Racer X Race Report: Anaheim 2
Sunday, January 20, 2013 | 5:30 AM
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PrintThe champ just tried to restore order to what has been a wild season of Monster Energy Supercross so far. Tonight at Angel Stadium’s third round of Monster Energy Supercross, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto sliced, diced and made passes until he was in the lead and gone with his first win of the year. Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard took second and Chad Reed took third on his TwoTwo Motorsports Honda.
Early, it looked like it would be a wild race, through. Jake Weimer holeshot the main event on his Monster Energy Kawasaki over Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia. Barcia, last week’s winner, had to go through the LCQ to make the main after a heat race crash, but pulled a good start anyway. But Canard was soon the man on the move as he passed Barcia for second. Barcia would later have his problems when he cased a jump and slammed his face into the cross bar, giving him a cut above his eye and a bloody nose. Unable to see through the blood, he was forced to pull off and call it a night.
Canard then passed Weimer for the lead and held it for a few laps. Meanwhile, Villopoto was shuffled all the way back to seventh at one point, behind Weimer, Canard, Barcia, Reed, Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps and JGR Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant. But once Villopoto found his groove, things changed quickly, as he started passing riders quickly until he was into second by lap four. Then, he put on a charge to catch and pass Canard for the lead and pull away from there.
“I though it was a good track for racing and I was able to be patient and make passes,” said Villopoto.
“Once I saw the # 1 behind me on the board, I knew he was coming,” said Canard. “He was on fire all day. I was just happy to get second.”
No crashes or problems for Ryan Villopoto at all--and with the kind of speed he had at A2, those are the only things that could have stopped him.
Jake Weimer led briefly but the field was charging hard behind him.
Weimer and Canard battled for the lead, with Canard getting the spot.
Villopoto started making a charge, finally taking second from Davi Millsaps on lap 4.
Then the champ went after Canard for the lead, and got him.
Reed came out third after a race-long battle with Millsaps. Millsaps went down and Reed took the spot.
Simon Cudby photos
Millsaps ran third most of the way, in a big battle with Reed. At one point Reed, who looked much more aggressive tonight compared to the first two rounds, made a pass, but Millsaps got him back. Then Reed made a mistake and Millsaps got away, until he tipped over by himself near the start straight. Reed rode by for third, and Millsaps had enough of a lead over everyone else to hold onto fourth, and also hold onto the points lead for the third week.
In fifth came Weimer, who just held off Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey by about a bike length. Chaparral Honda’s Andrew Short was seventh with JGR Toyota/Yamaha’s Justin Brayton in eighth, BTOSports KTM’s Matt Goerke in ninth and Grant in tenth.
At one point, Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart was in the pack along with Villopoto and Reed, but he ended up tipping over in a corner, relegating him to 12th, right behind Dodge/Sycuan RCH Suzuki’s Broc Tickle.
The 250 SX class presented the battle we’ve been waiting for, as Lucas Oil Troy Lee Honda’s Cole Seely grabbed the holeshot over Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen and GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac. The three favorites in the Western Region then went at it in a spectacular battle, with Roczen hounding Seely for the lead, and Tomac showing Roczen a wheel from third. Then Roczen made a mistake, and Tomac blasted past for second. About 10 laps in, Tomac then got next to Seely and nearly made the move, but Seely held him off momentarily, before Tomac tried again and made it stick. Seely spent another lap on Tomac’s rear wheel, but then dropped his pace, allowing Tomac to get away and Roczen to make the move for second. By then, Tomac had begun to pull away, and he brought it home for his third win in three races this year. Roczen and Seely finished up on the podium, with GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne coming from way back to fourth, and MotoConcepts’ Jake Canada taking 5th.
Roczen and Tomac battle off the start.
Cole Seely (43) led a large portion of the main.
The battle up front was this good.
We're talking this good!
The 250 podium.
Simon Cudby photos
The night actually began on a sad note when GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham suddenly decided to announce his retirement after 19 professional seasons. Windham, who crashed out of last season’s racing after a big get off in Houston, and then knocked himself out in a crash at the Monster Energy Cup, had been hinting about this since round one. Repeating several times that he was worried about hitting the ground, he finally decided enough was enough, and he came out to opening ceremonies to salute the fans. After a few transfer jumps and his trademark stoppie, he did a victory lap and soaked it in. Windham will still be hitting the races this season to meet and greet the fans, though, but he’ll be missed out on the track. It’s been a great ride, K-Dub!
450 Main Event
1. R. Villopoto
2. T. Canard
3. C. Reed
4. D. Millsaps
5. J. Weimer
6. R. Dungey
7. A. Short
8. J. Brayton
9. M. Goerke
10. J. Grant
11. B. Tickle
12. J. Stewart
13. W. Peick
14. M. Alessi
15. K. Chisholm
16. V. Friese
17. C. Blose
18. R. Kiniry
19. M. Lemoine
20. J. Barcia
250 Main Event
1. E. Tomac
2. K. Roczen
3. C. Seely
4. Z. Osborne
5. J. Canada
6. C. Craig
7. J. Anderson
8. T. Rattray
9. K. Cunningham
10. J. Nelson
11. M. Stewart
12. M. Davalos
13. T. Baker
14. D. Tedder
15. S. Champion
16. D. Epstein
17. M. Anstie
18. M. Leib
19. R. Sipes
20. J. Savatgy
1. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki – 63
2. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda – 60
3. Chad Reed, Australia, Honda – 56
4. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 52
5. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 48
6. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki – 47
7. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda – 41
8. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda – 40
9. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki – 36
10. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha – 32
Western Regional 250SX Class Points
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda – 75
2. Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM – 66
3. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 58
4. Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda – 47
5. Christian Craig, Wildomar, Calif., Honda – 35
6. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki – 35
7. Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha – 35
8. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki – 32
9. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Suzuki – 31
10. Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Kawasaki – 30
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Ryan Villopoto may have locked up his 450SX title a week early, but the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross Championship finale still had drama and excitement to spare. Page 124.
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At least we know RV1 is back. A 52 lap was insanely fast.
Thanks for all the action you've provided K-Dub. Its been an amazing ride!
Am happy to see Reed pick up the heat, but ominous signs from RV. Only saw practice, but he is obviously crazy fast to have gone through them the way he did. How was JS7's speed?
Stewart needs to start riding the edge.. points getting away from him
In my opinion, Stewart should get the surgery and fix the knee and come out swinging for the outdoors, don't forget he had a perfect season there before..... There's no way he's gonna be able to fight back out of a 30 point hole with a torn ACL
RV was in 7th on lap 2, on lap six he was in 1st. so he passed CR, JG, DM, JB, JW, TC, in 4 laps and pulled away never looking out of shape. NOT good for everyone else ! GLAD to hear Barcia is ok !!
I predicted and still stand behind 8 wins for RV
There is the proof boys, RV punked them last night and shows superior speed to everyone. When they have challenging tough tracks he is the MAN. RD is what I said he is, a trail rider. Tomac is, Well the BOSS.
Cbs sports sucks. Don't sign on and say you're going to show the race and then show a basketball game. I asked this last year : do sponsors get money back when cbs doesn't air the show they said they would? If it was already part of the contract why not let us know they aren't going to show it? Tried to call cbs but nobody is there on weekends and they don't give an email address on there website, so apparently complaints aren't something they deal with. F you cbs!!!!
There is a new storm brewing called Tomac- WOW ! Sealy is putting his heart into it but ET is a machine.
I predict that DM has seen the last of the podium for awhile- Reed is showing his normal grit and getting stronger every week- RD knows now he has to hang it out he will continue to struggle to reach the podium but will be better than DM each week. TC is SOLID with top starts and speed and aggression- he will be there as consistently. Barcia is ok and was off all week but with his starts and aggression he is only going to get better. RV was in his own league last night and with unless 3 of these guys have problems I don't see Davy in the top 3.
JS is one tough man and I have no idea what its like to race with a torn acl but its isn't pretty right now,
At last the cream has risen to the top. RV and Tomac are on another level and right where they belong; the top step of the box. Also interesting to note the Stewart brothers are also side, though slightly further down the feeding trough :)
CBS isn't going to air today? I have to wait another hour, but it says on the program viewer that sx is on
I see a lot of coments on different articles about how stewart should just hang it up get surgery and come back for the outdoors. Let me clue you in on something james stewart has no intentions on racing the outdoors and you can stamp that he will always find a way out of racing the outdoors. my guess is the only reason he did some last year was because suzuki wanted a sign of good faith from him seein how he just screwed over JGR
metcalfe will be back riding that suzuki for the outdoors just watch
Looks like it's on at 10am pacific on local cbs listing here. No matter CBS sucks any way you slice it.
My guide says army navy basketball on cbs sports. I'm in NY so maybe its different for you.
Stewart is in a bad spot for this year as getting the knee fixed right now would not allow him to be back until around half way through the outdoors, and at that point he will still be recovering. But it sounds like there's no point of continuing to race SX like this. I give him all the credit for going out there and trying and his qualifying times show he had the speed, but he can only light it up for that one lap.
Milsaps is not going away..He still has the red plate..Awesome!!!! Barcia may have thrown away the title in one night..RV is gonna start rolling off some wins..Canard looks to challenge him ...Reed will build momentum into San Diego where he seems to always get a win..This season rocks..I have no guess who will be on the podium each week, however, Canard seems to be the safest bet to me if I had to put money on it..He could make a sequel to his movie with this season alone...Ill buy it..LOL
It's not on CBS sports, its on your local CBS channel
Watching the 250's on Speed right now, even though my guide said it was coming on at 1:00.
.......seriously, he does!! We lose a guy like WIndham but still have to deal with a chode like Grant!!
Now the race is on! My schedule changed right before my eyes. Dammit, now i already know who won.
Barcia had a rough nite.
Stew hanging in there until the SX season is over. No outdoors for him.
Tomac is the class of the field.
Sorry to see Windham go, but he's had a great career.
Millsaps is haging in there despite being on a "stocker".
Wonder if Ricky and Carey are questioning their rider choices.....
Feld made the mistake of partnering with Speed to televise the races. They'd rather show hours upon hours of a car auction and NASCAR crap over real racing.
Nice move on Speed's part to have the outcome of the 450 race scrolling on the bottom of the 250 races. People who were waiting to see what happened will be pissed!
Sorry Niko but Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny aren't real. It's ok to watch the race already knowing results!!
Speed aired the 250s an hour early which was cool now the 450s are on CBS. NOT CBS sports network.. Two totally different channels
Correct me if I'm wrong everyone.Forgive me I'm a little excited because I just watched the 250 main.I think Roger DeCoaster will be telling Roczen That he needs to be right on the rider(Sealy) before you jump out of the fast line and try to do a block pass.You need to be right on the rider not three,four or five bike lengths behind the rider jump out of the fast line loose you momentem and let Tomac close up on you.Roczen is going to be in the 250SX class for a few more years.What a dumbass.I'm no longer a fan of Roczen because he is to stupid for me.Maybe I'll come back during the outdoors.You can't take a block pass line if your 5 lengths behind the rider in front of you.SHIT!!!!
* James stewert has a knee injury so the results don't really count.
When I see Villopoto on the season points list I start to hear that faint Jaws theme... He's coming.
RV looked awesome. RV and RD looked great in qualifying on SupercrossLive. Barcia clearly has speed but like Stewart, seems to be his worst enemy at times.
RV looks to be taking control but Reed, Canard and Millsaps will be the sentimental favorites. At this point predictions are useless because the entire season has not gone as planned. Watch Dungey come out and smoke the field next weekend. It has been that type of a crazy year.
Saw Roczen's crash in the 2nd timed practice. Holy Crap. Got slammed down like a meteor hit him. He lucky to be walking.
The earth is back on it's axis and Supercross order is restored. A few more races and the Hierarchy of points leaders will also be in order!!
the only rider that could really give RV a run for his money is James Stewart...unfortunately, he only lets me down every year whether its his fault or not...just don't know whats wrong with that guy...now, he's getting older and even for next year when he gets his knee fixed, I don't know if he can keep his speed up anymore like he has in the past. You can't feel too bad for the guy with all his fame and fortune but its kind of a shame that he was so destined to become the best ever and then wind up ending up like he has the past few years.
Speed channel sucks
Caught Seely's podium speech guide was an hour off.wtf?
RV1 was flying!
Will Windham vanish or will we see him at a national enduro or gncc?
Yep I'm pissed too. Set the PVR to record the 250's on speed and got the off road crap instead. Worked my whole day to catch the 1:00 race and record the other which was supposed to be on at the same time and missed the damn thing thanks to the listings.
On a good note, I liked how Milsaps didn't give up in the LCQ and really wanted to show he's got the speed and will to win, then when Chad passed him he immediately came back at him and pulled away! He's for real, for sure.
I agree, Stewart's age will and maturity will not let him have that wreckless abandonment riding anymore. Don't count anyone out, RV could easily dnf next week.
Trey Canard is obviously the most consistent rider in the series so far, he probably has a 50% shot at winning this title!! If he keeps clicking off 2nds, its his assuming RV will have another bad race.
Speaking of Maturity, what has been up with Josh Grant the last few races pushing JS into the tuff blocks multiple times and even off the track last night. He needs a reality check. I used to have so much more respect for him.
Of course no one can be counted out. You can't make predictions based on DNF's though. If you do, you have to keep in mind EVERYONE can have that bad night.....Canard included. I do think Canard will continue to click off 2nds, with the only problem being RV might be clicking off wins. It's wrong to base what RV will continue to do off of one win, just as it is wrong to base it on his A1 performance. The bad news is that RV could possibly be better than he was in 2011 or 2012 moving forward. I think he found a groove in Phoenix and last night realized he doesn't even have to push that hard too completely anihilate everyone else. The fact that he went by Canard and Millsaps like they were lappers is downright scary. They weren't even any sort of a challenge, and we saw how hard Reed was working to get by Millsaps (and failing) and how hard Dungey was working to get around Short (success) and Weimer (fail). I'm really hoping that it was just a case of the track REALLY agreeing with RV at A1, because if he is that much better than everyone else, this will be a very boring watch for the next few months, unless he starts around 10th. That was a ridiculous display of speed on his part last night.
Think Barcia will have regrets about pulling off. Thye said he couldn't see because of blood but that wasn't the case. Solid injury but nothing that couldn't have waited 20 minutes
I'm just glad to see bubba out there riding. Hope RD gets some good results soon, he's the man
RV was fast, so what. Am I the only one who remembers the last two races? He seems to be the new JS7. Really fast, league of his own speed wise, but its win or crash so far this season. Canard looks to be really setting himself up for a run at the title.
Also, am I the only person who thinks the tracks so far have sucked? Not fun to watch, no cool rhythms, etc. A1 had that cool wall sand jump with the kicker before it and the fast guys were jumping over in practice, but they took it out for the race. LAME.
Slowing it down is ok, but the walls they built at PHX and A2 suck.
As a rule of thumb, if you have a bad knee, stay as far away from Grant as possible. I'm trying to like the guy, but there seems to be a pattern here.
I got a bloody nose on a street bike (the only time I'd be going as fast as these guys do) and it splattered up my vision pretty good. It does seem like he could have pulled in, put a tampon in his nose (the mechanics would carry those, right?), get new goggles, and still got a 15th or 16th. There's no way of knowing if a few points will matter in the end.
A total as$ kicking for RV1 last night.. If he does that consistantly the rest are going to be racing for 2nd place.. Too bad Millsaps made that mistake and spun out or he gets 3rd I think.. I believe he could have held off Reed, he is riding like he used too in the 250 class..
@Toothperry---I have never been a huge fan of Grant--too much Metal Mulisha in his attitude, fine for freestyle, just hasnt worked out for racing.. He has been kinda dirty for a long time.. He pushed RV wide at A1, and is still doing ti, I know all the rubbing is racing crap, but not when you are a 7th place guy, and you are shoving wide a guy going for the lead.. And if Stewart is hurt that bad, he needs to get it fixed, he got lapped last night..I think he wants to finish supercross and sit out the Nationals.. He better hope it improves or he is racing for 10th place..
I say Barcia pulled off because he got the $hit knocked out of him.. I would say it fogged him up pretty good, for it to break the skin like that, it hit him pretty freaking hard.. Its easy to sit here and say he should have kept riding, but we dont know how hard the hit was..
Don't forget that Barica's face had been wiped at least once by Doc Bodnar before we saw his face on the screen. Not arguing that he would have won, but you can't tell how bad the cuts on his face were based on the brief shot of him on the back of the mule driving to the Asterisk medical unit.
Hindsight is 20/20 and I think that's a good thing to remember with Barcia last night. Sure, we probably could have kept riding and salvaged a few points but he probably felt that blood running down is face and that's got to be a very scary feeling. He could have been questioning whether or not his head was split open and when in doubt... check it out :) lol
But seriously, I don't blame him for pulling off to get checked out but I do think that it shows he doesn't have the killer mentality edge I once thought he had. His desire to win I think has slowed down a little over the past year and that's probably a good thing for him long term.
I meant he* not we. "We" would have been drinking beer wishing we were racing on the stadium floor last night...
Mxbob, I'm pretty sure josh Hansens mechanic keeps tampons on hand.
They could have asked
yeah IM sure you keyboard warriors would have cased that triple and not even blinked an eye and kept going lol
Ive been a Dungey fan since his amatuer days but I dont know if I can take it anymore. Last week he wouldnt pass Albertson in the LCQ. This week he rode like a girl all night. He is ridding way too conservative and its killing me to watch. He wont stick a wheel in on anyone.
do you guys that are questioning barcias desire not remember his superman jump over the fence at lomel? when hhis race was clearly over for him but he wanted back in that bad, yeah I guess thats all out the window now and hes a coward get real theres not one person that comments on these boards that have ever ridden a dirtbike as fast as these guys and hit the ground or in this case the bars as hard as these guys you keep pounding away on the keys in the comfort of your computer chair
K-Dub we will all miss you at Supercross and Motocross in the future. Your mark in the sport will never be forgotten.
Damn! Watching Villopodium the weeken was awesome. He was pure poetry on the bike.
Yikes! Bam Bam's face was wrecked. I can't blabe him for pulling off the track right away from that one. And I just found out he broke his nose and had to have stitches for his eye. OUCH!!!
Nice to see Reed and Dungey looking like themselves finally. Now about those starts.
Finally, I think it needs to be said that Millsaps is looking awesome this year. Keep up the great starts buddy.
Look, it's all true, we're just armchair quarterbacks, will never ride a main event, crumble with the slightest pain, etc.etc....but the point still stands: Ttitles go to riders that do extraordinary things. To have ridden on thru that then taken his helmet off at the end with blood oozing, shoot, the guy would have become legend...missed a chance :)
@motonerd yes I am sure everyones been waiting and thinking "is this the weekend that milsaps fades back to his usual position" and aparently he has a new position that hes after everyweekend mad props to him and canard because without them two stepping up this would be another boring season because the others are struggling
I use to wet my bed thanks.
It's Barcia's championship run so it doesn't change my life any whether he guts something out or not. I didn't say he shouldn't have pulled in to get checked, I'm saying after seeing it was not so serious he should have thought twice about calling it a night. That's all. No one said anything about being a coward, where did that come from? If he comes down to losing the title by 3 points, I guarantee he will be regretting not getting back out there to even try. I just can't see RV, Reed, or Dungey even stopping given the exact same circumstances. If it was a problem with blood getting on the goggles, they'd just throw them away and salvage what points they could. In fact, we saw Dungey have goggles screw up on him at Budds Creek a few years ago and ride for 20 minutes getting roosted by Alessi with no goggles on. He didn't even think about backing off and avoiding the roost! I take it all back if Barcia has a concussion and can't go next week, but right now they are just saying he is fine and needs a few stitches. Anyway, it is what it is. I was just surprised when they showed him and there were the two trickles of blood that did not appear to be gushing at all. He could have doubled his points total by going 2 more laps as Lemoine only went 3 laps.
Yep, if Barcia was concussed, then he did the right thing. If not, he should have tossed the goggles. Particularly this time as he was one of my fantasy league picks. New nickname: One-Bam Barcia.
Looked to me like Barcia was trying to put his goggles on and was talked out of going back.
I know a lot of you guys are used to taking a hard one to the face, this was different, no hairy balls attached.
I agree that a bloody podium speech would have cemented Barcia as a legendary badass- but imagine getting hit in the nose with a metal bar and smashing the family jewels too. If his nose was broke then it would be swelling and mess up his eyes too. Many a riders night has been ended from casing a triple- even the goat.
Even though the fab five haven't been lookin so fab lately- it could all look different by daytona time. Now that Villopoto sees his "main rivals" struggling also- he can remain more calm and get to the front. Hes clearly the fastest so far but can he keep it on 2 wheels? Canard and Millsaps are showing that confidence is a powerful thing. Dungey looks real low on confidence- or is he like a snake in the grass waiting to strike? As mediocre as he has been- he is still only a few points from Villopoto- he just took a different road to get there.
Stewarts knee must be hurting more and not less- so much for riding more aggressive. He probably envies Kdub right about now. By the time he can log a full healthy season he may be too old to matter.
Never even watched the 250's- they had Ricky Johnson winning a dirt truck race instead. Looks like a happy guy though.
Kevin Windham, already a legend with 19 years will be greatly missed. I don't think he will wander too far from SX/MX and wouldn't be suprised to see him running a team down the road. Ryan Villapoto did his fans the Northwest proud this weekend! Great racing......
For anyone to second guess how Barcia felt after head butting his crossbar (and any other body part) seems to me arm-chair risk management at it's finest.
Maybe I'm mistaken, and missed some (actual) medical diagnosis as to the extent of his injuries here on RacerXonline, but having broken my nose before (and not having it magnified on the jumbo-tron) in a vehicle/accident situation, it rang my bell plenty hard enough, that I could easily empathise with his decision to pull off. And I would bet the good people at Asterisk Mobile Medical Unit highly suggested, if not demand he be checked out before re-entering the race.
From the few second reply of his face, it looked like he (may) have fractured his nose, and possibly other facial bones around the eye. He has been that route a couple years ago, if no one remembers, and I'm sure this was a (not) so subtle reminder, and he was back the next week with two big black eyes and sporting a "dying eagle" nose bandage.
In summary, I would never try to second guess another's medical condition and whether they are fit to compete, from my F***ing armchair. And for those who do, go out side and run full blast into a brick wall face first, at let someone in an armchair on TV for chrisse-sakes, tell you how little it (doesn't) hurt. And that you should do it it again because they didn't feel a thing.
Too many video games, is my guess, to de-sensify (actual) reality, in my opinion.
PS What a class act, Kevin Windham is. And his heart-felt good-bye presentation proved that once again. He, in my opinion, should grace the halls with all the rest in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, on character alone, with his contribution to the sport over his way longer than the norm longevity in this sport of, modern day gladiation, for the sheer pleasure of the masses.
Long Live Kevin Windham
Man, no more Kdub. I say we all rally to get him in the broadcast booth. Much more versed in the English language than RC. Maybe replace SCREAMING RALPH SHEHEEN (sp)????? Kdub is a huge fan favorite, especially for us "ol' school" fans. Those of us in the over 30 class.
For Windham, an EXTREMELY talented guy, to check out and not milk a 20 year aniversary tour, you know the tracks, speed & competition are tough.
So what, Barcia pulled over. There was a line from an MXA article years ago that stuck with me. Essentially, it said by not doing the double, he lost a second a lap, but gained six months out of plaster. I see the same situation here, Barcia lived to fight another day.
We are still so early in the season that we don't know if scratching (potentially) 25 points will make the difference. I think some guy last year (or the year before)missed qualifying for a main and still won the championship, so I think it's still within the realm of possibility.
I definitely agree with the previous poster that said Stewart should cancel SX, heal up and do the 'nats.
His career is on the line right now and the next move he makes will have far reaching reprucussions. I wonder who the heck is advising him on his career decisions? If he does what I suspect is going to happen, his name will be mud in the factory ranks. I don't think this is the "Happy James" that hauls so much azz & wins so effortlessly.
@ caseypons, KW will live long now............kickin' it on the party barge, sippin' on CL's.
The TV schedule may be correct in Uganda, but now where else. How messed up can CBS get it...PLEASE, let SPEED air everything, they seem to always have things right. If anyone has contact info for CBS, please let us know what it is
First off, I'm a Barcia fan, but he is riding like a guy that hasn't had a hard crash in a while! He thinks he can triple the 450 after he block passes or spins the rear wheel too much from the inside. Sometimes you have to choke up and double so you don't kill yourself. If Barcia was on stock suspension his girlfriend would be wiping his but right about now. Racing in both classes has been incredible and its a great time to be a fan. I'm really going to miss K-dub, He has always been a class act.
Cant believe stewart is staying upright on those pos zooks. If he was on another brand he'd be lapping everyone. That thing blew out his knee. Come on kawi or honda or cz put a bike under him. Side note it looks like kawi got the fork issue working for RV1. The bike looked alot more stable than week 1 and 2. Tomacs pass for the lead was insane. His corner speed is sick. Also Anderson being down on the start and coming back to 6th was impressive. In the heat he was 4 sec behind Sipes and Davados and in a blink was on them. Really think he was overlooked this weekend. Be well
Look, I've come up short plenty of times on triples on XBox and rode on thru the pain. Don't tell me about what it takes :)
Claxton (and other dumdums): Are you really that stupid? RD is obviously having problems with set up. ANYONE knows if the Dunge is right he can pass Short and Weimer easily. He has been doing it for 3 years now. He'll get better and you'll see.
Verge: I hear you but, as I said above, Dungey is struggling with set up. A lot of times right now he doesn't have the speed to get a wheel in there.
Dear KTM: PLEASE QUIT "TESTING" DURING THE FLIPPEN SEASON! GIVE DUNGEY THE BEST SHOCK AVAILABLE AND LET HIM RACE. THE BIKE LOOKS WORSE INDOORS THAN IT DID LAST YEAR.
RV: Wow.....
..once again so many have counted CR out before & at the beginning of the season..Reed will never beat poto in mx,,sh*t CR beat eeem him like a big bass drum 5x..the season before ,huhh Reed won the title & the red headed animal crashed out of the season..just facts..this year the same..this time I must agree..Reed doesn`t have a chance against the young guns..he was beat by 3 riders the first two rounds & the other night he was beat by two riders..whats the point ..he`s only about 15 or so points up on Bam f ing crash bam crash bam,how`d that feel ,looked gnarly bra,wonder if he broke his,,d*mn he just went down again..oh sorry thats a replay of one of the three crashes he`s already taken..that transition from the 250 to 450 aint as easy as CR makes it look.. he cased it so short @A2he dnf`d..I believe he`s already went Bam three times..thats bam,bam,bam. Reed can`t do that..for some reason the ama only gives points for results..oh & I was so wrong of the all time sx crasher stewi being irrelevant,my bad,tore up from the floor up,from all his crashes..he`s sure to catch McGraths record of sx wins,no doubt of that.. he`s about as relevant as jason lawrence & if my aunt had nuts she`ld be my uncle..results ..hang it up Reed your only third in the points..look @ all the racers in front of ya ...oh & rd is just mentaly burnt, thats all..look what he`s done the past four years..Roczens only problem is Tomac ..will emig ever realize lap times don`t mean a d*mn thang/the all time crasher proves that most races..aye squid please don`t reproduce..what bikes saps racing ..uhh huh ..again..don`t jump without a parachute your an idiot
RD just gets worse by the year :(
I doubt JS7 will get another factory contract if he pulls out this season to "get ready for outdoors" or "get ready for next season".
And if he does pull out to "get ready" and heal. He'll heal up and probably just go screw around. These other guys are getting *race* experience, so why he's at home taking casual laps, the other guys arent forgetting the race mentality. He needs to finish the season so he can get his mindset right and get back in the groove.
PLEASE SPEED STOP CUTTING TO REPLAYS WE MISSED CRASHES AND A PASS FOR THE LEAD FOR CHRIST SAKES _ SAVE THE REPLAYS FOR A 2 MINUTE SEGMANT AFTER THE RACE OR SOMETHING!!
And before people say its CBS faul it is not CBS filming it is Speed just airing on the CBS network. I'm so jacked on how time and time again we hear the crowd going nuts while a replay of the start or something is showing...
Why do they feel it necessary to play the TRACK map AFTER we already watched the heat races and saw the track?? Then they decided to waste more time showing a GOPRO track map. I miss the good ole' ESPN days
!st I feel Barcia did the right thing by pulling off, this is based on knowing the guy needs NO more encouragement on desire- he has it. He broke his nose cut his eye and knew his bell was rung. He pulled off to have his face checked and was told he was done- Smart.
Dungey- if some of you guys were really watching this series you would realize that he has had a LOT of bad luck and is doing VERY well with it. MOST of his problems were not his fault. in A-2 he braked HARD to not run over a body, in Phoenix he was knocked off the track by another rider messing up and wrecked hard. He has made some mistakes and is still a little more conservative in passing than we would like but he will be there in VEGAS.
I credit Milsaps with trying hard each weekend and it was good to see him come back at Reed, his starts have really made his year so far and his race has been excellent.
Reed, the roll has begun and he will not let Milsaps do that again, the guy is building and will not stop til Vegas. I would sure like to see him get another rider for his team- I think that would actually keep him racing longer.
Canard, I am glad he didn't try to hang with RV - BUT - I predict he will be trying by the end of this season, I think and hope he will be rock solid this year, he is doing awesome.
Caseypons, I only questioned Barcia's ability to continue AFTER seeing that his medical prognosis was that he'll be fine, with just a few stitches. I said if he had a concussion, he won't be racing next week either and OBVIOUSLY should not have continued at all. The one thing about living to fight another day? Barcia had already done the damage and was lucky his mistake didn't end his season with one or two broken arms/wrists. Was he going to hurt his face worse by riding a few more laps? He didn't have to do a single jump, just roll everything and stay out of the way of others. Funny is that I bet a lot of the people jumping in defense will also call it the pu$$ification of the sport when talk is of taming down the jumps and making tracks safer. Then those same people complain when 5 of the top 6 guys are all laid up with serious injuries after the track bites them. People don't know what they want.
Gotta agree with the comments about the TV coverage. I see little things, like a pass for the lead and the color guys (Ralph, Jeff and RC) simply keep talking about whatever they were talking about. Perhaps what they are saying is more important than the event itself. And I like RC, but not as a commentator (yet). I heard him say last week that he "wonders what those guys are thinking" on the starting line? I should think he might have a clue......Ralph and Jeff are fine but perhaps could be more informative. Add RC to the mix and it gets worse. Calling the event is about the event and the riders themselves, not about your last season. I would think that RC would be using his past experience to cover the events for the audience. And he should remember that Jeff was quite fast in his day, and can kick his (RC's) butt in the booth.
PS- Josh Grant needs to figure out that he will be faster and finish better if he worries about blocking LESS and racing MORE. when you turn into a blocker you also slow yourself down. It only helps to block some of equal speed. It irritates me to see slower riders block those that are faster (MA). Josh just race forward and find a little more speed man , you will do better.
davidl- I agree about the blocking. Anyone doing that would be better off dropping in behind the faster guy behind and following him for as long as possible. Let him pull you forward with him. Trying to keep Reed in sight from behind will be much faster than zig-zagging in front of him.
K - Dub, what can I say? You da man, hope to see you around soon.
RV - Damn, he was back for sure at A2
Good to see Reed inching up in finishes
Canard will be a huge factor come Vegas
Dungey has had some crap luck lately
Poor Stewey has to figure out what to do now, fix it or give in for this season
Grant is becoming an issue, too much effort with whos behind him.
Barcia, Having cased and broke my face up similarly to his situation, (I was still running an opened face helmet with a Jofa in 1990, had an Arai full face the next week) it was as bad as getting kicked by a horse. I bent my cross down so bad it was hard to get at the clamp bolts. When they(CBS/Speed) showed the side angle shot later in the broadcast, you could see how hard his face slammed the bar pad. Lucky he wasn't blown right off the bike from it. He did case a jump earlier in the night, can't remember if it was in the heat or the LCQ, commentators didn't catch it. If you have ever broken a nose then you know how he felt, sometimes a break is not that painful but it will effect your breathing no matter what, and some breaks are just so burning like pain that I couldn't have continued. Cut the guy some slack here, until you've been there, you don't know SH*T
I am no big Barcia fan and predicted last week that because of his perceived view of how easy last weeks win was would actually reach up and bite him and a couple notches suspension adjustment would entirely change the front runner. But, obviously a lot of people on here have never taken a hard blow across the nose. First thing that happens is your eyes and goggles fill up with water from your eyes. Any type of cut around your skull and you bleed like a stuck hog. Before he even straightened his goggles they and his eyes would have been full of blood and dirt and he is supposed to do triples under lights (one Canard type injury per year is enough) or pulled his goggles off and kept getting blasted by roost when for all he knew one of his eyes could have been hanging out. Once the doc saw the injury there was no way he would be allowed to re-enter the race. There was no way that they could have stopped the bleeding (into the goggles) in 10 minutes. And no way were the doc or Honda going to let a 20 year old rider with his talent and value ride with an open wound to the head, getting blasted with germ and worm crap infested dirt. If he wasn't landed on by another rider, he would have been dead with tomain poisoning by next week. Good grief!
All good replies about Barcia, kind of. I guess I'm wrong. it doesn't matter anyway as 1 point is not going to help anyone beat RV this year.
The odd thing is, flashback to Daytona a few years ago.....I watched the Asterisk crew pick up and hold Stewart's bike for him, pat the seat to show him where to sit, and help him back on the bike......after watching him stumble around, try to ride a TuffBlock and then fall on his ass! At that time I felt they SHOULD have kept him off the bike and that it was dangerous for HIM to be back out there. He WAS doing everything at full speed even though it took him a bit to get his bearings back!
I'm not sure if some responding even saw the race or the amount of blood we're talking about here. Eye hanging out? Goggles filled with blood? Now he would have been dead from worm-crap poisoning by next week if he had ridden 2 more laps? Good grief is right! Now I am glad he stopped and got the worm-crap poisoning antidote into him stat. Who knew Doc Bodnar stocked the mobile medical unit with that?!
I missed the darn race and I guess CBS doesnt let anyone re-air it? Either way this year finally seems interesting. Hopefully this RV win doesnt de-rail the parity we have seen so far this season. Racing is not that interesting if there are not multple people capable of winning. GO CANARD! WTF is wrong with Dungey though? Thought for sure that Dungey and Stewart would have top-level speed.
@B-KR that was the perfect reply!!!! That worm crap poisoning can be some serious shyt!
B-KR, you & I, I think are from the same old school moto era. My heros were the tough old bast*rds that rode with casts ,couldn't walk worth a damn to the line but could still ride the Sh*t out of a bike.I wanted to be one of those guys(and was at times) In Barcia's defense, guys like that just don't come along as often as they used to. He probably did the right thing in Hind sight. I would have maybe made that mistake of Keep Going, points are points. I can't ride with that disregard to myself like I used to. That flattracker in 'On any Sunday', that went through the wall but still showed up to the line with a broken nose, can't remember his name but my point is, that was the awe that fueled me to do this sport (for a living at one time).That passion has died down now that I'm old & sore. Remember Reed at Millville,and as you pointed out, Stewy at Daytona that was old school tough. Yes, Barcia would have got HUGE props if he'd continued and got all BraveHeart looking at the end but he will be around for another day.
You can't compare the two. Barcia and Stewart at daytona. I once crashed on the start and was told I was out cold for 10 sec. I got up and jumped on my bike and finished. When I got back to my truck I didn't remember a thing. When Barcia got muled kicked in the face and was bleeding he knew he was hurt and didn't know how bad. That is one of the scariest things you can feel.I've been in both situations and feel there not comparable. One is done with a coherent mind and the other isn't.
I found a replay of the race on justinTV for those of you that missed it.
Search for lap_this001
FELD : If I was a major sponsor I'd be totally p*ssed about the TV coverage screwups. Sked said 450's on CBS at noon, actually on at 1, the same time the sked said the 250's were on Speed. Even the DirecTV guide said 250's at 1, but it was some off road car or truck race. Never did get to see the 250 race. As I said before about the outdoor series, the perceived advantage of having races on CBS or NBC is a farce. There just aren't that many people today who don't have cable or satellite. Negotiate a complete package with Speed or Fuel with consistent viewing times for the races that are not aired live.
Couple more of those will tone the wild out of barcia
JimM
Pala374