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!
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