This Week in Monster Energy Supercross: Phoenix
Saturday 12 January: Round 2 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship season opener, heads to Phoenix’s Chase Field Saturday night - USA time.
With
four different 450SX Class Champions lined up at last weekend’s Monster
Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship season opener, no one
ever expected Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps, who has not won a
Main Event since 2010, to take the checkered flag at Angel Stadium.
Millsaps won his fourth career Main Event and, for the first time in his
career, owns the championship points lead as the racing heads to
Phoenix’s Chase Field tomorrow night.
Millsaps
led the first 16 laps of the Main Event before being passed by
Honda/Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard. Canard led the next three laps and in
dramatic fashion, Millsaps made a last-lap pass to win his first-ever
season opening race. His margin of victory was 2.297 seconds, setting
the stage for one of the most parity-packed seasons of all time.
Davi Millsaps: "When
Trey Canard passed me I was like this is like Salt Lake City all over
again (Millsaps, who led 19 of 20 laps in Salt Lake City last year
only to be passed by eventual winner Ryan Dungey.) I knew I had a good
line, though, and I just pinned it in the whoops and I got back by him. I
don’t think anyone really expected this. It was a new program, bike and
team for me. We’ve all been working really hard during the off season
to come out and do the best we can. To see where we are and where we
need to be, even though we won, it’s all building blocks from here.
We’ll go back and see how we can make it even better. It’s been like
that the whole time. It’s really cool that Rockstar Energy Racing, Bobby
Hewitt and Dave Gowland have given me the opportunity and stood behind
me. It’s like a family.”
Canard
put together a remarkable performance for a young man who a year ago
suffered a broken back that nearly ended his career. The winner of three
career Main Events, Canard, like Millsaps, was not expected to turn in
this awe-inspiring performance in his first race back.
Trey Canard: "Tonight
went better than I could have ever dreamed. I really had
no set number or expectations coming into this race except to give it
100 percent effort and I am beyond grateful to even be lining up on the
gate. I hope to be able to continue this throughout the year and
hopefully get a win, but mostly I just want to be there every weekend.”
Red Bull KTM’s Dungey, who is known for his consistency, finished third, marking his 36th podium in 50 starts.
Two-time 450SX Class Champion Chad Reed played it safe, finishing fourth overall.
Chad Reed: "A
bit of a disappointing weekend in Anaheim, but we are putting it behind
us and moving on to this weekend. I rode a lot this week
and we worked on some things and I'm looking forward to Phoenix."
Canard’s
teammate Justin Barcia made his premier class debut, finding himself in
the number-3 position until he suffered a crash on Lap 15. Barcia, who
won the Monster Energy Cup in October, finished seventh.
Justin Barcia: "Overall
my first race went pretty well; I won my heat race, which was cool, and
got a good start in the main. I was in third behind Trey
most of the race until I accidently hit neutral causing me to crash,
but I was able to get up and finish in seventh.”
Two-time defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto finished a disappointing 16th,
crashing three times in the Main Event. However, he is ready to
capitalize on his lackluster performance this weekend in Phoenix.
Ryan Villopoto: "We
had a really good week of testing heading into Chase Field,” said
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Villopoto. "Last week was not what we were
looking for, but we’ll come into Phoenix fresh and ready to finish where
we belong. I’ve never won a 450SX main in Phoenix, so we plan to change
that on Saturday.”
Villopoto’s
teammate Jake Weimer finished fifth overall, and after a finishing in
the top five at eighth races in 2012, he is ready to make his approach
to the podium in 2013.
Jake Weimer: "We
had a solid weekend to build from in Anaheim,” said Monster Energy
Kawasaki’s Weimer. "The bike was awesome, so we’re just looking to
improve on last week’s fifth place. I feel that the podium is achievable
and we were up there last year in Phoenix, so we plan to be there again
this weekend.”
Yohsimura
Suzuki’s James Stewart demonstrated tremendous discipline throughout
the evening’s racing. After tweaking his knee and opting out of the
opening ceremonies to rest, Stewart put in a smart ride in his eight-lap
heat race. The talented rider got a great start on his Yoshimura Suzuki
RM-Z450 and led the first half of the race before finishing third. In
the 20-lap Main Event, Stewart again played it safe and simply kept it
on two wheels. As a result, the two-time 450SX Class Supercross Champion
finished well within the top 10 and was happy to pick up as many points
as possible in just the first race of a long, 17-round series.
James Stewart: "Things
started out pretty good in Anaheim. We were fastest in
practice and top qualifier. We had some really good speed and the
Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 was working great all day. Then I had a little
mishap in practice; I didn’t fall over, I just caught my knee wrong.
That turned my night around right there. Honestly up until then I felt
like we had a win in us. We finished eighth, but with the pain and being
able to finish in the top 10, I feel like I won the race. The knee is a
bit banged up, but we’re going to Phoenix and hopefully get things
rolling from there. The points are wide open right now, the competition
finished all over the board, so even though we had an off night, we’re
right there in points.”
Kevin Windham began his 18th professional season with a 10th-place result in the 450SX Class. Windham had qualified sixth in his Heat race.
Kevin Windham: "My
goal was to ride hard but ride smart at the same time. I need to build my confidence back up. Obviously riding safe isn't
going to translate to wins and I know I'll need to turn it up a notch,
but tonight was really about keeping it on two wheels. There was a lot
of carnage out there with guys going for broke. I didn't think it was
time for me to push it that hard.”
After
showing that he can compete with the top guys at the Monster Energy Cup
back in October by finishing fourth in the first two Main Events and
taking the third Main Event win, defending Western Regional 250SX
Champion Tomac continued his winning ways with an impressive opening
race win at Anaheim.
Eli Tomac: "Starts
are so key for racing. If you don’t get a good start it
can really put you out of rhythm for the whole race, which seems to be
what happened in my heat. Luckily, I got a good start in the main and
was able to set a comfortable pace that allowed me to keep a good gap on
[Ken] Roczen. The No. 1 plate motivates me. I don't think of it as a
weight around my shoulders. I worked hard to get it and I will work even
harder to keep it. I wouldn't want it any other way.”
Rockstar Energy Racing’s Jason Anderson recorded a career-best fourth place finish at Anaheim.
Jason Anderson: "I
started off a little rough in practice,” said Anderson. "We made some
improvements to the bike and some suspension adjustments. Then I carried
in my syndrome of bad starts from last year, but I broke that habit in
the main. I came out of the first turn, dudes endoing in front of me in
the middle of the rhythm section, and was able to start just out of the
top five. I was able to work my way into fourth. I wasn’t able to get
around Cole Seely for a podium but I made it through A1. Now we will
build on this going into Phoenix.
Anderson’s teammate and 2012 Indianapolis winner Ryan Sipes finished sixth aboard his new ride.
Ryan Sipes: "I
felt like it was an ok night. Obviously sixth place is
not where we want to be, but everything was there except the start. I
felt comfortable and I felt like my speed was right there. If we start
in the top three, we will finish in the top three and be in the hunt for
a win. Those guys looked really good out there but I felt very strong.”
GEICO
Honda’s newest addition Zach Osborne had a successful first race aboard
his CRF450R, grabbing a second in his heat and finishing a respectable
seventh-place in the main after going down in the first turn.
Zach Osborne: "I
enjoyed myself all day and I feel like a great weight has been lifted.
All the first-race jitters are gone now and I can just ride my bike and
get some podiums."
Troy
Lee Designs/ Lucas Oil/ Honda’s Cole Seely put together a solid race
finishing third overall on the podium. Seely won last year’s season
opener in Anaheim and turned in a strong first performance since his
injury last year in Salt Lake City.
"I
haven’t raced since Salt Lake City, so I came into the day a little
nervous and tight,” stated Seely. "After I was able to loosen up and get
more comfortable I started to ride like myself, so I’m really happy how
the night went. A third is awesome, and it set me up good for the
points chase so I’m hoping to just stay consistent and get some wins.”
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyla Rattray finished eighth overall in his 250SX Class season opener.
"I
was happy with my finish last week in Anaheim,” said Rattray. "I just
wanted to get through the weekend healthy and now we can move forward.
We made a few adjustments this week to improve the bike and help me feel
comfortable and able to push the limits. Phoenix is always a good track
and great city, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Rattray’s
teammate Blake Baggett, an early favorite for the Western Regional
250SX Class title, was involved in an early crash, but mustered a 14th-place finish.
"The
team and I have been working really hard so last week was
disappointing,” said Baggett. "We pushed through and salvaged as many
points as we could last week. Now we just have to play catch up.”
After
winning his Heat Race, Martin Davalos, of the Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki team, played catch-up following the same pile-up that
Baggett was involved in.
"I’m
really looking forward to this weekend in Phoenix,” said Davalos. "Last
week we were really prepared and I felt great in my heat race.
Unfortunately, first lap I got caught up in a pile-up and my bike was
too damaged to continue. We’ll go into Phoenix with the same confidence
as last weekend and look to finish on top of the box.”