So much to talk about after Anaheim 1. Here are three questions for three staffers who watched it all in person. Be sure to leave your thoughts below.
1. Peick and Friese: Fair or foul?
Jason Thomas: Ehhh… Where to begin. This has been going on for so many years now that to just point to this one incident would be short sighted. While it wasn't the cleanest move I have ever seen, it wasn't the dirtiest move I have ever seen from Friese and believe me, I have seen some doozies. The reaction from Weston was partly due to their run-in during the heat race and more importantly, from their years of past altercations. These two simply don't like each other, plain and simple. This isn't over—of that I’m sure.
Steve Matthes: Well, in my eyes the heat race move was fine—nothing wrong there. But I’m sure with their past history, Weston was full of rage. In the semi, right before the “incident” Weston had motored by Friese in the whoops and whipped it over at him. Probably a bit of an “eff you, bro” move in Weston’s eyes, but nothing wrong with that. There’s lot of unwritten rules out there on the track but they change depending on whom you talk to.
The next move by Friese was way, way over the line and then Peick’s response to that was way, way, way, way, over the line. Weston Peick’s a better rider than Friese and needs to stay above that. Get taken out by Vince? Pick up the bike and get going to try and qualify and deal with Vince in the pits or don’t do that and hope the AMA/FIM/Feld or someone else who is in charge deals with Friese, who’s a repeat offender. Friese’s move was incredibly dumb…once again. Peick’s response, although making for great entertainment, was probably dumber. There are no real winners here except for us fans. Wait, maybe it was great? I’m confused.
David Pingree: The heat race incident didn’t seem too out of line. It was a sweeping 90-degree turn that pushed you wide and Vince could at least say that it wasn’t intentional. The semi knock down was simply stupidity. Any time you make a block pass and get knocked down in the process it is an error. It’s easy to say from the stands, but Weston’s only mistake was not waiting until they were in the tunnel to knock Vince’s front teeth down his throat. Friese is dangerous on the track and has a history of taking riders out. In the heat race he was jumping from one side of the track to the other in front of Eli Tomac and I wanted to run out on the field and knock Vince off his bike with a 2x4. Despite the appropriate vigilante justice, you can’t punch another rider seven times and then shove him and then throw your middle finger in his face on national television and not expect repercussions.
2. Stewart and Dungey: Fair or foul?
Thomas: This one was purely an accident. I think that both riders made errors, in fact. Stewart, in an attempt to square up Jason Anderson, cut down hard in the berm before the finish line jump. Being in traffic and that early in the race, cutting down that sharply is always a risky move. Riders are swerving and jockeying behind you when everyone is still bunched up and really, any moves that can't be predicted by the rider behind you are going to be dicey.
For Dungey, he was caught by surprise in this case. He had jumped far left in an effort to miss ruts and bumps and as Stewart cut down, you could almost sense the panic. He locked up the brakes, but it was far too late and he was going too fast to stop. His error was his entry angle when in traffic, much like James' error was his exit angle. It was just bad timing and an unfortunate outcome. If anyone thinks that Dungey was intentionally trying to make contact there, think again.
Matthes: Oh, come on. This is getting ridiculous. It was unfortunate for James Stewart that when he decided to cut down on the berm, Ryan Dungey was too far inside and they hit. This is a racing incident. Dungey’s front end (unlike Friese’s) was pointed into the turn where he was going to pivot and race off. It’s just too bad Stew decided to do what he did. Total racing incident here and it’s too bad for JS7 that it ended up the way it did. It’s supercross racing—sometimes there isn’t much room out there.
Pingree: This altercation was a racing incident, nothing more. Stewart was riding well and focused on getting out front. Dungey was trying to protect himself and cover the inside line in that turn while the pack was bunched up behind him. As soon as Ryan saw James cut down he hit the brakes, but it was too late. Dungey has never been one to take riders out and his style can be called nothing but clean, so he should get some grace for those who are on the fence. The bummer here is if this caused another concussion for Stewart. Brain injuries are cumulative and happen easier each time they occur. In my opinion, a rider without prior head injury history would not have been knocked out in that crash. The dirt was soft and his impact was not nearly as abrupt as other hits that riders have walked away from. Scary stuff, for sure. Hopefully James is feeling better soon because he looked great on the track all day.
3. Canard and Dungey: Fair or foul?
Thomas: I am a bit torn on this one. I do think the pass and aggression was intentional but I think it went a bit further than intended. I don't think that he was trying to make hard contact and certainly not trying to knock him down. The pass was a bit out of character for Trey and I think it caught Dungey by surprise. There was only one good line in that turn that allowed riders to triple into the next section. Ryan had it and Trey clearly wanted it. I am sure Ryan saw it as a take-out and may have a bit of orange paint to send Trey's way, but I don't necessarily think it was what Trey intended.
Matthes: Please stop this. Again with the non-controversy, controversy. Stop trying to make it happen Mr. Question Man. I watched this a few times and I know Dungey wasn’t happy about the move but Trey did a massive scrub off the triple and made up a ton of time on Dungey going into the turn. Then he got to the inside of Dungey and forced him out. With the ridiculous track limitations of not having any berms in the turns (nets anyone?) there wasn’t anywhere for Dungey to go. It’s supercross and again, sometimes you have to make room out there.
Pingree: This is a head scratcher for me. I think Trey caught Ryan by surprise a bit and it didn’t give Dungey time to check up; Trey is really good at scrubbing hard like that to close a gap and sneak a wheel on somebody. It was aggressive but it wasn’t a T-bone either. I think Dungey fans aren’t going to like it and Trey fans are going to say it was good racing. The telling part of this incident is that Ryan got back up, collected himself and charged up to second at the finish. Dungey is still the man to beat for this title and he proved it at the opening round.