GEICO Honda's Kevin Windham and Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto (Photo: Brian Robinette)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The 2012 Monster Energy Supercross season opener from Anaheim, CA will air LIVE on SPEED Saturday, January 7th at 10:00pm ET.
For the 18th straight year, GEICO Honda's Kevin Windham is ready to start another Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, much to the delight of his legion of faithful fans -- 50,000 of which will fill out Angel Stadium this Saturday for the first of 17 rounds of action.
"Here we are at Year 18, another time to enter the battlefield and prove yourself," Windham said. "It's exciting and more challenging than ever. I'm still trying to keep this thing going. It's a thrill to still be riding and a real honor to be a part of the Supercross series.
"This is our first opportunity to be on the same track on the same night with all our rivals and a perfect way to see where we are at."
Windham said his many years in the sport have taught him it does no good to look too far back, as the race ahead always is the most important one.
"You are only as good as your last race or your last year," he said. "I think things are great with the GEICO Honda team. I look forward to going out there and trying to do my best. I still want to be a threat to win races...to win this race this weekend.
"I've got to try and keep these young kids at bay. It's getting close to where I'm racing against guys who are literally half my age, but we're not quite there yet."
After one of its most exciting seasons in history, Windham said he is expecting nothing less out of the AMA Supercross series in 2012.