Bench Racing Ammo: Multiple Winners
Thursday, February 24, 2011 | 10:55 AM
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We knew Monster Energy Supercross would be good, but this good? We’ve got ourselves one heck of a championship chase on our hands here, with just 23 points separating the top five riders in the series, and four different winners in the first seven rounds of racing.
Of course we start every year all fired up about the potential for the series, but a lot of years turn out to be duds. Historically, how is this one holding up?
Pretty good. We kept digging through the record books to figure out the last time four different riders had won races just seven races into the season, and we had to go really, really far back. Back to a different millennium!
Lusk was one of four winner in 1999.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Way back in 1999, Ezra Lusk won the first two rounds of the tour, and Jeremy McGrath took round three. The big shocker came at the Seattle Kingdome for round four, when Larry Ward motored away from the field for a victory on his Suzuki. This was big for the Seattle faithful, because Ward was born and raised in Washington, and had taken his first career supercross win at the Kingdome nine years earlier. It was déjà vu all over again on this night. Afterwards, King County, Washington, blew up the Kingdome, because they knew the building would never experience anything better than a Larry Ward win. (Okay, actually, the city needed to make room for two new stadiums.)
That made for three winners on the season. Lusk bounced back to win Anaheim 2 the next weekend. Then Kevin Windham snatched the victory in Tampa, Florida, making for four winners in the first six races. That’s one less race than it took to generate a fourth winner this season.
Windham was a winner back in 1999 as well.
Photo: Simon Cudby
But here’s the crazy part: no other riders won races that year. This season, we have at least one more sure-fire contender for a victory in defending SX Champion Ryan Dungey, not to mention that fact that Windham is still in the field and is always capable of uncorking one on the right night. We could be looking at a season for the ages here.
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I dont know if RD is a "sure -fire"..He has had his chances with JS and RV having bad nights and someone else stepped up, twice. I wonder what the stats are on how many races did it take for the current SX champ to finally win ?
What are them big roundish things soming out of the motots??
Agreed Redbeard65, RD is on my list of guys who might need a little luck to get a win this year. I would love to know if RD is as good as last year or as I though he was not as fast as some others. He still looks real smooth and fast but just can't seal the deal. 2X's this year he should have won IMO but did not.
Dungey has had a few second this year he needs to be more consistent.
LINKIN, how can RD1 be any more consistant? Other than that DNF, which wasn't his fault, I think he finished off the podium either once or twice and it was like a 4th and a 6th or something. Thats pretty damn consistant. Who else can say they did that this year? Other than DM18 as of late steward had his problems, as well as RV2 with that 7th last week, canard falling every lap at San Deigo and Reed having a slow start, I dont think anyone has been as consisant as him. What he needs is a win, badly. Two in a row would really give him an upper hand, But JS7 and RV2 are gonna start runnin some good racing. Neither of them can afford anymore of those. All those guys in the top 5 are very lucky Dungey hasn't been able to capitalize
BillC wrote: about 1 hour ago
"What are them big roundish things soming out of the motots??"
Haha I really hope you aren't refering to the pipe. Two strokes haven't been dead for that long...
LOL I was.... Seems like so long. :( Nothing better than 40 125's lined up at a Nat. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Ya know, Brayton's had some pretty impressive times. He could be a long shot if the cards fall right. Can't wait for Daytona!
RD is consistent that is a fact and he had bad luck with the chain too, otherwise the points would be even tighter. But reaching the halfway point with no wins as the defending does say alot about last year...Yes, RD is a great rider and consistent...but the argument is always "who is the best on any given day"....the answer: Not RD.....those races that he should have won will haunt him win RV and JS start added 2 or 3 to their win column.....
Looking over the results JS seems to be the most consistent
RV must be the most consistent he is the points leader right??
I would say Metcalfe has been the most consistant, he's finished 8th FIVE times, with a 5th and a 9th in the other two. He's predictiablity makes his riding about as boring as his personality (which is almost as boring as Brayton's personality),
RV's my guy but JS has been on the podium every race except one and that one affected his points the most.
I have to agree, Dungey is certainly not a sure thing. RV and Stewart are the class of the field and it will take a little luck for Dungey to win one.
BillC, your two~stroke sound imitation brought tears to my eyes. Never again will the raspy crackle of ring~dings blasting off the line be heard and enjoyed by moto fans. Sad...youngbloods, don't get PO'ed at us geezers reminiscing ~ you don't understand what it was like in the days when there were 3 divisions of 125cc and 250cc Juniors racing every Sunday!
BoooooooooooooWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH => 2~stroke getting on the pipe...snif
That would be awesome if like the US Open supercross race 2 strokes only. Just one race a year that was all two strokes!
They need to bring back a true open class, I think. Bring back the "works" bikes and let em run any motor they want. I miss the 2 strokes. Used to love hearing a gate full of 500s take off @ Broome Tioga,. Now the bikes and the track are gone.
If Dungey were to win the title by just being consistent what would that mean? Everyone seems to by hung up on who's fastest, but if he came away with the title with all the top guys healthy he's still champ right? I don't think that will happen but it would be interesting to see the message board if it did.
NikolaTesla... It would bother me.... Yup he would be the Champ can't take that away but it would bother me a lot... It would kinda cheapin it for me. No matter who won it I would HATE to see it won that way. Kinda If your not good enough to win 1 race you should not be champ. Having said that I think RD will win one at least. The pressure has got to be building in his head by now... Lots of people have to be asking him what the problem is.
I didn't like it when Ferry won a title without winning a race and I don't think Dungey will win the title if he doesn't win a race. I don't know, my favorite rider retired, and now I sort of root for everyone, so I don't care who wins just wanna see good races. I hope the title goes down to the wire. I'm just curious, a lot of people hated on Dungeys championships last year. "No way he would have won if everyone was healthy", but he's right in the thick of the battle now and thats with a DNF and no wins. If he gets a win or 2 and anybody else has problems at all he could win the title and I just wonder if people would still say he doesn't deserve it.
Now I see why BillC and I don't see eye to eye. I won a championship by being always in the mix but by far not the fastest. That is why it is a series. I feel that if a guy can win the series without winning an event it is BRILLIANT!