10 Things to Watch: A2
Friday, January 18, 2013 | 11:05 AM
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PrintBy Aaron Hansel and Chase Stallo
Now or Never
We’re only two races into the 2013 season, but if Ken Roczen is going to show that he can win against Eli Tomac, now’s the time. Roczen only trails Tomac by six points, but the 250SX series is short, and if he doesn't start beating Tomac now, he’ll have to start relying on luck before he knows it. Not that Roczen’s pair of runner-up finishes is bad, but he’s gunning for the championship this year, and after A1, Roczen himself admitted that consistent podium finishes may not be enough to take the title. Can he get a good start and make it happen this weekend or will he suffer yet another demoralizing defeat? - Aaron Hansel
Well That was Fast
Team Honda Muscle Milk has got to be overjoyed with Justin Barcia. The rookie put the 2013 CRF450R on top in just his first race with the team at the Monster Energy Cup and has asserted himself as a race winner and legitimate championship contender just two races into the season. Does Barcia have the speed to go all 1993 Jeremy McGrath on us and put together a big streak of wins that sees him win the title in his rookie year? - Aaron Hansel
Zach Osborne will be ready for A2 after injuring his shoulder in Phoenix.
Simon Cudby photo
Same Place, Different Dirt
Although Monster Energy Supercross was at Angel Stadium just two weeks ago, using the same exact dirt we’ll see this weekend, the riders can still expect to notice some key differences in the racing surface. For one, Feld Motor Sports used the stadium last weekend to host Monster Jam, and those big monster trucks do a pretty good job of compacting the dirt. Second of all, the track itself should be a have a slightly higher level of difficulty. According to the track map, there’s a long set of whoops and several rhythm lanes that could present some interesting options. Fans who arrive early for practice get the added bonus of seeing the guys experiment with different options before figuring out the fastest line around the track. - Aaron Hansel
High Standards
Chad Reed’s year hasn't started out bad, but it hasn’t started out the way he’d like, either. With two rounds down, he has yet to make the podium. He has a pair of fourth place finishes to his credit, which really should be fifths; he inherited fourth at both A1 and Phoenix due to crashes from Barcia and Trey Canard. Last year Reed took his first win of the season at the third round. Will he do it again this weekend? - Aaron Hansel
Arena Warfare
Monster Energy Supercross isn’t the only motorcycle racing series right now that’s experiencing some serious parity. In just four nights of racing, Amsoil Arenacross has already produced three different main event winners, and with the current set of rules and small arenas that all but guarantee racing that’s full of banging and scraping, anything can happen this weekend when the series touches down in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Also racing will be Ryan Villopoto's younger brother, Tyler, who made his AX debut last week in Baltimore. - Aaron Hansel
Can Kyle Cunningham make a run at the podium in Anaheim?
Simon Cudby photo
Clock Strikes Midnight?
Through two rounds, the clock has struck midnight on the Cinderella team from a year ago—MotoConcepts Racing. Following a career-best supercross season in 2012, Mike Alessi’s 2013 season has been a disaster thus far. Following a bizarre finish line crash at A1 (when he collided with a Tuff Block), Phoenix served up another rough night for Alessi. A mid-pack start, and a crash later in the race, produced a second consecutive 20th place finish for Alessi. Meanwhile, Jake Canada has experienced his own share of problems in 250SX. A mechanical DNF at the opener was followed by a strange scenario on the startling line in Phoenix, where Canada failed to have his helmet removal system in place. “It was 100 percent my fault,” Canada told Racer X earlier this week. Canada was black flagged (which Steve Matthes has reported was just to tell Canada to strap his helmet on, but he wasn't aware of that) racking a second consecutive DNF to begin the season. Will the troublesome start continue for MotoConcepts, or will they right the ship in Anaheim? - Chase Stallo
Starts, Starts, Starts
Ask almost any rider what they need to improve on to better their results, and 99.9999% of the time you get the standard, “I just need to get better starts.” With a field as deep as the 250SX West Region this year, the prevailing answer rings truer than ever. In the case of Star Racing Yamaha’s Kyle Cunningham starts have been his Achilles heel this year. He's shown the speed—tenth fastest lap at the opener and fifth fastest lap in Phoenix—has remained injury free (something that has plagued him at times in the past) and has shown the ability to come through the pack. Yet, bad starts (twelfth at A1 and fifteenth at Phoenix, after lap 1) have relegated him to eleventh and eighth place finishes, respectively. Just six points back of Rockstar Energy Racing’s Ryan Sipes for fourth in points, Cunningham will need to find a way to conquer the start if he plans on climbing in the standings. - Chase Stallo
Proving Ground
“A lot of people would say, you shouldn’t be bummed, those guys are all race winners that beat you, blah, blah, blah. But I’m at the point now where that’s not good enough … I don’t want to get sixth,” Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer told Racer X after a sixth in Phoenix. Therein lies the question with Weimer. Although he had five podiums last year, he’s yet to win in 450SX. Clearly he’s unhappy with a sixth, but with numerous race winners in front of him, wherein lies his ceiling? He’s a proven podium threat, but is he a race winner? Not many would have had Weimer penciled in front of Ryan Villopoto and James Stewart through two rounds, but clearly Weimer is looking at more than just two rounds—he’s looking to solidify himself as an elite rider. Will Anaheim 2 prove to be a coming out party? - Chase Stallo
Will Anaheim prove to be a coming out party for Weimer?
Simon Cudby photo
Doctor Feel Good
After nearly four years contesting the FIM World Motocross Championship, Zach Osborne was a forgotten piece of the puzzle entering the 2012 Monster Energy Supercross 250SX West Region. Two podiums (in four rounds) later and Osborne was at the center of talks with GEICO Honda. Signed just months later, the Virginia native was no longer hiding in the shadows, he centered directly in the spotlight. Following a hard practice crash in Phoenix many feared the worst. But Osborne gutted out a sixth in the main, and is hoping to regain momentum this weekend. “My shoulder is bruised and sore but I’m fine,” Osborne told Racer X. Although he won’t be 100 percent this weekend, he did tell us the shoulder will not cause any problems.
Walking on Air
Bike setup issues are often, well, an issue at the opening rounds, and this year's talk centers around the Showa SFF air forks many of the top riders and teams are using. Obviously, they're working for some (Barcia and Canard), but Chad Reed is still putting in a lot of work to get comfortable with his. Ryan Villopoto and Monster Energy Kawasaki, who used KYB suspenders last year, are also working through the glitches (Ricky Carmichael noted how RV has washed the front end a few times on last week's TV broadcast). On the other end, literally, Red Bull KTM tried a rear air shock for Ryan Dungey at A1, then went back to the regular coil-over spring design at Phoenix while they waited on changes to the air unit. Reed, RV and Dungey all logged more suspension testing this week. We'll see if it changes anything.- Jason Weigandt
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I really think its going to be an RV show this weekend. Which for myself as simply a huge fan of SX/MX is great. 3 different winners on 3 different brands is just great for us!
As much as I would love to see Canard on the top box I just think with all the motivation RV has right now to prove he is the champ for a reason he will make that 450 scream. But who knows, this season has proven to be unpredictable so far, which is just fine with me!
"He has a pair of fourth place finishes to his credit, which really should be fifths; he inherited fourth at both A1 and Phoenix due to crashes....."
Because crashes aren't part of racing?? Maybe it's " Reed kept it on two wheels and EARNED his 4th place finishes, while Barcia and Canard made mistakes, losing points.
I feel this weekend if RV holeshots its over obviously...but if he is behind Barcia or Canard, they are the only ones who have shown the speed to hold him off thus far...so as a fan of racing I am hoping for the scenario where the two red riders are in front of the champ and a wicked battle rages until the checkered for the win...who wins I could care less but I feel Turbo Trey is due...he looked just as strong and fast as RV before his washout last week - in the closing laps anyway.
Sucks it's not live this week. Ya get spoiled seeing it live LOL
Reed will be fine - championship not so sure but by Daytona if he hasn't podiumed or won let the alarm bells start ringing - this hold true for Dunge and Stewart as well obviously
Weimer needs to quit his whining and accept his place as 2nd tier with occasional podiums when the 1st tier crashes. I've never seen flashes in that kid. He's fast and consistant for sure but that all I see. And the amount of b!tching he does, especially last year, good god! I'm glad he's not a podium regular. end rant.
toroP - I agree Reeds finishes should have been 4ths because they were and they were earned. It still amazes me that people still think that way. Should we say should have been 1st when he went down, NO he got what the race and his errors gave him.
Reed is about where his usally is at this point in the season- he is ahead of RD ,JS,RV and could be in the lead tomorrow- and people say he is slacking ?? This must be the first time they have watched SX. He is making a great solid start to the season and has always improved as the season went on and has never stopped trying.
Just a couple more..
Every one knows Ryan Dungey tends to ride in his Comfort Zone, which is pretty fast, but with other riders pushing their boundaries, will this be the race Ryan tries to raise his game or will he be content in his CZ for a few more races...
Stewart came clean on his damaged knee, admitted he has been careful, but now he says its time to go racing. Does that mean he will throw caution to the wind and be the JS of old or just that he is going racing and do the best he can...
Anaheim 2, is the 3rd round, bikes should be sorted out, the riders nerves should have settled and it is time for the racers to race to their fullest potential which should provide great action for us fans. Be sure to watch the race on CBS tomorrow , the bigger the viewing audience, the better chance we have, of landing a large corporation, one looking for a place to spend their advertising dollars next year. Supercross needs to be that place....
So can Bam Bam really go Jeremy? That would be interesting, but it is really hard to see. Weimer coming out of the closet? What he don't like chicks? I would think by now we would have seen something from Jake. With living at Ryan's house, you would think maybe he would have picked up on something. But the big question last night was, will Dungey find his way to the front of the pack., we will see. Hopefully James will have a good night at A2 and put in a solid ride.
barcia and trey have factory honda to help with air fork reed does not
Ah, BD25 you said CZ, Ryan can borrow mine. He won't make 20 laps, but will look good trying? ha ha
"Does Barcia have the speed to go all 1993 Jeremy McGrath on us and put together a big streak of wins that sees him win the title in his rookie year?" - Answer: no. There are too many other fast guys out there who can win. No streaks this year.
In 04 and 08, when Chad won his titles, his first four race results were identical 1-2-1-1. Chad may put on a happy face, say all the right things, "be in it to win it", being a team owner, that is part of the job. As a racer and owner, he has to have long term goals, but as a competitor, each week you want to win!
You want to beat all the other guys you line up against. You know it demoralizes your competitors and gives you the confidence needed to make it through the rough patches of the long series. To be a Champion you don't need to win them all, but it helps to win early...
. I am sure Ryan Dungey feels the same, his goals are long term, so he accepts the fact he won't win each week, but he wants to win. Ryan knows he cannot reach his goal with out winning, in 2010, Dungey's championship season, he started out 1-2-1-4. Like Chad early season victories lead to a title.
Chad and Ryan are riders we look at as consistent and they are, because of their mental strength, but we can't forget they are racers first and they want to win. Both need to twist the right grip a little harder and do so soon or the long term goal will be reached by some one else...
I believe we're going to see the 2009 James this year. I just wonder if that will be enough this time.
CZmark, I did that for you, glad you caught it...lol
First @ BD25 you had me confused on that CZ thing till I reread it and figured out "comfort Zone". I always like your comments BD25 yo do a good job.
Remember last year we had 4 different winners the first 4 rounds lets see 7 differrent winners in the first 7 rounds this year! I did say a few months ago I thougth Barcia just might wiin the Cship this year, we will see?
LETS RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made a error on my post ...Dungey started out 2-1-1-4 in 2010...one of these days I will learn to proof read...sorry ...same point though win early to have a shot at the title
Anyone that attempts to comare this SX season to recent seasons prior to 2011 isn't paying attention. There is too much competition for podiums. In 2009, JS won 11 races and Reed won 3, final points 377 vs. 373. AS29 was 3rd in points with 270 and no wins. No one will win 11 races this year, especially with a torn ACL, and there certainly won't be 107 points between 1st and 3rd in the standings at the end.
The smartest thing Kawasaki could do is hire the Deckers at Enzo to test on the side for Villipoto. Craig was able to nail settings for Roncada and Stewart almost immediately when he was at Kawi.
I know they have a Showa engineer helping, but he can only do so much. He needs valuable feedback from the riders to make the correct change in the correct direction. Not all riders are good at that.
Enzo could simply come up with a few setting ls for Ryan to try and speed up the process, plus they are helping the Industry.
Food for thought, I wished RV read these posts, he would probably pay for it himself!! I know Craig nailed a setting for Dean Wilson right off the bat, and Wilson liked the KyB air forks better than factory KAWi settings.
I think Reed is right where he needs to be.
I really like K-Roc and I would enjoy seeing KTM pick up the C'ship, but unless something happens to E.T., I kinda don't see it happening. Race wins? I hope so!
No matter what, Honda looks to be well represented this year. It's about time! Having seen the '80's-'90's Honda efforts, you would not have believed the dry spell they've had.
@ villaslowdoh, Reed has a formidable brain trust over there at 2-2 and I wouldn't count them out. If anything, they might be better off than factory Honda. I'd like to know for certain if the flow of equipment / tech / support is the same as last year or different and which way. Last year, Reed was the defacto Honda team (pre-injury) and had a full-factory bike.
I also think Showa has a lot to prove and would be foolish to withold information from ANY team that uses their product. Going on board with Monster Kawi is a big step for them also and they will be held to a high standard.
Dungey should be using the Showa-equipped teams' troubles to his advantage.
With Feld / Dirt Wurx progressively adding difficulty to the tracks, there should be another level of separation from the pack and another opportunity for the racers to make their move, whether it be good or bad.
Weimer seems like a good dude, but until he earns a 450 title, his status as "wing-man" is pretty much a done deal.
@ BD25, I think even a modicum of honesty from the Stewart camp is a step in the right direction. It might turn out that slowing him down might be the best thing for his long-term prospects at a C'ship, but let's not jump too far ahead of ourselves. How about finishing a series for starters?
@ rickamatuzio, I wonder how many sets of "Factory" forks are available? Are there enough spares to be sent out for outside testing AND would Showa even allow it?
Without knowing a hard number, it seems like EVERYONE (except Dungey) is using them and there might be a finite number of these forks to go around.
This seems like a slam-dunk for some hardcore, RXI investigative reporting. Where is MXA's belt-buckle spy camera when you need it?
weimer might poduim...he must focus
How can you Reed- tards say he's so consistent when he crashes kept him out of contention last supercross series and the last 2 outdoor series he hasn't been the same since the chadapult incident he has the same stuff as the other Honda guys. Make all the excuses you want but if he could go out and keep up with cannard and barcia on those Hondas why wouldn't he?
Good point, its possible Showa wants to keep the internals hidden.
But what do they have to lose? Have Enzo sign a confidentiality agreement.. And send the one set to play with during the week.
I know Showa is super high quality, and from what I hear higher quality than KYB. So it comes down to the engineer getting proper feedback from a rider so he can go the right direction.
I have talked with factory riders like Larocco and Decker, I guess it's pretty easy to get lost testing. Easy to accidentally go the wrong direction..
That's why Larocco and decker are so value to teams. They are not only fast, but very smart and can give the suspensions guys the info they need.
From what I hear Stewart can go fast on whatever you give him, and he can't tell you what's wrong but he twists it no matter what. Once Stewart gets a mint setup, he won't beat if he gets up front
@BD25- thanks! lol As for Dungey, I am not sure what zone he is riding in right now and it seems far off from the "comfort zone". It seems strange that with all the testing going on in the off season, they would have been better prepared.The season is still very young, so hopefully Ryan will find his groove. Other than that, keep up the good work!
Can any of u guys tell me when Mark Barnett won the 125 USGP at mid ohio,was there have the program autographed an all cant friggin remember? 1981? Sorry didnt want to change subject just drivin me crazy
Cant find any info on that race,he smoked everyone both motos.Evidently no camara crew at that one
@Rickamatuzio are you the guy that Don was talking about on ASK PING.Hahahaha Just kidding man I couldn't help it.
You don't need to watch Supercross Round #3 A2. I have the results right here:
1. Villopoto
2. Barcia
3. Millsaps
4. Canard
5. Reed
6. Stewart
7. Dungey
8. Weimer
9. Alessi
10. Short
11. Grant
12. Windham
KCrossett
Thanks, now i half to take the warden out to dinner.
Please don't post the results of next weeks race !!!
@ FatBastrd51 , 78 I think for Barnett.
Surely, others of you have noticed the front forks on MISS SX (Dahlgren)!!!! Know what I mean? I believe she too changed her settings and and has her machine dialed in nicely..............
Great article and a lot of good comments but I would like to say to those who think RV is unbeatable that he has certainly gotten beat in his last three races. I think A2 will look more like what we were expecting from before the start of the season. I am not a JS fan by any stretch of the imagination but I do recognize his talent and I also recognize his lack of it over the last couple of years. That being said I think he will get his first win of the year at A2 wire to wire. I also think we will see RD, CR, and RV in the top 5 around the first turn. Barcia will have to fight to get inside the top 5. Here is my top ten prediction:
1) JS
2) RV
3) RD
4) TC
5) CR
6) Barcia
7) Milsaps
8) Shorty
9) Weimer
10 KDub
11. K-Roc's voice to change when he finally hits puberty.
You are right and you know it fred.
OH, BTW, Barnett did not win the mid Ohio race in '78 as Carlsbad pointed out. I don't think Barnett even had a full factory sponsor that year; I think he was riding for Danny Bell from CB Suzuki out of Indiana. Barnett barely finished in the top ten of the nationals in '78. I have to wonder if Watanabe won the mid-Ohio race that year.
I've been hard on James but after seeing that interview I'm layin off. Thanks James for trying for us, we REALLY enjoy seing you ride. Sayin a prayer that knee will hold up. Best to you and your family, see you in Houston
Barnett was full-factory in 1978. He and Glover went at it hard all year. I think Glover won Mid-Ohio that year.
Just watched phoenix again to get ready for the big race. Even as I've been reminding people how fast RV was going in the last few laps, I even forgot JUST how fast he was. As Fro was talking about Canard dropping a 51.7 and closing the gap on Barcia, RV dropped the 50.8. RV flubbed and Canard pulled out on him and within a few corners RV was right on his ass again, just before Canard went down. A good race will be had if RV starts around 5th-7th.
I doubt Showa is interested in letting outside companies test the factory forks. But I'm also sure there are plenty of sets to go around to do so. If every guy racing with them isn't practicing and testing on them everyday, that is a problem. The problem exists that what feels great pre-season, doesn't feel so great when you get on the track raceday and 5 guys are faster and you're trying to go .5 or 1 second faster each lap. All of a sudden it feels like crap. Obviously good settings are available for certain guys (Barcia, Canard) and just as obviously, those settings aren't working for Reed. RV is going fast, so maybe he just needs to calm down some and let the forks work for him.
I was at mid ohio 1978 125 usgp- I seem to recall a 'three rider freight train' of Hannah Smith and Grossi.