Is James Stewart back? Photo: Suzuki – Racing
The 2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, heads to the big arches of St. Louis for the eighteenth running of the St. Louis SX. With eight rounds now in the books, riders and fans will enter the Edward Jones Dome to begin the second half of a series that has already been an emotional roller coaster. Can anyone think of an AMA Supercross series with as many surprises as the 2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series? We at MotoXAddicts have been trying to come up with a season that comes close to this one, and at this point, we cannot find even one to compare it to. The 2013 season has everything that makes a series incredible, and just when you think it can’t get any better, even more excitement is thrown at us fans.
That added excitement most recently comes from the re-ignited, two-time 450 SX Champion James Stewart. The Yoshimura/Suzuki rider has had the worst start to a season in the history of his career and his longest win drought, but at round eight in Atlanta, he dropped the injured ex-champion label and was again the fastest man on the planet on that night. James’ 2013 Championship hopes are a huge longshot at this point with a 74-point deficit in front of him, but he can definitely become a thorn in the side of the guys battling at the top. With two very Bubba-friendly venues coming up with St. Louis and Daytona, we could see a streak in the making.
While this year has been full of surprises, the biggest surprise is still the #18 Davi Millsaps. (Click here to vote on what you think the biggest surprise is this year.) The Rockstar Energy pilot continues to amaze, and after his seventh podium in eight rounds last weekend in Atlanta, he carries a twenty-two point lead over Monster/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto to St. Louis. In a year where starts are the biggest part of the finishes, Davi has got it dialed. At the end of lap one in the first eight rounds, Davi has been 1st, 2nd, 5th, 3rd, 4th, 1st, 3rd and 5th. That right there, my friends, is the biggest reason Davi is having a career year, and it is hard to see it ending any time soon.
To put that in perspective, the two-time defending champ, Ryan Villopoto, has been 13th, 4th, 6th, 1st, 11th, 8th, 1st and 2nd. When you compare where the #18 and the #1 have been after lap one, it becomes obvious why Millsaps has a twenty-two point lead in the championship. Starts are everything, when the depth of talent is at this level. Nobody is going to come from mid-pack to win in 2013, and the one-lined tracks have not helped. The proof is in the worst start to win this year: RV’s 6th place start at A2. Chase Yocom from MotoXAddicts talked to RV in the pits in Atlanta and asked him about the one-lined tracks. His response was, “Yeah, we haven’t had a track yet that hasn’t been that way this year. It’s been tough to make passes. It seems like the tracks set the bars—set the limits—on how fast you can really go.” Chase then asked him what he thought could be done. “I don’t know. It’s tough to really figure out what they can and can’t do. The bikes are so good and so fast, and we’re so good. I don’t know; nobody has the answer.” The bottom line is that they all have to race the same track, and if you want to win, you gotta pull the starts.
Giving up second in the points last weekend to RV was Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey. The man who normally is known for his machine-like consistency has been off his game in 2013. Ryan has only missed the podium three times in 2013, but when he misses it, he’s given up a lot of points going 6th, 8th and 6th. Ryan now trails Millsaps by twenty-six points heading into the second half of the season, and with Stewart becoming a spoiler, points just got harder to make up. Ryan won in St. Louis back in 2010, so the Edward Jones Dome could be a good place to get win number two of the season for the #5.
The man sitting fifth in the points is almost a bigger surprise in 2013 than Davi Millsaps. If someone told me in the pre-season that, after eight rounds of racing, Two-Two Motorsports’ Chad Reed would have one 3rd place podium, I would have told them to lay off the drugs. There’s just no way anyone could have predicted Reedy’s 2013 struggles. Reed has definitely not been himself on the new 2013 Honda, and he has been very vocal about having to run the new air forks. But is it really the air-forks and set-up that’s the problem, or is there more to it? Chad has the best technicians money can buy on his team, so I have a hard time believing this bad run is entirely the bike. There have been hints that the #22 re-injured his knee, and I’m far more opt to believe that is where the problem lies. Either way, after his lackluster 9th place finish last weekend in Atlanta, his championship hopes are dwindling with 47 points to make up.
Splitting Reedy in 4th and 6th place in the points are the other two 2013 Factory Honda’s in the field. Muscle Milk Honda’s Trey Canard and Justin Barcia have, at times, made the new Honda look like the best bike on the track, but overall, they have been as inconsistent as Reed on the new bike. What’s weird is they seemed to have a better handle on the bike early in the year than they do now. The fact that their results have gone backwards since the start of the season leads me to believe their set-up is possibly going the wrong way as well. Both Canard and Barcia had decent finishes last weekend in Atlanta—Barcia 4th and Canard 5th—so hopefully they’re getting back on the right track. One thing that Barcia will be taking with him to St. Louis this weekend is a grip of confidence from past races in the Edward Jones Dome. Bam Bam is undefeated in the dome, winning on the 250 in 2010, ’11 and ’12.
So far in 2013 we have had five different 450SX winners, and with capable past winners like Trey Canard and Chad Reed not yet notching their first wins, it is very possible we will see more. I doubt we will break the record of eight different winners set back in 1985, but we could definitely tie the 1997 mark of seven. For now, though, this has been Davi Millsaps’ year, and if his starts continue to put him in the top five, it may very well be his championship to lose.
We’ll see you in St. Louey!
450SX Class Season Standings
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 174
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 152
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 148
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 135
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda, 127
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 116
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 102
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 100
- Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 91
- Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., KTM, 79
Check out the 2013 St Louis SX animated track map
450SX Class Laps Led
Ryan Villopoto: 55
Davi Millsaps: 37
James Stewart: 20
Justin Barcia: 20
Ryan Dungey: 19
Trey Canard: 7
Jake Weimer: 1
Mike Alessi: 1
Check out RC, Jeff and Ralph’s “After the Checkered Flag”. The review the Atlanta SX & preview the St. Louis SX.
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450SX Class Results: Atlanta
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda
- Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki
