After the hype and frantic introduction to the 2012 Monster Energy Supercross series at Angel Stadium the week before, the early part of the day at Phoenix seemed relatively calm by comparison, but there are still plenty of hungry riders with things to prove.
When the gate dropped for the Supercross main event, it was Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey who grabbed the holeshot, and he held onto the lead wire-to-wire. That scored KTM’s first Supercross class win, and Ryan’s first win of 2012, all aboard a bike that they’ve been developing for less than six months. That was amazing, in itself, but the action behind him? That was equally awesome.
Last week’s winner, Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki) had gotten off to a decent start, but was behind Davi Millsaps (Toyota/JGRMX/Yamaha) when Davi went down, leaving Ryan nowhere to go. After Ryan remounted, he was in 18th spot at the end of lap one. From there, Ryan put on quite a charge, making it all the way up to third place, passing Kevin Windham (GEICO Honda) on the last lap.
James Stewart (Toyota/JGRMX/Yamaha) had started in 13th spot at the end of lap one, with Chad Reed (TwoTwo Motorsports) in eighth. James steadily sliced through the pack, and by the time the two of them got together it was for seventh and eighth position. But James went down on lap seven in the sand section, and dropping him back to 14th. He remounted, but never showed the speed he had earlier in the main, and finished in eighth spot. That’s two races and two crashes…and a 17-point deficit to start the season. With the level of the talent right now, he can’t let too many more points get away.
Meanwhile Chad continued to move forward, picking off Brett Metcalfe (Yoshimura Suzuki), but losing a spot to Ryan Villopoto, before catching Trey Canard (Team Honda Muscle Milk), and Andrew Short (Supercross.com/Honda) late in the main.
Trey and Andrew had been engaging in their own battle for a good chunk of the main, and Shorty edged out Trey with just a handful of laps remaining. All-in-all, it was a highly entertaining race to watch, with battles throughout.
With all the chaos going on, we'd have to note that Jake Weimer (Monster Energy Kawasaki) finished second, scoring his first-ever podium with a solid ride.
On the down side, we need to get full injury reports for Jimmy Albertson (Butler Brothers/BTOsports.com), and Tommy Hahn, who’s riding out of the Rockwell semi.
As for the point standings, the Ryans (Dungey and Villopoto) are tied on top of the standings, with Weimer in third.
In the Supercross Lites class, it was Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Tyla Rattray grabbing the holeshot, trailed closely by Red Bull/KTM’s Marvin Musquin, and Tyla’s Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate, Dean Wilson.
While Tyla and Marvin were dicing, Wilson made a nifty move and passed them both to take over the lead, and from there rode a smooth, smart race to take the win. Musquin took control of second to take his first-ever Supercross podium here in the U.S. after an injury-filled season. That’s a trio of non-U.S. riders (Scotland, France and South Africa) making up the podium.
Eli Tomac (GEICO Honda) scored a solid fourth, but had to work hard to get there, as he started in 11th spot at the end of the first lap. Last week’s winner in Anaheim, Cole Seely (Troy Lee Designs Lucas Oil Honda), was eighth at the start, and came back for fifth.
With two solid podium finishes Tyla Rattray has taken over the points lead, but he still has plenty of company, as Cole Seely, Dean Wilson, Marvin Musquin, and Eli Tomac are all within four points.
Results
2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
Phoenix, AZ
Supercross Lites Heat 1
1. Eli Tomac
2. Cole Seely
3. Jason Anderson
4. Max Anstie
5. Marvin Musquin
6. Travis Baker
7. Billy Laninovich
8. Michael Leib
9. Teddy Maier
Supercross Lites Heat 2
1. Dean Wilson
2. Tyla Rattray
3. Zach Osborne
4. Nico Izzi
5. Scott Champion
6. Gareth Swanepoel
7. Bruce Rutherford
8. Vince Friese
9. Jean Carlo Ramos
Supercross Heat 1
1. James Stewart
2. Andrew Short
3. Mike Alessi
4. Josh Hansen
5. Ivan Tedesco
6. Kevin Windham
7. Chad Reed
8. Tommy Hahn
9. Kyle Chisholm
Supercross Heat 2
1. Jake Weimer
2. Justin Brayton
3. Davi Millsaps
4. Ryan Dungey
5. Ryan Villopoto
6. Brett Metcalfe
7. Trey Canard
8. Kyle Partridge
9. Chris Blose
Supercross Lites LCQ
1. Martin Davalos
2. Adam Chatfield
Supercross LCQ
1. Nick Wey
2. Jimmy Albertson
Supercross Lites Main Event
1. Dean Wilson (Kawasaki)
2. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
3. Tyla Rattray (Kawasaki)
4. Eli Tomac (Honda)
5. Cole Seely (Honda)
6. Zach Osborne (Yamaha)
7. Jason Anderson (Suzuki)
8. Nico Izzi (Yamaha)
9. Max Anstie (Honda)
10. Travis Baker (Honda)
11. Michael Leib (Honda)
12. Billy Laninovich (Honda)
13. Bruce Rutherford (Honda)
14. Vince Friese (Honda)
15. Teddy Maier (Honda)
16. Scott Champion (Honda)
17. Gareth Swanepoel (Yamaha)
18. Jean Carlo Ramos (Honda)
19. Adam Chatfield (Honda)
20. Martin Davalos (Suzuki)
Supercross Main Event
1. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
2. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki)
3. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
4. Kevin Windham (Honda)
5. Chad Reed (Honda)
6. Andrew Short (Honda)
7. Trey Canard (Honda)
8. James Stewart (Yamaha)
9. Brett Metcalfe (Suzuki)
10. Josh Hansen (Kawasaki)
11. Ivan Tedesco (Kawasaki)
12. Kyle Chisholm (Kawasaki)
13. Davi Millsaps (Yamaha)
14. Justin Brayton (Honda)
15. Chris Blose (Kawasaki)
16. Mike Alessi (Suzuki)
17. Kyle Partridge (Kawasaki)
18. Tommy Hahn (Honda)
19. Nick Wey (Kawasaki)
20. Jimmy Albertson (Suzuki)
Supercross Lites West Point Standings
1. Tyla Rattray 42
2. Cole Seely 41
3. Dean Wilson 40
4. Marvin Musquin 40
5. Eli Tomac 38
6. Jason Anderson 28
7. Zach Osborne 27
8. Nico Izzi 22
9. Travis Baker 22
10. Max Anstie 17
Supercross Point Standings
1. Ryan Dungey 45
2. Ryan Villopoto 45
3. Jake Weimer 38
4. Chad Reed 38
5. Kevin Windham 31
6. Andrew Short 29
7. James Stewart 28
8. Justin Brayton 25
9. Brett Metcalfe 22
10. Josh Hansen 22