As if the previous weekend’s race at Hangtown wasn’t brutal enough, The Fasthouse crew headed to Glen Helen for round two of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships, and Sean Collier decided to not only race the main 450 National motos, but he also competed aboard his KX500 in the FMF Two-Stroke Invitational where he dominated, leading from the first lap until the finish. From there, he immediately jumped on his KX450F to compete in the main National motos.

As his hometown track, Sean went into the race already a step ahead of where he was entering Hangtown. Refreshed and well rested, he headed into the event looking to turn heads and have some fun, but had no idea what he was getting himself into. “It was gnarly. It was f@#&ing gnarly,” Sean said of the long day. “I didn’t really realize how gnarly it was going to be. Coming off of the 450 and then jumping onto the 500 was difficult, but thankfully the 500 practice was right before the two-stroke race. If it hadn’t been like that, it would’ve been really difficult for me to adjust that quickly.”

All told, Sean was out on the track for two 450 qualifying practices, two 30-minute-plus-two-lap motos, one two-stroke practice, and one 20-minute two-stroke race aboard a bike that is lovingly referred to as “The Beast”. Even for a full-time racer it would be a tall order to be out on the track that much and ride at the level that is required. “Just riding that extra 40 minutes was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.” Sean said. “I didn’t think it was going to be that much harder, but it was seriously torturous. When the second 450 moto came around, I got done with the parade lap—just putting around on the parade lap—and I looked over at my mechanic and was like, “Dude, I am exhausted right now.”’

In spite of the abuse he went through over the course of the day, when asked if he would do it again, he was quick to respond. “I would absolutely do it again. I don’t know why, but I would do it again (laughs). The day was a complete success. I know that my results in the 450 Class weren’t as good as what some people were expecting, but having the extra time on the track—and just in general with how tough it’s been with having a new baby—it effects the end result. This sport we do is extremely taxing, and if you don’t go into it 100 percent at the beginning, it’s going to effect the end result. It's ok though, because I have my job still, I’m going to work tomorrow, I’m going to get paid on Thursday, and it’s all good.” When the dust cleared and the checkered flag waved, Sean went 21-23 for 25th overall in the brutally competitive 450 Class—not too bad for a guy with a regular 9-5 job and a newborn baby.

Fasthouse / Thousand Oaks Powersports, Gasper Racing, FMF, C4MX, 805 Beer, TLD, Gaerne, Dunlop, Stance, Von Zipper, Dubya, N-Style, and Red Bull

Photos by Brendan Lutes