Desert Showdown

Different Race, Same Stuff

Phoenix was another exciting round. It's shaping up to be a very interesting season! Just like last year, there have been 4 main events, and 4 different winners. A2 might see the 5th, and 6th different winners, as Chad Reed won there last year on a technical track similar to what is in store for this weekend, and the 250 class is pretty much a crap shoot.

Wiemer would have won the 250 main, had he not gone down in the tricky sand section. I don't know if SPEED edited the show to have Erin Bates chime in about the sand section taking victims, just seconds before Jake ate dirt, but I found myself laughing at that. Dungey looked good in his new FOX gear, and Brayton and Blose continue to turn heads. Biggest surprise is the defending champs J-Law and self proclaimed, Dr. Tre. Trey went down hard in the heat, and J-Law had a hell of a night. I'm pretty confident both will win a Main before the West Coast is over.

The 450 class was kind of a snoozer if you were just watching a lap chart, as James pretty much led wire to wire. But for anyone there, or watching on TV, it was anything but a snoozer. Very similar to last year, Reed held the #7 honest the entire 20 laps. You know you were on your toes that final lap, when Reed had closed to within a half second. It was also nice to see them high-fiving after the race. Bad blood and rivalries are good for TV, and racing if you think about it, but that was a great battle and both guys rode the shit out of those scooters.

Is the good racing due to the "bad" YZ450F, or the "amazing" RMZ-450? A bunch of people are saying that Bubba just doesn't look good on the new Yamaha. I call BS. The YZ450F has won both races so far, and he's only been on the bike for about 3 months. Reed did just fine on the bike last year, and while Skippy does look light-years better than he did in '08, I don't think it's just because of the new bike, but more so the new team. James has a pretty unique set up, and it takes him a while to get things going just how he likes them. The Cobra was pointing out, over on MotoTalk, that he suspects that James is using an Auto-Clutch as well. The Yamaha also took flak, when Bubba couldn't get it restarted at A1. Anyone out there remember the MXdN's? The only score team USA threw away was the one in which James couldn't get his Kawi restarted. Maybe James just doesn't know how to restart a fallen mount. I'm not just trying to defend the Yamaha 450, or James. I just think it's to early to be pointing fingers at the bike being the difference maker. Give it time people.

J-Law is with ONE, Dungey is with FOX. It's old news now. It was just Business. GET OVER IT

A1, Yeah it's that important.

QUICK RE-CAP

Every year the SX season kicks off at the illustrious Anaheim Stadium, and this year was no different, as 45,000 fans poured in to watch Reed and Stewart do battle, as well as the very hyped J-Law vs. Dungey rivalry. But unlike many years past, A1 was actually very exciting. Josh Grant got his first 450 victory, and scored the first ever win for the JGR team. Stewart DNF'd, but Reed looked fast and the 2 were set to swap the lead a few times. J-Law crashed 2 corners into the race and took Dr. Tre down with him. J-Law was left with a dangling visor, similar to RC from a few years back. Dungey got a bad start and rode his way to the box. And the Idaho kid Jake Wiemer won the race, looking good the whole way. It was an eventful night, and not many people picked the eventual winners. I actually don't know if anyone picked Josh Grant to win the 450 main.


But you already knew all of that since all of you watched it LIVE, on Speed! No need to sit here and re-cap the race for everyone. But I think a lot of moto heads are in agreement that this was the most exciting season opener in recent history, and is hopefully a sign of things to come.

Looking Ahead

Moving on to Phoenix, where James Stewart got his only SX win of the season last year, and Jake Wiemer got his first ever win. I would put a good amount of cash on Bubba for this round. I'm sure he'll be eager to redeem himself. But after A1, who knows what to expect. For those of you doing Fantasy SX anywhere, I'd say looking back to PHX last year, Both Reed and Stewart will be fast on the Fo Fiddy's and K-Dub landed on the podium as well. Josh Hansen finished inside the top 10 in AZ last year. I'd plan on him being the dark horse this weekend, hopefully making up for his lackluster debut with H&H. But I won't throw rocks if your reluctant to put your money on Lil' Hanny.


Wiemer won last year on the 250, and there's really no reason why he won't win this weekend. That's the beauty of the Tiddler class; expect the unexpected. My money is on Dungey for the weekend, with Brayton close to the front, along with the man layin down the Law with the number one plate. Kyle Cunningham is my under dog for Phoenix, as he had a good Top-10 ride there last year.

BRAAAP BRAP

Oregon Weather prevents a lot of riding from November to March, but Normally there are a few places to ride some Arenacross. Well this year hasn't been so cool, and I got to throw a leg over a scooter for the first time in to long on Saturday. The sun came out along the Oregon Coast, and it was the most fun I've had... Well since last time I was on 2-Wheels. Going out to the sand or the local trails, or Ocotillo if your in the area, is really good for the Soul. It reminds us all of why we got into riding in the first place. Pounding out laps at the local track is always fun, but there's still nothing like hitting the sand with my old man.

Lites isn't spelled right anyway

The Lites class…. Ok before I even start, I hate that title. I think everybody in the biz hates it, except for maybe the guy who came up with it. So from now on I think I’ll refer to it as what it is, the 250 class. So the 250 class hasn’t been exactly what I had pictured before the season started. I think most people can agree with me there. I would have to say BT101 has been the biggest surprise thus far. For a kiwi, that guy hauls ass. Not to mention J-Law and RV. I would have expected way more battles between those 2. Not just because I like both riders, but because they were pretty evenly matched in Supercross, and Lawrence says he likes outdoors more, so I thought those 2 would scrape some plastic (well I guess they did, just not in the way I had imagined)

Ryan Dungey definaintly deserves some kudos for the rides he’s been putting in this summer. I don’t know why I didn’t expect Ryan to do as good as he’s doing, considering he’s under the Suzuki tent with Roger DeCoster and the G.O.A.T. Himself. Although he had a pretty violent spill last weekend that looked like it hurt pretty effing bad, I think he’ll return strong. Speaking of returning, I can’t wait to see how Broc Hepler does when he gets back into the action. Rumor has it that he’ll be back at ‘Dilla 2 weeks from now, so lets all hope to see the new blue 60 flyin out of that gravity cavity come next Sunday. He had some great rides last summer, at least in the races he raced at. B-Hep hasn’t really had a good full healthy season yet. He seemed optimistic about it all though, saying that he’s happy with another year in the Li… 250 class. That’s a good attitude to have about it. A lot of riders, including Ricky, later regret leaving the small bore class to early. It’s not that the 250F class has been lackluster, because there has been some great racing, it’s just not quite what I expected. The good thing is, the racing will only get better with guys like Hepler coming back and Townley searching for that extra speed. With Ricky leaving, I think a lot of fans will find themselves cheering the loudest when the 250 boys come around, as Bubba will most likely be on a completely different planet than the rest of the 450 field.