2012 Supercross: Unpredictable or utterly predictable?

Phoenix was Trey Canard's comeback-from-injury race.  Unfortunately, the next round in Los Angeles would be his go-out-again-with-injury race.  Photo by Guy B/Vital MX

Two champions with two Supercross Championships:  To the disappointment of MX fans worldwide, Chad's (22) chase after RV (1) came to an abrupt halt in Cowboy Stadium.  Photo by Guy B/Vital MX

Which one of these guys has the broken collarbone?   Ryan Dungey (right) somehow raced to a second place finish at St. Louis with a fracture that caused him to sit out the next two rounds.  Photo by Guy B/Vital MX

It took four races for the Stewart/Gibbs collabo to win their first race of 2012 (Oakland), then another 6 before they managed to win their second (Daytona).  It all went downhill after that.  Photo by Guy B/Vital MX

When the gate dropped on the 2012 Seattle supercross main, no on suspected it would be the last race of 2012 for the newly crowned 2013 champion Ryan Villopoto (1).  Neither did anyone expect perennial nice guy Andrew Short (29) to come away with the win, his first ever  But there you go.  Photo by Guy B/Vital MX

Some, if not many, fans of Supercross racing are disappointed with this recently concluded 2012 season, mostly because all 5 of the pre-season championship favorites... Trey Canard, Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey, James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto... suffered serious injuries at some point.   None of these guys were able to contest every round of the 17-race series.

• Team Honda Muscle Milk rider Canard was only able to complete 1 race before he injured his back at the third round in Dodger Stadium.  Trey sat out the rest of the season, and will sit out the outdoor nationals as well.
• Team Two Two Motorsports' Reed, probably the most consistent supercross racer of all time, raced only 6 rounds before he injured his leg at Cowboy Stadium.  Chad is also out for the rest of the year.
• Team Red Bull KTM rider Dungey made it 8 races before he fractured his collarbone while practicing for the 9th round in St. Louis.   RD was somehow able to race... and finish second!... at the Edward Jones Dome, but would sit out the next three rounds to recuperate from surgery.
• Team Yamaha/JGR's James Stewart survived 10 races before he crashed out of his heat race at Indianapolis.  James suffered a serious blow to the head, and ended up sitting out the next race in Toronto as well.  He returned to action at the 13th round in Houston, only to crash out of the race and the rest of the supercross season with an injured hand.  
• Stewart's untimely demise in Texas allowed Team Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto to clinch the championship in Reliant Stadium with four races left in the series.   Good thing, too, because only two rounds latter... at his "home" track in Seattle's Qwest Field no less!... RV crashed and injured his knee, effectively ending his entire year of racing.

Despite all of this, arguably because of all of this, the racing was as exciting as ever, mainly because it was so unpredictable.  Okay, strike that.  Many, MANY people predicted that Ryan Villopoto would win the title this year.  The racing was exciting because supercross IS exciting.  I went to three rounds this year and enjoyed it thoroughly. Even my normal gripes about the realities of attending stadium events are mostly forgotten, while memories of the racing linger on.  Sure, it helped that I went to the early races when all 5 of the aforementioned were still able to race, but even the latter rounds featured excellent dicing and great performances.

A huge round of applause and hearty congratulations should go to Ryan Villopoto for simply surviving what has apparently become the most brutal form of motocross racing on the planet.