2012 AMA Supercross
It’s been quite some time since the opening four rounds in the AMA Supercross Championship had four different winners.
The last year was long ago – 1976. But that all changed last week when JGRMX’s James Stewart took his maiden 2012 win at Oakland, making him the fourth different rider on the fourth different make of motorcycle to win so far.
First, it was the reigning Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto who took Anaheim I aboard the Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F. The following week it was Ryan Dungey who took Phoenix, giving KTM its first-ever AMA Supercross win. Round 3 was dominated by Two-Two Motorsports Chad Reed, who took his first win aboard the Honda CRF450R at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles.
With Stewart’s win at Oakland, not only are were their four different riders on four different manufacturers, each rider is also a SX champion.
And now the four will head to Angel Stadium for Anaheim II, a track Stewart dominated last season to take the win. And from the looks of last week, Stewart is surely on a charge aboard the Joe Gibbs Yamaha YZ450F.
Unlike the first three rounds, Stewart didn’t crash; he took the lead of Reed on the ninth lap of 20, and took the win. Reed would finish second, followed by Villopoto. As for Dungey, he came back from a 10th-place start to finish fourth.
It was a very special win for the Joe Gibbs Racing team, considering they lost their mechanic and friend Mark "Tex" Adams after he was struck by a car in Florida.
As the Supercross Championship heads to Anaheim II, Round 5 of 17, the points race is extremely close, with only 12 points seperating the top four riders. Dungey and Reed are tied at 85 points, with Villopoto in third (83 points) and Stewart in fourth (73 points).
In the Western Regional Supercross Lites Championship, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac took his second win at Oakland last week, and now holds a 15-point lead over Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson.
Tomac will have many challenges from the Kawasaki crew, though; Anaheim caters to Kawasaki, and during last year’s Anaheim II race, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Josh Hansen took the win.
Feld Motor Sports reports that the first race held in Anaheim was on December 4, 1976. Marty Smith won on a Honda. Ricky Carmichael and Jeremy McGrath share the all-time Supercross Class win record at Angel Stadium with eight wins apiece. In the Western Regional Supercross Lites Class, three riders have swept each event at Angel Stadium: Hansen, Villopoto, Ivan Tedesco and Ernesto Fonseca. Villopoto, Stewart, Kevin Windham and McGrath are the only riders in history to win in the Supercross Lites Class and Supercross Class at Anaheim.
CBS will broadcast the Supercross class race at noon EDT on Sunday Feb. 5, 2012.
2012 AMA Supercross Class Season Standings (after four of 17 rounds):
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 85
- Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Honda – 85
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 83
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha – 73
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki – 61
- Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda – 58
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda – 52
- Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., Kawasaki – 47
- Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki – 45
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha – 42
2012 AMA Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings:
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda – 88
- Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki – 73
- Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Yamaha – 67
- Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 64
- Tyla Rattray, Wildomar, Calif., Kawasaki – 60
- Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda – 57
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki – 53
- Nico Izzi, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha – 46
- Max Anstie, Hemet, Calif., Honda – 45
- Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha – 43
