Each race week, we recap the previous weekend's fantasy highlights, provide top-secret fantasy training tips and make "expert" predictions for the coming race.
They zig, you zag...
There's an element of strategy to the rule that doesn't allow players to pick a rider two weeks in a row. Certain times in this game, you may want to pass on a rider one week so you can pick him the next. Alex Martin comes to mind with this strategy.
Alex Martin
Though his results haven't been great lately, his handicap is growing and the guy has won overalls in past seasons. Red Bud is the round before Millville (Spring Creek), Alex Martin's home track. Literally, his childhood home is on the property. I would much rather have the option to pick Alex at his family's track than the race before, given he could do laps at Millville in his sleep.
This is a double edged sword, however. If you save Alex for Millville by not picking him the week before then he wins a moto at Red Bud (which wouldn't be a shocking turn of events), his value could go down. By passing on a rider to save him for the next race, you're always risking the rider doing well that weekend. This causes their handicap to go down, potentially making them not such a great pick the following week for which you were saving him. Some say the best strategy is to pick riders that will score the most points every weekend (duh) and don't pass on a good pick to save them because it may not be there the following weekend.
Player Picks
Each week, I ask a guest for their previous week's picks, I'll show my cards as well. Guests can be a fellow MotoSport.com employee, a customer, a top finishing player in the game or basically anyone who knows dirt bikes have two wheels and that Travis Pastrana has retired from pro racing. Regardless of their score, there's always something we can learn.
The guest this week is Andy Manliguez from the MotoSport.com engineering department and his son, Aaron. Andy and his 10 year old son run their team together. He even let Aaron choose the team name: FartingPandas! Though the two haven't followed pro racing that close in past seasons, they started paying more attention after Aaron took a liking to the MXGP3 video game for Xbox.
Marvin Musquin
"It's weird because a video game actually led to him wanting to go do stuff outdoors," said Andy, "So I took him to Seattle supercross and he's been pretty stoked since. He actually called Musquin and Ferrandis winning there, basically against what everyone else was hoping. That's when I was like, uh, maybe I should join the fantasy league and just have him make all the picks. He's got a soft spot for Europeans I'm guessing because the game he plays MXGP3 is pretty much all Europeans. So yeah since Seattle we've been following the races."
This is another perfect example of how Motocross Fantasy is bringing families of the moto world together!
Team Name: FartingPandas
Real Name: Andy Manliguez
Rd. 4 Score/Finish: 466/*18th
Season Points/Rank: 1378/*208th
*Andy is only playing the MotoSport employee bench racing league, but this is where he stacks up the Pro Series.
Joey Savatgy
450 Class: 261 Points
Joey Savatgy (4) - 80 Points
Tyler Bowers (9) - 80 points
Benny Bloss (5) - 60 Points
Ken Roczen (1) - 41 points
Andy and Aaron picked a solid team here. I should know because in both classes we nearly had the same team. They chose better, beating me in the MotoSport Employee League. In the 450 class we both picked Tyler Bowers and Benny Bloss. With a climbing handicap due to a rough start to the season, Bowers finally paid off at High Point with 12/12 moto scores. I look for "The Bear" to be closer to this result as the season goes on. I was nervous to pick Bloss in his first race back, but he was so fast in qualifying that many players rolled the dice on the gentle giant (the dude is 6'5). It paid off. Benny has been a top five guy in past seasons so it will be interesting to see how he continues the series. I would have had an even more similar team (and a much better score) to the Manliguez's had I been able to pick Joey Savatgy. I had him last week when he decided to use the race as a test session scoring zero points. Joey did at High Point what many of us thought he'd do at Thunder Valley with 8/6 moto scores. His handicap will likely drop as the season continues. But I think Joey is capable of podiums, possibly even moto wins. Even with a lower handicap, "Versace" might continue to be a valuable pick. Andy and Aaron went with a single points rider, Ken Roczen. Normally I'd advise against this because the most he could score is 50 points, but that's a lot better than the zeros my double points, 18 handicap privateers scored.
Hunter Lawrence
250 Class: 205 Points
Hunter Lawrence (-1) 80 Points
Martin Davalos (7) 58 points
Mitchell Oldenburg (5) 39 Points
Jacob Hayes (7) 28 points
The only difference in our teams for the 250 class is they went with Jacob Hayes while I chose Nick Gaines. Hayes has potential to be a top scorer but a 24th in the second moto really set his score back. Hunter, the boy wonder from down under (catch me at The Shelter for more freestyles), paid off big for his team owners yet again. He got his first ever moto win. Had he not started so rough, he'd be a non underdog single points guy by now. I see that happening in the near future. Martin Davalos qualified 8th so he was an easy choice with a 7 handicap. My suggestion of Mitchell Oldenburg in last week's column could have been one of the weekend's high scores. His first moto had me hyped with a 10th place. "Freckle" couldn't repeat in the second moto with a 19th. I think he'll improve and be a great fantasy pick all season.
Team Name: Cody105
Real Name: Cody Hockema
Rd. 4 Score/Finish: 415/63rd
Season Points/Rank: 1,855/9th
Tyler Bowers
450 Class: 144 Points
Tyler Bowers (9) - 80 points
Benny Bloss (5) - 60 Points
Heath Harrison (18) - 4 points
Tyler Stepek (18) - 0 points
While Andy and Aaron went safer with the other two riders, I swung for the fences with high handicap privateers. There were way too many enticing "send it" picks at High Point. I did my homework and narrowed it down to the two riders who most consistently finished motos around the 25th place mark. Well, of all the big handicaps I considered, the two I picked were the two that scored zeros. Lesher, Teasdale, Lopez and Schock all had killer scores. My guys, Tyler Stepek and Heath Harrison did not. Stepek had a high pick trend with a P16 qualifying position and an 18 handicap. He crashed early in the first moto and hit his head. He did putt around in last during the second moto but that doesn't do me any good. I expect him to be back next weekend and I'd pick him again if I could.
Mitchell Oldenburg
250 Class: 271 Points
Hunter Lawrence (-1) - 80 Points
Martin Davalos (7) - 58 points
Mitchell Oldenburg (5) - 39 Points
Nick Gaines (16) - 28 points
The only pick where I differed from the Manliguez's was where they picked Jacob Hayes, I went Nick Gaines. The privateer hasn't been around much lately, but he has been a fantasy lock for me in past seasons. With a 13th place qualifying position and a 16 handicap, I had to get me some Gaines, BRO!
Round 3 - Thunder Valley - MotoSport.com Pro Series
MotoSport.com Pro Series Points Standings
Top Rider Scores
450 Class - Round 3 - Thunder Valley
250 Class - Round 3 - Thunder Valley
Picks of Interest
Here are a couple of interesting picks for the weekend. These are by no means a guarantee, just some guys to consider.
Cody Hockema (Cody105):
450 Class - Tyler Stepek (18) While Tyler prevented me from having a top score last weekend, I would still pick him again if I could. He had some bad luck with a crash in moto one. You can see in the photo above the number 314 Yamaha toward the back in the center. Tyler has raced every round in the 2019 outdoor season so far and hovered around the 25-30 mark. He did the same thing at select rounds last year. If this fast privateer has a qualifying time near the 25th place mark, pick him.
RJ Hampshire
250 Class - RJ Hampshire (-1) Hailing from Hudson, Florida, RJ is definitely on my radar this weekend. He's ridden the Florida sand all his life and has historically done well at Southwick (sand track) in past seasons. In 2017, an MXGP round was held at WW Ranch and Hampshire won the overall! There have been some flashes of brilliance from RJ in the 2019 outdoor season, but I think this weekend will be when he really shines. It's going to be extremely hot and humid, and RJ's been acclimating to that climate his entire life. Five bucks says he puts it in the top five. I wouldn't be shocked if he won a moto either. Dare I say an overall?
