GLEN HELEN STOPWATCH NATIONALS: THE UNOFFICIAL OUTDOOR SEASON OPENER

For years there’s been an outcry among Southern California MX fans for a return of the Glen Helen National. Some day, it might happen, but for now, regulars know that come spring, there’s a mini National every Thursday at the iconic San Bernardino track. Glen Helen still provides a crucial testing element for virtually every motocross team. Even the teams that are based in the Southeast make regular trips there because the conditions of a real race are hard to duplicate elsewhere.

This year, Troy Lee and Bud Feldkamp decided to take a random Thursday in May and make it legit. They lined up the riders–who are there anyway–for a low-key two-moto race and put up $10,000 in prize money. It made for a good preseason warm-up with real gate drops and bar-to-bar racing.

Not all of the Thursday regulars wanted to line up. Riders like Jason Anderson, Jo Shimoda, Cameron McAdoo and Seth Hammaker were there, but elected to watch from the sidelines. They were there for their own testing and even the $4000 cash prize for first place couldn’t tempt them to line up against a full gate. For the riders in lower tax brackets, the prize money was plenty of incentive.

When the gate for moto one dropped, there were some interesting riders in front. BarX Suzuki rider Derek Drake and Pierce Brown were right up front. Brown was actually contending for the holeshot on his Troy Lee GasGas MC250F Factory Edition against a full gate of 450s. So was his teammate Ryder DiFrancisco and Red Bull KTM’s Julien Beaumer. Eventually Brown established himself in front and the 450s had nothing for him. Ryder DiFrancisco finished in second and Pro Circuit test rider Broc Tickle finished third. In the second race, Brown and Drake both went down early. Up front it was all Tickle. DiFrancisco held second until late in the moto when Beaumer passed him. His 2-3 score was still good enough for second overall behind Tickle. 

Will the Stopwatch National become the real season opener for the pro motocross season each year? There’s no telling. As it is, when you combine Supercross, pro motocross and SMX, the season is already so long that  most pro teams are struggling to be at every round. But, as Bud and Troy knew going in, they already have Glen Helen in the plan. The only difference is now there’s a payout.

1. BROC TICKLE 3/1
2. RYDER DIFRANCESCO 2/3
3. JULIAN BEAUMER 5/ 2
4. DANTE OLIVEIRA 4/6
5. MARSHAL WELTIN 6/5
6. DEREK KELLEY14/4
7. PARKER ROSS 12/7
8. CJ BENARD 10/10
9. MATEO OLIVEIRA 13/8
10. ROMAIN PAPE 9/13
11. ROBBIE WAGEMAN 17/9
12. JOSH MOSIMAN16/11
13. BROCK BENNETT19/12
14. REVEN GORDON18/14
15. PIERCE BROWN 1/31
16. COLE MARTINEZ 8/27
17. JAXON PASCAL 20/16
18. DAYTON BRIGGS 7/30
19. CAMERON HORNER 21/17

20. KYLE EPPERSON 27/18