by Davey Coombs
10 Things to Watch For At Los Angeles
Friday, January 21, 2011 | 5:35 PM
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PrintTomorrow night marks a new chapter for supercross in Los Angeles as it returns to the city of its birth, only now it's in a new venue. The race will air on Sunday on CBS (450) as well as SPEED (Lites). Here are 10 things to watch for:
1. Bold New Building: The fact that Dodger Stadium is hosting its first Monster Energy AMA Supercross is cool—it's one of the most sacred baseball stadiums of all. But by going there, they have clipped a sure thing, as Anaheim 2 was always a good event. Of course there will still be an Anaheim 2, but it's in the spot of what used to be Anaheim 3, and there is no Anaheim 3, and, and.... Now we're confused! The weather should be perfect, and hopefully the racing will be too.
2. Dungey In Doubt? Ryan Dungey finished second in the opener last year, then won the second round in Phoenix. This time he again finished second in the opener, but he slipped back to fifth in the second race. It's way too early to hit the panic button, and in his interview with Steve Matthes for Racer X, Dungey sounded confident that he would turn things around. But with James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto riding so well, the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider can't afford to let those guys get away from him in the points chase.
3. James In Charge? After coming up short the first night in Anaheim, James Stewart looked like his blazing fast old self at Phoenix, winning for the first time in a full year. He is riding well within his means, and as his own comfort level increases, so will his speed. Two in a row would not be a surprise.
Hanny has been on fire through two rounds of Monster Energy Supercross.
Photo: Simon Cudby
4. Holeshot Hansen 2! Every moto fan knows Josh Hansen's father, Donnie, was an AMA Supercross Champion. “Holeshot” Hansen won the 1982 AMA Supercross title while riding for Team Honda. Now the kid is looking like a future champion again (albeit in the Lites class) as Josh has won two in a row to start out the West Region. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider has been smooth, smart, and fast from start to finish.... Hey, maybe his nickname could be “Finish” Hansen!
5. Tickle Me Green. In each of his wins, Hansen has had to overtake his teammate Broc Tickle for the win. Tickle has been flying, but he's also been making little mistakes that cost him, including a crash while leading in Phoenix. If Tickle settles down, he's your best bet to top Li’l Hanny.
6. Trey's Hot Lap: Last weekend Trey Canard fulfilled two lifelong dreams: participating in the opening ceremonies as a 450-class contender and pulling a full-on goon move over the finish-line jump during the hot lap! It was hilarious. After that, Canard got down to business and rode a solid race for third. He's looking better every time he races, which spells trouble down the road for Stewie, RV, Dungey, and the rest.
Canard is trying to make it the Big Five.
Photo: Simon Cudby
7. Fastest Man? Speaking of Ryan Villopoto, it was the Monster Energy Kawasaki factory rider who put down the fastest lap last Saturday night, not James Stewart. And just as it appeared he might start reeling James in, RV crashed in a corner. But he still got second, and he's still the points leader. When these two do finally get together, there are going to be fireworks—hopefully, it will be in Los Angeles!
8. Reed Needs Speed. Chad Reed looks good on his Honda, but he needs to go a little faster. It's as simple as that. But he's being smart about it, not taking big chances and getting the feel of his new lot in AMA Supercross as a high-end privateer. The man is a battler and it's time to ramp up his speed and get into the podium mix.
How much will Roczen's heel effect him this weekend in LA.
Photo: Simon Cudby
9. Kenny's Heel. Ken Roczen is the bombastic Red Bull KTM rider from Germany who whips it harder than anyone in practice and seems to have a great attitude and future ahead of him. But he's had a tough week, because he banged himself up good at the Phoenix SX, first in his heat race and then again in the main while battling for third. This is a textbook case of someone needing to slow down to speed up. However, it's a lesson he's learning the hard way.
10. Martin and Morais. Two riders long overdue for win in Lites SX are Ryan Morais and Martin Davalos. They have plenty of trophies—just not first-place trophies! The Rockstar Energy Suzuki riders both looked great last weekend, with Morais grabbing third. How sweet would a first-time win on the AMA tour be for one of these two very likable riders? (And yes, I know Martin won in Canada once, but that's when it didn't count on the AMA tour.)
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Dodger Stadium 1. RV2 2. Canard 3. Stewart
.........still no mention of Seely yet he rode right past Davalos at PHX and Morais at A1. Give Credit where Credit is due. And get over Roczen. GERMAN superstar, American NOBODY!
Hope nobody goes down and we see a great race. Dungey gets a holeshot with RV2 and Stewie in 2nd and 3rd. Lets see if Dungey will push with those two.
Roczen is most def a somebody in America as well he is 16 nd just needs to settle down a little bit look at Stewart Alessi reed all those guys road over there heads and took big chances its a learning experience and takes a little bit of time.
@adam, i agree with you 100%. he will be somebody when he matures and settles down, until then....nobody.....
I just hope RV & Stewart keep the respect for each others speed and don't get hurt cause it's the good racing we all expected and hoped for, sport wins, sponsors win, fans win with both a battling. Either gets hurt, the fans will lose. Either wins the championship, both will have the same respect, damn their fast. But I look for little red to start showing em his rear fender. Look straight up in the air on race night, see Trey's dad sitting in the clouds smiling. Dungey is riding damn good like last year, but I predicted he'd find out the difference between brush & timber.......................................................
Oh, did ya see DeCoster on crutches on press day? Roczen ain't limpin cause of his heel, it's because half of Da Man's foot is stuck in his rear, which..........explains Da Man on crutches. Don't get hurt kid! America loves your style. Damn kid reminds me of Kenny from Southpark, but I love him.
UH OH...............Southpark Kenny..............that might stick. We already seen Cartmen on the track on a TTR disquised as a TV reporter.
2dammuchtimeonthecouch to race!
And #11 to look for at LA: Brian Deegan fills in for Grant at Team Honda Yeah right.
also Seely and Tomac if they get starts they will be amazing
Iconic Dodger Stadium ~ one of the last intimate baseball fields! Hope this stop becomes a regular on the SX circut. Look out Chavez Revene - throughout your history, you ain't seen nothin' like this! PIN IT TREY!
Hey Gracious - are you a comedy or Si-Fi author?
Hey 2DamnOld2Ride ~ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Davalos is fast enough to win on a given day but just not sure what given day that is. When he does pull off a win he should go buy a lottery ticket. I like him and I enjoy watching him but he is one of them guys who will get a podium one week and finish a clean 12th the next week...
Actually, roczen is a somebody, if any of you went to DES NATIONS this year you would see he actually beat Canard and Wilson in both motos. He was even beating 450's at one point. He did place the best out of anyone on a 250f in both motos. I think he will get a top 5 this weekend due to him being very fast(2nd fastest last weekend in practice) and he has Roger to help guide him.
u r a idiot
bones
K~Roc is the real deal...and his 'tuned up' comment about American babes was a classic. He is JMB Mk II, believe it.
To say Roczen is a nobody is ignorant, but like I said after Round One, this SX stuff ain't easy! As for "Things to Watch" #1 above: boo hoo; only two Anaheims this year. Let's see ...two Anaheims, LA, AZ, Oakland, SD ... all practically within spitting distance ...and not ONE in the Northeast for 20 years! Cry me a river, SoCal fans.
Roczen is 16 years old and your calling him a nobody? What were you doing when you were 16 besides picking your nose in math class and getting picked on in gym class???? The kid got hurt on a triple most of the guys on the 450s wouldnt do and he is balls to the wall. I agree he needs to settle down and get more practice at supercross but if you see him race outdoors you wont be calling him a nobody. Im usually all for the USA guys but i cant help cheering for this kid.
@sef154 They also need an SX in the midwest to. Have one of the last ones in Chicago @ Soldier Field in May. Bump the SX season back a couple of weeks and you can have SX in the midwest and northeast. Build and they will come.
if they had one at soldier field, I'd fly from Phoenix to be there!
how could there be one in the northeast or midwest if the series ends by may7? the weather's too unpredictable/ground not ready. Enjoy your outdoor races is all I can say, they're better anyways
To those upset about no northeastern SX rounds, why not just come up to Toronto? It's a legit round of the series and � of the races there have been great races! I'll be there as always! :)
what about soubeyras on the yz250. thats definately something to look for.
ryan smith will def place top r this weekend
5*
So the weather would prevent a SX in the Northeast in May? That's an informed statement. (Not!) I attended each race in the Meadowlands and Foxboro; not once did I witness anything as inclement as some of the SF races (or certain Daytonas, for that matter). There are more large cities within a drivable area in the Northeast than anywhere in the country - and plenty of moto fans. As for Toronto, how did the AMA wind up there in the first place? If you want to go to Canada, Montreal already has a SX that fills the place w/o a single factory rider! That venue is more accessible to the Northeast than Toronto. NYC> biggest city in America ... but no SX. Four in SoCal is ridiculous.
LA 1ST CANNARD 2ND STEWIE 3RD DUNGEY 4TH RV2 5TH REED