50 Years of Pro Motocross: 2014

James Stewart's crash at at A1:

Reed's crash in San Diego:

It was Stewart who would take the win that night, and he went on to win several more times that season and even taking over second place on the all-time wins list. Had it not been for crashes and mechanical problems, he probably would have been in a position to challenge for the title. Roczen would also have troubles, and faded somewhat in the second half of the season after being so spectacular early on. As for Tomac, he got injured at the opener and wasn’t a factor all season.

As supercross entered the homes stretch it was no surprise to see Villopoto in the driver’s seat. His performance wasn’t as insanely dominant throughout the whole season, but he was consistent and ended up catching fire down the stretch, leading every single lap of the final four races to take his fourth consecutive Monster Energy Supercross 450SX Championship. The only other rider to win four premier class SX titles in a row is Jeremy McGrath.

In the 250SX ranks it quickly became clear that Cole Seely and Jason Anderson were the ones in charge out west. Anderson was the source of plenty of frustration for Seely, often stealing wins from Seely on the last lap. Dean Wilson should have been in the title conversation, and while he did win a pair of races, a mechanical problem in Oakland (while leading) and a horrible night in San Diego took him out of contention. Anderson would go on to win the title.

In the 250SX East Region, rookie Adam Cianciarulo was busy living up to, and even exceeding, the immense hype that’d been surrounding him since he was approximately three years old. He took the pro scene by storm, winning his first AMA Supercross race and winning twice more. It seemed nothing could stop him until his shoulder popped out in Toronto, ending his season. The benefactor was Martin Davalos, who finally recorded his first professional win in Atlanta, and seemed poised to close in on the title. The supercross gods had other ideas, however, and Davalos heartbreakingly watched his title hopes evaporate after he broke bones in his ankle and foot while practicing. Justin Bogle, who’d recently overcome major injury himself, seized the opportunity, and the championship.

In the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship things once again seemed wide open, especially with Villopoto missing the season with a knee injury. Trey Canard was back from injury and Dungey, Stewart, and Roczen were chomping at the bit after being subjugated by Villopoto in supercross. Reed was back too, but was still hurting from his injury and wasn’t ever a threat. Of course, anything can happen in racing, especially when Josh Grant is around, and when the gate dropped at Glen Helen it was Grant who came out of nowhere, as he often did, to win the first moto of 2014. The second moto would be a preview of what we’d see for much of the rest of the season, with Dungey and Roczen going at it for the win. Dungey edged Roczen, but Roczen would go on to win seven of the next 11 motos.

Glen Helen National highlights:

The tides started shifting around the halfway point, as they so often have for Roczen, and Dungey started coming on strong. Further complicating matters for Roczen was Tomac, who’d missed the first several rounds with a broken collarbone but was beginning to figure things out in a hurry, winning his first career 450 overall at Spring Creek. Roczen seemed unable to respond. He was still getting good finishes, but suddenly he was unable to beat Dungey like he had been earlier in the year. Worse yet, Tomac was getting between them and costing Roczen points. Dungey was starting to loom extremely large in Roczen’s rearview, and although Kenny still controlled the points, Dungey seemed to be holding the championship reins.

Roczen finally got the break he needed at the second-to-last round at Ironman Raceway in Indiana. A track that’s notorious for heavy rains witnessed an absolute deluge, resulting in mud so deep and thick half the field lost their bikes that day by way of drowning, and legend has it there are still a few motorcycles held captive by the Ironman soil. Instead of flaggers, the AMA should have brought in certified lifeguards. As for Roczen and Dungey, they went 1-2 in the first moto, but Dungey was ninth in the second moto, while Roczen was second. That’d give Roczen the buffer he needed to ride comfortably coming into the finale the next week at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. Canard scored a perfect 1-1 won, and Roczen’s 3-4 was more than enough to earn him the 450 National Championship in his rookie year.

As for James Stewart, he had a promising season going early, including a dominant 1-1 at High Point, but his season fell apart after news broke that he’d failed a doping test at the Seattle Supercross. (The violation stemmed from a legal prescription drug, Adderall, that contained a banned substance.) He was allowed to continue racing while everything was getting sorted out, but he just wasn’t himself after that and ended up pulling out of the season four rounds early. Veteran champs Dean Wilson and Blake Baggett were ready go bang bars, and upstarts Jeremy Martin and Cooper Webb were eager do some damage in their sophomore years. It didn’t take long for them to do it either. Martin went on a tear immediately, smashing his way to wins in the first five motos of the season, with Webb right on his tail. It was perfect timing for Yamaha, as the tuning fork company had finally released a brand new 250 to replace their old, painfully outdated platform. The bike was fantastic, and in the hands of Martin, proved lethal to the competition. Martin would seal the deal early too, clinching the title in the muddy mess at Ironman.

Watch both 450 Class motos from the High Point National in full below:

Related: Listen: Jeremy Martin Talks First Overall Win on All-New YZ250F at 2014 Glen Helen National

Martin wasn’t without his challenges, however. Baggett was fast and won some races, but he wasn’t able to overcome the damage done by a pair of mechanical DNFs. Marvin Musquin was a threat too, and was able to log some outstanding rides late in the season. Had it not been for a dislocated shoulder suffered during practice at the opening round, he may have been more of a factor.  Wilson was also bitten by the injury bug, yet again. He crashed hard at the opener going down an extremely steep section of Glen Helen. He was able to come back after several rounds, but he wasn’t the same guy. And even if he was, it may not have been enough, as Martin was firing cleanly all season, which would serve as a preview for the summer of 2015.

Watch the season finale highlights:

2014 250 Class Overall Points

2014 450 Class Overall Points