The series moves east-ish to Phoenix Arizona which is notorious for a slick surface and more unpredictable racing.
The series moves east-ish to Phoenix Arizona which is notorious for a slick surface and more unpredictable racing.
Words- Kevin Husted
Photos- James Lissimore
SX Class
The talk of the mx world has been traction control rumors on James Stewart’s Yamaha. The rumors became even more topical due to that deer in headlights expression on James’ face when questioned about it on the live broadcast.
On TV it was made to sound like JGR was accusing Larry Brooks’ team of some shady practices, apparently now reality TV show drama is applicable to real-time sporting events when the producer feels an inkling to work a little spin.
The further the story develops, it turns out it’s really not the issue it was hyped up to be, is it ever? So did the L&M Team use an intriguing piece of equipment at Phoenix? Absolutely and that’s where this bees nest ends, it was no more traction control than the rev-limiter that Justin Barcia torture test’s on every ride. The difference being, this was a foreign device, not seen previously on the SX tour.
Phoenix would certainly be an appropriate round to implement traction control though, as we’ve seen in years past, the track has a slippery surface where pushing the issue will usually find you kissing terrafirma. James rode a helluva smart race, even stating on the podium he was putting in about 70% to keep the rubber side down. RV wasn’t so reserved with his approach and a simple miscalculation in lean angle just before mechanics row left him on the ground just long enough to postpone a battle with Stewart for another round. Bummer, whether James was really just putting in 70% or not, I thought RV looked just aggressive enough to take care of Bubba in Phoenix, turns out he was a notch above “just enough”.
If James really did back it down, he showed a reserved side, seldom displayed by number 7 which spells trouble for his opponents. It’s akin to riding down to your competition, doing just enough to secure a win (Chad Reed in 2008 comes to mind). I don’t see this as a repeatable tactic unless the track is determining it, as it was in Phoenix.
Trey Canard continued to impress and it’s great to see such a good guy with awesome personality get on the podium and express it.
Reedy improved on his A1 result with a solid though very quiet 4th. He looked better and sounds more optimistic with each race, so that’s a great thing for us to look forward to.
Dungey continues to look very robotic out there. He’s just lacking the flow he showed last year, he did finish 5th though which is pretty damn good considering his mechanical appearance.
Brayton rode his ass off to finish 6th, he dealt with a bit of adversity in the main and regrouped very well.
As you would expect, Shorty did work all week and it paid off with a better finish. I can’t imagine a better fit for the KTM 350 than Shorty in the eyes of KTM management. They know Shorty is the one person who will work himself into the ground and never make an excuse to prove his worth on any bike. In the end, if Shorty doesn’t match his production from last year before his injury, it will be only the equipment to blame.
Who got 8th? Ummmm, was it… no… Oh! I know Brett Metcalfe (story of his life). The guy, much like Andrew, just busts ass all race long with little exposure and in the end is one of the top 10 fastest guys in the sport. Don’t fret Brett, you know the drill by now and you’re doing just fine.
Im really happy to see Chizzy getting closer to where I feel he should be week in and week out. The guy is fast and long gone are the days of being Bubba’s team-mate where he was thrown to the SX class with limited SX experience on any size bike. With Kyle’s size and ability a good start would make it hard to get around him these days.
Kyle Regal did a lot better this week and he’s my pick for the guy who it’s really going to click for going into Dodger stadium. I think Regal’s going to have the most improved finish from Phoenix to LA. We’ll see.
Lastly, it seemed that every time there was carnage on the track in Phoenix Ryan Clark was nearby. Im not going to go as far to say the dude shouldnt be out there, thats ridiculous, he fought to make it in like everyone else; but for crap sakes pay attention to the flags. Im sure by now Clark has a pretty well developed intuition when the sound coming up behind him is competition or a car from the locomotive lead pack.
SX Lites Class
Yowza, Ken Roczen’s nickname should be Timex cause that guy showed in Phoenix that yes, he can indeed take a licken’ and keep on ticken’. Well, within reason, I mean when he went ass over kettle in the sand I was certain he was concussed. That was a hard hit. Looks like he just needs to reel it in a touch and fine tune his SX craft instead of just attacking like he is used to.
Glad to see Moe move a step closer to where he should be.
I predicted a Tickle win and unfortunately it’s not looking good for me to get my money back from that Ms.Cleo hotline for fortune telling. Bitch. Broc looked great again but two things I didn’t plan on happening, 1- A tip over in a corner and 2- Consistency from Lil Hanny. Im a big believer in history repeating itself so I will continue to bank on it ending at some point but if it doesn’t, awesome job Hanny; love a good comeback story.
Tomac took a big step towards righting the ship after his shell shocking A1 finish. Maybe he can pull off the antithesis of his National season and start slow, then finish with a title? We’ll see.
Jimmy Decotis stepped in for injured Wilbur and did a respectful job, that Jimmy, full of New England spice and just riding his tail off. He’ll get better too no dewt abewt it.
In an effort to end this during your 3rd or 4th yawn, just before you doze-off, there you have it. More purely speculative conjecture, from an objective view. (Well, other than any comments about Broc, which would still ring true anyhow).
