Pala Performance: National Champion Canard

Wow.   Trey Canard had a tremendous second half of the 2010 season, winning 5 of the last six Nationals (Red Bud, Spring Creek, Washougal, Unadilla and Steel City).  And in the one race he didn't win (sandy Southwick) he still finished on the podium in 3rd. 

Canard and the GEICO Powersports Honda team carried a lot of momentum coming into Pala, putting themselves in serious contention for a title that many (myself included) had already conceded to Christophe Pourcel and the powerhouse Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki squad.  Still, at the final round, Canard needed Pourcel to have a bad day order to have a shot at the title.  Pourcel, unfortunately, delivered. 

It was a pleasure to watch them ride yesterday, and my hat is off to the two champions.  Both riders rode as fast as they could and both of them made mistakes.  But Trey Canard kept it on two wheels and scored more points than his rival.  That's racing.

Trey Canard is the 2010 National Motocross Champion!   Congratulations to Trey, his team and his family!

Great shot by GuyB/Vital MX.

Roger DeCoster and Tony Alessi

Chatting at the end of the season. I imagine these guys will be talking a lot in the coming months.  Soon, they'll even be wearing the same shirts.

Photo credit: Paul Willis

Pala Shocker: Pourcel Crashes Out

The red plate on the #377 bike, seen here alone in the pits during the second 250cc moto at Pala, signifies the championship points leader.  Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki racer Christophe Pourcel carried this plate through most of the 12 race season, and came to Southern California with a seven-point lead over GEICO Powersports Honda's Trey Canard.  But complete disaster befell Pourcel in the first moto, as he crashed and dislocated his shoulder.   Allisports interviewed Christophe and got the full story . 

My heart was broken for Pourcel, I assumed all seasson long that he would win this title.

Photo credit:  Paul Willis

Steel City Slicker: Windham Wins One

Everyone's favorite, normally supercross-only vet racer (!) Kevin Windham repaid Team Honda Red Bull's kindness by winning the overall at the Steel City National on Saturday.   Ryan Dungey cut Kdub some slack by crashing out of the first moto on the first lap, but Geico Honda's Brett Metcalfe made Windham work for it in moto two.  As always, GuyB gets the girls, um, goods.  Same difference, I suppose!

The other shoe droppeth: KTM picks up DeCoster

The man who guided Team USA to almost all of its Motocross of Nations victories, the man who managed nearly all of Team Honda's iconic motocross champions, the man who brought American Suzuki's motocross team back from the dead, The Man himself has agreed to a presumably multi-year deal to manage KTM's "new" factory team in the United States, according to this press release at Racer X Online.

Glad to see Roger quickly found a home, but I hope that he made the best deal possible.  As he himself mentioned in his recent (and revealing) interview on DMXS, he just turned 66 but downturns in his real estate investments make it impossible for him to retire at this time.  I wish Roger the best of luck with his new venture!

Jawdropper: Roger DeCoster out at Suzuki

Some things happen in ways you would never expect.  This news is one of those things:  "The Man", 5-time motocross world champion and iconic Suzuki star is leaving the company after 15 years of taking the yellow team from the bottom to the top (news courtesy of Vital MX).

Now we wait for the other shoe to drop, I suppose, since the press release makes no mention of DeCoster's future plans.   The dude has done so much for so long, he certainly deserves to ride off into the sunset of a well-financed retirement, but for some reason, I'm thinking he's not finished with racing yet.  In any case, this is a tremendous loss for Team Suzuki, which has been rumored to be suffering a major budget crisis in 2010.

Southwick Sandmaster: Dungey gets down

2010 is the Year of Ryan Dungey.  First year on the 450cc machines and he cleans house, winning indoors and out.  Managed by the Man, supported by the GOAT and on bikes built by Goose, Flyin' Ryan won it all in a magnificently dominant style, winning both motos at the Southwick National.  GuyB has the story at Vital MX.

Congratulations to Ryan Dungey and the entire Rockstar Makita Suzuki racing team!

Breaking News: James Stewart gave me a tummy ache

And it was all my fault, I'm man enough to now admit.  Being a big time fan (BTF) of any professional sportsman or sportswoman has its own special risks, and whenever we BTFs ascribe the status of "superhuman" to any person, no matter how magnificent their achievements may have been, we flirt with the inevitable, crushing disappointment that comes when our heroes prove to be merely human.

So what's this prattle all about?  Team James announced they're through with the Nationals for 2010.  Kaput.  Why?  According to the press release, James and the team are not ready to "...compete in the series at the level they are accustomed to," and James doesn't want to "...put my entire career at risk by getting injured again."   Stewart even apologized to the fans, the series and the sponsors.

Cue BTF tummy ache:  "Dammit, I wanted to see him ride at Pala!  How could he DO this to me?  He's so selfish, all he cares about is his career and making a profit for his sponsors and team!  What about MY needs??"

Damned if it didn't take me a few days to get over myself.  Maybe it helped that I avoided the Vital MX online forum since the news broke; maybe not.  In any case, once I got over my emotional reaction to the news, I realized it was a smart move. 

Of course, every professional motocross racer faces the risk of injury every time they line up behind a starting gate.  But how many of them willingly gas it while wondering if they are about to crash their brains out because their bike and/or body is "not ready?"   Going for it when one is not ready is what some amateurs unfortunately do.  And maybe desperate pros struggling to establish themselves.  But top tier pros and the multi-million dollar teams that enable them have too much at stake to do something so foolish.

So while the news disappointed me so deeply it made my stomach churn, I admit it makes sense.  Team L&M/San Manuel Band of Mission Indians/Yamaha/James Stewart Entertainment, in its current configuration, is a supercross-focused team.  Racing the last four Nationals knowing that there are problems with the bike and the rider that could lead to crashes and injury would be counter-productive.  After missing most of the 2010 supercross series and after failing to defend their supercross title, this team really needs to focus on being healthy and ready to race in January 2011.

Apology accepted, James.

James Stewart: Face meet Palm

Honestly, I feel blessed that I have had the opportunity to see James Stewart Jr. race a motocross motorcycle. Numerous opportunities, in fact, and each time it was well worth the cost of admission... from the high and lows of his debut supercross race way back when (at Anaheim, California on a 125cc two-stroke), to the laid back fun at his free public ride day in Southern California. And I honestly feel sorry for those MX fans that have not seen the man ride yet. There are a lot of them out there, and I can understand why they would be upset if they had paid money to see him do his thing... and he just decided not to do it.

And according to Stewart himself, that's exactly what he did at Unadilla. Today, he broke his media silence by dropping, if not a bombshell then at least a small concussion grenade of insight in his "An Open Letter From James Regarding Unadilla and MXoN" (posted by Garth Milan at JS7.com) He "straight up" said:

"...I just decided to pull off, lick my wounds, and learn from the weekend."

Learning is a good thing, but sometimes the lessons are hard. I have a good friend that drove 5 hours to Unadilla to see James race the year that Stewart got injured in practice. He never got to see the man ride (no, television doesn't count), so he actually balked at the opportunity to make the trip this year to upstate New York. In fact, he did not go, because he was afraid he would be disappointed again by his motocross hero. What did my friend learn this weekend?

Last year, I truly felt sorry for the motocross fans in Italy and Australia, who had waited all year for their first ever opportunity to see James race in person, and whose hopes were dashed when James fell ill after the Bercy Supercross and canceled his remaining international race schedule. It wasn't James' fault by any stretch, but the result was unhappy fans nonetheless.

But this time in New York, James admits plainly that he believed he had "nothing to gain" by completing the moto.

Rather than submitting to an interview with his friends and enemies in the moto press, he once again chose to directly address his followers and foes. In my opinion, he took his time to prepare and present his thoughts, and I respect that. But after reading this open letter, it pains me to think that he misses the significance of some of his own words.

I haven't even commented on what he wrote about not being selected for the 2010 Motocross of Nations team. Read it for yourself.

Meanwhile, I will go back to looking forward to seeing Stewart ride at the season finale National at Pala in SoCal. But I might start a new habit of not looking forward to hearing or reading what he has to say.

So... what happened to James at Unadilla?

Apparently, he was too tired to race the second moto. That's according to his team manager, Larry Brooks, from this podcast interview with Steve Matthes. Brooks said James left it all on the track in moto one, and that after setting fast times in both practice sessions and running well and finishing third in the first moto, it was still a good day for the team.

As far as I can tell, James has not said a word to the moto media yet. I wonder when this silence will end? Actually, I wonder why it started in the first place?

Unadilla Undone: Mystery in New York

So, after spending nearly all of the 2010 Supercross season and most of the 2010 Motocross series on the injured reserve list, so to speak, James Stewart Jr. returned to professional racing at the challenging Unadilla circuit in upstate New York. He finished 3rd in the first moto, behind series points leader Ryan Dungey and visiting World Championship contender Clement DeSalle, but according to this lap chart for the second moto, Stewart finished the first lap in 15th place and moved up as high as 11th before dropping out of the race. James was credited with 35th place in the moto, giving him 11th overall for the event.

So what happened? It's Sunday night, and there's no news on Vital MX or Racer X Online or even JS7.com. This is not good. Stewart and his team need to tell everyone what's up, otherwise there will be nothing but rampant speculation about Stewart's motivation, and much of this speculation will turn into ugly talk on internet chat boards.

I thought the team had their PR act together.

Racerhead of the Year: Tennessee Stomp

Jeff Emig knows something about starting gates. Go read and enjoy Racerhead #32 at Racer X Online. It's food for the moto mind.

XGameX: Grant Gets Gold

Check out GuyB's X coverage at Vital MX.

Killer D

Ya know, in January I thought this man would have to go a long way to top his killer 2009 double championship performance on the half-size bikes. Well, he's going the distance on the full-size ones. 2010 is the Year of Ryan Dungey.

This pic by Guy was taken shortly after RD slaughtered the field at Washougal. He looks like he is not finished kicking ass. Yikes.

Bad News from Chad Reed

The Epstein Barr virus claims another professional motocross racer.

"It just got to a point where it was dangerous for me to be out there. My doctor, team and I have decided that I need to be off the bike for a while to try get this handled."

Chad Reed, the defending National Motocross champion, announced today (in a strikingly well-written letter to his fans) that he is too ill to continue with his title defense.

No question about it, 2010 has been a tough year for Reed. And for us fans, it sucks that one of the fastest racers is sidelined indefinitely. But now Chad gets to take his wife and newborn son back to Australia and spend time with his family earlier than expected, and that's got to be a good thing.

Get well soon, Chad.

James Stewart had a great conversation with Steve Matthes of Transworld MX

And the BTOSPorts.com TWMX Podcast scores with another big James Stewart interview. It is always cool to hear it directly from the man, and he clearly feels at ease with Matthes. Soon he'll be racing and then he will really have something to talk about. I hope he keeps up the "fireside" podcasts with the moto press.

News - James Stewart #7 | Official Site | JS7.com

Millville Mashup: Crowd Pleaser

"When the horn blows, you better be ready to go."
- George Clinton

Kdub knows what's up. All eyes on him. National number 14. On a factory Honda. When the gate drops, he better be ready to rock. Kevin Windham rocked it.

In his first race back since the Supercross season, Windham grabbed the holeshot and led the first 450 moto at Millville for 7 laps, thrilling the Spring Creek crowd with his speed and style. But points leader Ryan Dungey (above in full attack mode) was the fastest man that Saturday on a Minnesota motocross track. GuyB has the goods at Vital MX.

Millville Modern: Excitement in the air

Here's a really cool GuyB photo from 450 moto 2 at Millville: Ryan Dungey leading Tommy Hahn, the newly-returned Kevin Windham and Mike Alessi, and the lead pack is so tight they're sharing airspace over this double jump.

Red Bud Fireworks: 450 Moto 1

This is the best 450 moto of the year, by far. Thanks to Allisports incredible archive!

Look Who's Riding: JS7

From James Stewart's twitpic thing.

Wow. That's a nice backyard.