Race Report: San Diego

Here we are! A video of the Sand Diego round 6 of the supercross series. Just like all the others these season, it was definitely an eventful one. The crowd was on their feet for a majority of the race because of the battle between Chad Reed #22 and Ryan Villopoto #1 until the final lap. James Stewart #7 still remains to be unconsistant out on the track. He went down hard again in the "woops" section and lost his leading spot. Although James "Bubba" Stewart is one of the fastest motocross racers on the planet, his inconsistancy is starting to become more obvious to other racers. Ryan Villipoto is dominating this year, he seems like a complete natural out there and his long hours of practice are showing. On another note, congratulations to Josh Hansen #100, he placed 5th place out there and is really starting to show an improvement after his infamous drug  and alcohol outrage in the past years. He is looking strong and confident out on the track! The stadium was also packed! With all this crazy competition going on in the circuit this year, fan are making sure they dont miss SX once it hits their city. Both races got off to super starts with holeshots from Dean Wilson and Brett Metcalfe on his Suzuki. Our predictions for the upcoming Dallas race in the Cowboys stadium on Saturday February 18th are Dean Wilson and Chad Reed.

Here is the results from the race for top 5 finishes in both classes:

Supercross Lites Class

1. Dean Wilson (Kaw)
2. Cole Seely (Hon)
3. Matt Moss (KTM)
4. Gareth Swanepoel (Yam)
5. Nico Izzi (Yam)

Supercross Main Event

1. Ryan VillopotoKaw)
2. Chad Reed (Hon)
3. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
4. Brett Metcalfe (Suz)
5. Josh Hansen (Kaw)

In case you missed it: "Bubba" Stewart Crash

Here is the James Stewart crash at Anaheim 2 this past weekend. This was in his heat race, he ended up going through to the main event placing 2nd overall behind Ryan Villopoto. This post is going to discuss some life facts and information on James "Bubba" Stewart.

 I had the pleasure of gonig to watch Bubba race at Unadilla outdoor motocross in the summer of 2005 as well with the season of 2006. Unadilla, which is a track located in NY State is an all-natural track with rounded slopes and deep valleys. When I went to watch this Florida born african-american motocrosser, I realized I was witnessing something special. Although I saw something unique and special in him, I still had thoughts flowing in my head that he was lacking strength and consistency. Race after race he would be getting the holeshot, and then 10 laps in he would crash because he could not keep on his bike because of his riding technique. He needs to remain smart on the track, and picking out the right lines in the practice laps so he wont fall in the main event.

I agree with the fans who say he is one of the fastest riders on the planet, but through his resume of crashes and injuries you definitely cannot rule out inconsistency and sketchiness. A crash that proves his skeptical riding is this video I have pasted below of the 2005 infamous crash where Bubba landed on the one and only champion of motocross, Ricky Carmichael.

Check out this video and watch the ruthless riding techniques that Bubba uses on his Kawasaki.

Sad news for Rattray

The monster energy/pro circuit Kawasaki team have been hit with a serious problem, one of their main riders Tyla Rattray was involved in a serious crash at the Oakland race last weekend.  The crash occurred in the stadium during his heat race where he came just short of a jump resulting in a back injury. Tyla got off to a good start of the season up to this, placing 2nd in Anaheim week 1 and a 3rd place in Phoenix week 2. Although he is expected to heal, this will take away his chances of taking the title for this years season because of the amount of races he will be missing. 

The following injuries have been updated about the rider:

• Concussion
• C7 Vertebrae fracture 

The AMA said this week that it will take approximately four weeks for Rattray to recover.

SX Exposed is praying for him and hoping for a full healthy recovery!

UPDATE

February 6th - Tyla Rattray tweeted on February 6th that he has a scan in approx. 3 weeks to get clearance from a doctor. If this is accurate and he has recovered, this means that he will be back in racing condition for the March 3rd race in St. Louis inside the Edward Jones Dome. For those who dont know, the Monster Energy Kawasaki team rider suffered severe injuries to his head and vertebrae during the Oakland SX.

What's with the Go Pro HD in SX?

After watching this video above, i'm sure you have now figured out what that silver plastic piece on the top of each riders helmet is during practice and the final events. The device is called a Go Pro HD camera. If you want to get technical with it, it is known as the HERO 2. This filming device can shoot up to 1080p and every rider is using it to review their riding improvements and errors after the races. The camera takes a simple memory card, which can be slipped into a laptop and previewed on the monitor within 1 minute. The supercross teams all come equiped with these cameras so they can review the footage in order to improve the riding for the next race. It is very comparable to a sports team looking over the tape of their last game, but in this instance they are specifically looking at the the riders turns, starts, jumps, and crashes. For less then $400 you can get yourself a camera that can easily hold enough good quality video storage for an entire 20 lap race. In fact, this camera comes set with wi-fi , live streaming application, photo camera, LCD screen, and a remote. All these tools can lead to a better performance once the weekend race comes along. Instead of watching yourself ride from a television point of view, you can have the perspective and point of view form the rider. These videos can be uploaded onto youtube and be viewed by fans to show them the exact lines and jumps they hit in the race. 

SX Los Angeles: WATCH HERE

So here it is, the main event of the Los Angeles round 3 of the 2012 AMA supercross circuit. Congratulations to Chad Reed to came away with a well-earned win as well with Eli Tomac with his first SX win this year. The day started out a little shaky with fan and rider worries of a massive rain fall. The track was covered by tarps and the day ended up turning out quite nice resulting in a dry track. The race began with a huge crash in the first section after the hole shot. Trey Conard, who had a racing banner stuck in his tire came short of landing a triple and cased the landing hard causing somebody to land on him. Our prayers are going out to his family at this time hoping for a full recovery. We will have further posting on his progress. Josh Hansen is also another rider to take into consideration with this series. He is riding #100 on the Hart and Huntington Kawasaki team. He has now placed top 10 at all 3 rounds. Keep an eye on Josh as he has shown a lot of improvement in his corners, rhythm flow, and confidence. While watching the main event, keep your eye on Ryan Villapoto. He is unbelievable, his bike got stuck after the first corner and he was put into last place. His ability to come back and place 4th is a skill of its own.

Here is the top 5 results of both races:

Lites Results

1. Eli Tomac

2. Dean Wilson
3. Zach Osborne
4. Tyla Rattray
5. Jason Anderson

Main Event

1. Chad Reed

2. Ryan Dungey
3. James Stewart
4. Ryan Villopoto
5. Brett Metcalfe