450 Words: New Territory
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PrintYou already know who won the races. Now enjoy 450 Words for an extra take on a story you might have missed.
There’s no better way to describe this supercross season then to look at the San Diego 450SX main event. And more specifically about five laps around the middle of the twenty-lap main event. I’m not going to make a rash judgment based on these laps and throw out things about new sheriffs that are in town but it is an interesting snapshot of where we’re at in 2013.
Out front was the points leader, Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps, and we’ve all talked about him and his rebirth this year. In second was the rookie Justin Barcia who was holding strong and third was JGR/Toyota Yamaha’s Justin Brayton. It was some nice riding by those men but it was the riders behind those three that caught my eye. KTM’s Ryan Dungey was fourth, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto fifth, Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart sixth and TwoTwo Motorsports Chad Reed seventh (although to be fair to Reed, earlier he was on the back of Millsaps and went down).
And those riders, with a combined seven supercross championships, were all in a row and not really gaining on the top three. In the past, we’re used to seeing those alpha dogs finding their home at or near the front—short of a bike breaking or a massive crash. But this wasn’t happening at San Diego. The top three were matching (or going below) the big four’s lap times. It took a couple of mistakes by Brayton to eventually allow the four champs through, but Barcia and Milllsaps were long gone by then.
Dungey, Villopoto, Stewart and Reed (pictured above), battled on Saturday, but it wasn't for the top spot.
Simon Cudby photo
Stewart’s knee, Villopoto’s mistakes, Reed and Dungey’s so-so starts have allowed riders like Millsaps and Barcia to win races and gain confidence. In talking to Brayton after the race, he was very excited about the way he rode despite all those riders eventually finding their way past. A bit of confidence gained by Brayton is a chip off the mountains that RV, Reed, Stewart and Dungey have created over the years. It just struck me as so strange to see such great riders and champions in their own little battle, but it not be for the lead.
This year we can’t just pencil in the top four based on past pedigrees, they’re going to have to earn every spot on the track and depend on things that their competition has needed for years. The essentials to a good race are get a good start, don’t make mistakes and get a bit of luck. No longer can they rely on just being that much better on a dirt bike to make it so that those factors don’t affect them.
Millsaps, Barcia, Brayton, Trey Canard—they smell blood in the water and it’s the toughest test the big four have had in years. Just another reason why the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross series has become must-see TV.
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Tomac will soon beat them all.
The TV coverage is incredible and I am grateful for the opportunity to watch every round from the comfort of my home, but the GoPro footage is beyond description.
I wouldn't mind if we had to wait 24 hours so Speed could cut-in some first-person footage into the race action.
well Roczen is well ahead of Tomac so I guess he will beat them all too...???
Yep, it's a helluva season. Btw, that should be 'than', not 'then', in your first sentence. I see that all the time these days for some reason.
Tomac? Aint no one jumping up to the 450s and dominating. Just like when Barcia won and then he was going to steamroll the series. Way too much talent this year for 1 guy to roll through it.
@Ripdown - easy there buddy...you dare not question the prophesis of Jesus Christ do you?
I personallly found that race awesome and eaqually awesome was the third through seventh battle - you can finally call this class the class to watch - well 11' wasa good but that was more the exception rather than the rule.
Hey RIPDOWN.... Have you watched the lights races instead of just looking at the points? Tomac won this weekend and won the first 3. Tomac's DNF is his setback.
I'm usually all positive and I always enjoy the columns both on web and print. With that said the only thing you can take from San Diego is that it was a race to the first turn. The track was horrible at best and incredibly one lined. Add very slick conditions and a mistake was the only thing that could shuffle positions. Look at the 250 lcq had a mistake not been made there would be talks about Nelson not making it in. A rider following another rider around a sx trail hoping for a mistake is boring. Thank the sx gods they are coming east now everyone will now see what these guys are really about.
The changing of the guard ! Out with the old in with the NEW !!! lol !
After watching the RV special, I wonder how long he will stick around? Aldon Baker has made champions but, he seems to have to burn the candle at both ends leading to burn out by the rider.
Best lines from the special:
JW: "...rich kids aren't tough enough to last". I like this kid the more I hear about him.
RV's parents/sister: ".... didn't want her to be a track girl". If you don't fully understand that, you are not a racer. HaHa.
At one time Dungey was down 11seconds with riders to pass. He was down 5 or 6 seconds at end of race. It's all in the starts. That's why I like outdoors more. Great racing to watch with all the top dogs out there. Go Dunge!
Six races down and 11 to go. This series still has a long ways to go. Davi has been looking real good this year as well as RD, TC, Bam Bam CR JS RV etc. Davi has been the most consistent though and has tons of confidence and momentum. 11 races left is a long ways to go and it aint over yet. RD5 I think right now sits in a real good spot. He keeps his cool and gets top 3 finishes in the next 11 rounds and I think he will be champ. DM is bound to have 1 bad race. So far its been a good series and I hope the starts improve so we don't see crash's and the boys can race fairly.
@ ryanwagopoto
no chit bullwinkle....but to say Tomac is gonna dominate the 450's is a little stupid...even for Jesus.
Roczen is real close to tomacs speed...in fact he probably had the same speed but doesnt hang it out like Eli. That may be exactly why he's in the lead. Now we will never know as Kenny would be stupid to try and beat him now.
@ripdown
Respect to Roczen, but Tomac has been close to or even faster than the 450's on his 250. I have no doubt that if his head in in it, he'll be the fastest man on track if/when he jumps on that 450. He was majorly held up by lappers (and wasn't charging) at the end of SD either. Otherwise Roczen wouldn't have been close.
SD summed up in one word.... STARTS!!!!
Milsaps was out in front from the get go with the Holeshot....He pulled on Reed, (who was 3rd in the start) a little those first few laps while he and Barcia (who was 4th) navigated around Tickle (who started 2nd) ....Then Reed started push for Saps while Barcia was gaining on him.... Reed fell, Barcia went by and that was the end of passing up front....The slower Tickle managed to stay relevant on the one-lined track for about 4 laps before Stewart, RV and Dungey (all got just around 10th place starts) we passing one another back and forth and a few others....Not taking anything away from Milsaps, but myhunch is that if Stewart or RV or Dungey netted that holeshot and Saps was just inside the top 10, he would done exactly what those guys did....Case in point, Reed was running second closing on Saps, got passed by RV, RD and JS7 after his fall and with the exception of a super fading Brayton - Reed stayed in the same spot (behind those 3) until RV fell on last lap running into lappers.... SD is a poor example to use simply due to the track....its the same for everyone....hence the START!!!
This just goes to show that for a long time now, the starts have been a large part of the equation. It would be nice if the starts were revised in a manner as to avoid the WOT-to-pileup scenario. Not sure what the solution is....wider first turn with no jumps? That would allow them to get in line a little easier before mixxing it up.
@Killomoto
Totally agree (on the Cali tracks especially.) One lined and loose as snot if you get off that line. Now that we're heading back east we'll start seeing some more aggression out of the big 4.
1) starts 2) traction
Why do people constantly compare 250 times to the 450's. Most of these tracks are better suited to the 250's....not to mention the tracks are a little better when they run their race.
Barcia kicked AZZ on the 250's....he's doing good on the 450's but far from embarrassing everyone.
For those of you over 30: Tell me Barcia isin't the reincarnate of Bradshaw!!
@ BrianP
more like this guy.....has anyone spotted the Mystery Machine in the pits?
http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=198&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&biw=1024&bih=406&tbm=isch&tbnid=2zrTUV1VtPrgxM:&imgrefurl=http://topratedcartoons.blogspot.com/2012/12/scooby-doo-shaggy.html&docid=eVYh4XLGCN4jrM&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aGbJ1bXQjKE/UNWi61DhQFI/AAAAAAAAIw4/zs4pKCe2fUI/s1600/Scooby%2BMI_Shaggy_Head%2BShot_w%2BBG.jpg&w=811&h=950&ei=71oZUdLAI5KN0QGQioCICA&zoom=1&iact=rc&sig=108006880051662068439&page=12&tbnh=152&tbnw=121&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:200,i:40&tx=78&ty=127
Holy miscommunication batman. These threads are a headache.
Props to Matthes though, for constant good work.
Supercross has turned in to a 15 minute holeshot and sprint race. The tracks so far have been one lined slick and easy. Other than the one race that RV won I believe every other race the winner came from the top 3 off the start. I added up all the 250 and 450 heat races, last chance qualifiers and the mains and there was a total of 57 minutes of racing at San Diego. 15 minute 450 main??? 11 minute 250 main??? It is no wonder why RV, CR, TC, JS and JB have all pushed the front end and crashed tring to come through the pack in 15 minutes. Supercross needs to get away from the "NASCAR keep racing close formula" and make the tracks harder and the races longer. I say that the main event for the 450's needs to be 25 minutes plus 2 laps. And the 250 main be 20 minutes plus 2 laps.
Must see TV is right Steve! I cant wait for each saturday night to come. And when its not live the DVR is set to record on sunday but my wife usually finds me on the couch holding the ipad watching lap times click off through the races. Seeing lap times change and positions jockey makes the mind tense with anticipation of what happend.
Even though I check lap times the night of I usually try and abstain from checking online for a spoilers so I can watch it and put the puzzle together from the night before. All in all this season has not let me down. Here is hoping to a great finish to the season and an amazing outdoors!
I cannot ever remember anyone saying " that Supercross track was great with tons of passing lines". As long as I've been a fan of MX/SX we have been complaining that tracks are one lined. I mentioned this the other day and i think some people thought i was saying that one lined tracks are good, I wasn't. I just think that the nature of Supercross is one lined tracks. Passing wasn't as big of an issue in the 80's. I don't know if that's because riders were more aggressive then, or if you want to blame four strokes, but tracks were tight and one lined then too. I'm not saying everyone is wrong about the tracks, I'm saying you have to ride the same track as everyone else. If RV, CR, JS, and anyone else wants a shot at the title they'd better start getting better starts, stop washing out in the corners, or find a way to move people out of the way. Next year we will be here complaining about one lined tracks again, and those guys will be racing on them again.
@mit12,, well said...
Im not taking anything away from those guys at all but Lets just face reality of that night... The track sucked.. It was ONE lined.. There was nothing there that would separate a better rider.. There was nowhere to pass.. End of story.. Wait till Daytona or a track with passing . I would but the cream rises to the top then.
Maybe more line changing when they were riding 2 srokes?
@ Nikola
there was more passing in the 80's because the bikes were harder to ride fast consistently...you had to be on your game all the time. If you blew a corner you got passed. If you blew a rythm lane you got passed.
Bikes today make up for mistakes.....you blow a section you just twist the throttle and torque youself back into position. Way more passing with the twostrokes....and no I'm not just living in the past....I've been watching a lot of old videos lately and there where battles all over the place for the entire main event. Very few runaways.
@biker143,, It usually does at Daytona.
Props to Millsaps, he earned that win no doubt. But he will have his share of problems this season-it just hasnt happened yet. The others will catch him in the points.
That track was not good at all for racing, beside being slick, it was one-lined. There wasnt much passing going on by anyone. I have to admit though, other riders have def. stepped up their game.
The track design SUCKED. Completely one lined, lappers had nowhere to go.
Hopefully the track designers will get some imagination at Texas and its massive stadium. I say go back and look at the tracks of the late 80's and early 90's. I love to se a really long whoop section. I don't know something different that will catch all the riders by surprise.
Man
I
Can't
Wait
For
The
Outdoors!
IK...and add Dean Wilson on a 450 this summer too.
Rumor has it J-Law is gonna make another run at it. I bet he doesnt talk smack about Villopoto this time!
if they made the tracks harder i think there would be to many injuries and we would just see poto/stewart/dungey way out in front. if theres 2 lines your going to take the faster one unless its super sketchy then only poto or stewart will do it
I agree with Jimmyc261, a nice long whoop section needs to be on the agenda.
Also looking back at older races the 450's do seem to have sucked a little of the fun out of things. I love watching races from the late 90's and early 2000's. The bikes where great but the riders where still dealing with 2 stroke snap and short over-rev.
That said I think the overall talent pool is incredible these days which has forced even more emphasison the start's than ever before. We will never see a slow starter working the field and winning races like we used to. And soon we will no longer see lappers doubling the triples. Drives me crazy seeing pro's not trying their hardest.
Congrats to Davi! I, like so many others had written him off and here he is proving us all wrong race by race. I was excited to see him move up to the big bike because he was always too big for a 250F and when he did he just never found the pace untill now.
SUPERCROSS RULES!
two strokes would make better racing, but i bet most of the riders wouldnt like it so much easier to ride the four
Pffffft wait till J-LAW shows up.
Barcia like Bradshaw?? Hair and from the East but that's about it...That dude was just sick, 1 of 2 guys that could fall twice back to mid pack and still win!
Milsaps will crumble like the Berlin Wall ! Dungey Champ !
@villaslowdh
I disagree with you about making the tracke tougher would result in more injuries. I believe the reason we have so many riders hurt is because the tracks are such that the mid pack riders will do all the obsticals even if they are just above their talent. If you look at the riders on the injured list Baggett is the only top runner that is hurt and his was a first turn crash. Make the tracks so that only the top 5 can do all the obsticals will give the top guys more options for passing, increase the race length to allow a rider more time to work through the pack taking less chances along the way. We are not seeing parity or the changing of the guard we are seeing the direct impact that these easy one lined tracks produce. No disrespect to Millsaps he has won races before this years season he deserves his place atop of the points.
@Ripdown That was the perfect response!! No chitt Bullwinkle!! LOL!
I second that badmofo! Keep hammering Ralph and Fro Matthes, they seem to be listening. I heard more "team" and "sponsor" names this week. Time to replace RC with KW!
SD was the most boring SX race I ever attended. Can't wait for the real thing to start in May. During opening cerimonies, the announcer at SD used the word "show" a few times to describe what we were about to watch, and that's what SX really is: a big show with an interesting payout. But again, as a fan and rider, I can't wait for the outdoors to begin.
Let the two strokes go people. Thumpers raised the intensity of the sport and out perform two strokes hands down. If two strokes made for such great racing, then why isnt there more pro two stroke races that actually matter?
Where was Wiemer ? Hurt ? Sick ?
The TRACK had a LOT to do with it Steve!! one line and if you got out of that line you were done!! The Lappers did not help either!!
@ Escozoo
Simple. They stopped developing the 2 stroke when the 4 stroke was revitalized. I'm very confident if teh 2stroke had been getting the same R&D loving for the last 15 years they would be every bit as competetive even with the huge displacement advantage the thumpers have.
When I watched practice online, I said to the wife,...Hell the track looks easy enough for me to ride" Im 50. 46 second lap times? The fans are getting screwed if ya ask me.
Can't wait to see how Saps does if he ever gets a start outside the top 3!! LOL he has his starts diled and with tracks like this year so far if you get the start and stay off the ground you are all set. The dirt will change now that we are done with cali and the faster guys will find their way to the front more offten with less issues. it is far from over, Saps has a 19 point lead in 6 races but there are 11 left so 19 points is not that much. If it does tighten up I wonder how Saps will handel it. He has crashed a lot in years past. I just want to see good tracks and good racing not holesshoot and a conga line to the finish.
...........Maybe a TM 400 woulda pulled a holeshot, then ride like Alessi or grant for 15 mins? NP.
Gimmie a 2 1/2 min red bud lap in 100 +heat,anyday
Escozoo-
Please explain your premise. Your statement, four strokes outperform two strokes hands down. How so? Exactly?
If Milsaps has a bad race, RD5 will be there to capitalize. I think this championship comes down to DM18, RD5, and RV1 all within 5 points of each other. Who wins it all?.......I say RD5.
Points coming down the stretch will be intersting indeed.... Has Dungey really had that "bad night" yet?? He got a what a 6th and 7th the first couple weeks..That wasnt a "bad" night...he just got beat....Trey seems to have fallen off the horse a little but will be back....Dungey will capatalize of others bad nights, but when you have those nights when RV, 22, JS7, DM18, Barcia and Canard all start up front, those are the nights you will see Dungey lose points..... but its going to be tight and the RD5, RV and DM18 showdown in vegas is probable
Lappers in SD played a big role....RV was catching Dungey and had Kiniry not held RV up, I think RV would have made the podium.... Lap times will show that....The RV, RD and Stewart train was interesting...they would spread out, then close up....then Reed entered and was the caboose for about 10 laps....until the lappers came into play and RV threw it away....I was just amazed at all the blue flags being waived and no effort was made by Kiniry to even look at what was going on.....amazing....
Don't remember who posted before the season but I believe they are right. The most consistent rider will win the title. (duh) What makes that sentence funny is, early on, Millsaps and Dungey are proving it correct. And if Dungey wins the title how quick will people tear it down. So far the top two in points are proving the most consistent. Millsaps has avoided problems in the heats and mains. Dungey outside of the two LCQ adventures, has been solid in the mains.
My take on how to make the tracks more racy, eliminate the triples ! In their place put in rythum sections, so the riders can use different jumping sequences to make passes.
Fun too watch, but for me it`s all about outdoors. 50 sec laptimes and one lined, go cart?
2 strokes??? 250s??? this is 450 words not 250 words duh..all the race announcers talked up canard and reed for their race win pretictions. they were on par as per reedy but he went down..too bad cuz the guy is due a win and is fast at san diego. no talk about milsaps before the race but you can bet they will in big D..the guy obviously has done his homework and it is refreshing to see him winning again. another great sx season on SPEED ! love seeing kdub in the announcers booth..great hair kevin Lol keep up the good work speed and racer x
Great perspective and good article, but what about Andrew Short? He's on a production CRF 450!!!
Can you imagine some NASCAR guy going to the Chevy dealer and racing his new Caprice at Daytona???? Go SHORTY!!!!