What We Noticed: Offseason
December 04, 2023
Welcome to our first edition of "What We Noticed"!. This is going to be a re-occuring article where we discuss some of the things we notice at the races. First up... the offseason! The moto offseason has its ups and downs... not many races to watch, but we do get MXdN, WSX, and a few one-off events (i.e Paris SX). With the lack of racing comes more opportunity to get excited about the changes that occur every offseason: new bikes, riders changing teams/gear/numbers, and new venues being added to upcoming schedules. With most of the offseason already behind us, let's take a look at What We Noticed:
- Honda Continues Dominance
Honda is coming off arguably the most dominant year of any brand/team in the past. Going into 2024, they are looking poised to continue that dominance, despite losing the '23 SX champ Chase Sexton. The Lawrence brothers duo proved at both MXdN and Paris SX that they have what it takes to fill that gap left behind by Sexton. It's perhaps no surprise when we consider Jett's success, but Hunter's capabilities are a bit more of a question mark. After seeing him grab that 2nd place in Paris though, it shouldn't be a surprise to see Hunter running in the top 5 come A1.
On the other hand, the Lawrence brothers moving up definitely leaves a gap in the 250 class. Is Jo Shimoda able to fill that? His results in Paris leave us to believe so.
- Underwhelming New Brands
What's happening with Beta? What's happening with Triumph? Both of these teams announced plans to race in 2024 at the end of last season, but we have very little news from them; their PR departments have been eerily silent. Triumph did just last week release full details on their new bike, but we still have no official news on who is racing it and when. Similarly with Beta: we know Colt Nichols and Benny Bloss are racing for them, but haven't seen or heard much from other rider about the new team or bike. Just last week Colt was racing WSX on a non-Beta. Overall, weird non-hyped-up off-seasons for two new brands that could and should be exciting a lot of fans!
- Resurging Dean Wilson
Deano is a fan favorite, but most of 2023 was very under-whelming for him. He seemed to struggle to fully adapt to the new team and bike, and never really displayed flashes of speed/brilliance that we are used to seeing from him (as his career winds down, these moments have been getting rarer). However, we got a glimpse of the old Deano during the WSX and Aussie supercrosses this off-season! He was fast, got a couple wins, and showed fire and passion against Friese. Dean hinted on IG last month that this upcoming supercross season might be his last... let's hope he goes out with speed.
- Aggressive Vince Friese
Is Vince Friese more aggressive than ever? He missed out on all of 2023 SX with an injury, but returned to racing with a vengeance this offseason at WSX. Aggression isn't anything new from Friese, but some of his moves were next level. Sign of things to come this upcoming 2024 season?
