Anaheim 3: Mayhem before the AM

Yep, weak headline I admit, but the race itself was outstanding! Unfortunately, my man with the hot cam, GuyB, decided to spend time all the way in Indianapolis for the Dealer Show, so I got nothing... that is, no fantastic Vital MX photos for the final round in California. Oh well...

But I did go to the race, and let me tell ya, it was indeed off the hook, despite what you may have seen on CBS.

I was able to catch the top 450 riders in their final qualifying session, and I was quite surprised to see Jason Lawrence aggressively jump to the head of the line on the first lap and set the first fast lap. Seeing ol' #338 on the leader pylon was both amazing and confusing... but it didn't take long before the customary leaders displaced him. And in a sign of things to come, Ryan Villopoto finished the session with the top time as the only rider to get around the tricky circuit in under a minute.

Which leads to the track layout itself. Walking into the stadium, the over/under bridge was the first thing to get my attention. Riders landing from the third base triple had to deal with a short landing area into a tight, 90-degree left under the bridge, which then led to the rhymthm section that contained the "wall." During practice I was waiting for some daredevil to launch over the wall into the next double, but no one dared. Survival instincts run high among supercross racers.

But those instincts weren't enough to save everyone, hence the "Mayhem" in the headline. I saw more riders carried off the track on stretchers than I can remember, so much so that at times it seemed as if the announcers were doing their best to avert everyone's attention away from the carnage. But there were plenty of exchanged worried glances and comments circulating among the crowd. In the second 250 heat, Jake Weimer and Trey Canard were locked in a death struggle for the lead when Max Anstie went down very hard, fracturing his hip. Anstie was down on the track for so long, the officials ended up redflagging the 8-lap heat race and re-starting it. And in the first 450 heat, WORCS star Bobby Bonds went OTB into the face of a triple, breaking his collarbone. And these are just two of the injuries I've seen reported so far. I don't know if the track is to blame or what, and I'm grateful that no one was more seriously injured or worse.

Both main events featured unexpected twists. In the 250 class, past East Region Champion Trey Canard quickly chased down early leader Wil Hahn and tried to get away, but 4-time winner Jake Weimer was closing fast... and then he went down and stalled his bike. (ELECTRIC START!) By the time it fired up, Weimer was dead last. For a few laps, it looked like Trey Canard was going to score a full whopping 25 points on Weimer, but that's not what happened.

Instead, Jake reached down deep and went to work to minimize the damage to his 26-point cushion in the championship standing. Jake fought his way up to 8th position, while Canard crushed the rest of the field for his second win on the year. Weimer still holds 14 sizable points over TC with only two rounds to go, but Canard takes the momentum into the West Region hiatus.

In the 450 class, Ryan Villopoto got his first holeshot of the year and ran the table by leading every lap and even setting fast lap of the night. But Josh Hill, Kevin Windham, and to some extent, Davi Millsaps and Ryan Dungey all made RV work for it. Hill especially, as it always seemed that Josh had the speed to catch Villo, if only he didn't have to worry about riding defense against the constant attacks from first Millsaps then Kdub. Thos three had a great game of cat and mouse going, even though their positions didn't really change that much. Dungey seemed early on content to just let those guys slip up so he could slip by, but when that didn't happen, Ryan started making moves. First he pulled a nice pass inside Davi and then he started pressuring Kevin. And then Dungey spun out in the same turn where he passed Millsaps earlier. Of course, this let the Honda-mounted Millsaps by and Ryan had to pass him AGAIN, this time just stuffing last week's main event winner in a bowl.

As the laps wore on, things just got more intense. It wasn't until lap 16 or 17 that Kdub seemed to settle into third and Hill seemed to be happy with second. Somehow, Ryan Dungey accepted finishing off the podium for the third straight week; he had nothing for Windham after the slideout. And I have no idea WTF happened to the Davi that beat everyone just a week ago. But I'm starting to suspect that tricky track, I guess it brought out the best in the top bike-handlers.

Riding With Turbo Trey | Transworld Motocross

Swapmoto at Transworld Motocross is transforming motocross coverage this year by filling the internet with great mx video. He shows a particularly deft touch with this one, using music only when absolutely necessary!



Riding With Turbo Trey | Transworld Motocross

San Diego Chargers, Pt. 2: The Three Amigos

Here are the top three finishers in the 450 class in San Diego, sharing some post-race good vibes. From left to right, Honda Red Bull's Davi Millsaps, San Manuel Yamaha's Josh Hill, and Valli Motorsports' Ivan Tedesco. It was a great race for all of them: Millsaps gave Honda it's first supercross win in, like, forever; Hill pulled to only 4 points behind Dungey in the points standings, and this is Tedesco's first podium in, like (wait for it... ) yes, forever. GuyB gets the love.

Good job, guys!

San Diego Chargers, Pt. 1: Wey to Go!

Here's the shot of the night, courtesy Vital MX's GuyB: Nick Wey, "filling in" for Chad Reed on the Monster Energy Kawasaki, gets his first supercross holeshot in, like, forever, while the points leader and two-time race winner Ryan Dungey goes down in the slippery San Diego first turn.

Ryan Dungey's unbelievable San Francisco crash

Oh man. I am so glad Ryan didn't get badly injured in this spectacularly scary get-off. Whoa. The guy must be made of rubber, because he literally bounced back up, sprinted to his bike and got going again before Villopoto and Hill could pass him.

Frisco: Dice a Roni

The San Francisco Treat! The City by the Bay hosted the fastest supercross racers in the known galaxy last Saturday and these two dudes put on a particularly entertaining show. Old Northwest rivals Josh Hill (75) and Ryan Villopoto duked it out cowboy style, electrifying the crowd in the process. Another fine photo by GuyB.

PS - For those I may have offended by referring to San Francisco as "Frisco," I apologize for being too SoCal oblivious to know better!

Frisco: Return of the Jedi?

Geico Powersports Honda's Trey Canard opened a can on the 250cc class in San Francisco, halting Monster Energy/Pro Circuit racer Jake Weimer's winning streak at three. That green blur in the distance? That be Jake.

Way to step up, TC. GuyB gets the angle.

Frisco Frisky

Yeah, she's working it well. GuyB's a hero.

Seismic Shift: James Stewart Sits Out San Francisco

Well is this some MESS (Monster Energy Supercross Series) or what? Team San Manuel Yamaha's 2009 Supercross Champion underwent surgery on Friday to repair his right wrist, which was apparently broken in Phoenix, most likely during his bad accident during his heat race. Here's the press release posted at Vital MX; there's no word on when Stewart will race again.

Missing tonight's race in San Fran certainly puts a damper on Stewart's chances at repeating the title. I hope he heals as fast as he safely can, and then returns to get some race wins for himself and his fans.

Team San Manuel's championship hopes now switch to the capable hands of James' team mate, former Team Yamaha rider Josh Hill, who's sitting in second place after three races, but just five or six points ahead of Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki), Andrew Short (Honda Red Bull) and Kevin Windham (Geico Honda Factory Connection), rather formidable competition.

With James joining his arch-rival, 2008 Supercross Champion Chad Reed (broken hand) on the injured reserve list, the MESS has suddenly turned into an MMA cage match for a bunch of highly talented 125/250F regional Supercross champions: Ryan Villopoto, Short, Windham, Ivan Tedesco, David Millsaps, Grant Langston and the guy sitting on a big 15-point lead in the points, Ryan Dungey. Talk about opportunity knocking, this is when we're going to see who really wants that number one plate. Who's got next?

Andrew Short beat ALL of those other guys in 2009, finishing third in the championship behind the big two. Kevin Windham came close to clinching the crown in 2008. Tedesco, a former Honda factory racer now riding a Valli Motorsports Yamaha, absolutely romped to two 250F crowns, so the man knows how to race Supercross. Unfortunately his results in the 450 class have been largely forgettable until this year. Hot Sauce is so overdue, if he doesn't win this title, he might be done. And how jazzed would Millsaps be to win the title for Team Honda Redbull?

A2: Two in a Row for The New Man

Dungey's doing it. He patiently chased down San Manuel Yamaha team makes Josh Hill and James Stewart to take his second Supercross main in Anaheim last night. Neither Hill nor Stewart could stop the Rockstar Makita Suzuki star; Hill admitted to getting tired, and Stewart was in visible pain from last week's crash. Now Ryan has a double-digit point lead in the championship standings... after only 3 rounds.

Look at that crazy photo. Energy drinks everywhere! James is clearly favoring his right side by not using both hands to hoist his trophy and his mandatory Red Bull. GuyB gets the evidence (and the race report).

Modern Mud Abatement Tech: Kawasaki

Check out the foam rubber applied to the frame down tube and inside the front fender of Ryan Villopoto's works Kawasaki. Now, I've seen foam glued to the tops of helmets and stuffed between the engine and glide plate, but this application is new to me. Looks pretty cool. GuyB roams the A2 pits.

Racer X Films scoops the World: James Stewart's first interview since PHX

Simon Cudby and Racer X Films are the first to release a recorded webcam interview with the 2009 Supercross Champion after the MESS in Phee-town: Video » Racer X Films: James Stewart

Posted using ShareThis

So only two races in, is this a super supercross season or what?

Finally, Phoenix: TWMX post race interviews

Transworld Motocross has a great feature going: Tell Us About Your Weekend, the freshest tape of the top riders, right before they leave the track for the night. This is great stuff!

Phoenix Phireworks, Part 3: Before the Fall

Chad Reed shown here chasing James Stewart in the middle of the pack on lap 4 of the Phoenix main event. Reed is seconds away from breaking a bone in his hand. This sucks for both riders. GuyB stops time.

Yes, It's Hot in Phoenix

These beautiful twins have become regulars for Monster at the Phoenix Supercross. And yes, I have given these ladies some good-natured grief about their clothes not being sexy enough before, but I must admit that they are looking extremely hot in this GuyB photo. Nice threads!

Phoenix Phireworks, Part 2: The New Man wins his first Supercross!

Wow.

Here are the facts: Rockstar Makita Suzuki star Ryan Dungey holeshot the Phoenix Supercross and led every single lap to notch his very first 450 win and surge into the championship points lead. Monster Energy Kawasaki and L&M San Manuel JSE Yamaha also made the podium, but not with their current and former Supercross champions. The other Ryan, Villopoto, ran fast all night keeping Dungey honest, and Josh Hill represented strongly and grabbed third place.

The two guys everyone thought would be gunning for this champonship finished 15th and 19th after colliding in a heap early in the race. James Stewart, riding injured from a hairy heat race crash, rode out the race in obvious pain. Chad Reed reportedly broke his hand and did not continue.

That's it for the facts of Phoenix. Unfortunately, this year's race will be known mostly for the heated emotions that boiled over after the crash.

GuyB gets the good part.

Phoenix Phireworks, Part 1

The rocket's red glare. Opening ceremonies of the MESS in Phoenix. These would not be the only fireworks erupting this evening. GuyB shoots the lights out.

James Stewart's New Bell Moto 9?

You're looking at some serious product power here. The 2009 Supercross Champion was trying this Moto 9 prototype the other day; Swapmoto at TWMX has the story and pics.

Nike AIRMX Motocross Boots: Ryan Dungey haz 'em

Here's a pretty cool vid by Transworld Motocross: Ryan takes a few minutes to tell us about his custom-fitted, carbon fiber Nike boots. Talk about factory!

He Can Do This

Ryan Dungey exceeded all expectations at the first race of the season. He qualified second fastest, he led most of the main, he finished second only after battling it out to the last lap. 2009 was a phenomenal year for Dungey, and he knows there is only one way to top it in 2010. GuyB sees it.