you never know, it could ignite a renaissance for the brand in supercross and motocross.

Another big signing for PMG is the return of fan favorite Kyle Chisholm to the team. Chiz last raced for HEP in 2019 and helped the team reach a new level then. Now, the veteran joins the team in a different role going forward. Yes, he is still racing, but he will also be a  big part of testing and making sure that the bike development stays on the cutting edge. This is the perfect position for Chisholm as he starts to wind his racing career down and makes sure he can still be involved at a high level with a great team. Chiz seems to continue to improve as he gets older and he will be in the mix again in 2023.

The injury to Brandon Hartranft was a big hit to the industry and we wish nothing but the best for B-Dog as he continues his recovery. If you’d like to donate to his hospital bills the Road 2 Recovery has put together a fundraiser for him. Hartranft has been great in his 450 progress, even finishing 8th in Supercross in 2022, and Pipes has told me that the team loves having him around and he will be with the program for quite some time, no matter what. 

With Hartranft out for the foreseeable future, I believe that Shane McElrath will be filling in for him in SX and beyond. McElrath is now riding for his fifth team in a year and he hasn’t missed a beat no matter what has been thrown at him. McElrath will bring speed and he will have several standout races where you will say, ‘Hey, look at Shane!’ On top of that, McElrath is a rider that can finish in the top ten in points, which is great for him and the team. 

PMG is also adding a 250 program to the team in 2023. They dabbled in this during the World Supercross Championship and now they are bringing it stateside. Dilan Schwartz and Marshal Weltin will be the riders contesting 250SX. Schwartz didn’t get a chance to show what he could do in Supercross last year and came back to the nationals late, while Weltin had a summer to remember filling in for Justin Bogle and finishing a career high 10th overall at Red Bud. Each of these riders should be able to finish in the top ten overall in points no matter what region they race. I’ve got Weltin on the calendar for an interview next week.  

The 722 of Adam Enticknap should be on the gate for this team as well. Pipes has always told me that if Addy wants to race, then they will have a bike for him. A fan favorite, Enticknap has proven his worth with his following and the folks at Feld have used his talents in everything from his music on the supercross video game, to opening ceremonies intros, to early morning local news appearances. I believe that Adam will be at the track this year and racing, or if he’s not racing he will have some sort of position on this team to help grow it. 

PMG made another huge announcement by the signing of Larry Brooks as team manager. The amount of knowledge that LB has is beneficial to any team in the pits and PMG is in a perfect spot for him to come in and help take the team to the next level. With the amount of talent underneath this rig in 2023, AMA Supercross, Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, WSX, a 250 and 450 program, Brooks, Pipes, and team have a lot on their plates. 

It’s going to be an interesting year of growth for the Pipes Motorsports crew, but with the right moves in place they will see their hard work payoff and their first SX win checked off of the list very soon. Props to this team for going all in on its future this offseason.  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.

Team Preview Schedule:
10/27 – Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/ GASGAS Factory Race Team

11/3 – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing

11/9 – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Team

11/16 – Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing

11/25 – HRC Honda

12/01 – Red Bull KTM

12/9 – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki

12/14 – Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha

12/22 – Pipes Motorsports Group (HEP Motorsports Suzuki)

12/28- Bar X Suzuki

1/3 – Team Solitaire