by Chase Stallo
Sign of the Lap Times: Anaheim 1
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 | 2:15 PM
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With another season opener tucked away in the record books, teams and riders now have a better understanding of what lies ahead in 2012. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto began his title defense with a controlling performance, as the defending champion began 2012 right where 2011 left off—winning races. Chad Reed and Ryan Dungey were their typical consistent selves, while James Stewart looked flat and out-of-sync en route to a disappointing sixth place finish. In Lites West, there looks to be a host of contenders, but for now Cole Seely controls his own destiny in a talented young field. We will have plenty of bench racing topics for you to digest throughout the week, so sit back, relax, and take a look at the lap charts from Anaheim.
AMA Supercross
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 1 | 1:00:409 | 2 | 1:02:596 | Ryan Villopoto |
| 2 | 2 | 1:01:252 | 2 | 1:03:146 | Chad Reed |
| 3 | 3 | 1:01:507 | 8 | 1:03:143 | Ryan Dungey |
| 4 | 6 | 1:01:962 | 5 | 1:04:374 | James Stewart |
| 5 | 5 | 1:02:487 | 18 | 1:03:914 | Jake Weimer |
| 6 | 9 | 1:02:759 | 6 | 1:04:652 | Mike Alessi |
| 7 | 20 | 1:02:837 | 3 | 1:09:678 | Tommy Hahn |
| 8 |
14 | 1:02:917 | 6 | 1:06:143 | Kyle Chisolm |
| 9 | 13 | 1:02:998 | 6 | 1:06:171 | Ivan Tedesco |
| 10 | 4 | 1:03:069 | 6 | 1:03:953 | Justin Brayton |
| 11 | 7 | 1:03:085 | 5 | 1:04:351 | Andrew Short |
| 12 | 19 | 1:03:164 |
5 |
1:08:585 | Josh Grant |
| 13 | 8 | 1:03:257 | 4 | 1:04:433 | Kevin Windham |
| 14 |
12 | 1:03:430 | 8 | 1:05:079 | Broc Tickle |
| 15 | 10 | 1:03:703 | 4 | 1:04:491 | Josh Hansen |
| 16 | 15 | 1:03:709 | 6 | 1:06:561 | Ryan Morais |
| 17 |
11 | 1:03:888 | 3 | 1:05:077 | Brett Metcalfe |
| 18 | 16 | 1:03:921 | 8 | 1:06:889 | Davi Millsaps |
| 19 | 18 | 1:04:745 | 5 | 1:07:449 | Chris Blose |
| 20 | 17 | 1:04:919 | 4 | 1:06:929 | Jimmy Albertson |
Let’s keep this short and simple: Ryan Villopoto was a step above the rest at Anaheim, blasting the field en route to his second consecutive A1 win. He also set the fastest lap of the night with a 1:00.409 on lap 2.
Anaheim typically weeds out who did and who didn’t do their homework during the off-season. Jake Weimer obviously did his homework. Looking for redemption in 2012 after an injury-plagued 2011 season, Weimer was solid in his A1 SX debut—slicing through the pack finishing inside the top five. But what really stood out was that Weimer set his fastest lap, a 1:02.487, on lap 18! Really showing that he had plenty left in the tank down the stretch.
Whether you loved or hated the track (there seems to be little middle ground on this subject) you have to give credit to the track crew for extending the race. Many have been clamoring for longer lap times, and we saw them at Anaheim, as no one managed to set a fast lap under the one-minute mark.
Ryan Villopoto dominated the field en route to his second consecutive A1 win.
Photo: Simon Cudby
AMA Supercross Lites
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 3 |
1:01:359 |
9 | 1:02:926 | Eli Tomac |
| 2 | 1 | 1:01:847 | 12 | 1:02:590 | Cole Seely |
| 3 | 6 | 1:02:041 | 10 | 1:04:209 | Dean Wilson |
| 4 | 4 | 1:02:127 | 10 | 1:03:641 | Marvin Musqiun |
| 5 |
8 | 1:02:186 | 4 | 1:04:424 | Wil Hahn |
| 6 |
2 | 1:02:344 | 13 | 1:02:931 | Tyla Rattray |
| 7 | 5 | 1:02:996 | 8 | 1:03:974 | Ryan Sipes |
| 8 | 7 | 1:03:150 | 8 | 1:04:099 | Jason Anderson |
| 9 | 9 | 1:03:437 | 5 | 1:04:789 | Zach Osborne |
| 10 | 19 | 1:03:636 | 2 | 1:06:659 | Martin Davalos |
| 11 | 12 | 1:03:681 | 14 | 1:05:039 | Nico Izzi |
| 12 | 10 | 1:03:689 | 8 | 1:04:801 | Travis Baker |
| 13 | 11 | 1:03:807 | 14 | 1:04:931 | Matt Moss |
| 14 | 20 | 1:04:346 | 2 | 1:11:609 | Christian Craig |
| 15 | 13 | 1:04:351 | 14 | 1:05:541 | Teddy Maier |
| 16 | 14 | 1:04:490 | 8 | 1:05:877 | Billy Laninovich |
| 17 | 15 | 1:04:889 | 3 | 1:06:632 | Vince Friese |
| 18 | 17 | 1:05:410 | 8 | 1:06:894 | Ryan Marmont |
| 19 | 16 | 1:05:456 | 9 | 1:06:600 | Max Anstie |
| 20 | 18 | 1:05:533 | 5 | 1:07:883 | Jackson Richardson |
Cole Seely may have won the war, but Eli Tomac won the lap chart battle. The sophomore sensation busted his way through the field, while setting the fastest Lites lap of the main with a 1:01.350 on lap 9.
The moniker on Nico Izzi the past few seasons is that he fades down the stretch. Well, it looks like we are seeing a new Nico Izzi in 2012. After a rough start, Izzi worked his way up to twelfth place finish, while setting his fastest lap on lap 14. A big step forward for the former amateur sensation.
Tomac set the fastest lap of the night with a 1:01.359 on lap 9.
Photo: Simon Cudby
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Tomac 3rd fastest lap of the night in both classes.
Villopoto 1.5 seconds faster then Stewart in the race...when it counts.
@Pilotdude - Change their start positions and I bet you'd see a difference.
The racers may have not loved the track but I sure did. Gave us fans over 20 minutes of action and kept the racing nice and tight except for killomoto.
@kas447 - Indeed.....Obviously an open track for a guy like RV spells quick lap times....The track was just as "open" for Reed as well as he had nobody around him until the last 4 lap of the race.....Dungey was in 3rd by himself with a fairly open track while Stewart was moving up through the pack from 12th in the 2nd turn.....Even if James got a 2nd place start, he wasnt running with RV..But as rusty as James was or whatever you want to call it, he was still right there with Reed and Dungey as far as times go....James avg lap time went to crap after his crash obviously...Hopefully PHX is a track that has some challenging sections....was there even a "real" whoop section at A1?
I'm so impressed with Seely. His average lap was +/- the same as Villopoto's. I can't wait to see if he can follow it up with another performance like that at round 2, but if Tomac gets a start...look out.
I also loved the longer races, it allows more time to see who's mentally ready.
@kas447mx, be careful what you wish for! - RV came thru the pack, be it in a heat race, but he did move forward. I hope JS can pull the hole shot next time, so we can see if RV can hang? I am betting yes. JS needs to race all year not just SX, i think he is short selling himself by sitting the outdoors OUT!
Sorry, but Snizzle still isn't where he claims he should be "on the box". He isn't anywhere near it!
I agree with the track, I ,loved the idea of a 20 minute main, some people are just complaining because a certain rider or whatever didnt win. These guys are all withing a second and a half with each other in speed, it would be hard on any track to make up much time on any of the top guys. They are all close to the same speed, you cant run them down if you arent faster. The guy in front is running the same bad track.
kas447mx, You need to look at some replays dude, RV turned the faster lap of the night in his heat race coming from outside the top 10. At the end of 8 laps he was all over the two in front of him. RV and JS are the only two that can turn fast lap times in traffic and thats a fact.
Stewart clearly had 3 guys faster than him and there are still dumb shits on here that make excuses for him. The field has caught up and in some cases passed the former "fastest man on the planet"...deal with it.
way overanalyzing round 1 of many !........Reed did mention that they made a shot in the dark change to the bike just to get it ready for this track, and that it was not the type of track he and others had trained on to get ready for the season....yeah yeah call it an excuse but the fact is the bike had changes made to it and he obviously wasn't quite dialed in but happen to finish second in group of teenagers......! pretty good for an old man i would say......Keep watching and learn what consistency is...!
your right killimoto Reed did have it just as opened as Villipoto did in his heat race and didnt pull away like Poto did either........! Yes we all know Reed is much more calculated and not as aggressive and takes his time getting up to speed. But this is also why he rarely ends up on his backside. He takes less chances that can bite him in the a..... ! This is all part of being consistent, and being around at the end of the year. Bottom line is Poto is NOT going to get every hole shot and he has shown to have issues coming through the pack and even missing a main event last year when he had to come through the pack then. So long season stay tuned.....
Lets bring back the real whoops and see how consistent the riders lap times are....?
Nice to see Jake Weimer with a good finish and some respectable lap times. Interesting that he is a quite kid and doesn't bring alot of atention to himself, hope he does well.
Totally impressed with Tomac17 through traffic he had fastest lap and average
And why is he running Barcia #17 ?
For Starters yes I am a Stewart fan. I'm also a fan of every1 else that lines up on the line so lets not get it twisted. Now, THIS IS THE 1ST race of the season. Do I think Stewart is still the fastest person on the track lets say 95% of the time? Yes. Was he this weekend? No (other than practice, which your right doesnt count for much). Will he be every weekend from here on out? No. RV has got the speed for sure. If I were to put money on who will have the fastest time most throught the season I'd say Stewart. Dont count for much if he isnt winning tho right? But isnt that y he has the nickname Fastest man on the Planet? Because he 9 out of 10 times is the fastest. Any1 wanna put there money where there mouth is let me know.
The track was pretty lame not saying this because Stewart didnt win. It just sucked. And as far as the lites having close times its because the track is obviously gonna be a little better when the lites are racing, common sense for any MXer.
Awesome ride for RV, Seeley and Eli for sure tho.
Also something worth noting, Tyla Rattray;s fastest lap was just a hair below his average lap. That is some amazing consistency, all the way through the race. There should be no doubt he is prepared to race every main.
And congrts to Weimer, nice movement. I was also impressed with Jason Anderson in his heat race. he had some great laps.
@willmx114- I wouldnt bet that if I was you... Last season RV pulled faster lap times then stewart in just as many races, If I remember right JS7 may have had faster times in 2 more races than RV. Not to mention this year RV has clearly stepped up his game.
If the riders don't like the track you are not going to get good racing.
09 A 1 had minute long lap times too with x 2 sections that only the top 450 guys where doing consistently and it was a great race!
I say build the same track lay out for each stadium (like Mx) every year for say x 3 or so seasons then change them.
The riders know what they are getting and dirt wurx won't have to be so creative.
Get the riders to vote on their faviourite track from the past x 5 seasons for each stadium and then run that design for as I said x 3 years or so. It would of course need some tweaking but I think it would work.
Your thoughts?
In racing the ONLY fastest man that matters, is the one that crosses the finish line first. PERIOD. Let me put it another way, the winner of the race is the fastest man at that race. Period. All of last year JS averaged 4th. So far this year he's 6th. In 2010 he was 20th. In 2009 he was 1st. In 2008 he was 23rd. etc..... He is fast and tallanted but he is averaging around midpack. We are all excited about his potentual but the last two years his season finish is 12th. FACT. Its also huge that the racers are only as good as their current performance.
I thought and hoped he would do better than he did sat. but he didn't and as time goes by the new and younger guys will only get better. Its OK the media hypes the fmop thing and does what it needs to to help sell the sport. At this point my money goes to RV, RD, and CR then its a tie between TC and JS as to who finishes out this season as the fastest SX racer on the planet. If JS could stay off the ground I would rate him a close second at this point, be he can't seem to even running at CR and RD's pace. He seems to only be getting worse but we all hope he can improve.
Next year will be a whole new game with more exciting racers moving up.
So to sum up my rant if you can't do 20 laps the fastest you aren't the fastest, at least in this sport.
234boofa, thats kind of a cool idea. Sat was great racing and different my take on it was good because I felt they were trying to do different stuff with variaty. My favorite year was when they let current and past racers design most of the tracks that year. I think they should let the public subit plans for several on the venues and they could select the best of those. I have built two tracks and really enjoyed it but it is VERY difficult to design one that most riders like. Lets propose they do 4 good tracks the same for 3 years, let the public do 4 each year and the racers do the rest ??
It is a real study in human nature reading these posts and how Stewart fans (some not all) are busy convincing themselves what they saw is not true. By Saturday, they will have talked themselves into thinking James had the fastest lap and won the race.
Seely and Rattray are machines. Ultra consistent. Also true for Brayton and Hansen.
Sleestak, first time Reed takes flight this year, ala Millville or auggers in real good after a throwdown with Stewart, it is going to be nationals all over again. You are right, he is an old man, with a wife and kid. Look what it has done to Windham. Guy still has mad skillz and sometines crazy speed but he gets pickier and pickier about when he is going to show it.
Reeds day is coming soon, the day when he starts in 5th behind JS7, RV1, RD5 and TC41 and there is a quad or triple out of a corner section that his mind (Tate and Ellie) just won't let him pull the trigger for. Yeah I am saying it, He won't win the title and he won't finish second either. He is also not going to win Vegas, his best years and his dream season are behind him. He is still great, but I think there are a couple guys who can not only run him down, they can catch him after an early bobble even. You may have just seen his best finish of the year????? Oh wait, are they still racing in San Diego?
Fastest lap of the night was Stewart in practice. PERIOD. Nobody else matched that in the heat race and the race not even JS7 himself. So yea JS7 is still the fastest man on a motorcycle. By mid season RD&chad; reed will figure out and get the speed. I dont see RV running away with it
Red54m........I thought everyone had learned by now to never count out Chad Reed, I guess not. Chad is just as likely, if not more likely to win the title at this point in the series as JS is. He will have flashes of speed, be super consistent, and be there at the end of the season as he always is. Anyone that can offer anything sensible to say about how JS is more likely to win it than Reed is welcome to as long as its accompanied by facts and results to back it up that are recent within the last few years.
dgizzy1.....Fastest man my a**, when was the last title he picked up? Who has both #1 plates from last year? Who crushed the MEC and the opening round? You can hang on to your practice lap time that amounts to 6th place while the world looks at the times that count, the main event. The blow hards on here are incredible, guy hasn't won anything in years and somehow he's still the best.
everytime i hear king nothing by metallica it reminds me of james stewart
Retardcross, amen to that dgizzy comment. When I said some guys are gonna beat Reed I am talking RV first, Stewart and Dungey at times. TC41 at times. This will happen when he does not crash. to say nothing of a few more guys that may beat him when he does. I am not talking about a quick tip over in one of the slower corners on the track.
Yes Dungey, he followed Reed all year last year but he was as close twice, in the first race, than he was most of last year. He simply can't allow another whole season to go by with out hanging it our a little to put himself in front of Reed.
We know if Stewart gets close he will make contact and make a pass.
We know TC41 when healthy will make a move on Reed, he did in his rookie season and will again this year.
I also think guys like Weimer, Tedesco, Grant, Short and Brayton are going to have something to say about how quickly someone can get to the front when they get top 5 starts, which they inevitably will.
I am saying it is going to be harder for Reed this year than last and the clock is ticking. Even though he got off to a quicker start this year (2nd in first main) It is going to be harder for him to repeat it week in and week out.
As far as Stewart goes, I am indifferent to him. I do not even know why people still want to call him fastest man on the planet. As I said yesterday, the only FMOTP title he has is the FALLINGEST MAN ON THE PLANET! The guy simply has not raced enough in the last couple of years to honor him with that title anymore. That spot is currently reserved by RV1 and Stewart is going to have to beat him a few times before he can earn it back.
Just as i prediced.
There were three riders on the podium.
God i,m good!
so sick of everyone making excuses for stewart. That title fastest man on the planet belongs to RV. who cares about practice, by the race the track is changed. Eli tomac got a faster lap than stewie. Villopoto rode flawless, won everything there is to win last year. I noticed i didn't hear anyone on speed calling james thefastest man on the planet anymore. I bet james doesn't win another title his whole career. I love to watch the guy ride, but he always has to go big, and it'll bite him. And him sittting out the outdoors while everybody else is racing each other and getting faster, while james dicks around all winter, well it's really starting to show. The other guys have caught his pace, RV is the man these days, reminded me of carmichael
dgizzy1, do you not realize that RV put in a whole bunch of laps in the heat and the main that were within a few tenths of a second to James' wonderful last practice lap? Probably about 5 or 6. Not one balls to the wall shot at the fastest qualifying lap. The fact that Stewart didn't come close to his own fast practice lap in either heat or main is funny, since RV beat HIS own fast practice lap by over a second, like I said 5 or 6 times in his heat and the main. Leaving your fastest lap in practice doesn't do you much in the main (as we all saw). James focuses on a one lap race, too bad there are 20 laps when it counts.
Everyone here must remember last season outdoors Southwick I think it was before the hurricane when that unknown rider (sorry, don't remember his name) went out and laid down a fast lap, fastest of the day, then the rain came. His lap was before the rain and he was way faster than anyone else. Fastest lap, before the track was tore up. It is all very understandable. Totaly different conditions. One would have to think that the tracks are almost always faster during practice. Which would lead to faster lap times on a smoother track. Which would lead to faster lap times befor the race. Which would lead to PRACTICE IS PRACTICE. NOBODY EVER WON A TITLE ON PRACTICE LAP TIMES. Racetime and only racetime counts. PERIOD
Mike Sottile was his name Bucky,As far as stewart is concerned without ricky I think hes lost his rabbit and his motivation.Lets face it those two probably had a bigger rivalry just being from the state of Florida,both being with fox,oakley,starting with kawi.Rc and Js whether in or outdoors both pushed each other to the limits of the tracks,bikes and their bodies.Rickys program was setup for all day,js can ride no doubt but his training is lacking.Rv is the next Rc with Js speed...scarey!
It is very early to see how this championship works out but if A1 showed us anything villopoto has brought it,Reed and Dungey will be there and there should be some new blood to the podiums. Well worth watching.
Funny how people write that it´s only round 1 and others are overanalyzing it and then they start their own essay. that makes sense.
I thought the track was awesome last weekend. There were a lot of areas where riders would make minor mistakes but it would majorly effect the lap time and tighten up the race. The +1 minute lap times are a must. I hope to see Tomac with a better holeshot this weekend and Seely be right there with him. The PC guys better be doing their homework this week because the Honda's were lookin good at round 1.
Bucky you brought up a sore subject for me i agree,practice is practice,not qualifiying AMA screwed the pooch on changing to this format from the old racing to qualify.Now i know they want our sport to become the next Nascar but we are not Nascar fans,I'm from the north east so in the winter im not riding here but in the summer during the outdoors im riding or racing when the races are on,so why saturday qualifying and racing? they've made it that much harder for the privateer to make the show...but maybe this was the intention?
My comments were not meant to be a "excuse" for JS7...As I stated, even if he started 2nd, he wasnt runnin' with RV....My point was, whether its JS7 or Rick Melon, if your battling mid pack on a track like A1, your not going to run your best laps while your being slowed up and navigating through slower riders....Sure you can make up time on the slower guys in front of you like RV and JS7 did in their Heat races and JS7 did in the main, but if RV is out in front running his laps on an open track, your not going to gain ground on him or anyone else who is running the same laptimes as you are, especially if they were 5 seconds ahead of you after the first lap....listen to the pros like Emig and RC who said the same thing....RV absolutley sprinted aka "gettin' away" the first 5 laps and left Reed in the dust....he built that cushion and never looked back....unless you were posting laps 2 or 3 seconds faster than RV, your not catching him...or anyone else for that matter.
The history books will read-RV won, but JS had the fastest lap in practice. Who cares djizzy? the practice track and the race track are quite a bit different. The only one that matters is the MAIN. See y'all in Phoenix!
If I am not mistaken, werent RV's laptimes in the main faster than 6th places practice race times? Pretty sure RV bested his times. Can't argue with the stats, there's a new sheriff in town!
Yeah, just went back and checked out the other times, RV beat his time in practice also, so I don't want to hear it!
That track was not typical Anaheim dirt, it was soft and this surprised some or all of the teams.
Some adjusted better than others, this game plays out at every race indoors or out and the best teams quickly solve the puzzle, as long as the rider can clearly communicate the necessary feedback on bike performance.
If a particular rider's bike consistantly seems mal-adjusted, or the rider (and his die hard fans) consistantly claims something or other or this or that........ on his or her bike is mal-adjusted, would you believe it to be a fluke, and bet the rent money that (the un-named "racer") is gonna' B D-Shizzy the very next weekend when the whole scenario plays out yet again............me neither.
Willmx - Do I understand you correctly? You want to bet that Stewart is the fasteset man on earth 4 days after it was proven otherwise? I'll take that bet.......how much do you want to owe me?
"And as far as the lites having close times its because the track is obviously gonna be a little better when the lites are racing, common sense for any MXer." Huh? I've been racing MX for 35 years and for the life of me can't understand why you would make that blanket statement.
@ motox doc, tomac set his fastest lap in lap nine of a fifteen lap main event. james set his on the 5th lap. Track change but i don't think eleven laps compares to the cc advantage, especially when james is (was) touted as the fastest man on the planet. we'll all see in phoenix.
actually motox doc i think i should have directed the above statement @willmx. I don't think 11 laps did to much damage to that track. a little maybe, but tomac and seely where hauling.