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...
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