Racer X Race Report: Anaheim 1
Sunday, January 9, 2011 | 6:00 AM
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In this article…
Riders
- Josh Grant
- Matt Boni
- James Stewart
- Jason Thomas
- Ryan Villopoto
- Ryan Morais
- Broc Tickle
- Eli Tomac
- Nick Wey
- Ben Evans
- Kyle Chisholm
- Kevin Windham
- Martin Davalos
- Davi Millsaps
- Cole Seely
- Brett Metcalfe
- Dakota Tedder
- Kyle Cunningham
- Kyle Regal
- Antonio Balbi
- Ryan Dungey
- Christian Craig
- Tommy Hahn
- Topher Ingalls
- Justin Brayton
- Nick Paluzzi
- Andrew Short
- Trey Canard
- Wil Hahn
- Mike Alessi
- Chris Blose
- Ivan Tedesco
- Josh Hansen
- Chad Reed
- Travis Baker
- Tyla Rattray
Once opening ceremonies began, things didn’t look good for Ryan Villopoto.
The jumbotron showed a well-produced video of the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider, starting with a shot of his massive, season-ending crash last year at St. Louis. It followed with clips of him being carted off the track, and going into surgery. Then shots of massive scaring, and ugly x-rays. The magnitude of the night’s task came clear. Not only was Villopoto racing his first race since April, he was also racing his first race since an absolutely massive injury. One could rewind back to April, when Villopoto was closing in on Ryan Dungey for the supercross points lead, and just assume he would pick up where he left off. But the 2011 Ryan Villopoto has plates and screws in his leg and ankle where the 2010 version did not.
A highly-anticipated season is underway.
Cudby photo
Cudby photo
Nothing special from Villopoto early on this night. He was scratching and clawing to just get into the top-five in practice times. Then he jumped into the lead in his heat race only to be caught and passed by James Stewart. It didn’t look good for a Villopoto win.
The certainty now seemed to be on Stewart’s side. Out for even longer than Villopoto last year, Stewart looked 100 percent healed and as fast as always. In an uncertain season, Stewart had just become the surest bet.
Then the gate dropped for the main, Villopoto went to work, and 20 laps later had some new hardware to match the stuff in his leg: a shiny new first place trophy.
Villopoto, back like he never left.
Cudby photo
“I wanted all of that stuff to be in that video because I wanted the fans to see what I had been through,” said Villopoto after taking the Monster Energy Supercross opener a Angel Stadium in Anaheim. California. “The last time I had raced, I ended up in the hospital for three weeks.”
Villopoto used good starts to do his damage. Dodge Motorsports Hart and Huntington Kawasaki’s Ivan Tedesco grabbed the holeshot in the main event and led the first lap of the year, until Villopoto went past and started laying down the fast laps. Stewart was buried in the back—12th early—on a track not kind to passing. Dungey looked to be struggling most of the night, and took a few laps to find his groove. Once he got going, he passed Tedesco and his teammate Brett Metcalfe to move into second. He tried to run Villopoto down, to no avail.
Stewart’s charge led him to third, but he never had time to challenge the Ryans. Rookie 450 rider Trey Canard took fourth, and Chad Reed came from even further back than Stewart for fifth.
Stewart had speed all night, but a bad start prevented him from showing it in the main.
Cudby photo
For the final ten laps of the main event, Villopoto, Dungey and Stewart sat 1-2-3 with about five seconds between each. No one could make up ground, and no one lost much, either. The best part is, the uncertainty continues into the next week, because without seeing Villopoto, Dungey and Stewart truly battle, it’s impossible to predict what comes next.
Further, opening rounds are usually so filled with nerves that no one shows their best stuff. In a season so filled with anticipation and excitement, the racing seemed pretty tame. The good stuff will have to wait.
Kevin Windham took sixth ahead of Tedesco, while Metcalfe faded back to eighth after running as high as third in his first Supercross Class race. Josh Grant took ninth in his first race for American Honda Racing, with that squad’s former rider, Andrew Short, taking tenth in his first race on the Red Bull KTM 350SX-F.
Quiet night for the champ, and second place points.
Cudby photo
In the West Region Lites race, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team stole the show with a 1-2-3 finish. New recruit Broc Tickle took the early lead, but at the halfway mark his veteran teammate Josh Hansen turned it up, closed in, and took over the lead. Hanny was never challenged again and sailed to the win, Tickle took second and Tyla Rattray was third in his first U.S. Supercross race.
Hollywood Hansen walked off with the Lites win.
Cudby photo
Unfortunately some other top Lites contenders had their problems, including GEICO Powersports Honda’s Wil Hahn, who crashed in practice and couldn’t race due to a back injury. Red Bull KTM’s 16-year-old wunderkind Ken Roczen was fast in practice, but a bad start and nerves slowed him to 7th in the main. Rockstar Suzuki’s Martin Davalos was solid and took fourth ahead of Lucas Oil Troy Lee Honda’s Cole Seely.
Racing continues next weekend in Phoenix, Arizona. Expect a little more of a showdown now that the opening night jitters are out of everyone’s system.
Results
Monster Energy AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship
Round 1: Anaheim, CA
Supercross Main
1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Ryan Dungey
3. James Stewart
4. Trey Canard
5. Chad Reed
6. Kevin Windham
7. Ivan Tedesco
8. Brett Metcalfe
9. Joshua Grant
10. Andrew Short
11. Kyle Chisholm
12. Nick Wey
13. Kyle Regal
14. Mike Alessi
15. Jason Thomas
16. Justin Brayton
17. Chris Blose
18. Matt Boni
19. Davi Millsaps
20. Tommy Hahn
Supercross Lites
1. Josh Hansen
2. Broc Tickle
3. Tyla Rattray
4. Martin Davalos
5. Cole Seely
6. Ryan Morais
7. Ken Roczen
8. Travis Baker
9. Nick Paluzzi
10. Eli Tomac
11. Antonio Balbi
12. Ben Evans
13. Kyle Cunningham
14. Ryan Marmont
15. Cody Gilmore
16. Bruce Rutherford
17. Travis Bright
18. Dakota Tedder
19. Christian Craig
20. Topher Ingalls
Team Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki swept the podium.
Cudby photo
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we see who the fastest man on the planet will be at the end of the season, rite now its not you james.
IMO supercross should run a two moto format just like motocross. theres too many fast guys out there... too much talent, to show and really get true measurments of speed with only doing one main event moto. do two it would make the sport better
That track was not impressive at all!! You would think that after all the knowledge track designers have, they would make a track design made for great racing?!
A1 was so narrow there was little passing on the one line track. Hopefully Phoenix will show some better racing. as far as I could tell everyone was fast. Give it another week before we attack the format............
looks like the "biggest disappointment" poll on this site earlier was right, Millsaps sucked, RV is ready, Dungey where he needs to be and Stewie is going to be fine
EVERBODY WATCHED THE SAME RACE AND IT WAS PRETTY BASIC AND EASY FOR THE FRONT RUNNERS. EVERYBODY ALSO SAW WHO WAS THE FASTEST. TRACK HAD NO FLOW BUT DAMN IF STEWART DIDNT TURN NOTHING INTO SOMETHING. HE WAS HANDS DOWN THE FASTEST. ITS HIS CHAMPIONSHIP TO WIN OR LOSE. STEWART WAS SMART AND THATS WHAT WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS! NICE RIDE STEWWIE:)
Roczen rockt. Zieht euch warm an, es geht erst los...
@BROWN19, you are right, Stewart made the most out of the situation and would probably have won if situations were reversed, by that logic you have to give some props to Reed also-from nowhere to 5th, easy on the caps bro
it was good to see Ivan give Stewart some pay back for his dirty riding even though it didnt do much it made him watch his back
Davilos really suprised me after 2 LCQ starts. Thought JS7 showed smarts after his near endo trying to catch Dungey. He then rode 17 race smart and took a 3rd, he knew he had the speed but raced wise. Craig showed alot of confidence after his qualifiers, he will only get better.
So glad we made it through the first round without losing anybody and with the top contenders all getting good finishes!!! That sets up for some good racing ahead!! Good solid rides by all those guys. Impressive win for RV for sure. Last night showed why every single rider always says how important the start is!! RV won that category and subsequently, the race. I am gonna say it though, based on how they rode and the speed they had, if Stewart gets a top five start, i really believe no one would have touched him!! But, he DID NOT...and i know IF IF IF!! But to those who thought he was "done" this year.......OOPS!!!
Hansen needs to move up to the 450's.I know he has been riding the lites class since 2002.He wa riding a yz 125 then.everybody else has to move up why not him?
if championships are won on your bad days and the Ryan's had pretty bad days and scored 1&2 what is going to happen when they have a good day? Stewart had a great day and could only cath a 3rd what is going to happen when ha has a bad day? for us fans this could be a great season with a close points battle.
Weege, it surprised me to see you authored this report, as I know how high of a quality your features and reports normally are. Having said this, I'm going to have to call a below average effort on this one. This is the most anticipated race in recent history, and for those who may have only logged on for the first time to see what happened, the results were instantly spoiled in the multi paragraph biography of Villopoto that opened the report. Perhaps next week you could try a different angle, and keep the results a bit of a mystery until viewers read through the race breakdown itself? Just a suggestion, otherwise keep up the great work. Your commitment is greatly appreciated!
Great night, everyone looked good CANARD is the silent killer...
@rmzkevin, Just in case you didnt notice, stewart had a bad day with a horrible start yet he minimized the damage and is still in the points contention.
12er, I agree with you, Stewie got a terrible start and made it into a great finish. He did make that one case on the triple but pulled through. Bad Bad news for all other riders, stewie is back and will either win or crash (like usual). I can only hope he continues to get bad starts or this could get boring.
Oh, more props for Tedesco for having the balls to send a message ( not totally successful but effective nonetheless) to stewie that he doesn't care who the fastest man on the planet is, he doesn't take shit. It just might make stewie think twice next time he goes to pass him, which is worth something.
IT9 is a stud!! Looked fast on the Kawi! Big props to Villi. Nice ride! Windham, looked pretty good also!/ Reed is gonna be a threat. Great night of racing!!!
The only rider to beat Dungey consistently doesnt have a ride,what is going to happen to Cristophe Pourcel ?
Fastest man on the planet......hmmm...till I see another championship, qualifying laps not included, I am not convinced at all. Bubbles did not impress. Now Canard, his ship is on the way up, not down.
i hope christian craig cleans hansen's plate next time they get together
Seems as if Anaheim 1 left us with plenty of questions for Round Two. No huge surprises. One of the best top tens in recent memory. Starts were crucial. Track seemed hard to make up time. (JS had time to catch the leaders when he moved into third, but to no avail; don't give him - or anyone - the crown yet.) Hanny and Tickle were the classs of the field in Lites. K-Roc found out what so many Euros have found out before - SX ain't easy! BTW, if ou think Hansen has been racing Lites since '02, you haven't been watching. I'd bet he's missed more time than he's actually raced. If he'd pointed out, he wouldn't be there. My guess: he'll be looking for a 450 ride next year w/ Monster $ behind him and a SX West Lites championship.
12er i have never had a bad start turn my day bad NEVER.some of my favorite races were after a bad start. on the other hand for them to put their heads down dig deep and put a bad day out of their mind is huge . anyone still want a KTM350?what a huge advantage that bike is wow !
Last nights race was a great opener to the season. All the key players finished well and now everyone's got their first race jitters out of their system. Can't wait for round two.
Stewart says he'll either win or crash...well, he didn't win OR crash. He had plenty of laps to reel in Dungey (like 5 to 10)...and not only didn't, but COULDN'T. And yes, he still may can throw down the fastest LAP (keyword: LAP)....but the fastest dude doesn't win races anymore. He can't go out and win by 10 seconds anymore, everybody is faster this year and his blank stare on the podium shows that he knows Villi and Dungey are just as fast for 20 laps as he is, if not faster! His days of domination are truly over...there are new Bosses in town! Yes, he'll win a few races this year, but the Championship?...i think his championships are over!
Clint 5 to 10 laps to reel him in? what race were you watching? From 12th to 3rd in a feild as stacked as it is, i'd say thats pretty impressive on a track that was apperantly hard to pass on. And to whoever was saying he was not the fastest last night, i recall him dipping in the 57's in the main for the fastest lap, people need to quit hating and start enjoying it for what it is going to hopefully be, a great season of racing with everyone staying healthy!!!!!!
Props to Villi for taking a win. And props to Hot Sauce for doing Shorts usual thing! What I learned from this is that the top guys showed who they were whether staying up front or coming thru the pack, there all much faster than the rest. I was hoping Windham, from what he was saying in interviews, would be a title contender this year. Oh well. He's still the fastest 2nd tier rider and started much stronger this year. That said, I'll be cheering for him the most.
stewart made that race good to watch we need him in this sport
thank you for putting all 20 riders and results instead of just the top ten! thank you! thanks! thanks racerx! luv you!
Hooray!!. I am glad RV got the win. The start seems to be more crucial this year than ever. Just too many fast guys on the track. I was hoping to see more of the KTM 350 up towards the front. RV put in some fast times for 20 laps. He really separated himself when he got around Tedesco. Good smart ride by everyone it looked like. Nobody was going to hang it out in the first race of the year. They say you cant win the series at A1, but you can lose it. Stewie about went over the bars at one point, then he rode pretty smooth after that. Reed made alot of ground too and the track didnt seem real easy to make a pass on. It wasnt real technical and everyone could go fast on it. But good way to start the season, everyone healthy. And good ride for Roczen, not a bad showing for his first supercross, and Tomac in 10th isnt too bad either for his first one. they will improve as the season goes.
JS7 got into 3rd with 8 laps to go and did.............nothing. He is fast though and will win. CR22 did well but was not mentioned much during the broadcast.
HELLO, year after year people insist that a rider year is done or he does not have it anymore, due to a injury or age or a bad season, times have changed in this sport. The training and nutritional programs are advanced and major money to have the latest and greatest of anything, to even question a guy like stewart is done is ignorant, he still in early 20's if he wants it, its there. If you want to talk shit! other then dungey putting in great training ethic and consistently showed up to race, he got the old reed hand me down championships. Stewart will be there running up front but i love to say it if RV is really 110% healed he will win championships , we forget what he has already won, and what he did in the denations , not to mention out right smoked stewart 2 times in first 450 supercross season. And i do not care what any one thinks if CARMICHAEL trained and road he would still win some supercross races and outdoor championships no problem, DONE WITH RANT!
Who was the guy that caused the red flag in the second lites LCQ and is he OK?
if you look at all 20 riders it was super stacked. you had brayton win his heat and finish 16th, he did damage over in europe if anyone remembers and if he can get a start watch for him to cause frustration to everyone else. and its round 1 of 17, relax, who knows what going to happen. a main contender can get hurt this week you never know. obviously the start was key last night but phoenix may be a differant story. and it was mentioned, dungry beefed it in practice and shook himself up so he wasn't all there (maybe, who knows&quot;) and i'm very impressed with reed. i was lookin at the scoring ticker thing and i was 11th, then the white flag went out and he's in 5th. i'm just sayin it's gonna be along season and i dont see anyone running away with this thing. but i bet hansen will. haha
Good starts will be the key to this season. Get out front early and avoid "the big one" Kawa,Suz,Yama,Hon. 1,2,3,4!!!!!! This is going to get very interesting.
Great job RV2, I hope you keep it up. Watching JS7 after the bad start, I was waiting for a stupid move to come out. Looks like he matured a little with his injuries and time off. Andrew Short is about the same place he would have been on a Honda, 4 of the guys who beat him were out last year with injuries, the KTM did fine for him. The other KTM? Wasn't there a HYPE we were all talking about a couple years ago? Believe it or not, I only saw him in the qualifier battle with his brother. Don't get hurt Mike, outdoors is your gig.
Amen Pizzacorner! Stewart got into 3rd w/ 8 laps to go....and couldn't even bride a gap to Dungey must less pass him. Listen....I love to watch Stewart ride...he is fast as crap and I'm glad he's in the sport! He's got a little*****y attitude like Dungey and Villi aren't up to his level (listen to his press conference)...and I believe is realizing that he won't dominate like he use to. If he had the attitude of say...Canard or Short, I would be more of a fan...but I'm not. Again, I'm glad he's in the sport and he IS entertaining as heck...I'm just not a fan.
stewart rode smarter...in seasons past he would've berzerked into the lead in half that time...or crashed. However he simply isn't faster than everybody else anymore.
it took him laps to reel in TC41, and then laps to pull out of striking distance after making that pass.
I gotta say that Stewart was impressive, but seeing where 6th back ended up timewise, they weren't up to the task. Shocked that Stewart displaced and dropped K-Dub like he was a lapper. Anyway, Stewart definitely gained time on the lead pack and was impressive. I'll point this out though, RV was 5th at A1 2010 and 44 seconds behind. So the 1st race tells us something, but it doesn't tell us everything. I do think we saw al of Stewart last night and it must be concerning that the last two times he lined up on a Pro gate he got horrible starts. (Unadilla 2nd moto and A1) It isn't like he holeshot the heat race either. Short and the 350 though, it might be worse than I imagined it would be.
Carnard's pass in the LCQ? SOFA PUCKER! Bubba may not be the fastest...but he's got the balls to pull the trigger. My money is on him for the 2011.
My observation , stewie is the man to beat clearly the fastest guy out there but if he doesnt get the start the 2 ryans will win races. Reed will be lucky to get more than a couple of podiums. Canard will be up there in a few weeks kid is a bad ass. I thank you for your time LOL
450's: I'm not a Bubbles fan... BUT, he did show a change to years past by settling for 3rd when he couldn't close the gap to RD & RV. Brayton win's a heat over Windham, proclaims "I'm gunna be a player this year" and finshes up 16th; yeah the 2011 field is STACKED. Consistency is going to play a more important role this year than ever before. Nobodies going to dominate 2011 unless there are 2 or 3 injuries. 250's: K-Roc looked scared, unsure, and fast; I wonder if KTM will ship him off to the GP's if he starts winning? Tickle needs more cardio. Hansen looked good, didn't sound as stoned as last year on the podium, but I wonder how he'll react if Craig cleans him out in a main? Tough luck for Craig. I don't think he would have won, but a podium or top five keeping it on 2-wheels anyway... OH, and could someone PLEASE kick Sheheen to the curb!!! Where's Bailey?
this race didn't count. Hill and Lawrence weren't there and stewart got a bad start. they really need to just keep red flagging the race and starting over until everyone gets a good start and nobody crashes to be "fair" . And those KTM's must suck because short and alessi were winning most of the races when they were on 450's, must be the bikes fault.
First race, let things shake out a little. If Stewart gets a good start can either of the Ryans run him down? Idk. But it seems to me he could'nt catch them. He does realize that this is going to be harder than he thought. If Reed gets a good start can he hold off the storm, probably not. You have to be more aggro with Stewart make him work for it and if he does pass you don't let him get away. Btw, yes the KTM's suck. You can't give up horsepower, bottom line.
Holy crap Ralph Shaheen gets worse every dang year. He definitely deserves to be fired, but he obviously is buddys with his boss. I guess all we can hope for is a throat infection.
good start to the season, RV dropped the hammer RD was wishing it would end soon because JS was coming fast. Chad will be the same playing catch up all season. usual disappointments Grant,Millsaps,Short wishes ha had another 10HP and Alessi they got eaten alive on the start and will all year. but have to say if Stewart get out front he is gone.
dyingbreed71, you can't give up horsepower bottom line? Roczen at elevation at the mxdn beat more than a few 450s ( as did wilson for that matter ) and do you think maybe villopoto gave up a few horsepower at the 07 mxdn when he grabbed both holeshots and moto wins beating the national AND world 450 champions in the process. Theres not enough space to cite all the instances that prove your "bottom line" is a joke......bro
RV2 has the most to prove. the guy has taken his lumps like the pro that he is,but he's on a mission this year. he went out and got elden baker as his trainer,and he's been training his but off. RV2 has all the toys,bells and whistels that comes along with beeing a pro factory racer,but he's modest and deadicated. stewie went hollywood and he's a lieing mf if he says hes not in it for the money,have you watched his stupid show? RD1 is in a good spot and he still has ricky carmichael in his corner. gonna be a great season!
Oh, and if you watch the start It seems alessi DID get a pretty damn good start, But does ANYONE really think he could actually win ( or even podium ) even if was riding 600? If horsepower is the bottom line he'd go undefeated, wouldn't he?
No mention of Nick Palluzi? he was riding fanominal and this was his pro debu,, not to sure wat happened to him in the main probably just got arm pump or shooken up after that close call off the triple BUT expect to see him on the podium later on in the year!!
Stewie couldn't catch RD, that's a proven fact, we all saw it. You simply can't argue that. He had eight laps to do it and couldn't get it done. Why? Because when all is said and done he, RV and RD are running about the same race speed in the mains. Forget fastest lap and forget what happened in the heats, it simply doesn't matter once the (new digital?) board goes sideways, blinks, whatever it does. We can all argue about who will do what but until those guys are within a few bike lengths of each other we won't know what's going to happen. Stewart is not the fastest man on the planet anymore and he knows it. He has the speed and I don't know that I wouldn't put money on him to win the title, but throw Reed in there (who had fastest practice times if that even matters) and you have four guys who can all match the pace of the other.
i was sitting behind the start and Alessi in fact did get out good but he got eaten up 1/2 way down the start and got closed out in the first turn from both sides. i think he is done w the 350 and doesn't care anymore. Short did not run up front either 10th is not his usual finishing spot.what ever the case a guy who used to hole-shot all the time now never does....
Oh, and Weege, I thought you did a great job with this story. It was a great lead-in and a great glimpse of the RV video for those of us who weren't there. I don't want to log on and just see a rundown of what I spent two hours watching the night before. I know what happened and I want a little something more. You provided it.
I was there last night, stewart got booed so badly when they gave him the mike. It was kind of funny but i felt bad for him.
No one cares what you little punks have to say !
Well folks it is on, 5 guys that all have the ability to get the holeeeeeeshaaaaat and go run and hide. We will see some racing this series folks. 2011 will be Epic!!
A-Albratros says he was there and saw Alessi get "eaten up 1/2 way down the start and got closed out in the first turn from both sides" In reality MA800 was 3rd across the holeshot line and was in top 5 down first rhythm section. Hate the KTM all you want but don't make up shit dumb ass.
Alessi was third across the stripe half a bike behind rv2. He would have gotten beaten after that no matter what he was riding. If the "bottom line" is horsepower , when Did tanaka give Stewart a uz350?
Good ride for Stewart! It's gonna be to bad for the rest! The Ryan Ryan show got lucky this time. Stewart ruined RV in the heat. Reed was good but has some work to do. In the long run, I bet it's gonna be 7 and the 22 in the end. Sorry!
it was only a1 guys. to say someones championships are over is an idiotic statement. I just hope this thing goes to vegas and everybody stays healthy.
Yamaha and YZ350, damn phone
Sorry, i meant to post on this one. Watch the replay of the start a few times. Just after the cameramans close up side-view of the front tires, for a split second, you see them coming towards you up the start straight. On the right side of the screen, you see stewart getting bounced back and forth, making contact with several bikes at once. Not sure what to say about his performance in general, just analyzing what happened at the start. Also, the track looked kinda hard to pass on, one lined and too narrow, but that bowl turn after the whoops, where he kept diving under everyone, was fun to watch. I did expect him to catch up to the 2 ryans though, seems like he had enough laps to do it. Dungey and villo are for real, and we have some great racing ahead of us. I think this was a perfect way to start the season, as the drama continues to unfold.
Stewart rode smart,still fast a hell, i would sucker punch tedesco lol...He wants to play dirty he needs to watch his back on the track he, he .Trey canard I dont see him winning a round , he bible thumps too much...dungey made no mention of god finally..stop the brain washing,and cuddling up with the preacher..only the weak and poor pray ?
Rc looks so damn nervous in front of the camera. He's been doing it for 4 years now. If you watch the start again Stewart got pushed over by Millsaps and then at the end of the start he hit his teammates rear wheel and was about 17th. It's gonna be a long year for Mr. Decoster!! They won't even podium. AND HANSEN WAS ON 450'S 2 YEARS AGO RIDING FOR JGR IN THEIR FIRST YEAR AND COULD'NT MAKE MAINS SO THEY FIRED HIM, SO HE GOES BACK DOWN TO THE 250 CLASS AT 27 YEARS OLD TO RIDE AGAINST THE 16 YEAR OLDS!! SAD AS HELL.
Trey Canard won't win because he bible thumps too much?... I'll take "brainwashed" over "braindead" everytime , genius
To me A1 didnt really show much except for 9. The top five are who we thought they would be. After RV got gobbled up by Stewart , checked up ,let him bye and got yarded , I wasnt feeling all that good for him (He's my pick) . What is up with the big Kaws in the corners ? James lap times speak for themselves and gets his props for coming through the pack but alot of diff between 15 thru 7 and the top 6. Dungey looked solid and patient as usual .22 also got a bad start and took what the race gave him. 41 will most def win this year. Wonder when the banging starts? JimM CarlsbadCa
unfogiven..do you even read what you write?....weak and poor? none of the pros we're talking about praying are either weak or poor....saddle up, qualify, make a main, podium...then you get to talk...otherwise
Solid ride by 20 but Tyla surprised me but hey, he's Mitch P and I'm a Vet novice. That being said letting 100 sandbag impacts PC's stellar rep. A wins a win but the 250 class needs an age limit or some kind or experience criteria. Man up 100, your looking like a high school senior back for the 4th year.Geez, the Goat retired at 28. JimM CarlsbadCa
I apologize for being inaccurate it was live,i wasn't at home shoving my 16th slice of meat lover's pizza down my pie hole. Say what u like pizzaface but the hole-shot king who was guarantee to hole-shot just about every time never does anymore on the KTM350. maybe it takes two top 5 rider to prove it.i don't know.....we will see
who guarantied holeshots everytime? you wrote as29 used to holeshot all the time and now never does. He nailed a few last season after how many years on factory honda and he holeshot his last race before a1 and now after a grand total of , lets see , ONE RACE on a new bike he's done? Your probably right though, KTM will never win as long as they listen to losers like Roger Decoster and Stefan Everts instead of dying breed and albatross
It's going to be a great year. I thought Stewart looked great and was the fastest man out there, he just got a bad start.
All you haters that booed JS, he showed all of you that he's still the best, even with a crappy track, also Chad will be up there, he just needs better starts. as for Alessi and short, they belong back there. Also why is Hansen still riding a 250, he's the dirtiest rider always has been always will be.
What's up with some people dogging on a rider who rides back from outside the top ten up to third??? Do some of you really think because he only made it back up to third and didn't get to the front, that it was a poor performance?? Really?? ALL of those top 5 guys put in incredible rides, in different ways!! They all deserve props for it too!! Reed made a hell of a charge to get in to 5th from where he started!!! I could not be happier with A1, Injury and DNF free for the top contenders is a blessing!! Cant wait for Phoenix!!
chromob i can see your grasp of the english language is a challenge,not too mention your spelling so let me help.I was only speaking of Alessi...Short is new to it all so we have yet too see what that will be.my point that seems to have eluded you is they are both great riders the bike has yet to perform...
Short is new to it all? A world championship in it's first season, holeshot and moto win at gh stuck in third. What is your idea of "performing" ?
And your point has eluded me because you have yet to make one. Considering the top 5 in this class where did you think they would finish dumbass?
If the 350 is so bad, how do you explain the three top 250 riders setting lap times that would have qualified them in the top 10 with the 450s?
Anyone that boos a pro rider is a poser and should go back watching wrestlers in tights! we dont have room that sort of shit in this sport. Theses guys risk it all out there everytime they get on the track.......idiots!
Does anyone know anything about Pourcel, Josh Hill, or the waste of talent JLaw?
Yeah, Pourcel is a greedy ass and thought he was Jean michel Bayle, Hill is torn up after listening to Jail bird J LAW too many times and almost killing himself and Jail bird J LAW is trying to find another sucker sponsor so he can pull out of another race after talking trash about how bad Dungey is. Or he's probably out assaulting someone else and on his way back to his home in his jail cell. LOL!
I am amazed of how JS and CR passes riders in a tight track that seems so hard to pass riders in front of you... It is a huge statement for both JS & CR for the people who counted them off from this year's title. 5th or 6th round would be the defining rounds of who has the biggest shot at the title.... Anyway, it was an impressive win for RV!!!
well chromknob at least your spelling and grammer got better tell your mom thanks for me.lets just wait and see how the 350 does this season. both riders are fast and could be in the top 5 based on thier ability.alessi was almost always out front before last year (at least for awhile),last season he was no where to b seen.shorty was top3 a lot..maybe roger can turn it around.here is something to think about never give up HP in any motorsport basic rule,soon they will make the 450's lighter. nothing against the KTM but it's in the wrong class.
Judging by all the comments, there was a lot of pent up anticipation for A1 LOL!!! So glad to see the top guys make it through without injuries. Stewart was real fast, but after getting behind Dungey, it almost seemed liked Dungey gassed it and stunned James. I think Phoenix will tell us more though. Great ride for Canard and RV and even Reedy. Looks like it may be a four man race though for most of the season with everyone else in the B group.
People still trying to down play JS... LOL he was hands down the fastest guy came from outside the top 10 up to 3rd on a track that was hard to pass on. gained on RV and RD big time. All he needs to work on this week is starts wile the "other" guys need to find speed. Looks like JS's job this week is a LOT easer then the other guys. I picked the top 3 also, I said last week in the other thread, RV, JS, RD I almost nailed it 100%.
Where are all the guys who slammed me for saying K-Dub aint going to win... LOL how did he do?? as for the 350 thats where Short will be most of the year, Between 5th and 10th. He was a 5th place guy most of last year and the field is deeper so what did you expect??
A-Albatros got caught talking out his fat ass, and is seen for the blind hater of the KTM that he is. The guy should just shut up.
Some of these comments are hilarious. Everybody here that is a true fan knows which comments are relevant and which ones are absurd. It was one race, and like this race report states several times, there were first race jitters from everyone. Next week we will probably see the same guys at the front, but I bet it will happen much differently. I dont think Stewart and Reed have lost the ability to holeshot, so I know there will be many battles coming for the 2 Ryans. Remember RC always said that the SX season championship battle always starts at Daytona. Stewart was obviously faster than most this time around, but butchered the start. Reed was fast, but not as aggressive making passes. That has always been the case. He takes much longer to make a pass than Stewart. I agree with whoever said it was going to be #7 and #22 at the end of the year. Their historical results should speak for themselves. Reed has a podium percent of 83%. Stewart has a win percet of like 60%, so one would expect them to be front runners at the end of the season.
DUNGEY RULES
James was not only fast, but his passes were extremely clean. He looked pretty good out there and may blow everyone away at Phoenix, although there are 4 other riders that want the win just as bad.
I'm with MB.....no mention of Paluzzi? He just got that ride like 10 days before race time. Amazing for what he was working with timewise. Kid is gonna go far for sure.
Did anyone else notice that Stewarts forks were much softer than usual? Normally his front end barely moves and most of his crashes were from front end wash outs. Not so this time. Looks like he may have tried a more conventional set up that actually allows the forks to move. Also I notice that Roczens bike was super stiff and seemed to be ping ponging him around. Also looked like he was having troubles getting that thing to stick in the corners. That was really surprising to me after watching the vids of him online recently. He looked totally bad a$$ on that bike in practice. I had him picked for a podium after seeing those vids, but his bike at A1 looked horrible. Not at all like in the videos. Anyone else notice that?
This season adding Stewart(winner),Reed(winner),Canard,Grant(winner) and Metcalf to Dungey(winner),Villopoto(winner),Windham (winner) Tedesco and Milsaps(winner) suddenly turns albatrosses "top 3" guy into a top ten guy, which is (surprise) where Short finished. Alessi skipped sx last season and has 1 podium in his entire 450sx career. So after a whopping ONE sx on the 350 and not winning ( which they never did on a 450 ) the BIKE isn't performing? Your horsepower arguments might sound smart to a monster truck or nascar fan, there is one BIG difference. These guys are actual athletes. You can give any "Jlaw" all the HP in the world and he still won't beat riders that are proven to be better (even if he cuts the first turn) On the bright side every season needs an Idiot, so atleast you got that going for ya. btw.. Your mom? really? Are you 11? seriously, you really shouldn't be playing on the computer
And since your such a stickler about spelling, It's "their" not "thier"......stupid
How about Nick Wey with a 12th! Thats a pretty good finish in that stacked 450 class. Put him on the map!
My "by Round 5" predictions: 1. Stewart will be out with an injury 2. Windham will be getting the most applause (if he isnt already) 3. Reed will be complaining about his bike 4. Grant will be out with an injury 5. Dungey will be "pumped" about something 6. Short will be in the Top 5 at one race 7. Travis Pastrana will be seen at a race giving a thumbs-up to someone 8. Reed will be complaining about his team 9. Windham will be on the box 10. RV will still have Bozo red hair...and will have won 2 more races
someone posted that stewart was not impressive. LOL. Fastest lap in the main by almost a second. from way back to 3rd on a hard-to-pass track, nah, not impressive at all. I don't think he's gonna run away from everyone like he used to. the comp is just too fast these days. but over the course of the day, JS7 stilled showed he's the fastest. I'm not sure of the accuracy of this report. didn't js7 pass cr22 in the first or second lap? (article says reed came from further back) and js definitely put time into the ryan's. Anhyhow reed's 5th was impressive and i'm not counting him out, but without some luck, i think the other 3 of the big 4 will slowly pull away in points. I've noticed from past races that Stewart seems to have Villipoto's number, RV gets a little intimidated or something. Dungey seems more ready to battle the almighty JS7 and gives less to him, but Villipoto gives less to Dungey, doesn't like the idea of getting beat by someone of similar stature. should be a great championship battle so long as everyone stays healthy. I'm stoked and ready see some real battles.
great comment Monster. hilarious.
Chill out! I agree with the ones saying is just the first race, let's just enjoy what an awesome season it could be and talk about how good or bad was every race. Let's take one race at a time.. agree on Dungey on that one :)