Racer X Redux: Washougal
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 | 5:45 PM
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In this article…
Riders
- Jake Weimer
- Brett Metcalfe
- Kyle Regal
- Eli Tomac
- Ryan Dungey
- Tommy Hahn
- Chad Reed
- Trey Canard
- Dean Wilson
- Mike Alessi
- Mike Brown
- Justin Barcia
- Andrew Short
- Kyle Chisholm
- Chris Pourcel
- James Stewart
- Tim Ferry
- Nick Wey
- Ryan Sipes
- Chris Pourcel
- Kevin Windham
Races
Welcome to Redux presented by Renthal. The storm is a brewin’.
The 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship is spaced out perfectly for bench racing. We had a wild round one followed by a weekend off, then another weekend off at the halfway point. We got to bench race after the opener about Eli Tomac, Chad Reed and Mike Alessi, and after the halfway mark, we got to ask if Ryan Dungey and Christophe Pourcel would maintain their massive points leads.
In a couple of weeks, we get to see what happens when an unstoppable force (above) meets an immovable object (below).
Photo: Steve Cox
For Dungey, nothing changed—four-straight moto wins—but in the 250 class, a star is born in Trey Canard, who after his Washougal triumph over the weekend now has won three-straight overalls (a Trey). He’s climbed from fourth in points and 57 points down, to second in points and 38, yes, 38, points back.
Now the series gets two weeks off for X Games this week, and Loretta Lynn Ranch next week. I’ll be at both of those events, and that’s going to cut into my ReduX writing time a bit, but I have a backup plan.
More on that in a moment. First, we enter this two-weekend AMA Pro MX break at the perfect time for more debate. James Stewart is scheduled to return to racing at Unadilla, setting up an epic showdown over the final four races. And Canard is closing the gap rapidly on Pourcel in the 250s. This is stuff that’s worth talking about.
Let’s start with the 450 question: Say what you will about James Stewart, good or bad, but he’s a bad dude on a bike. If he is coming back at ‘Dilla, he’s coming back ready, because Stewart’s history includes several long breaks followed by instant-on domination. Remember Budds Creek ’03? JS1 (at the time) missed four races with a broken collarbone and a lot of people were buzzing that Mike Brown and Ryan Hughes were riding 125s as fast as they could possibly be ridden. Then Stewart DESTROYED the field at Budds. Glen Helen ’08? James missed supercross with ACL surgery and DESTROYED the field at the MX opener. His history at Unadilla is pretty sketchy, but if he makes it through that first race healthy, we’re bound to see a battle with The Dunge at some point.
The immovable object (1).
Photo: Steve Cox
He may be the only one left who can win. Just a few weeks ago, Andrew Short, Ben Townley and Chad Reed had the battle of death in the first RedBud moto, but Dungey has won everything since. Meanwhile, Reed celebrated retro weekend by bringing back Epstein Barr from 2003, knocking him out of the series, and Townley took a big header on the first lap of moto one, and this one hurt. He’ll be back for Unadilla, though.
As for Short, Dungey has him under control. So now he has to answer the Stewart question. At the post-race press conference, he answered it well, saying "Yeah, I have a points lead to worry about, but at the same time I’m not going to let someone just walk all over me." If you’re Dungey, facing these "would he win if Stewart and Villopoto were there?" questions, this is a golden opportunity and he knows it.
Short was better at Washougal than any other race this year, as he held the dam back and scored 2-2 finishes. Beating Dungey is a tall order, but at least he didn’t go way backward this time. Brett Metcalfe rebounded with a podium, and would you believe he had the fastest lap of the 450 second moto?
Also to note in the 450 class, we have a great privateer battle brewing between Kyle Chisholm, Ryan Sipes and Kyle Regal. Consistency is little tough for all of these guys, and Chisholm even mentioned to me how difficult it is to have raced all the races this year—he, Dungey and Nick Wey are some of the few men to race just about every supercross and national (Chisholm missed Anaheim 1). He’s not worn out, but it does feel like a long season.
In 250s, let’s mark Trey Canard’s progress here: Good ride in Colorado with 3-2 scores and second overall. Hard-fought win in Red Bud with 4-1 scores. Even better at Millville with 2-1 finishes and a win. And now, the virtuoso 1-1 ride. Have you seen Canard on the track lately? Looks as if he’s trying half as hard and going twice as fast. There are bumps in corners that everyone seems to hit except him, as if he’s on a different track. He’s looking really, really good.
Trey Canard killed them at Washougal - the site of his broken femur the last time he raced there in 2008.
Photo: Steve Cox
Pourcel is a tougher competitor than he lets on, and I think the "Mr. First Moto" talk was bothering him despite his intent to make it seem like he does not care about anything. He even got a hair cut to stay cool. In moto two, he got really aggressive early and blitzed past his teammate Dean Wilson to get into second behind Canard. The race was on, and as strong as Canard was riding, you could also picture Le Crafty one sitting on his wheel for like 25 minutes and pulling another magic trick to steal a win.
Instead, Canard just pulled away. Pourcel had no answer. But he did spark another question: Apparently a rock smashed CP’s clutch cable and broke it, so he rode the whole moto without a clutch. After the race he told me he was scared of stalling in the slow turns but otherwise it didn’t mess him up too much. But I can’t imagine that wouldn’t be a huge factor riding a 250 on a slippery track. So this proves nothing and we’ll have to have another showdown at ‘Dilla, a track were Pourcel DESTROYED everyone last year, and the one he says is his favorite.
Expect some more one-on-one between these two. Late season is where you often see two-rider breakaways, as the championship push makes them go harder while everyone else knows they’re out of it. Wilson might be the last to leave. Coming into Washougal everyone was talking about Canard vs. Pourcel, but Wilson was actually second in points. Until he fell early in moto 1. And moto 2. Dean rode his ass off (literally. Do you know that’s why his pants fall off?) in both races but the results only show 6-6 scores.
Last week, I said we could wait no longer to answer the "What’s up with Mike Alessi?" question, so I visited the ultimate source of Mike Alessi info, his dad Tony, to get some scoop. Unfortunately, Tony was already mic’ed up by The Great Outdoors/Inside the Moto people, which is awesome because it means he will once again star in an episode of that show (the Emmy people will be watching), but it was bad because there was no way he could slip up and tell me something off the record.
Mike Alessi eats some Washougal roost.
Photo: Steve Cox
Anyway, everyone wants to know if it’s Mike or the bike, and Tony is actually staying cool and not to criticizing the machine publicly. But he’s making it clear that Mike is as strong as ever. Yes, he was sick at High Point, but that was a one-weekend thing and, in fact, he’s six-percent stronger on his VO2 max (oxygen efficiency) test than he was then. So, Mike is feeling better than ever. Want to translate?
Okay, I have X Games and Loretta’s to prepare for. Let me turn this over to the Backup Plan, up-and-coming motojournalist Aaron Hansel, who volunteered to help this week. Aaron, take it away:
I’m Aaron Hansel and welcome to this week’s edition of Redux, presented by Renthal. I’ve written this piece in the same spirit in which I think Jason would have written it, but if you find yourself having Weigandt withdrawals, don’t worry, he’ll be back next week. Until then, I hope you enjoy my stab at Redux: Washougal.
Before I’d ever been to this track, I never knew that there was an actual town called Washougal, and if you’ve ever been there, you can relate. The town of roughly 14,000 residents triples in size when the nationals roll in, and judging by the crowds of rowdy locals that gather on the side of the road after the race to gawk at the endless traffic, it’s the biggest event this little town sees all year.
And what an event it was, for two guys. By now you all know that both Ryan Dungey and Trey Canard kept their winning streaks alive, but this year at Washougal there were some other trends that also kept rolling, and a few that were broken. Let’s take a look at some of these trends and talk about the factors that helped break them, or kept them alive.
Kevin Windham's fan appeal is as strong as ever.
Photo: Steve Cox
Remaining: The popularity of Kevin Windham. K-Dub was back for the second race of his 2010 outdoor season, and the fans just can’t get enough of this guy. When I walked past his autograph line, he was the only guy out signing, and the line still wrapped around the Honda Pits and down past the semi. Windham seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, and even chuckled when a fan told him to make sure to stay on the track until the checkered came out. Windham wasn’t able to repeat his fourth overall from Spring Creek, but his 9-9 moto finishes were good enough to give him seventh for the day. Not bad for the veteran’s second race back.
Remaining: The fiery temperatures. I was looking forward to escaping the triple digit heat of California, but when I arrived at the Washougal Retro National, so did the region’s hottest day of the year. Yes, this is motocross and it’s a tough sport, but I’m sure Eli Tomac is looking forward to the day when he doesn’t have to wear that funny looking ice jacket contraption during the site-in lap. After the race, the pits looked like some sort of funky water park. Some riders were stripping down and dousing themselves, while others opted to just get blasted by a man friend with a pressure washer. The heat has been so intense that even Christophe Pourcel cut his hair!
Remaining: Ryan Sipes’ solid finishes. Sipes is having a great rookie year in the 450 class. In eight rounds, the MotoConcepts Yamaha rider’s overall finish has only been outside the top ten twice, and his sixth on the day, via 5-11 moto finishes, was his best yet. He even qualified second-fastest behind Ryan Dungey. I caught up with him after his race to get a "5 Minutes With" interview, and I expected him to be super pumped on his result. To my surprise, he seemed more upset about his 11th-place finish in the second moto than anything else. Then again, it’s possible he was just annoyed that someone was shoving a voice recorder in his face while he was trying to regroup after a brutal moto. Sorry Ryan, and again, congrats!
Ben Townley's dark cloud remains over him, but it will turn around at some point. It has to!
Photo: Steve Cox
Remaining: Ben Townley’s issues. It hasn’t been an easy season for the New Zealander so far, but it certainly isn’t for lack of trying. I watched BT101 in practice and he looked like he was absolutely amped to race. He was charging and scrubbing jumps so hard you could eat off of them. Unfortunately, Townley went down on the first lap, hurt his shoulder, and didn’t race the second moto. I’m not going to pretend like I know what’s going on inside of Townley’s head, but I’m sure it must be frustrating for the guy to consistently finish much worse than he knows he’s capable of.
Broken: Christophe Pourcel’s first-moto victory streak. Before Washougal, CP had finished first in every first moto except for High Point. At Washougal, the combination of a lackluster start from CP and a blisteringly fast Trey Canard was enough to snap the Frenchman’s first-moto dominance. Pourcel spent roughly half the race in sixth place, and when he didn’t move up it was starting to look like Canard would take a good chunk out of Pourcel’s points lead. But Pourcel had some craftiness left in him, and out of nowhere he hit a magic button and started picking off riders with the ease and precision of a special forces sniper. By the time he got to second place, however, Canard was gone and Pourcel put it on cruise control. His 2-2 finishes handed him second overall, but his lead has shrunk to 38 points. It’s going to be interesting to see how the remaining races play out in the 250 class.
Remaining: Andrew Short’s holeshots. There are a few pretty safe bets this year, and Shorty nailing a holeshot seems like it has been a pretty safe one lately. Before Washougal, the Honda Red Bull Racing rider had logged six holeshots, and at the end of the day, that number had increased to eight. Short said he’d been trying to replicate race conditions when he practices starts at home, and during practice, Short blasted off the line, stopped, waited for the gate to clear out, and went back to practice another start. Whatever his program is, it seems to be working for him.
Broken: Delayed television coverage. For the first time in the history of American Motocross, all four motos could be seen live. The first two were streaming live on AlliSports.com, while Speed broadcast the second two motos live. Hats off to those involved for bringing live motocross to the people!
Jake Weimer (Pro Circuit) and Justin Barcia (GEICO) battle it out at the front. Those two teams have been dominant.
Photo: Steve Cox
Remaining: The domination of the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki and GEICO Powersports Honda teams. With the best riders on some of the best equipment, it’s no wonder that no other team has scored an overall podium this year. If you are the manager of a competing team, thoughts of sabotage have to be crossing your mind.
Broken: Tommy Hahn’s terrible luck. The first moto may have left a bad taste in Hahn’s mouth, as he ran fifth for most of the race only to fall and drop to seventh on lap 14 of 16, but he came back strong in moto two to take third, and nearly nipped Short for second. While I’m sure Hahn would much rather be on the podium, his fourth overall is his best finish of the year. Hahn won a moto and took the overall last year at Steel City, and he’s got to be itching to get back on the box.
Broken: Kyle Regal’s string of impressive finishes. Regal crashed in practice and rung his bell hard enough to pull out of the race altogether.
Remaining: Trey Canard’s win streak. Trey Canard is absolutely rolling right now, and he flat out laid down the law in Washougal. In addition to handing Pourcel his first moto one loss since High Point, he also nabbed both holeshots and led every single lap of each moto. With performances like these, I will be shocked if Canard isn’t selected to race for Team USA at the MXDN. In the press conference, Canard talked about how beneficial his relationship with Tim Ferry has been. At that point, I really expected a certain internet observationist sitting behind me to either start shedding tears of joy, stand up and cheer, or both.
Remaining: Ryan Dungey’s ownership of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. It’s been mentioned that Dungey’s fitness has been the key to his domination this year. While this may be true, Dungey also busted out some blazing speed in Washougal. His practice time was fastest by nearly two seconds, he set the fastest time in moto one by a second and a half, and led 21 of 32 laps. With four rounds remaining, he has a mind-boggling 95-point lead over Andrew Short. He truly seems unbeatable right now. If James Stewart really does return at the next round at Unadilla, the fans in New York could be in for an epic clash of the titans.
Other points of interest include the unique layout of Washougal. Nestled on a hillside among towering pine trees, it’s one of the most beautiful stops on the circuit. On the flipside, those same trees wreak havoc on the riders’ view when the shadows start playing a roll. As I was driving to the track in the morning, I had a hard time just seeing the road at times and had to slow way down. And that was on four wheels on a hard, smooth surface. I can’t imagine what it’s like for these guys to go blasting full throttle through bumpy, rutted and off-camber sections without even being able to see the terrain.
Chris Pourcel flies above the Washougal scenery.
Photo: Steve Cox
If you ever plan to attend Washougal in the future, a great place to watch the race is about halfway up horsepower hill. At the start of each moto, the deafening roar of the bikes echoes up the hill right before the pack comes screaming up the mountain. When they go by, the wind generated will blow your hair back, you will get peppered with roost, and I promise you will be wearing an ear-to-ear grin. I truly believe it’s one of the best places to experience the raw energy of a professional motocross race, and just describing it is giving me goose bumps.
That’s it for this week’s, Redux, folks. If you liked it, email me at [email protected] If you think I missed anything or you just plain hated it, feel free to tell me that too. Or, email the Weege, jaswonw@racerxill, and tell him you can’t live without his words.
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Pizzacorner called, it, great quote! And Tony A with audio is a frickin' sweet treat! Can he top "the Universe will....."
In regard to Tony and Mike Alessi....does Tony have a gag order on Mike?
Just wondering if anybody knows why Tomac didn't wear the retro gear but everybody else on his team did?
Why no mention of RV coming back ?
I've never been critical of Steve Cox photography, until now. I have better action shots on my phone camera than a couple of these he posted here. What's with the blured images?
What else can James Stweart "DESTROY?" His reputation from his bunk a** show? The fact that Chad came back to race while they both had the same injuries? Step it up and maybe he can gain more respect in the MX world. Dungey will "DESTROY" him.
European tracks aren't nearly as wide open and jump strewn as US tracks are. That might be half of why Cairoli is seeing success to a large degree on the bike and why Mike is not. Also to note is riding styles. Cairoli rode a 250f like a mad man. He made that bike do what he wanted it to do. He's doing much the same on the 350. He couldn't however ride like that on the 450 last year. Too much power and weight/size for him. I don't see Mike being an aggressive enough rider for a 350. He waxed the field for the most part for the last 2 years on a 450 when he was healthy. Why screw up a good thing? His small thin frame and expertise on a dirt bike is a blessing on a 450. I didn't see him lose any races due to getting tired on a 450. He lost to Stewart and Villipoto due to lack of pure speed. A 350 won't help that. If we don't see Cairoli at Unadilla or Southwick we won't know the answer to this debate until the des Nations.
In defense to Steve if that blurred pic was taken second moto then the sun was setting. That means you have to keep changing the shutter speed and aperature (amongst other things) if you have the camera on manual, which most professionals do. Could have been at an off moment when he hadn't adjusted enough yet. Doesn't explain why it was chosen for an article though.
Great job, Aaron
I loved the Fox retro gear! IMO that's what motocross gear should look like. showing my age a little but i don't particularly care for all the printed desings of now....
You mean the clown suits some of these gear companies are now selling?
As far as the RD-JS "showdown" JS and RD are motivated by 2 completely different things right now. JS wants to show he can win and RD wants the championship. JS can crash out and it doesn't matter. RD gets injured and the title will go to Shorty. RD has shown patience all year. I would expect him to study JS's lines even if he has to finish behind him. I highly doubt at this point Suzuki is worried about wins. They want the title. Wins are great but Championships are what they all work for. Prestige, record books, bonuses, and advertising. The big picture is the title. He will do exactly what the team wants him to do. I've seen several posts criticizing RD for not running down Grant in one of the earlier motos this year. You think maybe the Suzuki crew just might have told him not to worry about Grant in that single, meaningless moto where he gave JG 3 points but put 22 in the bank? You have to be in it to win it. Consistency wins championships.
Well put JDubya. That race in Colorado Dungey increased his points lead by 11 points (I think), despite his first moto loss of 3 points. I'm not even sure anyone has to tell Dungey this stuff, I think he is aware of it on his own.
BHFOX39...cr22 and js7 did NOT have the same injury...your post shows ur ignorance...dumb****
Nice job Aaron, Tell Weege this for me. Quit telling us who won the other class motos while we're watching the present one running on Speed. We all can't be there live, thats what TV & DVR's are for. Other than that Weege, you do a fantastic job on the tube... for a N.J. boy!
Did it ever cross your mind that Dungey couldn't catch Grant that day? Grant did pass for the lead and ran away. That's what I always liked about RC, even when leading by 30+ seconds he never backed off, and attacked the track like he was in last place trying to make up time. RV has that same never back down style, Remember his first 450 race last year, he reined Alessi in with a 15+ second lead. I like Dungey, but when 30+ year old Andrew Short is next in points, and Windham comes back and goes 5,5, something is really missing.(nothing against Shorty or Windham they are great guys and good for the sport).We need RV and JS to get things going, even a solid race from Townley, or Grant could make things interesting. Where is Ricky Dietrich when you need him?The 250 class is much more interesting at this point. Don't discount DW in the 250 class. TC has his hands full with him and TR, Barcia has been quiet, lets see if he can repeat at Southwick, but Pourcel knows how to win championships, don't count him out just yet. Peace.
Ok, "jdubya" and that other guy too......thats all good and everything, BUT, if you are so sure that Dungey is planning on playing it smart and thats it, then he should probably say so and not make this comment...."Yeah, I have a points lead to worry about, but at the same time I’m not going to let someone just walk all over me." HMMMM, you say that and you better back it up with a win...NO??? Seriously, like it or not the guy makes it sound like he's not gonna just "let" anything happen. I agree that until he clinches this thing (which could happen in a couple races) he does have other priorities, but you set yourself up for a firestorm if you say that and then go out and "let" something happen......slippery slope. FYI, i like Dungey, so dont even.......
"saywhat"....30+ year old andrew short????? Do your research before posting like a clown! Short is actually only 27.
Nobody ever said that it wasn't possible RD couldn't catch JG that day. Nobody knows although JG has done very little since. Letting him go is a possible option. Some of you guys don't allow anyone to have an opinion without jumping into their crap and demanding proof. This section says Comments. That means we all give comments and maybe even opinions. And Mr. Whatever I never said I was sure on anything. It's my take on what is unfolding. OK with you if I express my opinions? Would you like me to email them to you first so you can tell me where I'm incorrect in my opinions before I post them?
Anyone see who caused the pile up in turn two of the second moto of the 450' ? I slow mo'd it a couple of times. It looks like a Suzuki or a yellow Yami with a double digit number. I thought it may have been Sipes.... Delete
If it turns out that stewart and dungey are racing at the exact same speed, and trading paint for 30 minutes, then dungey should just let him go. This is no time to try to prove anything. The notoriety of being the first rookie in history to win both the supercross and the outdoor premier titles is huge, and not worth taking chances with. But, after he is mathematically assured of it, then let it all hang out, which will be great experience for him. We already know it will be those 2 up front, just not sure how close they will be. But, I have a feeling there is some exciting racing just around the corner.
It doesn't matter how old andrew short is. He's been in this sport for a long time. He's ridden for mitch payton at PC and barely made mains Lewis. He's had a factory ride for a lil too long. He holeshots every freakin moto than loses multiple positions. hes been so close so many times. so what, close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. Short has no fight. Regal, Hahn, metty... they fight , even with broken bones, props tommy
Sorry Washougalites, looks like I made a mistake in my article. The trees are actually fir trees, not pine trees as I originally reported.
Dungey could coast it in and I wouldn't fault him for it. A number one plate on the wall is hard to argue with ten years down the road, let alone the fat bonus check sitting in the bank. I've always liked dungey, he ssems like a good kid. Like Hepler would have been, if not for just abysmal luck. He reminds me of Brock Glover, with a little Marty Smith thrown in since he started working with RC.
Of course its ok "dubya", expressing my opinion is all im doing also, thats what we do here....over and over and over again we do it!!!
its not that simple MALCOMEGA1, if the dungeon doesn't beat 7 at least once in solid fashion, the mind will have a shadow of a doubt that can grow until January..believe it...
Jason, WOW! Who was that cartoon character that was doing commentary with you on the webcast. I think he belongs in the Freestyle crowd. Hate to see MX going in that direction.
mrb186, If you are talking about the guy in the Post Race Shows its Hart & Huntington Team Manager Kenny Watson, the original K-Dub. His look is funky, but always has been, however he has been in the MX industry a long time and has some stories that are backed by some of the legends throughout the last two decades. Mechanic for Scotty Sheak, team manager for Moto XXX when Deegan ghost rode his bike over the finish line in 98, hate his look but you have to respect his MX industry experience, the guy has a different persona but a well deserved reputation as being one of the elite MX industry personalities. He doesn't belong in freestyle MX but is rather one of the grassroot MX guys going into the era we currently find motocross where it is today.
I'll take a guy that can pull the holeshot almost every moto and finish top 5 over a guy with "fight" that crashes out or is inconsistent. Short will probably finish 2nd outdoors this year. What more can factory team ask for if you don't have Dungey? I don't agree he doesn't have "fight". The fact that he can't fight off Dungey is meaningless considering the fact that nobody else can either. Keep in mind Short has been injured several times and maybe he feels it is best to know his limits and finish the race and the season. Seems to be working. Short has done more for Honda than any other Honda rider this year. I'll bet Kawasaki wouldn't mind having one of their high priced boys running second in the MX series and pulling holeshots over a empty semi or having to use replacement riders.
RD's Dad said that RD wants to be the one to "take down JS"... Untill he is the champ look for the " I want the title" talk if JS beats him but once he wins it he IMO needs to try and beat JS. I don't know how ya don't go for it....Can't wait, I will be at the next 2 races
JDubya true but These guys are payed to win races IMO, Honda has not won crap in MANY years. It was aways the same with Short, Mudflaps and IT9... They just can't seal the deal. Shorty can't even hold "his" pase the hole moto..But people say he trains real hard so I don't know what the problem is...
I agree with both points Bill C. Honda made a huge mistake letting RC go and they haven't been the same since. Unless you have RD, CR, JS, or RV the last couple years you aren't winning any races. My point is Short may be their best bet if they can't buy the other 4 guys. There is some great talent coming up that should be considered for a factory ride in the Honda rig.
Well sayd Mr. JDubya. Short may not be winning all the races that fans would like but at least he has been a pretty consistent rider on both SX and MX seasons even with the injuries that he's been through. He even finished 12th on the SX season despite of being out for 7 races. On the first race at Houston Short finished 8th and only on his 2nd race after recovering from injury at St. Louis he was able to make it to the podium. Isn't that being commited? Short is a well deserved factory rider and probably he may continue being Canard's team mate next year. Any other factory brand would be happy to see those results. Now he is proving the same consistency with or without the rest of the ridesrs outdoors, other than Dungey there are not too many consistent riders so far to be on top of the standings. About JS, I just can't wait to see him riding again and I am pretty sure that everyone else wants the same no matter what the outcome will be. Unadilla will probably be one of the most watched MX events in latest history and it's because of JS return. Whether we like it or not. Again: I can't wait for Unadilla!!
Ryan dungey is poised to do something that neither stewart, carmichael, mcgrath, johnson, ward, or hannah could do. And 4 1/2 years ago, he was an unknown amatuer rider, who's biggest accomplishment was a 9th O/A at loretta's in the B class. That is some pretty heavy stuff. He MUST ride smart these next few races. So dont draw any comparisons to stewart just yet. Give it time to unfold.
Some good points made about Andrew Short. Over the past four years (including '10), no rider has scored more points in the 450 class outdoors than Shorty. And the same holds true for 2008-09 in SX. The only riders that could legitimately say they've done more during that time are those who've won championships ... and you know there aren't many of those.
Isn't it ironic, that the most anticipated race of the year (besides A1) has us all waiting almost a month to see it! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....................
Dungey want to win the championship first, period. End of story. I think if he has the chance to run with Stewie he will. But if Stewi gets a holeshot, and Dungey has to make a few passes to get into second, I think he will be happy there for at least that moto. If Dungey gets a lead and Stewie runs him down, I think Dungey will fight until the checkers. Its funny how Stewie has had the worst luck ever at Unadilla, and he has said himself he is jinxed on that track, but thats the race he is returning to the Nationals on. If Cairoli does race a National this year, Unadilla is the one he wants. That is the one that is closest to the GP style courses, it would suit his style. With 2 weeks off it just might play into Pourcels favor. The hot summer may have had him worn down, now he can rest and recover. It just might be what he needed. Cant wait to see..
Ryan can battle with JS next year. This year is all about winning the MX championship. If I was Ryan, I would act like JS isn't even out on the track no matter where he is. It plain and simple just doesn't matter. JS is going to be out to prove he is still the fastest, but he has nothing to lose, so the cart isn't balanced. JS is going to be off the pace anyway after 7 months of not racing. I don't think RD is going 'all out' in most of these races. I believe he has more speed and more gas left in the tank to wick it up if necessary. Next year should be good!
Also, I don't remember ricky beating stewart 'repeatedly', unless you are referring to sx 2007, when ricky won all 6 of his part time season races. The summer before, they traded wins back and forth, outdoors, but stewart crashed too often to get the title from him. Once, his motor locked up while he was negotiating a downhill jump, and spit him over the bars..DNF. Another time, he cross rutted, and spit himself over the bars. But, they gave us the greatest outdoor battles in history in 2006. Earlier, in sx, stewart came up only 2 points short of the title, and ricky DID have a fuel infraction and track cutting issue, which he was never penalized for. I am not a bubba lover, but I believe he was the true champ that season, and I think r/c would gladly relinquish that ONE title, just so he wouldn't have any with an asterisk next to it. 14 or 15 titles, he is still the GOAT. And in 2005 outdoors, it was not a fair fight, as stewart erroneously chose the 2 smoker to compete on. So, I think that they were pretty evenly matched, but ricky definitly came out ahead, and withstood the challenge from the highly touted rookie sensation. That is why he is the GOAT.
"ELF846"...You are mistaken! It wasn't the SX series in 2007 where RC went undefeated in his part time gig, but rather the outdoors where he went 6 for 6, winning all the races he entered. AND, you are also mistaken when you say that Stewart "erroneously" chose to ride a 2-stroke in the 2005 outdoor series. The KX 250 was his only choice, as Kawasaki didn't yet have a big bike thumper for him to ride.
Lewsid1, you are partially correct, my bad. I just looked it up on wiki, ricky won 3 sx's and 6 outdoors, which is every race he entered. It's true that kawi did not have a thumper for him, because there was some rule that says 'in order to race the bike, there has to be so many of them on the showroom floors', and they hadn't done that yet. But, in all of the interviews with him leading up to january 9, 2005, he kept saying that he prefers the 2 stroke, because it suits his style better. And, he did ride a 250f in his last couple rides in the 125's, just for fun, and said it was was awesome, but he still wanted to race the kx250. Personally, I think he belongs on a 2 stroke, I think he would spend less time in the asterisk rig.
ELF846.... Ofcorse he said he likes the 2 stroke...Thats all Kawasaki had so he had to say that. IMO... Also guys RC LOST his last SX race, JS was behind him for 18 laps and then passed him and won. I believe it was in FL. I remember RC crossing the line with his head down.
BillC.....here is a quote from wikipedia..."As planned, Carmichael raced only a partial schedule in 2007. He would only race select events for Team Makita Suzuki while pursuing his new stock car career. Again, Carmichael continued to amaze and looked faster than ever, with three Supercross wins and six Outdoor National Championship wins (every race he entered)."... I think that race you are talking about, happened in 2006, the season where they were going back and forth every week. If we are talking about the same race, that is when everyone was saying how stewart had "matured", and was now a more patient rider. But, in his final- partial season, r/c won them all, which is what put the exlamation point on his un-matchable career..... Also, stewart had been with kawi his whole life, and they knew WHEN he was going to move up, in 2005, so if he wanted a 4 stroke, then why wouldn't they make one for him. They managed to put one together for 2006, on a years notice, so It wasn't that hard to do. And, if he really wanted one, and they couldn't do it, then he would have switched teams, which he did anyway, a few years later. Honda had a pretty good 4 strokAe in 2005, k-dub used it to beat ricky 2 years earlier. The magazine covers said "my whole life is about january 9th", so why would he take a chance on getting beaten on an inferior 2 stroke, if he didn't believe it could win?
Elf, in 2006 Stewart won 5 motos all season outdoors and 2 came when RC didn't score any points at the last round at Glen Helen (did he not race?). RC took 19 motos that year. So I'm not sure when they traded wins back and forth outdoors. They may have traded the LEAD back and forth but usually RC took the checkered flag. I do agree though that Stewart thought he would be good to go on the 250 until he got out there and had a bit of a reality check. Much like Alessi had this year on the 350.
BKR, you are right, ricky did win way more races than stewart outdoors, but I think stewart crashed way more than ricky (no surprise there), But speedwise, I think they were pretty close, otherwise they would not have had those great battles. But, you have to be in it to win it, and if you are on the ground, you are not in it. Ricky definitely beat stewart outdoors, they were much closer in supercross. Ricky always considered himself a better outdoor rider, and stewart has said that he is better at sx. No argument as to who was better overall, ricky was. It was at glen helen that ricky crashed hard, and messed up his shoulder, forcing him to miss the des nations, and tedesco took his place. I was just reading some stuff on wiki that i think is wrong, so im not sure if I trust that info anymore. It said that stewart broke his wrist at phoenix in 2005. That would mean that this is his second wrist injury. I thought it was his arm that was broken, not his wrist.
it aslo said that ricky raced the 2005 outdoors on an "rm250" and I know he was on a thumper, everybody was. Anyone know where we can find accurate info about moto?
BILLC, you are correct, it was Orlando. RC was awake for 2 days, his wife had twins the night before, and he flew in a helicoptor from the hospital to the track, And he still led 18 laps of that race. If he had a normal night, he wins that one also. ELF, Stewie crashed all the time outdoors because he was chasing RC. RC was better at racing motorcycles period than everyone, including Stewie, thats why RC never lost a AMA title he challenged for except his first full supercross season. Which was won by The King, Mcgrath. So if you lose one, thats who to lose it too. Stewie did get hurt in Pheonix in '05, but it was a different part of his wrist. Not the troublesome one he just fractured.
i just looked at racer-x archives, but it only goes back 1 year. Sure would be nice if it went back 10 years, then we could get our facts, and know that they are right. So, was that in r/c's partial 2007 season when his wife had the twins, if so then wikipedia is wrong. We will have only our memories to piece together what really happened. I guess that is what chat rooms are for....