It has been quite an eventful season on the American motocross tour so far. Injuries, crashes, and blazing speed with exciting battles have encaptulated the 2012 season, and we are just past the half way point!
James Stewart came back to motocross with avengence winning the first four motos of the series and looking smoother than he has in a long time after switching to Suzuki. However, Ryan Dungey was on his tail in every moto, and was developing a brand new bike at the same time.
The series looked set to be a classic.
Then, in a flash, it was all over. Stewart got distracted in mid-air by a photographer crossing the track at round three, he chose a different rut than normal upon landing, and ended up in a heap at Lakewood.
He tried riding High Point but said his wrist, despite not being broken was too sore to continue, and from there missed the next few races to let it heal. He came back at Red bud but was not on the pace of Ryan Dungey anymore and quickly announced he would not be racing the next couple of nationals in a bid to let his wrist heal more and get back to the level he was.
It is the same old story for Stewart; fast, crashes, comes back, isn't winning, and takes more time off to get ready to win when he comes back, but you can't win championships like that.
Meanwhile in Stewart's absence, Ryan Dungey is destroying the opposition in a class that was already missing Trey Canard, Ryan Villopoto and Chad Reed before the season even started.
After Stewart got injured Dungey continued to make improvements with the bike and got even faster, and when Stewart came back he found the pace just too hot to handle. That is how fast Dungey is right now. Many people may put an asterisk to his impending title, but he is that good.
If it wasn't for bike problems last season he would have won the 2011 outdoor title he won more races that RV too.
Dungey is smart, fast, fit and doesn't take the risks his American counterparts did, and I have a feeling that if the photographer had ran across Dungey's path he would not have crashed in the ruts that caught Stewart out. Dungey has it all figured out, and seemingly has no weaknesses, he is the man right now.
The truth is however, that Dungey has no competition in the 450 class, if he wants competition he needs to ride the MX1 GPs, he could ride the last round of the GP season in Teuctchantal, Germany like his KTM teammate Ken Roczen is supposed to do. After all he will be coming over to race the MXDN just one week later anyway....
His other option would be to race the super competitive 250 US nationals. right now that is the premier class in the USA. The top five are setting a blistering pace, that may never have been seen before. Yes James Stewart and Ricky Carmichael were mindblowing fast, but they didn't have four ot five other guys running a similar pace. RV and Ben Townely were on that level two, but it was just the two of them... this season there are five capable of that speed, and usually four at any one time battling it out!
It has taken them three years to figure it out, but the American trio of Blake Baggett, Eli Tomac and Justin Barcia are on fire week in week out. The aggression is at another level and Blake Baggett is putting down lap times that quite simply just don't make sense! Right now he looks almost unbeatable on US soil at least.
His ride in the first moto at Millvile last weekend was astounding, he caught and passed Tomac, Roczen and Barcia who were in a frantic battle for first place. His pass on Barcia for the lead told you all you need to know about the mentality and confidence of the Pro - Circuit Kawasaki rider.
He is there to win every race, and whatever the pace the others set, he will go faster. He is very like an elbows up version of Ryan Villopoto.
But what of Ken Roczen? The talented German youngster has shown the pace to win races, in fact he has should have won a few, only to let them slip through his fingers, he wasn't off the podium in the first half of the season. But he is still only fourth in the series and losing touch with points leader Baggett.
It isn't easy for Roczen, he as the speed to be there, but the adjustment to living in the US, adapting to US racing - a one day format of only 12 rounds with only two fifteen minute practice session to learn the track, are a lot to take on.
The tracks are more one dimensional and reward aggression and a pin it to win it mentality, suiting the American style to perfection. Roczen's hallmark is smoothness and picking good lines with throttle control and the same can be said of Musquin, this style was perfect for the World Championship but there isn't time for this in America, you just have to go from the start, and the Americans aren't scared of some aggressive riding either!
He has also mentioned making improvements to his KTM, this was unheard of in the GPs, and you have to remember this is KTM's first full year in that class on their current bikes bearing in mind Musquin missed some rounds last season. With the limited time to test and the fact Roczen broke his arm at the start of the year, outdoor preparation has been limited. Whereas in the GPs Ken had all winter to prepare himself and his bike.
Roczen is also struggling with the heat, something which has nothing to do with bike skill but is just a matter of acclimatisation, even Eli Tomac took two years to adjust!
If you look at Ken Roczen and Blake Baggett at the MXDN where Ken beat Dungey and Baggett struggled with the track then got lapped by Roczen after numerous crashes, and now see the pace of Baggett, back in his home country and Roczen trying to stay with him, it shows just how much being comfortable in your own surroundings can help your performance.
Racing Americans of the calibre of Tomac, Baggett, and Barcia in their own country with two/three years experiance on the circuit cannot be underestimated. They have it dialled in right now. It is hard to go any faster than those guys are going, and for Roczen at 17/18 to go there and adapt to it all and be expected to win in one year perhaps just isn't realistic even if you are the World Champion.
Sebastian Tortelli told me that if he was to have his time over again,
he would have went to the lites class in American first "to learn the
ropes", he said it is just so different to racing the World
Championship, and this was a guy that was leading the 250 nationals in
his first year! Unfortunately for Roczen that class is more competitive than the 450 class this season!
This is the most difficult time in Roczen's career, injuries, living in a new country, learning supercross, and not winning have never happened to Ken before, but he is coping well giving the differences he is facing. He will figure out the missing piece, he isn't far away. Tracks like Washougal and Unadilla may suit hime better and maybe he will finally get the win he wants soon.
He has Roger DeCoster in his corner and maybe even more importantly Ryan Dungey. Dungey knows the route to success in America and the dedication it takes to get there. Just like he learnt from, Eric Geboers and Stefan Everts in the GPs, Roczen has the right people to learn from in the USA to get to where he wants to be.... as long as injuries, or the lifestyle in the US don't distract him.
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