Who will get the holeshot on the new season? Well it won't be Mike Alessi (800) since the quick-start artist jumped ship to KTM and will forego the entire AMA Supercross series.
We’re on the eve of another season of
AMA Supercross and 2010 is shaping up to be one of the best yet. Feld Motor Sports retains the 17-race schedule with eight rounds for each of the East and West 250 divisions with a non-points-paying shootout at the finale in Las Vegas. The schedule has been shuffled a bit with Houston now in the last half of the series and Dallas taking the place of New Orleans. One of the big things going into this season is the injuries, or the lack thereof. It was a tough off-season as riders vied for a shrinking amount of rides, but now that the teams are set, the pits look to be full of not just racers, but healthy racers. That’s exactly what everyone was hoping for.
Below you’ll find a list of the more prominent teams, but the big news this year is the joining of two major motorcycle forces – Chad Reed and Ryan Villopoto. Reed jumped ship from Rockstar Makita Suzuki to the Monster Energy Kawasaki program. We missed out on seeing these two goliaths form a searing rivalry in the outdoor series when RV called it quits for knee surgery. Now they have the new dynamic of being teammates, but are certain to emerge as hard-fought competitors too. The move proved beneficial for Reed right away as he claimed the Australasian Supercross Championship aboard his new
Kawasaki KX450F.
"I’m not someone that likes to jump around and go to different teams and try to jell with a whole new package and team year after year," said Reed of the switch. "So I was kind of planning on being at Suzuki for the rest of my career. But budget issues were getting louder and louder and clearer and clearer each week, so it just seemed like the shift started around the outdoor series... So we just started talking and I got a chance to ride the bike, and it’s all good. I’m really excited – the guys are great guys, and I think I’m jelling with the team. It all came together kind of late and fast, but it’s all turned out for the good...
"It’s gonna be a long Supercross season. I think Villopoto is steppin’ it up; J.G. (Josh Grant) is steppin’ it up; we’ve got (Ryan) Dungey coming in. So a lot of fast guys are coming in, and I think at the end of the year it will boil down to who is there week in and week out. You gotta win races, and that’s really what held me back (in 2009). I was in position to win races early on and never got it done. So that’s something I want to change this year and come out swinging."
Villopoto, meanwhile, showed up at the US Open and finished second behind James Stewart, but otherwise hasn’t raced since Hangtown at the end of May. ACL injuries are known to take a long time to recover, but the multi-time 250 champ has taken plenty of time off to rehab and should come out of the gate swinging.
James Stewart is again working alongside Larry Brooks and the San Manuel L&M Yamaha team has the most race experience of any with the new YZ450F.
Stewart has to be the heavy favorite heading into Anaheim this weekend as the reigning champ and has a new bike in the
2010 Yamaha YZ450F. JS7 struggled at times last year with his Yamaha, but the 2010 bike is much different from the old version and his San Manuel Band of Mission Indians team has had some time to shake out any bugs. Maybe not as much as they would have preferred, but definitely more than anyone else with the new bike. Stewart took the summer off, a move that disappointed many outdoor fans, but the rest allowed him to focus on 2010 Supercross plans and to get some much-deserved rest. He kept himself busy with a few ride days to hang out with his fans and have some fun on a YZ250 2-stroke.
"Basically, over the off-season I was pretty busy doing a lot of stuff," he said. "I raced the U.S. Open and I actually went to California five times in one month – just going out for one day and then flying back home. So it’s been hectic."
Well, the man isn’t playing around anymore. With former factory Yamaha rider Josh Hill as his teammate, Stewart is looking to restart his slugfest with Reed. Hill has been practicing with Stewart since last season and the Oregon rider is rumored to be riding better than ever.
Anaheim 1 saw a brand new winner last year when JGRMX Yamaha rider Josh Grant took the main event in a crazy race that saw smoke and fireworks. Reed and Stewart collided and Grant took advantage. That win was just the beginning of the best year of his career thus far. Only an injury at X Games last summer slowed him down. Grant is back with the JGR squad and was looking to mount a serious charge, but an injury in this week has put a question mark on his presence at A1. His teammate, Justin Brayton, will have to pick up the slack and he's been getting faster and faster now that he’s on the big bikes.
Josh Grant won Anaheim 1 last year (shown), and the JGRMX Yamaha rider should factor in to the championship race if he can stay healthy and ride to his potential.
These established heavy hitters will have a serious problem on their hands now that Ryan Dungey is jumping into the fray. After a stellar career on 250F bikes with Rockstar Makita Suzuki, the Minnesota native will take over Reed’s vacated position and take on the big boys full time. Dungey proved that he’s more than qualified by leading Team USA to victory in the Motocross des Nations and earning the overall individual title. Roger DeCoster has put his faith in Dungey to carry the team with newcomers Austin Stroupe and Matt Moss piloting the RM-Z250 machines.
Red Bull Honda returns with a potent duo in Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short. Shorty has been the most consistent point-scorer on the entire professional circuit over the past few years, but the friendly CRF450R rider needs to find the extra speed to run up front. His sure-and-steady approach has netted him a factory ride and solid results over his career, but can Short etch his name in the record books for good? Millsaps has just as much of a chance as any of the challengers if he can keep it on two wheels and stay healthy. Davi always seems to get derailed by injury, so here’s hoping he’ll be able to shake that bad luck.
Another Honda rider worth mentioning is Kevin Windham. The wily veteran is back for another season with the GEICO Powersports Honda team and is leading a cast of very fast and very hungry young riders. Bret Metcalfe, Trey Canard, Justin Barcia and Blake Wharton have the speed to win races in the 250 division. But, if they want to stand atop the podium they’ll have to get past the notorious Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki squad which has racked up more titles than any other satellite team. Christophe Pourcel is back after claiming a title last year along with Jake Weimer, Tyla Rattray and rookie Dean Wilson. Watch for the 250F riders to generate some of the most heated battles of the season.
Mercedes Terrell joins a revamped cast as Miss Supercross 2010.
Supercross gets a new voice this year with the Steve “Lurch” Scott signing on to announce. Following in the footsteps of names like Rob Buydos and Erv Braun, Scott joins Jeff Emig, Ralph Sheheen and Erin Bates as the crew of headline media men/women. “I have a great opportunity ahead of me and I’m extremely excited for the upcoming season,” said the former IFMA announcer. “I hope to bring a new spin to the meat and potatoes that have already made this such an amazing sport.”
Not only is there a new voice, but a new face as well. Mercedes Terrell was named Miss Supercross for this year. The raven-haired beauty had this to say about her new role with the series: “I can’t say enough about how excited I am! I've grown up around Supercross and in my opinion it’s the greatest sport with the most amazing athletes in the world, but above all, the fans at Supercross are unlike any other. I hope they'll love me as much as I love them!
Don’t worry if you can’t make it out to Anaheim this weekend, you won’t have to miss the new personalities or on-track action with live coverage on SPEED. It’s part of a massive live presentation including Feld Motor Sports’ other stadium interest, Monster Jam. The SX portion starts at 10 p.m. EST – that’s 7 p.m. for you West Coast folks. A1 is the first of five rounds to be shown live on SPEED along with Indianapolis, Atlanta, Toronto and the season finale at Las Vegas. The rest of the television package includes delayed broadcasts on SPEED along with additional coverage on CBS with more emphasis on specialty pieces like the Four Legends Show profiling SX greats Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed and James Stewart. Watch for that on February 28 at noon (EST).
Last year saw one of the best season-long battles the sport has witnessed, and there’s nothing to suggest that the two big dogs won’t pick up right where they left off. Villopoto has to be considered in that elite crew making it a trio, but toss in any number of their teammates and there’s a possibility for multiple race winners. If you have even the slightest interest in SX then you better start paying attention. It starts right now.
Stewart and Reed don't much like each other. Watch for them to heat things up out on the track as they rekindle their rivalry.
Chad Reed (450)
Ryan Villopoto (450)
L&M San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Yamaha
James Stewart (450)
Josh Hill (450)
Red Bull Honda
Davi Millsaps (450)
Andrew Short (450)
Rockstar Makita Suzuki
Ryan Dungey (450)
Matt Moss (450)
Austin Stroupe (250 East)
JGRMX Yamaha
Josh Grant (450)
Justin Brayton (450)
Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki
Josh Hansen (250 West)
Christophe Pourcel (250 West)
Jake Weimer (250 West)
Dean Wilson (250 East)
Tyla Rattray (250 East)
GEICO Powersports Honda
Ryan Villopoto picked up some wins last year and he's had plenty of time to heal his wounded knee.
Kevin Windham (450)
Justin Barcia (250 East)
Trey Canard (250 West)
Bret Metcalfe (250 East)
Blake Wharton (250 West)
FMF KTM
Tommy Searle (250 West)
Motosport Kawasaki
Tommy Hahn (450)
MotoConcepts Yamaha
Matt Goerke (450)
Dan Reardon (450)
Jeff Alessi (250 West)
Vince Friese (250 East)
Ryan Sipes (250 East)
DNA Shred Sticks/Star Racing Yamaha
20 Broc Tickle (250 West)
48 Max Anstie (250 West)
321 Gautier Paulin (250 West)
341 Nico Izzi (250 East)
577 Martin Davalos (250 East)
J-Law Racing/Boost Mobile/ampm
Jason Lawrence (450)
Grant Langston (450)
