Thursday was media day at Anaheim’s Angel Stadium, in preparation for the opening round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series this Saturday. After a short press conference a few of the top riders took to the track to style for the national and local media. One of the riders showing off for the cameras was Andrew Short, who will be making his debut ride this weekend for KTM. After an impressive display on the track, Shorty talked us around the A1 course.
Anaheim 1 is the biggest Supercross races of the year just because everything is new – everyone has high hopes, there are new bikes and riders on new teams. From a rider’s perspective, it’s nice to get out in a stadium again, away from the test track and the solitude of riding by yourself. This is a good track and it’s always a good race here.After the start, the start straight leads you into a really tricky rhythm section. On race day, that section is going to develop a lot of different lines and be rutted up pretty good. That’s going to be a tricky section and it leads right into a big triple. Then there is a fast section that zigzags its way across the start straight. Then there are two tight little doubles and it’s going to be key to keep your momentum up in those areas.After the doubles, you go into another little rhythm section before another triple. This should be a really good place for the fans because that triple really boots you up in the air.
Next there is one set of whoops with a double before it so you won’t be able to get very much momentum coming into those, so it will be key to get into those really good. The finish line is pretty standard and then there is a double that puts you back on the start straight. It’s hard to get stopped for this because you have to land on the brakes. It’s going to be a pretty technical part of the track.The dirt here starts out really clumpy because of the moisture here, but it will break down pretty good. Right now it feels pretty choppy with Supercross suspension because the clumps pack down in an awkward way. As the sun goes down the moisture will come out of the soil and it will be slippery in the hard-packed area.It’s always hard to know where you stand before the first race, but this is always a good track for me and I’m excited about getting to the starting line and racing with the other riders.
