RJ Says: State of Supercross

As the West Region ends for a while, and East region gets ready to start up ... In 250 West Supercross 2010, Jake Weimer and Trey Canard are showing a lot of confidence right now. I'm very impressed with both of these racers right now. This past race at Anaheim was a good example for both of them.

Series points leader Jake Weimer has a great heat race with a win, even after that heat was red-flagged. Jake had some trouble in the Main Event, but showed his smarts by charging hard the full 15 laps, coming up to eighth at the finish ... that could literally save his season and potentially the championship title.

Trey had some problems in his heat, but came back very strong in the final - he won the 250 Main in Anaheim. That shows a lot of maturity from him as a rider.

They are both adapting well to the tracks, which this year seem to be a little tighter, which can sometimes make it harder to pass other riders on. Both are showing a lot of confidence, and a lot of maturity.

The big picture for the two of them right now is they get to settle down and take a break away from this series. Once you start racing in a new year, you reach a new plateau of physical fitness because you push yourself harder when racing as compared to practice. They've had six races back-to-back.

For Trey, he's supposed to be doing a few East Coast races for Honda Red Bull racing in the 450 Supercross class. That will be a good (and new) experience for him lining up against the guys in the 450 class. You have the top three guys in supercross from last year - James Stewart, Chad Reed and Andrew Short all out of action with injuries - the sky is the limit for everyone. I think it will be a great confidence builder as well for Trey to get out there and run with the 450's.

OK, now, big picture for the 450 Supercross class. You have three guys trying to separate themselves from the others, and it could very well be that one of these three riders will end up being the 2010 AMA Supercross Series Champion: Ryan Dungey, Josh Hill, and Ryan Villopoto.

Ryan Dungey, after coming off a great 450 ride in October at the Motocross des Nations, and starting this supercross season with a lot of confidence, ... seems to me, ... and I could be wrong, like he is thinking about the championship already. It seems like he's looking at a lot of different things possibly different than how he has in the past. He might be riding more defensively than he was earlier in the season ... he's looking at potentially different set ups for suspension and tires, and possibly more.

I think if Ryan rides smooth and calculated like he did at the first couple of rounds, he'll get back in the good groove that he was in.

Josh Hill: He's been there (near the front) every weekend. Once he gets his 'break thru' win of this season, he'll know that he can win, and I think he'll be a different rider. He's fun to watch, he's really quick in a lot of areas, and isn't afraid to mix it up with guys.

Ryan Villopoto: At the first couple rounds he didn't look real impressive. He wasn't 'putting it all together'. But now, and you saw it last weekend in Anaheim, he rode very fast, was impressive, smooth, and made very few mistakes. I think he's very comfortable running in the top position on the race track. Ryan looks to be 'coming on' right now, ... and Hill and Dungey will have to do something about it if they want it to change.

RJ


Trey Canard on top in Anaheim


Jake Weimer winning in San Diego


Ryan Dungey winning in Phoenix


Josh Hill leading Davi Millsaps and Kevin Windham


Ryan Villopoto winning in Anaheim last weekend

Source: http://www.supercross.com/rj-says/rj-says-state-of-supercross

Michele Rinaldi Joël Robert Ken Roczen

Thursday Wallpapers - Anaheim SX Opener

MX Adventures: Leaving the West Coast ... talking with Kevin Windham

Who dat?

This week I caught up with Kevin Windham. In the video below, Kevin Windham talks about the Superbowl Champions, the NFL's New Orleans Saints, his family, his future plans for racing and beyond.

The Superbowl XLIV champions, the New Orleans Saints, have many fans - among them is none other than the number 14 in Supercross, Kevin Windham. While the NFL season started when Supercross was in its off season, Kevin was able to take part in season tickets to his favorite NFL team - da' Saints. Eventually the 2010 Supercross season got underway in January, which meant Kevin was flying off after those Saturday night Main Events back East to watch the New Orleans Saints Playoff games.

On February 7, 2010 the New Orleans Saints headed to the Superbowl in Miami, Florida and Kevin Windham and his wife Dottie made arrangements to attend this momentous occasion. First, however Kevin had to finish up a Supercross race in San Diego the night before.

You'll like what Kevin has to 'say' about the Saints, and more: )


Ange: Supercross went 'Pink' and helped towards a cure and to raise awareness of Breast Cancer, what do you think?

Kevin: Honda is doing its part, MSR, & DVS is doing some things with hats and stuff and to be a part of it is an honor. Being a professional I think it is important and one of the biggest things we can do is to bring awareness to causes like this, Breast Cancer awareness, which I think is great. I personally know people that have been affected. Being a father, a son, husband and all, I think no one is exempt from this and awareness is a good thing. Every little bit financially helps. Feld, the riders and the teams are doing whatever little bit they can and in the grand scheme of things it is an honor.


You are sitting near eighth place right now, how are you feeling about your season?

Horrible. I am not happy with eighth at all. I had a really poor ride in San Francisco and then had a malfunction in San Diego which took me way out of the points. I think obviously everybody knows I am better than eighth and there is time to get where I need to be. I think the points are fairly tight and obviously I am back a little ways but anything can happen.

Dungey laid down the bike in the first turn, and we have a lot of riders going through some really weird stuff. We are not out of it yet but we need to minimize our mistakes and malfunctions. I thought in San Diego I was in a great position to get on the podium, the top 4 or 5 you could throw a blanket over us, it was that close and it was exciting to be a part of that race and hopefully I can do the same here but make it the entire 20 laps.


How is the family and all those little Windham kids?

Things are great! There is a lot going on at our house. We are starting a new business; Planet Fitness Gyms. I am juggling that and some of the opportunities Dottie and I have had go to different places, raising babies, and oh yeah racing motorcycles as well. You know it is all good and fun as my kids are between seven and four months old right now, so parenting is starting to get exciting.

You got a little bit of push from the seven year old with the talking back and then we have the complete infant baby stage, with Elizabeth our littlest one. It is a wide variety of parenting techniques that are being used in our house right now. It is tough to keep them straight, it seems like I am raising two and two are just kind of running wild out in the yard but, it is so much fun and it is really cool to get home after these long weekends where I have not seen them for a few days. They run up to me and I get thirty minute hugs, it is very cool.


A new business endeavor with Dottie, Planet Fitness Gyms sounds pretty cool Kevin!

Yeah, my wife and I are planning to open up a few Planet Fitness gyms in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area and we are really gearing towards the future. I have said that 2014 would be my retirement plan and obviously some good times have to happen between now and then for me to go four more years. Obviously not falling and hitting the ground and being able to keep your job in this industry, which has been tough the last few years. That is my goal and it is significant to me because my number is 14 and 2014 is also my twentieth season of professional. That is the goal for now and at this point it is very important for us to find out what we are going to do to keep us busy after racing. Right now it is opening Planet Fitness Gyms.


I know there must be a bunch of people that you have to thank that help you day to day.

Yeah, I could not be here without the Geico Powersports Honda Team. The economy is tough on a lot of these teams and my team is sticking strong and they are a great team to be representing. I have DVS, MSR, Spy, Shoei Helmets, Gaerne Boots, Amsoil, and Planet Fitness have all been instrumental in both the team and helping me. Planet Fitness is also helping in this new business endeavor. There are a ton of people that come together to make this thing happen and it is always a pleasure to be a part of this sport and we will keep it going for four more years.


Ange

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Source: http://www.supercross.com/mx-adventures/mx-adventures-leaving-the-west-coast-taking-with-kevin-windham

Pierre Renet Marc de Reuver Michele Rinaldi