Observations: St. Louis
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 | 3:45 PM
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Round nine of the seventeen-race Monster Energy AMA Supercross series in St. Louis promised to be sneaky good, and my spirits were up on the plane as I thought about the Arch City’s good dirt, the close points battle, the still fresh Eastern Regional Supercross Lites series, and the crazy fans.
With injuries to Chad Reed, Trey Canard, Justin Brayton (who is still racing but not practicing during the week), Ryan Morais, Austin Stroupe, Andrew Short (who should be back soon), Ivan Tedesco, Josh Hill, Josh Grant and many others, the last thing we needed was an injury to Ryan Dungey. Well, word was that Dungey went down hard while practicing last week and hurt his shoulder. He was forced to wear a brace, and I’m sure he got some shots in it as well. More on him later but all things considered, I’m impressed with how he rode.
Before we get into that, let’s get into the track. Going in, I thought it was pretty cool, but it became obvious early on that there wasn’t going to be much passing. When you have six 90-degree corners, you’re just not going to get much in the way of passing. The two sections of whoops made me excited, but they broke down quickly and soon became ridiculously easy. And the one rhythm lane that looked great before the night got underway turned out to be pretty easy for the top guys. There just wasn’t anything out there to separate the guys and it hurt the racing in my opinion; it was a freight train out there in both main events. At least there was only one triple. One triple is good because it’s the easiest obstacle on the track for these guys, and it just doesn’t promote good racing. I understand you have to have one at every round, but let’s just keep it to one shall we?
Villopoto captured his fifth win of the season and extended his points lead back to 13 in St. Louis.
Photo: Carl Stone
Ryan Villopoto won his fifth race of the season and got back the three points he lost last weekend to Dungey. Is there anyone out there who doesn’t think that it’s going to be a three-point swing for most of the remaining races? That is, unless James Stewart can get back into the mix. Anyway, RV grabbed the lead from Davi Millsaps and sped away for the uncontested win.
Villopoto had stretched his lead to eight seconds at one point, but by the end it was only down to a couple over Dungey. It was either a great ride for Dungey, or a too-conservative ride by Villopoto. Afterward RV said that he was marking Dungey, and started trying new lines in an attempt to avoid the concrete that was beginning to show in a few places. I don’t know. If it’s me, I’m thinking that I don’t want my main competitor getting any confidence by running me down late in the race; this sport is so mental at this level. I wouldn’t be happy that my rival tracked me down and made it close, but it didn’t seem to bother RV. Actually now that I think about it, nothing seems to bother Villopoto.
So despite the shoulder injury, Dungey goes into Daytona knowing that he came from the back and ran RV down. No, he didn’t win, and there’s a big difference from catching someone to passing someone, but as I said, these guys use these little things to help them out mentally. In other words, it’s almost a moral victory for Dungey, and although he doesn’t get the points or the money for a win, it was still a great ride considering his injury, and the fact that he was forced to battle through the pack.
Justin Brayton got his second career 450 podium, and unlike that race in Seattle where it was kind of a muddy/rutted cluster, this third-place finish was earned the hard way. Since he crashed hard in San Diego, Brayton’s been unable to practice and he’s been grinding out some good finishes without being 100 percent. Well, Brayton was finally able to get back on the bike a couple of times this week and it paid off big-time with a great ride. Brayton’s season has been up and down with some good finishes, but he’s also had some crashes. The much-needed podium in St. Louis was impressive for the Iowa Kid.
Brayton gave Dungey all he could handle before having to settle for third.
Photo: Carl Stone
BARCIA, BARCIA, BARCIA! Justin Barcia won again with yet another impressive ride, and he looks just like his teammate Eli Tomac (before San Diego, of course) did on the West -- confident, smooth, impressive and seemingly able to put the bike wherever he wants, whenever he wants.
The much awaited battle between Ken Roczen and Bam-Bam looked like it was finally going to happen when both of the projected frontrunners got out together, but in the end, it was like Jaws 2: the expected thrills weren’t there. Barcia simply rode away from Kenny in a dazzling display of supercross-prowess. Afterward, Roczen made no excuses but did mention he was battling a cold and didn’t feel right all day. He better get that cold figured out real soon or Barcia’s going to run away with this thing.
I keep hearing from people that Barcia could be the choice to fill-in on Trey Canard’s vacant Factory Honda 450 for the outdoor series, but I haven’t heard anything from the Honda or GEICO guys on this, which leads me to believe that it’s just pit gossip going around. As I wrote earlier, Barcia would be great this summer on a 450, but in addition to growing older, smarter and more mature, working with Jeff Stanton has really helped Barcia, and I’d like to see him really give this Lites outdoor thing one last kick at the can. He’s going to make the jump to a 450 next year, and you know that he knows this is his last chance at a title on a Lites bike. One more summer of him revving the piss out of his bike with Six-Time Stanton helping him out seems perfect for me.
It’s funny how sometimes pit rumors go around. Early in the season it was thought by many that James Stewart wasn’t winning because he wasn’t in shape and I have to admit, I thought this was totally plausible. He did seem to be huffing and puffing a little more after his heat races, and near the end of Anaheim 1, he experienced a crash that some people felt was due to fatigue. But soon after that, he won Oakland in a great ride that saw him pull away from Chad Reed and RV late in the race. At Dodger Stadium, he was going faster than everyone late in the race. And Anaheim 2? Same thing. Dallas? Yep, he was on it at the end of the race. This “theory” that he wasn’t in shape wasn’t supported by the lap times, and I quickly dropped it early in the season. But now those same rumors are back out there, and they seem to be supported by more and more people in the pits. I wonder if any of these people look at lap times and see that JS7 isn’t getting any more tired than Dungey and Villopoto, two guys who are definitely considered to be in shape.
It was a three-peat for Barcia in St. Louis.
Photo: Carl Stone
In this column a couple weeks ago, I listed a few reasons that I felt may be part of the reason that Stewart hasn’t been himself this year. I didn’t put that he may be out of shape, because the evidence simply doesn’t back it up, which is a trend that held true this weekend. In St. Louis, it was a terrible start, a crash in the opening laps and then a roadblock in the form of his teammate Davi Millsaps, who Stewie just could not get around quickly. Had he been able to, I think a last to podium was in the cards for the #7. As it was, like Dungey, he’s going to have to take the moral victory of a good ride with him home to Florida.
I was talking to some of the JGR guys during track walk and talking about their front motor mount switch, as well as Stewart going back to the smaller, 49mm forks. I mentioned that in my experience, when you’re halfway through a series and are still making these radical changes, it means that you’re definitely searching hard for something. They didn’t disagree. I remember back when I was at Yamaha, and Reed wasn’t getting along with the new aluminum-framed YZ250. He was getting beat by RC, and we, just like the JGR guys are now, were searching. We tried welding plates to the frame, skid plate mounts, fork lugs -- you name it, we tried it. None of it really helped. RC was just better than Reed, and our bike didn’t measure up. Here’s the thing though, as a team, you cannot, repeat cannot, give up and throw in the towel. It’s a slippery slope when the rider sees that the team isn’t trying to be part of the solution, and that ends up bad for everyone. So put your head down, work hard, test your balls off and hope that the rider is doing the same off the track so you can come together for a solution.
I’ve often railed on this in the past and I suppose I’ll keep going. After the unseeded Lites guys each had one practice, the dozers came out and groomed the track all perfect for the seeded guys. And this wasn’t in the free practices, this was in the qualifying ones. How can you do this when you know that the work you have done will help the seeded guys go faster than the guys before them? It’s absurd! If you want to do it before any 450 guys have hit the track for qualifying practice, I’m ok with it, as the track is what it is. But to have it rough and jacked up for the unseeded guys and then prep it all nice for the seeded guys is just cruel and unusual punishment for the unseeded guys, who are already at a disadvantage when they line up against the seeded riders. If you said, “Hey Matthes, it doesn’t really matter, it’s not like the seeded guys aren’t going to get into the fast 40,” I’d say you’re probably right. But that still doesn’t make it right. Leave the track alone for ALL the timed sessions and if you can’t, be sure to change it at the right time so it will be fair for everyone.
Roczen was unable to make a run at Barcia in St. Louis. Will this trend continue?
Photo: Carl Stone
MotoConcepts’ Jake Canada has been a real surprise this year, and he kept it rolling this weekend with a sixth place. Here’s what I wrote about Canada in a season preview column:
The MCR boys are going with a couple of solid riders who should, with everything taken care of as far as bikes and support, be able to just focus on working hard and trying to get better. Jake Canada is probably the lead rider on the east side and he’s a top ten guy most nights. Canada seems to be getting better each year. He’s not going to wow you with raw speed but he seems to on the right track.
What to Watch For: A lot of top tens on the MCR bike and maybe Jake takes that next step up to be a 5-6 guy every weekend now that he’s on, in my opinion, the best team he’s ever been on.
It’s good to see that he’s taken advantage of the support he’s receiving, and is becoming a serious professional. He’s been a real surprise and a bright spot for the MCR team.
Lites East Overall
1. Justin Barcia Hon - We had Dean Wilson on the Pulpmx Show and he said that “Barcia would kill himself to win,” and that he just doesn’t see anyone else in the class with that attitude. You know what? I don’t know about the second part but I definitely agree with the first part.
2. Ken Roczen KTM
3. Blake Wharton Suz- Slash makes the box! Yeah he probably got lucky because Bogle fell on the last lap, but I feel like the moto gods needed to throw Blake some good luck after his first two races.
4. Darryn Durham Kaw
5. Justin Bogle Hon - Oh Bogle! He had a great third place race going until two falls on the last lap did him in. Oh well, he’ll figure it out. Kid’s got a bright future.
6. Jake Canada Hon
7. Malcolm Stewart KTM - I just thought he’d be better but then again, it’s hard to say how much that near-death crash at Atlanta has affected him. Mookie fever is still strong.
8. Kyle Cunningham Yam
9. Blake Baggett Kaw - Baffling ride by the BB Gun. Long conversation after the race with Mitch Payton, Baggett, Baggett’s parents and trainer Aldon Baker. They’re all trying to figure out what happened to the Blake Baggett from last year. Know what I think? We see him emerge this weekend at Daytona.
10. Alex Martin Hon - The Ewok Warrior is looking to recapture the magic from last year. St. Louis was his best finish of the year.
11. Matt Lemoine Kaw
12. Hunter Hewitt Suz
13. Cole Thompson Hon - Thompson’s last lap in his heat is the stuff legends are made of. He was one spot out of qualifying and then proceeded to triple into a section I believe he hadn’t been doing all day, blitzed the whoops, and caught and passed Tyler Bowers in the last turn for the last transfer spot. It was an exciting race! He knocked 1.5 seconds off his previous best time on that final lap of glory. Good stuff.
14. AJ Catanzaro KTM
15. Jeff Gibson Hon - Gibson is back! Jeff’s a nice guy and a veteran racer who was racing the Arenacross series until it ended. I just always think of Gibson testing that Cannondale and feel so, so sorry for him.
16. Austin Politelli Hon
17. PJ Larsen KTM
18. Brad Ripple Hon
19. Phil Nicoletti Hon - Filthy Phil had an awesome heat race. He’s going fast, and it’s too bad for him he hasn’t been able to back up that first round fifth place result.
20. Tyler Bowers Kaw - Bowers crashed under the over/under bridge and then just walked off. Weird deal. I know that the Hart & Huntington guys asked him to fill in now that Kyle Partridge is hurt and they were told no, Bowers wants to stay in the 250 class. Ok…..
Wharton captured his first podium of 2012 in St. Louis.
Photo: Carl Stone
Supercross Overall
1. Ryan Villopoto Kaw
2. Ryan Dungey KTM
3. Justin Brayton Hon
4. Kevin Windham Hon - At one point I thought KW was going to get third, but in the end, he settled for fourth. Windham did 15 out of 20 laps in the 52-second range. That’s either really impressive, or on the flipside, you’re thinking he should be pushing harder.
5. James Stewart Yam
6. Davi Millsaps Yam - I’ve been praising Davi for his riding but this weekend was definitely a case of him riding above his comfort level and paying the price for it later in the race. There were a bunch of guys jammed up behind the #18 and once they got by, they immediately gapped him. He led early, but pushed too hard, got tired (or “tight” which is code word for tired) and dropped back. He definitely could have been on the box with a bit more fitness.
7. Jake Weimer Kaw - Battled with Metcalfe for a while.
8. Brett Metcalfe Suz - Battled with Weimer for a while.
9. Marvin Musquin KTM - I’m not a fan of the 350 and as per its custom, the bike didn’t do “Movin’ Marvin Marv Attack The Martian Musquin” any favors when he got a terrible start. Musquin did well to get ninth in the main after rounding the first lap in fifteenth.
10. Nick Wey Kaw - Wey’s been better lately, he’s starting to beat the guys he should, and sometimes, beat the guys he shouldn’t.
11. Broc Tickle Kaw
12. Matt Goerke Suz
13. Mike Alessi Suz - Mike had a good race going until his clutch arm broke on his Suzuki, errr, I mean MCR 450. Definitely a pretty freak thing, I’m not sure how that part could break. He was as high as ninth before dropping back while trying to ride a supercross track with no clutch.
14. Bobby Kiniry Yam - Four straight fourteenth place finishes for Bobby Kiniry. Do with that what you will.
15. Justin Sipes Kaw
16. Kyle Chisholm Kaw - Chiz went down with Albertson and was forced to come from last.
17. Gavin Faith Hon - Isn’t the name Gavin Faith a character that should have been in the movie “Days of Thunder?” He could have been the young buck upstart that challenged Cole Trickle. “That Gavin Faith, he’s got a set of matched tires!”
18. Jimmy Albertson Suz - Good to see Albertson back in the main event where he belongs. It’s too bad he fell on the first lap and was way back.
19. Cole Seely Hon- Seely was again impressive before wadding off the over on the over/under bridge. He’s been great in the two races that he’s ridden in as fill-in rider for the injured Canard.
20. Josh Hansen Kaw - Hanny twisted his ankle in practice and then stalled his bike in the main event, which from what I understand, further exacerbated his ankle issue.
Dungey was impressive late, but was unable to catch Villopoto.
Photo: Carl Stone
If you’re looking for a fill-in rider for your star rider that’s most likely out for the year, I don’t think you can do much better than the BTOSports.com/BBMX team did with Matt Goerke. For one reason or another Matt didn’t have a ride to start the year, and even missed the first race so he could wrap up the German SX title (insert sound of JT$ kicking himself in the nuts here). He showed up at the second round on a Kawasaki wearing something called “Sexy Devil” race gear, and then the BBMX guys picked him up to fill in for Michael Byrne, who was going to be out for a while.
Matt jumped on an unfamiliar Suzuki and immediately started running the pace and is now a main event guy. He got a season best twelfth this weekend, and I’d look for big things from him in Florida. I’d say that right now, of all the teams, it’s Kiniry or Goerke for “Best Fill-in Guy” award.
Thanks for reading, email me at, [email protected] and we can chat about this race and whether or not Sammy Hagar is a god.
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I agree with Mathis on the "mental" side of racing. as a weekend warrior some days I feel real good and I ride that way, enter doubt, do to wind or what ever and I slow...Comfort and Confidence can give you that little something extra, or the lack of CC's will take away from a riders speed. It takes alot of CC's to make lap after lap at the top speed!!!
Nice read, thank you.
Really looking forward to Daytona! If any race can scramble the series, this is it!!
Sending the unseeded guys out for qualifying on an ungroomed track and then sending out the seeded guys on a freshly groomed track is just straight up BS and so wrong it's not even funny. As if the gap in equipment and skill isn't enough to overcome they throw that wrench at them too. If this happens more often than not then there needs to be some serious uproar about it. If this is the first time I'd imagine it will get some attention. That is wrong in a lot of ways, if I was an unseeded rider struggling to show up to the races just to have that happen I wouldn't be showing up. Sounds whiney, but to put it in perspective if there were two seeded practices and there was grooming in between you know the teams would raise hell.
Why is it that Millsaps isn't complaining about his bike? Don't they ride the same bike? (except Stewart is trying all this trick stuff) Here Davi gets the holeshot, leads the races for a few laps and stays up with the front runners, while Stewart (fastest man on the planet) can't pass him.
I think it's pitiful that JS7 continues to search for excuses to his poor results and fans accept it.
It was bound to happen. It's just the "pride before the fall" effect. James has spent so much time on TV gloating about his success it's become a flashback for the Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa scenario.
JS7 now is seeing the end of his career approaching and panic mode has set in. I'm sure he'll win a few of these races before the end.. but make no mistake... the End is Near !
Oh, and for you lazy readers out there, here is the definition of Ryan Villopoto's new nickname... The Juggernaut !
"Juggernaut : a literal or metaphorical force regarded as mercilessly destructive and unstoppable."
Remember when Reed struggled when JS7 and Ricky were in it, when he didnt do the outdoors. When he used to complain all the time about things, not necessarily his bike. What makes JS7 any different than Reed then? Everyone hopped on Reeds nuts once he started his own team. He's a warrior but every top rider struggles. I'm sure RC would have too if he didn't retire while he was still on top.
I'm going to get a lot of shi* for that posts, but people act like Stewart is the only guy that makes excuses. The media came after him, I'm sure he didn't expect all this in 2002, I would roll with it too if they offered me millions to do a silly show while I was injured, or if ESPN wants to use me to get the port out there.
Stew-tard out.
get the sport**
Hey TDR19, where are all these excuses you are speaking of that are coming from Stewarts mouth? D o o s h, go troll somewhere else.
@ Chillmatic......It really isn't different, Reed caught a lot of crap for how he was back then and he earned respect back. So the current situation with JS is the same as it would be expected.
Why not give other reputable track builders an oppurtunity to show "what they've got". Throw away the current contract with Dirt Wurx and leave a few rounds next year open for track building tryouts. Do something to improve the sport. Be creative, cuz Saturday in St. Louis was BORING!!
Note: The outdoor national tracks aren't all the same, and we love 'em, so why make supercross tracks so "cookie-cutter" ??????
Why not give other reputable track builders an oppurtunity to show "what they've got". Throw away the current contract with Dirt Wurx and leave a few rounds next year open for track building tryouts. Do something to improve the sport. Be creative, cuz Saturday in St. Louis was BORING!!
Note: The outdoor national tracks aren't all the same, and we love 'em, so why make supercross tracks so "cookie-cutter" ??????
@MXdad318 agreed. they should use at least one or two rounds to try out different track builders. all they would need to do is layout some rules to maintain a safety standard and approve the designs ahead of time. i bet we would start to see some great innovation.
Stewart should've took the Suzuki deal. (I think) he stayed with Yamaha because of the money (long-term stability of a 3-year contract & JGR resources also helped). Something about the bass-ackwards YZ-F 450 is not condusive to top-tier riders' performances. We covered this ground last year, just ask T. Hahn, C. Pourcel, etc,etc. If anyone can make a diamond out of a turd, it's a safe bet to say JGR can handle it but, starting points equal, the 'zook is a better bike AND the point I've been slow to make is, Stewart would probably be doing much better. That's probably the most love I've thrown Bubba's way, ever.
The other rock I wanted to throw out there is, in time, Yamaha will be releasing a new & improved 450 based on their "cutting-edge" 250 with a........wait for it................conventionally arranged motor.
Steve's best yet (relative comparison).
I really think it will be the top 3 dogs out front this wk for the best race of the year and Musquin getting a holeshot with a 350 so get ready to move your fan Mr Matthes
Its funny how everyone seems to be talking about Dungey "running down" RV, or if RV backed it down. But what about the Atlanta race, were RV absolutely ran down Dungey even after he went down.. Was that a confidence killer to Dungey?? RV did back it down some, its kinda obvious, and RV even said he did to dodge the concrete floor coming up. But I am not taking anything away from the ride Dungey put in, he is very fast. And I do think he can run with RV, on certain tracks he may be even faster.. Some tracks work better for some riders than others, its the way a riders style is..
@MXdad: I think they keep the tracks this way for the riders more so than the spectators. It's already dangerous enough, I don't think that throwing radically different obstacles or track designs into it is going to help. I'm probably wrong here but that's my opinion. It certainly would be cool to see some fresh designs, but what kind of an impact would it have on racing and what more can you really do with the space allotted and the time constraints they face from week to week getting the race put together.
During the recent CR/JS twitter dust up Chad when called a couch potato should of said "If I were healthy I would be racing the outdoor nationals, what will you be doing"?
Of course James will race the outdoors "for the fans". Why can't this guy just be honest and say I don't want to race outdoors. He had to have an out in his contract to get out of racing outdoors. Sad. I don't see him doing any better than we've seen thus far unless he hits the summer series.
@Gills: I respectfully agree with you on a couple of points, especially the space allotted in the stadiums, but the biggest issue I have is -inside turns-, they don't use them anymore. Watch some pre-4 stroke racing clips on youtube and you will see. Also, you can use Endurocross as an example. Obstacles that require balance, traction, and cluch work. I still love to watch supercross, just miss all awesome passing that used to take place!!
@MXdad: I completely agree. I was watching some old races on youtube the other day and was thinking how random some of the tracks were. They didn't always flow the best but they sure made for great racing. Dirt wurx has dropped the ball on most of the tracks this year in my opinion.
Dirt Wurx builds the tracks, but do they design them? Does Feld just tell them...."have at it"? I don't know if blaming Dirt Wurx for the designs is where blame belongs, maybe it is. So looking forward to Daytona, wish they had about 5 more SX races at other car tracks that were more outdoorsy.
Carlsbad
Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Stewart win the SX championship on the backwards Yamaha the first year it came out? You can blame bikes for certain problems but Stewart has always been a crasher. Riders crash bikes do not crash them selves. Through out his career he wins or crashes. This year is no different, 9 races and 6 crashes. The three races he did not crash resulted in 1 win a 2nd and a 3rd. I am not a Stewart hater I like the guy he is extremely fast and fearless but his stats sleek fro them self.
Stewart won the title in 2009 on a "conventional" Yamaha 450.
Good article Matthes.
bd200.........I think RV might be still a little fatigued from being sick (remember he was in the hospital). When your fatigued you start to make mistakes like in Atlanta and in the last race he might of got a little. RV never and I mean never lets his competition get close, maybe the last lap but not the last 5 laps.
It takes about 2 weeks to get over a sickness like that so he should be ready to go this weekend.
Remember when Alessi painted a target on his back and wore "believe the hype" signs? And everybody ragged on him when he didn't like up to the 'hype'. James did the same with the reality show touting himself as the fmotp and flaunting his weath and now he is not living up to the 'hype'. He's painted a 'target' on his back and it won't go away for the rest of his career. He just made a foolish mistake. Carmichael would never have done that, had a smart mommy helping think thru his career. JS will just have to 'stew' in the juice he's made for the rest of his career. Tough road, but self made.
Of course JS7 is fast at the end. He stops, sits on the ground and takes a break during the race. What Tony Horton of P90X likes to call a "mini vacation".
I thought Erin was the Juggernaut.
Sorry Mathis but you are out of the money on the mental comments regarding RV and Dungey. Points are points at this stage in the championship and Dungey can't afford to start thinking about ways to give himself a pat on the back. RV looks so confident its actually quite scary. I would say letting him creep up on him is reminiscent of a confident MC (could think of a better word). He really does not care about how he wins, as long as he wins in as a controlled manner as possible. Not saying its over, and I agree Dungey is definitely upping the tempo of urgency in his riding...but its still not high enough. If he wants the championship, he has to grab it. That grabbing action starts at the start of the main. He MUST holeshot it. I'll say it again. He MUST holeshot it. Its HIS not RVs or anyone elses. Its HIS!!!
I can't speak on the behalf of the post bubbas world fans as to why they make so many excuses. But I do think that most of these things are brought on by the media more so than James himself. Why he is still the most highly profiled rider in the sport is beyond me.
I'm a young gun and have only been following the circuit since 2001 with a couple years off. So some of my comments may be slightly off. I really do like Reed as a rider but it seems like he didn't change his attitude until he started his own team, two years ago as you stated. I lost respect for him
With his 09 SX antics when he just couldn't seem to accept James beating him. Reed has complained about bikes/teams in the past, everyone just didn't look into as much as they do when they see "James Stewart" in print.
They both are social networking queens just asking for attention. Especially with their little fight this past weekend. Don't even get me started on reeds wife. She seems to have to have her nose in everything just as much as Juggs.
Anyways, as a JS7 fan and a MX/SX fan in general, It kind of makes me mad that people let the media, cars, money And whatever else take away from James' talent and what the sport is all about, racing. Bring back the old days before the over advertising, cookie cutter tracks, all the autopilot bike bullshi*t and the stupid energy drinks.
Sorry for the rant. Just tried to keep all my comments in one post!
Clearly Bagget is off the PED's and he can't go hard anymore. If you think his outdoor season wasn't suspicious you're stupid.
i know theres a lot of guys who wont like this comment at all but im just gonna write it anyway i dont like chad reed at all, remember what he said in san diego? nice guys get second? i think he was saying in other words, rv better watch his back, i remember cr not being as fast as js and crashing into him all the time out of desperation because he knew that james would gap him like that it was like he was saying that rv was agressive whith him in the pass that rv put on him in s.d he hasnt change his attitude at all he is going to be a dirty rider always, i dont like js but i know that he was faster than cr22 and thats why all those dirty moves on him by chad, remember vegas 2009? and james runs his mouth a lot saying he is going to break mc graths records and all i remember in the first moto nationals 07 he was saying at the podium that beating rc was easier than what he had in mind saying that ricky wasnt rusty (its not like he has being laying on the couch) running his mouth like he was going to beat rc easy and we all know he only won 3 motos and not even one overall and rc was only part time i remember one moto in 06 i dont remember wich round but rc had the worst start and james start in second rc fell TWO TIMES and at the end he run down james pass him and won the moto thats how much faster rc was look it up on youtube they have all the rounds i know this all in the past but my point is that cr22 hasnt change his attitud and james its still thinking hi is better than anyone else with the breaking records and all
So if RV let RD catch him in the main gave RD more confidence, did Broc Glover gain more when Bob Hannahs pitboard said "let Broc by" ?
Coolhand , I think there may be some truth to RV not fully recovered from being sick, but I can also say that RD was on it and trying his hardest, he rode well.
Pug, I really wondered about that with Bagget, his last half energy at about four nationals was not normal, and really most of his racing was normal. Who knows ?
On Chad Reed, I have always felt he whined about other racers when they shut him out or made aggresive passes on him when he has always done the same to others. I have seen him do stupid and dirty moves that made me not respect him. That said I will now defend him, no one can say the guy doesn't give it 100% and want to win so bad he kind of falls apart a little when he doesnt. I love watching him love his kid and to anyone that wants to critasize Ellie you suck, she is first class and I think they are a great family. The very thing that makes CR whine is the thing that makes him such a good racer- its simply his way of venting when things don't go his way- He has whined about himself more than anybody else so lets give him a break. His coment about nice guys to other day was more of the same and I wouldn't get pissed until he actually rode dirty against him. Can we not forgive a few mistakes when these guys are trying at the highest level ?? He has never been as dirty and cheating as Sorby, Alessi and a few others. I am bummed he got hurt. GO RV !!!
RV is doing very well but he is not dominate (yet) he is beating RD overall but they are close. I feel JS is beating himself more than RV beating him, they would be close if JS could start and stay up. CR was working him to the max, Daytona will be very interesting
I'm not convinced getting caught and beat doesn't effect Villo. I thought he went out of his way to explain why chad was all over him before ruining himself, to the point where it was almost heartless. Reed had broken who knows what that night, and Villo had know idea how many things he had broken, nevertheless the only thing on Poto's mind was clearing up the fact that Chad was only able to stay close because he was close, or something like that. lol Poto went on to say the same thing in 16 interviews. Now if you don't care about anything, losing, or your competitors confidence in themselves as they try and build to beat the best, then why go out of your way all the time to make sure everyone knows every single mistake you make, or factor that would bring them closer, why wouldn't you just ignore it. Because he cares, like we all would.
Hey Mathes, another good Observations! I did like the "mental" coment. There are so many people that dont understand that once you get to the level no mater what it becomes Mental everyone can go just so fast then it becomes a game of stratagy as to how to go faster, you cannot do that by just twisting the throtle you have to think more and figure out how too go faster. I never made the final cut but I did try and for that all I wil say it was a great part of my life! There is a point that it becomes a game of chess more than just going fast but you have to break the fast barier first.
Good luck to all.
Davidl...........yeah RD was for sure. Hey I like RD and RV so I don't care who wins I just don't want it to get boring. I just made that comment because so many people are saying RV was managing the race and I say he was a little fatigued. I don't think he wanted RD to get that close.
Perhaps the ultimate expression of confidence is backing it down like that and letting the second fastest guy think he is closer in raw speed than he really is.
A huge victory margin may also something Green Ryan is avoiding in order to keep his reality and expectation systems in balance, in other words to "stay hungry".
RV slowed to help the sport and not let it be a snoozefest. Oh yes he did !!!