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Supercross & Motocross
SX: The Holeshot - Anaheim 1
Brandon Short looks back on the Supercross opener and hands out grades for the big four…
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto (Photo: Hoppenworld.com)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Round 2 of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship from Phoenix, AZ will air LIVE on SPEED Saturday, January 14th at 9:30pm ET. #SXonSPEED
The biggest takeaways from the Monster Energy Supercross season opener were Ryan Villopoto's flawless dominance and the mistakes made by each of his primary rivals.
The reigning champion was the first rider out of the gate on Saturday night, grabbing the holeshot, and quickly checking out on his competition. The key to Villopoto’s convincing effort was his sprint through the opening laps. He pushed the limits and laid down the fastest times of the evening, opening a soon-to-be insurmountable gap on Chad Reed.
Meanwhile, James Stewart was forced to fight his way through the field following a mid-pack start. Stewart took no prisoners in his charge and was fast on the verge of breaking into the top three.
As Villopoto continued to run away, extending his lead into the double digits, the excitement behind him began to build. Ryan Dungey’s official debut for KTM got off to an impressive start, but the '10 champ went down as he neared Reed’s rear fender. This allowed Stewart to slip past and make a bid at tracking down his bitter rival. However, Dungey wasn’t about the back down and managed to re-pass Stewart for third. It might have been one of the most memorable moments of the evening as the crowd went absolutely nuts.
Reed then made a mistake of his own, stalling his bike and allowing Dungey and Stewart to close in. The 'race' was on, but it wasn’t for the win. Still -- based on the reaction of the crowd and the way these three riders went at it -- you wouldn’t have known any different.
Ultimately, Stewart made the biggest blunder of the evening, landing on the tuff blocks and damaging his bike. He recovered well, all things considered, but it no doubt left a lasting impression of the potential future with Joe Gibbs Racing as many made the obvious parallel to his efforts of a season ago. Meanwhile, Villopoto, Reed, and Dungey stood on the podium gaining the upper hand after just one round while a noticeably frustrated Stewart looked on.
It's already obvious that the competition in Supercross is generally closer than ever, but the way Villopoto put forth a near-perfect effort opens the door to a lot of questions. It looked like he was on an entirely different level than the rest of the field.
Even taking into account his status as defending champion, I'd be willing to bet that many didn’t expect his title defense to start out this spectacularly.
Villopoto was the only rider of the “big four” who didn’t undergo any change in the offseason to his program. Sure, if anything Reed’s program has been improved, but it will likely require a little time to gel.
As for Dungey and Stewart -- the two riders with the most significant changes this past offseason -- they sit on polar opposites of the spectrum. Dungey has a foundation for his team to build upon and the KTM camp was all smiles soaking in their first Monster Energy Supercross podium, but Stewart and JGRMX were left to wonder what could have been. The speed was there (as always) and the bike was good, but even a slight miscalculation can have huge consequences.
The biggest takeaways from the Monster Energy Supercross season opener were Ryan Villopoto's flawless dominance and the mistakes made by each of his primary rivals.
The reigning champion was the first rider out of the gate on Saturday night, grabbing the holeshot, and quickly checking out on his competition. The key to Villopoto’s convincing effort was his sprint through the opening laps. He pushed the limits and laid down the fastest times of the evening, opening a soon-to-be insurmountable gap on Chad Reed.
Meanwhile, James Stewart was forced to fight his way through the field following a mid-pack start. Stewart took no prisoners in his charge and was fast on the verge of breaking into the top three.
As Villopoto continued to run away, extending his lead into the double digits, the excitement behind him began to build. Ryan Dungey’s official debut for KTM got off to an impressive start, but the '10 champ went down as he neared Reed’s rear fender. This allowed Stewart to slip past and make a bid at tracking down his bitter rival. However, Dungey wasn’t about the back down and managed to re-pass Stewart for third. It might have been one of the most memorable moments of the evening as the crowd went absolutely nuts.
Reed then made a mistake of his own, stalling his bike and allowing Dungey and Stewart to close in. The 'race' was on, but it wasn’t for the win. Still -- based on the reaction of the crowd and the way these three riders went at it -- you wouldn’t have known any different.
Ultimately, Stewart made the biggest blunder of the evening, landing on the tuff blocks and damaging his bike. He recovered well, all things considered, but it no doubt left a lasting impression of the potential future with Joe Gibbs Racing as many made the obvious parallel to his efforts of a season ago. Meanwhile, Villopoto, Reed, and Dungey stood on the podium gaining the upper hand after just one round while a noticeably frustrated Stewart looked on.
It's already obvious that the competition in Supercross is generally closer than ever, but the way Villopoto put forth a near-perfect effort opens the door to a lot of questions. It looked like he was on an entirely different level than the rest of the field.
Even taking into account his status as defending champion, I'd be willing to bet that many didn’t expect his title defense to start out this spectacularly.
Villopoto was the only rider of the “big four” who didn’t undergo any change in the offseason to his program. Sure, if anything Reed’s program has been improved, but it will likely require a little time to gel.
As for Dungey and Stewart -- the two riders with the most significant changes this past offseason -- they sit on polar opposites of the spectrum. Dungey has a foundation for his team to build upon and the KTM camp was all smiles soaking in their first Monster Energy Supercross podium, but Stewart and JGRMX were left to wonder what could have been. The speed was there (as always) and the bike was good, but even a slight miscalculation can have huge consequences.
SX Seattle
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