Open Mic Part 1: Reed, Stewart and More
Monday, January 9, 2012 | 12:15 PM
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Chad Reed TwoTwo Motorsports Bel-Ray Racing Honda 2nd in SX Class
The race was good, I got a great start. Almost holeshotted, but RV had a little momentum on me coming from the outside. I tried to stay with him. I knew he was going to go for the triple on the first lap, so I pulled the trigger on that with him. But I just didn’t feel like…I didn’t feel 100 percent, like I could just lay it down lap after lap after lap. There was definitely something missing tonight, and I don’t think you can look anywhere else but within me and this truck. I think my attitude, it was tough, and I fought that all day. When I’m faced with a race track that I hate, then that’s my weakest link. You know it, you work with it, and we clawed ourselves into a heat race win.
In the main, I wouldn’t say we challenged for the win. We never ever challenged for the win, but we were there watching RV do a few things that I couldn’t. I tried to just put down my laps, but I crashed. I crashed over by the podium, where we tripled out of the turn and went step up step off, before we hooked back onto the start straight. I just changed up my line to get out of the ruts, and pivot really quick. And as I pivoted, the back end came around, and that was all she wrote. When I got up, Dunge and Stewart were right one me, so I tried to ride purposeful and not make anymore big mistakes. One by one we all tried to, you know, crash and throw it away! I was happy. I’m proud of this team for keeping me up beat all day, and for not letting us get too far away, set up wise.
We kind of threw a few things at it here and there that made things better. And we had two new guys on the team today and I felt they made a great impact. It was nice to get back into the field and work with those guys and gain an understanding from those guys. It’s hard, testing is one thing, it’s a relaxed environment, but it’s different when you’re working with pressure. It’s hard you know. One guy, Goose, I’ve worked with a lot, but Sergio, I’ve never really worked with. I was happy how it went, and happy to have a good direction on where to go this week.
"I didn’t feel 100 percent, like I could just lay it down lap after lap after lap." - Chad Reed
Photo: Simon Cudby
Jake Weimer: Monster Energy Kawasaki, 5th in SX Class
I’m happy. I put in a lot of work, and I made it here. I didn’t make it here last year. This time there were a few crashes along the way, but I made it here. My fitness is good, I feel strong, so overall, I think it was a good day. Practice, I was pretty good, not too bad. Heat race, again, not too bad, I just didn’t get a good start. In the main event, same thing, I rode pretty decent for the most part.
Did you go off the track at one point?
I don’t remember if it was Short or Brayton I was battling at one point, but we were really, really close and I just chose to go too far to the left than I should have. I really didn’t have much room and I went off the track. Around lap 12 or 13, somewhere, the jumps were really choppy going up them, and I grabbed a handful of throttle where I didn’t want to and I launched off that thing and slammed my foot down. I mean, I’m alright, just sore. I didn’t crash but I thought I was going to. So I had that slow me down, too. It was kind of weird, overall I’m happy with the finish.
You came through pretty good. At one point it looked like you were riding well, and I looked at the screen and it said you were in eleventh! So to come through to fifth….
Yeah, it was good.
I know it’s hard to compare to last year since you barely raced supercross, but really, how much better are you this year?
When I raced those two last year, I knew I wasn’t ready. I was just doing it because I needed to get out there. I didn’t go there thinking I was 100 percent or I was going to kill it. I felt much better this time.
James Stewart JGR/Toyota Yamaha 6th in SX Class
First race with the new team. How was the weekend in general? Were you guys scrambling to be ready?
It was pretty relaxed, I was relaxed in the main, even. I think not racing in awhile hurt a little bit. Not speed wise, but other things. I think we missed the setup, and the way guys are riding right now, if you don’t get the setup, it’s tough. And the track, it sucked. It was a track that you couldn’t make up any time on, you can lose time very quickly more than you could make it up. I think we were just a solid fourth place tonight, but I guess with a new team, that’s good. We got some new stuff, and found out some of it worked and some didn’t. I thought we could maybe be on the podium tonight and possibly even second after those guys fell. But I got cross rutted going onto that on-off thing, and I saved the first one, I don’t know how I saved it, I was shocked I saved the first one, but then I crashed.
When you got up, it looked like you were hitting the side of your bike, like the levers or something?
I got up and the haybale was like stuck in front of me. I knew I had a 50/50 chance of running that over and falling again, and I was going to ask one of those track guys in there to move it, but there were riders coming so I decided to just blast through it. But when I fell, I ripped my shrouds off. It was flipped in, so I spent the next two laps trying to pull on it and pop the bolts out.
"I told everyone, it doesn’t matter how fast you are, if you don’t get the start, you’re not going to win the race. We saw that." - James Stewart
Photo: Simon Cudby
So you were pulling on it in the air?
No this was rolling around through the whoops and stuff! I had to pull those bolts off, and that’s how I got passed by the rest of those guys.
How close was this to the track you test and practice on?
It was nothing like that. And what sucked is it wasn’t even close to the track map. That’s the only bummer part. The set up we had to use here was completely different. But we all had to adapt, there are no excuses there. I told everyone, it doesn’t matter how fast you are, if you don’t get the start, you’re not going to win the race. We saw that. We did find a surprise when we got here [with the track]. I actually felt great in the main event, physically, but we just missed the set up.
Yeah the starts were bad in both the heat and the main. Anything you can point at there?
Yeah it’s my fault. I was doing something different than I did last year, and I did it at the first race here, and I figured it out. It’s my fault, it’s been so damned long since I raced, I should have gone back to the notes. But we’ll figure it out. We’re okay, I’m looking forward to Phoenix.
Ivan Tedesco, Dodge Motorsports/Sycuan Casino/Hart & Huntington Kawasaki, 13th in SX Class
Practice I sucked, I think I qualified 17th. The track was really weird, it was kind of like an EnduroCross. I had to kind of get into a different mindset. I really had to focus on my starts, and I did that, I got good starts in the heat and the main event. So I was clicking off laps, running that top five pace. Then Alessi came in and just t-boned me. It hurt my ankle and knocked my brake lever straight up. He hit me pretty hard. You’ll see if you watch the video. I went over there and showed Tony the video. So I had to regroup for a second, and that’s when Weimer and Brayton were there. So we were battling, and on I think lap 17, I cross rutted and it threw me into a endo, I didn’t quite make it. I hit the bars and it knocked the wind out of me. That was my night.
You were fast when you were up there.
Yeah, I felt like I was riding good, and I feel like I’ve been riding good the whole off-season. I just need to stay off the ground. And that was the thing last year, crashes and injuries, and luckily tonight I hit the ground but didn’t get injured. So now I can build off of this, I know the speed and fitness is there. All the tools are there, I just need to build my confidence a little to know I can run with these guys.
"Yeah, I felt like I was riding good, and I feel like I’ve been riding good the whole off-season." - Ivan Tedesco
Photo: Simon Cudby
Ryan Morais:Rockstar Valli/Star Yamaha, 15th in SX Class
How was it?
My night was all right. My heat race started out really good, I got a good start, was third, and ran fourth for a while. Ryan Villopoto got me with a couple laps to go, and I got fifth. I was really happy with that. In the main event, I didn’t get a good start and made a couple mistakes. I went off the track on the first lap, then I made some passes and ended up stalling it. I think I was all the way back in twentieth, and I worked my way up to fifteenth. Not exactly what I was looking for tonight, but I’m happy to be in one piece, and I’ll go to Phoenix and better that result.
This was your first race in your first full year in the premier class. How was the competition?
I think it was about what I was expecting. I surprised myself a little bit in my heat race, I wasn’t really too sure where I was. I’ve spent a lot of time at the test tracks, but that’s not racing, so I wasn’t sure where I was going to be. That fifteenth is definitely not where I belong, so next week is going to be better, and I think it’s going to get better every weekend after that once I get more comfortable racing with these guys and learning how they race. I think it’ll be a good year.
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Yeah i couldnt believe the way the track was set up, oh well.
I liked the track. It's good to mix it up every once and a while vs. the same tracks year after year. Plus the lap times were longer and the racing was good. I can understand the rider's frustration with the track since it was nothing like their test tracks, but everyone had to ride the same track.
Stop crashing James. Please. Just stop crashing.
Let me make it extremely simple: Good results will happen if you just keep the non-tire portions of the bike off the ground. The tires can touch the ground. That is fine. However, the handlebars, seat, fenders, levers, grips, and all that other stuff on a bike (including radiator shrouds) should not touch the ground. Then you will be ok. Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Track was good IMO...stop the whine fest please
Well Reed and JS7 pretty much said the same thing in regards to the track....it sucked !! James said it best..." you couldnt make up time, but you could lose it ".... A " County Fair track" or " EnduroCross without logs "..Hopefully this type of layout doesnt become a new design feature.
For those who say James needs to blame himself and not others, well there you go........
I was there live and right when I saw the track I thought I was at an oversized arena-cross or MEC. It was the weirdest SX track I'd ever seen. Actually reminded me of the tracks in the 80's.
Spoke to some privateers, Zack OZ... they were all unimpressed.
These guys certainly have a right to their opinion about the track. But I saw RV come from way behind in the heat and make up time. I saw Tomac come from way behind in the main and make up time. It's true, a lot of it depended on NOT making mistakes. I liked that it was longer. (Why don't they just make the Main 20 minutes + 2 and be done with it?) As a fan, there was a lot more good racing (though not for first) than usual. To me that speaks both to the track and parity of talent. By the way, by the time I sat in my seat on the View level, my ticket had cost almost $70. Someone is making a lot of money here and the prices seem to be going up. Yet, seems that the riders are making less. What's wrong with this picture. They are literally putting their lives on the line.
Moto, the problem is when they make tracks that hav only 1 fast racing line, it makes it hard to pass on. When they put in these slow switch back sections is it files everyone back in line. As spectators we might not notice it as bad, but the racers see it different. Changing up the tracks is always a good idea, but they need to make sure the designs provides plenty of fast lines and combinations so that its not follow the leader out there. But I guess sometimes what it looks like on paper is different what it turns out to be in reality.
BTW, Dungeys interview was short. When asked about his night he said he was super pumped.
Didn't seem to stop Poto from making time. Some of the best racing I've seen in awhile. I agree with flmoto above. Keep it upright, less time to make up.
I thought DirtWurx forwarded detailed track designs to the teams well in advance
JimM
Pala 374
Wonder how Tony reacted to Ivan. I'm sure level heads prevailed.
The track was different, just like every other week just more-so this time. The bottom line is the best prepared performed the best, I thought that was pretty clear throughout the night. Everyone rode the same track and plenty of guys had good races through the pack throughout the night like Weimer, Brayton, Villopoto (heat), Tomac just off the top of my head. The best part of racing is it's not judged and there are no excuses so suck it up and face reality, the results.
Reeds gear looks kind of like a Bomb Pop or mimics the David Bailey JT gear circa Anaheim 86'
Hard to believe that Josh Hansen ended up 10th after taking sick on Friday! Hansen has a lot of BS with him...but his performance was amazing considering his physical condition on Friday. I never head the annoucers mention his issues...inspite of several others being menitoned that didn't even make the main.
I dont envy dirtwurx. How do you please these guys? It has to be a tough job to make the perfect track everytime. The racing from 2nd back was good and there is still big air out there.
KilloMoto the JS haters will over look that he took the blaim, Either skip posting or find something else to bash him about.
The track was lame. It looked more like a Euro SX track. The first half of the track looked like it flowed pretty well and then they got into rollers... rollers? Seriously? I applaud the effort to mix it up on the track design but hopefully they will admit their mistakes and move on... or at the very least stop putting rollers on a professional Supercross track.
The track whiners are lame. The track was fine, a nice change of pace, for a quality rider. If you suck, the track sucks, but everyone has the same track to ride. This track featured plenty of good racing for the fans, the good racers were able to pass just fine and we actually got 20+ mintes of racing. Why do you all want 15 minute races with more injurys and no better racing? I don't get it.
The racing was good but I too thought the track was kind of weird upon walking into the arena area and looking at it. The setup just didn't make since.
Stewart : Not racing in a while hurt a little bit. What did you lose the directions to Hangtown last year. That was a dumba$$ excuse.
I was there and the track was lame. I don't see how anyone can think it was good. The racing wasn't very good at all. And true about the rollers. Seriously? Is this local arenacross? These are the best racers in the WORLD. Give them a technical track with multiple line selections
speedracer42 and anyone else who thinks the track was shit. How many times must it be said that yes it was different but plenty of guys raced through the pack Saturday night whether some disliked it or not. There were plenty of places to pass and split lines that people used to their advantage, do I need to list them all?
RC and the plenty of guys who passed their way to the front throughout the night didn't seem to mind it.
It was a good track to minimize injuries on the first race, it looked much safer then the average track. Stewart- "And the track, it sucked. It was a track that you couldn’t make up any time on, you can lose time very quickly more than you could make it up." Um RV was almost a second and a half faster then you... I do believe time could be made up on that track.
I think when you have a clear track in front of you, it is easier to make time than coming through traffic. RV rocked and deserved his win, but a clear track for 10 laps probably helped. just sayin'
RV was a over a second faster (per lap) than Stewart in his heat race too, while he was coming through traffic. Next excuse?
KM306........results and facts don't matter is JS-land lol.
Boy, Stewie sure whined about the track alot, and everyone says Reed does that. But sure, Stewie said we all have to race it, and thats true. Stewie has a much better attitude this season so far it seems. His ego has seemed to shrink some, he is acting kinda like he used too. But being away from racing has slowed him some, but he wont stay down long. He will get a track that suits his style and go wild on it. All these top guys will have thier race this year. RV sure had one this time for sure.
All tracks are one lined when you consider only the fastest line.Sometimes that line changes or you make a new fast one.Tomac,Weimer,Brayton all seemed to make lots of passes.When you get to riders who are your speed any track is hard to pass on.When there is a freeway track the only passes are block passes in the smooth corners.Mix up the tracks and eventually everyone will get one they like.
In 25 years I have never seen a track so bad, who ever designed the track should never be allowed near a supercross track again.........................:(
RV1 did as expected.
RD5 Just might take a few chances this year. It was good to see him have a little fight in him at the first race. If he does not take a chance and mix it up in the next 2 races (ride some one high, bang them out of the lower line) It will be more of the same for him all year. But if he does get aggressive, he could find out it is s formula to put himself 1 position higher on the box each week. That will put him there at the end of the year.
CRtwotwo, same old, consistent, consistently complaining about tracks, consistent with his self analysis and honesty.
JS7 still the FMOTP (Fallingest Man On The Planet) He simply looked nervous out there. The crash was complete brain fade. I think he was trying a new tactic of riding safer, more conservative and more smart (which he needs to do) But when it was not really working out and he was toiling in 4th, losing time to 2nd and 3rd, he seemed a little lost. Then when he stepped it up and started pushing, the mistakes came. I think James issue are between his ears.
I think I think I think ! it was just the first race ,
DStewart came thru the pack in his heat and the main too....probably passed more guys than anyone combined....but having to pass 12 guys on a track like that won't help you while your competition is running up front....on that track you had to follow guys before you pass them...James did that very well I thought...and he wad more patient......PHX is next!
enuff already! everybody bit.hes and whines that the tracks are all cookie cutter tracks...dirt works give you what you ask for...and you all bit.h and whine! except! the man who Won!....and Chad understood...!....Pros Pro! I didnt hear Dunge whine.....podium????? Hmmmmm. In my day...if the man in front of you had the best line...I would find an alternet line and make that work....Jeeezzzz!!us. Lord help you youngns!....and Im an athiest! (tip too you youngns) RC!
No, Stewart didn't pass more guys than anyone combined. lol
since when is the word bi.th inappropriate.....my old ladie did it all the time!
I am so glad this season is on ! To all the complainers on here, We asked for longer races and different tracks and they delivered and delivered WELL. There were Many places to pass and different lines to pick and over 1 min lap times for the best racers in the world. Also it looked safe and no injuries ! ( Hill was a reinjure) I loved the racing and the variety of different tracks. I feel that CR may have done even better if he decided to like the track, as it is he did MUCH better than last year. His second had NOTHING to do with the track and everything to do with his mind and abilities Sat night. As racers sometimes we are just on and in a groove and sometimes not and the difference will be seconds. Many riders passed through the pack so JS welcome back to racing and the next generation, time to go to work and get your groove back.
Awesome heat by Wil Hahn and great race til you went down boy, keep rippin you will get there. You go Sealy, now be careful in pheonix. Great rides Tomac, Braton, Weimer, etc...
I say the track was tough and challinging and hard to keep the flow and that is a GOOD thing. You go dirt works and FELD !!! keep the changes coming !!
JS, RD, and CR looked uncomfortable and unsure, still fast though. Most of the riders looked pretty good. RV LOVES it when you whine and complain, Remember guys half of this is mental !
Now damn it I can't wait til Pheonix AND TC ! Hers hoping for the fewest injuries ever !!!
she didnt seem to think it was inappropriate.....sucks being at the end of a thread...oh well....if i had a million dollars....i would bet it all on RV...but i dont...maybe thats why my old lady bi.thed so much....i sure did like racing though.
I liked the sweeping turns. I liked the "wall" that slowed everyone down almost to a stop (FInally a spot where I would be as fast as those guys)
I liked the longer laps. I think no one was going to touch RV on any track, so the fact that in almost every heat or main there was good racing on the track, not a Parade like many SXs I've seen, means that (at least for the fans) it was a track that provided what we all came to see... RACING. It was a track that also rewarded strategy above bravery. The whoops were simple, but the turn and jump combinations offered opportunities to set up passes. Honestly, I've been going to these races since 1987 and there was more racing action in every race than I can remember. Personally, I don't care if the riders thought "it sucked" I enjoyed the racing.
Big JS7 fan. Have to give props to RV. Good track or bad, RV could have gone another hour. He is in sick shape.
I'd like to welcome the newest chode and JS hater to these boards...KM306.....hasn't posted much yet without bashing on James!! WELCOME, A-HOLE!!
Actually, Mr. KM306, he did make quite a few passes in both his heat and the main. Hey "bd", not pickin a fight dude, but you said James whined a lot and that everyone usually accuses Reed of whining about the track...um, he did this time too....HE HATED IT and said that it was hard for him to even find the motivation to want to ride it.......not many of the riders had anything good to say about it guys......so it doesn't mean much when some of you on here, sitting on your couch say it was a GREAT TRACK.....i'm gonna go with the opinions of guys like Reed and Stewart and mamny others who actually had to ride the damn thing......i wont accept it as an excuse, but if somebody says they didn't like it, well that is fair enough!! GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!
The lap times were the only good point about that track, I found it a little hard to pick out the riders even with a huge HD tv and great camera angles the riders seemed to look a lot alike, Reed and Brayton had the best gear that stood out from the rest, if I were a sponser of one of those teams I would make sure that my riders got noticed more, I thought the Honda mechanics looked a little 80`S.
Losers ALWAYS blame the track,lappers,tires etc....Didn't RV ride the same track at the same time as Reed and JS7?? Not a excuse!! The track is the same for everybody-like it or not!
I didnt say Reed didnt whine, I said guys complain and call Reed a whiner(mostly Stewie fans), and Stewie did a bunch of whining about the track.. And why not go with RV1's opinion , he said the track was great..
I am pretty sure that I saw split lines in some corners where the inside had a small jump and the outside wide line had a slightly banked berm. So there was more than 1 line! Maybe not the line you wanted, but there is definitely more than one line. Part of racing is to be creative and figure out other ways around the guy in front of you...At least I thought that is what I learned in my 25 years of moto......The only tracks that are really one lined are on a WORCS race in the woods.
Longer lap times, closer racing, plenty of passing from what I saw ( I guess James thought you couldn't pass but I am pretty sure I saw Dungey pass him in the main)....
Good times!!!!
i'm probably one of the biggest js7 fans out there but he needs to learn rule #76- No excuses play like a champion. he should have 3 championships by now. he's starting to sound like the "old" chad reed. I couldn't stand that guy
Retardcross; what can I say, when you're right, you're right. You got me this time. ;-)
KM306, is there passing allowed in arenacross? I was just wondering if the fact that passes were made means it was a great Supercross track? I am not a fan of JS so im not sticking up for him, but in my opinion 2012 supercross tracks should have sections where riders are given the opportunity to hit lines that others cant. Maybe a quad instead of double double or something equivalant. i think thats what seperates the elite from the great. thats what seperates the RV's from the Andrew Short's.....
"After Monster Cup and all the riders complaining about that track, I just think they thought that they would show us the crappiest track ever (laughs). " And thats from Jimmy Albertson, i doubt he would be considered a whiner typically....
One thing for sure, the track sucked badly. What yanks my chain about that is, I had a bunch of new sx fans ready to watch for the 1st time.......and the track sucked badly, I knew it, but they didnt. Poor example for Aneheim 1. The men are pro's not c' class riders, and the g-d "wall" stuff, has to stop allready. Please, I was embaressed I invited a buncha 1st timers.
The track was fine. Maybe it didn't have the big air and dynamic rhythm sections we are used to seeing but the track was different, created longer lap times, closer racing, and you had to be creative to pass. Watch the GoPro videos of the races on this site. The track is most definitely not one lined. I think it was awesome to get everyone through the very first race of the year without any season ending injuries.
They all have to ride the same track. Big air is impressive to first time viewers. Stewart is always impressive in rhythm sections, so your first timers didn't get to see some of that.
All of the teams had to adapt to the exact same track. Kawi, JGR, Honda, KTM etc. The track was fine. True champions adapt to adversity. Whiners whine about it.
If JS won the track would be fine and Reed would be called a whiner for saying it sucked lol.