Surprises from Phoenix
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 | 11:30 AM
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PrintBy Aaron Hansel and Chase Stallo
When we're into the early season, no one knows exactly what to expect in Monster Energy Supercross, but we still have some expectations. And through the first two rounds, many things we didn't expect to happen, happened. Here are our thoughts. What are yours?
Big Names Come Up Short Again:
For the second straight week some big-named riders failed to qualify for the main. Josh Grant, Broc Tickle, Jeff Alessi, Jason Thomas, Ben LaMay, Ryan Morais and Austin Stroupe failed to make the big show in the SX class, while Matt Moss, Nick Paluzzi, Ryan Marmont and Ryan Sipes fell short in the Lites class. And Stroupe also missed the main at A1! This time the speedy Rockstar Valli-Star Yamaha rider knocked himself out in a heat race. For many riders, the whole struggling to make the main event thing could become a reoccurring theme as both the SX and Lites class look as deep as ever.
Grant was one of many talented riders to miss the main in Phoenix.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Jean Carlo Who?
Last week Aussi Jackson Richardson surprised the industry by qualifying for the Lites main in Anaheim. This week it was Brazil's Jean Carlo Ramos’ turn. To be quite honest we don’t know much about Ramos, but we probably will soon.
Rattray Leads the West:
Tyla Rattray has always been known for his motocross prowess, but this year Rattray is proving that he can be just as consistent in supercross. It's just his second supercross season, so improvement was to be expected, but most didn't expect him to be leading the points race after two rounds. Rattray has yet to capture that elusive first SX win, but in a class that features at least seven legitimate contenders stealing points, he may not have to.
Brayton Falters:
After a fourth place finish at the opening round in Anaheim, many were wondering if Justin Brayton was going to turn the “Big Five” into the “Big Six.” Phoenix had other plans. Brayton struggled to a fourteenth at Phoenix after early crashes. Can he rebound in L.A. and put his name back into “Big Six” talks?
Can Brayton rebound in L.A.?
Photo: Simon Cudby
Down Goes RV:
Ryan Villopoto uncharacteristically crashed twice in Phoenix, one being his fault (in the heat race), the other being a product of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time (the main). Don’t expect this to happen often—as Villopoto is one of the more controlled riders out there—but it was definitely a big surprise!
James Stewart Takes Eighth Place:
Stewart doesn’t exactly have a reliable track record of starting the season out well, but there weren’t a whole lot of people that thought he would be sitting seventh in the points after failing to break into the top five in the first two rounds of the season. How long will it be before Stewart makes his return to the podium?
Zach Osborne Goes to the Front:
Zach hasn't raced supercross since 2008 and has been off in Europe racing GPs ever since. His indoor skills have come back remarkably quickly, as he pressured Rattray for a podium spot early in the main before finishing sixth.
Zach Osborne has been one of the more pleasant surprises of 2012.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Jake Weimer Finishes in the Runner-up Spot:
We all know Jake Weimer is fast, and really, the fact that he finished in second place maybe isn’t a huge surprise. The thing that is surprising is that Phoenix was only Weimer’s fourth supercross race in the premier class. Not a lot of guys can say they’ve done that well so soon, especially in a field this deep.
Jimmy Albertson’s Articulation:
Albertson had a rough night in Phoenix. A crash in the main resulted in six broken teeth, a mild concussion, and a sore shoulder. Surprisingly, even with a busted up grill, Albertson is still able to annunciate clearly and communicate effectively, which comes in very handy when we call to check on his condition for stories like this.
Sickness:
Something was going around in Phoenix and it wasn’t good luck. Stewart, Dean Wilson, and Ryan Morais were all feeling the effects of illness. Morais failed to qualify, Stewart finished in eighth, yet Wilson was able to successfully fight through it for a race win. With a result like that, maybe Wilson should show up under the weather for the remainder of the season. Now that would be a surprise.
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Josh Grant is done and he will not be anywhere near cracking the top 5 all year. Matter of fact, I will wager that he will only get inside the top 10 maybe 3 times all year.... just a shame that he is to into his missy mulisha coffee club.
Broc Tickle has got be feeling pretty crappy after his Lites West Coast Championship as all previous Lites champs have came into the 450's doing way better..... hopefully he gets his act together because I am sure this is not how Payton wanted his team to perform in the "premier" class....
Josh Grant is done. Stick a fork in him.
Saw an interview with him, and he seems to have lost the fire.
Maybe not making the main last week will fire up Broc.
JG is coming back from some bad seasons and everyone expects him to be at the top. He'll get his speed back but I don't think we will see the JG of the past till the outdoors.I think he's putting way too much pressure on himself. I hope your wrong MBmoto but we will have to see.
Man, Stroupe seems a long ways from the guy who challenging Pourcel in the Lites class in 2009-2010. He needs to refresh his crew, get a new trainer and turn things around quickly.
Josh Grant has barely recovered from his previous injuries. He said before the season that he would not be 100% at the start.That's why he is relaxed.
If he stays healthy he'll get back up there for sure.
Yeh, Stroupe use to be a badass. WTF?
Jean Ramos is a brazilian.
Ryan Villopoto uncharacteristically crashed twice in Phoenix, ? HUH.....RV has crashed many times including one that disqualified him from making a Main event last year ?.........i am sure there is a few but i can't remember the last time a Top Notch rider didnt make the main event in a season because he crashed in both the heat race and LCQ ? He's no different then the GOAT....who had plenty of crashes during his career. Yes the fastest out there on any given day but rides on the edge all the time so things happen when you are constantly riding that pace but "uncharacteristic" ? come on thats his theme song !
I'm with ya Slee... There are only about 2 guys that had the talent to win an SX title and rarely hit the dirt. Reed & McGrath (and Dungey could be a distant 3rd). It's almost a miracle to run that speed and not go down at some point. It might be your fault or it might be another rider but its gonna happen.
"Big Names Come Up Short Again"
Jeff Alessi????? Really??? Did I miss something?? Who thinks of him as a big name?
Hi guys...Jean Carlos Ramos is the Brazilian MX2 champion.....and not Puerto Rico.....he was Honda official rider here and went to USA to try SX....good luck Jean!!!
Stroupe will get it together, I was in different places at Chase field for practice and he looked really good, really fast. Circumstances. At least, I'm going with that for now. Let's see if that pattern continues, eh?
I would have to agree....RV does have the tendancy to go down more so than your Reed or Dungey,,It happened a few times in 2010 and ultimatly ending his season..It happed in 2011 a few times and will happen in 2012 as we have seen.. ,,, we all know that is the case with James and was the same with RC....they are lightning fast, but throw it away on their own at times....Reed has suprised me this year as he has hit the deck both rounds....2 for 2...just like James....RD bailed in A1 and RV had 2 soil samples in PHX.....The kicker is, how bad is the crash.....Early reports said Reed fell in the main at PHX, I only saw the Heat race crash, so if he did fall in the main, he is a top the crash leader board....
Who magic marked Zach's eyebrows? Does the black run down his face when he sweats? Congrats to Zach for his performances! Now, Don't get 100 points and a big money ride in the US awaits for next year and beyond.
sleestak the crash that lead to RV not qualifing was hardly his fault for riding to fast. There was a crash in that spot almost everytime the gate dropped.
Never liked Grant much, Seems like a punk to much for me. Just sad that Jeff Ward had to sign him. He talked it up pretty good when Short got the MC ride over him but so far he is not backing it up.
I don't think Reed went down in the main, he was riding a little less aggressive tho.... He has the ability to ride smart. wont try and win the title in one night, but in 17 rounds... great start to ths season.
i hear you BillC...im just saying with his speed there will be more to come. the first race of the year you saw how hard his neck jerked when he came together with that other rider or did they say that was from a groove or rock in the dirt i dont quite remember ?......Anyway he could of easily been thrown from the bike on that start too...!....He's very agressive like stewie, and the goat where and that can sometimes lead to spectacular crashes which we have seen him do in the recent past....Just makes things more interesting in the end. Heck if he gets the start all year it's going to be a very boring season....
yah i think the crashes that Reed has had this year may be directly related to that spare tire he's attached to his mid section, thats been talked about on this site lately....it's starting to make sense now. He needs to put down the extra jelly donut and get on the treadmill again. Reedy's my guy but im puting two and two together...!
I like Grant, he's one of the few who can really wring a 450 out. I don't give 2 shits about anyones attitude, I just want to watch these guys ride.
Yeah RV1 is a real crash machine oh wait didn't he just win EVERYTHING...so what difference does it make....EVERYBODY CRASHES-----EVERYBODY.......even mcgrath but he had it easier cause LaRocco was always last off the line on his way to second. Reed bites turf as much as the next guy i.e. sub orbital .... Havoc rides the ragged edge , thats his M.O. and when your head is over the front fender at speed bad things can happen......or you can quad.... Go RV1 Go Canard Go Seely....
Stroupe's problem?look at what he is riding.
Tonewall nails it again!!
RV crashed his way to every trophy possible last year....even crashed his way into a cool million cash! Wish someone would pay me a million for my crashes!
@sleestack maybe they were comparing rv's crashes to stewarts. lol
I like Grant but I'll bet he wished he didn't tweet "choke artist" right after the first moto at steel city I think it was.
i like stroupe i cant blieve his finishes are this bad, he should improve.great year cant wait for the next race best and toughest sport on the planet!!!!!!
Jeff Alessi is NO surprise. If you thought he was going to make a main in the first two rounds then you were dreaming!!!
What about Michael Leib getting 11th? That was a surprise!
Jean Ramos is a very good guy,here in brazil he got the national championship at MX2 and second place at brazilian SX 2011.He rode to Factory Brazilian Honda team.But now he doesnt have team to race at 2012 brazilian national championship.I hope that informations are useful.
I do not know if Osborne has a ride over seas or not, but if he keeps it up like he has been, he needs a ride for the outdoors in the U.S.
@Kilroy - Osborne is still going to be riding over in the UK and World GP's for summer. Tommy Searle needs to rip it up in the World GP's and get a ride with Pro Circuit Kawasaki and show everyone what he can do
anybody remember Broc Hepler? that kid just straight up disappeared
Grant is done, It seems that going to Honda is not such a career move any longer, I think Brayton will surprise Everyone outside. I thought KTM might try to bring him back
Having the sack to call anyone a choke artist was puzzling. This kids whole career needs the heimlich. You would think he would have toned it down after talking s#$% to Alessi during the hangtown press conference and then having MA holeshot and win the second moto. I'm not a huge Alessi fan, but even he has a more impressive resume. As they say " steamboat mouth ........
@SpottedMarley - Hepler had to stop due to recurrent concussions.
It is interesting to look at the guys who were successful in winning Lites titles recently like RV, RD, and TC. When they transfer to the big bikes they generally find success and find it reasonably quickly. What will be the legacy of Weimer and Tickle? Weimer effectively lost last season in SX, only racing 2 rounds. I just don't see Tickle as a 450 winner any time in the future.
Tickle was not a domanate guy in the lites like RV and others so the step is bigger for him.
How about Bruce Rutherford charging from 19th, up to 13th!!
sleestak you nailed it. No disrespect to RV. He simply rides a little closer to that "limit" line which results in both more wins and more crashes than someone like RD. How many times do you see RD make a great, aggressive pass like RV? It happens but not nearly as often. Conversely, how many times do you see RD go down hard like RV? It happens but not nearly as often... You simply have 2 different approaches that have both won championships.
RCRDDW true but RD aproch does not win tiles as offten. That is a fact. Things need to somewehat fall into place for it to happen. Look at last year outdoors. With 8 moto'd to go RV was 1 point up on RD but what happen?? The Aggressive guy took the title. Sure he could have crashed and RD could have won but I for one would rather go for it than look back someday and think damn if I only....
@BillC - on the flipside I think RV would have won the Supercross title in 2010, if not for the massive crash and broken leg. He had the series momentum and was only 7 points out at the time of injury. So it goes both ways....
BillC, I appreciate your response. I believe what happened in the outdoors was KAWI saw the handwriting on the wall and got RV a much better bike while Dungey was left with an inferior Suzuki bike/team. Great move by RV and Kawi. Again I just think it's 2 different, yet very successful, philosophizes or approaches to the sport. If RV doesn't crash in 2010 he MAY have been able to win both championships-but RD did. If RD's bike doesn't brake and run out of gas he MAY have won both championships last year-but RV did. Both approaches have there risk/reward. RD is a very healthy(due to limited crashes) 22 year old with two MC and two SC championships and many other honors already. That's more than 99% of riders EVER. And his career is still very young. RV has already has looked back with his leg in a cast and said damn if only...So has TC, JS7. I think it's a very subjective thing and I respect both sides of it. I am an RV fan and I have nothing but respect for that guy. I've just learned to appreciate and respect the Dungey approach. :)
I agree with ya both somewhat. But i still think more titles go to the go for it type guys. RC rode like that for ever and it worked very well. Sometimes it bits ya but if your K-Dub the Dungey approach never worked out.
Good point on K-Dub BillC but I would say the difference is that Dungey has elite speed consistently where as K-Dub has just been very fast consistently. So K-Dub's lack of aggregation leaves him finishing maybe 5th through 10th while that same lack of aggression seldom even keeps Dungey off the podium-leaving him in the title chase always. I actually would say that in RC's last few years racing CR22 and JS7 indoors that he used this approach. Both Chad and James won more races than RC while losing the championship to the GOAT. Man, this is a good debate! Gotta love the Ryans and gotta love moto racing!!!
Back in the day K-Dub at top 3 speed, I think 2011 showed RD lacked some speed and a lot of aggregation. in 2010 there was just him and RV, RV was way behind and RD diod not have to push it but in 2011 with 4 other fast guys he could not get it done, Only 1 win and got passed many times by RV and JS. Yes in the end he was only 7 points out but a lot of crazy stuff happen last year for all of them. Wile I like RD and LOVE to watch him ride he is so smooth and I love how he can hammer the flat turns it gets me pissed when he gets stuck behind someone he is faster than and can't make the pass. RV is more fun to watch then for sure.
.I agree this is a Fun back and forth and there is NO sport better!!
Sure can't argue with most all of that. The only thing I'd say is that the 2010 Dungey Bike/Team was far better than the 2011 giving the "I told you so" doubters some unfair ammo. It would have been nice to see how the Decoster/Dungey team would have done on that Suzuki had they all still been together last year. The man would have "encouraged" Dungey to be more aggressive as he did after round 1 this year and I don't think a DNF would have happened with Decoster. I think if all things are equal I would rank RV1 and RD5 1A & 1B. I thought last year RV was clearly better than everyone. Just my opinions I guess but certainly not without a lot of thought...