Photo by: Hoppenworld

So far, in the first five main events in the 450SX class of the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, there have been three different winners and just six different names on the podium. In a year that has been touted as one of the deepest fields ever, it is surprising that only six different riders have stepped up on the podium.

Following a year that saw Discount Tire Racing’s Chad Reed land on the podium just once, his four podiums and two wins in the first five rounds is a huge surprise, but equally surprising is the absence of Muscle Milk/Honda’s Justin Barcia on the podiums. 2014 is just Bam Bam’s sophomore year in the 450SX class, but at this time last year, the rookie had already scored two podiums and a win heading into San Diego. The #51 is coming off his best performance of 2014—a fourth at A3—and we expect to see him on the box soon.

Another pre-season favorite that has not found the podium yet, is the other Factory Honda backed pilot, GEICO Powersports/Honda’s Eli Tomac. Eli is under the GEICO tent, but his 2014 450 is a full-factory HRC machine and much different than his teammate Wil Hahn’s bike. So far Tomac’s rookie 450SX season has not gone according to plan. The #3 started the season by crashing out in his first heat race of the year at Anaheim 1 and sitting out until last weekend’s Anaheim 3 SX. At A3, Tomac looked solid—finishing 6th in timed qualifying and qualifying for the main straight out of his heat—but a flat tire ended his first main event of the year early. At the end of the day, A3 was a tough rookie debut for Tomac, but it had to be good for his confidence to know he didn’t fall too far behind during his absence.

Eli Tomac's 2014 450SX Main Event debut didn't come until round five. Photo by: Hoppenworld
Eli Tomac’s 2014 450SX Main Event debut didn’t come until round five. Photo by: Hoppenworld

It’s not common, but there is a long list of factory-backed riders that have not found the podium in 2014 and on that list is also Monster/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer. In 2012, Jake entered the 450SX class after winning a 2011 250SX Regional Championship and immediately made a name for himself as a future contender. Jake made the normal rookie mistakes but ended his freshman year fifth overall in the Championship and notched five podiums on the year. Since 2012, though, injuries and some mental hiccups have held the #12 back, and the podium is becoming a distant memory. Last year, Jake was completely shut out from the podium, and his best result for ’14 so far was his 8th place finish last weekend at A3. With his contract with Kawasaki up at the end of ’14, it’s getting down to crunch time for the kid from Idaho.

While Barcia, Weimer, Tomac are three young factory riders expected to be on the box, the MotoSport.com/Yoshimura backed privateer, Weston Peick, was not someone we expected to be in the conversation for possible podiums. The #40 quickly showed his newfound speed at Anaheim 1—where he had the 6th fastest lap time in the main event—, and, since then, has begun turning that speed into results. At the first two rounds, mistakes and a mechanical kept Weston outside the top-ten, but at round three he scored his best-ever career main event finish and then upped that with a 5th last weekend at A3. It would be impressive if Weston holeshotted and held on to finish 5th, but even more impressive is that he passed his way up to 5th after a mediocre start. With that, and seeing Weston qualifying straight out of the heat races the last two rounds, we’re starting to think a podium may actually be a possibility for this privateer.

One more surprise possible podium contender in ’14 is GEICO/Honda’s Wil Hahn. Wil’s best finish of the year was his 8th in Oakland, but his speed says he has more in him. The 2013 250SX Eastern Regional Champion came into his rookie 450SX campaign a bit under the radar, but his raw speed is beginning to open eyes. Unfortunately, Wil went down hard in qualifying last weekend at Anaheim so his results suffered, but don’t be surprised to see the #23 beginning to push for some top-fives or better when the series heads to softer grounds back east.

Weston Peick is one of the best surprises of 2014. Photo by: Hoppenworld
Weston Peick is one of the best surprises of 2014. Photo by: Hoppenworld

The riders we’ve talked about above are a few surprises, but there are a myriad of riders in the field with possible podium potential; they just aren’t there yet in ’14. With factory-backed guys in the field that have won 450SX main events in the past and former 250SX Chammpionships like BTO/KTM’s Andrew Short, JGRMX/Yamaha’s Josh Grant, Rockstar/KTM Ivan Tedesco and the RCH/Suzuki riders, Josh Hill and Broc Tickle, there are definitely guys with potential, but turning that potential into podiums isn’t always as easy as it looks. Below we listed riders that have not made the podium in 2014 but who we think are favored to or at least have a shot at landing on the box. Give us your vote to let us know who you think will be the next man to celebrate his first podium of 2014.

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Author

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