2010 AMA Supercross

[dt]

Anaheim 3! Waaaaay better than the mudfest last weekend in San Diego. Ryan Villopoto got the holeshot and no one got close. At one point he had five seconds on Josh Hill who never was threatened for second. Ryan Dungy, who has two wins got an awful start and managed to work his way up to as close as third past Davi Millsaps and Kevin Wyndam (Honda Teammates), only to spin into a 180 in a slippery spot on the track three-quarters through, and loose two spots he had to make up. Nonetheless, he came in fourth.

Results:
1.  Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
2.  Josh Hill (Yamaha)
3.  Kevin Wyndam (Honda)

SX Standings after six (wins):
  123 Josh Hill (0)
  123 Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) (2)
  120 Ryan Villopoto (2)
  98 Davi Millsaps (Honda) (1)
  87 Ivan Tedesco (Yamaha) (0)

Next stop Indianapolis to start the East Region … a whole new Lites gang, including Justin Barcia, dCameras’ neighbor in Georgia. I haven’t spent a lot of time on Lites, but it's really just as good as the Premier, or Supercross Class. Lites are 125cc 2-stroke to 250cc four stroke bikes. Lites riders can advance to the Premier (250cc 2-strokes to 450cc 4-strokes), after three wins. The Lites class is split West Region and East Region. The season starts in the west, ends in the east and then they do a shootout. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki) kicked butt overall in the West Region, although I see he came in seventh at A3.

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I was sifting through the news and came across this photo of Malcolm Smith and Tom White (of White Brothers Exhausts, bought out by Vance Hines for gagillions I imagine) at the 2010 Indy Dealers Expo on Saturday. That's Steve McQueen's 1971 Husqvarna CR450, fully restored. Sweet!   Apparantly, Tom White owns it in his vintage mx collection. Wasn't sure where to post it, but since I got on McQueen Racing up there, here seemed fitting.

[wilinfla]

Nice photo  I had a 73 Husky WR250 back in 1974, it was great bike, I wish I still had it.

                   
                                                                      Will

[dt]

Great bikes! Durable. Still see alot of them out on the vintage circuits...

Here's Steve McQueen riding the CR450 on the cover of SI. 

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The Series heads to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this weekend. Carried on Speed, Sunday 6:00PM (Lites at 5:00PM).

I’m thinking … is the Series better without Reed and Stewart? It seems like everyone is breaking out and mixing it up. An early leader (Ryan Dungy) has fallen off the beat. Ryan Villopota is coming on strong, with two wins, including last week at A3. And the leader in the whole Series (Josh Hill) hasn’t won a race! Davi Millsaps took advantage of the top box in the podium a couple weeks ago. Wyndam, Tedesco got some podiums and some big points. Back to the question. Hell yes!

Shots from A3 last weekend.
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[dt]

I have got to make sure a co-worker of mine takes a camera to the  Supercross event at the Ga. Dome. He is supposed to go up there with his boys to watch a neighbor of his (Justin Barcia) compete. I wish it was where I could go but too much to do that weekend getting ready for a trip the next week.

Here is a link to Justin.  http://www.supercross.com/justin-barcia

Justin got an exclusive interview with mcUSA today. Pretty cool.  

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/492/5902/Motorcycle-Article/Justin-Barcia-Indianpolis-Supercross-Interview.aspx

As mentioned, the Lites Class (125cc 2-stroke to 250cc 4-stroke) is split West Region and East Region. West wrapped up in Anaheim last weekend. East starts in Indianapolis tomorrow.

Reminder. The Indy Lites race precedes the Premier on Speed Channel, 5:00PM on Sunday.

[dt]

East Region Lites got started last night in Indy. Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki), who holds the No. 1 plate easily won, but there was some awesome racing. The best was right at the end of the Main, as in about five yards from the finish line, when Justin Barcia (Honda) overtook Ryan Snipes (Yamaha) and Brett Metcalf (Honda) to secure third and a podium finish in his first race! Yeah, fifth to third just like that. Snipes and Metcalf were taking the “tactical” route to the finish and Barcia seized the opportunity with some speed. You could see Snipes and Metcalf going at each other afterward. LOL, kind of embarrassing for them, but that’s what it’s all about.

Podium:
   Christophe Pourcel
   Austin Stroupe (Suzuki)
   Justin Barcia

Great racing. Glad to see the east off and running.

Found a great new mx site for photos and news: VitalMX http://www.vitalmx.com/ Check it out.
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[dt]

Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) got his third win in the seventh round of the AMA Supercross in Indy Saturday night, and he had to work a little extra to get it. In his heat race, Villopoto got tied up with Davi Millsaps right out of the gate in the first turn, trying to get the hole shot;  they and many others piled and Ryan ended up with the cover of his water pump tore off. They got it fixed in time for the LCQ and, after a miserable start, Ryan actually ended up taking the LCQ win. All of the top riders got a good start in the Main, with Kevin Wyndam (Honda) getting the hole shot. But Villopota took the lead with about eight to go. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) came on strong but couldn’t get to Villopoto after the blue flags came out and they had to navigate the slower riders. Excellent event! IMO the best so far.

Podium:
   Ryan Villopoto
   Ryan Dungy
   Kevin Wyndam

Where was Josh Hill (Yamaha)? First in his heat race; Ninth in the Main … not a good night.

Points Standings (wins):
  145 Ryan Villopoto (3)
  145 Ryan Dungey (2)
  135 Josh Hill (0)

Overall, what an awesome night of motorcycle racing. SPEED Channel pulled a late change and ran the Indy Event LIVE from 8PM to 11PM Saturday night. They ran the pre-race show, all heat races and even the LCQs.  

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[dcameras]

What I got to see of it was good. I came across the races when Speed was showing it again Sat. night (late). I got to see Justin Barcia finish second in the first heat race and then finish third in the main. I think he would have been higher than third if he had not made the mistake early in the race in one of the corners and went down. I've got to hand it to to him, he had that bike back up and going very quick and didn't give up.
Congrats to Ryan Dungey also on his second place finish in his main. He lives in Tallahassee,Fl. which is only about 30 minutes from me here in Thomasville, Ga. so I have to pull for him also. Luckily Ryan and Justin are in different classes which makes it easier to pull for both of them.
I am going to see if I can work it out to go to the races at the Jacksonville stadium. I wanted to go to the Georgia Dome but too much going on this weekend for that.

[dt]

Getting a podium in his first SX race is almost unprecedented. Justin had outstanding speed and there's no doubt he'll be on Christophe Pourcel's tail before long, but that guy took off Saturday night and no one got close. Justin lost two places on the fall, so second was definitely in play until that happened. I still can't get over Metcalf and Snipes screwing around right at the finish and losing the podium to Justin. I have it on DVD and watched it a couple times. Looked like Metcalf was trying to cut in on Snipes, which slowed them both and Justin shot around the right.

Geico Powersports Honda Lites Team 
Justin Barcia,  Blake Wharton, Brett Metcalfe and Trey Canard

[dt]

I am going to see if I can work it out to go to the races at the Jacksonville stadium.

Funny you should mention that you’re interested in the Jax Event. We were just discussing riding over for it yesterday.

So, who’s up for a trip over to Jax on Saturday, March 27? It would probably need to be a stay over and ride back Sunday. Mileage from Tampa to the Stadium is 195 miles, but we can find back roads and double that (kidding). But we can pick up members along the way. Feedback please…

Supercross Times and Ticket Information
Main Event Starts - 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Doors Open/Practice & Qualifying - 12:30 pm

TICKET PRICES
Club Seats - $40
Sideline Seats - $30
Corner Seats - $20
End zone, 300, 400 Level - $10
All seats $5 more day of show

Location:
One Stadium Place
Jacksonville, FL 32202

http://www.supercrossonline.com/Schedule.aspx?id=2147483738
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Don’t forget, this weekend is the Four Legends Special on CBS. The special profiles Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed and James Stewart. Sunday at Noon … mcUSA Article:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/727/6046/Motorcycle-Article/Four-Legends-Premieres-Sunday-on-CBS.aspx

The Supercross Series moves to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Saturday Night. SPEED will be airing the event LIVE! starting at 7:30PM … reaired Sunday at 6:00PM, Lites at 5:00PM.

Chad Reed to return? Yup, looks like Daytona on March 6th. Chad broke his hand in a pileup with James Stewart (Yamaha) in the second event in Phoenix. Team Monster Kawasaki has done pretty well without him; Villopoto with three wins, and what the heck good is his return without that of Stewart. Shit! As far as this season goes, they’re pretty much out of it, so they’ll only add entertainment value in their constant feuding. I got ten bucks that if Stewart shows up before Jax, Reed decks him on live TV.


“I hate you.” “I hate you more.” “No, I hate you more.” “No….” LOL!


Here are some more photos from Indy last week co mcUSA … enjoy!


Dang, this here is one awesome freaking photo!


Justin Barcia>>


Grant Langston>>




Ryan Villopoto’s Heat Race Crash (out with a busted waterpump cover...wins LCQ...wins main)>>


Trey Canard. He came up from Lites to replace Andrew Short (Honda) who got carried out of the San Diego Mudfest
 on a stretcher…didn’t have a good night, either of them>>


Jason Lawrence. What a guy! He’s in prison on assault and battery charges. They let him out to race under a work
 release program, but he needs to report back to jail after each race. LOL! >>


Oooooo. She’s new. Very nice. Kind of a Linda Blair look.  



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[mrbones]

Cool. Thanks for the update. I've been watching these and they are exciting. Since I dropped ESPN, I'm glad there is still good, exciting coverage (of something) to watch on the free networks.

[dt]

Glad to post this stuff. There's lots of good motorcycle racing on Speed in addition to the SX. I think Speed gets better every year. ESPN? I don't think you'r missing much. SportCenter is tops, but aside from that, outside of football season, you get alot of NBA, PBA (that's bowling) and Pardon the Interruption with Tony Kornwhatever. You're not missing much.

[dcameras]

I got a picture (too blurry ) on my phone this afternoon from my co-worker who is a neighbor of Justin Barcia and it was of his two boys with FOUR of the Monster Energy girls at the Ga. Dome. All I can say is he better come back with some good clear shots of the girls .

Oh and some shots of the guys racing would be nice too.

[dt]

Did you know that they use the same dirt for every race? Yeah, no kidding … they just truck it around the country, event to event. Just learned that tonight, lol!

Ricky “The Goat” Carmichael not only did the commentating, he geared up and did a couple laps for the crowd. See first photo, below.



Lites:

Justin got in some weird fight earlier in practice today. The other dude got disqualified. Not sure of the details. He was also in the VIP Segment … that’s just answering questions like whether he likes blondes or brunettes better and stuff like that. So they ask him what his dream job is after Supercross and he says Pro Bass Fishing. Bwahahaha!

Here are the results:

Podium
1st Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki)
2nd Austin Stroupe (Suzuki)
3rd Brett Metcalf (Honda)

If ever there was a podium that absolutely does not reflect the story of the race, that’s ^^^ it. All I can say is it’s on tomorrow at 5PM; watch it. Justin showed some serious skill and speed and had a chance to win with four laps left … then made a two mistakes, first losing the lead to Pourcel when Stroupe tumbled and then trying to take Pourcel for the lead with four laps left … he tried a triple, but with only double speed, did a nose-dive, over the handle bar thing, face planted and damaged the bike … I didn’t see him get back on the track, but they gave him 18th.




Supercross:

Ryan Dungey got his third win tonight, very fast night. Trey Canard, who just came up from West Region Lites last week to replace Andrew Short got second, a full 20 seconds back though. Villopoto? Ouch, nasty fall. The bike flew up in the air and did an end over end … landed right on the pipe filling it with dirt. By the time they got the dirt dug out, Dungey had lapped him. Without Villopoto and Hill in the big points places, it was a big night for Dungey in points standing, too.

Podium
1st Ryan Dungey (Suzuki)
2nd Trey Canard (Honda)
3rd Davi Millsaps (Honda)

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Wild-Child!

That’s what MC-USA is calling Justin Barcia today in its report on the Atlanta Supercross last night:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/727/6109/Motorcycle-Article/2010-Atlanta-Supercross-Results.aspx

When Christophe Pourcel got to the podium, he had some other, similar names for Justin as well as some accusations. I didn't see anything dirty, and the commentators didn't say anything, but he’s definitely getting a name for himself. However, imo he needs to keep doing what he was doing. Even though Pourcel won, he showed he was beatable last night and any one of Barcia, Stroupe and Brett Wilson (CP’s team mate) could just as well have been on the top step of the podium, except they all wiped out at one point or another, and even Ricky Charmichael commented on how slick the track was. They're all just trying to win, and if Christophe thinks everyone should just let him fly by, he's smokin' dope!  

Here's the last seven minutes of the Lites Main. This picks up where Barcia (17) overtakes Pourcell (1) for third:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KXH_n0xqmo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KXH_n0xqmo</a>
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[mrbones]

Weird. The 2009 Xterra Championship was on instead. Was it rescheduled?

Don’t forget, this weekend is the Four Legends Special on CBS. The special profiles Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed and James Stewart. Sunday at Noon … mcUSA Article:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/727/6046/Motorcycle-Article/Four-Legends-Premieres-Sunday-on-CBS.aspx

[mrbones]

Oops. Just found it on my DVR. It was on at 1:00.

[dcameras]

It was a wild ride for several racers in the dome.
I think if Justin had gone to the left of Stroupe when he went down then Pourcel might have been the one to go down while chasing  Justin instead of the other way around.  It was definitely a hard fought night of racing.

They're all just trying to win, and if Christophe thinks everyone should just let him fly by, he's smokin' dope!

There are a couple of the guys that look like they are on something when they get interviewed after race.

I don't have any good pics yet from my co-worker but said he is hooked even more now.

[dt]

Justin got in some weird fight earlier in practice today. The other dude got disqualified. Not sure of the details.

Here's an article that has the "details."

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/727/6137/Motorcycle-Article/2010-Atlanta-AMA-Supercross-Insider.aspx


A few more photos from Atlanta...

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There has been some great motorcycle racing over at Bikeweek in Daytona. Superbike, Pro Road Sport, Flat Track, National Enduro, and tomorrow Supercross. Daytona marks the halfway point in the Series.

No update on Chad Reed (ME Kawasaki). Last week he said he was going to be back for Daytona. He won there last year.

The Daytona Track was designed by none-other than Ricky Charmichael himself, who also has a SX/MX school based over in Daytona.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYAsbM8FVEw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYAsbM8FVEw</a>

Live on Speed at 8PM tomorrow. Don’t miss it!

P.S. >> First photo is New Jersey-based Mike Lafferty who won the National Aligator Enduro Event in Daytona yesterday. It was the first ever win for Husaberg!
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[dt]

“Maybe next week.” No. 22 Chad Reed  




Is Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki) fast? He had the fastest qualifying time at Daytona. Faster than:

   Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
   Ryan Dungey (Suzuki)
   Grant Langston (Yamaha)

Yup, a 250 Lites bike was faster than the top three SX 450 class bikes.




Lites Podium:

  1. Christophe Pourcel
  2. Austin Stroupe (Suzuki)
   (Is this ^^^ not getting a little predictable?)
  3. Dean (I’m going to be 14 next year) Wilson (Kawasaki)

Where was our boy Justin … 5th.


Does that really say "The Kid" on his rear?

Speaking of South African No. 8 Grant Langston, holy crap did he crash bad tonight in the SX Main. It caused the first red flag in the Supercross this year. Dang, he was having a hell of a night, too.



…and what a track! As mentioned, none-other than Ricky Carmichael himself designed the track. It was super fast and super rough. Weird looking thing, the surfaces included dirt, sand, clay and … grass. Yeah, the stretch right out of the gate was grass. See Justin’s photo above. Then past the grass was the tightest hairpin first turn for the hole shot you ever saw. By the SX Main the thing had deteriorated pretty bad. I’m not sure that was the reason Langston crashed, but it was bad. Deep grooves formed in some of the turns, or should I call them trenches. I noticed Kevin Wyndam come out of the grooves once with about four inches of dirt on his pegs.

SX Podium:

1. Ryan Vilopoto
2. Ryan Dungey
3. Trey Canard (Honda)

That’s Trey’s second third (uh..yeah, second time, third place). Not bad for just coming up from the West Region Lites three weeks ago.



Next stop…Toronto.
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[dt]

Grant Langston’s crash at Daytona last night is already on Youtube. It was early in the race, so they red flagged and restarted the race. I couldn’t find any articles on his condition, but he was waving when they lugged him off on a stretcher.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjATmySzi3U" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjATmySzi3U</a>



Here are some more shots from the race on mcUSA this morning.

Kevin Wydam had a respectable fourth place finish. They call him the old man. He’s 31. 



Apparently Josh Hill was a little more banged up from that practice crash in Atlanta than we’d thought, with some rib injuries. Nonetheless, he hung on for ninth and still holds third in the points standing.



Ryan Dungey was less than three second behind Ryan Vilopoto at the finish. Trey Canard was half a minute later crossing for third. Those two guys are fast.



Choose your line. 

[dcameras]

Lites Podium:

  1. Christophe Pourcel
  2. Austin Stroupe (Suzuki)
   (Is this ^^^ not getting a little predictable?)
  3. Dean (I’m going to be 14 next year) Wilson (Kawasaki)

Where was our boy Justin … 5th.

I heard that some people (one of them was probably the crybaby with the #1 on his bike) was complaining about Justin being too aggressive so Justin was told by his trainers to ease off some. So he just rode around not giving 100% to please the complainers. I haven't seen him do anything so far that some of the other riders haven't done as far as being aggressive. To me if you are not aggressively going for the win then you aren't doing your best.

Too bad I wasn't where I could watch the race either Sat. or Sunday