After some problems with wet weather at the opening round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series in Anaheim, California, the series headed to Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona this past weekend where perfect weather and a great track greeted riders and fans alike.
As it turned out, the combination of the two produced some excellent racing in both classes, but we've already gone over that in the race report. Right now, it's time to get into what really happened at the second round of the series. Just in case you need a refresher on all that went down, here are some links to the various stories.
Alright now that you're all caught up, read on and learn about all that went on behind the scenes.
Like we said, the Phoenix track was dry, but that wasn't the only difference it had from the opening round in Anaheim. During previous years at the event there have been split starts, but this year, rather than a split start there was a split lane that made for some close racing. Following practice, the section received some slight changes and by race time each side appeared to be fairly equal. In past years, the split start and split lanes seemed to generate some controversy, however this year riders didn't appear to feel the same way.
Another difference at the Phoenix round is how tight the pits were. All of the team rigs are squeezed into a single street, and teams are parked according to how they finished the week before. We saw a few team rigs parked right up against the side of a wall, with limited space to work on the bikes.
During the riders meeting, which usually tends to be pretty boring, we attended incase there was some news. The AMA made it very clear to riders that they need to return their transponders after the race is finished up. Apparently after Anaheim I, there where over 20 riders who failed to do so. A list of names was read off to let the riders know who needs to relinquish their transponder. No word on if the riders will be fined if this continues.
While we are on the subject of fines, the AMA also made it very clear at the meeting that they had a new starting gate, and if anyone was caught slamming it down to prep the gate area, they would be fined. In the past mechanics slam the gate down to pack the dirt down and prep the riders' starting spot.
We spoke to Supercross class rookie, Josh Hill between practices about his thoughts on moving up to the premier class. "The first race at Anaheim wasn't too great," Hill said. "I had some problems, kind of got caught up in a first-turn deal, and just had some problems. I made my way up to 11th, saw eighth place right in front of me and just had some stuff go on. I couldn't keep it going." At Anaheim, Josh finished a disappointing 16th. So, what were his expectations for Phoenix? He was very positive, "I want a top-five. That's my expectation," he said. "I think I'm strong enough, and I think that if I get a good start, I will be shooting for a top-three. That's what I want." As for how Hill did at Phoenix, he did better than A1, however, after his comments before the race, the 11th place finish can't be sitting too well with him. He got a bad start once again, and just couldn't come back from it.
Another Team Yamaha rider that had some bad luck at Phoenix was last year's National MX Champion, Grant Langston. Langston qualified to the main with a second in his heat race, however in the main the friendly South African suffered a rear suspension problem that forced him to drop out and return to the pits.
A little good news about Langston, though, was his new motorhome. While cruising through the pits, we noticed it. GL's new coach is just as big as all the others, and wrapped with graphics. Aw, the life of a factory rider...
While we are on the subject of Yamaha, one team that had a much better night at Phoenix than A1, Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha. This weekend, both Josh Hansen and Charles Summey made the main, finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Both of them qualified through their heat races after both riders finishing seventh in each heat race.
Heading into Phoenix, the biggest question on everyone's mind was whether or not Team San Manuel Band of Mission Indians/Yamaha's Chad Reed would be able to run the regular blistering pace of Team Monster Energy Kawasaki's James Stewart. As it turned out, he did, and for just about the entire race. Following the race, though, we spoke with him to get his thoughts on the night. "I'm a little disappointed," Reed said. "I have some personal opinions about what I should have done, but I'm definitely happy that I was able to stay in the battle. I kind of caught back up to him [Stewart] at the end there. Overall, I think it was a good strong ride for me. The past two years I haven't even seen Ricky [Carmichael] or James on this track at all, so it was pretty nice to be able to see him at the end there." When asked if the lose hurt his confidence at all, Reed simply said that it didn't do anything to it either way. If anything he now knows what to work on.
As for the race winner, James Stewart, he was happy with his performance, but he knows that with him and Chad so close, he can't let his guard down. "It's just who ever makes the least mistakes and has the most endurance for the entire time," Stewart said after the race. "I felt pretty good, put in 20 good laps and was just riding my own deal. I felt like you could only ride the track so hard, and I just knew that once lap 10 kicked in, everything started opening up. I started feeling good and started opening up a little gap. Those guys [the competition] you might start taking them for granted, but I don't. These are good riders, so you have to prepare every weekend for them." Heading into Anaheim II, Stewart and Reed sit tied for first in the points, so in a sense, the series is starting over again, with both riders dead even.
In case you didn't get a chance to read the race report, Team Torco Racing Fuels/Honda's Jake Weimer got his first win this weekend. For him is was the culmination of a lot of hard work and finally realizing that he would accept nothing less than a win. We spoke with him following the race and he had this to say. "Obviously, it's amazing to win your first race-it's what you work for-but I don't think it's set in yet," Weimer said with a smile. "It's amazing. That's what I've wanted to do forever. My goal was to win this year, and I wasn't going to be happy with anything but that."
Like we mentioned in last week's coverage, there are a lot of new teams in the paddock this year. One we didn't get a chance to get coverage of was Canadian National Champion Paul Carpenter's new team, Atomic Racing/Honda. We sat down with Pauly for a quick interview about his new team and his plans for this year.
Paul Carpenter Interview
Another rider who is on a new team, and new bike, is fan favorite Team MDK/KTM's Nick Wey. After getting injured last year, Wey is busy getting his new bike set up and getting back up to speed. "With the new team, everything is going pretty well," Wey said. "It's just taking time to get adapted to the new bike and get the setting just right for me. I'm having a good time out there for sure, and the team is doing a great job. I haven't raced for quite a while now, and it's just been a little tougher than I was expecting to get back into the swing of things. I feel that by the time we get to the east coast, we'll have our set up dialed and be ready to race."
As for the new bike, Wey is pleased to have made the big change to a KTM. "The new bike and everything is a pretty big change. And for them [KTM] not having a setting from the past that we could go off of before-we're working on all that right now. It's been tough, but the bike is awesome."
With Monster Energy taking the title sponsor position of the Supercross series, things have been getting very interesting between the company and other competing energy drinks. First, there was Reed pushing the Monster cans out of the way at the pre-race A1 press conference, then we saw the Team Red Bull Honda bikes with the required Monster Energy front plate logo covered up in the pits, and this weekend we saw more of the same from the Hart and Huntington/Rockstar Energy team. We spoke with team manager Kenny Watson about it. "We just have these stickers to cover up the Monster logo in the pit," Kenny said. "Monster has the rights for the logo to be on the bikes while they are on the track, not in the team pits." We guess there are loopholes in everything. Stay tuned as this could turn into something bigger.
As a small side note, or big depending on how you look at it, the G.O.A.T. Ricky Carmichael was on hand hanging out in the pits and signing autographs. RC was also interviewed during opening ceremonies.
On a sadder note, just in case you didn't catch it in the news section on the site this week, Gavin Gracyk's dad Gary Gracyk passed away after battling Lou Gehrig's disease this past week. Here's a link to the article, click here. Gavin did his best this weekend and looked fast every time he was out on the track, however, after some problems in the LCQ, he was unable to qualify for the main event. Gavin is a great guy and we're sure he will bounce back this next weekend at the retro Anaheim II.
Speaking of retro night at Anaheim II, we ran into Team Xtreme/Motosport/Kawasaki's Tommy Hahn who was sporting a mean beard. Apparently, he's going to shave it like a handlebar moustache for the retro night. We also heard a rumor that Torco Racing Fuels/Honda's Kevin Windham mentioned that he wants to come to the race and pit out a of a box van, just like the old days.
Well, that's about it for this week's edition of What Really Happened, but be sure to check back throughout the week to get filled in on everything that has to do with the sport. See you at A2!
Courtesy of MotoCross.com
