by Aaron Hansel
Anaheim 1 Practice Report
Saturday, January 5, 2013 | 8:25 PM
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PrintPractice is in the books here at the opening round of Monster Energy Supercross in Anaheim, California, and while several riders took turns setting the fast times, it was business as usual for two riders when the final session ended.
The first timed 250 session saw Jason Anderson immediately jump to the top of the board, but his time was soon bumped by a charging Ken Roczen’s 59.495 time. Roczen would better his time a lap later, but Ryan Sipes would claim the fast time shortly thereafter with a 58.241. The session was then interrupted when a crash from Killy Rusk brought out a red flag. After Rusk was able to walk away, practice resumed and Eli Tomac went on a rampage that would see the big number one stay on top of the board for the rest of the session. Tomac ended with 57.630, followed by Ken Roczen (57.641), Martin Davalos (58.039), Ryan Sipes (58.241) and Blake Baggett with a 58.432.
Davi Millsaps started his year out right by setting the initial pace in the first 450 qualifier with a 56.855, but it wasn’t long before the number seven of James Stewart jumped to the top, only to be bumped by Ryan Villopoto with a 55.980, a time that would stand for the rest of the session. Josh Hill had a crash in the rhythm section that saw him leave in the Asterisk medical mule as practice drew to a close. His team said that he had slightly tweaked his hand and that he’d be back for the second practice, but when the final qualifier rolled around Hill was nowhere to be seen. We’ll keep you updated on this situation as more information becomes available. Villopoto was fastest with a 55.980, followed by Stewart (56.255), Millsaps (56.855), Ryan Dungey (57.107), Trey Canard (57.342), Kevin Windham (57.378), Chad Reed (57.519), Broc Tickle (57.658), Justin Brayton (58.091), Jake Weimer (58.749) and Justin Barcia(58.812).
The final sessions weren’t too much different than the first. Roczen held the fastest time for several laps before Tomac, who as usual was searching out new lines and attacking the track as if it had stolen his lunch money, rose to the top and set the final fast time of 56.705, followed by Roczen (56.767), Zach Osborne (56.897), Blake Baggett (57.015), and Martin Davalos (57.189).
In the 450 ranks Villopoto was fastest initially until Millsaps knocked him off the top with a 55.917. Then, on his sixth lap, Stewart laid down a 55.401 and promptly exited the track. Elsewhere, Dungey, who is running a trick looking air shock, pulled off into the mechanics area for several minutes so his mechanic, Carlos Rivera, could make adjustments to what appeared to be the shock. We know The Dunge is running a new "air shock" without an external coil spring.
Stewart was fastest with a 55.401, followed by Villopoto (55.551), Millsaps (55.917), Dungey (55.925), Canard (55.945), Barcia (56.359), Short (56.998), Reed (57.066), (Tickle 57.078), Mike Alessi and (57.353).
Be sure to stay tuned to Racer X Online and follow us on Twitter, @Racerxonline, for updates from the opener, all night long. For photos of practice check out our Simon Cudby’s photos from the qualifiers we posted earlier today.
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Hill already done. Many predicted it but still sad. You know what they say about doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.
Too bad for Hill. Calling Bret Metcalf.....
Cheers to Supercrossonline.com for broadcasting the qualifying practice....much better than following twitter updates and trying to picture what is going on!!!
A fukin + !!!!
Stewart looked pretty good on the zook....much smoother and more in flow with the bike compared to the Yamaha.....if you dont agree...then I dont know what to say...BUT!!!!, before you stab me.... But!!!.... that doesnt mean anything other than he "looks" better....He set the fastest time, but looked much more in control doing it compared to anytime last year in my opinion.....RV looked great and Canard as well....GREAT to see Davi running on top of the qual board...
CHEERS!!! LETS GO RACING BOYS!!!
Houston QB Shaub is Milsaps big brother
Stewart will always have the fastest lap. Always
RV will win the main by 10 seconds......
They are saying that Millsaps has lost over 70 Ibs. during the off season. Can you imagine if you dropped that much weight? Sounds crazy.
Stewart seems to always set the quickest qualification time and win the heat. Then he throws it away in the main.
Need some photos of KTM's springless Airshock
Stewart tweaks his knee in last practice, putting brace on to see if it helps
Well James got the fastest qualifying lap(always one of his MAIN goals) but tweaked his knee in the process. But boy was looked fast!!! Whoo wee!!! Good to see the built in excuses before the season even starts this year....
RD looks solid but RV looks hard to beat after watching practice....
Go Dunge!
No!!! Stewart tweaked his knee the last lap!!! Now he has an excuse not to win..... Stewieonekanobi you were our only hope. Poto will kill the jedi and take over. Evil wins:(
james stewart has tweeked his knee before the season even started. making excuses already. GO RV
And after he worked so hard repairing that finger all summer......
If Stewart is serious about this championship, he'll get out there and ride around somewhere in the top 15 at least. You can't leave the first round with no points against racers like Dungey and Villopoto.
You look at JS7's team, they all look like they hate him.
Typical Obama supporter...weak.
@not4show
Go to motocross action for pics of the air shock.
pizzacorner--you said Stewarts team looks like typical Obama supporters? Are you saying they are white people with university degrees or that they look like 52% of the voters? That is your typical Obama supporter if you look at the stats. That's a weird comment for a dirt bike website.
Millsaps made me eat my words, congrats
pizzacorner--i wonder how team green is looking at Poto right now after all his recent injuries as well as his performance tonight. Thank god he didn't get hurt out there! I see now why Stewart has gone down so much in the past blitzing the edge of max speed vs eating dirt. Looks like poto has discovered it too. First race blues for everyone, lets hope we see happy faces next week and not pain and agony! Its amazing also to see all you guys still trashing Stewart lol, good night!
mxchampion, shut up. You're just a moron who plays tough guy behind the keyboard. He tweaked his knee during the last qualifying session and still managed to finish the race in a controlled manner. What happened to your boyfriend Ryan Villopoto? Let's hear your excuse.
mxchampion, shut up. You're just a moron who plays tough guy behind the keyboard. He tweaked his knee during the last qualifying session and still managed to finish the race in a controlled manner. What happened to your boyfriend Ryan Villopoto? Let's hear your excuse.