As of this last weekend, we can reset the “Days Without a Vince Friese Incident” counter. Down under in Melbourne, Australia, the MotoConcepts Honda rider was actually close to becoming this generation’s Heath Voss by winning the two-round “World Supercross Championship” over Ken Roczen. The latter even had a big problem before the final Main Event, suffering a flat tire, giving Friese a real chance to win it. However, in an on-brand move, Friese opted to go for the jugular in the first corner, going for both Roczen and teammate Justin Brayton, but Roczen made it away unscathed with the two teammates hitting the deck. That is only the tip of the iceberg here, however.
Be sure to follow all of our Supercross and coverage.
Bad Racecraft
The worst-looking part for Friese this weekend is the optics of the wreck itself. For whatever reason, he decided to go wide in turn one, which we know now was intentional, trying to get a double takeout. As you can see below, if he runs a tight exit, Friese gets the lead in the second or third corner at the latest. Additionally, with the shorter race format in the WSX series, there’s a good chance he wins given that Roczen and Brayton hold each other up by battling. Just not a very good display of Racecraft or Race IQ. Brayton, one of the sport’s most respected guys who has rarely lost his cool, did so here. As you can see in RotoMoto’s video, as well as the post-race scrum via Gyspy Tales.
Bounty Board?
Now here’s where things get quite interesting. On a Sunday edition of the PulpMX show, Brayton had an hour-long segment, and the whole deal with Friese took up a large portion of that. Here’s the TLDR which sums things up. Brayton heavily implied that Friese went down the deny, deny, accuse route right after the final race. Not only that but Brayton was told by his own team, that Friese offered Grant Harlan, who was lined up next to him two thousand dollars to take him out. Then when confronted about it, Friese went down the “You’re just mad that I’m a better rider than you route” which is one, categorically false, and two, loser behavior. Overall, it sounded like things did not go down well in the MotoConcepts pits in general post-race.
As for the bounty comments, there is a clear shot of Friese’s mechanic talking to Harlan on the gate about something before that third race. Secondly, I have a hard time believing Brayton would air this out publicly if he felt like it didn’t have substance. Putting a bounty on your competition is one thing but on your teammate? One of the most respected guys in the industry, in a two-round series that are glorified exhibition races? Bush League behavior is putting it lightly. No disrespect to the WSX crew by the way, that series doing well long-term is good for the sport in general, and I want it to do good.
What Should MCR do About Friese?
At some point relatively soon, Mike Genova needs to ask himself as team owner if Friese is worth the baggage he brings on track. To me, that answer is no as we inch closer to 2023. Friese refuses to get out of his own way and is consistently getting into it with other riders on track, and has been for years now. Although he has improved as a rider over the last few years, Genova should part ways with the veteran ahead of 250 West Supercross. Putting a bounty on your teammate literally seconds before a race is scum of the earth-level behavior should that information be accurate. If Friese wants to act and ride like Jeff Alessi with a laser pointer at an AMA National, he should be on the sidelines one way or another by the time Anaheim 1 rolls around.
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @PTSTNews and @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page: Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group: Prime Time Sports Talk
Instagram: @primetimesportstalk
Follow Jack Gaffney on Twitter @JackGaffneyTDT
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
