LA lookback, Oakland preview...

It was quite a Saturday night in LA, but it wasn't all positive. Ryan Morais and Trey Canard's horror collison over the triple resulted in a red flag and a scary twenty minutes for everyone there. Both riders were knocked out, with Morais suffering a broken jaw and neck, and Canard broken vertabrae in his back. As bad as those injuries are it could have been even worse.

Get well soon to two of the nicest guys in the sport.

With two starts to the main even, it highlighted just how crucial a good start is in determining your race result... and the ensuring media judgments.

Chad Reed had one of the best rides of his career in the restart. He started fourth from the sixteenth gate pick and passed Ryan Dungey, then James Stewart before disposing of race leader Weimar and going on to a dominating and controlled victory. It was Honda's 200th win, and brough Chad to within four points of the championship lead. Reed is ready to contend for the this title. Yet it all could have been so much different...

In the first start Reed was buried deep in the pack, while Ryan Villopoto was out front and looking likely to storm to a second win of the season with only Ryan Dungey, running second, in a position to challenge. However, in the restart Villopoto found himself stuck on a tuff block after over jumping a triple on the first lap and he was way, way behind when he got going again. In supercross the start is everything, even more important that your speed, and in LA that was highlighted like never before. The results were literally turned upside down.

Villopoto put his head down and rode another incredible race, catching James Stewart for third and running the fastest lap of the race on the last lap, but coming up just half a second short of getting Stewart and getting on the podium. It was another scintilating performance by Villopoto and he will still be thinking he is the man to beat, despite losing the red plate.

Stewart finally got on the podium, but he wasn't that happy about it. Stewie started second but got passed by Reed who then went to the front. Stewart tried to go with the Australian, knocking Weimer down as he moved into second. With Dungey now on Stewarts tail and his arch rival out front, James crashed again, this time just a small tip over, but it was enough to take him out of the battle for the lead, and be forced to hold off a charging Ryan Villopoto in the dying laps.

James can look at this two way, he can look at it that he got caught by RV who lost far more time in his incident on the first lap than Stewart did in his crash, or he can take the positive that he managed to hold off RV in the final eight laps of the race and come out firing in Oakland.

Since the race, there has been some tragic news that has affected James and the entire JGR crew. Stewart's practice bike mechanic, Mark Adams, was killed when he was hit by a wayward driver while helping a stranded vehicle on the side of the road. Mark, twenty eight years old, was part of the original JGR crew and the loss will be widely felt amongst Stewart and the team. Condolences to Mark's friends and family.

With Millsaps coming off his best result of the year in sixth, he and Stewart could well put in a special performance this weekend for their friend.

The sole leader of the series right now is Ryan Dungey. Only three races into his KTM career, Dungey is continuing to make history, and heads into Oakland four points clear of Reed and Villopoto. Dungey is the only rider not to be off the podium and if he can keep this ruthless consistency punctuated by wins when they are there to be taken. Dungey will be there to end of this series.

The one remaining question about Dungey, and I suppose everyone else, is can they beat Ryan Villopoto straight up, until they do that, Villopoto will have the most momentum in this series, because he has been the fastest man on track each round, however we have yet to see him battle his title contenders, maybe this will be the week.

Jake Weimer is quickly becoming the fifth member of the big four. Weimer holshot and lead for a few laps before battling Reed hard, then Stewart took him down and ended his quest for a second consecutive podium went down the drain. His confidence has soared and he seems to believe he can run with anyone right now.

Brett Mettcalfe had a great ride for fifth and Josh Hansen rode well yet again for seventh. Josh is getting better and better, and he said he wants to start getting in the top five. If he gets the start he certainly has the talent.

In the lites class, Tomac didn't what he probably should have done in the first two rounds. He took the holeshot and cleared off. nobody is even close to his speed right now. Tomac is just riding fantastic, the best in his career, and he has the confidence and the aggression that is taking him to the next level. Somebody is going to have to get away with Tomac and prove to Eli and themselves that they can go toe to toe. Wilson is the man most likely to do it, he was second  in LA but a bad start meant he didn't see Tomac the whole main event.

Zach Osborne shocked the US industry ( but not the rest of the mx world) by getting third place and his first podium of the year. Osborne has, in three races, shown the Americans just how good he has been riding since he has been racing the World Championship, but it is only now that he is racing in America, do the Americans believe it. This will be Zach's last  race in supercross at Oakland as he prepares for his final year in the MX2 World Championship, he will want to go out on top in both cases.

Marvin Musquin had his best race in the USA, but ended up with nineteenth place and out of championship contention! Musquin went off the track in turn one and came from outside the top five to catch Wilson and Osborne, and looked a sure podium bet, until he landed in some soft dirt land of the triple, stopping the bike competely and spitting Musquin off violently. Musquin is finding his form though.

Cole Seeley also lost major ground in the series. The first round winner, and LA winner from last year, went down in the first corner and later crashed again en route to a devestating fifteent place. Seeley's question mark was never speed, but consistency, and it seems he still hasn't found the balance yet.

So unto this weekend in Oakland.With supposedly softer dirt in oakland, it may provide a different challenge. Villopoto of course, has to try and navigate his way through the first lap of the race for the first time since A1 if he wants to get the win. James Stewart tested all winter in soft dirt and maybe this will be the night the old Stewart with that explosive pace returns, at nineteen points down already, he has to do something.

Both Reed and Dingey (along with Villopoto) will be after their second win of the year, and the first person to get two wins in a row may get the decisive momentum, but I still think they will need to beat RV in a straight up race to shake Villopotos stanglehold on outright speed.

Phoenix look back, LA preview!

Where do you start after last week's race?

Dungey wins for KTM, Stewart fails to deliver again, and RV put in another incredible ride - this time from the back.

Lets start with Dungey. His win was HUGE. KTM have built a bike in a few months and won their second race on it! That is an incredible achievement from a team perspective, and also in Dungey's ability to adapt and test a brand new bike and bring it to the level it is at right now.

Last year on the Suzuki Dungey just won one race all year, this year he has won his first race by the second round, and has the points lead (albiet tied with RV.) Dungey has a dedication and focus like RC, and that was why DeCoster took him from the B class at 16 all those years ago. He has proven himself yet again to all the doubters, this time in the biggest way imaginable, going to an unproven bike that even Carmichael expressed doubts about, and won straight away.

At Phoenix he got the start (something he failed to do last season) and let the carnage behind him play out. Now he is back in the game and at the front, can he do it again in a head to head against Villopoto? - you can be sure that's how Dungey ideally wants to win it this week! It's all about head games right now.

Villopoto crashed with Millsaps on the first lap and put on what could turn out to be a championship winning ride. Eighteenth to third on a pretty hard track to pass on was incredible. RV is so confident, so fit, and so fast in his corners, that he is hard to stop. Even though he got third,  this race may do even more for his confidence than last week's win, he was that impressive. He doesn't wait to pass people and does what it takes to pass them right then and there. Which is why if anyone wants to beat him for this title, I believe they will have to start beating him in a head to head brawl very soon.

Chad Reed didn't have his best night, he looked great in his heat matching Stewart in aggression and speed until he lost the front wheel on lap four. From then Reed just didn't have the same pizzaz. In the main he sat behind guys lap after lap waiting for the right move, while Villopoto came from off the ground to catch pass Reed and the pass the same guys instantly that Reed was trying to pass clean and safe. You just can't wait for the right time to pass people when you are racing Ryan Villopoto. However, as usual Reed made the best of his situation and still garnered a top five, leaving him just seven points out of the lead. But it is clear Reed needs the starts to win this title.

For James Stewart it was a case of deja vu. Fast in his heat, bad start in the main, working his way up, then crashed. It has to be said Stewart until his crash was very fast but yet again he made a miscalcuation and ended up eighth. He is now seventeen points behind the two Ryans already, and there have only been two rounds. In his post race comment Stewart said he felt like he had the win at Phoenix, but, even looking at the best laps of the race, he was just fourth, three tenths off Villopoto and Dungey who turned almost identical lap times. Stewart cannot afford anymore races like this if he wants to win the title, and the pressure has just been turned up another notch. He almost has to win in LA, or at least beat the two Ryans to really be a contender for the title.

Jake Weimar was the other rider who had a faster best lap time that James Stewart in the main. That was beacause he rode awesome en route to second place! His first podium in the 450 class came straight after winning his heat race. This will be a huge confidence booster for Jake who had a terrible injury riddled 2011 season, he has proven he can run with Dungey and Canard in the 250f class but, this is effectively his first year in the supercross class, and he looks great. He has Aldon Baker as his trainer and RV as his riding partner, all the pieces of the puzzle are there and he is starting to show just what he is capable of.  Confidence is dangerous thing and Weimar just got a massive shot of it.

Trey Canard was happily back racing Supercross at Phoenix. He looked good and rode to a steady seventh place but the ever competitive Oklahoman is itiching to win races and be a front runnner. It won't be long until he is.

Other good rides came from Kevin Windham who just lost out on a podium with a lap to go, when Villopoto came blazing by. Josh Hansen was tenth again and so far is showing good heart and resolve in adjusting to the 450 class.

With rain predicted this weekend in LA, literally anything could happen. The pressure is starting to mount on those who haven't won, namely Chad Reed and especially James Stewart, the two Ryans know they can win and will both be desperate to be the first rider to win two mains this season to grab some momentum. In an ideal world Dungey will holeshot, Reed will be second, RV third and Stewart in fourth, giving him the chance to finally prove to everyone that he still has the stuff to win this title. If Trey Canard or Jake Weimar get away with them however they won't give in without a fight either!

Then again, if it rains, good old Windham could walk away with it!

In the 250f class the fastest rider in the class hasn't won a race and is fifth in points. Eli Tomac is fast but frustrated right now. The most important thing is supercross is not being the fastest but being one of the fastest and getting the holeshot.  Example A isTyla Rattray, Tyla has had two holeshots, been on the podium twice, and leads the points. If you swap their starts around, Tomac would probably have won both races and be easily leading the series.

Dean Wilson rebounded from his Anahiem disaster to take a comprehensive victory and put himself within two points of the lead in the series. Wilson rode how everyone knew he could and made it look pretty easy once he got around Rattray and Musquin.

Musquin though could become a threat to win very soon. With second place in Phoenix, Musquin has achieved a dream of being on the podium in US supercross, after such a bad year last season he is still looking for the confidence that took him to two World MX2 titles, but with that performance he will be getting ever closer to that, and that will be dangerous for the rest of the class.

With four points between the top five, anything can still happen and they will all justifiably believe they can win the title. LA may just be the indication of who really can now that the season is getting into the swing of things, but you can bet Tomac will be desperate to win!

Shame it's not on live...

A1 lookback, Phoenix Preview

The hype, the intrigue, the speculation, the unknown, all set A1 2012 up as one of the biggest races in years, and then the gate dropped.

Ryan Villopoto laid down the guantlet like never before at Anahiem. " The toughest field ever" was the pre-race cliche but Villopoto just didn't care.

On a one line track, Villopoto yet again delivered when he needed, getting the all important holeshot in the main, and checking out. He showed in his heat race however that he could also come through the field after a blistering ride through the pack in eight short laps to be on the back wheel of leaders, Reed and Alessi.

The odd track may have suited RV, his corner speed was fantastic, but he was also extra aggressive into the singles compared to the other riders. This week at Phoenix will be the first "regular" supercross, so will Villopoto be just as dominant or can the rest of the big five close the gap?

James Stewart did it again. He crashed. But this time it was different. On a new team, who could build the bike around him like no other, James was expected do what Villopoto did, and put a marker down for everyone else to aim at. He had the fastest lap in practice ( with dubious help of a rear dunlop tyre while contracted to Pirelli) and won his heat ( back on Pirellis front and rear) But, in the main, it just didn't happen. A bad start left Stewart riding around on his own in fourth until Dungey and Reed went down. This seemed to breath new life into the Floridian, but, as we have seen before, when he tried to ride that bit harder he went down.

Usually James crashes when in the lead, or at least on his way to the front, this time he was off the pace, and was only up with Reed and Dungey because they had crashed themselves. Stewart brushed his sixth place off and said he wasn't worried. In the aftermath and inquest into his poor performance, it was stated that a lack of practice on the hard pack of California, and the irregular track design could be the reason for the poor set up. With Phoenix going to be equally slick it will be interesting to see if Stewart is more comfortable this weekend.

JGR has invested a lot of time, money and effort into getting James unto their team. They expect results and by results that means victories and championships. Even though it was only the first race, it must be hugely disappointing for everyone involved, and the pressure on JS7 will only increase with every race he doesn't win.

Ryan Dungey made history at Anahiem. He became the first rider to ever give KTM a podium in the Supercross class in his first Supercross race for the brand....not a bad start! For all the changes and the doubters, it looked like not much had changed. Dungey was fast all night, and, despite a small fall in the main, was able to repass Stewart and almost got Reed at the end. Ryan hinted at changes that need to be made for Phoenix, so I would expect Dungey to be really shooting for the win this Saturday night now that they have the first race, and first podium out of the way. If he wins it will be a HUGE story, and he looks ready to challenge if last Saturday night was any indication. KTM are finally a major player in supercross.

Chad Reed did a Chad Reed. Struggled a bit in practice, didn't like the track, yet won his heat and hung on for second in the main event. "I'll take that." was his summation of the evening on a track he made public his dislike for. Reed tweeted yesterday that this week was the first time he put twenty laps together at the test track since his broken foot and thumb in the off season, making his result on Saturday with crash, on such a long track, even more impressive.

Best of the rest was Justin Brayton, the factory 450 Honda rider must have had his heart in his mouth as the sat on the line for the LCQ following a first turn crash ended his heat. He won the LCQ and rode strong in the main through the field, inheriting fourth when Stewart crashed. A good debut for Brayton, but he still needs to find the pace of the big four. Can he get a start in Phoenix and show them what he has?

The big news coming into the second round is the return of Trey Canard. Canard decided to sit out the opener and only rode supercross for the first time on Sunday since his broken collarbone. He says he feels good and you wouldn't bet against him running with the top guys straight away on Saturday...add another potential winner in the mix!

With so many good riders the question is who won't make the main event. At Anahiem it Austin Stroupe was the biggest casualty. Sixth in practice, Stroupe crashed in turn one in his heat and got a dreadful start in the LCQ and missed out. Speedwise though, he seems to have the stuff. Nick Wey also missed the main, as did poor Josh Hill. The Hart and Huntington rider only  made it to the first turn of his heat before getting taken down and suffering a broker tibia. He will be on the sidelines again for another six weeks, after spending a year and a half coming back from crippling injuries sustained in that infamous backflip, this was the worst case scenario for Hill.

It seems that after Anahiem some questions have been answerered but many more have been asked. Yes, RV is hauling, yes, Dungey is just as good on KTM,  and yes, Chad Reed is still solid. But the biggest questions are still there, will RV still be that much faster at Phoenix, will Stewart find his set up and his speed, how will Canard do at his first race back, Can Dungey get KTM's first win?

Phoenix may begin to answer these questions...let's just hope all the top guys all get out of the gate together!

West Coast "lites" Supercross Preview...

The lites Supercross series  or SX2 as it should be known doesn’t receive as much hype as it should in the lead up to A1, probably because the media are never quite sure who is racing where, and now, even with just a couple of days to go things have not been officially confirmed!

But it does appear that the Pro Circuit Kawasaki team will go with reigning outdoor champion Dean Wilson alongside Tyla Rattray who is looking forward to his second season of supercross. Scotsman Wilson should start of as one of if not the favourite. Carrying great confidence from his motocross championship, Wilson just needs to fix his starts in supercross in order to contend for the title. It arguably cost him the title against Barcia last season, as Wilson’s speed was never in question and you can bet he won’t want it to happen again.

Rattray, on the other hand, probably won’t come in expecting a championship. He had a couple of podiums last season but also a couple of crashes, expect Tyla to have less crashes and a touch more speed this time.

The main threat should come from the Geico Honda, and specifically Eli Tomac. The cool as cucumber Tomac almost won the West Coast title last season in his rookie year,  only losing out in the final lap of the season to Broc Tickle. Tomac suffered bad starts at the beginning of the season, but his speed and technique was always there, and, once he got the starts sorted, he started winning. Tomac showed remarkable poise during the pressure of the championship and will know what to do this time to ensure victory.

 It is hard to separate Wilson and Tomac right now, both undoubtedly the title favourites. Tomac will be taking momentum from his 2011 Supercross season while Wilson will be doing the same on the back of his outdoor season... which one will be most effective? .... only time will tell.

Geico Honda teammate Wil Hahn will not want to be counted out. Hahn came into last season super motivated and confident but he got hurt in practice and never raced a single supercross. The question is this, can Wil come into this season as fast with as much confidence as 2011 or will he doubt himself? If he can he could be a dark horse for the title if he gets good results early.

KTM had a double attack with Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin but with Roczen getting hurt and now scheduled for the East coast, all the expectation lies with the former two time World MX2 Champion. Musquin has stated previously that he prefers Supercross to motocross, he is a very technically skilled rider with great line choices and could surprise a lot of people in the US who have not seen the best Marvin can ride yet. He raced a couple of US SX races in 2007 as a very young kid, so he won’t be overawed by the show and intense racing. If he gets a start he will be a threat to win races and maybe even the title.

TLD Honda also have a contender in Cole Seeley. Seeley showed last year that when he is on his can win, but he has yet to show consistency and prove that he can limit the damage in his bad races. According to David Pingree, Seeley is absolutely flying at the test track so no-one should be surprised if this guy is up front on a more regular basis.

Teammates Christian Craig and Travis Baker are also fast but their expectations probably aren’t quite as high as Seeley’s. Craig is still nursing a wrist injury and Baker will just want to break into the top five on a more regular basis.

DNA Shred Stick Valli Yamaha has switched Ryan Sipes to the West. Sipes, now twenty seven, is similar to the aforementioned Cole Seeley, in that he can win a race at any time but DNF or crash at any time as well. Sipes has the speed but is still looking to put a full championship series together.

The dark could be the little talked about Max Anstie. Out of sight out of mind, the talented Brit rode MX2 GPs last season and will do again in 2012 after signing for Gariboldi Honda, but this year he is also going to do the West Supercross series ala Ken Roczen last year. In 2010 Anstie almost beat champ Weimar to win his first SX and was really fast all year when he didn’t crash. If the GP team can get him a competitive bike together, Anstie could be a visitor to the podium.

Another returning to Supercross is Zach Osborne. Osborne hasn’t raced supercross since 2008 but he has a track at his house that he has rode every winter in between GP seasons. He is faster now than he was in 2008, as his British National title and top level performances in the GPs attest. He also has a very fast bike in the Bike-it Monster Yamaha team. Although only doing the first four races Zach could open a lot of eyes if gets the start and can adapt back to the intensity of supercross.

With a supposedly re-motivated Nico Izzi, the always fast Martin Davalos, the finally fit and focused Jason Anderson, plus Gareth Swanepole and more the West regional Supercross series will be one of the deepest ever.

With only fifteen laps and essentially a race lasting less that fifteen minutes the start will be absolutely critical in a field as deep as this. With the fifteen riders mentioned all capable of running close to the front on their day, the racing should be epic in 2012...let’s get it started!