by Aaron Hansel
Anaheim 1 Practice Report: Bubba's Back?
Saturday, January 8, 2011 | 8:40 PM
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PrintThe first qualifying sessions of 2011 are in the books here in Anaheim, and several riders have already made statements. But before we get into the practice times, let’s talk about the track a little bit. The dirt is thick and dense, and has a decent amount of moisture in it, which could lead to some pretty slick clay in places. The track crew has put lye, a drying agent, in the dirt, so as the night progresses, the dirt will likely become very hard. The sand section also has a fair amount of moisture, and it’s going to break down and get gnarly very fast; think Seattle 2010. The second corner after the finish line is a flat, 180 degree left hander, followed by a straightaway into a 180 degree right hander, and has great potential to produce some pretty serious stuffing and elbow rubbing. As usual, the track has several triples and rhythms right out of corners, but nothing that will be a problem for most of these guys. Lastly, the whoops seem a little smaller than past years.
In free practice, KTM’s Ken Roczen spent a lot of time rolling the rhythm sections and trying different lines. It must have paid off, because in the first timed session, the 16-year-old German came out and immediately set the fastest time in the first timed practice. The rest of the session turned into a duel between Rockstar Suzuki’s Martin Davalos and Roczen, and they ended up swapping the lead five times. In the end, Roczen’s 59.609 best time edged out Davalos’ 59.644. Josh Hansen, Kyle Cunningham, and Tyla Rattray rounded out the top five. Geico Powersports Honda’s Wil Hahn crashed out of practice and had to be carted off in the Asterisk Mule. Unfortunately, the crash marked the end of Hahn’s night, as he was forced to pull out with an injured back.
Kid Rocz.
Photo: Simon Cudby
The second Lites session was going in the same direction as the first when Davalos once again climbed to the top of the board. Roczen was clicking off laps, and his times were steadily improving, and it looked as though another duel would take place. Then Lucas Oil TLD’s Travis Baker had a nasty crash, going over the bars into the whoops, and unfortunately Roczen got caught up in the mess and went down hard. Baker was able to pop back up right away, but Roczen was a little slower in getting up. Once he was back on his feet, he circulated the track slowly, rolling everything, until he eventually pulled off into the mechanic’s area. Moments later, Tyla Rattray went down in a rhythm section and didn’t get up for a few moments. He ended up riding out of the stadium with his mechanic on the back before practice was even over. So if you’re keeping track at home, Wil Hahn, Rattray and Roczen were banged up after practice.
Throughout most of the second session, Eli Tomac was in second, until Hansen, Tickle and Cunningham snuck past with just a few minutes remaining. Davalos closed out the session in the lead with a 59.915, followed by Hansen, 59.933, Tickle, 1:00.393, Cunningham, 1:00.429, and Tomac, 1:00.547. So Davalos was second fastest in session one and fastest in session two. Look out!
Stewart sure looked good...
Photo: Simon Cudby
Many questions needed to be answered when the 450s rolled out, and James Stewart immediately went to work on answering a big one. He set the fastest time right away. Stewart has admitted that in years past, the team hasn’t done enough testing, but during Thursday’s press conference talked about his new suspension technician and increased testing time. So far, Stewart’s bike bears no resemblance to the bucking bronco he was riding in 2009 and 2010.
Is the 2011 Trey Canard the 2010 Ryan Dungey?
Photo: Simon Cudby
At first, Stewart had nearly two seconds on the entire field, but as everyone started ticking off laps, that gap started to slowly shrink. When the session ended, Stewart’s 58.749 lap time was still the best, with Chad Reed not far behind with a 59.063. Ryan Villopoto (59.672) edged out Trey Canard (59.673) by a mere thousandth of a second, while Ryan Dungey slipped into fifth with a 59.771.
The Dunge was solid, but not blazing, in both sessions. A crash in session two led to a broken throttle, but no physical problems.
Photo: Simon Cudby
The second 450 session started off different than the first, but had a similar end result. Stewart cruised for a few laps, allowing Canard to hold the fastest time for several laps. JS7 then went into attack mode, claiming the top time yet again. Stewart then started an interesting pattern of cruising for a lap, then beating his best time on the next. He ended the session in first, with an amazing 57.634, almost an entire second ahead of Canard’s 58.525. Reed looked smooth, and experimented with different lines during the session, and finished just behind Canard with a 58.574. Dungey had a scary moment when he went over the bars as he was entering the whoops, but fortunately the champ came out of the wreck unscathed. His best time, 58.809, was good for fourth, while Villopoto rounded out the top five with a 59.007.
Is James Stewart back? So far, it looks like it.
The usual suspects are at the top of the leader board, and it’s shaping up to be a crazy night. Make sure you keep visiting www.racerxonline.com, or follow @raceronline on Twitter for live updates from the season opener in Anaheim
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Bubba 1st, Canard 2nd, Reedy 3rd
stewart like always, whole new level
Let the SPEED begin!!! Looks the rest of the field is in trouble! Canard is coming up!! The rest of the field better get the cobwebs out of their azz and wake up!!
darn, less than a second gap between 250 and 450 laps.
Just like I said b4 haterz are quick to judge JS but he is not done. reedy beating out factory equipment. Hahha. Should have given him the money
Where is all the haters comments about Stewart now?????
Stewart will buckle.... crash and wad himself up bigtime..... and yes..Reed on basicly a privateer bike running top 3 laptimes..... LOL nice one factory teams...... Hey Honda.... fire Grant now and just hire Reed.
bubba's back? hells yeah. thats all anyone is gonna see of him.
Hangerz are as bad as Haterz, can't crown the champ after the first practicez. Teh seasonz is longz, whynt choo angry boyz just let it play out?
Well, you were saying that Stewart had lost it???? I knew that was the furthest thing from the truth! This season is gonna be bananas!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Matt, were are your comments now. Stewie 3rd behind RV and Dungey. Its not a 1 or 2 man race anymore and I am thrilled.
Yeah your right where are all the bubba haters now. idiots
Hey bd200. Did you see the start?? Bubba started almost last coming into the first corner and still almost caught up to Dungey! When did I ever say it was a one mans race? I never said that? I simply stated FACT. The whole weekend a lot of folks said he was washed up, had nothing for anyone, etc. Well I think he proved last night that he still has what it takes to destroy the entire field on any given night.
Yes Matt, I saw the whole race. And I know what you was getting at. If you dont like a rider, fine. But that doesnt mean he stinks. Alot of guys bag on Reed, saying he stinks. Well , he has 2 supercross titles to say he doesnt. I actually picked Stewie to win last night. I am not a fan of him as a person. His attitude is that he thinks he is above everyone else on the track. He is "too good" for all. But there is no doubt how fast he is. Reed actually made up more spots than anyone on the track. I feel the start will be more important this year than ever. Stewie is still just as fast as ever, but there are others who are that fast now too.
Just as fast bd200? In the main Stewart's fastest lap was 8 tenths faster than the next fastest. That's huge. He clicked a 57 in the heat race! There are fast riders, yes, but not as fast as him like you say. And if you knew where I was getting at, then why did you even bother with your early comment then? I never said anything about anybody stinking or sucking. They are all better riders then any of us on here. You need to direct your comments to the others who are trash talking, as I did. Honestly, I don't even know what your trying to get at. Other than the fact that you've stated the obvious. I don't agree with how he carries himself either, but that's his business. Not mine or yours.
Watch the replay of the start a few times. Just after the cameramans close up side-view of the front tires, for a split second, you see them coming towards you up the start straight. On the right side of the screen, you see stewart getting bounced back and forth, making contact with several bikes at once. Not sure what to say about his performance in general, just analyzing what happened at the start. Also, the track looked kinda hard to pass on, one lined and too narrow, but that bowl turn after the whoops, where he kept diving under everyone, was fun to watch. I did expect him to catch up to the 2 ryans though, seems like he had enough laps to do it. Dungey and villo are for real, and we have some great racing ahead of us. I think this was a perfect way to start the season, as the drama continues to unfold.
Did you guys see Dungeys skater knee slide ? Dude comes up shoort and pulls that off ! Incredible ! JimM CarlsbadCa
Matt, I think RV could put up another 8 tenths of a second if he needed too. When you are running guys down you usually push harder. Rv got in front of Tedesco and seperated himself from the pack. He won the race didnt he?? So he got to the finish line faster than everyone else right?? I'm not saying Stewie isnt fast, so dont act like I am. But it will not be a one or two man show. If you saw the race, you cant dispute that. And when he conducts himself like he does on the race I am watching, yes it is my business.
Then what was the point of your first post BD?? Trying to start crap?? JS was hands down the fastest guy there put LOTS of time on RV & RD, They need speed all he needs is a little better start. I would say his job this week is a LOT easer then the Job RD and RV have for the week.
Well it was great racing man that all i can say can't wait till next Saturday to see what happens. Stewart was fast an RV,RD an all the other guys out there they would run circle around me if i was out there. Im glad Supercross is back so sick of football games hell my superbowl is in Vegas the last round.
BD200, you can say RV coulda, woulda, shoulda all you'd like too. Until I see ANYONE match Stewart's pace, which I can't recall when anyone ever has, then come on back. Oh and Tedesco is a good rider, but it's Tedesco on less than factory equipment. Ya he's a lites champion, but come on. He pulled away from a top ten player. You gotta have alittle more to bring me than that. Stewart was pissed off. That kinda happens when your passionate about what you do. I guess you didn't know that. You're gonna sit here and tell me you don't like his conduct? What about the way Alessi carries himself? His head is so far up his A** he can chew his food twice. No it's not your business, why don't you worry about yourself and enjoy the RACING. That is why we are all here isn't it?