Thing 1 and Thing 2: Supercross Is a Sport of Speed and Attrition
The base cause for both is the same: Riders practice and race at the absolute limits of their speed week in and week out for months without breaks in the schedule—sometimes resulting in attrition in the form of broken bones.
With competition as an ever-rising constant, consistent crashes out of action—and out of the series—remain as much the norm as the exception.
Trey Canard, the second-best rider in the series by points, dropped out of the series at the last round in Detroit when the speed—and the integral intensity of his need to get to the front—all too quickly spiraled into attrition with that heart-dropping crash into Jake Weimer.
It seems fashionable in some circles this week to blame track designs. James Stewart—perhaps the foremost authority on both speed and attrition in supercross—tweeted that he cringes every time he sees a short start into a long rhythm.
Thing 3 and Thing 4: Supercross Is a Sport of Leaps and Bounds
Stewart’s argument seems to have merit, but just what can be considered safe in the first section of a supercross track?
A complicated rhythm section is perhaps less than ideal, yes. But the same criticism has been fairly made regarding a triple in the first post-start straightaway. Or whoops.
So what, then?
Flat ground? Speeds remain high without obstacles to separate the riders. Wouldn’t that just funnel the problem to the subsequent section of the track?
Shark tanks? An alligator pit? Maybe that’s moving in the wrong direction...
How about a pit full of those little rubber balls the kids play in at McDonald’s?
So, what obstacle should be used to replace the other obstacles?
It’s a dangerous sport. And we all want it to be, nonetheless, just as safe as possible. Everyone can agree on that, but how it could be accomplished remains contentious.
Thing 5 and Thing 6: Supercross Is a Sport of Torque and Traction
The discussion of safety has also recently centered on horsepower. It’s said that the bikes are just too fast. Shift gears, if you will, into considering how horsepower might be better used, and considering instead the benefit of its more traction-infused counterpart, the engine’s torque curve. An engine’s torque output is directly tied to how much horsepower it makes. But the curve of each is different and can be otherwise exploited to better advantage.
Some riders short-shift and ride across the broader wave of traction afforded by the broad torque of a modern 450. Others snap the throttle open and bounce along the rev limiter as they overshoot the sharper peak of the horsepower chart—usually to a less consistent end result, on average.
It could be argued that either approach is a “transmission” selection of its own as racers seek to gain traction on the track, in the point standings, and in their careers. Results may vary.
It’s one discussion, and an interesting one, whether the racing would be better with a different, lower displacement limit. It’s a somewhat specious and presumptive argument, on the other hand, to specifically attribute a perceived higher rate of injury to better-running motorcycles in a rational discussion of safety. When NASCAR put restrictor plates on its racecars, did it magically make racing safe? Were there fewer crashes, or more? Were there still injuries? Were the injuries less severe? (Send your “This isn’t car racing, dammit” comments directly to wannabe stock car announcer, Jason Weigandt, or just post them below Andy Bower’s ever-enthusiastic Rev Up column.)
Thing 7 and Thing 8: Supercross Is a Sport of Veterans and Rookies
And the tide can turn quickly between the two.
Eli Tomac is essentially a rookie in the big bike class, as he virtually missed his actual first year in 450s because of injuries. Ryan Dungey won his first supercross title in his rookie season by being both fast and steadfast. Dungey doesn’t miss races. His steady and studied approach kept rookie mistakes at bay in 2010, and has kept injuries at arm’s length throughout his career.
This year, 2015 rookies Blake Baggett and Cole Seely have likewise kept it steady and mostly on two wheels. Seely has wracked up the best results without wrecking—but if Seely were Dungey, he would have his first win by now—and Baggett’s steadily improving results may qualify as one of the surprises of the season despite a misstep or three along the way.
Rookies Jason Anderson (of late) and (don’t forget) Dean Wilson have had more mixed results.
That’s not to discount the string of veterans in and out with injury—Weimer, Justin Brayton, Josh Hill, and more recently Jimmy Albertson come to mind.
The sudden swing that’s possible between experience and exuberance is anecdotally evident in the results of the last two races, with Dungey finishing just behind Tomac in both as the fireworks lit—with, of course, a major difference being that Tomac was all but a lap down when he led Dungey over the finish line at the Indianapolis main event and was the actual winner of the next race.
Thing 9 and Thing 10: Supercross Is a Sport of Streaks and Breaks
Jeff Emig broke Jeremy McGrath’s ongoing streak of wins at the 1996 St. Louis Supercross. Ryan Villopoto’s championship run came to a not-so-sudden stop there in 2010 as he cartwheeled through a dicey rhythm section and broke his leg.
The chances that Ryan Dungey will jump through the handlebars and suffer a season-ending injury in St. Louis are nil. That’s not going to happen. We could say that anything that could happen in St. Louis this Saturday, but the anything will be more akin to the circumstances of Emig’s upset in 1996. Eli Tomac stopped Dungey’s win streak at three in a row in Detroit with his first win in ten rounds, but if Tomac were to begin his own streak with a second consecutive victory—or if Cole Seely or Chad Reed or even Jason Anderson were to pull off a win—the effect in terms of points will be almost as negligible as it was with Emig’s storied win over MC.
On the other hand, with the likelihood that Dungey will leave St. Louis with an even firmer grasp on the championship than he already has, it’s beginning to look a lot like 2010 all over again.
