Okay, now it's time to put this blog on auto pilot. This year's Anaheim 1 had an exceptionally deep field of talent. There may not have been 12 guys who were considered Stewart or Reed speed, but there were A LOT of good names and good rides battling in that 450 group. Best of all, we didn't have any major injury stories this off-season, and everyone escaped A1 healthy. )I will knock on wood and type with one hand here right now)
Anyway, who do you think has the most to gain based on their A1 performance. Who will get much better? Who has shown us what they really have?
Here are the candidates, all of whom did not make the podium:
Vuillemin
Alessi
Short
Millsaps
Tedesco
Ramsey
Hill
Langston
L'il Hanny
Summey
Wey
Who has the most upside from this group? Josh "faster than Langston at the test track" Hill finished 16th. Tedesco crashed a ton and finished 15th. Can Langston get much better than battling Ferry and finishing 4th?
Get back to me on this.
- blogandt
Wednesday, January 9
Who's Bad? (Now including new comments!)
Posted by Jason Weigandt at 2:28 PM
Labels: Supercross
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16 Comments:
I reckon the Makita boys both have a lot to prove after A1, but in all fairness, that comes largely from the shadow of the big number four they're racing under...
Good point, Pondo. I'd say Mike Alessi's sixth is as much as you could have possibly asked for considering he had a tough time getting sixth in the Lites class! But this team works really, really hard and you would expect them to really want top fives for that effort. Tony Alessi told me Mike tested more in October and November than he had tested in his whole life combined--and Roger D even went to the shop one night and made Mike a custom shift lever by hand--The Man stayed up to midnight to do this! I think DV was hoping for a Ferry-type season but he's banged up right now, and Byrner is out. I hope this doesn't place too high of expectations on young Mikee boy.
Ivan T, Nick Wey, and Josh Hill. They all seemed to not perform up to there full potential. At times I think KW will finish on the podium, This year. Thats one fast mustache! I guess Chuck Summy has alot to gain. He has a Factory ride with whip cream and a cherry on top! That guy has alot to gain!
Vuillemin - invisible out there, not close enough to the front to even notice he was out there. I wanted to see a damn seat wheelie !
Alessi - Tried hard, crashed harder. Stop with the fist pumps after a LCQ win. I like ya but not everyone is watching you. You are getting more professional during interviews though.
Short - Super nice guy, so why was Tedesco trying to clean him out all night ? He is top 5 at year's end.
Millsaps - see Vuillemin. Will be closer to the front in time but don't see a win yet.
Tedesco - tried TOO hard out there. Over-rode the slippery track, crashed a bunch and tried to kill Short. He will do better this week - but he doesn't have the speed to win.
Ramsey - watched him at the Perris Invitational and thought he may have seen his best days, then he went out and won it. This is his last year. Nice guy but won't do better than a 5th.
Hill - rode great in the Heat race. Will do better when it's dry. Quit wasting what energy you have scrubbin everything and flipping the bike around like you need to shave speed & race forward.
Langston - you said it and I must agree, he will be 3rd/4th place guy this year (unless there is a crash).
L'il Hanny - I thought he rode decent considering. Did the tough triple after the finish line and looked smooth. He won't be a front runner - 6th thru 12th guy.
Summey - terrible interviews on SupercrossOnline. Hope his results will make up for it but I am of the belief he and Hansen are there to work out the bugs on that first year team until they sign Reed or Stewart. Big business has a game plan and it won't be just to come in and test the waters in SX for a year or two.
Wey - unsure. I don't think he will do any better this year than any previous.
Bonus : Jason Weigandt - great job as always. Dig the blog and your abilities in front of the camera. Exciting and knows when and when not to scream during the action. Add in Bailey and it would be mint !
Thanks,
CMC
OK Weege, You asked,
DV12 He had alot of excuses @ A1 and most of them valid. Consistent 8th.
Mikey Boy Roger says 5th is okay with him, who are we to argue ?
Short Dont really see it, but then he was a surprise in that first moto in Texas 9th
Millsaps Real Dark Horse Ear, Femur, Momma's boy Podium potential but realisticaly Battle with Alessi for 5th
Ivanski Rode great when he was riding for ProCicuit. RC showed the Suzuki worked, but...
3rd quickest @ A1, moved from Ca. to Texas to Florida. Will Podium several rounds, but...
Why did he move from Texas again ?
Ramsey Should be glad to have a job. Oh, he is.
Nate just goes goes to show you the available talent to run Top Ten is not that deep in the good ol' USA. Bottom half of top ten.
Hill Gotta like this kid.Faster than Langston in SX ?
Seventh or better.
Langston Never really looks comfortable on a SX track IMO. Consistent 4th
Hanny Really liked his dad. Big changes from Ca. to NC. Maybe too much ? Gibbs resigned from the Redskins this week to babysit Tony Stewart in his new Camry, can he do the same for Josh ? Doubt it. 12th to 15th Hope I'm wrong.
C J Not making the main @ A1 didn't bode well.
But new team , mud , nerves 11th
Wey He's got Alessi's shock, Electric start and a hell of Guy behind him in MDK. When Reed or "Bubba" has problems I gotta give him 2nd.
Otherwise top 5.
There you go in my humble opinion,
Regards
M. Brown
it seems like the entire honda red bull squad has a bunch to prove at this point. the one guy at honda who had his factory privileges revoked finished better than all of their factory riders. this class is stacked big time though, so just cracking the top ten is actually a great ride. as for the 'lites,' why do the factories keep giving billy laninovich a ride? i've heard he can whip a bike like no other, but that doesn't get you into the main...
I will take some what of a long shot and say Hill and I will be a little different to and not say "top 5" and go with Top 7 at Phoenix. Peace
Depends on what you mean by most upside. If its ability to improve on last week, hanny gets the nod. He can't do worse. At least in the main... but he certainly is capable of much better.
In terms of who can get up there and battle for say, 3rd through 10th, I think the Honda team looks the strongest of this group. I pick Milsaps or Tedesco as most likely to take a third. I could see Hill doing it, but the stars would have to align (BTW, his dad was pretty damn good too, racing local arenacross in the early 90s).
I've never thought much of the Alessis, but it's good to see Mike turning it around. I'd rather see Jeff take some top tens though.
Big upsides?
I'd say Alessi, he has the raw talent and the team behind him, not to mention the motivation. (And I HATE agreeing with BobbyM, lol!)
Hill - an unknown, but I keep hearing how much better he is on the big bike. There's some pressure and he wants to succeed because he was hyped so much last year and between bike blowups and just not showing up?, he was a complete non-factor.
Langston? I think he has the motivation to do well. He's on a great team, he's got nearly top-tier talent and he really believes in himself and always seems to do well. I was at Steel City last year when he gutted out that awesome win over Alessi and Windham and he was pretty darn excited, not that I blame him.
Did you even mention Windham? Man, that's sad, I hate that. Not to critique you, but that he's put himself in the position to be forgotten.
The rest either don't have the talent, drive or team/bike to get there. Not knocking them, they're all stupid-fast when compared to my level, but the top level of this sport is uber-talented.
Well let's run through the list provided:
Vuillemin wants to show every one that he wasn't hired because he is a test rider. He has said that many times. "I'm a good tester, not a test rider. I'm still here to try and win," or something to that effect.
Alessi wants to show that he is continuing to grow as a person and rider. Plus for the first time in his pro career, he isn't on a team basically set up by his dad. He can show that he is a team player now, not a family player.
Short and Millsaps I'm sure want to show that they can be the future of Honda. Both are straight up cool dudes, but want to make a statement that they deserve to be on the brand with the most SX success.
Tedesco wants to tell the world that his first year with Suzuki was just a shadow of what he can do. Last year sucked for him, so he is looking to get back to '06 and beyond.
Ramsey wants to show he isn't completely washed up.
Hill that he deserves to be on the 450.
Langston that he can do more than MX.
Hansen and Summey they can be big factors in the championship, even though in the past they have not been.
Wey wants to show that for the years he has been told "he is the most talanted non factory guy" it was the truth. He wants to send a statement that with a factory bike he can and will improve his results.
Of course I write this like I know these guys and I don't. So it is just my synopsis of the situation.
Great stuff guys. First, I'm the biggest dumbass for not putting Windham on this list, but to me that was because I think he performed right at par--I don't know if he would be expected to go after Stewart or Reed, but he could battle Ferry and Langston and that's pretty much what he showed at A1.
I learned a lot from this. I didn't even realize Tedesco was targeting his teammate Short, and it sounds like he overrode the track a bit considering the conditions.
Hill does use a ridiculous amount of body English out there--for better or worse?
Everyone seems to think Hanny has skills but it's hard to believe in the results until we see it.
I'm glad Ramsey is back just because he's a super-cool guy and I don't think he got to show what he really had last year--he got 5th in St. Louis and then broke his wrists a few days later. He's only getting older but I would love to see him string together a few more good rides to show everyone he can still do it.
For Wey, I guess the question is can he do as well as he used to, or are his best days behind him? He's had injuries and the KTM is very much unproven in Supercross. But at least it's a factory deal now (and he has the Alessi shock!!!) Before Wey got hurt last year, he was right there with Ferry. Think about how great his season would have been if he had stayed healthy.
Keep the comments coming, gang, this is a great cheat sheet for this weekend's race in Phoenix.
In a field of motocross/outdoor riders; Suzukis Alessi and Vuillemin, Kawasakis Ferry, Yamaha's Langston. These guys struggle more with the tight indoor tracks (their words not mine).
Team Honda has constructed a group of Supercross specialists.It has been so long since Tedesco has had a dry, clean supercross track to showcase his speed, he has the edorsement of Carmichael, the opportunity to ride with McGrath, couple that with Phoenix being as close to a home town race as he will get, I have him to be on or close to the box come January 12.
Oh and GREAT insight from everyone here! Who would have thought Weege demanded such intuition from his clones?
Awesome points, Nunley--I think Honda is positioned to be right there if one of the big guys up front has trouble. Really though, Millsaps has the talent to go toe to toe with anyone, but I don't think it's going to happen. Please, please, please prove me wrong this year, Davi!
Tedesco seems to be the one with the most buzz going at Honda right now, and I agree the time is right for him to show why.
I am shocked that people dumb enough to read this blog can post such intelligent comments. Hey, let's make this a weekly Wednesday deal on here--we welcome your comments!
Being from Louisiana helps me to not forget ol K-dub. I will fondly remember his glory days when he could steal wins from Carmichael and Reed, and even back in McGrath's prime K-dub could steal SX wins if the conditions were adverse. We could check this in the AMA archives to confirm, but for argument's sake, who is the greatest rider to ever not win a 250 MX or SX championship? K-dub has to be right there if he's not the greatest. I would bet the Beast from the East is definitely up there. Weege, you have a lot of time on your hands, look that up for us! ;-)
Short, Millsaps, Tedesco, Ferry, Langston, Wey, Hill, and Windham will consistently fill out the top ten with Ferry, Tedesco, and Windham most likely to make multiple podium visits.
L'il Hanny, Vuillemin, Alessi, and Ramsey should be able to consitently make the show, occasionally making the top ten.
Summey, sorry to say, will be lucky if he can make the main.
All I know is I that I miss the hell out of Travis Preston. Could someone please at least get him in the announcer's booth once in a while so we could hear some of his always clever/hilarious comments?
In a quick and concise answer the person with the most to gain is Hanny,20th? That's 19 places for him to gain.
The person with the most to lose is Josh Hill. He seems like a nice kid, which is just as well 'cos there's a hell of a lot of him to like. He needs to lose at least another 20lbs of flab.
The rest:
Shorty - need's to dye his eyebrows black so those snow white things he's rolling right now stop glaring on the inside of his goggles and distracting him.
Wey - No link , No way,Wey.
Villy - Testing 1-2-3.
Mikey boy- The LCQ he looked like he was wrestling an angry donkey around the track. But I like him and his Dad seems kind of unique too.
Ramsey- Too little too L'8 N8.
Davi- Nice clothes. Nasty doughnut.
Ivan- not too terrible.
Sumney- Don't pinch yourself you might wake up.
Langston - O.K So why is it that GL talks with a totally weak psuedo US accent , when Greg Albertyn , who's been here for ever still sounds like he just stepped off the boat. Spend less time working on your accent and more time having fat boy hill how to throw your bike around so much you gain an extra 500 meters to the length of each lap.
I like GL. Could have let Dobb have had that extra world Championship though .
Ivan is gonna be the guy to step on to the 3rd ledge.
The fastest guy there was the announcer Terry Boyd he was sprinting all over the place like a bloody maniac. The speed he had, he'd have cleared the triples no worries.
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