The 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship series is now in full effect with round one officially in the books. For round number two, the best Supercross riders on the planet load up and head to the valley of the sun–Phoenix, Arizona’s Chase Field–to see if they can put to use what they learned at the opener last weekend in Anaheim. Over the years, the first few rounds of the Supercross series have been a discovery mission for the riders and teams, and so far, what they’ve found out is that Ryan Villopoto has come into 2012 ready to defend his 2011 Supercross Championship.

Villopoto came into 2012 with a big red #1 on his Monster Energy Factory Kawasaki and a big red target on his back. Unfortunately for his competition, they couldn’t get close enough to see that target. The 2011 Champion grabbed the holeshot and proceeded to check out on the field–to the tune of a twenty-second lead–and made his first win of the new year look easy. The big question now is can he continue this dominance as the series rolls into Phoenix for round two?

Ryan Villopoto - Supercross - 2012
Will anybody be able to raise their game and compete with the #1 as the series heads to round two? Photo: Courtesy of Supercross.com

In 2011, Villopoto won round one, but at round two the James Stewart we were expecting in Anaheim decided to show up and represent. After getting a solid third at A1 last season, James won Phoenix and made it look relatively easy in the process. Last weekend, though, the Joe Gibbs Racing/Yamaha superstar finished off the box with a sixth in the first 2012 main event of the year and looked more uncomfortable than we have ever seen. Every time James took the JGRMX Yamaha to the edge–which we’re so used to seeing him on–it appeared that a familiar JS7 yard show would soon follow and, late in the race, that is exactly what happened. James cross-rutted and ended up in a tough block–and down hard.

Most of the attention surrounding James’ crash this week seemed to center around his tires. With Pirelli being an unproven Supercross tire, there were questions about whether or not James could ride on the edge with them, and those questions loomed larger following his Anaheim 1 performance. Supposedly James has not been feeling good with the team’s choice of tire and was even caught running one of Dunlop’s unobtainable works rear tires with a Bridgestone on the front–both disguised with Pirelli stickers–in practice to find that comfort. That tire combination netted the former two-time Supercross Champ the fastest lap in practice, but after returning to the Pirelli tires for the main left James looking tentative. Some think the weight riders put on tire compounds is mostly a mental thing, but mental or not, James was not feeling good on the his tires just yet.

Ryan Dungey - Supercross - 2012
Can Ryan improve on his round one podium and bring the Red Bull/KTM squad their first-ever win in the premier class? Photo: Courtesy of KTM - Hoppenworld

The two men that looked the most comfortable at A1 were coincidentally the only two men of the top four returning for 2012 on the same brand and team. With that comfort, they went 1-2 at the opener. Sometimes change is good, but in the cases of Chad Reed and Ryan Villopoto, not changing seems even better. Chad Reed and his Two Two Motorsports/Bel-Ray Honda team turned a second place start into a second place finish despite having a tip over in the middle of the race. Chad was a bit off the pace of Villopoto, but looked smooth and fit on his way to scoring a solid twenty-two points. Reed has perfected the game of being the most consistent rider on the track, so a second place to start the season is a great start for the former two-time SX champ.

The last man on the box for the opener last weekend was the Red Bull/KTM-mounted Ryan Dungey. There were many skeptics out there that thought the Minnesota kid had no shot on the Austrian machine in 2012, but Ryan quickly silenced them with a third in the opener. Now as the series heads to Phoenix, Ryan needs to begin to silence the other skeptics–those that think he is just too nice. In a situation reminiscent of seasons past, Ryan caught Reedy in Anaheim, but after getting his hooks in Reed, was unable to pull the trigger. If Ryan was faster than everyone, that would be one thing, but when he’s surrounded by guys his speed that are willing to bang, he needs to bang back. Let’s hope he can put away the nice guy routine and lace up the gloves as the series moves forward.

jake-weimer-supercross-2012
Jake came into 2012 a huge question mark, and answered a lot of those questions at Anaheim 1. Photo: Courtesy of Supercross.com

This week at MotoXAddicts, we started a poll asking who fans think will be the first 450 dark horse to land on the podium. At the moment, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer and Muscle Milk/Honda’s Justin Brayton are currently tied at the top. First off, this shows just how in-tune our readers are. Second, I agree. These two finished fourth (Brayton) and fifth (Weimer)–and both did it coming from behind. Both men are hard workers who will not squander factory rides by riding around in seventh. We expect both of them to begin to land on the box, even as soon as this Saturday night.

While the top six finishers from Anaheim I appear to be the guys who will battling near the front all year long, there is still a laundry list of guys that could step up to join them. Andrew Short showed, with his Supercross.com/Honda, that he is very much at home on the red bike, while both H&H/Dodge/Kawaski’s Ivan Tedesco and MotoConcepts’ Mike Alessi showed they’ve done their homework. All three had more speed than we’ve seen in recent years–and an apparent willingness to fight for every position. We’ll see if they can improve on that as the series moves to Phoenix.

Last, but definitely not least, we just got word via @TreyCanard on Twitter that the number forty-one will be on the line for the Phoenix Supercross [you can read it here]. With Trey’s long list of injuries over the last eight months, we’re not sure what to expect, but one thing you can count on is 200% out of the Muscle Milk/Honda rider. Welcome back, Trey Canard!

Check out the Phoenix Supercross Animated Track Map. 450 Points below. 


 Supercross Class Points

1 1 Ryan Villopoto Seattle, WA, USA 25
2 22 Chad Reed Dade City, FL, USA 22
3 5 Ryan Dungey Belle Plaine, MN, USA 20
4 10 Justin Brayton Murrieta, NC, USA 18
5 21 Jake Weimer Wildomar, ID, USA 16
6 7 James Stewart Haines City, FL, USA 15
7 29 Andrew Short Smithville, TX 14
8 14 Kevin Windham Centreville, MS, USA 13
9 800 Mike Alessi Hilliard, CA, USA 12
10 100 Joshua Hansen Elbert, CO, USA 11
11 24 Brett Metcalfe Lake Elsinore, CA, USA 10
12 25 Broc Tickle Holly, MI, USA 9
13 9 Ivan Tedesco Murrieta, CA, USA 8
14 11 Kyle Chisholm Valrico, FL, USA 7
15 65 Ryan Morais Murrieta, CA, USA 6
16 18 David Millsaps Murrieta, CA, USA 5
17 48 Jimmy Albertson Ozark, MO, USA 4
18 47 Chris Blose Phoenix, AZ, USA 3
19 33 Joshua Grant Corona, CA, USA 2
20 32 Thomas Hahn Decatur, TX, USA 1
Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.