While watching the first moto at Hangtown last weekend it occured to me yet again that it doesn't get much better than watching Kevin Windham ride a dirt bike. Silky smooth, with his trademark low elbows and leaning way over the front, Windham makes riding a motocross bike look effortless.
It is one thing to go as fast as anyone in the world on a motocross bike by trying hard, getting out of shape and riding on pure heart. However, it is another thing to beat the best in the world while in total control, with a fluid, technically perfect and yet nonchalent style. It is almost magical to witness and something that very very few guys in the world have the skill to perform. Kevin Windham is one of those guys.
Windham led the first fifteen minutes of race one at Hangtown, despite only riding the bike once prior to the race. Nothing has changed, the pace is still there, his style flawless. You could have been forgiven for thinking you were watching the 1999 Hangtown National, Kevin's first year on big red. The sheer riding talent Kevin has is unbelievable, his transfers during the supercross series are becoming stuff of legend, his performance in Las Vegas stunned even James Stewart, and everyone loves watching him ride including the great Ricky Carmichael. Windham oozes control, class and style on a bike.
Guys like Kevin Windham or Stefan Everts, Christophe Pourcel, Jeremy McGrath, JMB, David Bailey, Steve Ramon and Chad Reed to name a few aren't just motocross riders, they are artists on a motocross bike. Ignore the titles they have or have not won but look at their riding style, and when everything clicks there is no one better, smoother or faster on the track. These are the guys that make you want to ride, they turn motocross from a tough rough mistake strewn sport and make it beautiful. They float over bumps, and flow effortlessly round corners, they glide around the most treachorous track and make the difficult look easy.
For me these riders are worth the admission price alone, in the same way the Barcelona football team currently encapsulate the beatiful game played the perfect way, and Roger Federer has transformed tennis into a sublime artform, these guys encapsulate how everyone should want to ride a motocross bike. It is motocross the right way, the way it should be - motocross in the purest form.
Kevin Windham is a pleasure to watch and for any fan or aspiring rider out there, take some time to closely watch the way he rides a motorcycle, and enjoy the last couple of seasons of one of the smoothest most naturally talented riders the world has ever seen.
Friday 27 May 2011
Monday 23 May 2011
Herlings and Philippaerts take Brazil by storm!
The Brazilian GP brought fantastic racing to thousands of colourful and delirious local fans who fell in love with World Championship motocross racing at the very warm and sunny Indaiatuba circuit.
Phenomenal infrastructure and packed grandstands galore left the teams happy to deal with the huge logistical undertaking that has been the last two weeks of the Grand Prix series. Riders also appreciated the setting and the enthusiasm of the large turn-out of fans, which proved quite a contrast to the almost apathetic nature of the US motocross fans not at the poorly attended US GP just one week prior.
MX2
Jeffrey Herlings took his second GP win of the year and maybe the most important win of his career so far. It is two GP wins each now for Herlings and Roczen and they battle in what appears to be an exclusive KTM fight for the World Title.
Herlings tried to stay with leader Ken Roczen on the hard pack track in race one, but Roczen was just too strong and it looked like no-one would be able touch the German superstar yet again.
In race two just like in Glen Helen Roczen holeshot and put in a blistering couple of laps,(using the techniques he picked up in supercross during his stay in the US to good effect) but Herlings began to claw back the few seconds lead Roczen had opened up. The German started making a couple of mistakes as Herlings got the gap down to two seconds. He continued to put the pressure on and this time Roczen cracked! Down went Ken and he handed Herlings a six second lead, this time it was Roczen’s turn to play catch up and, forced to ride on the edge, Roczen crashed again! Herlings was left with a twenty second lead as Roczen had to fend off the attentions of Gautier Paulin who almost nabbed second from the KTM rider on the last lap.
An impressive Herlings insisted after the race, “I knew it! I knew if I stayed on his back wheel he would make a mistake - he is only human! I didn‘t have the speed of Ken in the first moto, but I always feel stronger in the second moto, we battled until ten minutes to go and Ken had a little crash and that basically gave me the victory.”
Paulin garnered his first podium of the year beating Tommy Searle into fourth and looks ready to challenge for regular podiums now he is fully healthy again.
Searle had great speed all weekend, benefiting from some special engine upgrades courtesy of Mitch Payton. However, after receiving outside assistance after a crash in his qualifying heat while running second, Tommy was disqualified and given last gate pick for the races on Sunday. Forced to come from outside the top ten Searle rode fantastic and nearly caught both Roczen and Paulin in the final moto to equal is fourth place in moto one.
Zach Osborne had two big crashes on Saturday and was still dealing with a painful wrist from the US GP, but it didn’t stop the American from running up front. Osborne held third in the first moto but was forced back into fifth after his wrist made it hard to hold on. It was a similar story in race two but Osborne still showed good speed on his way to fifth place.
Max Anstie was sixth overall with a 6-7 scorecard, and although insisting he wasn’t feeling well, the always smiling and friendly Brit needs to acknowledge he is still trying to find the speed to challenge for race wins and even podiums on a consistent basis over the course of a GP weekend on the varying styles of tracks.
MX2 overall: 1. Herlings 47pts, 2. Roczen 47pts, 3. Paulin 40pts, 4. Searle 36pts, 5. Osborne 32pts, 6. Anstie 29pts, 7. Charlier 27pts, 8. Tonus 27pts, 9. Roelants 23pts, 10. Kullas 22pts
MX1
MX1 delivered the best racing of the year so far. A three way battle in race one was initially led by Cairoli only for Frossard to take the lead, Philippaerts hovered right behind in third as Cairoli retook first position. Then, with a few minutes to go Desalle came from nowhere and passed both the Yamaha riders on one lap, then just as quickly he crashed and remounted back in fourth. Philippaerts regrouped from all the frantic action around him to try and get Cairoli but Tony held on to take his second moto win of the season.
Race two was more of the same, Cairoli holeshot again but Desalle moved his way to the front with Philippaerts second. Desalle tipped over yet again and dropped back to fifth. Ramon moved up to third and challenged Cairoli, but with three laps to go Cairoli dropped the hammer and put in the fastest lap of the race to get on Philippaerts back wheel on the last lap. But the 2008 World Champ responded and put down the fastest lap of the race on the last lap to keep Cairoli at bay and take the moto and the overall win!
An ecstatic Philippaerts was pleased to rebound after a poor US GP, “ I am very happy, the track was good, there where different types of corners and not every rider was fast in the same line. I had good lap times, but Tony was coming so I just focused on my lines and pushed to the last lap.”
Steve Ramon showed his best form of the year, to take third in race two and that gave him fifth overall as he continues his comeback from illness.
Former Championship leader Stephen Frossard was fourth after nursing an injured thumb in race two, while Desalle’s crash happy weekend still netted the Belgian Suzuki rider third on the podium and maintained his championship lead, but the rest are closing in!
Second in the championship Max Nagl had a poor weekend by his standards due to and ongoing back problem compounded by bad starts. A sixth place overall kept Nagl in the hunt and he will hopefully be fully fit for the next round in France where there are now five genuine contenders for the World title.
The Honda sponsored Brazilian GP was not Honda’s best showing with both Evgeny Bobreyshev and Goncalves suffering crashes during the day. Bobreyshv took best Honda with tenth overall and remains sixth in points but lost ground to the title contenders. Ken De Dycker showed the speed everyone knows he has in Brazil and got Honda’s best individual results with fifth place in race one.
MX1 Overall:
1. Philippaerts 47pts, 2. Cairoli 47pts, 3. Desalle 36pts, 4. Frossard 36pts, 5. Ramon 36pts, 6. Nagl 31pts, 7. De Dycker 26pts, 8. Boog 25pts, 9. Strijbos 24pts, 10. Bobryshev 23pts.
Phenomenal infrastructure and packed grandstands galore left the teams happy to deal with the huge logistical undertaking that has been the last two weeks of the Grand Prix series. Riders also appreciated the setting and the enthusiasm of the large turn-out of fans, which proved quite a contrast to the almost apathetic nature of the US motocross fans not at the poorly attended US GP just one week prior.
MX2
Jeffrey Herlings took his second GP win of the year and maybe the most important win of his career so far. It is two GP wins each now for Herlings and Roczen and they battle in what appears to be an exclusive KTM fight for the World Title.
Herlings tried to stay with leader Ken Roczen on the hard pack track in race one, but Roczen was just too strong and it looked like no-one would be able touch the German superstar yet again.
In race two just like in Glen Helen Roczen holeshot and put in a blistering couple of laps,(using the techniques he picked up in supercross during his stay in the US to good effect) but Herlings began to claw back the few seconds lead Roczen had opened up. The German started making a couple of mistakes as Herlings got the gap down to two seconds. He continued to put the pressure on and this time Roczen cracked! Down went Ken and he handed Herlings a six second lead, this time it was Roczen’s turn to play catch up and, forced to ride on the edge, Roczen crashed again! Herlings was left with a twenty second lead as Roczen had to fend off the attentions of Gautier Paulin who almost nabbed second from the KTM rider on the last lap.
An impressive Herlings insisted after the race, “I knew it! I knew if I stayed on his back wheel he would make a mistake - he is only human! I didn‘t have the speed of Ken in the first moto, but I always feel stronger in the second moto, we battled until ten minutes to go and Ken had a little crash and that basically gave me the victory.”
Paulin garnered his first podium of the year beating Tommy Searle into fourth and looks ready to challenge for regular podiums now he is fully healthy again.
Searle had great speed all weekend, benefiting from some special engine upgrades courtesy of Mitch Payton. However, after receiving outside assistance after a crash in his qualifying heat while running second, Tommy was disqualified and given last gate pick for the races on Sunday. Forced to come from outside the top ten Searle rode fantastic and nearly caught both Roczen and Paulin in the final moto to equal is fourth place in moto one.
Zach Osborne had two big crashes on Saturday and was still dealing with a painful wrist from the US GP, but it didn’t stop the American from running up front. Osborne held third in the first moto but was forced back into fifth after his wrist made it hard to hold on. It was a similar story in race two but Osborne still showed good speed on his way to fifth place.
Max Anstie was sixth overall with a 6-7 scorecard, and although insisting he wasn’t feeling well, the always smiling and friendly Brit needs to acknowledge he is still trying to find the speed to challenge for race wins and even podiums on a consistent basis over the course of a GP weekend on the varying styles of tracks.
MX2 overall: 1. Herlings 47pts, 2. Roczen 47pts, 3. Paulin 40pts, 4. Searle 36pts, 5. Osborne 32pts, 6. Anstie 29pts, 7. Charlier 27pts, 8. Tonus 27pts, 9. Roelants 23pts, 10. Kullas 22pts
MX1
MX1 delivered the best racing of the year so far. A three way battle in race one was initially led by Cairoli only for Frossard to take the lead, Philippaerts hovered right behind in third as Cairoli retook first position. Then, with a few minutes to go Desalle came from nowhere and passed both the Yamaha riders on one lap, then just as quickly he crashed and remounted back in fourth. Philippaerts regrouped from all the frantic action around him to try and get Cairoli but Tony held on to take his second moto win of the season.
Race two was more of the same, Cairoli holeshot again but Desalle moved his way to the front with Philippaerts second. Desalle tipped over yet again and dropped back to fifth. Ramon moved up to third and challenged Cairoli, but with three laps to go Cairoli dropped the hammer and put in the fastest lap of the race to get on Philippaerts back wheel on the last lap. But the 2008 World Champ responded and put down the fastest lap of the race on the last lap to keep Cairoli at bay and take the moto and the overall win!
An ecstatic Philippaerts was pleased to rebound after a poor US GP, “ I am very happy, the track was good, there where different types of corners and not every rider was fast in the same line. I had good lap times, but Tony was coming so I just focused on my lines and pushed to the last lap.”
Steve Ramon showed his best form of the year, to take third in race two and that gave him fifth overall as he continues his comeback from illness.
Former Championship leader Stephen Frossard was fourth after nursing an injured thumb in race two, while Desalle’s crash happy weekend still netted the Belgian Suzuki rider third on the podium and maintained his championship lead, but the rest are closing in!
Second in the championship Max Nagl had a poor weekend by his standards due to and ongoing back problem compounded by bad starts. A sixth place overall kept Nagl in the hunt and he will hopefully be fully fit for the next round in France where there are now five genuine contenders for the World title.
The Honda sponsored Brazilian GP was not Honda’s best showing with both Evgeny Bobreyshev and Goncalves suffering crashes during the day. Bobreyshv took best Honda with tenth overall and remains sixth in points but lost ground to the title contenders. Ken De Dycker showed the speed everyone knows he has in Brazil and got Honda’s best individual results with fifth place in race one.
MX1 Overall:
1. Philippaerts 47pts, 2. Cairoli 47pts, 3. Desalle 36pts, 4. Frossard 36pts, 5. Ramon 36pts, 6. Nagl 31pts, 7. De Dycker 26pts, 8. Boog 25pts, 9. Strijbos 24pts, 10. Bobryshev 23pts.
Thursday 19 May 2011
US Nationals preview - 450 class
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| The bar banging action from Reed, Alessi and Dungey and more is set to continue in 2011 Pic. Paul McCready |
It is hard to know just who the favourite is for the 2011 450 National Championship. Ryan Dungey is the defending champion, Ryan Villopoto just won the Supercross championship, Chad Reed didn’t really get the chance to defend his 2009 outdoor title and moving up is Christophe Pourcel who arguably could have and should have won the last two 250 national titles.
Let’s start with Dungey. The defending champion did not enjoy losing his supercross crown and you can bet the very competitive but quiet Minnesota born Suzuki rider will have revenge on his mind. Dungey is fit, he is fast and he is consistent and smooth, all the ingredients are there but he needs to find good starts again and this year he needs to beat Ryan Villopoto.
Ryan Villopoto has the momentum coming into the outdoor series, and despite Dungey being the defending champion, Villopoto is many people’s favourite to win. Villopoto has just come off his biggest ever championship by winning the most competitive supercross series maybe ever. RV is full of confidence and thanks to Aldon Baker full of fitness. This should scare all his competition, because RV already has three 250 national outdoor titles and dominated in the only 450 outdoor race he has ridden - the opening race at Glen Helen in 2009. Now with Aldon Baker in his corner he is going to be even faster for longer and even more confident. That is a scary thought for any of his competition.
One guy who will not be the slightest bit worried is Chad Reed. Reed is very self confident and mentally strong… and he has the credentials to justify ever inch of his self belief. The Aussie came within four points of winning the 2011 Supercross title on his own team as essentially a privateer. Now with more help from Honda and fully healthy again after last season’s health issues, Reed will no doubt believe that his championship experience and smarts will have him in the hunt coming down to the final round. Count Chad Reed out at your peril, and don’t forget he won Hangtown last year despite all his problems, there is no reason a healthy Reed can’t do it again.
Many people are not counting Christophe Pourcel as a championship threat, but I am counting him as the fourth alien. Just because Pourcel did not race supercross does not mean he has lost the talent that gave him the World MX2 title in 2006, 2x Regional SX championships and the fastest rider in the 250 nationals the last two years. The super smooth and deceptively fast Frenchman won more motos than Dungey in 2009 and more than Canard in 2010 and engine failure and a broken arm are what kept the former World Champ from winning those titles despite still feelings the physical effects of the crash that left him temporarily paralysed in 2007.
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| Christophe Pourcel is moving up the 450s and should not be counted out. Pic. Paul McCready |
Now Pourcel claims the time off from supercross has allowed him to get his health issues fixed, so maybe the US fans will see a fully healthy Pourcel for the first time in his American career. Pourcel is very smart and has a beautiful style, he knows how to win and will be there every weekend. He has raced a 450 before and been very fast, the bike should suit his style even more than the 250. The biggest question mark is not Christophe Pourcel but whether the Motoconcepts team can give Pourcel the support and bike he needs to challenge for the title.
Mike Alessi as usual is going against logical thought. He went with the brand new 350 KTM last year when no-one was on it, but lost his confidence and has switched to the 450 KTM for 2011 again a bike no-one else is racing. But is that really the smartest choice? At time when every other factory rider in the KTM team both in the Gps and America have gone 350 because they believe it is the better bike especially with a years development under it‘s belt, Alessi is now riding a bike that has had no development this year and has no-one of his calibre riding it either, leaving Alessi no comparisons or testing back up. There is no doubt he rides the 450 very very well, but maybe his choice to be the lone 450 wolf in the KTM pack could hurt him. Still Alessi is fast and will give it everything he has, if he gets the starts he can never be counted out for the title and he may renew the Villopoto rivalry from the amateur days this season.
It seem unfair to both Brett Mettcalfe and Andrew Short that they havn’t already been mentioned since they finished second and third in the series last season. Both these guys are consistent, they world hard and get good starts, but that extra piece of magic is missing that they need to be a potential race winner every weekend. Both have yet to prove they can deal with the championship pressure when it really counts. But that isn’t to say this year won’t be the year and both of these deserving riders could potentially break out and deservingly win their first major championship.
Other riders who will be in the mix include Jake Weimer, Christian Craig, Justin Brayton, Davi Millsaps, Tommy Hahn and Kyle Chisholm. It is hard to see these guys as title contenders but on their day they could ruffle some feathers.
There are a few wild card riders who will not challenge for a title due to various circumstance but could challenge for wins at any stage. Trey Canard was in contention for the Supercross title in his rookie year and the 2010 250 outdoor champ would have been a certain title contender in the 450 outdoors but a broken leg has put an end to that dream for this year. Trey however is very determined and he will be battling hard to get some wins when he comes back halfway through the season.
Honda team-mate Josh Grant is another out with injury but again, like Trey, he has speed to burn and can be a threat to win a moto anytime, anywhere.
James Stewart is perhaps the biggest wild card of all - in every sense of the word. The stupidly fast but scarily fragile Floridian refused to compete in the US GP only to announce one week later that he wasn’t ready to race the first round at Hangtown. Surely racing two days at the US GP would have helped James get ready for Hangtown? Unless of course the problems are less bike based and more team based. It seems James is so afraid to lose after his crash happy supercross series that he doesn’t want to race unless in his mind he believes he is going to win.
Stewart has vowed to be a new rider upon his return..but no-one knows when that return will be yet. The problem is that outdoor specialist and teammate Kyle Regal is suffering because he is not able to race his favourite series until James decides James is ready. When these two come back the fans will be the real winners and both will give even more excitement to an already super competitive championship.
So sit back and enjoy what will be a fantastic 450 US National Championship while you can because, before long, you will be on the edge of your seat!
2011 US Nationals - 250 Class Preview
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| 2010 Hangtown winner Eli Tomac has everything he needs to win the 2011 US Nationals Pic. Paul McCready |
With last year’s championship winner Trey Canard and runner -up Christophe Pourcel moving to the 450 class for 2011, the 250 US National championship has been blown wide open with many contenders believing this is their year to win the championship.
The logical favourite based on last year’s third place would be Pro Circuit rider Tyla Rattray. The 2008 South African MX2 World Champion has taken his time getting used to the USA’s intense racing style however when the track is rough Rattray will is hard to beat. But in his third year in a class he is too old to race in the World Championship, Tyla will need to deliver in 2011 if he wants a decent ride in 2012 given his age and lack of supercross experience.
Putting extra pressure on Rattray to achieve will be the rider who took over his crown of World Champion in MX2. Marvin Musquin is the two time MX2 World Champion and it will be interesting to see how their pace has evolved by racing in two different series. Rattray will not want Musquin to come in and beat him in his first year in the US, but it could well happen and will be an interesting subplot during the championship.
Musquin is coming off a knee injury but had a pretty impressive return to racing last week at the US GP. However, it may take the Frenchman a couple of rounds to get back to his 2010 pace. He will also have to adapt to the one day format in the US that involves short practice sessions, shorter intense races combined with new tracks and oppressive heat. But the KTM mounted Musquin is a very special rider and with Roger DeCoster in his corner helping him adapt he should be in hunt for the title by the season end.
Dean Wilson signed off in the best way possible last year by going 1-1 in the final round of the series at Pala Raceway. Bad starts hampered his progress in the supercross series and with the field so deep Wilson will need to gate well in the Nationals to put his undoubted speed to good use. The Scottish born rider has all the tools and now the experience to go for the title.
Justin Barcia is entering his third year of national outdoor competition in America, and is coming in with more momentum than ever after winning the East Coast super cross title. Barcia still needs to prove he can be consistent over 24 motos however to be a serious title contender. Maybe the most exciting and definitely the most aggressive rider to watch, Justin is hard to beat on his day and if he can minimise his mistakes he should be a factor every weekend.
But maybe the real favourite is his Geico Honda teamate Eli Tomac. The Colorado native narrowly lost the West Coast supercross title in his first year and this potentially could leave him down and less motivated coming into the outdoors, or it could make him even more motivated to win. My guess is it will be the latter. Tomac is a clear thinker on the track and doesn’t get to up or down depending on his results, he has a great people around him and like Wilson has everything he needs to take the title, it is just a matter of executing now.
Mitch Payton’s two other riders Blake Baggett and Broc Tickle could be dark horses for the title. Tickle is always strong and consistent outdoors although has never been a title contender, but now with the confidence of his West coast supecross title and being on the best team in the class, Tickle has no more excuses not to challenge for the series or at least get some wins under his belt.
Baggett is in a similar position, he was very fast last year until injury thwarted his season and now in a better team, it is up to Baggett to go out there and perform like he can. If he does he will be a contender for race wins.
Other riders who will feature among the front runners at times will be Wil Hahn, Ryan Sipes, Cole Seeley, Travis Baker and Gareth Swanepole, but these guys will need to establish themselves week in week out against the main contenders to be really taken seriously and that is the aspect that they have not been able to show yet.
Jason Anderson and Malcom Stewart are rookies on the national tour and they have a lot of raw speed, but will their fitness and consistency throughout the year be where it needs to be to get among the front runners.
Only one thing is for certain, with so many potential champions and even more potential race winners, the 2011 series will not lack in excitement!
Saturday 14 May 2011
US GP preview
MX2
Ken Roczen leads the World Championship but there are only ten points between the top three in the championship. Jeffrey Herlings moved into second place in the series after a decimating the opposition at his home GP in Holland. Roczen was left reeling at Herlings’ speed after the race, after admitting before hand he wanted to beat Herlings there, Roczen has stated since he wants to dominate at the US GP, and with the rivalry in the KTM team threatening to ruin their previous friendship, there could be fireworks between the teenage wonderkids. Ken loves America and loves the GP series so a US GP is probably the perfect mixture of both cultures for him to put on a show, but Herlings will want to prove he can beat Roczen outside of the sand tracks too.
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| Herlings will be looking for a better showing in American than he had in 2010 Pic : Paul McCready |
It shouldn’t be a two horse race however with Tommy Searle only ten points back in third in the series. Searle has experience of racing at Glen Helen in the AMA series, and after two solid podium performances at the opening two rounds Tommy needs to show he can win against the KTM duo and there is not a more perfect place for the CLS/Pro Circuit Kawaski rider than Glen Helen to do that.
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| Can Musquin repeat his GP win of 2010? Pic: Paul McCready |
Making a one off return to GP competition is 2009 and 2010 MX2 World Champ Marvin Musquin. Musquin is returning after a knee injury and this will be his first race back as he prepares to race the AMA series. After his total domination of last years event Musquin will be motivated to show he has lost none of his speed and will want to show the GP and AMA riders that he is still the best. The prospect of a Musquin, Herlings, Roczen rematch - three of fastest MX2 riders in the world, is truly a mouth watering prospect.
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| Zach Osborne wants to win his home GP Pic: Paul McCready |
Representing America’s best chance of a win is Zach Osborne. Fourth in last year’s GP series Zach is giving the USA their best GP results in ten years. He has been steady so far in 2011 but he needs to start getting some wins or at least on the podium if he wants to remain in contention for the World title. It is the biggest race of the year for Zach, he will no doubt be kitted out in red white and blue and hoping to have the USA national anthem being played at his home GP as he stands at the top step of the podium. One thing is for sure Zach will give it everything he has to win this weekend.
Zach Osborne’s team mate Arnaud Tonus nearly got on the podium in Holland and will be hoping to achieve that goal in the USA. The Swiss teenager is stylish and smooth and has been the most improved rider in 2011 so far.
Rinadli Yamaha title hope Gautier Paulin has not quite shown the speed everyone knows he is capable of so far this season. Paulin has all the technical skills to run at the front but he needs the starts in order to give himself a decent chance, the huge jumps at Glen Helen should suit the former BMX world Champion’s style.
Max Anstie is arguably having his first home GP of the year, living in the USA for the last few years and riding regularly at Glen Helen should give Max the best opportunity to break the top five. A podium is not out of reach for the fast but fragile Brit who is still trying to put it all together over a GP weekend, but when he does he will be a contender.
Also look out for riders such as Nicholas Aubin, Christopher Charlier, Joel Roelants, Harri Kullas, Jordi Tixier and Nikolaj Larson all capable of mixing it in the top ten, as is US wild card Travis Baker who flies at Glen Helen.
With motivation at 100% for a lot of different riders with something to prove the MX2 class promises to be a classic race at a stupendous speed, especially if they all get out of the start at the front.
MX1
World Championship leader Steven Frossard has been the revelation of the 2011. The Rinaldi Yamaha rider showed he is for real with his speed in the sand in Holland and took third in the MX2 class at Glen Helen last year, so he should be looking forward to challenging for the podium and wins in the MX1 class.
Last years winner was the 2010 World Champ Antonio Cairoli, Cairoli is suffering from a knee injury but he was still able to win the last round in Holland to haul himself up to fourth in the standings and into title contention. Cairoli will be disappointed at the lack of US entries but will remain focussed on taking another US GP win. The Italian legend is hoping to equal Roger DeCoster’s haul of 5 World titles in 2011.
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| Cairoli won the US GP in 2010 Pic:Paul McCready |
Clemant Desalle won round one of the World Championship in Bulgaria but struggled to make the top five in Holland, so it will be interesting to see if the determined Belgian can re-align himself at the front of the field in America. Still third in the series and right in the championship hunt, Desalle rode well at the venue last year, beating Cairoli in race two so he should be eyeing a USGP win.
2008 World Champ David Philippaerts got his first podium of the year at Valkensward and the tough Italian will want to repeat feat at Glen Helen despite having a terrible round there last year after a huge crash down one of the famous Glen Helen hills.
Other riders to look out for include Russian Evgeny Bobreyshev on the Honda. The young rider has scintillating speed at times and could be a player this weekend. Teammate Rui Goncalves has surprised many this year too and will be a solid performer. Two time World Champion Steve Ramon has had a slow start to the series but the factory Suzuki rider has his blood disorder sorted and will be looking to get back in the mix, however Ramon may find the Glen Helen track a bit to fast for his smooth and technical style. Another rider to keep an eye on is Jonathan Barragan, Barragan is strong and fit and a podium in Bulgaria showed he is getting back to the form of a few years ago.
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| The famous Talledaga first turn Pic: Paul McCready |
Dark horses for a top five run include TM’s Tanel Leok as well as Ken De Dycker, Kevin Strijbos, Davide Guaneri, Greg Aranda and Xavier Boog as well as Shaun Simpson who rode well in America in the MX2 class last year.
Add in wild card rider Christian Craig and the class is stacked with talent. Craig, who has shown the speed for top ten placings in AMA competition, will no doubt be hoping for something similar or better at the US GP. Mike Alessi was due to race but is rumoured to be out with injury after his get off at the Vegas supercross, but with $100,000 on the line for a US winner, maybe some US riders will creep out from under the woodwork and take on the GP stars.
With 14 GP winners on the line MX1 is always a frenetic race the whole way down the field. The depth is incredible and without a good start it will be hard for any of the top riders to pull through, but it always makes for some sensational racing in the premier class of GP competition.
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Supercross is over.. but what a series and what a champion!
Ryan Villopoto is the rightful champion of the AMA/World Supercross series. The red headed Washington native had the ultimate combination of speed, intelligence and performance under pressure of all the title contenders.
Just like the GOAT Ricky Carmichael, RV did what he had to do when he had to do it. And just like Carmichael, after two years of frustration in the Supercross class, Villopoto hired Aldon Baker to take his program to the next level. It is hard to understand just what Baker does in comparison to other trainers… but clearly his formula works even if maybe part of that is the rider believing he has the best trainer on board.
Which begs the question, why did James Stewart let Aldon Baker go? Even if it didn’t affect his own fitness, letting Baker leave and help one of his biggest rivals proved extremely costly. Stewart effectively gave Villopoto the missing piece of his puzzle.
Villopoto’s ride in Salt Lake City was epic and was the clutch performance that won him the championship… all four contenders had their chance at that race, but it was RV that rose to the occasion the most, and the race in many ways summed the whole championship up.
James Stewart had the speed, was in the lead but wasn’t pulling away from his title rivals and crashed out by pushing to hard…Chad Reed was there the whole time but came up just short, and Ryan Dungey started behind the contenders and couldn’t catch up in time. RV started in the mix, made his move and held on strong making the least mistakes.
Vegas again bore testament to the excitement of the series, yet again James Stewart crashed out impressively, this time taking the fan’s hero Kevin Windham with him. Windham was on fire copying Stewart’s quad jump and putting the pressure back on Stewart for the lead, then a flustered Stewart crashed in the whoops leaving Kevin nowhere to go. Windham has as much talent as Stewart, and at 32 he can still hang with the best when he puts his mind to it. Hopefully this performance will give Kevin the self belief that he has maybe been missing to make a run at the title before he retires…his silky smooth and effortless riding style deserves another couple of years at the front for the fans to marvel at.
Chad Reed won the race after a battle with Ryan Dungey who yet again started the worst of the main contenders. Reed impressive all year in running his own team, was left rueing Stewart taking him out earlier in the season and Dungey was left rueing a mechanical DNF at an early round… with the points from either incident they would have been the champions. But this is supercross and these are the things that happen. In the end it was Villopoto who put himself in the best positions and made the best choices throughout the year that allowed him to cruise home to third in Vegas to take the most glamorous dirt bike title in the world by four points over Reed.
The most impressive aspect of Ryan’s title winning season was his mental strength. The last two years Villopoto has not raced all 17 rounds of the series, that was his first challenge. His second was coming back from a serious leg injury, Villopoto had not raced since April 2010 when he came into the opener in Januray, but it didn’t affect him one bit and he took a resounding win. For practically the whole season he was leading the points and despite not even qualifying at one round Ryan stayed strong in spite the craziness of the season and huge pressure on his shoulders.
Maybe that is Ryan’s best weapon in his arsenal - his speed is phenomenal, his riding style a unique mix of controlling the bike with his legs, twisting the throttle hard and steering with the rear, but to me the most important aspect is he does not crumble under pressure. Ryan Villopoto doesn’t want to be a rockstar, he doesn’t really want the fame, he just wants to win. He rises to the occasion and has done it time and time again. That is the true indication of a champion, and something Villopoto did that more than anyone in 2011.
You could say it was third time lucky for Villopoto.. except it wasn’t luck, it was brilliance.
Now, does anyone really fancy taking on a fitter, more confident Villopoto in his preferred series, the US Nationals!? ….
Just like the GOAT Ricky Carmichael, RV did what he had to do when he had to do it. And just like Carmichael, after two years of frustration in the Supercross class, Villopoto hired Aldon Baker to take his program to the next level. It is hard to understand just what Baker does in comparison to other trainers… but clearly his formula works even if maybe part of that is the rider believing he has the best trainer on board.
Which begs the question, why did James Stewart let Aldon Baker go? Even if it didn’t affect his own fitness, letting Baker leave and help one of his biggest rivals proved extremely costly. Stewart effectively gave Villopoto the missing piece of his puzzle.
Villopoto’s ride in Salt Lake City was epic and was the clutch performance that won him the championship… all four contenders had their chance at that race, but it was RV that rose to the occasion the most, and the race in many ways summed the whole championship up.
James Stewart had the speed, was in the lead but wasn’t pulling away from his title rivals and crashed out by pushing to hard…Chad Reed was there the whole time but came up just short, and Ryan Dungey started behind the contenders and couldn’t catch up in time. RV started in the mix, made his move and held on strong making the least mistakes.
Vegas again bore testament to the excitement of the series, yet again James Stewart crashed out impressively, this time taking the fan’s hero Kevin Windham with him. Windham was on fire copying Stewart’s quad jump and putting the pressure back on Stewart for the lead, then a flustered Stewart crashed in the whoops leaving Kevin nowhere to go. Windham has as much talent as Stewart, and at 32 he can still hang with the best when he puts his mind to it. Hopefully this performance will give Kevin the self belief that he has maybe been missing to make a run at the title before he retires…his silky smooth and effortless riding style deserves another couple of years at the front for the fans to marvel at.
Chad Reed won the race after a battle with Ryan Dungey who yet again started the worst of the main contenders. Reed impressive all year in running his own team, was left rueing Stewart taking him out earlier in the season and Dungey was left rueing a mechanical DNF at an early round… with the points from either incident they would have been the champions. But this is supercross and these are the things that happen. In the end it was Villopoto who put himself in the best positions and made the best choices throughout the year that allowed him to cruise home to third in Vegas to take the most glamorous dirt bike title in the world by four points over Reed.
The most impressive aspect of Ryan’s title winning season was his mental strength. The last two years Villopoto has not raced all 17 rounds of the series, that was his first challenge. His second was coming back from a serious leg injury, Villopoto had not raced since April 2010 when he came into the opener in Januray, but it didn’t affect him one bit and he took a resounding win. For practically the whole season he was leading the points and despite not even qualifying at one round Ryan stayed strong in spite the craziness of the season and huge pressure on his shoulders.
Maybe that is Ryan’s best weapon in his arsenal - his speed is phenomenal, his riding style a unique mix of controlling the bike with his legs, twisting the throttle hard and steering with the rear, but to me the most important aspect is he does not crumble under pressure. Ryan Villopoto doesn’t want to be a rockstar, he doesn’t really want the fame, he just wants to win. He rises to the occasion and has done it time and time again. That is the true indication of a champion, and something Villopoto did that more than anyone in 2011.
You could say it was third time lucky for Villopoto.. except it wasn’t luck, it was brilliance.
Now, does anyone really fancy taking on a fitter, more confident Villopoto in his preferred series, the US Nationals!? ….
Why do American riders not want to race their home GP ?
Why do the US teams and riders not want to race in what could be the biggest race of the year? Why do the US and World wide fans get robbed of the seeing the top Americans against all the top GP riders. The US riders have turned their noses up at the race for no apparent reason... but why would they not want to win their home round of the world championship? Kevin Windham cites as his most prestigious trophy. As a fan I can’t think of anything better than winning your home GP.
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| Clemant Desalle raced World Champions and National championship races Photo :Youthstream |
First lets deal with the excuses…“not enough time to prepare“, “too many races already“, “we have nothing to gain.”
Not having enough time to prepare and having nothing to gain both equate to the same thing - They are afraid of losing. Is being afraid to lose really a genuine excuse for not racing your home GP and representing your country? What happened to the thrill of winning your home GP against all the top GP riders. (something the MXDN does not provide.)
Too many races… yes that holds some water if you want it to, especially the guys in the 450 class. But there were more factory riders entering the X games ( a supercross race in the middle of outdoors) than are racing the US GP… so it is not really a valid excuse either. Add in the fact the US teams test at Glen Helen all the time in preparation for the US nationals, so they already know the track and arguably have an advantage.
Also the GP riders spend 30 days a season racing GP Motocross (Saturday and Sunday racing at a GP) as well as ten days racing National Championship and International racing ( eg 8 round British Championship an International and a MXDN race) That is 40 days a year spent racing outdoor motocross. In America in the 450 class you spend 29 days racing and 17 of those shorter super cross races. So while the season may be longer in the AMA, the riders actually spent less time on the track racing than the GP riders.
Surely the US GP will allow the riders to prepare better for the upcoming US national series by getting the suspension settings finalised for the US outdoor series in race conditions and on a race track over a two day period.. What could be better that preparing for outdoor motocross than racing outdoor motocross…. As Ken Roczen said “racing is the best practice”
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| Ken Roczen raced and won in both Supercross and GP Motocross this year Photo :Youthstream |
The GP riders race before the GP season and race National championships racing during the GP season, going even further than that is Ken Roczen who has been flying back and forth the atlantic racing super cross and motocross simultaneously - and doing it very successfully.
So, if the GP riders can race the GP series and their national championships at the same time, and full time national championship competitors can race their national series and turn out just for their home GP in other countries, why can the Americans not do the same? Are they too good to do that? Do they disrespect the GP series so much that they don’t see it as an honour to represent their country, or are they really just scared of getting beaten because they know the GP riders are just as fast ?! Where is the famous American pride these days?
David Bailey is on the money and the riders of today ( and the teams) should have the same attitude and national pride as one of the greatest American riders of all time.
Maybe I have it wrong and I am just annoyed that we wont get to see all the top Americans and the top GP riders on the same gate... but again.. why would the US riders not want to race all the GP riders in America?!
Every fan both American and World wide should be pushing for the top US team to show up and do this race...and so should the riders, it should be the most prestigious motocross race for the US riders to win, beating all your American rivals and the GP riders at the US GP... it wouldn't get any better than that!
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| Who wouldn't want to see Tomac, Tickle, Barcia and co.versus these guys? Photo: Youthstream |
Maybe the US riders need an education on the quality, prestige and value of the World Motocross championship... the US nationals are not the be all and end all of motocross racing, there is a big motocross world outside the US, and for one day only, we could have combined them both...
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