52 replies to this topic

[shotcaller]

The season is off to a rock-em sock-em start!

 

[Chubby_Deuce]

250s are depressing this year. The east should be interesting though.

[chunder27]

So far it is the same as last year.

Everyone else has little bits of greatness, Dungey is the only one that maintains top 3 form throughout.

 

Rather enjoyed Barcia getting dumped, about time someone did it to him and Anderson looks to have stepped up a bit.

 

The rest are pretty much the same as last year

[dave34m]

What happened to James Stewart in San Diego, I see he was passed fit but did he race? 

[TecnoRacing]

He did the first practice session, but didn't feel well/right and opted not to race. I think he should be back next week...

[racinggeek]

So far it is the same as last year.

Everyone else has little bits of greatness, Dungey is the only one that maintains top 3 form throughout.

 

Rather enjoyed Barcia getting dumped, about time someone did it to him and Anderson looks to have stepped up a bit.

 

The rest are pretty much the same as last year

 

Well, I think it's not only that Anderson stepped up but the bike is in its second year now -- remember, Husky came back in motocross last year after a looong time out, and it was Anderson's first year on the 450s to boot. Having what seems to be a fairly quick teammate in Pourcel might help, too. 

 

Barcia out for rest of season, by the way -- he apparently hurt his thumb/hand before the Anaheim opener and says he can't keep racing with it like it is now. I kinda like Barcia, but funny how he gets mad when someone takes him wide, because the way he races other riders, well ...

 

Before the 2015 season, I remember feeling pretty geeked up, even without Stewart riding, because you had a great mix of veteran stars, returning potential stars who were injured the year before (Canard), Millsaps maybe getting a huge chance to shine and a bunch of rookies or up-and-comers. Then everyone but Dungey got hurt. With Stewart coming back (in theory), a more-factory Yamaha (is Reed holding the seat until Cooper Webb graduates to the big bikes?) and a year's development on the Husqvarna, this looks like an outstanding season on paper, but more riders gotta stay upright this year. And that KTM is just bad-fast, too -- looks like Dungey can turn it hard at will and rocket off the corners.

[racinggeek]

The season is off to a rock-em sock-em start!

 

 

That's funny

[Frank Tuesday]

... a more-factory Yamaha (is Reed holding the seat until Cooper Webb graduates to the big bikes?) ...

I suspect part of the delay in the Reed announcement was Yamaha getting the contracts to tie Cooper Webb and Jeremy Martin to long term contracts to bring them into 450s on Factory Yamaha.  Chad Reed is an immensely talented rider, but his best days are behind him.  I can't believe that Yamaha would set up a factory team for a 32 year old who hasn't won an SX title in 7 years.  No doubt Chad will have some great races this year, and may even pull off a win.  But just like the last 5 years, he'll win a race or two, but will have more bad races than great ones.  Without Webb, Reed would be on a factory backed Yamaha operating out of the JGR or Rock River tent. 

[racinggeek]

Did I say above that "... more riders gotta stay upright" to give Dungey something to think about and make this season as competitive as it looks on paper? Thnk I should've kept my mouth shut (or my fingers from typing). Word today is, not only is Stewart still not ready to return to Anaheim 2, but Broc Tickle is out 4-6 weeks with a broken arm from a test crash, Bogle is out at least this week after his crash last week plus a foot injury from the offseason, and Baggett is still at least a week away from returning. Zoiks.

[chunder27]

Hardly missing anything with Tickle, he is another Weimer clearly not good enough for a factory seat. Bogle, that is unlucky. He was looking OK if not spectacular, will only be a bummer if Reed, Anderson, Tomac, Canard or Seeley get injured

[racinggeek]

Hardly missing anything with Tickle, he is another Weimer clearly not good enough for a factory seat. Bogle, that is unlucky. He was looking OK if not spectacular, will only be a bummer if Reed, Anderson, Tomac, Canard or Seeley get injured

 

Weimer gets another chance now, playing No. 2 to Roczen on the RCH Suzukis with Tickle out and getting to keep the seat  even after Tickle returns. Jake's a funny one -- the way he dominated on 250s and being hooked up with Kawasaki, I thought he'd eventually show something, but ...

 

Canard supposedly says he's going to be good to go this week. Man, what a rough weekend that was.

[chunder27]

SUpercorss has been that wau for a few years no, it is totally survival of the fittest, the thing with it is that guys like Dungey and RV could to some extent race within themselves and still win, less so with RV, but Dungey certainly seems able to win at a canter.

 

Weimer has never really done anything on a 450, but then look at Musquin, he looks totally out of his depth so far too.

[Frank Tuesday]

How many riders will avoid injury and line up for all 17 mains this year?  Last year it was only 5: Dungey, Tomac, Seeley, Baggett and Grant.  Of those 5 only Dungey and Baggett managed to race every outdoor National as well.    

[nosecone]

Roczen was finally having a good start into a main event. But he didn't seem to have the pace of Ryan Dungey. At this stage i'd put all my money on Ryan. Especially since the results of his rivals are a rollercoaster ride

[chunder27]

Two new winners last night

 

Awesome track too, best track of the year so far by a long way, wish they would do more longer tracks like this with some straights, most are so boring.

 

Dungey seemed unable to do much with Roczen despite having a few laps at him but he left Tomac for dead and no-one else is really there, Anderson is nice and consistent as is Seeley, but the rest, man they are not in sight

So chuffed too for Craig, if anyone deserved a win in 250 this year it's him, Weeb threw it away again, but Craig has been his main rival and also a nice story as he has quit before now.

[nosecone]

It seems that "Mister consistency" is also having the best speed at the moment. Difficult to beat him for the championship unless he gets injured.

 

As a german i'm obvioulsy rooting for Ken but he wont win the championship. 250 championship is more entertaining.

 

And i agree the track was beautiful. The whoops section seemed pretty difficult

[chunder27]

One thing I have noticed is the ability Dungey has to lead form the start, he nearly always gates like a demon!  I do think in open track he is not amazingly fast, quicker than most yes but not RV or RC quick. 

 

Conversely Cooper Webb is awful at starts and is truly rubbish through the woops where Craig has him beat all ends up, but overall he is very quick and clearly the class of the field. Savagty has come on a lot though

[Frank Tuesday]

One thing I have noticed is the ability Dungey has to lead form the start, he nearly always gates like a demon! I do think in open track he is not amazingly fast, quicker than most yes but not RV or RC quick.

Conversely Cooper Webb is awful at starts and is truly rubbish through the woops where Craig has him beat all ends up, but overall he is very quick and clearly the class of the field. Savagty has come on a lot though

Dungey wasn't super fast as an amateur, but Decoster took an interest in him because he had great corner speed, which is where big time is gained or lost. Jump for show, corner for dough, as the saying goes. Webb seems to have much better corner speed than the rest of the 250 West field.

Rumor has Jeremy Martin to RCH next year. Although he is 2 time 250MX champion, he struggles indoor compared to Webb. Yamaha seems to think Webb is the future, not Martin. Maybe Martin wants to move up to 450 next year, but Yamaha wants him to stay in 250.

[chunder27]

I think J Mart and his family  one of the tracks they use in Outdoor don't they? So he will be utterly used to it.

 

I rate Webb as faster overall in both sections, but I would love to see J mart race in Europe too, I think he could really push the top guys being so good outdoors, Tomac too, but they will likely not do this at the moment.

 

Webb I think has that Emig eye of the tiger thing, he has that killer instinct and is not a regular crasher, but would need to tidy that up a bit to be a top man, he has fallen a few times in recent years, but then that seems a regular thing for most riders.

[shotcaller]

Just read that neither Stewart nor Baggett will race this round.

[chunder27]

Just goes to show, starts are THE most important thing in supercross as they probably always have been

 

Interesting little chit from Aldon Baker in the footage, if Dungey gets a bad start in the week he scraps the race no matter what and starts again, I think they have prioritised that over everything and it has worked!  Just not this weekend!

[racinggeek]

Now that was a fantastic race by K-Roc and Dungey. As the TV guys noted, once Dungey got out front, one expected him to romp off into the distance, but not this time. Maybe this won't be a Dungey runaway after all?

[chunder27]

Its up to all of them to get better starts

 

Anderson, Roczen, even Seeley and perhaps now and then Canard have the pace to beat Dunge, but the diesel is gating almost as good as Alessi used to, wonder if he has a trick like Andrew Short found last year!

 

There is not really a guy out there anymore who cna ceom from the back like perhaps RV or RC used to, I think Dungey could, but not from 15th or so.

[MasterOfCoin]

Its up to all of them to get better starts

 

Anderson, Roczen, even Seeley and perhaps now and then Canard have the pace to beat Dunge, but the diesel is gating almost as good as Alessi used to, wonder if he has a trick like Andrew Short found last year!

 

There is not really a guy out there anymore who cna ceom from the back like perhaps RV or RC used to, I think Dungey could, but not from 15th or so.

The field is too deep and competitive to have those come from the back races, like we've seen from RV, RC and JS. 

[chunder27]

I tend to disagree fella.

 

I think if RV was out there or a fit Bubba they would be out front in front of Dungey, Ryan was never able to beat RV very often when he was around, and yes he has raised his game, but I tend to think RV would still be capable of winning most weeks.

 

But we will never know I suppose.

 

Tyhe sad fact is the lack of form of Tomac, I was expecting him to be lethal on that KX and he seems to be dropping very quckly after being up there

[MasterOfCoin]

I was more referring to how close the field is in terms of pace, and if Dungey happened to have a bad start or a fall, those come from behind races to win, like we have seen in the past are unlikely.

[chunder27]

I think Dunge is now a quicker and better rider than he was in the early KTM days, blame Aldon Baker for that as he did it with everyone!  But I simply think he lacks the natural pace and aggression to win against an on fire Bubba or RV. But theya re not a factor anymore so he is dominating as he was always the best of the rest.

 

The guys that have impressed me this year so far are Seeley who is simply a great little rider, Craig in 250's, and to some extent guys like Friese, and Brayton who has been up there a lot in recent weeks.

 

Big donuts are Alessi as usual, Musquin, Reed is up and down since a good start, Canard too but a lot of this is injuries I guess.  I guess Tomacs lack of pace for me is the biggest shame.

[Risil]

I miss Ryan V.

[MP422]

I miss JS7, but Rocszen is putting up a good fight..... 

[dave34m]

I still miss 259, always liked when James ran that plate

[chunder27]

Looking at him this year and especially after Atlanta he needs to quit.

 

He ruined the last few laps by not looking for the blue flags, and even though he was looking around he still messed up Musquin's win.

 

The guy is a bit of a shadow of what he used to be, and it must be hilarious for Reed who is older and perhaps Bubbas biggest rival in terms of dislike, he is still rolling round picking up good results while that daft idiot is messing up peoples races being unaware of flag signals.

 

Great rides again for Brayton and Millsaps, that KTM is a real good bike.  Think you can hand red plate again to Dungey, Roczen is too inconsistent at starting as is Anderson, the rest really are not in it.

[MasterOfCoin]

Looking at him this year and especially after Atlanta he needs to quit.

 

He ruined the last few laps by not looking for the blue flags, and even though he was looking around he still messed up Musquin's win.

 

The guy is a bit of a shadow of what he used to be, and it must be hilarious for Reed who is older and perhaps Bubbas biggest rival in terms of dislike, he is still rolling round picking up good results while that daft idiot is messing up peoples races being unaware of flag signals.

 

Great rides again for Brayton and Millsaps, that KTM is a real good bike.  Think you can hand red plate again to Dungey, Roczen is too inconsistent at starting as is Anderson, the rest really are not in it.

You are kidding right? Is this the same Reed that finished 22nd in Motorcross last year, did you not see him ride,  should he have quit also? this was JS 1st full race back how did you come to such a conclusion after one race, when even Cannard finished worst than he did.

 

As far as Musquin is concerned he's a rookie and he choked, he couldn't handle Dungey's pressure, folded like a paper bag, it was funny hearing hearing his excuse after the race lol.

[chunder27]

Were you watching the same race?  Marvin had managed to hold on for most of the race in front of Dungey, he might have choked a little, but mainly because Stewart tried to quad in front of him after he had been lapped, instead of taking heed of the blue flag and letting the leaders by. He also probably got in Dungey's way. Without him I think Marvin would have held on, he has won the odd race you know, you do know that don't you?

 

Dunge did what champions do and took advantage but you will never know if he would have won without the intervention of a man who should know better.

 

Reed had a bad year in both areas last year, he has never been as good outdoors, but still won a race indoors last year, and is doing better than quite a few guys this year. And Canard is hit and miss always has been, fast as anyone on his day but these days is carrying so much injury.

[MasterOfCoin]

Were you watching the same race?  Marvin had managed to hold on for most of the race in front of Dungey, he might have choked a little, but mainly because Stewart tried to quad in front of him after he had been lapped, instead of taking heed of the blue flag and letting the leaders by. He also probably got in Dungey's way. Without him I think Marvin would have held on, he has won the odd race you know, you do know that don't you?

 

Dunge did what champions do and took advantage but you will never know if he would have won without the intervention of a man who should know better.

 

Reed had a bad year in both areas last year, he has never been as good outdoors, but still won a race indoors last year, and is doing better than quite a few guys this year. And Canard is hit and miss always has been, fast as anyone on his day but these days is carrying so much injury.

I was debating your criteria for riders quitting or retiring from racing, when others have raced just as poor and are still racing.

 

Musquin's lapped rider excuse just doesn't cut it with me, every rider who's ever lead a race is always passing lapped riders one time or another, i've seen races where the lead rider benefited from lapped riders getting in the way of the chasing rider, he should have just manned up and said i didn't get it done, i made a mistake. 

[chunder27]

I am with you in some ways, I did not see the interviews and I would think Marv was just fed up that it was a little out of his hands.

 

Top guys do lap people all the time of course, but Stewart did not really get out of the way as most lapped riders should do, that would be my main observation, he knew they were there just before that rhythm section and then decided to jump a quad right alongside them, what is he doing that for? 

 

The quitting thing is not really fair, Reed is not an outdoor rider and hasnt been for years, he is too old really and has never been that great outdoors, so him riding last year was a waste of his and the teams time, but indoors he can still cut it and deserves to be there.

Stewart toyed with quitting last year after the ban and has not looked anything like the rider he once was, I doubt he would be happy tooling round with guys like Alessi and Friese like he is now, so surely better to stop, get fit again and then come back coz right now he is doing nothing being out there for himself or his team. Its worse than Millsaps last year. And this weekend he potentially prevented a guy winning his first race.

[nosecone]

I'm feeling sorry for Musquin. Stewart definetly slowed him up. We don't know if Dungey had won anyway but still- if you see blue flags move out of the ****ing way

[nosecone]

Roczen has to get his starts right. There's just no other way to stop Dungey.

 

The beatlle for the 250 Main was racing at its finest. It proves that excitement isn't a result of overtakes. Martin beeing stuck behind M.Stewart made the race interesting. Imagine there was DRS and Martin got past way earlier... THat's off topic though.

[chunder27]

Indeed cone, Roczen and Seely both had days to forget, Anderson too, if he gets a start I think he could be there. Reed was terrible.

 

I think it was an outdoor track, hence hte speed of Tomac and Jamrt who are both beter outdoors than in.

 

But the Dunge keeps hauling, he really is impressive, as is Musquin now after a terrible start.

[shotcaller]

Can't believe that Davalos doesn't have lawyers fixing the visa issue.

[Frank Tuesday]

Can't believe that Davalos doesn't have lawyers fixing the visa issue.

I think he doesn't want to race 450s next year. No championship and he can stay in 250s for an 12th year.

[chunder27]

Is that the reason he didn't race?  Jeez that is a shocker for him and his team, massive oversight!

 

Great for Roczen, anyone else think Dungey has backed it off a shade?  Beat again quit easily despite getting a holeshot!  And beat by Marvin. 

 

The diesel tag fits him right even though he doesn't like it

[racinggeek]

Is that the reason he didn't race?  Jeez that is a shocker for him and his team, massive oversight!

 

Great for Roczen, anyone else think Dungey has backed it off a shade?  Beat again quit easily despite getting a holeshot!  And beat by Marvin. 

 

The diesel tag fits him right even though he doesn't like it

 

That's sort-of what a couple online sites were reporting Saturday night. Davalos is a native of Ecuador, and it seems there was fear of some issue with his visa. The articles noted that Dean Wilson and his family actually were held in Canada for about a week because of a visa issue, which apparently triggered Davalos staying away.

 

What a rotten weekend for Husky -- Davalos stays home, Pourcel out, then Anderson has a decent start ruined when he runs over the crashing Bogle. 3-for-3 in rotten-ness.

[racinggeek]

Wow -- guess that'll teach the riders to ease up going through the yellow-flag sections: http://racerxonline....n-anderson-wins,

[chunder27]

The yellow flag rule in Supercross is pretty odd as it goes, you often see people passing when there are yellows out which is very bad. So hopefully this might clear things up a bit and riders might be more careful.

 

Moto and supercross are fairly ruthless sports as far as body contact goes, it is often fine to ride over limbs and bodies and people just get on with it!

[racinggeek]

Well, last race night of the season coming Saturday. While I'm a Dungey fan, still a bit of a disappointment that he just made a mockery of the 450s this year, but the way Roczen has raced him the last month or so gives hope for the MX season. One has to wonder if/where Canard, Bubba and Barcia fit in next year, since none of them seem to be able to stay healthy any more.

 

The 250 East/West showdown should be good Saturday; the guys at RacerX.com are wondering if Cooper Webb and especially M-Stew will go hard to win it since they have to at least stay upright to protect their points leads, and while Webb seems head and shoulders above Savatgy and the rest of the West riders, it'll be fun to see what he does against Stewart, J-Mart, Davalos, and Plessinger.

[MasterOfCoin]

Congrats to Malcolm, Cooper, and Dungey much deserved champions.

[chunder27]

Hilarious seeing Dungey and Roczen go down in unison almost!  Such a shame the weather ruined the day really.

[racinggeek]

Hilarious seeing Dungey and Roczen go down in unison almost!  Such a shame the weather ruined the day really.

 

Dungey went down because he landed on Roczen's bike after Roczen fell. Kind of hard to fault him for that.

 

Yeah, kind of a shame about the weather, but rain always makes for interesting races and shows who's got the talent (or the excessive bravery  ). Really showed Dungey's class in that he was able to keep upright (except as noted) and still run off and hide from everyone. 

 

And congratulations to Webb and Stewart. I haven't been the biggest Malcolm fan, but he showed an ability to not screw things up this year to go with his speed. BTW, if you didn't catch it, the TV guys were saying Webb is heading for the factory Yamaha 450s next year, as we theorized a few months back.

[chunder27]

That is a shoe in let's face it, he has links to JGR going back years.

 

And he rode a 250 in MXoN I think.

 

Dump Peick and Barcia and put both Webb and J Mart on them for me.  Farm Barcia out to MXGP, he would make people go crazy!!!  Imagine him taking out TC222 in Italy!!

[MasterOfCoin]

Dungey went down because he landed on Roczen's bike after Roczen fell. Kind of hard to fault him for that.

 

Yeah, kind of a shame about the weather, but rain always makes for interesting races and shows who's got the talent (or the excessive bravery  ). Really showed Dungey's class in that he was able to keep upright (except as noted) and still run off and hide from everyone. 

 

And congratulations to Webb and Stewart. I haven't been the biggest Malcolm fan, but he showed an ability to not screw things up this year to go with his speed. BTW, if you didn't catch it, the TV guys were saying Webb is heading for the factory Yamaha 450s next year, as we theorized a few months back.

During the interview after race i thought i heard Malcolm saying he might also be heading to the 450's.