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Supercross & Motocross
WEIGANDT: Playing In The Sand At Southwick
Southwick is a venue all its own, and one that has set the table for a number of unexpected victors and home-track heroes over the years.
American Honda's Justin Barcia (Photo: Honda Red Riders)
The sandy surface alone makes Southwick, Massachusetts’ MX338 facility unique among all the tracks on the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross tour. But it’s not just that it’s sandy -- it’s Southwick sand, and there’s no other motocross track in the world quite like it.
And in the motocross world, sand isn’t just sand. While Southwick is a sand track, it actually isn’t the sandiest track you’ll find. You can find deeper (sandier?) sand down in Florida, or at some of Holland’s legendary tracks. Or at the beach. Southwick is a sand all its own, and while riders raised riding in Florida sand may be able to adapt better than those who were raised on hard packed dirt, it’s still not quite the same.
At the base lies some clay, which makes it much more slippery than a typical sand track. And no matter the weather, the bikes, or the riders, the bumps seem to develop in the same spots every year -- every weekend if you’re a local. And there lies the trickiest part of the weekend -- no track favors locals like Southwick.
Legends run deep of New England faves running wild at the ‘Wick. We’re talking complete unknowns here, like Pat Barton, Scott Carter, or Robbie Marshall. Southwick did turn out two riders who would go on to win on a variety of tracks and make a living as top factory riders -- John Dowd and Doug Henry. Those two were pretty good anywhere, but at Southwick they were just about unbeatable.
And in the motocross world, sand isn’t just sand. While Southwick is a sand track, it actually isn’t the sandiest track you’ll find. You can find deeper (sandier?) sand down in Florida, or at some of Holland’s legendary tracks. Or at the beach. Southwick is a sand all its own, and while riders raised riding in Florida sand may be able to adapt better than those who were raised on hard packed dirt, it’s still not quite the same.
At the base lies some clay, which makes it much more slippery than a typical sand track. And no matter the weather, the bikes, or the riders, the bumps seem to develop in the same spots every year -- every weekend if you’re a local. And there lies the trickiest part of the weekend -- no track favors locals like Southwick.
Legends run deep of New England faves running wild at the ‘Wick. We’re talking complete unknowns here, like Pat Barton, Scott Carter, or Robbie Marshall. Southwick did turn out two riders who would go on to win on a variety of tracks and make a living as top factory riders -- John Dowd and Doug Henry. Those two were pretty good anywhere, but at Southwick they were just about unbeatable.
SX Seattle
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