Well, that’s a wrap folks! After another grueling season of supercross, we have reached the end of the road. Every season presents its own questions as we roll into Anaheim and we usually have our answers by the time we reach Las Vegas. The riders have had over four months to sort it out amongst themselves and most are ready for the coming change of outdoor racing. As we exit the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross Championship, let’s take a look at the top five riders in the championship.
Ryan Dungey (9 wins, 16 podiums, average finish of 1.76)
Ryan was the man to beat all season. Coming in as the reigning champ, he knew that everyone would be gunning for him. Starting strong would be incredibly important in keeping his mental edge over the field as well as building an early points lead. He did just that, winning five out of the first eight races. How did he fare in the three he didn’t win, you ask? True to form, he would score runner-up finishes in those races as well. Simply put, he dominated the first half of the series and already had a commanding 33-point lead leaving Atlanta.
He left no open holes for anyone to legitimately rejoin the title fight, keeping the pressure off of he and his team. It marked the second year in a row that he wrapped up the title early and this has to leave his main rivals shaking their heads in frustration. If you walked around the pits and asked others inside the top five in points “can you beat Ryan?” I bet you would get a yes more times than not. Assuming I am right, it goes to show how sneakily dominant Ryan has been. He wins more often than not, never makes big mistakes, has his program running at full strength and yet most of his competitors feel that they still can beat him. That feeling was spurred on by the Foxborough and East Rutherford rounds where Dungey was not at his best but it’s been a feeling I have gotten from others in years’ past as well. It’s an interesting point that Ryan has won three consecutive titles (including last year’s 450 National MX title) and I still firmly believe that his rivals feel that he is vulnerable.
Ken Roczen (5 wins, 11 podiums, average finish of 3.94)
*Average finish was much lower until his 20th in Las Vegas
Roczen struggled early in the season and really put himself in a tough spot. He made mistakes and didn’t seem to have everything dialed in quite yet. As the season continued, he certainly found his groove and as we saw in his last few races, looked to be the fastest guy. He has to be leaving Vegas with a lot of confidence but he has to also wonder what could have been. Roczen has the talent and ability to beat Dungey but to outlast him in a 17 race series he has to remove all variance in his results. He had six weekends where he scored a fifth place or worse. That’s simply something that can’t happen against Ryan Dungey. Ryan’s worst finish was a fourth place and that also occurred on a title-clinching weekend. Kenny needs to find this no-mistake aspect to beat Ryan in his current form. As we head into this summer and next January, he will have his moments, just as he did this season. To get the #1 back on his bike, though, he has to be as close to perfect as possible.
Jason Anderson (2 wins, 7 podiums, average finish of 4.0)
Jason Anderson came out swinging, winning the opener at Anaheim. I had heard multiple reports of how great he was riding in the weeks and months leading up to January so I knew he would be a factor early. The big question was in his response to 4-plus months of continuous racing at a championship contender level. As we talked about with Roczen, winning a championship takes the complete package all season long. Looking over his season, he was consistent but not quite up to par for what a title will take. He had a string of five consecutive races where he missed the podium and while he barely missed out, those points are critical against such great riders. He should be proud of his season, though, as he is firmly in the elite group now. I am interested to see how this outdoor season goes for Anderson. He seems to be a bit better inside than outside but I do think the new motorcycle will help him improve on his 2015 results.
Eli Tomac (1 win, 5 podiums, average finish of 5.0)
Eli entered the 2016 season in a precarious, almost unfair position. He had been lured away by the Monster Energy Kawasaki squad and of course that came with high hopes and expectation. Unfortunately, Eli was coming off of double shoulder surgery and was a bit further behind than many thought. Personally, I was skeptical of how he would do early in the series as I don’t think change is a good thing for riders at this level and he was changing virtually everything in his program and coupling that with a huge recovery. Kawasaki was ushering in a completely new motorcycle and that always takes time to sort out.
With all of that change in mind, I was not surprised that the early rounds were a bit touch and go. I did think he would come around as we reached the mid-point of the season but that seemed delayed, too. It wasn’t until late in the rounds that he would find his form and become a weekly podium finisher. Although the final rounds were good, it was definitely not the season that some had hoped for. He carried a hefty price tag and was brought in to fill the shoes of four time SX champ Ryan Villopoto. Whether or not that is a fair expectation is certainly up for debate but for those writing checks, it had to be in the back of their minds. So, after an up and down supercross season, he enters his real forte, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. This is his chance to erase the memory of a tough start to 2016.
Chad Reed (0 wins, 2 podiums, average finish of 6.17)
Chad Reed is the elder statesman of the sport. It’s a stigma and label that I don’t think he likes very much but it’s just how the sport works. This supercross world is a young man’s game and at one time, Chad Reed was the type of young, fiery superstar that he now has to contend with. He just wants to be considered another of the lead guys but I am sure his competitors shake their heads that they have to battle someone from the generation before they were professional. Riders like Roczen and Anderson grew up watching Reed battle against all of the now retired legends (minus James Stewart). The fact that Reed was able to get two podiums and finish top five in the series is a testament to his skill and even more so his stubbornness. He simply refuses to walk away from this supercross life. He believes he can still win and as we have learned by now, anything he believes usually becomes reality even if only for a weekend.
I must admit, after the two back-to-back podiums at San Diego 1 and Anaheim 2, I was in amazement at his level. His deal came together very late and I know he didn’t get all of the testing that he would normally want. That lack of prep time was apparent at times as the team was working long and hard during the season to work on weaknesses. Given an entire off-season to build parts, test, and feed off of Cooper Webb’s youthfulness, Chad could once again find himself in contention next year. Hopefully he can lock in a deal early, giving him his best chance for success.
