Thumpa Report: Et tu, A2?

 

After rain dampened the action at rounds 2 & 3, as  Anaheim 2 approached the anticipation was palpable.

 

Yet once again, the pre- and post-race chatter would overshadow the actual racing action. One needn’t even wait beyond the rider introductions for the first bit of drama to unfold. 

The center of attention (yet again)?

“The next big thing” in Supercross is usually hailed by many, but likewise met with skepticism by others.

 

And entering his 450 SX rookie season, Jett Lawrence had already whet the appetite of the haters with bold talk of surpassing Jeremy McGrath’s crowning achievement of 72 wins. 

This left a bad taste in the mouths of many, who felt Jett needed a taste of something as well.

 

And while Jett initially backed up the talk by coasting to a historic debut win,  he’d quickly find out that being the best doesn’t always come quite so easily.

 

Once a resounding fan favorite, the tide began to turn on Jett even more so after the post-race debacle with Jason Anderson in San Diego.

 

And this brings us to the opening ceremonies of round 4 - Anaheim, the sequel.

 

Visited by the Ghost of Races Past, Jett received a ghastly surprise during his introduction.

 

While the chorus of boos might have scared the dickens out of a lesser rider, Jett surely brushed it off with a “bah, humbug”.

His team apparently took it more seriously though, as they rushed out a special set of gear for this race following last week’s incident.

 

Jett had mixed results throughout the night in the triple crown format, with a late mishap costing him several spots in the overall standings. But his past few results are nothing we haven’t seen from other greats with the move up to the big bikes in SX.

 

Still, I wouldn’t bet against 72+ wins for Jett just yet.

 

The other drama that dominated post-race discussion?

And the focus of this controversy? None other than Jason Anderson yet again.

 

Bypassing the whoops with a heavy hand on the throttle resulted in a penalty that would knock Anderson off the podium at night’s end - handing a podium spot and the points lead back to Aaron Plessinger.

What made this even more controversial was the fact that Hunter Lawrence made a similar move (more than once) in San Francisco. But why a penalty for Anderson and not the Lawrence brother?

 

Apparently it was determined that Hunter did not make up any ground by avoiding the whoops, while the 21 gained an unfair advantage.

It should also be noted that El Hombre has been penalized at least 9 other times for cutting the track.

But the post-race drama didn’t end there. In this era of rampant social media, for riders and fans alike, at the slightest sign of adversity you youngsters always seem to have the same reaction.

 

Meanwhile ol’ Thumpa, still pulling mothballs out of every crack and crevice since being dragged out of the dark corners of the attic a week ago, is struggling to keep up.

 

Following a close call in practice, Ken Roczen rushed to the interwebs with a resounding “What the hell is going on here?”

 

Who would be the victim of his ire cast into the spotlight?

 

 

Not to be outdone, even former riders got in the mix.

The man…the myth..the legend, David Vuillemin was downright combative…

…as he chimed in with criticism of Spanish SX import Jorge Prado.

It’s no secret that Thumpa is among the legion of DV fans…

…and it’s great to see one of the most honest and interactive SX greats freely voicing his opinions this season

 

Somewhere in the midst of all this drama was the actual A2 race. But I won’t bore you with the details. There’s only one thing you need to know about the race.

Cooper…