Phoenix Super Spoiler Report
Sunday, January 13, 2013 | 12:20 AM
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In the 450SX class, we've already got another new winner on the list, and it's still not one of the "Big Four" of former SX Champions. Justin Barcia was on the gas all day, and took off with the holeshot in the main event and simply checked out, leading to his first career 450SX victory in just his second-ever start.
Ryan Villopoto crashed on lap two but worked his way from 8th to 3rd, and was pressing Trey Canard for 2nd on the last lap. Then Canard fell and RV grabbed the spot. Canard lost three positions, as Davi Millsaps, who ran second early, and Chad Reed, got past. The third-place finish for Millsaps allows him to keep the points lead for the second-straight week. Reed and Canard rounded out the top five.
In the 250 SX class, Martin Davalos started the night with a huge, huge crash in his heat race, but bounced back to win the LCQ and then grab the early lead in the main event despite the terrible gate pick. But Eli Tomac was on the move, starting about top five and then working up to second. He then carved into Davalos' lead, took it and checked out. Ken Roczen then managed to catch Davalos with two laps to go, they collided at one point, and then on the final lap Roczen was able to make the move and steal second. Davalos held on for third.
Ryan Villopoto crashed on lap two but worked his way from 8th to 3rd, and was pressing Trey Canard for 2nd on the last lap. Then Canard fell and RV grabbed the spot. Canard lost three positions, as Davi Millsaps, who ran second early, and Chad Reed, got past. The third-place finish for Millsaps allows him to keep the points lead for the second-straight week. Reed and Canard rounded out the top five.
In the 250 SX class, Martin Davalos started the night with a huge, huge crash in his heat race, but bounced back to win the LCQ and then grab the early lead in the main event despite the terrible gate pick. But Eli Tomac was on the move, starting about top five and then working up to second. He then carved into Davalos' lead, took it and checked out. Ken Roczen then managed to catch Davalos with two laps to go, they collided at one point, and then on the final lap Roczen was able to make the move and steal second. Davalos held on for third.
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Congrats to Barcia on the first win!
This season is shaping up great!
Is it Saturday yet?
barcia kicked ass.
Me thinks that very solid win by Barcia spells trouble!! That's what me thinks!!
Great job Barcia. James is out of shape. That knee crap may be true but it's cover for poor training. His brother looks like crap too. Notice his positioning on the bike after the qualifier.Elbows down head sagging.
Barcia looked great tonight and Davi hanging to the red plate unbelieveable. Too bad for Trey, hope he finds his groove and get a win. I hate to ask, but is there a new lawn dart king out there? I see Stewie has kept it on 2 wheels so far. What a great come back for Davalos after that horrific crash. Congrats to all of those guys, job well done.
i hate to say it but if stewart keeps riding like this his gear sales will stink
2 different winners in 2 weeks on the 4fatties . . . and none of the 4 former champs have won yet, I like it. At least 6 different winners this year . . .
Some of you goons just live to bash JS don't you?? Get a life would ya??
It's funny how the designated "FMOTP"(regardless of who they give the title) is always allowed to blame the bike when they constantly ride over the edge and crash all the time. It used to be Stewart and now it's Villopoto. SO sick of the excuses for guys who ride ever the edge all the time....
Good to see Stewart not making excuses and having fun out there even when he isn't the fastest guy and winning.
Believe the hype! With all the build up this year, you could almost expect something to go wrong but this looks to be possibly the best season in 20 or 25 years.
Imagine next year when everyone returns and up comes Dean Wilson and ET!!!
Go Dunge!
I was hating on JS7 all last week. I'm really proud of him for pulling through this weekend without any excuses. I think he must have read the comments here because he was talking to RC and the guys about "no excuses". He wasn't on the podium but he rode with some heart. He needs to finish the season, for himself, the fans, and to keep his sponsors. I think we fans would rather see JS7 race in 5th-7th than not race at all if he can't be in 1st. And he was up in 1st in his heat race, he just needs to be patient and he has the skill. Good on ya James for getting in there, keep it up.
RD looked upset in the LCQ on the line talking to Erin. I think his skill and all that is there, he's just mentally shaken up. Seems right now his head is his worst enemy, it's like he doesn't believe in himself or something. I hope he can get past it. The guy bested every other champion his rookie year in 450 SX.
RV, RD, JS7, Reed, I think they've all been too comfortable in the off season. Meanwhile the underdogs and rookies have been working their a** off.
It was good to see RV out there today though, had he not slipped I think he would have pulled 2nd, maybe even 1st?
Looks like we've all underestimated Barcia, Canard, and Millsaps - they're hungry.
Or do you guys think its the bike for RD?
@CZ
Losing the front end in a slick corner is hardly Lawn Darting. Don't be a troll
RV put in a good ride but needs to leave the air forks for the test track and put last years forks on the bike.
Everyone is gonna have some bad nights with this group of fast guys. No time for cruising. This is getting good.
"first career 450SX victory in just his second-ever start" --- I thought Bracia did some 450 supercrosses a couple of years ago while he was still in the 250 clas?!?!?.
JS7 did exactly what he needed to do. Good for him. RV was almost back on his game - another couple of weeks and he'll be up there. Barcia was ridiculous. Everyone knows he's fast, but I didn't expect him to step up so quickly. Hat's off to him. RD5 is doing about what I expected him to do, which ain't much. He's only fast when all the other fast guys are out. That was sad. Milsaps, Canard, Reed - great races. Keep up the good work fellas.
I love james and i think he is toying with us, but i like it. Barcia and canard are in it for the championship. rv has his work cut out for himself
And BTW - there is clearly something wrong with RV1's front end. Anyone who knows anything about bikes can see it. He's not making excuses. Same for JS7 last year on the Yamaha. It was indeed the bike that caused most of the problems. Most people have acknowledged that by now. All the blue riders said the same thing.
Barcia raced 450 outdoors /\
Savatgy winning that heat would've been awesome!
Davalos crash had me almost out of couch! Killer start from the outside.
Canard! You had the ponts lead!!!
Oh! and go Davi!
Just looked it up. U r right super fro, thanks
@firstOrDirt James Stewart out of shape? What? He was fastest in practice at Anaheim and Phoenix . The guy jammed his knee up like Villopoto did and he's still out there putting in the work .
@rxc1 - RV did get 2nd . . . no way anyone was catching BamBam tonite.
yeah I agree at one point he had a 10 sec lead
@supersxfanman:
REALLY!?!?
js7's "bike problems" all just went away after he got in that yellow bike, huh?!
YUP, no more crashing after he got on that "great" yellow bike...
Have you been a fan for longer than the past 14 days...
I seriously doubt it!
...oh, but at least your highly trained eyes can see that in fact there really IS a problem with that green bike...
They ALL crash the same, regardless of the bikes color, when they are regularly ridden past their limits. Amazing thing, that gravity...
Then again... It probably is that pesky new air fork that is causing poor RV1 so much trouble this year...
Yup! MUST BE THE BIKE!!!
RD5 had some bad luck tonight, bad start in heat led to crash then led to LCQ, that led to outside gate pick for main. I said before the start the best he could do was slam on the binders and cut across to the inside as almost every start had the outside guys getting pushed off the track. And look what happened?!? But again this highlights Dungey's biggest weakness, his ability to pass. He could not even pull the trigger on Top Jimmy in the LCQ.
Interesting season shaping up.
People need to pay attention to how important a holeshot is. Barcia was 4 seconds ahead at the finish after being 11 seconds ahead of Millsaps earlier on. Millsaps, Canard and RV were catching him and don't forget Alessi was running road block for awhile too. Another thing not to forget is RV actually fell, got going, and still worked back up to 2nd. What I saw was RV finding his race groove at around lap 10. Next week the roll might just begin. He got 3rd at Phoenix last year after crashing.....and then actually took 4th and 3rd at the next two rounds before winning 4 of the next 5 and 8 of the next 10, so don't be so quick to wonder "what's wrong?"......but there are more potential winners this year. And I will say again that it is GREAT to see Stewart having a plan and sticking to it and not throwing it away by pushing too hard. A 7th or 8th is so much better than a 16th for the points chase.
@hamncheeze:
DUDE!?!?!
It's NOT RD5's fault bro...
It's that orange bike!!!
Everyone knows that new air shock makes that thing ill-handling. Can't blame RD5, man, it MUST be that bike!
(Good night: Gotta get up early tomorrow and actually go ride.)
dd4130 wrote: 5:32pm January 11, 2013
Millsaps red next week, after A1 I am saying he will be top 4 this weekend & keep the plate.
I also picked Barcia for the win. Another interesting race. Bring on A2!
As an RV fan, it's hard to swallow the crashes lately. I know a tiny slide out in a flat turn is pretty easy and common, but RC might be on to something, there. I mean, how can you argue with the GOAT? Obviously somethings wrong, I don't know if it's the bike, him, or what, but he doesn't look like the RV from last year, and he looked really fast in the heat race at A1.
Reed said "Barcia is gonna be a pain in the a8s all year"....what he should have said was " a really great starting , really fast pain in the a8s' ...wow ..nice ride....RV's definitely is picking up the pace another week or two and he'll get to real work.....RCRDDW ..no comment on the 8th and the crashes...just RV's excuses????..lol..not riding some EDGE ain't gonna win this one...ain't gonna happen..you best strap up , get your passing skills honed and get ready to hang it and bang it cause 51 ,41, 18 and 1 don't look to be playin no waiting game. Yee Haw.......ole paint still wearin red....
Dungey wasn't running the air shock they ditched it after last weekend so try another excuse
The announcing was a lot better this race also.
BARCIA !! BARCIA !! BARCIA !! WECOME TO BAM BAMS CLUB
@pizzacorner
RC looked like a lesbian
I have stated this many times here, Rd could not pass my dad on his Penton. Was that my dad in the LCQ or someone morphed like him? The fast boys are present this year so he better quit trail riding and take some chances. RV did not look super good but better then everyone with the exception of Barcia. One thing about RV is, you are going to get all he has on any given night.
Dungey was on survival mode after the crash / mishap. Any smart person would be, but people will rag on him for lack of killer instinct while praising Stewart for being smart & patient with 8-7 performances. Total double standard.
The track was dried-out & slippery with a narrow racing groove, so pushing it was inviting disaster.
It's odd to me to hear people expecting fireworks, it's only the second round. There are fifteen more rounds like this and it's going to be a war of attrition.
The smartest guy out there might be Reed taking 4-4. He's right there points wise, and hasn't been injured, fallen down or even had his feathers ruffled.
There's a three way tie for 6-7-8th place. Strategy-wise, safe & sane is netting the same results as dumb & dangerous. I would definitely take a more conservative approach and save my body for the later rounds.
Carmichael himself has said "leave California intact" as a championship-winning strategy. Who is going to argue the five time champs philosophy?
@Carlsbad. Have u ever rode with a bum knee?? A blind man can see JS7 is riding conservatively.
I can't believe that a red bike was actually able to FINALLY win! Bung-Bam Barcia sure is lucky that all the fast riders had problems...
Super lucky: He is also running that same flawed air fork system that has been so problematic, not only just all the red bikes, but OBVIOUSLY something is wrong with RV1's green bike this year, too!
Shoot, not even the super-talented Canard could keep that red bike off the ground even with that extra weight from the EXTRA (undesirable & unnecessary) exhaust pipe that is supposed to "balance & stabilize" and make that otherwise ill handling red bike work better.
Of course those evil RED bikes nearly ended Reed' career TWICE last year before those changes for 2013, so I guess it was an ill handling bike then too. Yup...
MUST BE THE BIKE!
2 races in........ already all the laygayness is starting........ its not dungies bike, its bad luck, 8th place sounds good to mIe. Villo doesnt look as good in corners this year IMO. reed will get there, millsaps looks good but i dont think hell stay there for long. stewart will get better to, just dont know how much better. great season is starting baby! :)))))))))))))))))))
@claxton So Dungey gets a bad start and pushed off the track and then doesnt pass for the win in a race that makes no diff if you are 1st or 2nd and you say he cant pass your old man on a Penton? While you were watching the races did you see one other rider make as many passes as Dungey last night? Let see, went from 20th to 8th in the main RV last week went from 12th to 16th but he can pass anybody right? Last night RV went from a start in the top 5 to 3rd in 19 laps and was given 2nd on the last lap so he cant pass either right? Get your old man out there and lets see how he does.
HONDA HOLESHOTS BEAT HYPE !!!! BAM BAM !!!
@sherpa--Dungey made a good save passing all the riders he passed. Kudos to him. But RV did not start out top 5.. He passed Stewart. Reed, Canard and Millsaps.And a few others before he got too Stewart. It is a little tougher to pass those guys than the guys Dungey was passing Dungey really should have won the LCQ.... Good ride by Dungey, but pretty good one for RV also..
im calling it now if any of the top guys get hurt the first ones are gonna be reed and dungey it happened last year when they were getting waxed by rv they tried to step it up and got hurt the pressure is on them rv and jb are just doing what they always do (go fast) than you add in DM and TC getting great results as well yeah I'd say the pressure is gonna be on reed and dungey especially once rv overtakes them in the points lead in the next few races and they start dropping back further and further
@sherpa-Firsty I'd like everyone to know that I respect all the racers bottom line - that Claxton guy though...he has a huge hard on for RV - he cant deny it... look at ANY of his posts on the matter of RV:) - Claxton don't get offended.. its okay lil' lad......i just want to know how it feels now that the guy who all last year you were ripping on won his first SX in his second race DONT DENY IT EITHER - who else can claim that?...bench racers - to clarify I mean in his first FULL season. I am tempted to go into the archived stories and find the crap claxton said about Barcia last year - how fight; will and desire would not be enough to win - ripping on the kid when he had that race stolen from him and the subsequent meltdown -yes...remember? - Until he beats RV straight up there will always be doubts (by straight up I mean bar to bar with no take outs)
Imperessed JS hung in there.
Good ride by RD
It's okay Trey - it is coming - and so is the Championship - little bird told me...
Millsaps- your the boss..keep at it Duke!
Reed - crafty Reed...very much in it even when he hasn't been in it?! - veteran stuff...
RV-the look on your face said it all. it was a good second - just keep grinding
Barcia - i've known it all along Bar-ci-a! - and more importantly so have you!
i find it funny on how many people criticize dungey on not being first in the LCQ. Sure it is great to watch the riders on the the edge all the time but this is a long season and the #1 plate is the main concern. Why would he take a chance when he was easily in the main by just riding SMART. What is better getting in the main for sure or getting 19th pick at the gate? Im sure Roger would have words with him if he threw it away. Everyone talked trash about Stewart when he was riding on the edge all the time "win or crash trying" whats the point? In fact I see a smarter Stewie this year, knee or not he is looking more mature. As for Barcia, I wouldnt say Im a fan but its impossible to not have respect for his skills on a bike. He is a contender for sure. One last thing, Tomac is the Champ.... Cant wait to see him on the 450s.
Great racing! My heart rate was through the roof. RV is gangster with it thou. Barring disaster its his. Stewy showing maturity finally(the knee deal may work to his advantage) slowing him down and keeping him up. Looks way better on zook. Good luck to all and may the best man win!
You Dungey fanboys need to recognize. Just admit it and deal with it already: your guy can't pass. His raw speed might keep him in 3rd or so if he gets a start, but he's got to get there first. And this year, with the deep talent - his old strategy isn't going to work. The bike isn't his problem, and it has nothing to do with luck. When JS7 struggled, I didn't hear you guys saying he had bad luck (he did). So the same rules must apply now to RD5.
crashapoto strikes agian
@dinosaurmedia: And I thought it was only me that (continually) notices Claxton's selective memory. He watches the races and reports back on these boards only what he (wants) to remember. And if you didn't win because the throttle wasn't pegged from gate-drop to checkers, then you are not worthy of riding anymore and you should pack it in and retire.
Claxton, there are so many facets in the riders that you condemn, week in and week out that you fail to see, when you report on these boards. Other than bigotry and contempt for anyone who isn't on your (todays) list of favorites, then you have your narrow viewpoints down just the way you (want) to see them. Why let truth or reason have any bearing on what you type. Just keep them rose coloreds on, baby. You look (ridiculously) good in them. Party On, Garth...
What I saw was three red bikes (51,41 and 22) that were set up quite well and seemed to adapt to the track getting loose and slick. No doubt RV has the speed, dude can turn down a corner quicker than anyone I've ever seen, the kx just wasn't helping much...they'll get it figured out. As for Dungey, I cant figure him out and probably never will. he shows no urgency, but it seems to work for him, he's a past champ right? And as for Davi, I just hope he's this strong going into the nats, thats where he shines!!
My guy Barcia is gonna dick slappem all season,RV will put up a fight bout it tho.Man Baggett out for season is a bummer,mays well giveTomac the trophy now