Well, if you’re reading this then it means we survived the end of the world apocalypse that the Mayan calendar predicted. Whew, what a relief! Welcome to The Weekly Dirt, the place to go each Wednesday to get the inside scoop from the off-road world. Here’s hoping everyone had a great Christmas and looking forward to an awesome 2013! Now here’s the Dirt…
Looking To Anahiem
Ryan Villopoto is the early favorite to win A1.
James Stewart is somewhat of an unknown after being off the bike for an extended period.
Justin Barcia proved he has the speed to compete at the Monster Energy Cup.
Davi Millsaps will be riding a Rockstar Suzuki in the 450 class.
We’re just a couple of weeks away from Anaheim 1, the opening round of the 2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series, and heading into the year we’ve got a pretty loaded field of riders, which should make for some fantastic racing. Unless someone gets hurt at the last minute during testing or training all the heavies are back, including everyone who missed parts of last year due to injury like Trey Canard, Chad Reed and James Stewart. A1 is always an exciting race and something surprising usually happens at that race.
A few guys are with new teams this year, with Justin Barcia moving from GEICO Powersports Honda up to the factory team. We also have Justin Brayton and Josh Grant back with JGRMX after spending the last two years with different teams. And then we have Davi Millsaps, who has been a regular with JGR, now with Rockstar Suzuki.
Speaking of Suzuki, Broc Tickle, who rode a 450 for Mitch Payton’s Pro Circuit Kawasaki team last year, is now on a yellow bike with RCH/Hart & Huntington out of Las Vegas. Tickle is one of those guys that you don’t notice how fast he’s going but then all of a sudden surprises you with his performance. The report from Vegas is that Tickle is looking good, as well as teammate Josh Hill, who is returning from a devastating injury.
After his performance in the first moto at the Monster Energy Cup, Villopoto has be to the early favorite, although Barcia will likely be one of the guys pushing him the hardest. Reed should be solid and Stewart is an unknown at this time, although his mechanic, Lee McCollum, says he is looking good in testing.
Be sure to check out www.dirtrider.com for updates from Anaheim 1. A lot of the content you found on www.motocross.com last year will now be posted to DirtRider.com, including “What Really Happened” and assorted interviews and factory bike features. Also, look for a preview of the Anaheim race after the press conference on Thursday, January 3rd.
Happy Holidays. - Shan Moore
That’s all for this week. Be sure to check on next week for more Weekly Dirt!
