This is as close as you can get-- without risking life and limb-- to the experience of racing in a professional Supercross event. Using POV cameras mounted to their helmets, Kyle Peters, James Stewart, and Davi Millsaps share their perspective of what it's like to be slotted in the saddle of a factory built Yamaha at the 2012 Supercross race in St. Louis.

Motocross fans are passionate about their trucks. Owning an off-road 4x4 is a right of passage for those who make the weekend pilgrimage to the track.

Knowing this, DC shoes teamed up with Toyota to create what they are calling the Ultimate Motocross Truck. With the help of the talented crew from West Coast Customs, they turned a Toyota Tundra into the ultimate vehicle for DC and its motocross athletes.

The truck build was recently featured on an episode of Inside West Coast Customs, which airs on Discovery's Velocity Channel.

Photos/Notes: Kardy,
TypeOs, Scott Hoffman

Is it me or are there elements of this season's supercross season that are from bizzaro world? To the few, Ryan Villopoto, Ryan Dungey, or Justin Barcia, for example, things are fairly status quo, yet for others riders, especially in the 450 class, anything and everything can happen. Red flagged races, caution light controversies, photo finishes, countless crashes and injuries to key racers. In St. Louis some of the odd continued such as Kyle Partridge slicing his foot to the bone and a reported broken C3 & C4 in his neck that will require surgery and Cole Seely nearly crashing off the side of the over/under bridge, yet his bike did tumble off the bridge, to point out a few highlights. What's odd is that nothing has really changed in the series, it is just one of those years that will end up on the highlight reels for years to come.

If 2011 was considered the greatest season ever, 2012 could be considered the year with the most odd occurrences. Yet up front the chase for title in all three classes, Supercross/450, Lites/250 East and West, is really shaping up.



St Louis:
Other than some of the notes from B reel situations, the Supercross/450 main event was not a race we will be talking about for weeks to come. Ryan Villopoto came out and did his job and his bosses are very happy with his performance. Ryan Dungey has the speed but may have pulled the trigger a tad too late in the main before reeling in RV in the end. Honda's Justin Brayton put his ride on the box for the first time in 2012 with a 3rd.

- Mr. Poto is amazing and he's making his red-background #1 stand out each and every week. In St. Louis he reminded me very much of old-school Jeremy McGrath. Like MC, Villopoto catapulted his way into the lead as fast as he could, charged hard until he gapped the field, then rode his own race and let the competition come to him, if they could.

- Mr. Dungey: What can we say, the Dunge is fast but on the track he does not always look that way. Yes, he didn't get a great start in St. Louis, yet some of us want to see more fire from the guy early in the race. He was on the move but some of us want to see him make more aggressive passes when need be. If Dungey waits for the championship to come to him over chasing it down and possibly swapping some paint marks, his 2012 title chances could slip away. He was on fire in St Louis, yet a few quicker and forceful passes might have given him enough time to show RV a wheel before the checkered flag.

- Mr. Stewart: The only luck this guy has is bad luck. One of the fastest riders on the track, patience and good fortune are not part of his strengths in 2012. Last week he was in the wrong part of the track when his teammate Millsaps went down and this week he tried to slice his way through the pack after a bad start and clipped the rear tire of another rider and went down. Yet when he mounted back up, he charged all the way to 5th and put in an incredible ride. There has been talk in the pits regarding some odd-looking motor mounts on Bubbas JGR YZ that are rumored to change the way the chassis works. There has also been a lot of tension in the pits at JGR according to sources.

- Ben Lamay had a gnarly getoff that caused a red flag in the second 450 heat but thankfully he was OK for the most part except for a nice conk on the head.

- Jeff Alessi also failed to finish heat two and left the track with a slight limp and a sore foot/leg.

- After his timing and scoring switchup a few weeks back, Weston Peick had a main event spot locked down during the heat but a washed out front wheel robbed his spot and then he failed to transfer via the LCQ.

- Factory Honda rider Justin Brayton logged in his best ride of the year with his first podium and a 3rd in St. Louis. Before this race his best finish was 4th at the opening round in Anaheim.

- KTM's Marvin Musquin made his Supercross class debut aboard a 350 Katoom all decked out with the new-style plastic similar to the Factory Edition 450. Musquin rode a solid race to finish 9th.

- Mr. Millsaps: Davi logged in the 5th fastest time of the night but finished one spot back from his best lap. With so much talent, some were hoping DM could be a podium contender in 2012, St. Louis was his best chance so far since Los Angeles.

Fast Times at St. Louis High: Supercross/450

Fast does not always mean win or place: Here are fast times inside the :51 second mark, yet not the order they finished the race.
1. Ryan Villopoto: 50.536
2. James Stewart: 50.776
3. Justin Brayton: 51.468
4. Ryan Dungey: 51.550
5. Davi Millsaps: 51.632
6. Kevin Windham: 51.644
7. Cole Seely: 51.780

Best Lites Times: (note track was in better shape compared to 450 main)
1. Justin Barcia: 51.370
2. Darryn Durham: 51.720
3. Ken Roczen: 51.947
4. Justin Bogle: 52.033

Kardy Pit Notes: From the finger of a photo wizard, Jeff Kardas chimes in with what he saw or heard in St. Louis:

- Villopoto was promised by Aldon (Baker) that he could try a new beer (Bud Light Platinum) he's been dying to try for a couple of weeks ONLY if he won St. Louis. He won St. Louis.
- Some mention of Dungey and him reeling in RV a bit during the main, although RV admitted he backed it off due to deteriorating track conditions.
- Everyone raved about the dirt but there seemed unanimous agreement on how easy it was.
- Stewart's relationship with JGR is apparently pretty bad. He is just grinning and bearing it. I heard this from three good sources.
- Blake Baggett's results seem more to do with misfortune, bad starts, and the fact that those top 3-4 guys are just so blazing fast that he can't make up ground on them. I have heard he is for sure totally bummed about it and has been since Arlington where he felt he threw the title away.

- I dunno what to say about Barcia except that he signed a lucrative underwear deal with Freegun over the weekend, and that the blue Alias gear he wore is a new colorway for them and it's the best-looking stuff yet.
- Cole Seely was looking good before he rode off the tunnel/bridge. Track crews had been attending to that section a lot because the edges were deteriorating throughout the night until finally someone rode off of it. Also, Red Bull apparently isn't super stoked on the Muscle Milk logos all over him and they are raising a stink about it. That's insider info right there buddy!
- Malcolm Stewart had been offered a Pro Circuit ride but his dad turned it down because the $$ figure was too low. Not sure if that's been well known news at all but that was the first I'd heard that.
- Lots of people were talking about Jake Canada.
- There were two KTM 450 Factory Editions in the night show! The rider on the other one is Robbie Marshall.
- Who'd of thought Josh Hansen would be the last man standing on H&H?
- Tyler Bowers (911, Arenacross racer) didn't look that hot all night and crashed in the first turn of the main after getting the last qualifying spot.
- The crazy Italian Pellegrini dude finally got some sponsors and dropped the stock graphics and white helmet he'd been running.
- Austin Politelli seems like the best of the freshman East Lites class, he is often a fast qualifier and looks at home in the mains.
- Kyle Peters finally made his pro debut on a Star Yamaha but he crashed hard at least twice and didn't make the main.
- Jeff Gibson joined Alex Martin and Phil Nicoletti on the Eleven10 mods team.
- John Kuzo with 100% had been lading a lot of rides in their goggles as of late. A good number of 2nd tier guys are looking through the window of 100%, but he did just get back from France this past week where he was working with their top Euro guy Gautier Paulin.
- Kdub's special 201st start presentation and extended intro with two transfers.LITES/250

In the East Coast Lites class we only really have to write down this, Barcia Barcia Barcia. This kid is on fire and looks like a mature version of himself that knows how to win races and make them stick. Three for three and already 18 points over KTM's Ken Roczen.

- And speaking of Roczen, word on the street is he has been under the weather, especially this past weekend in St. Louis. You could see the Roczen charge and scrubs were not in his game and he was just out there riding. We just hope to see a true head-to-head with the Jr. Rock and Bam Bam (Barcia) before the season's end.
- Like Kardy noted above, we were kind of expecting Blake Baggett to be on the box or winning some races this year but thus far he has not had a lot of luck on the track and getting out of the gate up front. The season is still young but his chances of landing another title for PC are far fetched.
- The best race of the night was between Roczen and rookie Justin Bogle. The two went at it the entire race before Bogle swapped and went down and went from 3rd to finishing 5th.

Supercross Class Season Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki - 205
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM - 192
3. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha - 152
4. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Honda - 128
5. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda - 123
6. Jake Weimer, Wildomar, Idaho, Kawasaki - 120
7. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Honda - 116
8. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki - 113
9. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha - 109
10. Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki - 98

Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
1. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda - 75
2. Ken Roczen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM - 57
3. Darryn Durham, Butler, Pa, Kawasaki - 56
4. Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda - 56
5. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda - 43
6. Jake Canada, Sun City, Fla., Honda - 41
7. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki - 40
8. Hunter Hewitt, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki - 31
9. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., KTM - 29
10. Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha - 28

Ken Block's 2012 season kicked off with a victory this past weekend, winning his sixth overall 100 Acre Wood Rally race in Salem, Mo. Block and co-driver Alessandro Gelsomino finished first in 15 of the 17 stages of the rally.

Block's Monster World Rally Team was eager to hit the dirt and test their new Hybrid Ford Fiesta. The new version of Block's car will help the transition between different motorsports disciplines.

"One of the problems has been switching between different cars," said Block in a recent interview with ESPN. "This new car allows me to have the same cockpit and basic chassis for Gymkhana, RallyCross and stage rally."



2012 is shaping up to be the busiest year of his career. Block will be competing in 19 events, across 5 continents, in 5 different rally disciplines.

He's committed to race in 5 Global RallyCross events, 3 World Rally Championship events, X Games, and his very own Gymkhana Tour. In addition to the racing circuit Block will also be shooting the highly anticipated Gymkhana 5--the next installment of his viral YouTube video series.

To celebrate the 2012 season, he's released a mock TV interview with actor and comedian Nick Swardson.

Words and Photos by Shan Moore
With Chad Reed out of the picture due to the season ending injuries he suffered last week in Dallas, this year's Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series was starting to look like it would boil down to an anticlimactic Ryan Villopoto runaway. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider had four wins in seven races heading into Atlanta's Georgia Dome - the location of round eight of the 17-round series - and he was currently enjoying a three-race win streak. And, over the course of the last two rounds, only Reed seemed capable of consistently challenging the flying redhead... and, unfortunately, Reedy wasn't coming back anytime soon.

Scott Hoffman Notes:
Just as we were posting this, we read another post that said Ryan Villopoto had to go to the hospital on Sunday after the race due to an illness. We don't have an official word what is going on but we suspect it might be the flu bug that has been going around, at least in Southern California. Blake Baggett is also said to be bitten by this bug and it is not an easy one to kick, especially when a racer has to travel each and every week going through dirty airports and walking past thousands of people (who could also be sick). Also imagine having to sign autographs and be around thousands of fans each week. We have noticed that many riders are wearing gloves during the autograph sessions to help avoid extra germ contact with others.

People ask why do riders get sick so often? Having to train, practice, and travel for most of the year can take its toll even on top athletes. Being in contact with so many people and having to beat your body down each week and then try to rebuild it each and every week is not an easy task. And when a bug is going around, a racer crosses paths with so many people it is easy to understand how they can catch something and they have to race regardless and there is very little time to recover.

Now back to Shan:
However, in front of 70,000 Supercross-savvy fans, Ryan Dungey capitalized on a great start and consistent lap times to claim his second win of the season, holding off a late-race charge by Villopoto to do so. With the win, the Red Bull KTM rider clawed his way back into title contention, and with nine races still to be decided, the Minnesotan sits just 10 points behind Villopoto in the championship chase.

Meanwhile, in the East Lites race, Justin Barcia delivered another spectacular performance, leading the 15-lap main event from flag-to-flag in his signature go-for-it style. Keeping Bam Bam honest was a Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki ridden by Blake Baggett, and a hard-charging Oklahoma rookie named Justin Bogle on his GEICO Powersports Honda.

450/Supercross
Ryan Dungey

The Atlanta race was a huge turnaround for Dungey, who struggled with setup two weeks before in San Diego, especially in the rugged whoop section. According to KTM team manager Roger DeCoster (pictured talking to engine man Ian Harrison), the team simply had a "bad" setting going into that round. Before Atlanta, the team experimented with different shock settings and shock angles, and obviously had things working much better in the Georgia Dome. "It was obvious we had some settings issues in San Diego," DeCoster told Motocross.com before the race. "We screwed up and had the 'bucking bronco' setting by mistake (laughs). We were way off at that round but last week in Dallas we were much better and it was good here at Atlanta. The power is good on the new bike so it's mostly down to suspension settings for us, and it's hard because this is the first year with this bike and with only one rider you only get so much input. Ryan wanted to change something before San Diego and we changed it and on the test track it looked good but obviously in the race it didn't work. It's hard to make big changes on race day because you have so little time. We just screwed up at that race and we were off our settings."

According to Dungey, the changes the team made for Atlanta were spot-on. "We made some changes on the bike - the rear shock angle (via the linkage), and some tire choices, too," said Dungey. "We have continually experimented with the bike, and sometimes we find it's better and sometimes it's not. A new bike, it's going to take time and I think everyone is doing a great job with it. I'm happy that we've moved to the eastern tracks and this is a good race to build on for the rest of the series."
Cole Seely
Cole Seely took Trey Canard's factory Muscle Milk Honda and ran with it, literally! After accepting Eric Kehoe's invitation to fill in for the injured Canard, Seely made the best of it by grabbing the holeshot in the Atlanta main event and leading the first seven laps. "I think I was running on adrenaline and holding my breath for seven laps straight," said Seely. "I was kind of thinking I was going to win that thing, but those guys are so tough and so consistent up there. I tried as hard as I could for as long as I could and I just couldn't hold those guys off." Seely said he only had about a week on the big bike, but since the chassis on the 450 is the same as the 250 he was able to switch clamps and bars and make the adjustment without too much trouble. But of course, there's the power difference. "That 450 has a lot of power - I mean a LOT of power!" Seely explained after stepping off the bike at the end of the race.
Ryan Villopoto
Ryan Villopoto came up just short in his bid for a fourth-straight win and fifth overall of the season. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider got off just inside the top-10 at the start and then turned in an amazing effort to work his way into second, moving to within striking distance behind Dungey with two laps to go. Unfortunately for Villopoto, a late-race pass attempt came up just short and the defending series champ had to settle for second. After the race, Villopoto acknowledged that at this level, it's all about the start. "The track was tight, so it made it tough for racing," said Villopoto. "For sure, I didn't put myself in the best shape with the start, but that's the name of the game. We'll go back and work on it and be ready for St. Louis."
James Stewart
The was obviously tension in the JGR pits in Atlanta, and there were reports after Dallas that there had been a confrontation between Big James Stewart and Coy Gibbs. Making matters worse, in the final, James Stewart caught an unlucky break at the midway point of the race, which caused him to lose touch with Villopoto. After getting off to a poor start, complicated by an encounter with Jake Weimer in the first turn, Stewart was forced to come from behind. After working his way into third behind Villopoto, Stewart was forced to roll a triple when the red-cross flag came out for a fallen ride. Villopoto was already in the air over the triple when the red-cross flag came out and so was able to gain considerable ground. At one point, a rider went down and the red-cross flag came out while Villopoto was already in mid-flight over a triple, however, it caught Stewart where he had to roll the triple, giving Villopoto a huge benefit. "I didn't get the best of jumps off the line, I don't know, maybe I was late off the line, but I squirted around the inside and then Weimer held me up and that knocked me way back," said Stewart. "Then when I got up to third, the red-cross flag came out and I had to roll it and those guys jumped it and I lost all my time from there. I was starting to catch those guys, so I'm upset about that. We had a little bit of traction this week and the bike was working better. We made improvements to it this week, but we need to continue to work on it. We should have won this race, but it's hard to do starting that far back." This was a race that Stewart could have easily won, however, a poor start and just plain bad luck held him back.

250/Lites
Justin Barcia

Justin Barcia made it two wins in a row with an exciting flag-to-flag victory, the GEICO Powersports Honda rider letting it all hang out in typical Barcia fashion. The defending East Lites champ nailed the start and put a few bike lengths on the competition, although he could never really shake Blake Baggett, as the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider kept Barcia honest for the full distance of the 15-lap final. "I was so nervous the whole race, just trying not to make any mistakes," Barcia admitted after the final. "The track was super-tough, it was rutted and had a lot of kickers, so it was kind of squirrelly out there. In my heat race, I kind of pushed the front end in one of the corners and went down, it was just a little soft there, and that made me leery of going down in the final."
Blake Baggett leads Justin Barcia across the finish line in a heat race.
Blake Baggett
After finishing a disappointing 15th at the East Lites opener in Dallas, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Blake Baggett looked to get back in the hunt with a strong ride in Atlanta. And, indeed, Baggett turned in a strong ride, finishing second despite struggling during qualifying. Baggett made some suspension changes before the race, which may have accounted for his strong showing in the final. "I actually ran some completely different forks from what we ran in Dallas," said Baggett. "I tested on them Wednesday, ran them Thursday, and they actually flew them here; they're my practice bike forks. We're just going to keep tweaking the bike until we find something that works for me."

Justin Bogle
Oklahoman Justin Bogle grabbed his first-ever podium with a come-from-behind third place finish, the GEICO Powersports Honda rider also getting his first heat race win earlier in the day. "I got shut off pretty bad in the first turn, but I was able to work my way up to third be the end of the race," said Bogle. "It feels cool to be up here, this is my first podium, and to be up here with my teammate (Barcia) is great. I've been working with Robbie Reynard during the week and that helped me a lot, plus we made some tire changes this week that I think helped too. I wasn't as tight as I was last week in Dallas, so that was huge."
Ken Roczen
Red Bull KTM's Ken Roczen had a disappointing main event after getting caught up in the gate when he jumped the gun at the start. The 17-year-old MX2 World Champ from Germany did an impressive job of working his way through the pack to finish an eventual sixth, however, he now sits 15 points behind Barcia in the series standings.
Malcolm Stewart
Malcolm Stewart had problems as well. The J-Star JDR KTM Rider led his heat race but then suffered a spectacular endo, which put him in the LCQ. However, Stewart never got a chance to qualify when his team couldn't get his bike to start before the LCQ.

Official Monster Energy Supercross Results

âèSupercross/450 Results: Atlanta
1. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
2. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
3. James Stewart (Yam)
4. Davi Millsaps (Yam)
5. Justin Brayton (Hon)
6. Cole Seely (Hon)
7. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
8. Kevin Windham (Hon)
9. Brett Metcalfe (Suz)
10. Nick Wey (Kaw)
11. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw)
12. Mike Alessi (Suz)
13. Matt Goerke (Suz)
14. Rob Kiniry (Yam)
15. Josh Hanson (Kaw)
16. Broc Tickle (Kaw)
17. Kyle Partridge (Kaw)
18. Jeff Alessi (Suz)
19. Justin Sipes (Kaw)
10. Weston Peick (Kaw)

Lites/250 Results: Atlanta
1. Justin Barcia (Hon)
2. Blake Baggett (Kaw)
3. Justin Bogle (Hon)
4. Blake Wharton (Suz)
5. Darryn Durham (Kaw)
6. Ken Roczen (KTM)
7. Kyle Cunningham (Yam)
8. Hunter Hewitt (Suz)
9. Jake Canada (Hon)
10. Shane Sewell (KTM)
11. Lance Vincent (KTM)
12. PJ Larsen (KTM)
13. Matt Lemoine (Kaw)
14. Les Smith (KTM)
15. Shawn Rife (Hon)
16. Levi Kilbarger (Hon)
17. Daniel Herrlein (Hon)
18. Angelo Pellegrini (Suz)
19. Austin Politelli (Hon)
20. Bradley Ripple (Hon)