Story By Chris Green
Photos By Scott Hoffman

This past Saturday was Round 5 of the 2012 AMA Supercross series and the second stop at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, CA. With tons of complaints about the track at Anaheim 1, the track crew stepped up and gave the riders a great track for A2. The main points of A2's layout were the many places to pass, a nice long whoop section and numerous rhythm sections that gave the riders optional flight paths around the track.
Justin Brayton laid down the fastest lap in practice and looked solid in his heat race leading a couple of laps after being handed the number one position when Millsaps and Alessi oddly went down in the same corner, each on their own. Weimer was running side by side with JB10 when this happened and he went down in the next corner. After a few laps Villopoto caught Brayton taking the lead and went on with the heat win.

James Stewart looked good in his heat race but went down hard after a tire tap in a rhythm section went bad, ultimately flinging him down hard on his back and right shoulder. Stewart hardly moved and definitely had the wind knocked out of him. As far as injuries, Stewart may have broken some ribs and there is no doubt he felt a bit sore by the time he lined up for the LCQ and especially when the main event rolled around. Dungey took over the lead while Chad Reed made a charge, making RD5 work for the heat win.

The Main Event shaped up good with the top riders all starting out up front. Villopoto took the holeshot and Reed stuck a pass on him right away in the first whoop section confirming the lead over the following triple. Following the two was Brayton, Millsaps, Stewart and Dungey. RV2 quickly took the lead after the first lap and lead the other 19 taking the checkers. We have seen James Stewart fly through the pack early in the race before and this worked out great getting himself away from Dungey and into third place trailing Reed. James got by Chad on lap eight of the main and put a decent cushion on the #22 right away. Later on in the night Chad would catch back up to JS7 but never got close enough to make a move, although there were times it seemed he might reclaim the number two position.

The pink TLD Hondas of Cole Seely and Travis Baker were by far the best "pink bikes" we have seen at the breast cancer awareness themed A2 round.

Supercross Lites/250 Class

The Supercross Lites Main started off with Cole Seely and Eli Tomac putting their Hondas out front right off the bat. Seely was riding great and put a bit of a cushion on Tomac making it look like he was going to run away with the win. Unfortunately Seely slid his rear end out ripping down the loose dirt
of the start straight on lap four. He did however get back up in second place and stayed there for the remainder of the race. At this point, the top five riders were Tomac, Seely, Musquin, Wilson and Izzi--who ended up finishing in this same running order. Nico Izzi didn't stay in fifth the entire time though, he lost fifth place to fellow Yamaha rider Ryan Sipes and didn't gain the position back until the final lap. Even though Eli Tomac was handed the lead early on, he went on to set the fastest lap time and even tossed out a quick line going triple, triple then singling into the corner--something we hadn't seen from any of the other riders. He was riding extremely consistent all night, didn't slow down at all and was very, very confident in his mount. The Geico Honda rider took his third main event win in a row and is currently leading the points series by 22 points.

Ryan Villopoto and Eli Tomac are proving themselves as the guys to beat from the 450 and 250
classes this year in Supercross. At this point, we know there are many guys who have the speed
and can challenge these guys for the win. And the starts are important more than ever this year. With so many fast riders with the potential to win, it makes working through the pack that much more difficult. We can't count out guys like Brayton and Windham in the Supercross class or Dean Wilson riding Lites, as they have shown great speed and all have a chance at running up front.

Supercross Class Results: A2

1. Ryan Villopoto
2. James Stewart
3. Chad Reed
4. Ryan Dungey
5. Justin Brayton

Supercross Overal Points:

1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Chad Reed
3. Ryan Dungey
4. James Stewart
5. Kevin Windham

Supercross Lites Class Results: A2

1. Eli Tomac
2. Cole Seely
3. Marvin Musquin
4. Dean Wilson
5. Nico Izzi

Supercross Lites (West) Overall Points:

1. Eli Tomac
2. Dean Wilson
3. Marvin Musquin
4. Cole Seely
5. Zachary Osborne

Photos and Type-Os: Scott Hoffman

Round 3 of the 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series was something out of a spaghetti western: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. There was that moment when I witnessed Trey Canard getting landed on where I felt sick to my stomach and was in a temporary shock for almost a minute. It was one of those slow motion experiences. I had my camera down for a split second while I was changing positions and I saw Canard not triple because he had caught and was dragging one of those annoying bale covers on his footpeg. He was all the way to the left of the track and then I realized that Morais was on a collision course for Canard. If you have seen some of the photos, Canard did not get clipped, he got completely landed on. I swear at the point of impact it sounded as if I heard the impact on his helmet--unfortunately I was that close. Right after the crash the officials were telling us not to shoot photos and moved us out of the area--that made my stomach sink once more as I thought of the worst case scenario. As of late Sunday both riders are beaten up and broken but are alive and are moving and have feeling throughout their bodies. Canard has a severe concussion and reportedly fractured several vertebrae in his back. Sunday night reports said Canard might have a minor surgery later in the week because of a minor pressure spot on his spinal cord. Morais reportedly broke his jaw and his neck, yet surgery was not needed thus far and his jaw will have to be wired shut. Although this was a freak accident, it marked another dark spot in the careers of both Morais and Canard--neither of these riders can seem to avoid getting hit by the injury demon.

What does this all mean? This is something I have talked about for years, better regulations and or improved jump construction is needed when it comes to big jumps early in the race. I have asked this question for years because watching half of the pack triple while the other half doubles on that first lap is scary to witness let alone accomplish. This is not the first time a rider has been landed on or clipped by another rider on the first half lap. There is no rule unless there is a yellow flag or flashing light when it comes to jumping the triples. The question is, why have they never considered a no triple on the first lap, on the first triple, "all riders must double"? The AMA or Feld should at least talk to the riders and see if they would be interested in considering some sort of rule or protocol. Supercross is dangerous and gnarly stuff like as what happened in LA is still going to possibly happen now and again, but if they could take down or minimize a risk that riders and people have talked about over the years, it might help the sport. On the restart only the first group of riders tripled and the rest doubled, unlike the first start where most of field back in the pack were still going for the triple. Things like removing the tuff blocks from the landings of triples or big jumps and possibly filling in the gap between the second and third jump in a triple since very few riders ever double the triple. If a few changes might help avoid or reduce the severity of one accident, it could be worth it. Case in point, on the restart Villopoto landed off of the edge of the first triple. He may have crashed hard if not for the fact they did not reposition the tuff blocks where Canard crashed. RV landed right where the block would have been.

Freaky Saturday in Los Angeles
-Whether it was the rain or the location, the stadium was only about half full.
-Weather delayed and canceled practice.
-Riders got one 12-minute session to qualify for the night show.
-James Stewart only rode a handful of laps before he got tossed off his bike in the whoops.
-The Los Angeles track was more technical and had a pretty deep, short whoops section. The dirt was also loose in some sections yet had a pretty hard base.
-There were a handful of Lites who went down pretty hard during the short qualifying session because they had to go fast with little time on the track.Supercross/450
-Reed went down in his heat race losing his front end and took a gamble and switched to a Dunlop front tire he ran last year.
-Stewart won his heat race despite having less than 4 laps on the track all day.
-Following the first red flag start, the second start saw Jake Weimer with the lead while Stewart, Dungey, and Reed battled tooth and nail.
-Reed looked more aggressive than we have seen him ride supercross in some time--amazing what a possible tire change can do. Reed had been struggling with bike setup for the first two rounds.
-On the restart, Ivan Tedesco and Josh Grant went down when Tedesco apparently landed on or clipped Grant on a jump landing.
-Reed battled with Stewart for a lap or two yet Stewart did not have the speed to go heads up with Reed and eventually got passed.
-Reed reeled in Weimer, yet the funny part of the story was that Reed thought he was racing Ryan Villopoto not Weimer. He was so focused he just saw green and wanted to see open track.
-With Reed out front, Stewart set his sites on Weimer. In a pretty aggressive pass, Stewart took Weimer to the tuff blocks until he ran out of track and went down. There was a little contact but Weimer had no place to go but up the berm until his tire hit foam instead of dirt. Bummer for Weimer. He had a good chance at a second podium finish in two weeks.
-From there the chaos continued when Stewart ran wide into a turn and dropped his front wheel over the berm and fell over, giving the runner-up spot to Dungey. Stewart did recover to finish on the box for the first time this year.



Lites/250
-First off I hate calling the classes Supercross and Lites, but that is what they call them. I like 250 and 450.
-Round 3 and another new winner. This time it is Geico Honda Eli Tomac, and it was a well-deserved win.
-Who got the short end of the stick in LA? That had to go to Lucas Oil, TLD rider Cole Seely. The Anaheim 1 winner entered the first turn in the lead but the pack kept pushing him all they way to the outside until he ran out of track. There was almost nothing he could do; he tried to change directions yet it didn't happen. Seely finished 15 and is now 16 points out of the championship race.

-Eli Tomac is now the point leader in the West with a one-point advantage over Dean Wilson, 63 vs 62.
-Wilson had another solid ride but after coming from around 4th at the start, he could not reel in Tomac who was on that night.
-A new name to the box in LA was American GP rider Zach Osborne. The part-time US rider made his first podium and ran much of the race in the runner-up position.
-Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin rode well but did not fare well. A terrible start in the main forced him to charge back, which he did, then he crashed while in 4th with only three laps to go. Musquin took a ride back to the truck in a UTV--he looked OK but motioned he hit his chest pretty hard.
-Tomac has the point lead with 63, Wilson close behind with 62, and Rattray right behind them at 60.

Supercross Point Standings: Following round 3
1 Ryan Dungey - 67
2 Chad Reed - 63
3 Ryan Villopoto - 63
4 James Stewart - 48
5 Jake Weimer - 48
6 Kevin Windham - 43
7 Brett Metcalfe - 38
8 Josh Hansen - 36
9 Andrew Short - 36
10 Davi Millsaps - 28

250 West Point Standings: Following round 3

1 Eli Tomac - 63
2 Dean Wilson - 62
3 Tyla Rattray - 60
4 Cole Seely - 47
5 Zach Osborne - 47
6 Jason Anderson - 44
7 Marvin Musquin - 42
8 Max Anstie - 32
9 Nico Izzi - 32
10 Billy Laninovich - 27

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!

Photos and interview: Scott Hoffman

Last year was an epic season and Ryan Villopoto emerged the victor despite some bad luck, yet that luck also swung his way as well, which helped secure his first premier title and Monster Energy AMA Supercross and FIM World Supercross Champion of 2011. RV kicked off 2012 just like he left 2011--a winner. He almost made it look easy. We can honestly say his night was rock solid whereas his rivals Chad Reed, James Stewart, and Ryan Dungey touched the ground or had some issues at least once during the main. So it's safe to say the top dogs were not able to challenge the champ in a fair fight . . . yet. And I imagine that it's not going to be that easy as the series leaves So Cal for Phoenix, Arizona, and then 15 more rounds after that. We got a few words with the champ right after he nabbed the trophy for the well-deserved victory.

"I rode good. This one felt a lot easier than last year so I'm excited with it and I'm excited to see what's to come."

Motocross.com: You don't seem too surprised with the win?
Ryan Villopoto: It feels good. I felt like this one was a lot easier than last year. Not to say that it was easy, but I felt a lot better in these 20 laps in a race than I have in a long time, or ever I should say, so I'm excited to see what's to come.

Seems like you got out front and pretty much rode your own race and didn't seem worried about the guys behind you.
No, you can't be worried about the guys behind you. Once I got the holeshot I tried to put in smooth, clean laps and pull away and that's all I could do.

You had no idea that James and Chad went down and Dungey had a little off-track excursion? A lot of stuff was going on behind you and you were just cruising in for the win.
No, I rode smooth and flawless. I felt good other than that one big mistake on the triple on where I almost went down. I'm just looking forward to Phoenix.

What's it like to get this particular race out of the way and win it?
Anaheim 1 is probably one of the hardest races to win. There's a lot of hype around it, a lot of pressure to see where you're at and where everyone is at. I'm glad it's out of the way. I feel good with where we're at. Believe me, they aren't all going to be that easy, not that that was easy but I feel like I'm in a very good position.

When you're out in front like that what do you do to maintain your pace?
Just keep pushing really. Lap time was long tonight. It's not normally that long. Lap times were 1:00, 1:01 and those are long lap times. Just stay focused, there was a lot of moisture coming up through the track. It was rutty in practice and when we did the hot lap you could see the dirt was shiny. It was really slippery so you just had to stay on your toes and maybe ride some of the outsides.



What did you think of the track?
I liked the track in terms of safety. It was safe but I think they can still make it safe but maybe make some longer straightaways. There was a lot of turning. To race a 450 on a track like this is really hard. Because of the weight and the power, you're always switching directions so it's pretty hard to race a 450, it's pretty tiring. The track is tight and just switching the weight going from right to left and then the power just all of a sudden exploding it just makes it hard. It's not a 250F.

The starts are important, talk us through the start.
I lined up next to the box and there was a little bit of a hole out in front of my gate but I felt like the space in between the box that it gives you on the right was better for me than to line up in another gate. I just tried to leave the gate without a wheelie because the dirt was really tacky and I was able to do that. I had a little bit of a problem in the heat race with my clutch. We just made a little adjustment with the screw behind the lever to bring it out from the bar just a little bit and give me a little more swing on the lever.

At precisely 12:22 p.m. tomorrow, the Nike Chosen contest will wrap its summer round by announcing a single crew -- skate, surf, or BMX -- as its winner. That moment, twenty-two minutes after noon, will mark the end of a nine-week campaigning period by crews from every corner of the action-sports globe, who've put their creativity and promo skills to use in the bid to be Chosen. At 12:22, Nike athletes will pick from among the finalist crews and hand one of them the keys to a dream life: cash, clothes, travel and fun.

But before that, the nine Chosen semifinalists have to be narrowed to three -- and that's where we come in.

Fans can still vote today to cut the field from the current contenders -- four surf crews, two skate crews, and three BMX -- to just three global finalists. Right now, the USA crew (The Wild Lyfe from the East Coast) is leading with over 9,500 votes. They've proven over and over their ability to get attention and rally fans to support the cause online -- and it looks like that effort will take them into the final three tomorrow.

But from there, it's up to Nike's athletes to decide who's worthy of "living like a pro." Vote today and tune in to the live US Open of Surfing webcast at 12:22 p.m. tomorrow to see who gets the nod. Actually, better show up a bit early -- make it 12:21. Won't want to miss this.

VOTE HERE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE: http://apps.facebook.com/nike-chosen/
crews

Current standings as of 9:30 a.m. on Saturday August 6th

SURF The WIld Lyfe 9,575

SURF A Justando Itinerario 8,469

SURF FUS 7,687

SKATE Noorder Light 6,849

BMX B'STOKED 4,337

BMX Taylors 4,082

BMX The Wild Bunch 3,632

SKATE Compadre Crew 3,596

SURF ALC 3,202