What Happened to the Favorites in the 2009 Anaheim 1 Supercross

-Photo by GuyB.

The 2009 Anaheim 1 Supercross is in the books, and it was a great race. Big crashes, risky passes, track cutting, and a live television broadcast made this one of the most exciting Supercross races ever. Jake Weimer captured the Lites win while Josh Grant rode through a Tuf-Block in his rear brake to come out the victor in the Supercross class.

While both winners rode great and had an awesome night, I believe that the true story of the race was who didn’t win. In both classes, the favorites failed to live up to the expectations. The big players had tough nights, and it could affect them throughout the entire series as they struggle to make up the points lost at “A1.”

Below is my break down of the 2008 Anaheim 1 Supercross, not by the top 3 podium finishers, but by the 3 main competitors in each class who all to come out with good results.

Supercross Lites Class

• Jason Lawrence
  
  -Photo by Swap.

  Lawrence came into the first round confident and cocky. After putting in a lot of preparation during the off season, he was ready to show everyone how much he had matured. From the start of the weekend, it was obvious that he wanted to win. He threw in numerous jabs at his competition in his post-heat interviews and was riding good.

  However, he tangled with Canard in the opening laps and found himself on the ground. He got back up and looked like he was making good progress until he allegedly cut the track. He was ultimately docked a position and came out of the weekend in 5th. Not a horrible night, but certainly not as good as he had hoped, and the track cutting may be a sign that he still has not outgrown his immature antics.

• Ryan Dungey
  
  -Photo by Swap.

  Ryan Dungey came into this season well prepared and ready to take the Lites world by storm. However, his night at Anaheim started off rocky at best. After a crash in his qualifier forced him to go to the LCQ, he barely squeaked into the main event. His bad luck continued into the main event.

  When Lawrence and Trey Canard crashed at the beginning of the main, Dungey found himself tangled with them due to his bad start. After that his night turned around and he was able to charge back up to a third place finish.

  Although Dungey’s night was certainly not a failure, he did not have the luck he had hoped. With Canard and Lawrence having such awful luck, Dungey had a chance to capitalize on their mistakes and make up the maximum amount of points. He failed to do so. As a result he did not win the championship at A1, but unlike Canard, he did not loose it their either.

• Trey Canard


-Photo by GuyB.

Of the three favorites in the Lites class heading into Anaheim 1, Trey Canard came out the least fortunate. He tangled with Lawrence and eventually Dungey in the early laps of the race. Where Dungey and Lawrence were able to quickly restart their bikes and continue their charge through the pack, Canard had trouble restarting his Honda.

After he finally got going, Trey had lost a lap and was only able climb back up to 14th, a disappointing result for him and his team, and one that could potentially cost him the championship.

Supercross Class

• James Stewart
  
  -Photo by Swap.

  Stewart came into 2009 with a revived sense of inspiration. New bike, fresh gear, and a desire to be back on top fueled his 2009 assault on the Supercross world.

  After starting the main event with an early lead, he battled with Reed for a few laps, when the biggest event of the night took place. Entering one of the whoop sections on the track, Stewart slowed up ever-so-slightly. This loss of speed allowed Chad Reed to clip Stewart’s rear wheel, sending both riders to the dirt. Reed got up and running quickly, but Stewart faced two problems. Not only had his bike stalled, but he was visibly dazed. After picking up his pick, he collided again with Kevin Windham and once again hit the dirt.

  At this point, Stewart made, what was in my opinion, one of his smartest decisions of the night to drop out of the race. While it may have a long-term effect on his 2008 Supercross title hopes, he was visibly in no mental or physical condition to safely continue.

• Chad Reed
  
  -Photo by GuyB.

  If James Stewart was the favorite leading into Anaheim, then Chad Reed was the bridesmaid. He was expected to finish runner-up, if not win the race. But his winning hopes were dashed in the crash with Stewart. Although he was able to quickly restart, the prospect of him leaving A1 with a win was now gone.

  Thankfully, for Chad, he was able to climb back up to third, a respectable finish regardless of his crash. Unlike Stewart, who could have completely thrown away his 2009 title hopes at Anaheim, Chad came back and was able to come up with a decent finish. This could have lasting effects as the season continues and Vegas nears.

• Ryan Villopoto
  
  -Photo by GuyB.

  Coming into the 2009 Supercross season, Ryan Villopoto was the New Kid on the block. He was hot off a few great seasons in the Lites class and was ready to make his debut in the premier class. Unfortunately, his night did not go as planned either.

  His main event started off with a bad start, quickly followed by a small fall. After that his night improved slightly, and he was able to climb back up to fifth by the races end. Ryan did nothing to completely dash his title hopes at A1, but certainly did nothing to greatly help them.