Supercross Sideshow
On a Race day without injured riders Dan Reardon (Concussion), Josh Grant (Shoulder Surgery) and Jason Lawrence (Mono…we think?) we had hoped to see the last of any riders going down this early in the series. Low and behold we unfortunately have much, much more injury laden news.
Let’s start with the Supercross Lites. Trey Canard goes down hard in his qualifying heat and we were unsure if he would return. Like a true warrior he battles back and takes second in the LCQ to qualify for the Main. Canard finished 7th in the Main showing no apparent signs of a major injury; which is good news.
The rest of the Lites Main went on without any other riders taking a major beating on the track. Jake Weimer took the holeshot and went on to win his 2nd straight race, which makes it look like no one can touch him. Ryan Morais finished 2nd and Blake Wharton took 3rd. Those are your point leaders in the West Coast Lites (in that order) through 2 Rounds.
Next up was the Supercross event, which we saw many a strange things. James Stewart was landed on by Kyle Partridge in his heat race on the triple in the very first lap. Stewart was in a lot of pain as you could see it written all over his face. Not sure if he would return, but again these athletes are trained and conditioned to handle almost anything. So there he was, lined up in the LCQ, taking first as Stewart would move on to the main event.
So there you have it, no more crashes right? Guess again. In the Main it was Chad Reed and Stewart both getting off to a terrible starts. The two were 10th and 11th with Reed trailing Stewart, when into the corner Reed took a lower line avoiding riders who were talking the turn on a higher line. As he did this he clipped Stewart knocking both riders to the ground. Reed shoved Stewart off of his hand and had to exit the race. Stewart battled back, but it was too late and he finished 15th.
The day belonged to Ryan Dungey who took the holeshot and avoided any collisions like the top seeded Reed and Stewart. Dungey as just as impressive if not more this week as he took the win in almost effortless fashion. Ryan Villopoto would finish 2nd followed by Josh Hill who finished 3rd. Those are your point leaders in that order heading into Anaheim II next Saturday.
There was a bit of disturbing news to Stewart and Reed fans alike when the race was over. Apparently the angry and sometimes child-like Stewart went over to Reeds camp and pushed Reeds bike over. Reed suffered more than a few scratches on his bike. Word has it that Reed has a broken hand.
A lot of tough luck for Reed this year as the move from Suzuki has left Reed feeling a bit green. Call it a coincidence, but since Reed has moved to Kawasaki he has not finished a race this season, making it tough for him to think about winning a championship. It is also reported that Reed will face a possible 1 race suspension and $5000 fine from the AMA for shoving Stewart off of him after the crash.
We would love to here your feedback on this blog. Dungeys 1st victory, Stewart and Reeds antics, Weimer starting off with 2 straight wins. Feel free to post your comments below. That’s it for now. See you in Anaheim next week on January 23rd as we head into Round 3 of the AMA Supercross Season.
January 18th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
As I saw it, the crashes were Stewarts fault anyway. If anyone should get a fine it should be Bubba. He has become a cry baby and it is getting old quick. He acts like he never makes a mistake and everyone else should get out of his way. Well Bubba wake up, you are in a race, not a daycare.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Now, we need to look at this another way. After being landed on by Partridge, then pulling his organs together and tucking them back in, Bubba races the LCQ and wins. Gets the worst gate pick at the main, has a tough start while still racing in real pain, tries to hang in there and ride 20 laps, just to get points, makes the turn and Reed is on his right side, Reed goes into the turn with him and catches Bubba’s front tire and they both end up in the dirt hard. Reed then shoves Bubba off his bike, tries to take off, Bubba is now really in bad shape physically, picks his bike up again, gets on and is able to finish his main- yet Reed pulls off and gets his SECOND DNF in two races! Who is the baby? And I don’t blame Bubba for going to visit Reed. Reed is just lucky it was only the Kawi Bubba kicked!! And I believe Reed’s AMA sanction was lifted after review. Bubba is the greatest mx racer on the planet and there is no denying him that and I have never seen or heard of him ever doing anything that would ever be reviewed by the AMA as bad behavior- which tells me he is far and few between. One can only take so much dirty riding- that is geared towards you- for so long. You crash that hard, more than once in a race, and finish 20 more laps and tell me he’s a cry baby.