Observations: Anaheim 2
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 | 5:15 PM
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PrintAnd we’re back at the Big A in Anaheim, California for round five of the Monster Energy Supercross Series! In the past we’ve gone to Anaheim three times in a year and with one of the rounds going to Dodger Stadium, we’ve shrunk Anaheim to two and it’s a good thing it appears as the stadium was SRO- Sold Right Out.
The fans were into it, the riders were starting to get into the grind and we had a good cause to support as A2 was the “Save the Ta-Ta’s” round or the Breast Cancer round where donations were made towards fighting the disease and the racers wore pink in support of that. Memo to the teams and gear companies-- flo pink is good. Flesh pink is not so good.
Now onto the track, and upon walking it, it looked very difficult. The big whoops from Oakland were back although shorter, and everywhere you looked, there were jumps sticking up out of the ground. As well the over/under bridge was back for more. That’s two weeks in a row for the sweet, sweet bridge. The track looked to be very difficult and scary! As we’ll go into later, Stewie turned a few heads with his riding out there but for the most part, the guys were stuck into doing each section one way. The whoops separated some guys, but the sand in the S-turn section was beyond ridiculous. It was follow the leader from the end of the whoops to the first turn. Oh well, I thought that from the outside it looked great but it didn’t turn out so well. Sometimes you have a raceable track and sometimes you don’t!
Stewart dominated the field in Anaheim.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Stewart won the race in a convincing manner, he was the best rider on this night--no ifs, ands or buts about it. He’s skipped the last timed practice session the last couple of weeks which tells me he’s banged up from a crash somewhere along the line (probably Oakland), but it hasn’t seemed to matter much as he has still dominated the last couple of weeks. In Anaheim he busted out a couple of jumps that no one else could do and that was all she wrote. He was the man in Anaheim and the term I used for him a few years ago was “crazyballs”. Well, crazyballs was back at A2, taking names and kicking ass.
Why has he skipped the last practice in Oakland and now Anaheim? Well, at Oakland I believe it was to get his marbles back, but this week? Who knows? Maybe he’s superstitious or maybe he’s still battling an injury.
RV got second and seemed ok with it after the race, he wasn’t very stressed out on the beating that he got and that’s probably a good thing. He’s not the type of guy mentally who gets psyched out by anything. He’ll take it that he got beat, he was still the second best guy, and he will move on.
Listen to how casual he is in this podcast (HERE) as I talked to him while he ate a peanut butter and jam sandwich in the parking lot.
Ryan Dungey suffered a terrible blow when his chain derailed as he was working his way through the pack. Well if he was playing it a bit safe before, that strategy is now out the window as The Dunge has to get busy and get some wins if he has any hope to win this thing. It’s a real shame about the DNF, one time at Yamaha Reed threw a chain off at Red Bud and we had no idea how it happened except for the fact that he must have gotten a rock right in the exact spot that would make the chain skip and fall off. Everything else was measured out and installed correctly and everything. Sometimes, poop happens.
Dungey's title chances took a big blow in Anaheim.
Photo: Matt Pavelek
Josh Hansen suffered a terrible crash in practice going through the whoops and probably should’ve been out for the night. He hit his head hard, hurt his hand and got carted off which generally makes for a DNS on the night. Incredibly Hanny suited up and not only won his heat race but also put it all together to ride a great race and win the main event. The 100 withstood some great pressure from some frisky kids and just like the LA race, proved that he deserves this title.
With a cast on after the race and a one week break for the next west race, Josh has some healing up to do but he’ll be coming into San Diego with a ton of confidence because if he can win in the condition that he was in, what can he do when rested?
The frisky kids that I was referencing were Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen who both took runs at the Kawasaki of Hanny at different times. Both of these dudes were hanging it out trying to win their first race and in a way, the battle between them helped out Hanny because they were preoccupied with each other and protecting lines which allowed Hansen some breathing room.
Tomac, in particular, is getting the confidence needed with his last few rides to go out there and win one of these races. His A1 struggles seem so long ago, with his bike and his skill-- I believe the kid will stand atop the podium at one of the upcoming races. I spoke with him after the race and he was very excited about what had just happened, even though he got beat.
Roczen scored his first career podium at A2.
Photo: Simon Cudby
As far as the other boy wonder (vunder?) it was the German Ken Roczen who got his first podium on his career. Ken Rocz was very good and man, he’s not scared at all! The kid just knows that when in doubt, grab more throttle! I just read this morning that Ken is going to race a 350 this weekend in Houston and I have to say, I’m very surprised at this move. Ken’s raced five supercrosses ever and you’re going to throw him in the deep end right away? The good thing about it is that at sixteen years old, you don’t know any better to be scared.
I love the opening ceremonies video with RV. Kudos to the people behind it but most of the credit goes to Ryan for allowing the video of him laying there in a hospital bed and the x-rays being shown. In a sport where you’re never allowed to show weakness, talk about your injuries or admit anything, RV is breaking the mold. Set all that to a cool Eminem song and you have goosebumps!
This Asterisk medical person was spotted finishing his ice cream before helping out a nearby injured rider and has been repremanded. He also kept muttering on about a pole and a corner.
Photo: James Lissimore
Nice to see Reedy finally bowing to public pressure (or at least, my pressure), and busting out a nac-nac on the opening ceremonies parade lap. The kid Canard was making those other dudes look bad.
Speaking of Canard, that’s a couple of races in a row that he’s not been able to get the all-important start. The Okie is hopefully not getting frustrated, but the thing is, when you’re out there racing through the pack, bad things can happen. He has to start getting up there, getting away from all the potential carnage and move forward. I don’t have a doubt that it’s going to happen, I just hope he survives these wild rides from the back.
A few weeks ago I wrote that GEICO Honda’s Jimmy DeCotis’s results hadn’t improved with the addition of a GEICO bike. I presented this theory to Weege in a podcast and he said that I was wrong and upon further investigation, it turns out I was. I corrected myself on the podcast but maybe people didn’t hear that show. So I’m here to say that I was wrong. Because if you take out his one fifth place finish last year, he is indeed doing better with the promotion to the GEICO team once Wil Hahn got hurt.
His buddy Eddie Ray told me that Jimmy wasn’t pumped with my comment and I know I apologized but not in print. I also met Jimmy and realized that he’s very tiny. He’s so small that maybe we could use him as a unit of measurement. Like my cars truck could hold “three Jimmy Decotis” or “I’m two and a half Jimmy Decotis high” or whatever, you get my meaning.
I am now back in Jimmy Decotis’s bad books.
Jimmy D has been solid for GEICO Honda, filling in for the injured Wil Hahn.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Funny how, when you look at the segment times from the race that in the section that had the two quads in it, RV was actually faster than Stewie.
Segment 2
RV- 18.757
Stewie- 18.776
(Close I know but still)
Segment 3 (whoops)
Stewie- 24.233
RV- 24.666
(almost .5 of a second)
So yes, James is gnarly and all that but the real key to his victory was the whoop section. That was where he was much better than anyone else. In the heat race James was over a half a second better than RV and I would guess that was the one lap when he combined both quads together but I can’t be sure.
Let’s take a look at some results!
AMA Supercross Lites Class:
1. Josh Hansen Kaw- One thing about Hanny that might come back to haunt him is his tendency to take guys a little wide in turns. He doesn’t have to do that to get by and guys like Jake Canada and Eli Tomac could have long memories at some point. Right now his speed is letting him get away with it but one time, when he’s not as on it, his moves could haunt him.
2. Eli Tomac Hon-
3. Ken Roczen KTM- Something I didn’t mention before was Rocz jumping over the tabletop in the one section that was helping him gain a bunch of time. Until he kept screwing it up and then his big advantage was stopped.
4. Broc Tickle Kaw- Tickle was right there and I mean right there if something happened to anyone inside the top three. Unfortunately for him, everyone kept it steady and a fourth was the best Broc could do.
5. Kyle Cunningham Yam- KC won a heat race over Tomac which was nice to see but a bad start doomed him in the main. Still, a fifth is pretty good as was his ride last week.
6. Martin Davalos Suz
7. Ryan Morais Suz- Mo’s west coast attack isn’t going very well as he’s not able to really ride during the week from a practice crash earlier in the year.
8. Bruce Rutherford Kaw- Great ride for Bruce, once again he’s the top placing real privateer.
9. Ryan Marmont KTM- Marmont’s been pretty good and the JDR KTM team went into the year with a lot of people asking “huh?” about their riders, but manager Nathan Ramsey has been doing a good job with Marmont and Simmonds.
10. Jimmy Decotis Hon
11. Cole Seely Hon- Seely crashed early on and after his LA win and climb to a few points out of the lead, he’s now in fifth and 43 points out. Two bad races have doomed him.
12. Antonio Balbi Kaw
13. Jake Canada Kaw- A nation is behind him.
14. Ben Evans Kaw
15. Scott Champion Kaw- Champion’s made some big improvements this season.
16. Casey Hinson KTM
17. Kyle Beaton Kaw- Canada’s Beaton raced his first sx of the year and made the main event right out of the gate. Good for little Beets, he’s good people.
18. Parker Eckman Hon
19. Yuta Ikegaya Suz- I know nothing about this guy, I assume he’s from Japan, even though his entry says Apple Valley, California.
20. Nick Paluzzi Yam- Nick crashed out early on.
Again, Pirelli whipped out a special tire for the JGR guys. This week it was the 1984 tire which definitely isn't my favorite but probably worked pretty well. Especially in the Panama section.
Photo: James Lissimore
AMA Supercross Class:
1. James Stewart Yam
2. Ryan Villopoto Kaw- I’m going to stay back in Florida after Atlanta and hang out. RV told me about this place called the “Tiki Hut” by his house that has awesome Tator-Tots that they call ‘Tiki-tots’-I’m so there.
3. Chad Reed Hon- Reed rode a lonely race in third to get his second podium in a row. He’s also getting more help from Honda along the way which blurs the privateer line even more.
4. Justin Brayton Yam- Brayton rode well to get fourth and in a breakthrough of sorts, I don’t think Ryan Dungey was going to catch him even if his chain didn’t fall off.
5. Trey Canard Hon- I want to see Trey round that first turn in the top three. I really want to see what happens then. The good news about Canard’s A2 is that Tim Ferry showed up.
6. Andrew Short KTM- great ride for Shorty. He was good all day and in talking to him before the race, I sensed that he was going to do well because he was happy with the bike and the track. Short is also getting to go home to his wife and kids which also makes him happy!
7. Ivan Tedesco Kaw- One thing that Ivan did win this week is coolest looking bike!
8. Kevin Windham Hon- KW to Weege- “I don’t know, I’m riding great- those guys are just hauling ass” or something like that.
9. Brett Metcalfe Suz- Metty and Millsaps went at it in the heat and the main event. It was one of those battles that you had to see, it looked intense.
10. Davi Millsaps Yam
11. Kyle Regal Yam
12. Mike Alessi KTM- Mike rode the best race he had all year. He got the start and raced hard the entire 20-laps. Yeah he dropped back pretty far and yeah he held some dudes up but you have to start somewhere and for Mike, A2 was the hopefully the beginning of some improvements.
13. Matt Boni Kaw- Boni had his best race of the year as he looked to be finally riding the bike and not the bike riding him. A switch in suspension companies is a big part of that.
14. Kyle Chisholm Yam- The Chiz has been working with manager David Vuillemin closely and this weekend was fast in every practice and in the main he was right there until he hooked his boot on the radiator shroud and tumbled over. Add to that his nasty practice crash and he had a much rougher night on paper than his speed showed. He was better, no doubt about it.
15. Nick Wey Yam- Wey might be taking some time off as he’s got a jacked up back.
16. Jason Thomas Suz- JT is back into the main and I’m sorry to say, I never noticed him once he got into the main. Still, good to see.
17. Chris Blose Kaw- Blose and manager Kenny Watson are both going into a therapy session asap. For more on this, listen to this past Monday’s Pulpmx show.
18. Tye Simmonds KTM
19. Fabien Izoird Kaw- Kawi’s fill-in for Weimer, Izoird will get better as he gets more used to things. Don’t forget he raced SX last year and had he raced under an AMA license, he’d be national number 59 or something like that. I didn’t see him after the race but that was probably because he had to go star in a “It’s not butter” commercial with Fabio.
20. Ryan Dungey Suz
The Best Looking Gear Award goes to…
He swept everything else so why not give the award to James Stewart for his Answer flo-pink motif. The stuff looked great and I like the way (either unintentional or intentional)Answer borrowed a bit of styling from the old FOX Image jerseys that had like a pink spider-web on them in the early 90’s. Like I said, don’t know if that was the inspiration or not but the stuff looked great!
Thanks for reading, email me at [email protected] and we can chat like little buddies that we all are!
Some of you people may have heard me complain a time or two about how I got screwed out of the Golden Wrench award at the 1999 Mini O's when I worked for Ryan Morais. Some of you may also have heard about Twitter follower Elemophee making me a replica plaque because he was tired of hearing about it. Well at A2, I busted out Ryan's jersey from that race and my plaque and we made an unjust situation into a positive. Finally!
Photo: James Lissimore
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For those of you, like me, who didnt get to see Stewarts quad he tweeted this the other day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHKNaQSRCS0&feature=player_embedded
A few weeks ago 194 didn't know SX strategy like I don't know Mandarin Chinese. Thankfully one of us is a quick learner; if he doesn't do another skyshot come up short triple he's gonna be insanely fast soon.
Steve everyone knows 1984 was better than 5150 and that subpar album ou812 and VH1,VH2, Fair Warning, Women and Children First, and Diver Down are better than any sammy albums
I <3 Matthes and these observations...
I kept seeing pics of all that pink and wondering what was up...makes sense
yamalink - very funny. I think you are right on that one. The kid is 16 and looks very good for that age and no SX experience. He is fun to watch. Oh to be 16 again without fear, a mortgage, or facial hair.
Dungey's title chances took a big blow in Anaheim............Ummmmmmmmmm don't blain the chain. He was in trouble before the chain fell off. Best he could have done is 4th most likey 5th so he would be 23 points out anyway.
Hey matthes, a close friend of mine who doesn't know much about motocross, but knows who James Stewart is saw jbs @ a PGA tour event on Friday with,"2 mega babes, some dude, and a couple of security guards." Who cares, right? This was in Doha, Qatar. I don't want to start any rumors, but maybe he sat out the second practice because he was simply tired. Gotta love private jets.
I think somthing was wrong with Dungy's rear wheel like the time I forgot to thighten the rear axel??????? Im talking about my bike not Dungy's lol
Good job Matthes. ! Im not a member of the 100 fan club but after that face plant and riding hurt he gets props. Nice dance around Hansens favorite (only ?) move . Dude is just a mid pack start away from some SX / MX justice, man up when it happens Josh. There you go Mike, it can be done !
JimM
CarlsbadCa
Woodshop - pics or it didn't happen.
When is the AMA going to have a "Brown" race to help fight prostate and colon cancer?
Matthes, I am sure you like the over/under bridges, because you have a racer-x box in the club level seating area, but, for the rest of us, it is just one more big feature, obstructing the already limited view, when attending a race. What is it exactly, that is so fascinating about it to you???????
There was only one VH and that was the first. The rest aren't worth mentioning, that's a fact, unless you also like Justin beeber.
Heres an idea, for all you track designer out there....
1. Watch some older race footage, where great battles took place, on different tracks.
2. Find all of the exciting passes that were made, during the race, that entertained the fans.
3. once you have gathered all of these tidbits, incorporate them, into the new tracks, so it flows.
4. Sit back and relax, knowing that you have just made 50,000 people happy.
Yes, I made observations! BTW it's elemen0hpee, with a zero (like me)
@trick, I agree with that to a certain extent. I would say the tracks were best from 2000-2006, and after that it went downhill. Lap times should NEVER be below 50 seconds in a Supercross race. Leave that for Arenacross. We will be moving to the east soon though which means football stadiums instead of baseball stadiums and better dirt, which should result in better racing.
I find it interesting that Villopoto was faster through Stewart's double quad section. It makes me wonder if that stat is accurate or not. Either way, it's clear who the two fastest guys are.
Boni?
From ? To ? suspension company?
that damn stewart youtube video mentioned at beginning was insane. double triple then quad! sucks that that kind of stuff is what is probably gonna bite him and ruin his championship title.
two of you understand ... supercross tracks are basically turning into arenacross tracks
Matthes, do you read anybody else’s stuff? You’re guessing about Stewart’s reason for sitting out practice … I’ve read at least two interviews where he states it’s because he was still banged up from the week before.
There’s a great interview with Hanny’s dad, Donnie (Big Hanny?), at another site, where he tells that Doc Bodnar said after the practice crash, “if it was up to me, no, he can't ride. You guys make the call." They had to sign a waiver from the AMA to let him ride. According to Donnie, Josh said, "I can do it." He had tears in his eyes, and he said, "I can't let this championship go." Impressive effort.
Again to Matthes, if people were asking “huh?” regarding the JDR KTM team riders, they hadn’t been paying any attention to MX Down Under, because Marmont and Simmonds are good riders (and I believe that team is an extension of the Australian team.
And for the last time, VanHagar is NOT as good as the original. It was the DLR incarnation that prompted Frank Zappa to state, "Jimi Hendrix invented the electric guitar; Eddie VanHalen reinvented it."
EVERYBODY wants some.....................................................................how bout choo????
Has anyone else tried to put an avatar up and it hasn't worked? Any advice?
It would be great to copy old tracks.... If you want to see the greatest SX race of all time, don't think its Aneheim 86 noooooooo, go to youtube and enter
" 1990 ATLANTA SX"
That my friend was the greatest sx race of all time.....
Pirelli's gonna have to make a move here, there running out of VH alphanumerical references. Maybe Tommy Twotones "8675309", or a 55 w/ the "anti" around it, heresey to the DLR people yes but, still staying with the VH theme.
DoubleJ, your avatar is up.
Sweet! haha dont I look dumb. Not the first time
Ughhh! I just turned on my tv, and it was on speed. Monster trucks was on, and I watched it for 30 seconds, because Damon Bradshow was on. Then it went to commercial. It was a 'monster energy supercross' commercial, urging the monster trucking crowd, to come see supercross.
That is terrible! Can you believe they actually sell more tickets to that excuse of an event than supercross? Such a joke, goes to show you how intellegent people really are.
This took me over an hour, to research, because of this cumbersome new website. Yeah, I know it is free, and I shouldn’t bit**, but the old one was free, too, and it worked way better. When you improve a website, the idea is, to make it easier to use, not make it look cooler. This was way more work, than it should have been.
2006 super cross info. Stewart vs. Carmichael.
For some reason, it only showed 16 rounds, and a 2 week break in the middle.
Js 1 rc 3
Js 3 rc 1
Js 3 rc 1
Js 1 rc 2
Js 8 rc 1 stew crashes 3 times, r/c says stewart’s forks too stiff
Js 1 rc 2
Js 17 rc 20 r/c crashes in first turn, then cases a triple, and busts his shock, DNF. Js falls, cant start bike
Js 3 rc 1
Js 2 rc 1
Js 6 rc 1 stew falls, drops to 19th, up to 6th
Js 1 rc 2
Js 1 rc 2
Js 1 rc 2
Js 1 rc 3
Js 1 rc 2
Then the following week, at the hangtown opener, stewart wins the o/a, and ends r/c’s two and a half year winning streak (27 consecutive overalls). It is r/c’s first loss, since windham beat him, 4 motos in a row.
I hope this helps to refresh everyone’s memory. I’m going to post it a few times, since I put all this time into it…………..
So, at the 2/3 point of the season, r/c had 6 wins, to stewarts 3.
Then stewart won the last five.
Reed won 2 of them also.
trick & DoubleJ.... Ha,ha... Attended one of those events over here in Holland... Company gave free tickets.. I had to foce myself to switch off my brains to try to enjoy the show... But must admit.. A hige crowd attended this event... At least cool to see Bradshaw.. He seems way better as a person now then when he was racing SX... Like someone uncorked his behind... Ha,ha.. Smiling and chatting and all...
I know it doesn't add up to 17, but like I said, one was missing. Go find it yourself, if you have the time and patience.
Trick.. Memorable season 2006... Of the three.. RC was the luckiest... Nothing to do with being the best here... Reed could have won it as well... And he only won 2 events.. He just made sure to get podiums...Plus, i believe the point system of the AMA sucks... 3 points difference between the winner and 2nd place... Wow.. Big difference... F1 tried something similar a few years ago... Only for the fans and sponsors, riders along with manufacturers to criticise it....
jimmy ... Atlanta '90 SX was a great race... As was the 86's race of Anaheim. Only draw back of the 1990 race was RJ was riding differently (Due to his injury...).. Cooper was as usual being flamboyant, jumping everywhere... And Ward was being the smartest of the bunch to win it.. Stanton, Bradshaw and Kiedrowski were being idiots...
A brilliant race is 1992 Tampa race.. Here one rider shows how you win a race in matter of 2 laps.... Again, this is all subject to one's preference.. I was also very much impressed with the Indy 09' race...
Now, look at that analysis again. The title was decided by a 'hard to start four' stroke,
( just like the mxon was almost lost, because of a 'hard to start' four stroke...)
Didn't have that slip clutch back then. If they had, stewart would have been the champ.
Yes 2006 was the greatest season in my memory! Didn't Carmichael lose points in Indy cause of the lead gas deal and then appeal and get them back? No matter what had James not got that 17th he would have won the title! Then I was at Hangtown RC fell in second turn it was a little rainy James didnt have the best start Reed led the ENTIRE moto it turned into a 3 way battle and James passed Reed in the Honda Bowl Burm on the LAST lap to take his first ever 450 moto win! Incredible season, I need to purchase bar-to-bar and TGO to relive that season every day!
We got the late night statisticians! Cheers to you Trick always bringing the good facts! Man I need to watch Atlanta 90 and Tampa 92 they sound pretty memorable.
Just a theory of mine but would you guys agree RC gave it up in 07 because he was happy to beat JS but was uncomfortable riding at that pace and just hung it up to stay healthy he had no more to prove.
DoubleJ... True.. I agree with your theory... RC had nothing more to prove... And was starting his own family.. So he wanted to bow out healthy and on top of his game as well. I just think he chose the wrong trade.. Racing on 4 wheels, seems not really his thing... And man,.. I hate to see Nascar fans taking the piss out of RC...
Yeah I hate Nascar fans with a passion. I really think Ricky could be good at it but he's used to being able to control his own destiny, in those taxi cabs its all about the car no matter how good you are and thats not for RC! But me being a hardcore outdoor fan I will never forget the first time I saw him blazing around Hangtown in 02 my jaw was on the floor. Then race day it rains and he still railed! Truely the GOAT
Just a side note. I just remembered that race JS got 6th in 06 was at Daytona and remember how far in front he was and how hard he crashed? It was gnarly thats when he got thrown over the burm at full speed! Man, another one that cost him. Also there were only 16 AMA rounds back then, they had the 2 up in Canada in Dec. for the "world championship" joke.
Well, i spent a half hour trying to find the post '06 washougal 'rev up' but it doesn't appear to exist. This new website sucks. What the hell were you thinking?
I dont remember if r/c was penalized, and had it overturned, or if he was never penalized at all. I think it was the latter. WAY TOO MUCH WORK TO LOOK IT UP RACER-X THANKS.
No doubleJ, r/c stated beforehand, that that he would give stewart 2 years to try to beat him, and then he was retiring. Stewart squandered the first year with the injury, and the 250 2-stroke. in 2006 it was do or die, so I think he was trying way too hard, since he knew it was his only chance. If r/c had waited to retire, and stewart had 4 years, I think he might have won some titles. We will never know. Thats why they call it bench racing.
ok, doubleJ, that explains the 'missing round'.
I remember that crash too, It messed him up bad. He was riding with cobwebds in his head.
Great quad by James, but P L E A S E lets bring back LA Colosseum style tracks again. Except for the Dodgers Stadium, this year is looking more and more like arenacross. No speed and a bunch of bikes looking like jumping bunnies. SX used to be MX with more jumps, but now it just seems so downgraded. with all these tight tracks.
This was all i could find in the crappy racer-x archives, I know ther is more in there somewhere, but I dont have 3 hours to look for it, thanks to the idiotic format.
Somewhere, i read that the rock rolled down from the outside to the inside of the turn, and he looked at it, and it went right under his front tire. here is an exerpt from a 'race report'.............
Stewart put on a Villopoto-esque charge from the back, passing nearly 20 riders in the first lap (!) and then working his way all the way past his Monster Kawasaki teammate Tim Ferry to take third. That would have given Stewart a 1-3 overall win, topping Langston, who would have gone 4-1. Stewart has been through a lot lately and wisely seemed to back it down and not go after Langston or Windham. It was all set, until the very end of the race when all heck broke loose. Stewart crashed in a routine corner, catching a rock and popping his knee out. He was trapped under his bike and in pain, unable to continue and suddenly seeing the championship picture grow very shaky.
If they ever fix this website, maybe we can the full story, someday.
Here's an "observatrion," the tracks are easier, and the bikes are better....
While we're throwing out theories on '06, notice that RC finished behind JBS in the last few rounds. Who's to say he wasn't riding to preserve his points lead? He won six rounds before that. Suddenly he "can't" win for the final five rounds? Doesn't seem likely. Also, RC was penalized on the gas thing, and it was reversed.
This was my first oppurtunity to look at this, and I am surprised. RV was faster through the rythum section than Stewie, but Stewie got him in the whoops. Not surprised that Stewie is faster in the whoops section, jut the rythum section. Maybe he spent too much time in the air on the quad. Not sure, but being short definatly hurts in the whoops. And TRICK, thats interesting but doesnt tell the whole story. When RC was getting 2nd at the end of the season, I remeber him smiling and saying, "I put myself in this situation were I dont have to push too much to win every race down the stretch, its all about winning the title, I can get second and do that". NO I'm not cutting on Stewie, before the fantards go nuts, just saying that RC would have taken a few of those if he needed to. And anyone who doubts RC's ability to win races is not a race fan, just a Stewie fan.
sef154, I cant remeber the name of the band, but do you remeber Matthes talking about driving across the country listening to some lame band saying how great it was?? I cant remeber the band. Its killing me. But if he liked that, it explains why he liked Van Hagar better then the original Van Halen. Sammy is cool, he is great live, seen him once, but not better than original Van Halen, not a chance.
The AMA probably reversed ricky's gas thing, because the fans would've burned the stadium to the ground. It must have been the only gas infraction, where it had implications on a title chase, so they dared not do it. That is all i can figure. Same goes for the track cutting, in detroit. All politics...........
yeah, you are right sef, maybe r/c was protecting his lead, and settling for 2nd. He was in that same position, against reed in 2003, and lost 6 in a row at the end.
But, jaime little would always ask him about it, and he would say that he IS trying to win, and he doesn't want second. He would say chad just beat him.....
@bd200 , I agree on r/c not pushing if he didn't need to, the championship is the most important thing. But, i think he let it get out of hand, coming down to the final race, against 2 other riders. That seems too nerve wracking. But, whatever it was that happened against reed in '03, was the same thing that happened in '06, in my opinion.
Carmichael can be beaten, so it's not implausible to say stewart couldn't beat him 5 times in a row. I was standing at the fence at daytona '03, when r/c swapped in the long whoop straight, and came off the track onto the asphalt (which is pretty far from the track) just trying to catch reed, who was hauling *ss. Reed SMOKED him that day. r/c was not invincible, it can be done.
Okay yeah I remember that now trick, he did say 2 years he would give James and he completely obliterated his 05 season with Injuries! Then in the Outdoors you remember when James said "I can guarantee this aint gonna be no 24-0 season" yeah he was right but it wasnt James who beat him. But r/c did win all 12 o/a's! Isn't bad too when we can remember James' crashes more than his wins? You remember high point 05 and then again in 06 vicious!
ANYBODY can be beaten, Trick you are dead on. Stewie beat him several times, and I'm not saying RC could have won every one of those races if he wanted. But I think if he needed to for the title, he could have pushed himself and taken a couple or more. We all know how hard RC could push himself. I am just glad someone was there to race with Rc that year or it would have been very boring. Just like this season, glad that RV2 and Stewie or pretty close in speed to make this a close season so far.
What if the 4-stroke revolution had occurred a few years earlier, and everyone was on one, even in the '125' class. Stewart's beating everyone on a kx250f. When he moves up, kawasaki has a proven 450 waiting for him, which stewart has ridden many times already (ala trey canard). Then, he would have had 1 1/2 good years, to try to beat ricky (he crashed in phoenix and you cant undo that). And, that would be 50% more time as what he DID have in actuality.
Guys like villo, have that advantage, where the transition to 4-strokes happened while they were still amateurs. It would have been better for stewarts career, if he had transitioned as an amatuer. r/c made the switch, after several seasons on the 250's. Much easier transition, cr250 to cr450f. Stewart went from kx125 to kx450f, with no time on a 250f or a 250. Stewart did race the 250f in his last 2 '125' races, but said he preferred the 2-smoke because it suited his style better. Bad timing in my opinion.
More food for thought:
Stewart's very first supercross season, in the big bike class, 2006 against ricky, he almost wins it, 2 points shy, then does win it, in his second year, now that r/c is retired.
Carmichael, raced the big bikes for sx, and the 125 in the outdoors, for 1999, and did not make it into the top ten in sx, because of many crashes.
In his second year on the big bikes in sx, he finishes 5th . He didn't take down mc until his third try, indoors.
Stewart only had ONE chance to do it. If the GOAT needed three tries, to do it, then what is wrong with stewart almost doing it on his very first try ?
Yeah, stewart rode a 250 outdoors in ;05, but that probably did more harm than anything (psychologically).
Very good points trick.More food for thought:
Stewart's very first supercross season, in the big bike class, 2006 against ricky, he almost wins it, 2 points shy, then does win it, in his second year, now that r/c is retired.
Carmichael, raced the big bikes for sx, and the 125 in the outdoors, for 1999, and did not make it into the top ten in sx, because of many crashes.
In his second year on the big bikes in sx, he finishes 5th . He didn't take down mc until his third try, indoors.
Stewart only had ONE chance to do it. If the GOAT needed three tries, to do it, then what is wrong with stewart almost doing it on his very first try ?
no thanks. i already ate.
Best Supercross race of all time in my opinion (there's so many races to choose from) is the 07 Orlando Supercross, Ricky's last Supercross race. RC and Stewart went around the track so fast that day it was unbelievable. Reed got the holeshot and still finished 20 seconds back, and we all know he's no slouch, especially in 07. You could tell both RC and Stewart were pushing as hard as they could. I just checked it out on YouTube and it's there in two parts. I highly recommend watching it. Two of the greatest ever in the last Supercross they ever raced against each other, it really doesn't get much better.
It was pretty tough for RC to win in Supercross at first going against the greatest supercross racer ever. And correct me if I am wrong, but 2006 wasnt Stewies first season in big bikes. I thought 2005 was and he crashed out early, same with 2004 when Reed won the title with RC out with knee surgery, Stewie was injured then too right.@004 Stewie was 19 and he wasnt in the 125/250 class that winter was he?? I am almost certain he wasnt at 20 years old in 2005.. Do some homework Trick, I think you have your dates wrong, but I could be misstaken..
BILLC, as big as a Stewie fan you are, I thought you would know that Stewie was 20 years old in 2005, and he WASNT in the 125/250 class at that age, he was with RC in the big boy class. I'm sure he was in 2004 too when Reed took the title with RC and Stewie out injured. So in that case, in Stewies 3rd year he still didnt win it right??
Just checked the facts, he moved up in 2005, and quickly moved out due to a crash in Pheonix. So he won the title in his 3rd year like RC. But unlike RC, he didnt take the title from the champ, the champ retired so he won it afterwards.
bd200, when r/c began racing the big bikes in sx, in '99 , he was out of the top ten, in his first try, and 5th in his second, so it was more than just mcgrath who beat him. He didnt beat mcgrath til the 3rd year, and mc was past his prime, and on lesser equipment.
2004 was the year reed won it, because r/c did not compete at all, he took that season off to get his bum knee fixed, and stew was still in the 125's.
stew moved up for '05, but broke his arm at phoenix in practice, his very first ever 450 sx race. I think he was just too excited. He was on a 250 2- stroke still.
2006 WAS the first sx season for stew, not to mention his first ever sx season on a 450 4-stroke. it was r/c's third sx season on a 450 4-stroke, and he had several sx seasons on a 250 also, before that.
So, stew almost won the championship in his very first try, while it took r/c three tries.
then stew won it the following year in '07, after r/c retired and was part time only.
Yes, phoenix was round 2, but A1 was one of the muddiest sx's in history, and didn't count as his first race, in my opinion. stew got 5th and r/c got 3rd. windham won it. (who else???)
It WAS NOT Stewies first race, remeber the season starts in Anaheim, Stewie raced it. And 2006 wasnt his first season there, 2005 was, even if he got hurt. RC didnt finish his entire first season in supercross, but you seem to count it. But RC won the outdoor title that year. He took off the rest of his first supercross season to get healthy. Stewie did not almost win his first year up. Mud or not, the race still counted, your observation there is very biased. He raced A1 and the race counts, mud or not. And MC was not on lesser eqiupment, he was still on his Yamaha. I thought you were more unbiased in your opinion Trick, but your not. MC wasnt past his prime, he still beat everyone else, just not RC. MC was the same age as Stewie is now, is he past his prime?? Dont make excuses, it makes you sound cheap. RC is the GOAT, period. Stewie never took the champ for a title, RC did. End of story..
I dont know what to say except, read all my posts for the past week. If it sounds biased, it is because no one ever attacks r/c on here, only stewart.
I'm sorry i mis- stated mc's situation, but that info was not readily available. Thank you for correcting me. also i didn't know r/c did not finish the first season. That info is not available either.
I think the A1 mud race counting as a race, is a matter of opinion. What do the other posters think, about whether or not '06 was stewies first sx season. Am i in the minority or the majority.
Also, i just read on wiki that mc was born in '71, so if he was finally beaten by r/c in '2001, that would make him 30 yrs old, not the same age as stewart is now, which is 25. look it up yourself. I gotta go, talk to you later
But you are right, it was incorrect for me to say he was past his prime, since he did win the title, for the 3 seasons before r/c beat him. I was surprised to see that he won the sx titles at age 27, 28 and 29.
Nobody ever attacks RC because he has class, never says anything bad about his rivals. Always was very professional, and NEVER made excuses when he lost. No crap like "well my bike is slow" or "our settings were off" or nothing like that. He just says, "we had nothing for them today" .. Period. Steweie even said in an interview right here with Racer X, that RC shouldnt be called the GOAT. How disrespectful is that to say about a guy who has domne nothing but sing Stewie's praises..
I never read the article where stewart said he shouldn't be called the goat. Do you know which article it was, i would like to go back and read it too. Stewart could have used some pointers from r/c in post race speeches, but he's not the only one to ever do it (dungey after hangtown).
Remember that the fans have boo'ed r/c before too. Fans are fickle sometimes, but for 60$ a ticket, I suppose we have the right to be. I dont know who invented the phrase 'fastest man on the planet', but it wasn't stewart himself. Just like r/c didn't invent the 'GOAT' nickname. According to the parents, there have been incidents, dating back to the amatuer days, but I dont remember anything but praise, when he was dominating in the 125's. Stewarts 'hate club', began to form in '05 outdoors, when he pulled of the track, mysteriously, while running in 4th place, behind r/c, reed and kdub. He did that once at the beginning, then again, later on. Lots of people said he was a quitter, and cant deal with anything less than 1st place. It wasn't until october, that the stewart camp released the info, about his stomach virus. That rap video, on ESPN, towards the end of his last outdoors, didn't help either. People either hate rap, or they love it, so it came across as very arrogant. Then a stint on mtv cribs, showing off all of his bling bling. Landing on r/c's back, and taking out m/c in his last race got some people mad. Then, signing with L & M, and taking the summer off to make a tv show.
Reed got a lot of flack with L & m also. Anyone who rides for that team, is going to draw harsh criticism. So, I understand where the haters get thier hate from, but I dont hate the guy, even though I question his p/r skills sometimes. There are people in this world, who are far more worthy of hate, than james stewart. Imagine if there were message boards back in the 70's, I bet even hannah would had a hate club. (listen to his podcast, by the way I love hannah.) btw what does the *****y mean?
The interview was a few seasons ago, It was a q&a interview that was written on this site. Dont know exactly when it was or who gave the interview. But Stewie ego, pushed by his father and then later Brooks, caused him to lose alot of his fan base. Then taking off the summers to do T.V. shows took care of the rest of his fans he lost. I get sick and tired of watching him do stupid sprinkler dances after crossing the finish line, rubbing his win in his opponets faces. Doing the worm on the floor or something dumb like that. No class. Him driving a Ferrari on the track before a race, rubbing his money in peoples faces, and other crap like that. Then calling himself the "fastest man to ever throw a leg over a motorcycle", please shrink your ego bud. I dont like that stuff, and our sport doesnt need that crap. Save that garbage for the NBA or something. If he was the fastest, he would have won at least one title before RC retired, but he didnt, so he wasnt the fasyest in my opinion. And at a few races this season he wasnt the fastest either. I do not doubt his racing abilities, I picked him to win A-1. But I hate his huge ego, and his arrogance drives me nuts.