The TPJ Racing team made their way to Southwick, MA to conquer the sands of Moto-338; a track that historically has been known to cater to the underdogs of our sport.
There are no perfect weekends in racing especially with a team our size; but with the highs and lows we learn, progress, and keep coming back for more. Southwick was no different; 2 riders are wishing for do-overs and 2 are still living on cloud 9 after season best finishes.
Carson Tickle hadn’t missed a single moto this season, until some unfortunate bad luck in the 450MX consolation race left him 1 position out of qualifying at Southwick. Tickle, who is happy to be back on East Coast tracks looks forward to redemption and racing next weekend at Red Bud.
Dylan Merriam left Southwick with 7 additional championship points but if you ask him how the weekend went he’ll give you a big THUMBS DOWN. Merriam has experience a lot of highs and lows far this season so the fact that he finished both motos and secured an 18th overall for the day, we’d have to disagree with his indifference to the day.
“…bad start in moto 1 but was able to come back to 14th. Moto 2 has a first turn crash and couldn’t get my bike going. I went a lap down right from the start so I could only charge back to 23rd…” -DM said via Instagram
Round 6 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is one that Mason Wharton will not soon forget. Wharton qualified for his first national of the year, by crossing the finish line of the 250MX consolation race in 4th place; he was the final transfer for the day. Mason was able to launch his Kawasaki KX250F off the start in both motos in 34th place, after attacking the field he was able to finish 31st in moto 1 and 29th in moto 2. He rounded out the day with a 31st overall for the day. Way to go Mason!!!
Jimmy Weeks had one goal coming into the Outdoors; to score points in the top 20. He achieved this goal this weekend with a 19th overall finish for the day; gaining 6 points towards the championship. Jimmy looked at home on the track, piloting his Yamaha YZ250F to two top 20 finishes in both motos.
“…the track was brutal all day long, probably one of the toughest on the circuit…” JW said via Instagram
We are extremely proud of our team and the efforts they put forth at Southwick. Thank you to Scott from DSC construction for supporting our rider’s and reimbursing their entry fee’s. Thank you to Talon from Acerbis for supplying us with fresh sets of the best plastics in the world. We cannot wait to reveal our RED BUD kits next weekend. Thank you to Karcher pressure washers for always keeping our bikes clean, and for supporting us week in and week out. Thank you to Josh and Doug from Pirelli for the Scorpion MX soft tires this weekend, they were a perfect match for the sand.
Thank you to the rest of our amazing sponsors; FLY Racing, Lucas Oil, Boyce Excavating, Carl’s Cycle Sales, AllClear ID, Engine Ice, Cometic Gaskets, Vertex, Hot Cams, Rekluse, Scott, Motool, Yoshimura, Mika, Magik Graphics, Galfer, Cylinder works, Bolt, MotoSeat, Tokyo Mods, VP Racing Fuel, No Toil, and California Coast Plumbers, inc.
See you next weekend in Michigan at REDBUDDD.
Photos by: BrowndogWilson
Words by: Kendra Keene
TPJ RACING 