Thoughts on the Battle in Seattle
4/23/2009
A regularly updated blog by Rupert X Pellett...
April 23
"OK, What did J-LAW do now?" We hear that a lot. This time, it was
about a run-in with Yamaha's Broc Hepler at Jacksonville. So now, young Mr.
Lawrence is out of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series for a
while. It's too bad because he is indeed an exciting
young rider with barrels of fans and three hundred and thirty eight
scoops of talent. Yet, when you make mistakes and break the rules, you
have to face the music. The
judges adjudicate and punishment must be served. That's
what separates our society from the mouse-nest in the frame of your
1972 Yankee 500.
Anybody remember the Yankee 500? It was an odd dirt bike with 500cc
of Ossa power in an American-made frame. It was a heavy off-road bike
that wasn't a great success, but intriguing nonetheless. I recall
seeing a brand new one in a showroom at an odd dirt bike shop on Route
9 in Hadley, Mass. I had gone in there to get a Champion plug
or two for my '65 Honda Dream 150. That bike was more like a nightmare,
actually. The Dream, I mean.
Anyway, in a recent report I saw where Mike Alessi was angry that he didn't have a practice bike at
his house in Florida. He was seemingly pretty peeved at Suzuki for
that and that he hasn't started testing outdoor stuff yet...
There have been four Supercross events in Salt Lake City so far and, no, it was never called "Sodium Pond Village."
AMA Supercross Laps Led
- James Stewart, 186
- Chad Reed, 48
- Josh Grant, 17
- Ryan Villopoto, 16
- Jason Lawrence, 14
- Kevin Windham, 11
- Mike Alessi, 9
Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 160
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 151
- Ryan Morais, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 146
- Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 103
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda, 95
- Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., KTM, 89
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 74
- Dan Reardon, Menifee, Calif., Honda, 67
- Jeff Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Honda, 62
- P.J. Larsen, Stanley, N.C., Kawasaki, 61
The 411 on 338? O-U-T.
Listen here, Sipes. You just do as I say, hear?
April 20
They've been calling Chad Reed "Mr. Consistency" for most of this Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and FIM World Championship, season and, just like the crank-bearings on a '91 KX60, sometimes things go horribly awry. Falling after tangling with No. 911 Tyler Bowers (not Ty's fault), it was all Reed could do to get up to seventh (7th) position by the end of the race. Maybe, just maybe, that might have cost him the series.
But -- whoa! -- squeeze your oversized front rotor quite firmly here! There are still two rounds left: Salt Lake City this upcoming Saturday night and then Las Vegas the following weekend.
At Seattle, James Stewart, after a very poor start, rode quickly and fairly cleanly up to the runner-up spot, while local-lad RYAN VILLOPOTO took the win in front of his home crowd, aboard his Monster Energy factory Kawasaki KX450F.
AMA Supercross Class Results, Seattle
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash. Kawasaki
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha
- Davi Millsaps, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda
- Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha
- Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Suzuki
- Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Kawasaki
- Ivan Tedesco, Tallahassee,, Fla., Honda
- Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda
AMA Supercross Class Season Standings
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha, 332
- Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Suzuki, 329
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 241
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 208
- Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda, 204
- Mike Alessi, Apple Valley, Calif., Suzuki, 203
- Ivan Tedesco, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda, 199
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 190
- Davi Millsaps, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda, 188
- Josh Hill, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 146
So, heading into Utah's Rice-Eccles grand stadium with a three-point lead for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, is the Yamaha of James "Bubba" Stewart. (Hey, governor Jon Huntsman, a motocross fan himself, will be making an appearance, too.)
Things are gonna get hairy -- GA-Ron-TEED. This feud ain't over, Reed is now backed into a corner. He has to come out swinging...or not come out at all.
Meanwhile, back at the Seattle ranch, Ryan Dungey had his way with the West Coast Lites division, taking a nine-point advantage on his Makita Suzuki, over the Monster Energy Pro-Circuit Kawasaki of Ryan Morais, while Morais' teammate, Jake Weimer, pulled in a not-so-good fourth, which permits some breathing room for Dungey.
Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Results, Seattle
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
- Ryan Morais, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
- Jake Moss, Temecula, Calif., Honda
- Jimmy Albertson, Ozark, Mo., Honda
- Kyle Cunningham, Fort Worth, Texas, Kawasaki
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda
- Michael Hall, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
- Jeff Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Honda
By the way, in that Jean-Michel BAYLE interview, I forgot to slip in this topical inquiry, so here goes:
Q: Jean-Michel, as the French rider that began a mastery of Supercross in America, how did it feel to see Christophe Pourcel, almost 20 years later, win the East Coast Lites Monster Energy AMA Supercross title?
A: I am happy for him and in the same time a little worried. After me, many talented French riders went to your country to race over there. Some did very good result and some not but this is not a big problem. The only things that made me not happy were when the guy was very talented and when he screwed up his career because a lack of seriousness. This is not pardonable. My goal when I went to the U.S. was to win, of course, but as a French guy, my goal was to show a good side of French people, not only on the race track but also in everyday life, so I hope Christophe Pourcel will think about this and do everything he can to show than he is MONSIEUR POURCEL. In any case, congratulations to him.
Thanks, JMB!
Look, I've been thinking a lot about this institutional removal of two-strokes from motocross racing, and it's really ticking me off. Thinking aside from the recent lead-law fiasco thingy and kids bikes, what are the plans, if any, to make the 50cc, 65cc and 85cc classes into four-stroke fields? There aren't any! It's so nutty that we make kids ride two-strokes in motocross competition until they can graduate from an 85cc two-stroke to ride a 250cc four-stroke!
It's insanity in 10 cities. Stop the world. I want to get off.
"I see a red door, and I want it painted black." -- Glimmer Twins