Well here we are on the verge of the 2009 Supercross season and there is a little fire in the game again this year. Chad Reed has the number one plate to defend and although he looks fit and happy on the yellow bike he also has a lot of weight to carry. The always outspoken Aussie has continued to have a prickly relationship with a portion of the US SX fan base and will need to lay down some wins this year to solidify his position as one of the sports elite. Personally I like the guy from what I see and read from him, he is a straight shooter that will tell you what he is thinking. Sometimes it is exactly that candidly, passionate stance which has raised the ire of the fans but I think that’s unfair to count that as a negative. If training and riding with Rockstar/Makita Suzuki teammate RC has had any effect on Reed’s confidence then we may see a very dangerous guy under the 22’s helmet because if history has proven one thing it is that James Stewart’s only weakness was Carmichael’s ability to put him under pressure.
So what will we see out of James this year? Everybody seems ready to give him the championship before the gate has even dropped once and I have to say that seems like a smart bet. Stewart looked smooth and unstoppable at Bercy but only took the win at the US Open after Reed bobbled on night two. There is no question that giving James an open track is a recipe for a blow out so look for Reed to take a page from RC and apply constant steady pressure. If Reed can run James’ pace early and often without it putting him on the ground then we have got a game my friends.
Kevin Windham is returning after possibly his strongest season in SX since his days on a two-stroke 125 and if he is in his groove again look for K-Dub to take a win again this year and be a player on the podium more than that. Honda teammates Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short will also be fighting for a spot on those crowded 3 steps and both can be counted as possible contenders for a win depending on how the game goes up front. Millsaps needs to bring the fire he brought to take the win at Atlanta and Short needs to start out this year fighting as hard for a win as he finished it last season. Villopoto makes his move to the 450 class this year to high expectations and some large boots to fill. So far he has been playing it very low key and putting in massive amounts of time on the test track prepping. I think this kid is going to ride smart start taking some podium spots in the Supercross class towards the end of the season and indeed may even be the spoiler for the championship race.
Team Yamaha has some rebuilding going on with Broc Hepler and Josh Hill both looking to put in strong rides, hopefully Hepler can make it through the season without injury as that has really been the only thing keeping him down. Joe Gibb’s will also be flying the colors for big blue and with Cody Cooper and a very motivated Josh Grant they should be not just a very viable team to look for on the podium but an indication of the future of racing.
Now on to the Lites;
The Lites class has been the place to find the fighting and scrapping for the past couple years and this season looks to be a repeat of that trend. The West Coast field is about as stacked as it can be so I am just going to talk about the obvious.
My pick for the West Coast title battle is going to be Ryan Dungey versus Trey Canard with Jason Lawrence throwing in the unknown element that is his calling card. Dungey let himself be beat last year by his own mistakes more than anything else.
Did J-Law get in Dungey’s head?
Absolutely yes but don’t look for that to happen this year and I also don’t expect that Ryan will make the same rookie mistakes that cost him the title last year. That brings us to the other guy on the line running a number one plate Geico Powersport/Factory Connection’s affable and determined returning East Coast champ Trey Canard. Look for this kid to be the one who can run Dungey hard, be patient when he needs to and take some wins when it counts. Trey is who I want to pick to win it but I think Dungey has got the fire this year and has something to prove before he leaves the Lites class.
All of which brings us to Lawrence, the guy with a question mark running just under that number one on his plate.
What can we expect from Jason? Well who the heck knows….
The kid has got some talent but the struggles with “outside influence” kept him from really showing his ability. If Jason has been working hard he can definitely get it done but the long run hasn’t proven to be his strong suit and I don’t expect that if Dungey has consistency issues it will be Jason who is there to take advantage, the field is too strong this year.
Austin Stroupe will be the banner rider for Mitch Payton this year so he has got a fair degree of pressure on his shoulders to bring something to the table. Brett Metcalfe made a surprising jump from under the Pro Circuit Kawasaki tent to run with the other powerhouse for the Lites class at Geico/FC Honda along with Dan Reardon who I think will run strong through the series. Martin Davalos has put in some solid rides over the past couple seasons but has yet to have that break out ride to take him to the next level time will tell if that is going to change this year.
Best quote to sum it up so far comes from Kevin Windham;
“Reality is there’s going to be a lot of guys hunting for three spots and the podium isn’t getting any bigger.”
Now let’s drop the gate and see who comes out on top.
1/3/09
9/8/08
Wrap up on the 2008 New England Regional Championship for this Motoplayground online report (click here for video link)
Winchester Speedpark puts on New England’s race of the year once again.
photo courtesy www.buckleyphotos.com
The Labor Day weekend has come to be known in New England amateur motocross racing as a time to watch for riders stepping up their game in search of glory and all the rewards that come with it. The 4th annual New England Regional Championship presented by Factory Connection/Amsoil/Honda/Dunlop and Planet Fitness was the stage and Winchester Speedpark was the place to catch all the action.
Leading the charge for the new guard was Factory Connection/Amsoil Honda’s boy wonder Justin Barcia and wow is this kid exciting to watch, he just rings every ounce of speed out of the track. Barcia routinely ripped the fastest lap of the day on his way to the lead in his races but suffered from some mistakes and mechanical issues that sidelined him in a few motos.
Jimmy Decotis rode his DCS Financial Group machine solidly never finishing outside the top 5 all weekend and bringing home the Youth A title. Kawasaki mounted Ryan Blizzard sometimes found himself mired in the pack in the Lites and Motocross classes showing flashes of brilliance throughout the weekend but redeemed himself by riding to the top spot in the Open A.
Fresh off a pair of podiums down at Loretta Lynn’s Team Green/No Fear standout AJ Catanzaro grabbed the Lites B title in a field stacked with Jersey boys Frankie Lettieri and Nick Desederio as well as fast New England local Matt Fisk. The Coastline Motorsports backed Catanzaro followed that with a runner up finish to DeCotis in the Youth A.
Don’t feel too bad for Fisk though he managed a title of his own in the Open B and spent plenty of time of the podium. Lettieri grabbed himself plenty of glory as well taking his American Suzuki ride to the championship in the School Boy, MX and Youth B classes, not bad for his rookie outing on the track.
The Regional has come to be known for much more than just the stellar racing and the 2008 event was no different. With 1,000 race entries and beautiful weather smiling down on us that lasted the whole weekend the folks at Dunlop kicked off the festivities sponsoring the supercross pit bike races as well as returning as sponsor of hugely popular Family Fun night. I spoke with Dunlop’s vice-president Mike Buckley on hand for the event who told me that it was exactly that family atmosphere that made them want to be involved After two days of racing everybody got to relax with team challenge obstacle courses, games for the little ones and free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream sundaes some scooped up by 2008 East Coast Lites champ Trey Canard who was on hand signing autographs and as night fell the fireworks show commenced, perfectly capping the day.
Domination was the order of the 3 day event on the mini’s with David Milana sweeping the 50cc 7-8 on his Cobra while KTM rider Brian Borghesani stacked his hand full of aces in the 50cc 4-6. On the other hand; the vet classes are looking like the usual suspects with Planet Fitness teammates Keith Johnson and Mike Treadwell chasing each other along with Vitamin Water’s Pat Barton and the re-emergence of Wally Silva. Johnson swept his motos in the 30 A and 35 + classes and you can expect to see him on the Vet class podiums for some time to come, the guy is fit, serious and lethal on the track.
This brings us to John Dowd..... Legend? I think so, heck what can you say about the guy that hasn’t already been said? Every cliché is true though, the guy is a machine, probably the most determined rider on the gate in any given race and he seems to be able to just find lines where there aren’t any. Doesn’t just take the 40 + A but snags the MX A class title as well against the fastest of any age. Not to mention the fact that he brought a two-stroke RM250 to the line for the Lites A class.
The second Lites A moto has the makings of a bench racing classic, Barcia and Dowd took off on an epic battle for the race win and neither rider would back down the throttle. Dowd would get the run on Barcia through some of the tighter sections and then Barcia would blaze back with corner speed to maintain the gap on the expansive Winchester Speedpark course. The pace out front was absolutely insane and Dowd just kept positioning his Keene Motorsports ride inside Barcia in turn after turn as the two riders spent all but the final lap of the race within 1.5 seconds of each other but Barcia refused to crack under pressure and eventually rode away with the race win and the Lites title. It was one of those races that folks will be talking about until next years Regional.
4/23/08
Chilly season opener doesn’t cool the pace on the track
Manchester Sports Center rider Mike Hacia powers straight up the center for the holeshot.
Photo courtesy Paul Buckley http://www.buckleyphotos.com/
The racing season has kicked off here in New England and the cold, wet morning that greeted round one’s riders didn’t seem to dampen their spirits lining up to get some fast laps in.
For the young guns coming up through the ranks in the amateur classes there is nothing like finally getting to battle it out with one of the established fast guys to make you feel like you’ve arrived. John Dowd has been racing for a little bit longer than some of those guys have been walking and it must have been pretty wild for 17yr old Mike Hacia to find himself out at the front of a pack that included the affable Dowd. Grabbing the holeshot on his Manchester Sports Center ride and setting a blazing pace early in the moto Hacia pulled out a 2 second lead and held on for the duration while Spectro/Moose Racings Dowd keep the pressure steadily on.
New Hampshire’s own Cory Eaton put on a great ride to hang for a steady third. Going into moto 2 with a second place finish meant that Dowd had to put his Factory Connection ride into the top spot to bring home the overall but it was Honda mounted Eaton stealing away with the holeshot in moto 2. Before too long the honeymoon was over as Dowd put his Pirelli driven ride into first and that is right where he stayed maintaining a comfortable gap over Hacia who played follow the leader getting around Eaton into the second spot. Mike Sottile stepped up the pace on his Kawasaki securing himself the final spot on the overall podium.
Proving that there is no shortage of talent rising to the top the racing action just got better when the Open Amateur riders took the gate. Keene Motorsports backed Chris Sharra took it to the hole and came away with the early lead in moto 1 with Red-Rider Kenny Carr on his back tire and Yamaha mounted Jake Abbott chasing the pair. Carr whittled Sharra’s lead down to just over a second near the end of the moto but was unable to find a way around.
As they took the gate for the second Open Am moto the day turned a bit colder and the Winchester course developed its characteristic multiple lines and rutted surface setting the stage perfectly for the battle to come. Abbott grabbed the holeshot but was quickly dropped to second by Sharra and then found himself down to third as Carr put on the charge and got by on lap 4 but the pair continued to swap positions in every corner. The frantic battle for second allowed Sharra to get a little breathing room but that buffer was soon erased as Abbott and Carr pushed each other to within a half second of Sharra by the white flag. Smooth line choice allowed Sharra to pick through the lapped traffic a little quicker and he held on to take the checkers with Abbott in the second position and Carr not far behind in third.
Complete results for 4/13/2008
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