The 2012 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, heads back across the great state of California and down south to Angel Stadium for Anaheim 2. Since the last stop in Anaheim back on January 7th, the series has seen a flat out brawl between four champions with each getting a win over the first four rounds of racing. At the first stop inside Angel Stadium, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto put a beat down on the field that left everyone wondering if anyone could stop the 2011 Supercross Champ. Since then, though, it has been a different story—and different winner each weekend.

Last weekend inside O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, we saw a former two-time Champ show up on race day for the first time in 2012. Joe Gibbs Racing/Yamaha’s James Stewart went into round four winless for the first time in his career, and he was feeling the pressure from all angles, but in Oakland, he put on a dominant performance reminiscent of the Bubba of old. The #7 used patience and all-out speed to dog Two-Two Motorsports/Honda’s Chad Reed for nine laps before making the pass and checking out. What made the race even more impressive for James was that he did that all while being pressured by the defending champ, Villopoto. James has been peppered by the fans for his inability to keep it together under pressure, but at round four, not only did he survive under the most extreme pressure, he shook it off and used it to push forward for a dominant win. In the end, James once again removed any doubt that fans—and more importantly, himself—about his capabilities. With a win in Oakland, James now sits in fourth place in the Championship, twelve points out of the lead. He now heads to Anaheim 2 where he won in 2011 to see if he can put his name in the record books for a tenth win at Angel Stadium. If James can get it done, he will go down as the winningest rider ever at the prestigious Supercross venue and will give Yamaha a record twenty-first victory there as well.

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Chad Reed will trade in his white background for the red background at Anaheim II. Chad shares the points lead with Ryan Dungey. Photo: Supercross.com

Finishing second to James last weekend and riding into Angel Stadium with a red background behind the number 22 is Chad Reed. The 2004 and 2008 AMA Supercross Champion has used his Championship winning consistency throughout 2012 and, because of that consistency, finds himself tied atop the points with Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey. In Oakland last weekend, Reedy grabbed the holeshot and, after nine laps of pressure from the number 7, was passed and sent back to deal with pressure from Ryan Villopoto. While it looked inevitable that the 2011 Champion would push Reed back to third, it never happened. Reed held strong and weathered a fierce storm from the #1 bike. In the end, Reedy built a comfortable gap in second and scored his third podium appearance of 2012, gaining a share of the Championship points lead. Reed now heads back to Anaheim to try and take sole possession of the points lead and to possibly win for the seventh time at the “Big A”.

The last man to win a race at Angel Stadium—less than one month ago—was Ryan Villopoto. The Monster Energy/Kawasaki pilot has now won three of the last four Main Events inside Angel Stadium and, with that, has to be feeling good about his chances on Saturday night. Since Ryan’s last win inside Angel Stadium, the 2011 Supercross Champ has made his job a lot tougher than it needed to be. In the last three Main Events, RV1 has crossed the stripe after lap one in eighteenth, seventeenth and, last week, in fifth after making four passes before the first lap was recorded. Villopoto used his blazing fast 2012 speed to salvage podium appearances in two of the last three Main Events, but what he has not been able to do is stop the other three former champions from regaining the confidence he crushed at the A1 opener. At Anaheim 1, it was obvious to anyone watching that Villopoto had entered 2012 with a mental edge on the field, but after the last three rounds, everything seems to have evened up. Ryan now sits third in the Championship and just two points from the top.

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Ryan Villopoto comes to Angel Stadium looking for his fourth Anaheim Supercross win. Photo: Supercross.com

Last weekend in Oakland was a rough one for the 2010 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champ, ending with the KTM missing the podium for the first time in 2012. After rounding the first turn of the Main Event around fourteenth, Ryan Dungey put his head down and, using his consistency and ability to avoid getting mentally phased, worked his way up to fourth by the time the checkered flag waved. One thing that amazes us about the Red Bull/KTM rider is his ability to go almost unnoticed while getting the job done. Even while coming from way back, there was not one bar-to-bar battle involving the number 5. It is one thing to avoid battles while running away from the field up front, but to do it with finishes of third, second, first and fourth is a whole new skill in itself. Dungey has always been known as a consistent, machine-like rider that keeps it smooth and rides well within himself, but the quiet assassin has perfected that craft in 2012. He will quietly ride into Angel Stadium with the red background on his KTM for the third-straight week on Saturday, and if Ryan, James and Chad don’t watch out, he may quietly leave with his second win of the year.

Leaving round four last weekend with his first top five of 2012 was the ever popular Supercross.com/Honda rider Andrew Short. Over the first four rounds of the series—outside of a mistake in LA—Shorty has consistently progressed aboard his Factory backed Honda. After an off year in 2011—that many attribute to the KTM 350 experiment—Shorty came into 2012 looking for redemption, and so far, he seems to be back to the Short of old. With the number twenty-nine you are not looking for domination, but what you do expect is week in and week out efforts that add up to top five points by Vegas. With finishes of seventh, sixth, fourteenth and a fifth, Short now sits seventh in the points. We will not be surprised to see Shorty on the box a few times before 2012 is over.

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Josh Hansen is one of the biggest surprises of 2012. With consistent top-ten finishes, Josh sits 8th in the Championship points race. Photo: Supercross.com

Holding down the fifth place spot in the points is the only rider outside of the big four to finish on the box in 2012: Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer. We are not sure if it was the sketchy track or just an off night in Oakland, but Jake did not look like the Jake that showed up the first three rounds of the series. A bad start may have attributed to his eighth place finish, but lap times say that Jake may have ended up there no matter where he started. After finishing second in Phoenix and leading the first six laps at Dodger Stadium before getting taken out by JS7, we may have begun to expect too much from the sophomore 450 rider. Still, he has shown the ability to run the pace at the front. Time will tell with Weiemer, but it is our opinion that Jake is just getting revved up. For now, the Idaho kid is twenty-four points behind Reed and Dungey in the points chase.

For years, we have dealt with seasons where the hype has far outweighed reality, so now that reality is beginning to become the hype in 2012, we are left begging for more. Many fans and experts alike knew that the field would be deep this year. Still, to not have a repeat winner in four rounds is something that few believed could really happen. Well, it has, and with a past Anaheim winner like GEICO Powersports/Honda’s Kevin Windham and the 2012 Phoenix Supercross runner-up Jake Weimer and more on the line, there is a real chance we could have another new winner at round five.

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Supercross Class – Championship Points – After four rounds

Complete Championship points standings here>>>

1 22 Chad Reed Dade City, FL, USA 85
 2 5 Ryan Dungey Belle Plaine, MN, USA 85
 3 1 Ryan Villopoto Seattle, WA, USA 83
 4 7 James Stewart Haines City, FL, USA 73
 5 21 Jake Weimer Wildomar, ID, USA 61
 6 14 Kevin Windham Centreville, MS, USA 58
 7 29 Andrew Short Smithville, TX, USA 52
 8 100 Joshua Hansen Elbert, CO, USA 47
 9 24 Brett Metcalfe Lake Elsinore, CA, USA 45
 10 18 David Millsaps Murrieta, CA, USA 42

Author

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