by Davey Coombs
10 Things To Watch For At Phoenix
Friday, January 14, 2011 | 1:30 PM
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One round is in the books, and the 2011 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship has already delivered a couple of surprises, some big storylines, and an excellent, enthusiastic crowd in Southern California. Now it's time to head briefly out of the Golden State for Phoenix's Bank Chase Field. Once again the race will air live on Speed, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/7:30 out West. Here are ten things to watch for in Phoenix.
RV = MONEY - Ryan Villopoto is your points leader in the 450 class, and he looked more comfortable than anyone in winning the first main event of the season at Anaheim. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider was able to put a terrible leg injury behind him (they shown his ugly X-rays as part of his opening-ceremonies video, so keep an eye out for that too in Phoenix), and also nineteen other men as he raced away with the win. RV looked smooth, calm, and collected in the lead. He's leaner and stronger now—that's what trainer Aldon Baker does for an athlete—and he looked just as fast as he was last April when he broke his leg at St. Louis and missed the rest of the season. Don't be surprised to see #2 go for two in a row.
Can he do it again?
Photo: Simon Cudby
DOES HANSEN HAVE IT? - It sure looked like it on Saturday night in the Lites! Li'l Hanny is notorious in the industry for being fast, funny, and sometimes a little flaky. But when he pulls it all together, like he did on Saturday night, it's hard not to appreciate his talents. And it's not all raw talent either—Josh did the work during the off-season and it shows—nor is it the bike (his closest competition came from teammates on identical equipment). Hansen is one of the older riders in the class, and his maturity level showed when he got in behind Broc Tickle and then let the race come to him. If he stays healthy and keeps getting good starts, there's no reason to think Hansen can pull it off again.
THE CHAMP AND KING JAMES - While there was only one winner in the AMA Supercross class in Anaheim, there were two other men who went home with trophies as well as a good base to start from. Ryan Dungey was wearing his #1 plate proudly, and after an unsteady first part of the race, he rode a great second half and came away with a solid second. Behind the champ came the once and future King James (as in Stewart, not LeBron). He got cut off on the start by Dungey and had to dig out from way back. But rather than risk it all in an all-or-nothing sprint for the win, Stewart pointed his San Manuel Yamaha toward the podium and took third-place points. It wasn't the win he wanted, but he sure looked smooth in reaching the box in his first SX race since last January.
THE OTHER REDHEAD - Like Ryan Villopoto, Trey Canard is all red under the helmet. At Anaheim he debuted his new Honda CRF450R—well, actually, he rode one in a half-dozen races last year. But now he's a full-time Honda factory team member, which means the pressure has been upped a notch or three. But Canard rode well, and he will only get faster from here. If he gets a start and a couple of breaks, he could pull off an early upset in the desert.
TOP ROOKIE - There were plenty of storylines in the Lites class, and many centered on teenagers like Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac making their SX debuts. But the fastest of the newbies was actually a slightly older rider, Tyla Rattray. After two injury-plagued winters since moving here from Europe, the South African finally got on the starting gate for his first AMA Supercross. And even after a big crash in practice, he delivered a steady third for good points and can start stretching out his speed from here.
Can Tomac rebound after a shaky rookie debut?
Photo: Simon Cudby
TOP PRIVATEER - No matter how you define it, Chad Reed was a privateer for the first time in his AMA career on Saturday night. Riding under his own TwoTwo Motorsports tent (though yes, it was attached to a big rig) Reed piloted his Honda to fifth in its debut American ride. But here's the thing: Reed could not have been happy afterward, because his nemesis James Stewart came up behind him and passed him, and Chad didn't latch on to him and go through the pack like he should have. Fifth-place points are decent, but expect more from Chad—even if he is a privateer!
FASTER TRACK - The organizers of this tour know that the first-night jitters can bring a rapid end to a rider’s season, so they do their best to temper the early courses. Anaheim was pretty moderate, and Phoenix will be as well. But the dirt is softer in Arizona, which means it breaks down a little more and berms build up better in the corners. They may also throw a few more whoops out to challenge the riders, as Anaheim was lacking in that department. But still won't be as technical and tough as some of the later tracks will be; for now, as long as the racing stays good and the riders stay healthy, we can live with that!
GREEN WAVE - Whether it was Villopoto in the 450 class (after passing early leader Ivan Tedesco on the Hart & Huntington Kawasaki) or the freight train of Josh Hansen, Broc Tickle, and Tyla Rattray running away from the field in the Lites class, it was a green streak out front in Anaheim. But here's the thing: the factory Monster Energy Kawasaki 450 of RV was running an FMF exhaust system while all of those fast Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki 250s were sporting Pro Circuit pipes. Regardless of which brand of plumbing these bikes used, they were flying—betcha twenty green ones that every one of the other brands were hard at work on the dyno and work benches this week, trying to put a stop to this before it becomes a tidal wave.
BELIEVE THE HYPE! - Whether it's Ken Roczen you've heard your friends raving about or Eli Tomac, neither of these young stars finished as high as they should have in Anaheim. But with a week under their belts, the German KTM rider and the Colorado Honda rider should both be much more relaxed and comfortable on a full-on AMA Supercross track, having gotten those opening-night jitters out of their systems. Believe the hype—both are the read deal.
Will Windham stand atop the podium in 2011?
Photo: Simon Cudby
WILDCARDS - Whether it’s the veteran Kevin Windham or Ivan Tedesco in the 450 class, KTM 350 pilots like Andrew Short and Mike Alessi, or long-overdue Lites riders like Martin Davalos and Ryan Morais, someone can just find the right rhythm and the right lines on a comfortable track and get up front in a hurry. Pretty much all of the the top talent is out there right now, but it's never too early to see something shocking and spectacular in AMA Supercross. Watch it closely, live on Speed!
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Yeah Ryan! Show em how it's done again this weekend at phoenix! stewie aint go nothin on ya
This column should be renamed 10 things cut and pasted from previous articles. Nothing new and exciting here. ho hum.
'aint go nothin on ya' ....yyyeah, I beg to differ. I think it was pretty obvious that Stewart was the fastest rider last weekend. I am not saying he will win the title, but I am pretty sure he has 'something' on RV. Take a look at the past and see how Tortelli, Grant, Lusk, etc. ended their season when they won A1. It's one race, let's not anoint RV the best rider ever award yet.
RV "The fastest, G.O.A.T., King of Supercross, on the planet!!" or so we seem to be making him
... and the good news is that there are 16 more races to see who wins it all. Fastest does not mean best nor the most points at the end of the season. It's funny that Speed is tracking a "win or crash" % for Stewart.
Maybe it's time to let go of who's the "fastest" guy out there lol. Winning races is all that counts in the end. 20 solid laps is what it is going to take week in week out to win the championship and nothing less.
Davey Davey Davey... how can you say that RD1 "cut off" JS7 Implying that the bad start JS got was the fault of RD? You like Cox did not look at the film at all did you? If you slow it down and look closely at JS you will see he gets sideways out of the gate then bounces left into Millsaps then corrects to the right bouncing into or near the rear of the already a half bike length ahead RD1! It was simply a messed up start by JS7 and completely his fault. All of you that think different, take a close and slow motion look at it again..
Great Column DC (don't agree with "Come On's" assessment). It is good to see another regular weekly online column from the BOSS.
From what I saw James started about mid pack and Chad was close to last. I'd try watching the race again. James never passed Chad, he started in front of him. Maybe I should be writing this article ; )
It's very hard to make an assessment of the series with just one race completed...Villopoto has some speed, no doubt about it, but he's going to have to get those good starts EVERY race to win with the margin that he had at A1.
bjgoodness,,, Reed was right behind JS at he very beginning,, then JS said "LATER" to Chad.. Maybe YOU should watch it again.
DC- Seems you are overlooking Christian Craig- Remember the main and the move Hanson made on Craig, he won't let that happen again. Get em Craig
(they shown his ugly X-rays as part of his opening-ceremonies video, so keep an eye out for that too in Phoenix) Please proof your article, as an English major I shown this to my class to see if they noticed. They did.
ABC123,,,, Who cares !!!!
ABC123, "as an English major I shown this", did you mean "I've shown"? proof your comment?
I'm an idiot.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm RD CUT JS off on the start... Boy if that was the other way around we would be hearing how BAD JS is. LOL
ABC123, yeah, you are an idiot
Were any of you people actually at A1 or are all of your opinions based off of what you saw on T.V? Well im telling you that if you were there you would realize James most definetly is the fastest man on the planet he proved it all day! What the difference was, was his composure, he knows it will take consistency to win the title and that is a big improvement for him. Fact of the matter is the entire top 5 from A1 WILL win a race this season and they ALL deserve respect! May the best man win!
Everything on your article is old news, you need to come up with something new, we as fans would like to see a better track for better racing, Couple of years ago they a different rider every week design the track and it was awesome. Also, RC is the GOAT on a motorcycle, but it doesn't make him a good commentator, get David Bailey back.
Jimmy, I couldnt agree with you more. Seriously though it's Shaheen they need to get rid of. I have been listening to him for way too many years. Bring back Art Eckman and David Bailey! I do enjoy listening to Fro but stupid Shaheen always interupts what he's saying.
Wouldn't be great to have two races in the 250 and 450 class ,best of two for the overall ,just like moto..? Just say'in......say 14 laps per race?
"dont give the trophy away yet" is a quote that comes to mind
Oh god no, please let the Art Eckman years stay in the past. He would call riders the wrong names, and constantly yell some stupid catchphrase whenever Bailey was actually breaking down a situalion during a race. Shaheen isn't all that, but he's better than Robbie "Bubbaesque" Floyd and most of the other guys since Despain called races.
u guys are all idiots, ryan smith is going to take the win tomorrow with ease. he is by far the fastest lites rider out there
I think there is to much play on RV2''s leg. we dont need to scare away future riders parents. hey all of us from am to pro have been hurt. I just dont see the reason to promote the injuries?
Ralphie boy hasn't got a clue....blah boo blah duh... I miss larry huffman ,now that guy could talk...R.C was very nervous?
its funny how they all are saying how unexciting the race was and predicted top three being stewart, reed, and dungey. how easy everyone forgets that villapoto still had more wins than any of them last season without even finishing the last three rounds. I say phoenix will be stewi, poto, and canard top three.
How could you guys leave out Paluzzi, the rookie was pretty impressive!
Wish JS would race a yz250.
I think it would be great to let 250 2 strokes race the lites class..
JD: Yeah bro you have a valid point, Paluzzi was on it and so was Baker and Seely all the so cal boys were very impressive! But have to give a shout out to my boy Topher Ingalls he looked good in his heat and I know there is more where that came from!
What is with this "King James " stuff. The ONLY King of supercross is Jeremy Mcgrath. How very insulting that is to MC. And Dungey didnt cut nobody off at the start so that is why nobody is saying anything bad about Dungey BILLC, so get off the high horse about your boy..
Sheheen says the same things over and over, week after week. An example: "Jeff, what's so amazing about Kevin Windhams style?". And the answer has a 30% chance to include "mmmkay" :D Carmichael isn't the best commentator either. I liked Bailey very much.
i was at the first A1, and with all its talent it was not an exciting race it was boring, and i beleive stewart is smart and not riding stupid, he has an edge on everyone, he might not win them all but i think he is riding smart and remembering it is a long season alot is going to happen.
for the 1000'sX for the slow people (bd) JS is not my boy. I want RV to win it but I look at it from reality and know JS is the fastest so unless he crashes or has some bad luck he should win it. Its funny how unless you have your lips on someones ass you are a hater. Like when I said K-Dub wont win people jump all over me... Its sad.
PS. bd are you sure RD did not cut him off?? I mean there are Vids out there that people watch and still won't admit what happen.. Right??
Nothing about Jimmy DeCotis to Geico to fill in for Hahn?
what the hell is windham doing looking for the time??
blame JS's bad start on Dungey. Yea, right... Tomac will continue to get smoked. Roczen will only get faster. He was hurting so bad at anaheim, cant believe he rode at all. Why do they still talk about short as if he can win. Him and alessi will be struggling all year. Kawasaki's killing it. loved seeing Hanny and Poto give it to these mofo's. Would kinda like to see DAvalos get that zook out front. Maybe he can, its his birthday. R'mo? Podium's calling you, where ya at.
this is interesting anyone can make a post claiming to be anyone. Hehehehehe.
That was me above ..... My apologies to BillC for using his name to make my point.... often disagreeing but respected none the less.
I think I'll go to sleep during the lites main, because there's nothing "exciting" about watching a Pro Circuit 1,2,3 freight train. 3 totally boring riders boring the whole world except all the Kawi cronies. Lights class all year= time to go to sleep. Get ready folks Mitchs 27 and 26 year olds are going to race the 16 year olds..........YIPPEEEEE!!!!!
RD cut off JS, so what ! Thats how its down when you get a wheel on someone .Why no mention of all he contenders James came the closest to throwing it away at the first race of the year (besides he ws going for blah blah blah)and his big surge through 15 to 6. James please pull a holey and if you checkout I will be the first to give you props. 2 is 1 at the end of the year and Reedy will be there.
I like the youngsters Toamc, Roczen, Paluzzi, Seely , Craig, Tickle or anyone but lil (27 year old with a ton of SX exp , cut the track every lap and still gap my teamate by 3 seconds) fanny in the lites class.
Where is J-Law? This sport needs him...Stewie is going to run away with it. And the KTMs are missing 100cc... real bad.
Yes your right BILLC. Watch the race and see Dungey did not cause Stewies bad start. I watched the race at least 3 times. And I know you are still dying about Townley taking out Short at the Des Nations. Yes He did, I saw it. Ping even finally admitted he came in way too hard. So there you go..