Quick snapshots from Anaheim 1, 2010

As usual I did more work that I hope for, but isn't that what we all hope on a Saturday :-) Yeah, I know, he said "rest on the 7th day".

 

Nothing special, just some pics with moto in it



 Stephan "Lebig" Legrand from LebigUSA.com and Uber photographer Jeff Kardas.

German wonder boy, Ken Roczen, on his way to blitzkrieg the West Coast SX Lites series. Ken is an awesome kid. That guy is a bowl of fresh air in SX.

 Still shooting catalogs and official pics.

Davi's wrench, Alex Ewing working on the #18

Lars and his new pony for 2011, Chad Reed's Honda

Travis was at the Smith Optics booth :-)

Davi before the first practice of the year.

Getting the GoPro set for qualies

Old pals, Goose and Berlutti

Brayton getting in the staging area.

2010 Teams Thoughts or Opinions

jhn145 at mxinsiders.com posted a good thread on the upcoming season. This is what I replied.

Great subject John. I think that the upcoming season is a very important one because it can be the beginning of serious changes in the landscape of US supercross. We are seeing bigger, stronger, factory-support teams with potential Top 7 riders (IT at Valli, Reardon at MotoConcept, Hahn and Moss at Motosport, Hill along JS7 at L&M and the duelists at JGR, GL8 at JLR). Is this the last year that Honda and Kawasaki will be factory-run teams? maybe not, if the title sponsors have enough $$, like the Fiat Yamaha and Repsol Honda teams of MotoGP, some factories will still be able to run their own structures.

It's hard to bet against the trio of Stewart, Reed and still somehow, RV, but behind the horde is hungry, will be very aggressive and in contract year motivation for some (the Honda boyz). I believe that, as much as JS7, CR22 and RV2 are strong and solid, anything can happen (as we've seen in the frantic 2009 SX series) and the Outsiders, the mega pack of outsiders, can do anything and surely score podium spots.

I can see DM18, Shorty, Ryan Dungey, Hill, Reardon, Moss, Hahn, IT, Josh Grant and JB114 play hard and race good.

DM is motivated, he is feeling good right now and seem to be happy with the 2010 450. Short for sure will be on it. IT has "revenge" tattooed on his knuckles. Dungey The Rookie will be on the gas on the 450, as he showed it in '08. all are strong racers, all can jump on any opportunity given by RV, JS and CR. This season, it's all going to be about the starts because lots of those guys are hard to pass and won't let any door open too long.

Is RV overrated right now, or is the hype justified? Is he back to his top form, is he 100% able to tackle James Stewart and Chad? is he good with the 450?

The season is looking good (although we've said that a lot, every December)
:)

It's all about Rockstar

Isn't it

US Open Friday - 1st semi on the grid

Blose took the lead over Wey quickly, Voss finished 3rd

85cc race

The 'next Carmichael', young Adam Cianciarulo wins, jumped the big double all race long. Fun to watch. Jessie Masterpool and Chris Alldredge make the podium, Aldridge look very smooth and more consistent in his laps.

Friday Night Alpinestars 85cc Mini Invitational
1. Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki
2. Chris Alldredge, Yamaha
3. Jesse Masterpool, Suzuki
4. Keith Tucker, Yamaha
5. Thomas Covington, Kawasaki

Heat 3 Friday

After a half-lap battle with Hansen Bubba is gone, half a mile lead.
Hansen then Byrne then Boni then Partridge.
Big race between those 3.

Final results on that order

Heat 2 Friday

After battling a couple laps, DM wins ahead of Reardon, then Siebler then 57.

US Open is on

Opening ceremonies

US Open of SX 09 - Friday practice

It's good to see some racing again even if the US Open is not looking close to what it was. The pits are small, there are much fewer semis and top 10 riders than ever (as many are here but without a ride like Chad Reed, Josh Hill or IT).
The track is extremely disappointing and I would say shitty compared to previous years. It looks easier than the usual Arenacross tracks, but of course James Stewart is way above the rest (including RV2 and DM18). James managed to make the track technical by jumping combos that only him could create. On the last practice he shaved his best time by 1 second, in the last lap when all other riders had already left the track. I hope for those guys their team filmed JS7.
DM is there, strong as well as RV and a looking-good Will Hahn, Dan Reardon has speed too.

A side note to welcome Ezra Yogi Lusk (#11) to racing. He's still way off the Top 5 but looks good for a guy coming back from 5 or 6 years of retirement.

Lots of crashes and gnarly riding in the 85cc practice. Adam "the future of US motocross" Ciancarulo is here but needs to tame it a little bit if he wants to stay on 2 wheels. Only one of the kids jumped the finish line double and it looked sketchy the 2 times he tried.

Here's some easy shots from this afternoon.