Photo: Courtesy of Supercross.com
The Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, heads to the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California for round four of the Western Regional Supercross Lites Championship. During the first three rounds of the Lites West Regional action, the fans have seen some epic racing with three different winners in three rounds and a total of six different Lites riders making their way onto the podium. In years past, we have boasted about the incredible depth in the Lites class, but we cannot recall anything like what we are witnessing in 2012–and there is still another half of the class in the East that has not even begun.
The man that currently sits atop the Western Regional Supercross Lites Championship points has shown blazing speed all year, but until last weekend in Los Angeles had not been able to score a Main Event win. GEICO Powersports/Honda’s Eli Tomac spent the first two races of 2012 carving his way forward from bad starts, but in race three, the only carving he did was through lappers. The number seventeen has been the fastest Lites bike on the track every week, but inside Dodger Stadium, the Colorado native was the fastest bike, period. After he got to the front early on in the Main Event, Eli threw down a 53.9 second lap time and backed it up with consistent low 54’s, flat out disappearing. To put it in perspective, Ryan Villopoto–who had the best time in the 450 Main Event–could only manage a 54.3. Eli currently has a one-point lead over Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson in the Championship, but unless someone can find an answer to his raw speed, that lead is likely to grow.
The man that finished second to Eli in Los Angeles is the man second in the points: Scotland’s Dean Wilson. After winning Phoenix, Deano came into Los Angeles with a pocketful of confidence, but after getting a fifteen-second thrashing from Eli, that pocket may have a little hole in it. Outside of a tip over while running third in the final lap at A1, Dean has shown solid consistency. but with Tomac getting his starts dialed in, it may take more to win this title. If the 2011 season taught us anything about Dean,though, it is that he can find his speed midway through a season. Similarly to now, Dean was behind Blake Baggett in terms of speed during the outdoor nationals of 2011. By the close of the season, Deano had closed the gap in speed and won the title. We have a feeling some Tomac-Wilson battles are in our near future.
Sitting third in the points, just three back, is the other half of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawaski duo: South Africa’s Tyla Rattray. Heading into the last round in Los Angeles, Tyla was the only man in the class to have landed on the podium in both of the first two Main Events. Leaving Los Angeles, though, that streak had come to an end. Tyla rode well in L.A., but “well” only got Tyla within one step of the box in this deep class. If Tyla wants to win this Championship, he is going to have to bypass riding well and win some races. You can be sure the veteran former MX2 World Champion knows this and will be trying to get his first-ever win this weekend in Oakland.
The man tied for fourth in the points has one last chance in 2012 to get his first-ever Lites Supercross win before heading back overseas to prepare for the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship. At Anaheim 1, a lot of fans had no idea who the guy in the UFO gear was, but after three rounds of showing fans his heart and fighting spirit, Zach Osbourne has quickly become a fan favorite. We would love to see him finish off the West Championship, but the kid is a man of his word, and prior commitments have him working in Europe. We wish Zach all the luck and will be hoping he can win America a MX2 World Championship and return to the States next season to try to win one at home. Check out our interview with Zach from earlier this week about his plans for 2012 >>
Tied with Zach for fourth in the points is Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda rider Cole Seely. Heading into L.A.—where Cole got his first-ever win in 2011— Cole was only one point down in the Championship, but as the series left and heads up north, he finds himself in a sixteen-point hole. Cole’s problems in L.A. started with a first turn crash and got even worse with another tip over late in the race–the total opposite of how his 2011 L.A. Supercross went. The end result was a fifteenth place finish for the very likable kid from California. With six rounds still to race, the Championship is far from out of reach, but it will be an uphill fight for Cole.
Another rider who was very close in the points chase heading into L.A., but was bitten by the bad luck bug while there is Red Bull/KTM’s Marvin Musquin. Marvin’s L.A. SX started out with him getting caught up in the Cole Seely first turn pile up. The Frenchman put his head down and worked his way up to a solid fourth, but with the race winding down and a podium position right in his grasp, a tiny miscalculation turned into a hard crash and a DNF. Before the crash, Marvin had been the third fastest man on the track, so with some luck and determination, the former MX2 World Champ could still begin to make up the points this weekend in Oakland.
The last rider we will talk about in this weekend’s preview is a new face to the top five in the West. Rockstar/Suzuki’s Jason Anderson has been on a steady climb forward all year long and is now on the cusp of climbing onto the box for the first time in his young career. The sophomore professional is beginning to show the skills that anyone that followed him as an amateur knows he has. The New Mexico native has gone a consistent 7-7-5 in the Main Events so far this year and will be on the podium sooner than later if he keeps on keeping on. We are huge fans of Mr. Anderson, and we hope to bring you an interview after he lands on the box this weekend in Oakland.
See you at the races!
AMA Supercross – Lites West Points – After 3 Rounds
For full points standings click here>>>
1 17 Eli Tomac Cortez, CO, USA 63 2 15 Dean Wilson Menifee, CA, USA 62 3 28 Tyla Rattray Wildomar, CA, USA 60 4 34 Cole Seely Murrieta, CA, USA 47 5 338 Zachary Osborne Chesterfield, SC, Usa 47 6 44 Jason Anderson Edgewood, NM, USA 44 7 38 Marvin Musquin Murrieta, CA, USA 42 8 119 Max Anstie Hemet, CA, USA 32 9 50 Nico Izzi Menifee, CA, USA 32 10 232 Billy Laninovich Riverside, CA, USA 27
