The Battles Within The Battles

For the people who have been lucky enough to attend one of the races that make up the 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals, I’m sure you’ve notice the incredible battles between riders in both the MX2 and the MX1 classes. We’ve seen some pretty close racing up front from riders like Mike Alessi, Colton Facciotti, Kaven Benoit and Vince Friese. However, sometimes the most intense battles take place a little further back in the field. This was certainly the case in the closing laps of the second MX2 moto at Sand Del Lee this past weekend.

The Sand Del Lee track provided a perfect landscape for some great battles, just like the one that Shawn Maffenbeier and Jesse Wentland had in the final laps of the final MX2 moto.

The battle I’m referring to was the one between two Yamaha riders who both have proven to have the heart of a lion. We’re talking about Shawn Maffenbeier and Jesse Wentland, both on blue bikes but on different teams in the MX2 class. Heading into the second MX2 moto on Sunday at SDL, these two riders were separated in the standings by scant three points with Maffenbeier holding the slight edge. Since finishing any series in the top three is very prestigious, there was a lot at stake as these two warriors hit the SDL track.

As moto two began Maffenbeier and Wentland got off to mediocre starts and both riders were forced to exert a lot of energy early on to catch up. Since these two riders are known for excelling on rough tracks, finding their way around the competition wasn’t a problem. By the halfway point in moto two Maffenbeier was securely in third place and Wentland had found his way into fourth, although he was a little ways back. As the laps wound down Wentland had found his rhythm and was closing rapidly on Maffenbeier and it looked as though a pass was certain before the moto’s end.

After winning a moto last weekend at Gopher Dunes, Jesse Wentland came to SDL looking to climb into third place in the 2014 MX2 standings.

Any rider hates to get reeled in late in a moto and sometimes you just have to let it happen so you can save some energy for the impending battle. I’m sure when Wentland caught Maffenbeier he thought he would go by pretty quickly, but this was not going to be the case. While Wentland did get by him it was only for one brief shining moment as Maffenbeier passed him right back. This move no doubt surprised Wentland as he regrouped and went in for another try. This time Maffenbeier shut the door and just simply would not let his Yamaha counterpart by. With only a few laps left in the moto Wentland was running out of time to make his move. For two laps these riders were neck and neck both fighting for that final step on the podium. It was a short but intense battle and when Maffenbeier stepped up and turned his fastest lap of the moto on the second to last lap, Wentland had to say uncle and decided to take fourth and fight another day.

This battle for third is a great lesson for all riders, if you just fight for your life, even for just a few laps, sometimes you can win these battles and in this case, it might be the difference in who finishes third in the 2014 MX2 Championship. Although this wasn’t a battle for the lead, sometimes the racing behind the leaders is the best of the day. On Sunday at SDL, this short Maffenbeier/ Wentland battle was one of the best of the series. With eight motos left in the series I’m sure we’ll see a few more of these awesome battles.

When you battle like Shawn Maffenbeier did at SDL, you get to reap the rewards.