Weimer grabbed five podiums in his rookie 450SX campaign back in 2012, but has not made it back there since. 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.
This past weekend we endured our final stop at Anaheim Stadium and it proved to be a heated battle for the championship. Five rounds in, we have a tie for the championship between Troy Lee Designs/Honda’s Cole Seely and Rockstar Energy Racing/KTM’s Jason Anderson in the 250 class. Meanwhile in the 450 class, the championship can also swing any way. With such a stacked and healthy class this year, it appears that Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto will be given a run for his money for a fourth straight championship. We saw new riders born this past weekend and others prove themselves.
In the 250 class, it was a guarantee to be the Seely and Anderson show, but as we all know in supercross anything can happen. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson came out fighting in practice as he gathered the fastest lap, and carried that momentum straight into the main event. For the second week in a row, Dean had the lead going into the last lap, but this time he pulled through and grabbed himself his first win of the year. Close behind Wilson was Seely who took the best of the situation and gained some points on Anderson who placed fifth. Going into San Diego, it looks like the championship chase isn’t going to let up as we have Wilson fighting to get back in the chase as he is 12 points down all the while two of our top riders are tied.
In the 450 class, it appears that Discount Tire Motorsports’ Chad Reed is back and here to compete. At Anaheim III, Chad grabbed himself another win with Red Bull/KTM’s Ken Roczen right on his tail and the reigning champion Villopoto in third. Not only did Reed show he was here to stay this week but we had another rider who was reborn. Red bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey showed that he possessed the aggression needed to make some moves in this sport but unfortunately he made a mistake in the whoops and had a big crash. Nonetheless, Dungey showed at Anaheim III that he will do what it takes to win, and that was a feat in it’s own.
Looking ahead to our sixth round of the series at San Diego, it is going to be an exciting one. San Diego is our last round before we move to the East Coast, starting in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium. San Diego is also paying a special tribute to all our soldiers with a military themed weekend at the stadium. Not only will we see some exciting racing, but we will also see unique color ways that tie in as well.
Our Dark Horses for the week are two racers who have been making strides all year long. In the 250 class, Strikt Racing/Yamaha’s Scott Champion has been continuously moving towards the top ten all year. Last week, Champion placed twelfth in a stacked 250 class, and looked to battle in the top ten with the likes of Dean Ferris and Dakota Tedder. Champion has been working hard this year, placing 11th at the second round in Phoenix. Look for Scott to take his Strikt Racing Yamaha well into the top 10 in the final 4 rounds of the West Coast Region. Click here to watch Scott Champion doing some SX training earlier this week.
Our second racer for the week is a former 250 class supercross champion, known by the name of Jacob Weimer. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider has been working hard all year long on his new training program and it appears that Weimer has been bringing that to the races. Placing 8th last week, Weimer passed the most riders in the main event by starting off 16th and moving himself up 8 positions. Weimer has also won semi races this year, and continues to improve every round. Look for Jake to take his Kawasaki well into the top 5 as the year continues.
