Photo by Hoppenworld
The Dark Horse is a weekly column by MotoXAddicts contributor Nolan MacDonald that elaborates on the riders who can surprise you and emerge to prominence when you least expect it. Some may be well known while others have never been heard of. To be recognized as a dark horse, a rider doesn’t have to win but rather perform above expectations.
Round two at Phoenix was yet another exciting round in the 40th year of AMA Supercross. Based on statistics, James Stewart and Ryan Dungey were favorites to win the 450 main event — as Stewart had won four times at the facility and Dungey had won twice —while riders Ryan Villopoto and Chad Reed had been completely shut out. In the 250 class, Jason Anderson was poised and focused coming off his win in the first round and winning two of the last three Supercross races he had entered. Cole Seely was right on his tail, though, undoubtedly showing the speed needed to win.
The gates dropped and Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s very own Ryan Villopoto charged through the pack to duke it out with JGR/Yamaha’s Justin Brayton. Brayton had led roughly 16 laps and was showing throughout the night that he had the speed to take his first win. Villopoto was the man on a mission in Phoenix, though, as he surged past Brayton and never looked back, taking the round 2 win. In the 250 class, it appeared that Troy Lee Designs/Honda’s Cole Seely was ready to take a win, but it turned out to be déjà vu of the first round when Rockstar Energy Racing/KTM’s Jason Anderson took the lead and the win on the very last lap. Cole Seely has led the most laps this year in the 250 West region but has failed to get a win in the first two rounds partly due to spectacular last minute moves by Anderson and last lap mistakes by Seely himself.
Anderson leads the 250-west region by 6 points now coming into the third round at Anaheim, while Villopoto leads by one point over Dungey. The third round at Anaheim, California is a special round this year as it serves as the 40th anniversary for Supercross. With such a special celebration upon us this weekend, we are due for a special Dark Horse in the 250-class: Dean Ferris. Red Bull/KTM’s Ferris may not be well known in the Supercross circuit or even the United States, but in the GP circuit, he has caught the eye of many, grabbing a win at this year’s GP of Belgium while riding for Monster Energy/Dixon/BikeIt/Yamaha. Ferris captured his ride for Supercross while representing Australia in the Motocross of Nations this year and grabbing some solid results while riding a smaller bike.
Ferris has scored a solid 14th in his first week of Supercross, chopping his results in half last week with a 7th place. Dean has stated that his goal by the end of the season is to snag a few podiums and he sure has positioned himself to do that. With only a few races of this completely different racing style under his belt, Ferris shows the speed that he needs to run up front with the big boys, he just needs to remain mistake-free and get a good start. Dean Ferris will be a name to remember for 2014 and one to watch in 2015.
The 450 class has seen plenty of new faces this year, but for this week, we are bringing back a veteran to watch as our Dark Horse. With KTM sweeping the podium at the first Anaheim round this year, they are also sweeping this round of Dark Horse features. Rockstar Energy Racing/KTM’s Ivan Tedesco is one to watch this week at our third round of the year. Racing his first Supercross series since 2012, Tedesco has had a few weeks to adjust to the speed and definitely has the potential to run top 10 after a solid 12th place last week. Tedesco is not unfamiliar with this environment, though. As a 250 National and Supercross champion, he has the knowledge and potential to put himself into the best positions possible. Tedesco is now in his early 30’s — older than many of the other racers — but age is just a number to Tedesco. Look week in and week out for him to continue to put the hammer down on the younger generation.
