Race Report: Indianapolis
Sunday, March 18, 2012 | 3:00 AM
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PrintThe riders of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series were looking forward to a race that came closer towards their measure of normality after barely being able to keep their heads above water in Daytona. With the Indianapolis round being inside of the covered Lucas Oil Stadium, the riders could rest assured that Mother Nature wouldn’t be their lingering nemesis. This weekend’s conditions let the teams get back to business as usual and many were looking for redemption after Daytona nearly swallowed them whole.
After struggling with starts throughout the majority of the East Region rounds, it was Ken Roczen who would find himself at the front of the pack battling with Blake Baggett for the lead immediately after the first turn. The two were neck and neck as they fought for the holeshot, but Baggett would be the first to take the green flag heading into the second lap. Undeterred, Roczen charged hard and put himself out front soon after the two crossed the finish line jump. Justin Barcia was still quite a ways back at this point; he sat just inside the top ten. Barcia had his work cut out and it looked like this race was shaping up to be a potential win for Roczen.
Then the red flag came out. Kyle Cunningham had knocked himself out cold at the end of the whoops section and the officials attempted to deflect oncoming riders from coming in contact with the downed rider. They called for a restart after the fourth lap and the remaining riders made their way back to the starting gate. This is where it started to get weird. The AMA officials called for a staggered start and proceeded to line the riders up down the start straight based on the position they logged on the last lap.
The staggered restart after four completed laps in the Lites Main.
Jordan Roberts impromptu iPhone photo
At that point Roczen still had six riders in between him and Barcia, but was far from getting off easy with riders like Blake Baggett, Blake Wharton, and Darryn Durham right behind him. Wharton and Durham worked quick on Baggett, making passes on him within the first half of a lap after the restart. Wharton was looking to close in on Roczen, but Roczen threw it away after making a mistake and launching his bike off of a jump sans rider. Roczen scrambled back to his bike, but must have discovered some out of place components since he pulled into the mechanics area. He reentered the track almost a lap down and never made up any ground.
Ken Roczen leading the rest of the field off of the first start.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
Meanwhile, Wharton inherited the lead. Durham would also move up with Wharton but there was still a gap sizeable enough to let the Rockstar Energy Racing rider breathe easy. Barcia quickly sliced his way into a distant third by the end of the seventh lap. Lap by lap he gained time on Durham, and all of a sudden, lapped traffic quickly became a factor and the two were playing a game of cat and mouse with two laps left. You could see from any seat in the house that Barcia wanted that second place position. A couple last ditch efforts by Barcia resulted without change and a new chapter was written in this championship series. Blake Wharton ended Justin Barcia's win streak with a win of his own while Durham and Barcia rounded out the podium.
Babe Ruth gesture?
Andrew Fredrickson photo
Andrew Fredrickson photo
The eye openers did not stop with the Lites class. The Supercross Main Event was missing the likes of James Stewart, Jake Weimer, Josh Hansen, and Nick Wey. Stewart, Weimer, Wey, and more would all have troubles in their heat races while Hansen didn’t even line up due to a suspected foot/ankle injury. Stewart may possibly have an injury of his own to deal with after a mistake in the rhythm lane after the first turn led to a small pile-up. He did not reenter the race. Weimer was the only one of that group to line up for the LCQ, but a bad start would keep him from sealing a transfer spot. Kevin Windham and Kyle Regal were the two riders to make it to the Main Event by way of the LCQ.
Alessi held strong for some time after grabbing
the holeshot.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
Weimer retired to the Kawasaki rig for the night as the remaining unbroken riders headed to the starting gate for the main. The riders lined up, the gate dropped, and Mike Alessi grabbed a familiar holeshot to kick off the twenty-lap race. He led a season-high five laps before succumbing to the pressure applied by Justin Brayton. Brayton seemed like a formidable candidate to fend off any advances in the main by the defending champion Ryan Villopoto after doing just that in the heat race earlier in the night. Villopoto started fifth but quickly moved past Marvin Musquin to take over fourth. Mike Alessi and Brett Metcalfe would stand between Villopoto and the leading ride by Brayton for roughly five laps. A three man battle ensued for second as Brayton attempted to strengthen his lead. Alessi dropped back behind Metcalfe and Villopoto, but Metcalfe wouldn’t let Villopoto by quite as easily. The two had quite the battle going with Villopoto making a handful of pass attempts, and eventually making one stick out of frustration, before he set his sights on Brayton. Villopoto was gaining time on Brayton, and still had some time to catch up.
Metcalfe rode strong despite losing a couple positions late in the race.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
In the meantime, Davi Millsaps was picking off riders one by one under the radar en route to another podium position. He was able to get past Alessi for fourth, and then challenge and pass Metcalfe to step inside the top three.
Villopoto makes an attempt for the lead.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
By now, Villopoto was all over Brayton, but Brayton was not one to crumble under pressure. He was able to hold off Villopoto in the shorter heat race by matching his speed and riding smart lines, and then Villopoto fell. In the main, his efforts paid off for a few laps but Villopoto used his experience up front to claim the lead. Brayton hardly gave up, showing his front wheel at times soon after the pass was made, but all attempts to regain the lead were just short of successful. Ryan Villopoto claimed a meaningful win on St. Patty’s day with Justin Brayton and Davi Millsaps rounding off the podium.
Villopoto takes the checkered flag.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
Lites podium.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
Supercross podium.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
SX Class Results
1. R. Villopoto
2. J. Brayton
3. D. Millsaps
4. B. Metcalfe
5. C. Seely
6. M. Alessi
7. M. Musquin
8. B. Tickle
9. W. Peick
10. N. Izzi
11. J. Grant
12. J. Sipes
13. R. Kiniry
14. M. Goerke
15. J. Alessi
16. K. Regal
17. R. Clark
18. K. Windham
19. G. Faith
20. K. Chisholm
SX Class Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto 246
2. Ryan Dungey 192
SX Lites Results
1. B. Wharton
2. D. Durham
3. J. Barcia
4. B. Baggett
5. J. Canada
6. J. Bogle
7. M. Lemoine
8. T. Bowers
9. L. Smith
10. S. Rife
11. A. Pellegrini
12. K. Peters
13. S. Sewell
14. P. Larsen
15. A. Martin
16. T. Weeck
17. K. Smith
18. B. Ripple
19. K. Roczen
20. K. Cunningham
SX Lites East Standings
1. Just Barcia 120
2. Darryn Durham 98
3. Blake Wharton 97
4. Blake Baggett 80
5. Ken Roczen 80
6. Jake Canada 72
7. Justin Bogle 61
8. Kyle Cunningham 43
9. Malcom Stewart 42
10. PJ Larsen 38
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SLASH WHARTONNNNNNNNNNNNN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really great job from Rock N Wharton, Kudos champ!, good job from Villo, Barcia, Brayton, Millsaps, Seely, and Grant (17/18 at mid-race?), sad for Windham, HOPE a win for K-Dub (and also Baggett) before the end of the sx season
We all love the fact that guys like KW can now take a podium but, guys like him, NW and others have been taking the last podium step or less for a lot of years. The real race is out the front with RV, but there is no one there with him. All the 'real' competition is out, all except JS, who's having his own troubles.
I may well get in early, and congratulate RV on a easy fought series chamionship win. Not to say RV doesn't deserve it, he sure does. There's just no real challengers.
Did they leave out the first paragraph?
Seems like Mike Alessi should have won one of these things by now, particularly with the starts being as important as they are. If the starts were really that important ultimately, this guy'd have a crown or two by now. I have to wonder if his fitness is up to par or if all of the damage he's had to his body has taken its toll on him now. I'd really like to see him sneak in a win or two now, especially since RV is going to be the 2012 champ. I picked him last year when no one else did, including Emig, McGrath, Stanton, Shaheen and RC himself (CBS's expert panel, remember that?). I picked RV as did one of my other friends. Everyone else picked Dungey, Reed or Canard. I'm looking forward to Barcia's arrival to the 450 class next year and with any luck, a healthy Trey and a more consistent James.
Seems like a great time for Justin Brayton to gain a lot of experience as one of the possible front runners in the future, should be good for his confidence. He's really coming around and I'm impressed.
Interesting restart, I'm sure we will hear plenty from both sides but it seems to be a step in the right direction. I always felt bad for those guys out front only to have to restart and loose it.
Seems like Mike Alessi should have won one of these things by now, particularly with the starts being as important as they are. If the starts were really that important ultimately, this guy'd have a crown or two by now. I have to wonder if his fitness is up to par or if all of the damage he's had to his body has taken its toll on him now. I'd really like to see him sneak in a win or two now, especially since RV is going to be the 2012 champ. I picked RV last year when no one else did, including Emig, McGrath, Stanton, Shaheen and RC himself (CBS's expert panel, remember that?). I picked RV as did one of my other friends. Everyone else picked Dungey, Reed or Canard. I'm looking forward to Barcia's arrival to the 450 class next year and with any luck, a healthy Trey and a more consistent James.
Starts are the only thing Mike Alessi does well in SX. He was riding a little over his head trying to stay in the lead while he had it. As soon as he got passed he dropped down to a pace he was more comfortable with, and finished pretty much where he belongs.
...and then there was one.
Wow, the lites had it all! The drama of the champ gettin a bad start, buried in the mid pack, the other Bionic Blonde, Roczen out front lookin smooth huntin for his first win..then bizzaro world...instead of Barcia having to work thru the spead out pack or Roczen having to get another good start after the race was stopped...the boys lined up nascar style...WHAT..never saw that coming ..Roczen was relived he did not have to get another start and Barcia was happy he had closed up all that ground...Once back under way, Wharton made the move of the night by bumping past Baggett setting himself up nicely as Kenny made a mistake in the slickest corner on the track...Wharton then did what he had to do..good clean laps to the finish....Barcia did what he needed to do, got to third...Congrats to Wharton and Suzuki....they needed that one...now a Barcia DNF will close up the championship race..
With Stewart out, RV looked relaxed on the line, maybe to relaxed as he was back in 6-7 while Alessi was out front, bizzaro world continued for 5 laps with the 800 leading the way...then things got back to normal...Mike started working his way backwards as Ryan went forwards..all the way to the front for another win..Brayton and Milsaps put in great rides filling out the podium...
If Stewarts injury keeps him out, Villopoto can coast to a second supercross championship, as his championship points lead is as massive as the Firecrackers talent on a motocross bike.....may not be the season of the Perfect Storm...but it is definently the season of suprises...
Man, I hope JS is not hurt bad Albertson tagged him pretty hard, it looked like in the back or back of the head. anybody got word ??
canard out. reed out. dungey out. whats the chances of JS and RV making it to the end?makes you wonder.
When RV crossed the finish line I heard the fat lady start to sing along with a nice chorus of "wait 'till next year". It was nice to hear Ralphie agree with the boys that RV is the best motocrosser in the world. For all you fans thinking RV was going to lay up when RD went out, he is not geared that way. Too bad about JS but he really needs to retire before he gets a major injury, you can only be lucky so many times.
@davidl
I heard that James hit his head as well as his leg I think. He didn't look like he was grimacing the pain when being taken off the track...
@Claxton
I honestly don't think it's luck...
800 cross jump on 14 was pretty lame ..I have no idea what RC was talking about avoiding a tuff block..... better watch that again.....
I hate to see so many serious injuries in our sport. Is it the bikes, speed they are going or the tracks that are causing the injuries? 2-stroke bikes were harder to ride fast and there weren't as many serious injuries as we have today when we raced them. Any thoughts?
JS didnt look like he was in pain on the back of the aserik mule, but he looked bewildered. Not the typical arrogant stewart look. Alessi needs to go away, he is a total dirtbag. Windham could have been on the box last night if alssesi did not cut him off! The usual, if I can't win neither can you allessi attitude.
I'm not really a metcalfe fan but kudos to him for his battle with RV. He put up more of a fight than Brayton.... Best battle of the night by fat in my book.... Of the last few races really.... Looks like it took it's toll on him though as he let millsaps by too
Well, the responses on here were going well until pizza corner chimed in. If I recall correctly, RV did the same thing chasing Brayton that JS did on the start. Slippery track and loss of traction made a mistake. JS went down because he got hit from behind because of the pack of riders behind him.
So, with your mentality, RV was riding over his head trying to keep up with Brayton in the heat. Also, what else was was between big James and little James... Since obviously you were there.
It's posts like yours that make me lose interest in these boards.
Watching the GOPro camera from JS it looks like his head was used for traction...
Oops... "by far"
Really tricky track they had last night. All the appearance of good hook-up but so slick, hard to carry momentum that way.
RV is 69 up now, never would have thought he'd be up THAT much yet....he could miss damn near 3 full races as it stands now and still have title hopes.
Good riding Brayton/Metcalfe; Lil Stew keeps making bonehead moves, Hansen? Joke.
Yea, it's over! Time for everyone to start getting ready for the outdoors. Nice job RV.
What in the world is going on with JT racing. That stuff looks AWFULL!
Let me know if you need a designer.
the outdoors will be interesting. RV2 will have plenty of time for testing (assuming the season ends as expected) and not the insane pressure of winning SX in the last race, plus he knows what to expect being the champ. I expect him to firing on all cylinders right from the start (unlike last year)
That staggered start was pretty damn cool and amazingly fair! Sure Barcia got a pretty bump in time but it didnt give him a complete redo and didnt screw over the current leaders. Well done AMA! I dont think I've ever said that!
By the way, am I the only one who watches Brayton and sees a Maico rider from the seventies? It happens to me every week. Kudos again to Milsaps, dude is really going fast and seems to get faster as the race goes on.
Hope JS7 is ok hate seeing anyone go down, but he always seems to take some very serious spills and regroups to make it to the main, except for last night! Wow, was very impressed with VP1, that dude does not get too rattled like most, he looked calm and collective picking riders off in front of him he would show a wheel back off find another spot to pass and let the race come to him instead of forcing the issue in the corners! Best racer by far these days... much respect to him, he's a talented and smart racer!!! not sure how everyone felt about the restart, but the NASCAR/GNCC style restart was pretty respectful and was the most fair way to restart in my opinion. Nice one AMA officials for letting the racers continue from the order that the racers where halted in this practice should be continued in SX.
The restart was great. It was the riders fault for still starting single file after the green flag was waived. They looked very confused. What they should have done was pinned it around the guy in front of them as soon as that flag went down. I was confused that the riders didn't get that.
Brayton is running pretty good now that his leg is finally getting better.. He may be faster than some guys are giving him credit for. He had a pretty bad leg injury earlier in the season..
Listin up boneheads-4-STROKES are killing the sport.They suck,always have always will.They sound soooo gay. They look even gayer.All but the top 5 look like C-riders. I took my new girlfriend to indy and she thought it was a sport for gay guys. Lamest race i've ever wasted $100+ on. No big names on the line. I WANT A REFUND!
In 2 weeks, we went from a competitive series to an RC-era one. 1st - 5th going into Indy and how hey fared:
1. RV - Win
2. RD - DNS
3. JS - DNQ
4. KW - DNF
5. JW - DNQ
Millsaps could end up in second before it's all over. Who'd have said that a few weeks ago?
Has anyone here actually read the AMA rule book? Am I the only one here who's not surprised by the staggered restart?
Not everybody carries an AMA rule book up their butt.
I thought Jeff Emig's and RC's comments about Roczen were terrible. Roczen said it was bad luck when he lost traction and went down while in the lead. I agree. These two commentators chimed in with that's not really bad luck and implied it was all his fault. Look a "whisky throttle" and a resulting jacked up steering column can happen to any great rider if they suddenly lose traction. Look at RV at Daytona when he went "sidesaddle" at the beginning of the race when he whisky throttled. He just got lucky that he held on.
These guys should have boosted him, he's only 17.
http://www.amasupercross.com/rules/pdf/2012/ama_sxrulebook.pdf - Here's the link, ENLIGHTEN YOURSELF. Your welcome.
Mr-Mot.... I for one am glad of the 4-stroke age. These bikes are a joy to ride and race, and every time I get back on a 2-stroke for some laps....I cannot wait! to hand it back.
We are only 6 - 10 years into them (depending on brand). Wait until we have had another 5 years with the technology. Already better than the 2-strokes which have had 30-40 years of advancements.
That said, I do love a finely tuned 250 2-stroke. crisp crack, strong braap, right back to idle.
but after one race it is right back to ring ding ding ding ding, ring ding ding ding.
these 2 stroke comments are laughable, how did they do last week in daytona ? yeah i thought so get over it already. they arent better, they arent faster, and they are never coming back so if you dont like watching 4 strokes go watch something else
When RV was only up 13 points only those with their fingers crossed and carrying lucky coins thought the series was still competitive. So, I don't think the fact that he's up 54 points now means anything except for the action at the individual races if JS or Dungey aren't there. After the next 2 races, there's a week off, so I would expect Dungey will be back with 4 races left, if not sooner. Can't imagine he'd sit out for over 2 months and miss the rest of the races.
bd200 - I agree with you, Brayton is looking strong but I don't think a broken leg can heal that quick, I look for more speed out of him when he is completely healed.
Seely also did pretty well for Honda on his last big bike ride this season, started ninth and finished 5th. Best part of that was that he had to pass Marvin M. who is also from the west lites, looking forward to seeing these guy's back on the 250's to see if the big bike experience helped at all. That cross jump that MA made in front of KW looked suspicious but you never know till you are in their shoes what really happened. The Roczen roost I thought was funny and just shows how pissed he was at himself, those that have competed on an MX bike know how much fun it is to throw a little roost at somebody sometimes - no big deal.
And again those that have competed at any sport know about having rhythm and when you loose it - it is a bummer. I am not a huge Roczen fan but this guy has more talent and class at the age of 17 than most. You cannot even compare him to some of the guys that have come over from the past
Oh and to all the high minded opinionated desk top jockeys that are complaining about the competition - if you really love the sport you would also appreciate all aspects of it and look past the obvious - there are a lot of battles going on out there, just being able to watch it live these days is a huge deal!
Its all good because it is MX and SX.
Looking forward to next week!
Was hoping for Wharton to win one this year!But,why would the AMA restart off of positions held at the 1st lap position? I like the single file restart.But,should have been in the position they were in when they red flagged it.Weird,if you ask me.
BKR, really? 13 Points up and you see it as non-competitive? Say RD rode Daytona, and for arguments sake got 2nd behind JS. That could have been only a 7 point lead then. Who is to say that RV wouldn't have had a bad race, crashed, his fault or not, mechanical, etc?
I am amazed on how some will just give RV the series, all it takes is one bad race to change things.
I am curious, so do you believe that RV will never lose a championship until he retires?
I think they need to start preparing for outdoors a bit, because it's not looking to good for anyone but RV. RV's staying up while everyone makes mistakes, kinda like 2010. I hope outdoors is good, but I think if your anyone but RV you might be a tad nervous, the guy knows how to win and has proved he can, especially on that 2012 450.
@Motohead279 - Well JS is 69 points down, so if RV takes two races off he still has a pretty comfy lead, RD out for a few more weeks and I personally think he should just start outdoors right when he comes back, RD will be hard to beat might as well increase his chances. Plus RV knows what to do, there is a chance he will crash and I am aware of that, just not looking good for the competition.
One last comment to "Jeramey"
Remember that the two stroke at Daytona was a 125cc bike competing against 250s,
He smoked (literally) a whole bunch of 250s to get into the show, you have to ask yourself this question, if the four strokes are so superior then why won't the AMA allow a 250 two stroke run up against the 250 four stroke in the lites class!
I think it is about time for the AMA to grow "some" and let the smokers back in the 250 class - it would be great to see!
It most likely will not happen because we know where the AMA gets there money from!
Ricky! lol. mike wasn't avoiding the tuff block,he cut right at it and took K-dub out in mid air. leopards never change their spots. Windham fans,should of descended on mikes semi like angry villagers.
Hey Justin Brayton: Listen up! You will never win a championship if you play gentlemen racing. You were groomed in Arenacross, so you know how to use the whole track and be aggressive. When you're in the lead do not play nice. Make Villopoto earn it. Doug Henry and Jeff Emig would block, weave, brake-check, whatever it took to stay in front. Get angry and WIN !!!
Penguin Bob, I totally agree now that the series is pretty much out of reach. I was replying to what BKR wrote that when it was a 13 point gap before Daytona and RD hadn't pulled out yet that he considered the series over. I agree, smart thing to do would to be get ready for the outdoors, and get ahead with testing. Only drawback is that they need to be out there for their sponsors, plus taking a few months off from racing is not always a good thing.
Plus, we are now looking again with everyone out at a series where you know who is most likely going to win every weekend... I almost couldnt care last night to even watch the main event.
so bummed for kenny, he was right it was some bad luck, several riders went down in that turn. I was really looking forward to him winning. But I was glad to see wharton get a win. Is Dungey really going to miss 3 races and still be in second place. RV may as well start his outdoor testing now....
65Cobra, I really don't think RV has much outdoor testing to do considering he rode the 2012 for the last 5 or so rounds last year.
From Gun n Roses to Supercross, Slash makes the stage again! Good job for Wharton. I can't beleive K Roc throws it away, he was riding with so nuch aggression. Great rides for Brayton and Milsaps, RV did have to work for that one.
Like others have said, hand RV the title and move on to the outdoors.
Stewart went from RC level to Travis Pastrana level.
Stewart was never RC level.
Its crazy to think that if Roczen hadn't gone down, Barcia may have been a 4th place guy last night. The racer X curse lives on.
@alessiisadouche, that is some funny sh&t,
I got a vivid picture of the mob outside the semi with burning torches and Tony standing out there waving tire irons like a maniac trying to keep them back.
Meanwhile the girlfriend/wife? is trying to talk them off the ledge using all the psycho babbel she has had to perfect through the years in that family!!!
Hey throttletwister, if you don't recall the last person to beat RC in SX was JS, and outdoors they traded moto wins until RC retired. JS was the only person that could do that to RC.
On that note, RC needs to drop some weight and come back for the sports sake, right now its RV on cruise control. He went from all time greatest to so so commentator. I'm sure all the fans would much rather see you on the track than on the mic.
Waiting until all the Fart Mouth Comments are gone before I weigh in on this !
@Presto--I thought you were going to leve for 2 days?? Are did you just come back to whine??
The 4stroke issue is the biggest letdown of the MX community by the AMA in it's history. And that is saying something. It is only the 2X displacement advantage that allows 4strokes to definitively beat 2strokes on the track. Off the track (cost and effort to purchase, maintain, repair), there is no comparison.
Once, amateur MX (99% of the sport and 100% of who ultimately pays all the bills) was many times larger than it is now. One HUGE reason? Cost of entry. Want to race? All motorsport is expensive but, comparatively, MX was much cheaper than anything except maybe basic karting. Except karting needs a permanent track, etc and thus has had it's issues.
Every sport has it's retirees and it's new entrants. Any sport that effectively pulls up the drawbridge on new entrants ultimately dies. A 17 year-old typically cannot afford a 250f and sure as hell can't work on it.
Thanks AMA. Brilliant. Fraudulent, actually, as they advertise themselves as promoting amateur racing, but let the manufacturers dictate the equipment rules regardless of the implications for amateur racers and (thus) the long-term future of the sport.
The outdoor season has not began and already team green should be celebrating. See ya'll at Hangtown I will be in the club section.
I keep hearing about the cost of owning a 4-stroke being so much more than a 2-stroke.
Come on folks. I have never, not once, had an issue with any of my 4-strokes. Change the oil and go. I know where my bikes have gone after selling them and they are all still going strong.
No piton, no rings, no cranks, no valves, just keep on running.
Rings every 3 races pistons every 5-6 and then the inevitable botton end that goes out on occasion. pre-mix, race fuel, etc. etc.
Also, I put a hi-comp piston in one of my 4-strokes once and it was a piece of cake! So stop the hard to work on crap as well.
Please! I will take a 4-stroke everyday, as does 99% of the buying public.
Want a 2-stroke, Yam, Suz, and KTM has your answer.
Move on folks.
@Elsinore--Well said my man.. The 4-strokes are turning our sport into a yuppie sport. With nobody able to race except the elite class, with alot of money.. A over complicated bike with way too much unecessary crap in it and way too heavy.. And cost way too much. I read a story in Dirt Bike were a mechanic was telling people what they should bring to the track or a trail ride in case something goes out , you can change it to keep going. Like a CPS, he said this electric part goes out soimetimes and you should have one or two in your tool box just in case. The part is over 90 bucks.. I'm supposed to buy a couple 90 dollar parts to just carry in my toolbox just in case?? And this was just one part he named in the article.. Its terrible.. Myself and my sons are anal about the maintanence on thier 2 4-strokes just to try and avoid any unnecesary work for thoise things.. I wish I could have talked them into 2-strokes..
JS looked too far forward on the bike to throttle hard, lost traction. I didn't want it to happen. We need him on the track. RV looks like the King of the lion pride. My question is what is the earliest in the series has someone been crowned Champion? Could RV get it in round 15? I am afraid the lites are now center stage.
Speaking of the lites. I dig the reverse nac-nac followed by the dirt spray reply. I like that it's real emotions on display. No need for words and no physical harm. Great heats followed by a great race. DD taking care of business, Barcia keeping it real, K-Roc pushing beyond limits, and Slash Wharton ( thanks MXR1) rocking the podium centerstage. Hats off to all the hard charging young guns.
JimmyC261.... I agree and disagree with you. RV is NOW on cruise control becasue the other heady hitters are injusred and not racing. We had 4 different winners the first 4 rounds, each has won multiple races, and until CR and RD got hurt, the series was very close.
Althought RV won the the SX and MX titles last year, are you really saying that he was also cruise control? He had a hard fought SX title that he deserved becasue he stepped up at the end that went down to the last round, and a little lady luck on his side for the MX title. Deserving champion becasue every moto counts, but those two series you could hardly call domination.
I know it's hard to believe Motohead, but 13 points isn't all that close a series.....especially when the guy up 13 points had been down not too long before that....and had won 5 races out of 9 to that point. 13 points is a lot closer than 54 for sure, but something bad would have had to happen for RV not to take the title from that point. Praying for something bad to happen to someone does not make it an exciting/competitive points chase. My point was that it shouldn't be any more boring now than it was then, for the title...... the points are just bigger. Individual races though different story. See how long we have an exciting/competitive points chase outdoors this year. Even when the points difference is only around 13 points. Right now Barcia has a 22 point lead (only 9 more than 13) and that is being referred to as a romp, so go figure.
How you parlayed my comment on a 13 point lead into RV never ever losing another title is beyond me.
@BlackJack: Dungey won by 70pts. in 2010 and it looks like he had it wrapped up with 3 rounds to go. At that point he had 302 pts. and K-Dub had 223 pts. Don't know if anyone ever did it with 4 to go.
Seemed to me like Abertson had enough time to not plow JS7........
Alessi gets gobbled up in the whoops by the top 7.
Not allowing big bore two strokes stinks like collusion.
JimM
Pala374
So you are telling me that with CR, and RD, the seriies wasn't more competitive and fun to watch???? And CR or RD had absolutely no shot at the title? And you are you really saying that with half the races left in the series that 13 point spread isnt a close series? Did RV not have a DNQ last year? Can he not have a mechanical, or a DNF due to a crash, his fault or not, or is he even just so sub-human that he can't be beat?
Ok, whatever. No use trying to reason with that logic. You are correct, we should just hand every title from now on to RV, why even have any races anymore.
Also, the Barcia comparison is a little off, up until last night he won all 4 rounds, in quite dominating fashion (besides Daytona) Second, how many races are in the East series? Less than half of what the 450's run. So, cmon man, gotta come up with a better comparison than that. 22 points with 3 rounds left is quite a big difference than 13 point difference with 8 races left. Especially when other riders have won before. Don't you think? BTW, I don't consider that series either anywhere near over. Unless its on the final lap of the final main, a lot of things can happen. Go ask Tomac.)
BKR, how I parlayed your 13 point comment that RV never losing another title is if you really think 13 points with 8 rounds left RV is "Gauranteed" to win the title becasuse its "not a close series" then obviously he can do no wrong and will never be beat.
So you give no credence to winning 4 out of 5 in getting the 13 point lead then? Pretty similar to what Barcia has done, 4 out of 5 so far. I never said anything can't happen, just like with Tomac. But calling it a competitive points chase while relying on a guy getting 20th to make it so, belies the concept of it being some great and competitive deal. You under the thinking that Dungey or Reed (before they were hurt) was going to win more races than RV over the last 8 races? Even if Dungey and RV split 4 races apiece, they most likely remain 13 points apart. No, your thinking is that something bad would happen to RV to make it un-boring. That isn't what is meant by a competitive points chase.
How about this comparison then. RV was 10 up on Dungey after 17 races last year. Did anyone EVER think Dungey was catching him when it was even less?
Stewart won his title in 2009 by 4 pts. over Reed as well, and as much as I was rooting for Reed, I never thought he was going to beat James. Without James 1st round problem, it would not have been close. I didn't consider that any great competitive series either. James won 11 times, Reed won 3......yet 4 points apart at the end. Close? yes-competitive? no.
Now you're changing what I said. My only comment was that 13 points is not all that competitive, even if it is fairly close. I didn't say it "guaranteed" anything. RV could get hurt and be out. He could DNF. Those don't make it any more competitive though.
Even now with this "boring" points chase, RV can get hurt and be out....maybe even giving the title to Dungey if he came back. Even now with it being so boring, it is not guaranteed. My only point in all of this is it should never be boring. It's freaking motocross. How can it possibly be boring?!
Funny that you asked if RV was sub-human when your intent was to ask if he was super-human. Freudian slip. I take it you're not a big RV guy.
@jimmyc261:
I remember all that stuff. I intendend that JS could have become a dominator just as RC was.
JS vs. RC outdoors were some of the greatest battles I´ve ever seen.
Although I´m not a JS fan I think it´s a shame that he doesn´t ride to that potential anymore. I´d love to see him really challenge RV.
RV is diffently is the best right now, but to suggest he is unbeatable, naw he is human...he looked very human last year in the outdoors untill he got on the 2012.then he felt more Comfortable, Confidence went up, as did his speed...He has been hard to beat since.....These guys are so close in talent, the CC's are the differance... Poto is Comfortable riding on the edge ..he is Confident in his bike and himself..Reed's speed increased as his CC level grew on the Honda...Dungey is still working on that with the KTM..it will come as he put in the time....Stewart we all know is fast, but he lacks the CC factor...thus all the mistakes...So is the Firecracker the best right now... Yes....is he Superman....NO..Just one of the five fastest guys on the planet...who is racing with more CC's than the rest...to all the wounded, heal up soon, as we miss seeing you out there, doing what you love, having fun on a dirt bike...
James' crash wouldnt have been so bad if he didn't get run over. I knew that section out of the first turn was going to cause problems. Hopefully hes good for the outdoors.
Competition out or not, RV deserved every point he got from
The start of the season. And this is coming from a "stewtard."
B-KR is the resident back-handed complement giver. He thinks he is being objective and calling it like he sees it, but the truth is, he is being overly-biased and is hard to take serious. In his mind, the series was over in the first two races. At that point he was making comments about how the truth will be known about RV...sounded just like a Baptist preacher preaching the second coming of Jesus. Only replace Jesus with RV in B-KR's mind.
B-KR says that, "When RV was only up 13 points only those with their fingers crossed and carrying lucky coins thought the series was still competitive."
That's interesting (as well as being completely misinformed) since the history of supercross has taken some wild rides with point changes in far more dramatic fashion than 13 points. 13 points can be swept away in one bad race. Just recently, we had a series with a rider who was clearly faster than the other riders, was riding on a couple of wins in a row, had a huge lead in the series, and then BAM! That rider is now behind Dean Wilson in the points after one really bad race.
The fact is, 13 points is not a lot of breathing room and for a consistent guy like Dungey, he would have been right there at the end of the series.
Stewart did not crash- he got out of shape and then got hit by Windham. Then Albertson. I hope he doesn't take too many more shots to the head, he could end up like Muhammed Ali one day. I'm sure that RM450z hurt just as much as one of big Georges best punches would.
Therealmofo...
@preston...hahaha you couldn't even last 12 hours! It really must be eating at you to not give your sob story for JS.
BKR, yes just mis-wording while trying to type fast. My fingers sometimes go faster than my brain. As for do I not like RV, on the contrary, I do he is "one of" my favorite riders. I respect him as a champion, and he is at the top right now. BUT, being a racefan, am looking for a different winner every week, and when I type on here I do it objectively, and not with a heavy bias towards my favorite rider which is the exact opposite in the way you post on here. I am not the only one who sees it that way.
You wrote "How about this comparison then. RV was 10 up on Dungey after 17 races last year. Did anyone EVER think Dungey was catching him when it was even less? " Do you even remember the series? after RD's chain derailed he was over 40 points beind RV at one point. He closed in 30 points. How, being more consistant, and RV had a DNQ. But, RV did step up when he needed to to finish the series But it just goes to show you that its racing, that anything can happen. You are under the assumption that if you win the most races, you win the championship. If that is the case RD and CR had more overalls than RV last year in the MX series. Also, ask Bradshaw 92 SX Series, Tim Ferry won the eastern title in 97 and didn't win a single race. Doug Henry was leading the SX series one year, until a crash took him out. Same with Vuillamin in 02 I believe. Larocco in 92' had over a 50 point lead in the 125 Nationals, and he had 2 freak DNF's in both moto's at the next to last round and made up 47 points. Then at the last round had another DNF handing the championship to Emig. Series wasn't over byt far even with a 50 point deficit.
You contradict yourself, in one post you write that the series is over, 13 points is too musch of a gap, yet in your last post you write that RV can crash and anything can happen, that it's not boring. Which is it? The whole reason I respomded to your post was that fact that only us rubbing lucky pennies together thing the series is not over before RD and CR got hurt. And as for boring, There have been only 3 riders that have show the speed to match RV and win. Those other 3 are out. What is more fun to watch, 4 riders with similar speed whe each have a chance at winning any given weekend, not knowing which rider is going to be on the top step that week, or only 1 rider much faster than everyone else winning every weekend?
You asked me if I was relying on RV to finish 20th to make up enough points to be back in the series. The difference between 1st and 6th place is only 13 points, so I am not sure where you get 20th from. On top of that, didn't RV just get a 5th at Daytona? 1st to 5th is 11 points. Again, 13 points is not a big gap, unless you have a crystal ball and know that RV is never going to have a bad start, crash, have a mechanical, or make a mistake ever agin in the series. And if thats the case please tell me the powerball numbers for this week.
You usually have the same amount of injuries every year whether they were riding 2 or 4 strokes. Unfortunately injuries are part of the sport no matter what they ride.
@jimmyc261- JS didn't not swap moto wins outdoors with RC til he retired. RC won every single moto in his retirement season. That's called domination.
Last year was VERY competetive, we didn't know the winner till the last race in both series. This year was the same although RV was doing better, Cr was working him the hardest and was only 6 points behind at Dallas when he messed up. RD was only 13 down when he messed up. Really JS was never really in it this year,although he could win on any given week. TC was never really in it. The fact is all 5 of these guys had potental and we all hoped for even closer fight than last year. We are all bummed that its looking like a walk in the park from here on out. RV was better, BUT clearly not dominating this year, I think he was pushed to make each win he made and was riding his best. I hope RD rides for points sooner and not later, and I hope ALL the racers race to win from here on out. The series winner is pretty sure but the racing can and will be just as good from here on out. I think it is a good thing for the rest of the guys to have a better chance at the podium and for them to gain confidence.
I am very worried about JS and hope that what I have been fearing hasn't happened, to many concussions is far worse than broken bones. I feel if TC bites it again with a major injury he should read the writing on the wall and consider something else.
I didn't see what happened to KW but hope he is ok, he sure was riding well.
Injuries are really adding up and it seems the they are hitting our top guys more than normal lately, but hey I just rode my first motocross in two years sunday due to too many broken bones.
Thanks for the reply B-KR.
RV has done a great job again as the fans are running to their cars to line up for the outdoors.
Hold on, we still have individual victories and the young bucks are putting on a great show.
jimmyc261: Because of you I quit reading and just skipped to comments. I don't know how long you've watched motocross but I would guess you've simply watched a few videos on the internet of RC and JS outdoors. RC and JS NEVER "swapped motos" as a rule. RC won almost every moto and race outdoors against JS7. There were a handful of times RC crashed and JS won and only a few battles but mostly RC just kicked his butt. RC raced only 5 races his last year and won all 5! People just remember the few great battles because they were so talked about. You can talk about McGrath or maybe 1 or 2 others in SuperCross if you want, but don't even try to put JS or anybody in the same sentence with RC outdoors. Not now, no way. I'm surprised a few others on here let this slide...
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