by Chase Stallo
Sign of the Lap Times: Phoenix
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 | 9:30 AM
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PrintLast week in 10 Things to Watch For in Phoenix, we wrote that things can change on a dime. It took just one round to drive that point home. Red Bull KTMs Ryan Dungey, in just two races, has broken the KTM supercross curse. Dungey secured the brand's first Supercross class podium appearance in the opener and backed it up with the brand's first AMA Supercross class victory in Phoenix--showing that he and his new team are ready to challenge for a title in 2012. The Monster Energy Kawasaki team provided a lot of drama as well. Jake Weimer had a break through race en route to his first career SX podium, while Ryan Villopoto rebounded from a first lap crash to take home third. Let's take a look at the lap charts to see how it all broke down.
AMA Supercross
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 3 | 52.030 | 11 | 52.898 | Ryan Villopoto |
| 2 | 1 | 52.058 | 4 | 53.182 | Ryan Dungey |
| 3 | 2 | 52.389 | 5 | 53.381 | Jake Weimer |
| 4 | 8 | 52.394 | 5 | 54.291 | James Stewart |
| 5 | 5 | 52.825 | 12 | 54.007 | Chad Reed |
| 6 | 4 | 52.857 | 6 | 53.760 | Kevin Windham |
| 7 | 7 | 52.915 | 4 | 54.199 | Trey Canard |
| 8 |
14 | 52.915 | 12 | 55.697 | Justin Brayton |
| 9 | 6 | 53.090 | 5 | 54.084 | Andrew Short |
| 10 | 9 | 53.430 | 5 | 54.754 | Brett Metcalfe |
| 11 | 11 | 53.432 | 4 | 54.704 | Ivan Tedesco |
| 12 | 16 | 53.641 | 9 | 55.850 | Mike Alessi |
| 13 | 10 | 53.725 | 12 | 54.559 | Josh Hansen |
| 14 |
13 | 53.826 | 19 | 54.984 | Davi Millsaps |
| 15 | 18 | 54.083 | 12 | 55.190 | Tommy Hahn |
| 16 | 12 | 54.097 | 5 | 55.087 | Kyle Chisholm |
| 17 |
15 | 54.159 | 6 | 55.956 | Chris Blose |
| 18 | 17 | 55.147 | 6 | 57.828 | Kyle Partridge |
| 19 | 19 | 1 Lap |
1 Lap |
1 Lap |
Nick Wey |
| 20 | 20 | 1 Lap | 1 Lap |
1 Lap |
Jimmy Albertson |
While Ryan Dungey was coasting to his first win of 2012, and KTMs first-ever as a team, Ryan Villopoto was setting down blistering lap times while slicing his way through the pack. Villopoto picked off seventeen riders, and quickly turned what could have been a championship changing crash into another routine podium appearance. Villopoto also set the fastest lap of the night with a 52.030, besting Dungey's 52.058.
Davi Millsaps has yet to live up to the high expectations that were placed on him entering the season, but this in not atypical for Millsaps, as it typically takes a few races for him to find his stride. But Millsaps can take solace in setting his fastest lap of the night on lap 19, further proof that his hard work during the off-season is paying off.
In sharp contrast to last week, Phoenix proved to provide riders with a more "typical" supercross track. But it also brought back sub one minute lap times with it. Last week no rider posted a fast lap under the one minute mark. This week, every rider posted a fast lap under one minute. Whether you agreed with the set-up last week or not, one thing it did accomplish was extending the race.
Dungey set the second fastest lap of the night en route to his first win of 2012.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
AMA Supercross Lites
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 4 | 52.3857 | 7 | 53.276 | Eli Tomac |
| 2 | 1 | 52.523 | 7 | 53.300 | Dean Wilson |
| 3 | 5 | 52.554 | 14 | 53.443 | Cole Seely |
| 4 | 3 | 52.811 | 8 | 53.436 | Tyla Rattray |
| 5 |
2 | 53.024 |
11 |
53.403 | Marvin Musquin |
| 6 |
6 | 53.308 | 10 | 54.088 | Zach Osborne |
| 7 | 7 | 53.366 | 6 | 54.811 | Jason Anderson |
| 8 | 11 | 54.007 | 9 | 55.167 | Michael Leib |
| 9 | 10 | 54.068 | 7 | 55.417 | Travis Baker |
| 10 | 8 | 54.132 | 8 | 54.876 | Nico Izzi |
| 11 | 9 | 54.192 | 11 | 54.837 | Max Anstie |
| 12 | 12 | 54.395 | 8 | 56.003 | Billy Laninovich |
| 13 | 20 | 54.416 | 3 | 55.505 | Martin Davalos |
| 14 | 13 | 54.741 | 13 | 56.269 | Bruce Rutherford |
| 15 | 15 | 55.287 | 9 | 56.471 | Teddy Maier |
| 16 | 14 | 55.504 | 7 | 56.810 | Vince Friese |
| 17 | 17 | 55.879 | 6 | 57.773 | Gareth Swanepoel |
| 18 | 19 | 56.386 | 3 | 57.975 | Adam Chatfield |
| 19 | 18 | 56.386 | 8 | 58.142 | Jean Ramos |
| 20 | 16 | 56.479 | 2 | 57.364 | Scott Champion |
For the second straight week Eli Tomac found himself buried mid-pack after another sub-par start. But Tomac again proved he has what it takes to bounce back. Another trend has followed Tomac in 2012, setting down some blitzing lap times. Following up on his "King of the Lap Charts" performance in Anaheim, Tomac would set the fastest Lites time of the night again in Phoenix with a 52.385.
While Cole Seely was unable to back up his dominating performance at the opener, he was able to put in another solid performance at Phoenix, further solidifying his chance at a Lites title. Seely also proved he is going to be a beast down the stretch as he set his fastest lap of the night on lap 14!
Tomac took home fastest lap of the night honors, but Wilson took home the win in Phoenix.
Photo: Andrew Fredrickson
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I think you guys made a mistake. You commented that Villopoto also set the fastest lap of the night with a 52.898, besting Dungey's 53.182. I think you ment 52.030 besting 52.058.
Hey Chase - I think you need to read the stats before stating them in a sentence.
"Villopoto also set the fastest lap of the night with a 52.898, besting Dungey's 53.182."
Actually if Villopoto's fast lap was a 52.030 while Dungey was a 52.058, barely a blink of an eye.
You also screwed it up on the Lites side as well. Tomac's fastest lap 52.387 not 53.276. Average is total time divided by # of laps. Did you fail math?
You must be a RV2 fan!
Wow, I expected to see RV1 with the fastest lap, but was kinda surprised to see Weimer so high. But considering were he finished I really shouldnt have been. And the see Dungey turn a lap that fast on that junky KTM is amazing.
Kind of expected to see Stewie have a lap in the top 2 or so considerent he said he should have won that race, but he was coming through the pacl after his crash, it may have slowed him some. But it sure didnt slow down RV1, he came from 18th place.. What a ride, and a great one from Weimer too.
Ok since nobody has started the Stewart bashing yet, I will take the honors. What an arrogant p.o.s to make a statement like "i should have won that race" when he couldnt even post a top 3 fast lap time. And I dont care if he was coming through the pack cause so was Villapoto and he had the fastest time of the night. He better pack away the money he got from JGR cause after this season he wont be getting the big contracts that he expects to get. I predict 5 years from now he will file bankruptcy.
SX class, 8 guys in the 52 range, that is parity. everyone has stepped it up, no more days of JS7 3 seconds a lap faster that everyone else. makes for great racing...
RE:WIhighhillsMX
You better get used to seeing Orange up front. The Junky KTM's are coming and you might want to check into the Betty Ford Clinic now to recover from your love of Jap Bikes being number one.
Easy fellas, dont look into it too much.....I think james was stating that had he had a better start, a top 5 start maybe rather than 10th or 15th, he may have had a realistic shot at winning the race....RD obviously had a nice open track....Weimer had an open track..K-dub did as well as those 3 were evenly spaced riding alone for the most part.....When passing lappers, they usually doesnt slow you up unless they are being a-holes....Battling through the pack and passing guys will who are fighting for position will slow you up. RV on the other hand was a mad man out there and was really aggressive, so he wasnt letting anyone slow him down......Stews best time was lap 5, when he was probably free of some traffic after passing 10-12 guys, then he bailed...Stew usually rides with that agression too, but seems to have toned it down...like people have been suggesting for a few years now.....
An example of how a "clear track" can make a big difference is this, next race you attend in person, watch the guys during qualifying/timed practice.....they will waituntil there is at least a straight away of clear track in front of them before they cross that finish line and do their hot lap for timing....you have guys out there like Alessi for example, who go fast for a sections then stop or slow down and then you have guys who want to battle in practice to see if they are able to keep up.....I am not making exuses for anyone...just pointing out that you shouldnt be surprised James lap times for example were not as fast as the guys up front....An open track makes a big difference for these guys when they can take their lines and not worry about slower guys.......RV is excluded...he is a ginger-beast!
It took RV to lap 11 to get somewhat of a clean lap I bet. JS was going well in trafic till he fell and that seemed to sap him. I don't count him out yet he could reel off 5 in a row and i would not be shocked. RV is an animal for sure. All he needs is a top 5 starts from here on out with no one crashing in front of him and he will be very hard to beat for the title. I see Short is in the same place he was last year on the 350...Hmmmmmmmmm
Killomoto I have seeen JS do that, Play all practice hitting a section then cruzz then hit a section then with 1 min left go and lay down the fastest lap.
I don't comment often, but felt compelled after reading a blow-hard like BD200's comment about the "junky" KTM. Is it not possible that this new bike is a departure from the KTM's of old? Possibly even on par or better in some areas than the offerings from the big four? Get real, and give Dungey and his team credit for doing what they've done so far instead of slamming the bike.
Disclaimer: I'm NOT a Dungey nut-hugger either. Just a fan of good racing, and I enjoy seeing new and/or different faces on the box each week.
Where's ya'lls fact checker, It is impossible for anyone other than the person who placed 1rst in the race to have the fastest average lap time. This is not the first time Ive seen it. Total Time/# Laps. He who finishes first will have the least total time. They all do the same laps. Derp 3rd grade math..
Bill C - Yes, all the riders will cruise around and test sections and all that, I was meaning guys who are in the way, on purpose......I just happened to be watching Alessi at PHX during practice and it seemed he was trying to hitch on to both RV and Stewart many times...or he would wait until they were coming up behind him and he would start going then slow up as soon as they caught him...Looked to me like he was in their way dikin around.....you know the Alessi's, they are better than RV...HAHAHHA!
Proof that RyanVillopotto is the fastest man on the planet.
Well beans, let me walk you through it....as an actual holder of a math degree. I will put it in the form of an 8th grade story problem in order to keep it simple to follow.
Rider x (RD5) leaves point A at 10:00 PM precisely and completes 20 laps averaging 60 seconds per lap (or 1 minute). It takes him 20 minutes to finish and he is done at....10:20
Rider y (let's call him RV2) leaves point A at 10:00 PM and 25 seconds and completes 20 laps averaging 59 seconds per lap. It takes him 19 minutes and 40 seconds to finish and he is done at...10:20 and 5 seconds.
Now,
Rider X has won as he crossed the finish line at 10:20 with and average lap time of 60 seconds.
Rider Y is second in this scenario as he crossed the finish line 5 seconds after rider X. But he did in fact have a faster average time.
So, while the gate dropped at 10:00 precisely, a first lap crash effectively gives the appearance of starting later than those who crossed the scoring tower.
I hope that this clears matter up for you.
@ronniebarnhardt
easy man...if you hate the guy so much why do you read his interviews? I am not a big fan of Alessi, if he gets press, I ignore it..not interested...
but reading an interview, insinuating you know exactly what he meant and then coming up with that intelligent post of yours is straight BS...
i don't care who wins this title, but now I hope it is js7 just to make people like you look more stupid than you already do...
y the hate?
I can pretty much answer the "Y the hate" question on Stewart. Every week we hear the Stewart fans say "just wait til next week", "you will see next week", how many times does it take to hear that and the egotistical comments from the self proclaimed "I am the greatest to ever ride a dirt bike" rider to get annoyed? I don't think anyone on here actually hates him, it just gets old hearing the same comment week after week about a rider who is not getting the results to support the hype. Dungey,Villapoto, Reed, and Weimer should be the subject of these debates not the guy who has a collective 7th place in the points.
You all must of hated Bob Hannah then, cause he was one of the most ego driven riders out there in his day. He never cared what people thought of him and if he had to bad mouth another rider he did so as he pleased, and if the crowd booed him he would litterally stop on the take off of a triple and flip the whole crowd off.......! But we all love him ?
motoman287 BD200 was joking. He likes KTM and said that because lots of people said stuff like that when RD signed with KTM.
ronniebarnhardt... I think EVERY one of the top guys feels that way. If they don't they have no confidence in their abillity. I am Sure RV feels the same way. Why so much hate??
@motoman--I kinda thought the way I wrote that it was pretty obvious it was sarcasim...I love the fact that KTM is investing in our seies so hard. I love the fact so much that I own a KTM, so there you go blowhard..
Man, the nit pickers....and since it James, its even worse...Nobody likes the guy, but they'll write a power paragraph on the dude....Dont forget you are also reading something that was recorded then typed a day or so later, so you dont get the tone aspect in which he was delivering his statements.....
Whether James says he should or could doesnt matter to me...He SHOULD be up on the box, bottom line......No different than Reed saying " I felt I had them beat"....its his own take on things....Saying he "should" of won that race is also admitting he screwed up and obviously did not win.They have to have some confidence, look at Alessi for christ sake...they go back in time to the amateurs to make themselves feel good.....Lets also not forget, most these guys have shall we say less than a high school education.....you ever listen to Dungey for example...he stutters and will use the wrong words all day long......
@ride111mph - my comment was directed to chase! i wasn't stating that i was a RV2 fan. If i was it would've said I'm a RV2 fan. I'm from Wisconsin, and have been rooting for Dungey since his debut at Millville. So go beat off your orange hard on, and start bashing the next RV2 hater
@Wlhighhills--Dude you need to chill out. Cant a writer make an honest misstake without a tard like you calling him names or accusing him of being a cheater?? It was an honest misstake..
Just tweeted "DavidVuillemin: At the track with @KyleChisholm11. I don't think anyone can go faster than RV today. It gets my "fastest man in the planet" today!""
.LOL
@ bd200,, Dude, chill out with the name calling....
I gota agree with mxmofo1 here bd200. relax buddy LOL
You two tell me to chill out with the name calling and "WLHIGHHILLS" tells and guy to "beat off your orange hardon", and you say nothing to or about him, just me?? HMMM!!.. Makes me wonder.
@bd200, we just know you better,, hahaj
sleestak.....first things first...is it "slee-stak"? or is it "slees-tak"? or maybe it's "sle-estak"? help us dude...anyway...point is....most of the guys on this board have never seen Bob Hannah ride...including you....fact is...it was all doubles throughout most of his Supercross career....When triples were introduced...Hannah wouldn't jump them
First thing, WO NOW, next thing, its all about the Ryans .good night.
This one's for Open Class,the Math Professor.Since when do we start the clock after the second rider(picks his bike off the ground)or stop the clock because rider two decides to stop in the sand box and discuss the latest episode of Bubbas World with Millsaps?Average lap times is just that from gate to finish divided by 20,winner takes it seems like an average problem to me.If you really want to talk about average lap times check the lites times,the top five are smokin most of the 450s.
LOL bd200 I said nothing in this thread that would lead me to believe the "beat off your orange hardon" was directed tord me. All I did was stick up for you and tell him you were just messin around and jokin.
Temecula50 actually the avg time starts when they cross the finish line jump the first time I believe.
Here's an observation: JS had the fastest race lap time of the night in Heat 1 at 51.599. JS still has it, just misplaced it over the past 2 main races.