Observations: Houston
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 | 9:20 AM
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We took it to the east side this week…well at least the east region 250 class started up anyways. We were actually in centrally located Houston, Texas and the very nice Reliant Stadium (can we do something about that press box though? Sweet Jesus, it’s so high up that the guys look like ants riding caterpillars around the dirt) and it would be interesting to see if anyone can stop Stewie’s roll, how good his little brother Malcolm “Mookie” Stewart really is, who is going to be top dog on the east and whether or not I would lose ten pounds walking to and from the stadium.
Trey's a great guy. This will be a recurring theme throughout this column.
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Before we get too far into this thing, I’d like to put a word out there for everyone to keep Motoconcepts Yamaha rider Kyle Chisholm in their thoughts this week. The Chiz went down hard in the heat race and bruised his lung really bad. He’s still in the hospital in Houston and hopefully will be released soon. As anyone who’s ever talked to him knows, Kyle’s a great guy who’s definitely one of the friendlier people in the pits.
This crash really comes at a bad time for Kyle (although really, can a crash ever come at a good time Matthes?) because in the last few weeks, he’s really begun to turn it on with some good practice times and a definite “move up a notch in speed” move made. Weege and I spoke to Kyle right before the night show began and talked to him about that and some other stuff before then wishing him luck.
After the crash, I definitely think that Weege actually gave him some bad luck and therefore, blame Chiz’s crash on him.
As always, let’s start with the track.
Uh, yeah, we’d better just move on.
Well hold on now, let’s tackle it objectively. It wasn’t very good and I don’t think you would find a rider who would say that it was. The start ran width-wise across the stadium with a super tight first turn that hosted a ton of incidents all night. There was somewhat of an S-turn after the whoops and the passing was severely limited. Hey Dirt Wurx does some good things during the year but Houston will not be remembered as their finest hour, no doubt about it.
Chad Reed tweeted during the day that it was no good and told me afterwards that the track designers and promoters read the message boards too much, Ryan Villopoto told me that they are trying to slow the riders down somehow and a few other guys could only analyze it by telling me that “it sucks.” There simply was no good place to pass and perhaps that is why some of the usually sane 250 guys (Dean Wilson and Ryan Sipes) seemed to lose their mind a bit out there. Plus there was a section out there that caused some carnage and when you add everything up, there were some testy team managers when the night was over.
One of those managers was James Stewart’s guy Larry Brooks. I spoke to Larry at length on Monday and he said that he was not very happy with the track at all but he blames himself because he didn’t say anything to anyone after track walk. He knew that the first turn was going to cause problems and that there was no passing anywhere but he didn’t speak up and vows that’s not going to happen anymore.
There was first turn carnage in pretty much every race of the night and the smart guys who were on the far right (outside) simply grabbed the brakes and cut over to the inside. Guys like Blake Baggett and Jason Thomas made the best out of a bad situation in doing that and came out pretty decent. Baggett would go on to get a third while Jason, well we’ll get to that in a bit.
Here’s another tidbit in regards to the first turn: one of the guys who hit the ground there was Chad Reed, and he rides a Honda in case you didn’t realize it. Well if you watch the video, Reed was trapped under his bike for a little while before one of the track workers helped him up. What’s so unusual about that? Because each OEM is allowed to have two representatives in the first turn and the Honda guys were watching their riders (Trey Canard and Kevin Windham) sprint away at the front of the field while a guy who was actually the highest placing Honda guy in the points laid there under his bike. Needless to say Team Two-Two manager Dave Osterman was not happy about this and is lobbying to try and get a first turn pass for someone who will be dedicated to helping Reed get up.
Chad's down and help isn't on the way.
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I want to be clear in that no way do I believe the Honda guys down there ignored Chad or didn’t care about him. They were both watching their main guy(s) and when they broke free at the front, everything was okay by them. Just an oversight on their part and it’s going to be interesting if Feld allows Reed’s team to have a guy down there or if the Honda guys will be instructed to make sure every Honda rider makes it through the first turn before turning away. Stay tuned dear readers…
I would like to see if any non-partial people that follow the sport were not happy for Trey Canard and the fact that he won his first career 450 main event this weekend. Canard’s a good guy, he’s funny and articulate, he rides clean and he’s a good guy. Did I say that already? I’ve been around him a whole bunch away from the spotlight and he’s the same guy that all of you people see. There’s nothing fake about him at all. Anyways, Canard has been close all year but the last few weeks, he hasn’t gotten the starts that he needed to run up at the front. This weekend he did get it and also got a fortunate break when early leader Kevin Windham went down hard while out in front.
It’s really, really, really hard to regroup and pass a guy back when he catches you from five or six seconds back but that’s exactly what Canard did. Ryan Dungey reeled him in and looked to be prime position to grab his first win of the year but Canard zapped Dunge right back and then pulled back out from there. Afterwards, Trey just said he felt better after getting caught, there was less time to think about the fact that he was leading. Natural instinct just kicked in at that point I assume. In the end, it was a drag race to the finish with Canard prevailing by the narrowest of margins.
I really hope that Trey never gets caught with prostitutes and a bunch of drugs in a hotel room in Riverside, California because then everything in my life will have been a lie.
Unfortunately for Dungey, he didn’t win Houston and not many people will talk about him and his ride because it was lost in the general chaos of the night. That’s too bad for the Dunge, because he rode well. The defending champion gained a few points back on this night but after his DNF last week, it’s a big uphill climb for him. I’m very surprised that he couldn’t make his pass stick on Canard, but I think it’s more of a case of Trey being very good than Dunge not making it happen. Does that make any sense?
James Stewart had a night to forget in Houston as he went down in the first turn with a bunch of other dudes (Although hold the tears as James was the main reason that James went down as he got sideways out of the gate and started ping-ponging off other dudes). He got up to ninth and then jumped into the back of everyone’s favorite privateer, Jason Thomas. It wasn’t the best move on James’ part but I don’t really blame him that much (and neither does JT if you listen to this podcast http://www.pulpmx.com/podcasts/houston-sx-podcasts) because there was no way that Stewie could have predicted that JT couldn’t make the simplest double out there. And the reason why Jason couldn’t jump it was because he got jacked up in the turn before when he made contact with Mike Alessi.
Live announcer Erv Braun kept mentioning JT$ racing his 150th main event.
This was one of the toughest.
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The rhythm in the section was either a double jump and then off the tabletop onto the next tabletop or single/bounce over onto the first tabletop and Thomas didn’t do either. He cased the double and at that point, James was in the turn and loading up to triple onto the tabletop. If JT had done either of the rhythms that everyone else was doing, we wouldn’t be talking about this right now but because JT hesitated (again because Alessi hit him in the turn before) and cased a simple double, it was lights out for both guys when James left the face of the first jump.
Stewie hit Thomas from the back and both guys exploded in a brilliant rainbow of colors everywhere. James got lucky when he landed on a tuff-block while JT looks to have suffered a pretty serious knee injury (just how did Stewie’s bike just keep running while tipped over? Hmmmmm) and I’m going to put my torch away for right now and call it a racing incident. In talking to Brooks about it, he agreed with me but at the same time told James after the race that he has to be a bit smarter in traffic and realize that Alessi and Thomas are both much slower than him and perhaps that point wasn’t the best to bust out a section that very few were doing? I know James is checking up a bit this year and trying to ride smarter but the old Crazy balls Stewie appeared at that moment and it bit him.
Ryan Villopoto made what could have been a rough night into a bed of roses with his third. He passed Davi Millsaps late in the race to secure the last spot on the box and it was enough to push him into the points lead. RV did what he could with all the stuff going on around him and he seemed happy after the race with his ride. That might have something to do with Stewart getting fifteenth, just taking a wild guess.
Although I didn’t see it, I heard from a few people that RV was doing some jump section after the whoops going into the S-turn where he tripled and doubled or something like that. I do know that he was going to the far, far right hand side of the whoops and then sweeping the S-turn to make it one straight shot which was pretty sweet.
Also we have a breakthrough in the always frosty Mike Alessi/Ryan Villopoto relationship. It appears that the amateur rivals spoke to each other while down on the track before practice. Mike leaned in and complimented RV on his riding this year and then asked when he was going to Florida. It was a goodwill gesture from Mike and when I asked Mike about it, he said that Ryan has been riding well this year and he wanted to tell him that with the most innocent look on his face. Hey, if Reagan and Gorbachev could meet and talk nuclear peace treaties, then RV and Alessi can meet as well. Stay tuned next week when Tony takes the boys to Baskin-Robbins for some mint chocolate chip.
Not much mention of Kyle Regal yet this year. We're sure it's good times at the Brooks residence.
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This far down and no mention of the 250 class yet! Well that was won by GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia in a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am kind of ride. Really though, does Barcia know any other way? I’m a fan of “Baby Barcia” no doubt about it but I wasn’t a fan of his ride on Saturday night. He’s got the speed to run with anyone in the class but I don’t like passes (from any rider) when they cut inside of a turn and ride out to the exit of the turn with exactly zero intent to actually make the turn. Let’s at least pretend that you want to follow the track when you go to make a pass okay? All of Barcia and Wilson’s block-ramming-passing made me wonder…
What happened to the good ol’block pass? You know when you come in hot to a turn and get on the inside of a guy and then take away his track and space? That’s the way to pass, none of this coming alongside a guy, hitting your brakes and driving straight out to the exit of the turn presumably hoping to God the dude on the outside has his head up and isn’t going to t-bone you and break your tib and fib.
There is no love lost between amateur rivals Barcia and Wilson (quick, get Vurb moto on this STAT!) and if neither guy is careful, both of these yahoos are going to cost themselves a race with moves like what we saw on Saturday night. As it was, those two had a good lead before the shenanigans ensued and third place Blake Wharton pulled up to within striking distance. I like Dean and Barcia a lot, I’ve known Dean for a few years now and I hung out with Justin and his mom in Bercy, all good people but I’m just saying that I didn’t like the racing on Saturday night. Well I did like the racing in a Macho Man Randy Savage/Hulk Hogan kind of way but that’s not real racing. This thing has the potential to explode in a couple of weeks when we’re back at Atlanta.
Just like in arenacross, Barcia and Wilson were able to block pass the crap out of each other and then talk about it like buddies after the race. I also have some magic snake oil I would like to sell you. Works wonders. Believe me.
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You know who got really lucky on Saturday night and pretty much saved his season? Pro Circuit’s Blake Baggett that’s who! Blake was my pick for the win when I watched practice (ask Weege) because he was absolutely flying around the track. The Kawi guys also reported good things about him and with Wilson still coming back from a shoulder injury, Baggett was supposed to be the one starting off strongest. Well in the heat race, Blake fell in the first turn and barely made the main event which gave him a bad gate pick. Like I said earlier, he braked and cut inside off the start and eventually worked his way up to fifth when Ryan Sipes cleaned out himself and Blake Wharton. This allowed Baggett to sneak into third with a few laps left. It was the definition of putting yourself into a good position and having good things happen to him because of it. So from potentially riding the anything-goes-including-stabbing-your-mom LCQ to the third spot on the box is a great victory for Blake and he’s right in this thing!
Let’s take a look at the results shall we?
AMA Supercross Lites Class East:
1. J Barcia Hon- Justin was a bit sluggish during the timed practices. Wonder what changed from that to the night show?
2. D. Wilson Kaw
3. B. Baggett Kaw- Baggett looked good in practice, did I mention that already?
4. R. Sipes Yam- I like Sipes a lot, had him on the Pulpmx Show couple weeks back, but I’m not sure what he was thinking trying to make that pass on Wharton with two laps to go. I agree with SPEED commentator Jeff Emig when he said it was too aggressive. Oh well, he was in fourth when he went for it and still got fourth. No loss for him, Wharton on the other hand…
5. I. Trettel Suz- Lost in all the hype was Rockstar Suzuki putting two complete SX rookies on the east and both guys doing pretty well. A fifth for Trettel is solid.
6. B. Wharton Hon- Wharton got effed.
7. J. Anderson Suz- Good ride, Weege really likes this kid as well. I’ll have to watch him more.
8. L. Vincent Hon- I don’t know anything about this dude but great ride.
9. M. Lemoine Kaw- I know that Lemoine’s “hype” factor among other racers was pretty high. So his ninth has to be a bit of a bummer for his fans.
10. A. Martin Hon- Good ride for the little Ewok. A top ten in the faster than the west coast east region is a more than respectable finish.
11. C. Gosselaar Suz- Little Goose lives! Well I know he raced 450’s on the west coast but an eleventh is pretty good for him right?
12. S. Rife Hon- You people should listen to me more. I told you last week that Kyle Beaton was a sure-fire big points fantasy SX guy and he came through. This week in Racerhead, I told you that Rife was in the same boat and he came through once again making me look super smart. All you fantasy dorks are welcome.
13. G. Audette Yam- I spoke to someone before the race and asked them how Audette should do and they said “top ten” so I guess this is below someone’s expectations.
14. M. Stewart Suz- Oh Mookie! Malcolm Stewart was better than I thought he would be to be honest. I hadn’t seen him ride much besides the one time at the Stewart compound where he just did jumps all day. He got second in the heat and then caused a massive crash early in the race. Stop me if you heard that before.
15. N. Izzi Hon- Not good but I heard he had some bike problems.
16. A. Catanzaro Hon
17. T. Futrell Hon
18. P. Larsen KTM- Larsen was another one of my picks to do well and he would’ve had he not gotten hit but the missile known as the SS Mookie.
19. L. Kilbarger Hon
20. D. Durham Hon- Bummer for DDT as he broke his foot in the heat race dicing with Wilson. Look for a shot of his black and blue foot on Twitter any day now.
AMA Supercross Class:
1. T. Canard Hon
2. R. Dungey Suz
3. R. Villopoto Kaw
4. D. Millsaps Yam- I give Millsaps a lot of grief from time to time so it’s also appropriate to note that he had the fastest lap of the night and fought hard to get a fourth. It was by far his best ride of the year and I’m sure he and the JGR guys hope he keeps it up. Put it this way, this ride after his first five weeks is the equivalent of me getting off this couch right now and winning a 10K marathon. It’s that unexpected. But this is the same dude that won San Diego last year out of nowhere.
5. A. Short KTM- Yeah Shorty! All of us in the media want Andrew to do well as he’s a nice guy, always has time for people, is a good quote and a nice guy so it’s nice to see him with two strong rides in a row. I have to take umbrage with something that he told me, which is that the KTM guys told him that sixth is the best that a KTM has ever done in the big bike class in SX. So I congratulated him on now holding the record but when I was drooling in my sleep Sunday morning on the plane I started to think about Mike Fisher’s 1991 season on the aqua-green and white KTM’s. A quick text to Fish confirmed that he indeed got a couple of fourths in ’91 and that’s the new standard for Shorty to match. Sorry man!
6. C. Reed Hon- Reed’s mental outlook on the track affected him all day and it’s nice to see him admit that. He still rode pretty well from the back to end up where he did.
7. K. Roczen KTM- This move by KTM to put Roczen into the 450 class had the potential to either be really good or really bad in my opinion and on Saturday morning one of the top guys on the team agreed with me. Well, it worked out pretty good I’d say as the 16-year old German star got a solid seventh. Also there were whips galore any chance he could.
8. B. Metcalfe Suz- Metty should have had fourth or at least a fifth as he was in an all-out war with Millsaps for most of the main event. He went down hard trying to make the pass and ended up with an eighth but you know what? I admire him for going for it that late in the race and this is a case where the paper result doesn’t equal the ride out there on the track.
9. I. Tedesco Kaw
10. M. Alessi KTM- Weege has this ridiculous theory on Mike and if you listen to our wrap-up podcast shows each week, then you know all about it. The thing is, he may be right.
11. T. Hahn Yam- Hahn isn’t 100% yet from his shoulder injury and he told me that he was hoping for a top ten on the night. Missed the spot by one T-Hahn but still a good ride as he almost doubled his points scored from the previous three rounds he raced. Without a doubt, Hahn’s the fastest guy who’s had no results to show from the speed without a doubt.
12. N. Wey Yam- Wey almost had a top five start from the outside but at the last moment, somebody or something reached up and grabbed him from behind as he was getting ready to take off. Bummer man.
13. J. Brayton Yam- JB had “quietly” on the back of his pants and he definitely had a quiet main event but that could be because he was three-quarters of a lap down by the time he got going after he, yep, you guessed it- went down in the first turn.
14. W. Peick Yam- Again, just making mains is an achievement in this field and from this guy. Much improved.
15. J. Stewart Yam
16. K. Regal Yam- Brooks not happy with Kyle’s rides this year and says he expected more. Oh by the way, Regal lives with Larry and his family. This is awesome for Kyle…not.
17. V. Friese Yam- Friese hurt his finger and just rode around out there.
18. C. Blose Kaw- Blose pulled into the mechanic’s area with a bruised arm that he thought might be broken but I guess it wasn’t.
19. K. Windham Hon- Oh what could have been for KW! In the race that is closest to his hometown, Windham was checked out and gone but he came up short on a jump, which then made him come up short on the next one, and it was lights out from there. Tough, tough start to the year for everyone’s favorite rider.
20. J. Thomas Suz- Bad break for the BTOSports.com/BBMX team if JT is out for any length of time but they do have Michael Byrne coming back this weekend in San Diego.
As you can see from the above results, there were three KTM 350’s inside the top ten and I say good for the team and for the OEM. I’ve been critical of the bike and it’s only fair to give them the props they deserve for being the only OEM with three bikes in the top ten on this night. It’s a proud moment for the Austrians and they should be pumped on it. The bikes looked pretty good out there and they seemed to have found some more torque but when I asked Short about it, he said it was the same as always.
Here's Millsaps battling Metty. Dude did a good job hanging in there and nearly landed a podium finish.
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I finally lived the good life at a supercross. In my sixteen years of following the circuit as a mechanic or a (GASP!) media guy, I’ve either been down on the floor or in the crowded press box but as I headed to the press box before the night show, I came across my buddies from JGR. They invited me to Toyota’s suite and upon arriving there I realized that this was where all the cool people hang out to watch the races!
Full catering, seats in front, a bar and everything inside. A little mini-hotel room! I never know where cool guys like Lechien, Buydos, Coombs, Emler and such go but now I have found the answer. And let me tell all of you, it’s glorious in there. Like first class, it’s a better life in the suites. Thanks to the dudes from Toyota and the JGR guys for the invite and those that follow me on Twitter were probably wondering why there were no tweets for the heat races.
Like Fight Club, now that I’ve spoken about it, I’ll never be invited ever again. It really sucked when I went back to the press box for the LCQ’s and mains and had to talk to Weege again.
When you’re racing week in and week out against the Pro Circuit and GEICO teams, you have to take solace in the little things and build on them. So I have no doubt that Star Yamaha team manager Alan Brown took great satisfaction in the fact that his three riders (Sipes, Audette and Gareth Swanepoel) each topped their respective practices. Sipes led the seeded group and the other two were in the B and C unseeded groups. Like I said, you have to start somewhere!
Thanks for reading, shoot me an email at [email protected] and we can chat.
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yo, Steve, Reed "rode pretty well" ? Did you you know, after he got up, Reed had the fastest 20 laps of all riders? Come on dude, you're the pro here, check some stats ;)
Not a big fan of the write up this week. To be honest seems more like a Rant from SM, rather than anything else. That is just my observations tho.
After last weeks (L.A.) race I didn't even feel like watching the races. It was borrrrrrring. This race was awesome to watch. Loved the lites main, it was Barcia being mega Barcia. 450 was so exciting, maybe these crappy tracks have something to be said for them? I'm sad to say that after defending Dungey all season so far from all my "he only won cause nobody fast was there" friends, I give up. He had the win and to me he simply didn't want it. Canard wanted it. Last year he wanted it, this year...not so much. Stever, I'd love to hear some comments from James Sr. I heard he was overheard saying something like "Hey, you know me..I'm big James!...........)
I don't understand why every single thing i read this week is whining about Barcia's riding!! Everyone knows how he rides... including the riders, if you're in Barcia's way he will get around you no matter what it takes and usually that doesn't include a text book "block pass". The racing was awesome to watch and at no point did it ever seem like he was racing dirty, he never actually intended to take Wilson out. If Wilson can't handle a little rough racing and some pressure from a fellow competitor why is he racing? i just don't understand all the whining it was great racing... nothing dirty and it was fun to watch. Wilson and all the whiners need to step it up if they're gonna try to handle the rest of the season. It's a for sure thing that Barcia will end up going down, i can't wait to hear everyone complaining when we get to see him come from the back of the pack. He'll have to pass everyone in the field with his aggressive riding... i'm not sure these people will be able to handle it! The track definitely sucked, but it did make for good racing and gave some new names a chance out front. I think RV2 needs a mention for the best ride on the night.... he didn't go down in the 1st turn but he was caught up in it and ended up in 12th. He made his way through the pack (never landed on top of anyone) and finished 3rd on the box to retake the points lead. This is an awesome display of determination and patience. Great Race Villopoto. Congrats to Canard there's not a better guy out there.
MxSxPlanet.com
@Planet... it was fun to watch for sure but even Wilson said it was a bit dirty after the race was over. I think most people agree it was on the dirty side. But like you said, that's just how Barcia rides and I think the other riders know and expect that from him.
Good article Matthes.
For Christ' sake, why does everyone keep saying he jumped into JT's back? He landed on his rear tire, barely. Six inches different and this wouldn't be crash gate 2011.
Wilson was whining alot and making excuses. He even made a statememnt before the race about not being in shape from an injury Sounds like he was already making an excuse in case he didnt win. Brooks is already whining too. Man that guy whines and cries more than any person in moto. I really wich Stewie would have gotten away from him. I thought it was a pretty good article myself. Cant wait to see what happens next.
I guess Barcia's cut the corner move to the exit of the bowl turn isn't the cleanest move, but sure is one way to keep a guy from running away to a big lead. If more guys did this I think the racing would stay bunched up tighter, not sure that would be a good thing for the racing overall though. It was a similar to RV's move on Dungey last year at St. Louis but with less contact. And bd200, I agree, Brooks is one whiney dude.
bd200,,, How come its OK for Townley to knock down Short,, but you rag on JS for knocking down KW in '05 at Red Bud? I guess some others get a pass,, huh ?? If you dont know what I am referring to, take a look in the 450 Words : Houston
@svettigrundle... if you are sitting on the bike, where is your BACK tire. on the BACK of you bike. so when they say he hit him in the BACK, they are referring to the BACK of the bike. just calm down. dont worry, if james keeps on the same path he will land on somebodies actual back soon... history doesn't lie...
bd200,, I dont think yopu were the one that bad-mouthed JS at Red Bud in '05.. I was thinking you were, but it was some one else,, my bad..
geez you are negative.....
What's up with Reed telling Matthes the track designers are reading the message boards too much? I hope the designers are reading our inputs. We don't like races that are too short,or too one-lined, or all cookie cutter tracks.This makes for not very exciting racing. Maybe they tried different things and they all don't give the best results. But if it is true that they listen to us great job! By the way Reed, without the fans you'd be just another Joe Schmoe with a dirt bike. In case Dirt Worx or Feld is listening, the mains are only approximately 15 mins. Why not add a few more laps to the race instead of trying to make the track too long and narrow? By the way if you are listening thanks!! ps. the racers and past champs made great tracks in my opinion.
I hate hearing the riders complain about the track. This sport shouldn't come easy and before you know it we are going to have a circle track like NASCAR because it will be the only track that isn't a pain. All the riders have to ride the SAME track every weekend, so get use to tracks that are tough.
I'll tell you why "bd" does that mxmofo...it's because he always bags on JS, and anybody else he doesn't care for!! He claims to call it like he sees it, and accuses others of being "fantards", but he is truly just as bad in a negative sense as some of the people he rails for being an over the top supporter of a particular rider!! Don't even bother!!!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....OH, sorry. Fell asleep halfway through the article.
Wilson will take control of this series by the 3rd race......Barcia albeit fast, runs a little on the ragged edge. When he is behind or gets a bad start, he makes more mistakes and his wild child riding style will bite him on the ass....he almost crashed a few times during the main in Houston. i dont think any of his moves were dirty any more than they were the only option on a track like that. Villomoto motored past guys in the whoops or out of the turns like he did Milsaps.....clean and effective.
i liked the track, its more fun to watch when the riders dont like the track and it forces them into the block pass mode. i think its funny when the team managers/owners get their panties in a bunch over it. everyones riding the same track, if you think its a problem then sit your riders, mx team managers/owners are worse than hockey dads when it comes to a little problem
Wow another Guy backing JS... bd200 and a few others must be going NUTS!!!
bd200, by the way, I think I owe you an apology when we were talking about average lap times in the past. If you got time read the last post on The sign of the lap times from yesterday. Have a good one!
10. M. Alessi KTM- Weege has this ridiculous theory on Mike and if you listen to our wrap-up podcast shows each week, then you know all about it. The thing is, he may be right... What did he say??
byrner99 I said the same thing about RD, TC had more Heart on a night RD NEEDED to win and I got slammed for saying it.
I didnt mean to get in an argument with bd200,, but I would like his opinion on the JS KW crash in '05 at Red Bud ? I would be willing to bet that he raged on JS, but it seems like he gives BT a pass when he hit Short at the des Nations in the 450 Words: Houston post..
Hey Matthes! Before you start complaining about the press box, remember what a cool job you have dude!!!! The closest most of us get to the riders is reading your interviews, watching CBS, lame coverage and listening to your podcast. You See these writers all the time, one on one and close up bro!!! So stop grumbling about little stuff and be thankful to have one of the coolest jobs ever. Peace out!!!
mxmofo thats why I argue so much with BD200 because he is all over the place, Some riders can do somethings but others can't in bd's mind.
mxmofo HE slammed BT for the Short crash. Many after seeing the vid said it was not bad at all but BD200 still says BT cleaned him out. He loves Barcia though and I think most would say he is a little on the dirty side.
BillC,, it sure does seem that way. I also agree with you on RD needing to win that race.. I called my Bro right after that race and told him the same thing.. RD needed stuff TC in a corner and win that race.. He needs the points.. There is NOT going to be too many times this season where he finished ahead of both RV and JS.. He needed to capitalize on that..
Matthes was a little rough on Barcia's riding style. First he writes it's a one line track, then *****es that a guy passes hard in a corner. I guess when your a fan it just looks like he wants to win more then the other guy. Keep it up Barcia.
Hey guys, I know this is a little off subject right now, but I just watched the animated track again fron San Diego, and I noticed the arrow cuts the corner by the boat by doubling it. Is this going to be like Phoenix again. Looks very similar, 90 degree turn with jumps just before and after the turn. I guess they better get the pole back out.
Yes I agree 100%, RD needs to be more frocefull, The Guys don't fear him at all. Golden opertuity out the window IMO. I said that right after the first turn carnage.....RD is going to get his first win... But he could not seal the deal. I keep hoping he gets pissed and get in there and fights with JS and RV... Tic... tic...tic the season is slipping away.
Hey Matthes! Before you start complaining about the press box, remember what a cool job you have dude!!!! The closest most of us get to the riders is reading your interviews, watching CBS, lame coverage and listening to your podcast. You See these riders all the time, one on one and close up bro!!! So stop grumbling about little stuff and be thankful to have one of the coolest jobs ever. Peace out!!!
BillC, I think Dungey realizes He has to give it his all right now. I think he would have passed TC if there was one more lap. It looked like he tried hiss ass off but just didn't work out this time. I bet he's on the gas heavy at San Diego this week!!!
I don't think I have ever seen Dungey block pass someone unless they do it to him first. When he's coming from the back he needs to block pass more though. A little more agression would do him good. That dosen't mean he needs to blow guys off the track though.
That move TC put on RD over the finish line jump at the end of the race reminded me of a similar one he put on RV in the lites his rookie season. Anyone else remember that? RV hit the tower, went down and lost the title that year. Congrats on the first 450 Supercross win to TC anyway.
I am happy to see Tres grab the win...he was a villain to me previously because of his take~out of RV for the 250cc championship a few years ago. However, since then he has made me a believer in his skills and character. Respect, #41!
Baggett saved his season because he got 3rd instead of 5th? Anyone with eyes could see that he was the fastest guy out there and his season would have been over if he got a 5th? Come on, Steve.
BILLC, you are so full of sh#t its not funny. You argue with EVERYBODY on here because you think you are the only one who is right.MXMOFO, when did I say it was O.K> for Townley to knock down Short at the Des Nations?? I hated BT for that move, and yes I think he did it on purpose. If it was an accident, he would have at least said so, but he said "I wanted to win, and that is it, I needed to get to the front period" His words. no apology nothing. So he is a dick for doing it, I never said it was O.K. And if Stewie did knock down K-Dub on purpose, it sucks, but I was at the race and never saw it actually happen, I was on the other side. But K-Dub ran him down and passed him back, so its all good. And thanks for the apology.
I dunno you guys, from the tv coverage it didn't really look like he was close enough to Canard to put that kind of a block pass on him at the end there. He probably would have just taken them both out and thrown away points. He still made up some points on RV, and a ton of points on JS7...
Whatever, what goes on between me and someone else is no concern of yours. You just attacked me on here for no reason, so kiss off fantard. Thats right your a fantard, because if Stewie doesnt race, you are nowhere to be found. Your a one-rider race fan, and defend him no matter what. You even said on another thread that Stewie rode like a C-class rider at Houston, then when someone else says the same thing, you attack them for it, it makes you a fantard.
I agree RD needs some serious points but I like how he races people. First off, if he knocked TC41 down in the process it would be bad press for him, at that point he might as well go over and punch KW in the face - it would not go over well. Second, I like how he doesn't knock guys down like "hey I need the points so too bad for you". Thats what RV tried to do last year to RD when he took him out, he knew RD was going down. RD doesn't go around like he is entitled to everything. I don't say that to single out RV, it's just an example.
Hey, you are a hack. I sure hope you are a volunteer and not getting paid for all the BS you right. You act as though you are talking to riders when it is pretty evident you don't ever talk to them. I sure hope that there arent any riders that read this (except Canard who you must be having some sort of bromance with) because you showed your an idiot and they probably won't give you the time of day. Trey rode very well and derseves all the credit, but the way you write about these guys that rode on a piss poor track really shows how much of a P.O.S. you really are. MATTHES YOU SUCK!!!! Racer X please find somebody else to write for you this guy is a complete bumbling idiot.
I am thrilled that guys seem to think about me so much. I must be on a few guys minds all the time, it makes me feel really special, have a nice day!!
BAM, BAM WON A GREAT RACE WERE TALKING ABOUT SUPERCROSS NOT TENNIS LET WILSON CRY TO HIMSELF, CANT WAIT TO NEXT ROUND.
I used to love it when Pourcel would ***** slap Barcia around and proceed to kick his ass up and down the track
Pourcel is a wuss ....
special Is the word for You bd200!! LOL
Je sera renversa vous mxmofo!!!
Hey Long Rod, how would you know who Matthes talks to and who he doesn't?
Christophe,, no you won't .....
" I know James is checking up a bit this year and trying to ride smarter but the old Crazy balls Stewie appeared at that moment and it bit him."
That my friends, is satire.
Great read.
Hey people guess what? When all someone does is gripe about somebody doing their job, AKA: "Matthes you suck" or "track builder, you suck" or "(racer), you suck", people begin to get turned off of you. The constantly negative people posting on this site are a drag!!! There might be a very good reason these negative nancies are posting online, because the outside world rejects them and their negativity. Sometimes, if you can't be nice, just be quiet. The silent majority thanks you.
Bubba needs to learn the number one rule in racing: don't follow the guy in front of you. Especialy when you are twice as fast as the guy in front of you. He could have easily gotten a top 5 and still had the points lead. It's the checker or wrecker for him!
MATTHEWS. You stated you didn't know who the 8th place finisher in the Lites class was , He is Lance Vincent from the Lafayette area. He will be the next racer from La beside K-dub who will be making a serious run for championships. That was his very first try at supercross. In 2009 he finished 3rd overall in the 250B class and would have clinched the overall but he fell while leading 2nd moto. Came out and won the 3rd moto.
He was going to be one of the favorites to win the 250A class this year with Ian trettel but he was injured 1 month before LL practicing. He is now sponsored by Honda of Houston and with a few more races you will be knowing his name very well. Got a great head on his shoulders like Canard.
Jamey
Verge,,, are you serious ??? JS passes poeple before they even know he's there.. He is by far the best ( quickest ) passer out there.. I really don't think he has a problem of " following the guy in front of you." Seriously,, you must be new to this sport,, and thats about the funniest thing i've hard in a long time.. Thats like telling RC he "should have won more races." hahahahaha
Great read as usual - you always have the best insight into the race. Glad you are back with RacerX. This week your read went well with my Sheppard's Pie and Choc Chip Cookies during my lunch break.
I was at the 1981 Superbowl of Motocross at the L A Coliseum watching Bob Hannah go up the seats, through the parasol, banging off of riders and launching into the air bouncing off the concrete Pillars, No one was complaining in those days about his riding, They just said he wanted to win more than anyone else. Barcia reminds me of a Young Bob Hannah. He has no friends on the the track. As Bob would Say, I wonder what rock Barcia came out from under. He just wants it more.
your still a little short shorty. maybe a 390 would get first place? or whatever works.
Oh "bd"....open your mouth and insert your foot friend!! FIRST, i did "attack" you for no reason....just like you did, and always do, me on the "race report" the other day, i didn't make a mention of you at all, and yet you had to call me out on something, so take your own advice on that one, and then you kiss off!! As far as your comment that im a one rider fan, stick that one too, i have given more credit to more guys this year, and basically bagged on nobody, unlike your self!! Third!! You better get your facts straight bud, NOWHERE on this site did i say JS was riding like a C-class rider... it didn't happen!! YOu want some cheese with that w(h)ine???
I have a question for those in the know.... what makes a washed up ex mechanic and wanna be man friend to Tim "Red Dawg" Ferry an expert on the block pass? Ferry give you some tips man friend Mathes? or are you a sudden graduate of RCU?
And get off your worn out Stewie "fantard" thing you have been clinging to. I'm enjoying the races this year, and OMG, even when STewart doesn't win....i dont need to defend anybody, they can take care of themselves, what cracks me up and gets me going is when anti-"fantards" like you blow up when anything happens that involves the guy. OVERBOARD!! You are an "anti-fantard"!!! That whole JT issue has quieted down quite a bit now that he himself, and several others have for the most part written it off as a racing incident, hasn't it??? Enjoy, my man, ENJOY!!
BD200 likes to say that YOU SAID THIS or YOU SAID THAT but can never back up what he says. He did it to me twice the other day, I said show me where I said it!! He just changes the topic or does not post on that tread anymore. So don't sweet it Whatever everyone know he does it.
Anybody know where Stroupe was this week? I refuse to give up on that kid. He may not have the best luck, but he does have alot of speed. One day you're on top the next day no one knows your name. What a world!
I forgot about Stroupe, He reminds me of Broc Hepler. Must have got hurt again,To bad he is fast.
Why is it dirty for Barica to block pass DeanO like he did, but when Cunningham took out K-Roc it was "just a racing thing"m ans DeanO stayed up!! People need to start calling it like it is. If it's not good for one it's shouldn't be good for the next.
I didn't like the take out move KC put on K-Roc especially when K-Roc accidentially took out KC. That IMO was a poor sport move by KC and a dumb one at that, they were both near the front. At least Barcia didn't take out Deano.
CJNunes,
Matthes' point is that Baggett saved the season by not letting the bad gate pick result in a horrible finish--like a first turn crash and a back of pack finish. Fifth, fourth or third would have been fine, but if he had tried to banzai around the outside of turn one and went down, he may have been in huge trouble and lost a ton of points.
BiLLC. sup homey. I'm a stroupie fan. They made it seem like he seperated his shoulder last year and i dont know why. He had a full rotator cuff surgery (which i've had, and they hurt and 9 months before I could ride). He didn't feel that he had enough stamina for 20 laps so he was only qualifying. than at dodger stadium and A2 he rode. Guess he cased Hard at A2 and jarred his shoulder pretty bad. He'll be back, he didn't do damage. Hey Bill??? I thought Malcolm rode pretty well. Would have loved to see how he would have done without going down with Peej on lap 1. What do you think he would have done??? top 7,8????
Ride4Ever... Is that KC chisholm??? I'm not much of a fan, especially after he tried to take out reed while getting lapped. I hope roczen comes back and wins a main. Kid has heart and speed, and ballls. that lil dudes the sh!t.
Hey Weege, thanks for the interpretation...could you elaberate on the rest of the column?? and maybe correct my spelling while your at it??
OrganDoner, no the KC I was refering to was kyle Cunningham. I don't think he's a bad guy,I think he just made a dumb decision. I think it was at the Phoenix track this year.
Hey Mathes I think that was a good article and ya a bit long but I do like all of the input. Never read all of the coments I will later getting late and have to eat and then a root canal or whatever on fridayso I gotta rest my fingers befre I make any comments other than from what I understand it was a bad track. Lest see what happens next week????? Lets Race and as Hanna said "You ram me Im ramming you" Hay its racing folks and I miss it.
Nico Izzi went from 5 to 15 in the main event because the rear brake quit. From what i have heard Nico is very confident from his performance in Houston. He has even stated that he is going to win Atlanta. It was not a bad performance at Houston because he didn't know if he was going until about 2 weeks before the race.
So why is it that only the factory riders get to have people in the first turn? Shitin on the privater.
privateer.ha
Steve,
When watching the race I could swear I saw the Factory Kawi guys helping up Reed! Talk about taking the high road after what looked to be a sour split between the two.
Not sure what message boards Reed is talking about, because all the ones I know want tracks where riders can actually "race" each other and are not mostly one lined. Houston looked pretty one lined again so, no, track designers are not reading the message boards IMO
@Jb Covington, those were track workers. They wear Monster colors as Monster is the title sponsor. Fish would fire any Kawaski guys helping anyone other than one of their own.
If I were immature, I'd mention that the line "Stewart went down...with a bunch of other dudes" is quite suggestive. But I'm not, so...
"Just how did Stewie’s bike just keep running while tipped over?" I don't know if it was on a podcast where I heard it, but peeps were talking about how, in 2010 when Dungey flew off his bike at San Francisco, he ran to pick it up 30ft. away and it was still running. Apparently he has a Rekluse clutch, which is actually one hell of a tongue twister. Rekluseclutch-rekluseclutch-rekluOHMYGODWHY!
Pinned, I did not know what to expect from Malcolm, But he looked damn good in the heat so With a great start as long as he is in shape I see no reason 5th or 6th would be out of the question. He is a big dude though, Looks funny almost. He will probley be a better 450 guy than a 250 guy IMO.
BillC, I agree about Malcolm 5th or 6th at best, but more likely a midpack guy unless he suddenly improves. He did look very awkward at times. I don't know what the hell he was thinking though when he pulled into PJ's line like that. I guess he hasn't raced in quite a while. That move had about a zero percent chance of working out for him, and the way he went over the bars, he was fortunate that he wasn't injured. Too bad for PJ Larsen though, he is a contender for the East this year, or at least he was.
Yes PJ was FLYING!!! Very fast!!! The move by Malcolm... I only saw it once so can't say if I think it was dumb or if he just came in to hot and could not hold his line.
The Barcia and Wilson race was great! Both riders wanted to win. It’s great to see guys going for the lead and not go down trying. Anyone riding dirty - hell no! when they race on a track that is difficult to pass on and most supercross track are there’s going be some dumping of plastic. I saw some real stupid stuff happening in the back of the pack.
BILLC, nice to see you come to the rescue of Whatever, how do you know what he said BILL?? You dont so stay out of it. WHATEVER, you are lying or wrong. "THE MOMENT--HOUSTON-- YOU said, Bubba comes through the pack and has the mentality of a C-Class rider" Yes your words, you wrote them. So back off. And BIL, go away. I dont dodge you are run from the thread. I have a life, and dont sit by the computer waiting for your reply. I know you think about me alot, it shows on here, but its a little creepy.
Whaterver--The MOMENT-HOUSTON, 9:56 A.M. look it up. You wrote it. So oen mouth and insert--well, whatever you like too, I wont get into that.
"bd"...you are an idiot!!! those are NOT my words jackass......somebody hijacked me because this new bullshit website allows any body to sign on as anybody else's name!!! Does that post sound like anything i would say?? Wasn't me buddy!!!! So go ahead and leave your foot in your mouth!!
Hey "whatever", i'm sorry, i was totally wrong and out of line with my last two posts!! You are right, i am a jackass and an idiot!!! I want to say also that i realize that i have been WAY to hard on James Stewart on these message boards, the guy is an awesome rider and i'm beginning to become my own Stewie "fantard". I'm hoping for a JS win in San Diego. Once again, i apologize for being such a jerk!!
apology accepted "bd"....and thank you!! GO STEWIE!!
I'm a jackas# because you arent smart enough to put an avatar on your profile?? You are a complete idiot. If its true, which I doubt, put an avatar on so when some moron does that people know it isnt you dummy..
It is true jerk!! Once again, did that post sound like anything i would have written?? You definitely know me better by now....besides, the fact that you had nothing to say over on the "Moment" page after that hijacked post leads me to believe it very well could have been you, or "sef" maybe, who duped me on that one!! Did you really think that was me?? That's funny!!
Good stuf!!! I REALLY like the post where BD200 said he is a jackass and said sorry. LMFAO!!!
If I have something to say I will say it. C'mon whatever, you know me better than that. It looks like Bill did it to me.
BD...let me give your woman a breather for a moment---(I was busy following your directions to insert something): that IS my avatar fool: it is art---a .jpeg of the "no avatar" pic...!! Sheei....
Now, back to bizness...
To the pansy ass child who keeps posting under my name........identify yourself!! Loser!!
Not me bd200, I don't play baby games, look at the times I bet it was whatever. Not me I am never on here at that time.
Did not read all of the above so don't know what you all are saying about the tracks but I am with Larry Brooks about some of the track. When I hear things like Reed say a jump is not safe ( like the one RV got hit on I think someone should listen) When I looked at the first turn at Houston I was thinking something was going to happen off the start as it did in more than that 450 main. Why can't that be changed a little? I think the top 5 riders in the 450 class should be asked what they think about the track and if they all say that's not going to work change it, If they say it looks good then it's all good. We don't need to lose riders for any reason, for the season or in the first turn when it can be stopped.
ha ha!! funny whatever, you dont have enough class to be in the same room with my woman.. But the babies wont identify themselves, they are way to childish..
Sorry I'm coming to this late, I only just watched the race. That was vintage Stewie! I think the AMA should get a new warning flag, like some kind of skull and cross bones thing and then when Stewart gets a bad start they can wave it and all the guys outside of the top 5 have the option to pull off the track for their own safety until Stewart has gone by. Looks like they might need it in the 250s as well ...