Pre-Race Highlights Heading to R-2
Photos: Scott Hoffman

Anaheim One always breaks the ice as the first Supercross round of the year. In a way, it’s a lot like your first day of school; many of the riders have new teams and new bikes as well as a different program. Everybody on the track wants to impress at A1 and sometimes we see guys crack under pressure because they don’t have all of the jitters worked out of their system. Basically, Anaheim One will tell you a lot, and here are some you should definitely keep an eye on if your watching Phoenix Supercross from the stands or on Live TV.

Supercross Lites:

• Cole Seely looked very comfortable at A1 taking the win. Coming into Phoenix he is going to have a ton of confidence and will be looking for his second win of the year.

The Pro Circuit boys Dean Wilson and Tyla Rattray are definitely going to make something happen in Arizona this weekend. It was a surprise that the whole team wasn’t on the podium at A1.

Eli Tomac was running Justin Barcia’s #17 from 2011, just so you know. Now you’ll be cheering on the right guy in AZ.

Many of the riders talked about the track at A1 being very one-lined and hard to pass. Obviously, Phoenix will be a new layout so it’s not wrong to say that riders who weren’t comfortable at A1 may find their groove this weekend and surprise the crowd.

Christian Craig had a bad weekend for the opening round finishing 20th. He has the speed so don’t count him out in Arizona.

Supercross:

Ryan Villopoto is currently the man to beat going into Phoenix. He made it look easy and was by far the most comfortable rider out on the track.

James Stewart definitely has speed, and although he didn’t show everything at A1, we can speculate that he is still working out the bugs in his program and dialing in his bike. As the season goes on, he could easily become “The Fastest Man On The Planet” once again.

Like Stewart and Reed, Ryan Dungey had a fall at A1 and picked himself up quickly. RD5 can run up front, and on a bike that is very new to him, he is doing surprisingly well right off the bat. Give him some time and he will be mixing it up for the win.

Like we mentioned above, the riders weren’t to fond of the A1 track layout. Phoenix is obviously going to be different. Some of the riders that were expected to do better in A1 may not have found their groove. Look for some different guys poking their heads at the front of the pack.

Mike Alessi rode solid but a crash in the main event

Don’t count out Jake Weimer, Justin Brayton, Andrew Short or Kevin Windham. These guys are all good for a solid top five finish and possibly a step on the podium.

For play-by-play tweets and facebook updates during the race, like/follow Motocross.com. The Supercross season still has a lot more to offer so hang on for the ride!