Although our team owner and many of the employees of ClubMX are from Minnesota, Unadilla is home to Phil Nicoletti and Team Manager Mike B. Years of great memories on what most serious people consider the best track on the motocross circuit. With its unique layout and natural terrain plus including some of the most iconic obstacles in racing, Unadilla is the first stop on the final run to the championship. As for Phil’s homecoming, we have some special events lined up for him that will be announced in more detail this week. The team will participate in press day on Friday, then move to an autograph signing tent outside the pit area. On Saturday, Phil will lead rider introductions prior to the 450 race and then be a part of the podium celebration at the end of the second moto. It will be a special day for this well deserving New York native. Words: Mike Bonacci
PHIL NICOLETTI #36: Washougal was a tough one for Phil, but he showed his true grit along the way. Moto one was going well with a good start and running in the top five when he flipped over the bars early in the race. From a distance, it did not look good with the way he was holding his arm. A trip to the medic unit found nothing broken but there was some obvious damage to his forearm. When most riders would have packed up and caught an early flight home, Phil wants to stay and fight for points just to pad his spot in the SMX finals. Those nine points scored are the difference between his current sixteenth position and twenty-first position – and back to the LCQ. He will need to fight in these next three rounds to secure his place in history.
MARK FINEIS #705: Mark did not have a great Washougal. He unfortunately twisted his knee and was not able to ride like he normally does. To his credit, he put up a good fight all day and even had a great hole-shot in moto two, running near the front for the first five laps. The break in the schedule came at a good time for him so he could get some much-needed rest. Unadilla is suited to Mark’s style of riding and should be a good event for him. He will come in fresh and hungry to get back up front.
JETT REYNOLDS #99: The good news: Washougal was Jett’s best finish of the season. If there was ever an example of someone following the program and getting his career back on track, Jett is the model. He had his first top ten overall finish of the season and is looking for more! The bad news: Jett broke his collarbone in a training incident last week. The weather had relegated the team to riding their 450’s on the sand track for training and that is when it happened. It is heartbreaking for the young phenom, but he already had his surgery and is committed to getting back quickly. We will keep you updated as more news is available.
COTY SCHOCK #69: Welcome back to racing Coty Schock. Coty will make his return to the track this weekend at Unadilla and is excited to get going. With his body fully healed and some training under his belt, this weekend will be a good test for his return. Coty has quite a few races under his belt at Unadilla and riding press on Friday will get him back in the swing of things quickly.
ZACH OSBORNE #338: Perhaps you heard some rumours that Zach would be riding our 450 for the last three rounds and that was true – sort of. As you know, Zach was the original owner of the property that ClubMX currently sits on and eventually sold it to Brandon when his career took off on his way to all those championships. So, when Zach called and said he would like to give racing a try again, the obvious answer was yes. He picked up a bike and started the training process. As one of the most competitive people you will ever meet, Zach had his own standards to meet before actually registering for an event and unfortunately came up short. That was the beginning and end of what was potentially the coolest story of the season. Now we are working on some different plans for Budds!
SPEAKING OF RUMORS: The bike in the picture is the 2025 Yamaha YZ250F. The best racing platform in the industry. Yamaha has been a major supporter of our success and in return, we helped them win the manufactures cup earlier this year. We are under contract with Yamaha through 2025 and will be riding this bike for the foreseeable future. So, for all the people with “inside information” – sorry, we are bLU cRU through and through.
RaiseIt4USA: The website www.RaiseIt4USA.com is live. We have collected quite a few items to raffle off and raise money for the teams representing the USA at the MXoN event in October. One of the most recent additions was an autographed jersey from the great Tim Ferry from his 2008 Championship MXoN winning team.
Please check out the site and help to promote it. In addition, items for sale like T-Shirts, hats and sock are available online and at the Moto Tees trucks at the races. NOTE: If you have any items you would like to donate, please let me know.
Image: Ripper Media / FXR / ClubMX
