Friday, 18 March 2011

Five Things to Look for at the Jacksonville Supercross

The gates will drop for the third consecutive year at Jacksonvile Municipal Stadium on Saturday night. The first Supercross race in these recent times was held there in 2009. James Stewart won the Supercross class race en route to the 2009 AMA Supercross Series Championship. Christophe Pourcel took the checkered flag in the Supercross 250 Lites class amidst his own championship-winning season in Supercross Lites East.

To see results, points, photos and story from the 2010 Jacksonville Supercross, flashback to Supercross.com's race report of last year!

For this race in 2011, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto comes into Jacksonille riding a three-race win streak and holding a 26 point lead over San Manuel Yamaha's James Stewart.

Here are a few things I think to look for at Saturday night's Supercross event in Jacksonville:

1. Everyone getting a little antsy. Villopoto's winning streak has to have opened the eyes of the four guys that remain within striking distance of Ryan, and the championship. American Honda's Trey Canard is 52 points back and knows first-hand that anything can happen. In 2010, Trey won the AMA Motocross Championship after trailing by about the same number of points to Christophe Pourcel earlier in the season. He will need a little help from Villopoto for the same scenario to play out in Supercross 2011. Plus Trey has riders in front of him in the points.

Ryan Dungey has been consistent with nine top five finishes thus far, but he continues drop back from Villopoto in the points chase.

Chad Reed's season has been up and down, but he seems relaxed, comfortable on the bike, and riding strong. He is just three points behind James Stewart for second place in the championship chase now.

James Stewart swapped wins early in the season with Villopoto, but has been inconsistent since his win at Anaheim 2.

This all sets up these guys to be pushing really hard Saturday night. Look for some intense, bar-banging action all the way to the checkered flag, and maybe a good ol' block pass or two.

2. Wilson regains focus. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Dean Wilson has dropped off the map since earning his first Supercross Lites victory and Pro Circuit's 200th in Atlanta. There are a lot of rumors going around about the reason behind his being off the pace ... but it's probably just racing. The fact remains that he is one of the fastest guys on the track in the Lites class. He gets things back on track with a podium finish this weekend.

3. KTM in the Top Ten. This has now become the safest bet this season! KTM has put at least one of their bikes in the top ten at every race this season. That includes two top ten finishes from 16 year old Ken Roczen, who started the season riding the West Coast Lites class. Andrew Short has finished in the top ten at every race, except last week's event in Indianapolis. Andrew sits sixth in points - 92 behind leader Ryan Villopoto. Count on more Orange in the top ten again this week.

4. Brayton makes it happen. Joe Gibs Racing's Justin Brayton has been right on the cusp of breaking through and inserting himself into the group of elite riders at the top of the sport. He is currently seventh in points and has a heat race win to his credit. The only thing holding him back is his lack of consistency. If he puts it all together for the remainder of the season, he could easily finish in the top five for the second straight year. Saturday night he takes advantage of the intense battles going on ahead of him and earns a podium spot for the Joe Gibbs Racing MX team.

5. Heat becoming a factor. Temperatures in the high 80s with high humidity seems laughable when compared to the weather conditions these riders endure at the Freestone National in Texas during the outdoor National Motocross Series. But this will be the first race of 2011 with the temperatures and humidity that high this year, especially during the day. It could become a factor towards the end of Saturday night's Main Event. Whoever is not prepared will tire out much sooner than usual. This could open up some doors for some guys to supplant some of the usual suspects in the top five.

No matter, Saturday night has become what we've all expected it to be - another race to get excited about!

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Source: http://www.supercross.com/features/five-things-to-look-for-at-the-jacksonville-supercross

Christian Beggi Mike Bell John van den Berk Marnicq Bervoets

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