Open Mic Part 1: Stewart, Dungey, Osborne, Wey
Monday, January 23, 2012 | 12:00 PM
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PrintInterviews: Steve Matthes and Jason Weigandt
James Stewart, JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha, third place in SX class
Racer X: First podium of the year. Something to build on?
James Stewart: Yeah, for sure. Considering how practice went today and how the heat race went and even with a fall in the main event. We can start somewhere. The starts are better, so that was a good thing. Just keep building. We still need to work on the bike a lot and once we get there, I think we’ll be fine.
We only got one practice. How much did that affect you?
Well, if I would’ve rode the whole practice it would’ve been alright, but I rode about two laps then crashed on the next one, so three total laps on the track. I was still trying to figure out what were they jumping and what was going on. I don’t know if the practice hurt. Just being a little beat up from the crash probably was worse than what actually happened.
How was the crash on you? It looked pretty bad on video.
I bent the handlebar on my chest. It was alright. I think, like I said, one of the positives was that the starts were good and I think we just need to keep working and figure it out. I mean, I rode around the first ten laps, kinda started finding a rhythm. So it was all good.
I feel like the tracks haven’t been suited to you technically early on. Would you agree?
Yeah, I think Phoenix was a little better because the dirt was different, it was slippery. But for sure they haven’t. They’ve been good trails and it’s tough. You set up for one thing and then you get here. There was supposed to be no whoops here and then there are whoops. Sand there and then there’s no sand. I mean, it’s doable, so it may be alright.
How was that accident and the red flag? Not only were you probably worried about Canard and Morais, who are guys you race against, but staying warm, staying loose, staying focused?
It was probably good for me. I got to ride and my heart rate was up and it was chilling. It was only one lap, you weren’t even warm yet. It wasn’t a big deal. You’re just concerned about the riders. Any time there’s a red flag it means there’s a rider down. Ryan’s beat up pretty bad and I hear Trey is not too bad, but hopefully they’ll both be fine.
"The starts are better, so that was a good thing. Just keep building." - James Stewart
Photo: Simon Cudby
Ryan Dungey, Red Bull KTM, second place in SX class
Racer X: How was it?
Ryan Dungey: It was good. I think, first off, I expected it to be a lot more muddy when they pulled the tarps off earlier, but the track was actually really bone dry in a lot of areas. There were a couple wet spots from the rain coming in. But they did a good job prepping it. Practice went really good for the time we had on the track; 12 minutes. In the heat race, we actually tried a few things, experimenting a little bit and ended up being ok. It gave us a good direction on which way to work with the bike in the main. I feel like we made some great decisions and good choices and the bike fit really comfortable.
Got off to a good start in the first start, then there was that restart and I hope everyone was ok. There were a lot of guys missing on the line that second time, but hopefully everybody’s ok. Got off to another good start. Not as good as the first one, but I was sitting in about fourth. We tried to slowly and steadily make the passes from there. A couple guys made some mistakes. James made a mistake when he was in front of me in second and I almost got wrapped up in that. But I was able to get from there to a clear track and by that time, Chad had 2, 3, 4 seconds on me and I tried to close the gap but we played cat and mouse. He rode a solid race tonight.
But the Red Bull KTM tonight felt good. I feel like we have a good setup, just need to keep making minor adjustments, a little bit of progress along the way. I think that’s better. But all in all, I feel like it was a great night and everybody did a good job, and we’ll try to just keep carrying this momentum forward. There’s a lot of racing left.
You’re the points leader, but is that a question I should even bother asking?
It’s cool for the guys and for myself and it’s great to have a little added bonus to run the red number plate. It’s nice and we work hard. At the same time, like you said, it’s really early. It’s only race 3 of 17, so you know the drill. Just keep sticking to one race at a time and focus on living in the moment and just try to keep winning these races and keep consistent, put ourselves in a good position.
Are you picking your spots, kind of seeing how it goes down? Or is it like go to the front, go to the front, go to the front?
I guess get to the front with whatever it takes to get to the front. Not put yourself in jeopardy.
Are you letting the race play out?
Yes and no. I mean, I think it’s important you make those passes happen and go because if a guy might be holding you up then you gotta get around him. Cause if you stick behind the guy, then guys sneak up on you and then you start getting into that and then you lose positions and you get shuffled around. But tonight, Weimer got taken out by James and James made a mistake, I found myself in second and then just ran it in for second. It’s so important to get a good start these days because 20 laps is a good lengthy race, but in some cases, once the guy out front gets away, there’s no catching him unless he makes a huge mistake, which is really random. So getting a good start and just being there from the get go and try and put a stamp on it at the end.
"It’s cool for the guys and for myself and it’s great to have a little added bonus to run the red number plate." - Ryan Dungey
Photo: Simon Cudby
Zach Osborne, BikeIt/Cosworth Yamaha, third place in SX Lites class
First career podium tonight! You’ve been on the verge of getting it, so congratulations.
Zach Osborne: It’s actually my third career podium.
No, but in supercross.
Yeah.
Where?
Toronto and Vancouver. You should know this.
The World rounds? Oh yeah, we’re not counting those.
I’m just kidding. No, it feels great. I’m so happy. It’s been a long time. It’s been a long four years to get back to racing supercross and I always knew that I could do it. I’ve put in so much work. I’m super blessed to have the opportunity. My parents and my fiancé Brittany have been behind me for so long and made a lot of sacrifices for me to race in Europe and do what I’ve done. I gotta give it up to them, mainly.
All day long you were on it, right from practice. Were you just extra comfortable with the track or something?
No, I’m just starting to feel more confident with it and more comfortable. I feel good, my bike’s really good. Everything is awesome. I feel more and more comfortable each week with it. I’ve been riding supercross for three months now and to race it is different, obviously, but I’m starting to feel more comfortable each week. Especially today with a twelve minute practice, I thought I did well to adjust to the track quick and be there from the get go.
Good battle with Davalos there.
Yeah, like I said last weekend, my biggest problem is that I didn’t make stern passes and tonight I made one. And that probably made my race to be honest.
So one more race? Just one? Are you sure?
I don’t know, we’ll see. Honestly, it’s not up to me. If we go home, then cool with me. If not, then that’s cool with me too.
Is it your British mechanic that wants to go back to the motherland?
No, honeslty he’s bummed on it. It’s so short and so little work to do to the bike.
"I don’t know, we’ll see. Honestly, it’s not up to me. If we go home, then cool with me. If not, then that’s cool with me too." - Zach Osborne
Photo: Simon Cudby
Nick Wey, Motosport.com/TiLube/Foremost Kawasaki, thirteenth place in SX class
We had Morais and Canard go down. How did that restart affect you, sitting on the line? It had to be a little bit of a bummer.To be honest, I came inside and I saw Morais and Canard coming together almost off the takeoff, so I skidded up the face and doubled the triple, luckily, and landed in the mud. And when I was getting my bike going, the flagger said no hurry because it’s gonna be a red flag and I looked up and it didn’t look too good. So I was happy Morais was moving around when he came off the track and hopefully Trey’s ok too. That’s super unfortunate. But it was a tough night for me, having a big crash last weekend and being so sore. I probably wouldn’t have been able to even compete tonight if it weren’t for the Asterisk Mobile Medical Crew helping me out and getting me loosened up. But the shortened schedule didn’t help at all with me and I kind of got loosened up midway through the last chance and I just kind of did some laps and I ended up thirteenth, which is not where I want to be. I definitely have what it takes to run where I want to, but I just need to get healed up and work with the team a little bit more to get my confidence up.
LCQ was gnarly. Good battle.
Yeah, it’s just unfortunate that I was in the LCQ.
But, it was intense. It’s like that all year. Justin Brayton missed the main event. Every week there seems to be some really top names and great riders missing out.
For sure. It’s definitely a tough class and as a spectator, you can see that everybody but Ryan’s not making too many moves off the start. And I think that’s why we see stuff like this happen off the first lap the last couple of weeks because everybody’s so focused in the sport right now. There’s a lot of talented riders in the field and everybody wants it just as bad as everyone and, unfortunately, crashes like this happen unless we can get something on the track that’s gonna separate some people.
Speaking of the track, hard to pass out there. Not a lot of passing going on.
I’m just saying it seems like that’s been the case from the get go and that’s what I’m saying about people maybe trying to make some moves that aren’t as smart early so they can get track position because it is so hard to make up time and make passes.
Watching the guys, it looked like it got beat up quick too. Holes everywhere.
They laid the dry dirt down and then it kind of got soft underneath, so it just kind of got chuckholed all night. But we can’t criticize the series at all because we’re all very fortunate. The pinnacle of the sport is supercross. Everybody can bench race and say this and that. But the bottom line is the bikes and the riders right now are at a level where it’s definitely getting more dangerous because everyone’s putting it on the line every week.
"It’s definitely a tough class and as a spectator, you can see that everybody but Ryan’s not making too many moves off the start." - Nick Wey
Photo: Simon Cudby
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Good trails or goat trails? Maybe COW trails would have been the best edit.....
Didnt even ask Stewie about the pass on Weimer, bunch of cowards kissing his behind?? I think the tracks have been fine..
So now dirty bastard Sewie still "has to work on the bike "again????At least make a new excuse...man hes annoyinggg!!!!
Oh god, here we go!! What should he have asked him regarding the pass on Weimer, bd?? "Hey James, During a SX race you made a pass on Weimer didn't you??" "Um, yes Steve (or Jason) i did make a pass on Weimer"...."Weimer went down as you were making that pass during a SX race didn't he James"?? ..."Um, yeah, i think he had to check up at the top of the berm and just couldn't get his foot down so he fell over"........"Gee, thanks for addressing this catastrophic event that happened during a SX race James"........"Um, like...no problem Steve (or Jason)" .......HAHA,you guys on here are sure committed to your cause, i'll give you that....goofballs!!! Good interview James.....don't give up dude!!!
JS7 can not help it but make excuses ! Just come out and say what we all see that you are out of shape and was not ready to keep up with the speed the rest of the pack now has !!!
@ REF-man,, well said.. bd200,, passes like that happen constantly during the race.. I don't know why that one shocks you ??
.....by the way...not a "stewtard"...."stewpid"...."stewie minion"....just think you dudes are hilarious....just not in a good way!!:)
Go green, Steve! Good job re-cycling those interviews ;)
So lets see Stewie. Lets total up your excuses: Its the bike, the tracks and practice time. How about you just suck ass! Good take out of weimer also, he was slowing you down.
@ mc724,,, Just stick to watching NASCAR.
I wish they would ask the riders interesting questions instead of "So, you're in the points lead..."
It's the 3rd season on that bike James and you don't race outdoors. Sort it out, you've had plenty of time to spend on the SX track if racing is your priority, more than anyone else.
I can't understand what's the problem with a block pass in supercross? It happens ALL the time...Reed has done it, Hansen has done it, Stewart has done it, the list is endless. Who cares?!? If people have that much of a problem with it, perhaps they should watch a softer sport, where there is no contact...I hear golf is a non-contact sport.
All the horseshit aside, this is shaping up to be a pretty entertaining season of racing again!
Looked like a "racing incident" between Jake and James, 2 hungry riders doing what we want them to do, race like they really want it, fun to watch, cudos to both for not letting off.
Chad's kid was awesome after the race.
Staring at something yummy until Erin showed up for the interview, which he quickly grew tired of,......... and then led to his searching for a willing Monster Energy (foodsource) girl with a hungry look in his little eye.....
Ok, i would stick to nascar, but james will be there too sooner than later. Ps: I thought you only watched tennis, mxmofo1. My bad.
@ mc724,, Yes, I also watch tennis, depending on the women playing.
@mxmofo1,Good comeback, Sharapova is easy on the eyes.I'll try to quit bashing stewart. He bugs me but he is good for the sport.
Wrote,
Stewarts pass on Weimer was not a block pass. That was running it up the inside and pushing the guy off the track. I have no problem with a block pass, but that was not a block pass. typical Stewart dirty racing.
Can someone please explain to me why they can't make tuff block covers that don't come off? It can't be that hard, just put some eye holes in the bottom and lace the sides together underneath with a bungey cord. This is really dangerous, Canard is lucky he didn't get killed when Morais landed on him, all because he had a stupid tuff block cover dragging from his footpeg and couldn't triple. How many times are we going to see this completely preventable issue occur and what is it going to take to address it - a rider death?
That was a pretty clean pass actually....Listen to Emig, a guy who knows a thing or two...Weimer went high, James went under him and that's it....If Stew really wanted to take him out, he could have launched him into next week over that berm.....You all know if the rolls were reversed or it didnt involve James, it would be a different story....That type of pass is done all the time, only this time Weimer fell over....I think Jake was a little out of his realm and after Reed almost ran him off the track he was a little frazzled and went too high.....If he took the line James did, it wouldnt have happened....not dirty...just racing...Rubbin' is racing as RC says.....
I hate tuff block covers and CBS canned coverage. I like the tracks better this year, like the racers better and the action better.
I do think JS could have cut down hard on the inside and been faster but instead chose to run Weimer high, when he wasn,t in JS line at all. Thats what makes it a bad move all the way around. It wasn't dirty it was totally uncalled for, and will come back to haunt him
The world got faster while james was away; hope he can catch up.
LBiggie...Im glad you mentioned that tuff block problem because I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday that they should just make some loopholes in the tuffblocks (like rain tarps have) and tie them around the hay or whatever it is...seems like a common sense thing to do and can't believe they haven't corrected that problem after all these years. I think they should also do-away with banners around the course as well because they are even more likely to cause trouble seeing that they are long and stringey.
As for stewie...I'll be the first to admit that he's riding like crap and that he's had forever to be ready for this season and shouldn't have any excuses and that every problem he's had so far is really his own fault in one way or another. However, you can tell that his bike just isn't jiving with him for whatever the reasons...it looks to me like the bike is to rigid and it is general knowledge that he stiffens up his forks more than anyone on the track so that he can scrub better or whatever. I think he should try softening up the forks a little so that he won't bounce around so much but what do I know? I think that he hasn't adjusted the suspension (by softening) to match the ultra-ridgid frame that the yamaha has.
Stewart has definitely made some mistakes in my opinion by lack of effort compared to the other guys the past couple years but I think he will only get better as the season continues and gets more racing time and makes the necessary changes he needs to make on his bike. Its funny how everyone bags on Stewie so much on here but just wait until he gets everything figured out. Its too bad he didn't stay on kawai's because I think he would have at least one more championship and a bunch more race wins under his belt right now if he did but thats his fault i guess.
@mc724, yep, she's easy on the eyes, and hard on something else...
Lotta hate in the comments here. Sad.
P
I believe Kawi was the one that didnt want to renew the contract. Didnt want to pay the money. Guarantee he would have won them a few more titles while Vill was sittin on the side lines with injuries. PS all you haters are douches! Reed has had excuse after excuse every race. His main excuse was a front tire, look how much of a difference a front tire made in how comfortable he was in the main. I personally like to hear what they have to say, it gives insight to any issues they may have. You can take it for what it's worth. RV had issues with the 2011 bike and it was brought up countless times. No smack talking on him. Everyone talks shit with little knowledge on whats going on. Anyone ever had issues that they couldnt get off their mind and it's affected their daily lives? Some people are better at handling things then others. Each one of these guys is only human.
@TheyCallMeP - I think this thread is mild compared to some.
I don't think the pass on Weimer was dirty. COULD he have given JW more room? Sure. But that's generally not what you do if you're battling for position and you don't want the other guy coming back on you. Part of it was how Weimer handled it. I felt bad for Jake - he had a great race going - and I'm NOT a Stewart fan at all, but I'm not getting on him for this one.
Unbelievable about Canard! Will the bad luck never end? Hope he and Ryan make full and fast recoveries.
There are several good looking women in tennis - and fit! Ana Ivanovic is a cutie!
'wrote' wrote "perhaps they should watch a softer sport, where there is no contact...I hear golf is a non-contact sport."
I agree wrote, it's just racing- Gonna be a great rest of the season!
And- in case anyone decides to include bowling as a 'non-contact sport'... I have some news for you--- things have changed....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXWgMZCNkqM&feature=related
Bowling is the third toughest sport IN THE WORLD next to soccer and moto.
if that didn't work try this w/o the hyperlink
hhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXWgMZCNkqM
I got a bunch of lol's on the comments. As far as block passing or pushing someone out of the way and they got mad I just told them to go faster then I would not have been able to do that! That is a fact. Go faster if ya dont wanna get passed.
Just in case ya wanna know I started racing moto befor most of you were probably born."You ram me I ram you" Hannah Quote.
when did some many doosh bags become mx fans?,,, dude go back to your tough commenting on yahoo....you sound like Faa gOTs.....
@normanmx... is soooooo annnoyyyinggggggayggggggggggggggggg
@Welker,, you said " Go faster if ya dont wanna get passed." If that were the case, then there woudn't be ANY passing.. That would be pretty boring, don't ya think ? Also, it soulds like you never got passed.. Is that the case ???
@ridenbutter, not sure how you feel, could you be a little clearer.
I don't know why anyone is butt hurt about that block pass, it wasn't really necessary but it's racing. If that's what he has to resort to then he's only going to create enemies for later which makes better racing for us to watch. So when the roles are reversed and someone puts JS on the deck I hope it's still considered just a block pass and it isn't the take out of the century. Rubbing is racing and what goes around comes around. It probably wasn't in his best interest considering JW is basically on par with him or better so far this year and the fact he's a strong starter. Things have a way of working themselves out on the track.
I think we all may have misunderstood the incident. I believe its highly probable that Stewart thought Weimer was RV and his intention was to reclaim a big chunk of points with one move. If fact I'd bet money that was the case. I'd also bet money that it's likely to happen to RV, Dunge, or Reed again before the season is over.
maybe thats y rv did not push the issue when he caught up with james
No.1, I think weimer has his name on the back of his jersey, and a different number than 1 on the side of his bike I think Stewart can see. No. 2 If Ryan could have passed Stewart he would have just like any other pass he made on the night it just didn't happen.
yo mf637, that may well be the case that they have their name and number on their jerseys, but it can't be that easy to focus and spot people doing the speeds they do. Chad Reed said himself when he was behind Weimer he thought it was Villopoto. Easy mistake to make apparently.
&mf637;, it sure looked to me like RV would have easily passed JS IF he only had another lap. His performance was far above JS as he came all the way through the pack for 4th. Not hating on JS just callin' it like I see it. At this point in the season RV is the man, and I am a Dungey fan. JS isn't the dominate force he once was. It is easy to see. Hope he makes a comeback for the benefit of good racing to us, the fans, but so far it isn't happening. Man, did I bring up the "if" thing? I shouldn't have, I know, it's wrong and that is racing, but...
RV was not holding back at all I dont think......Reed, James and Dungey had a pretty big gap on the rest of the guys...RV was going through the pack with ease and made up a lot of time on James when James tipped over in the berm. then they stayed pretty much the same distance apart until the last lap or so when RV inched up, but in the end, if that was anyone else, RV would have passed them easily in just a matter of laps but James held him off and more importantly didnt crack under pressure....As Reed said, it looked like James was cruising those first few laps and I dont get the " i thought it was RV" deal.....surely there was oppurtunity to see the side of the bike and notice the absence of a red plate with a #1 on it...
Block pass on Weimer???? Weimer had no real estate to go on that is why he locked up the front end and endoed! JS came in way hott and pushed him as high as he could without him (JS) going off the track. That was desperation on his behalf. If Reed does that move on JS, he is the dirtiest rider ever. Call it like it is folks!
I would have to agree. That was a takeout move by JS on Weimer, pure and simple. What happened to the days of JS blitzing by in the whoops. It seems the fan reaction is getting to him and it shows in his riding.
Check out this takeout move ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLVdcnu11GY&feature=related
@zimwe Yo I race and I can see who I'm coming up on or I'm all over trying to pass, especially when your all over each other that long, they know whos who quick enough.
@bucky394 I believe there are no ifs in this sport, if I did this or that or if I had one more lap you either do or you dont in this sport, that includes my racing, its on me if I dont make it happen or I screw up.,. Poto is very good and has high odds of taking the title and winning a bunch of races but didn't pass stewart, was relatively close had some laps to close in and pass, didn't this time thats all.
Can't argue with you at all, I so agree. But somehow I typed that and didn't even realize what I was doing. When I read it back-it was wrong and I knew it but I'm sure we will all agree" We want the RV vs JS battle to happen and show who's got what at least a couple times this season with clean racing and an obvious winner so we all know who's got it and who doesn't." Still can't believe I played the if card.LOL What was I thinking?
@bucky394, No arguments I agree I want to see stewart and rv to go after it with each other. I thought towards the end of that race it was going to happen but nope. Oh well hopefully stewart will ride himself into better race shape then we will see if there is any extremely tight back and forth racing with rv or any of the top guys really .
All I know is that you people would've hated Bob Hannah, Rick Johnson, Bradshaw, Matiasevich and many many more. That was real racing, now you run someone high on a berm and a million haters cry for two years after that.
just a thought......if u take rv and rd away and go back afew yrs when js spanked cr in supercross,,,,now compare those two??? is it reed is faster or stewie has lost some speed??? i think mx sx is a contact sport we all bang bars make block passes when we race??? at any level contact is normal in are sport?? just my view and i think true racers will agree with me...1 thing forshore 3 rounds 3 winners!!! great start 2 the season!!
Bobthebuilder is right!! JS7 said he thought it was RV. That makes total sense of the take out to get points back. I think JS7 is willing to do anything to get on the box! You have to wonder how Joe Gibbs is feeling about now, paying JS7 3 times what he is worth for 3 years. You would think Stewart would have at the least shown up in shape at A-1 for that kind of cash.