MXA WEEKEND NEWS ROUND-UP: DUNGEY WINS, BUT LET’S WAIT FOR THE AMA TO DECIDE
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2016 AUSTRALIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: ROUND ONE
450 Class:
1. Matt Moss…Kaw
2. Kirk Gibbs…KTM
3. Dean Ferris…Yam
4. Kade Mosig…Kaw
5. Todd Waters…Suz
6. Brett Metcalfe…Hus
7. Daniel Reardon…Yam
8. Dylan Long…Hon
9. Jesse Dobson…Hus
10. Jay Wilson…Hon
250 Class:
1. Caleb Ward…KTM
2. Nathan Crawford…Hus
3. Jake Moss…Kaw
4. Wilson Todd…Yam
5. Jed Beaton…Yam
6. Luke Arbon…Hus
7. Jayden Rykers…KTM
8. Kale Makeham…Yam
9. Hamish Harwood…KTM
10. Kyle Webster…Hon
2016 ARENACROSS PLAYOFFS #1: CITIZEN BANK ARENA
ARENACROSS PLAYOFF POINTS STANDINGS (AFTER 1 OF 5 RACES)
1. Chris Blose (Kaw)…68
2. Gavin Faith (Kaw)…66
3. Jace Owen (Hon)…59
4. Jacob Hayes (Kaw)…57
5. Travis Sewell (KTM)…50
6. Ben Lamay (Hon)…46
7. Gared Steinke (Hus)…45
8. Kyle Regal (Hus)…36
9. Cody VanBuskirk (KTM)…15
10. Daniel Herrlein (Hon)…1
2016 SANTA CLARA SUPERCROSS RESULTS
450 Class:
1. Ryan Dungey …KTM
2. Ken Roczen…Suz
3. Jason Anderson…Hus
4. Chad Reed…Yam
5. Trey Canard…Hon
6. Justin Bogle…Hon
7. Eli Tomac…Kaw
8. Weston Peick…Yam
9. Jake Weimer…Suz
10. Blake Baggett…Suz
250 West:
1. Cooper Webb…Yam
2. Zach Osborne…Hus2
3. Joey Savatgy…Kaw
4. Christian Craig…Hon
5. Mitch Oldenburg…KTM
6. Colt Nichols…Yam
7. Jordon Smith…Hon
8. Kyle Peters…Hon
9. Alex Martin…Yam
10. Michael Leib…Yam
SUPERCROSS TOP TENS: HEADING INTO INDY ON SATURDAY
When James Stewart’s Yoshimura Suzuki blew up in Santa Clara, it completed his perfect season. He has yet to make it 20 laps in 2016.
2015 AMA 450 POINT STANDING
(After 12 of 17 races)
1. Ryan Dungey…276
2. Ken Roczen… 236
3. Jason Anderson…220
4. Eli Tomac…200
5. Marvin Musquin…182
6. Chad Reed..178
7. Cole Seely..173
8. Justin Brayton…136
9. Trey Canard…130
10. Davi Millsaps…105
Aaron Plessinger (23) is 13 points behind 250 East points leader Malcolm Stewart as they start up again this week in Indy.
2015 AMA 250 EAST POINT STANDINGS
(After 4 of 9 races)
1. Malcolm Stewart…80
2. Jeremy Martin…73
3. Aaron Plessinger… 67
4. Justin Hill…63
5. Martin Davalos…61
6. Tyler Bowers…53
7. R.J. Hampshire…44
8. Matthew Bisceglia…41
9. Jesse Wentland…41
10. Gannon Audette…41
Nothing is ever a lock, but with only Las Vegas remaining in the 250 West, Cooper Webb’s 16-point lead is solid.
2015 AMA 250 WEST POINT STANDINGS
(After 8 of 9 races)
1. Cooper Webb…170
2. Joey Savatgy…154
3. Christian Craig…147
4. Zach Osborne…132
5. Colt Nichols…132
6. Mitchell Oldenburg…113
7. Jimmy Decotis…109
8. Kyle Peters…100
9. Kyle Cunningham…78
10. Jordon Smith…77
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You can get all of MXA on your iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Android by going to the Apple Store, Amazon or Google Play. Better yet get the Digital desktop version at https://hi-torque.com/product/motocross-action-digital-edition/ for $9.99 a year. The MXA test riders prefer the print version and not just because it is delivered by a uniformed employee of the U.S. Government, but because for only $19.99 you get 12 issues and a free $25 Gift Card from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. That means that there is a profit to be made in this deal for you. For the Print magazine go to: http://hi-torque.com/product/subscribe-to-motocross-action-magazine/
HONOR ROLL: 2016 SUPERCROSS WINNERS AT A GLANCE
Justin Brayton had the holeshot in Santa Clara, but ran into the guy who had the holeshot. Say what?
Date Venue 450 250
Jan. 9…….Anaheim……………….Jason Anderson….Cooper Webb
Jan. 16……San Diego……………..Ryan Dungey………Cooper Webb
Jan. 23……Anaheim II……………Ryan Dungey………Cooper Webb
Jan. 30……Oakland……………….Ryan Dungey………Joey Savatgy
Feb. 6…….Phoenix…………………Ken Roczen………..Christian Craig
Feb. 13……San Diego II…………..Ryan Dungey………Joey Savatgy
Feb. 20……Dallas…………………..Ken Roczen………..Cooper Webb
Feb. 27……Atlanta………………….Ryan Dungey………Martin Davalos
March 5……Daytona……………….Eli Tomac…………..Jeremy Martin
March 12…Toronto…………………Ken Roczen………..Justin Hill
March 19…Detroit…………………Jason Anderson…..Malcolm Stewart
April 2……..Santa Clara…………..Ryan Dungey……….Cooper Webb
April 9……..Indianapolis…………
April 16……St. Louis……………..
April 23……Boston………………..
April 30……New York…………….
May 7……..Las Vegas……………
450 Points leader…Ryan Dungey (KTM)
250 West points leader…Cooper Webb (Yam)
250 East points leader…Malcolm Stewart (Hon)
WHO’S LEFT TO CHALLENGE DUNGEY?
Chad Reed could turn his season into a major success by winning one of the 5 remaining 450 races.
There are only five races and 125 points left to win. Ryan Dungey has eliminated all but 5 of his competitors (and one of those, Cole Seely, is injured). The AMA pays 25 points to the winner of every race, and once a rider gets more than 25 points ahead of his competition, he has a one-race safety net, 50 points is a two-race safety net, 75 points is a three-race safety net and so on.
The closest: Ken Roczen (94) is 43 points back, which means that Ryan Dungey could DNF one race (25 points), and still lead by 18 points.
Second closest: Jason Anderson (21) is 56-points behind, which means that Ryan Dungey could DNF two races, and still lead by 6 points.
Eli Tomac is 76 points adrift, which means that Ryan Dungey could DNF three races and still lead by 1 point.
Marvin Musquin is 94 points back, which means that Ryan Dungey could DNF three races, and still lead by 19 points.
Chad Reed is 98 points behind, which means that Ryan Dungey could DNF three races, and still lead by 23 points.
Cole Seely is 103 points back, which means that Ryan Dungey could DNF four races, and still lead by 3 points.
Everybody else is more than 125 points behind. And any rider who has fallen 125 or more points behind Ryan Dungey is already eliminated from even the remotest mathematical chance of winning the 450 title. These riders, through injury or other issues, are out of the running even though they are in the top 20 in points: Justin Brayton, Trey Canard, Davi Millsaps, Jake Weimer, Weston Peick, Mike Alessi, Christophe Pourcel, Justin Bogle, Vince Friese, Wil Hahn, Blake Baggett, Josh Grant and Nick Schmidt.
THIS WEEK’S BIRTHDAY BOYS: BRUCE WOULD HAVE BEEN 63
April 4…Derrick Shae Bentley 1979
April 4…Jake Nicholls 1990
April 4…Blake Williams 1985
April 4…Bruce Ogilvie 1953
April 5…Ryan Hughes 1973
April 5…Ty Davis 1969
April 5…Brian Manley 1966
April 7…Dean Ferris 1990
April 7…Jay Mitrowitz
THE WAY WE WERE: THIS WEEK’S MOTO-CHALLENGE
We are fairly positive that anyone who has been around motocross for a few years can name these two brothers, but which is which? And what race is the bike they built headed for and who will ride it? The answer is on the bottom of the page.
DOES THE AMA HAVE ANY FEET LEFT TO SHOOT?
Ryan Dungey won in Santa Clara on Saturday night…or did he? The AMA might be back in Ohio reviewing tapes as you read this.
Is it just us or has the AMA has gone flag crazy. There have been more red flags, red flag restarts and Red Cross flags in the last three years, than in the previous 39 years of Supercross. The AMA have started throwing the Red Cross flag for crashes that in previous years were handled by yellow flags and well-placed Tuff Blocks. To the casual viewer, the AMA officials, who seem to answer to no one, have inserted themselves in the events in a very intrusive way. They are trying to be a major player, when they are at best a minor player or even a nuisance. Additionally, the AMA has been red flagging starts and falsely claiming gate malfunctions, when replays show no malfunction, only over-anxious riders who jumped the gate (and occasionally caused riders around them to jump also). These restarts were unnecessary, time wasting, not in the spirit of the sport and unfair to the riders who didn’t jump the start. If jumping the gate always draws a red flag, riders will begin anticipating the starts because the worse that will happen is a second chance.
WHILE WATCHING THE REPLAY TO SEE IF DUNGEY DID INDEED DO WHAT THEY HADN’T SEEN, THEY IGNORED VIDEO EVIDENCE OF OTHER RIDERS WHO OBVIOUSLY COMMITTED THE EXACT SAME INFRACTION — BUT DIDN’T GIVE THEM THE SAME PENALTY AS RYAN DUNGEY. WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER.
As for the Red Cross flags, the AMA always points the finger at the rider, whether Jason Anderson in San Diego or Ryan Dungey in Detroit, but the AMA does not accept any fault on their own part. It is a given that both riders jumped the jumps, but why did they jump? The official Red Cross flaggers, in both cases, were poorly position (one ran across the track to wave a flag for a rider, Jake Weimer, who was already off the track and hardly in need to a Red Cross flag in the first place), another flagger was out of the line of sight of riders (who have tunnel vision coming into and out of turns), and, in some cases, flaggers who haven’t been putting much effort into waving their flags.
Worse yet, they punished Dungey after the fact, without a formal protest for an infraction they had not seen. Then, while watching the replay to see if Dungey did indeed do what they hadn’t seen, they ignored video evidence of other riders who obviously committed the exact same infraction — but didn’t give them the same penalty as Ryan Dungey. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. The obvious extension of the Detroit happenings, from the AMA’s position, would be to get an AMA official in the video booth to watch every lap of every race after the race was over, and then hand out post-race penalties to every rider who violated a rule that night. And no results would ever be official until the AMA had their AMA post-race video slumber party. Yes, we know the AMA didn’t see these other riders jump the Red Cross flags until they watched the video, but they didn’t see Dungey either (and no one believes that they did). If you are watching a post-race video to catch one guy, why would you ignore other equally obvious violations. If Dungey gets an after-the-fact penalty, then every other rider should get the same punishment. Not to do this is unfair punishment of Dungey. Nothing more than “selective enforcement” of the rule book.
WATCHING VIDEO AFTER THE RACE, IN AN EFFORT TO CATCH A RIDER BREAKING A RULE, IS A CAN OF WORMS THAT THE AMA SHOULD PUT A STOP TO IMMEDIATELY. THE AMA WILL LIVE TO REGRET THEIR DECISION TO CHANGE THE OUTCOME OF A RACE FOR A LONG-TIME IN THE FUTURE.
Watching video after the race, in an effort to catch a rider breaking a rule, is a can of worms that the AMA should put a stop to immediately. The AMA will live to regret their decision to change the outcome of a race for a long-time in the future. If an infraction occurs, and an AMA official doesn’t see it, did it really occur? That has always been the mantra that the AMA officials have handed down for the past 40 years — now, all of a sudden, we are getting the world’s slowest instant replay-type of officiating. It’s cheap and insulting.
When the checkered flag falls, if the AMA official hasn’t seen a violation, the results should never be changed. That doesn’t mean there can’t be a penalty—just that it can’t change the results that the fans around the globe saw. NASCAR never changes the results—even if they find a jet engine in the winner’s car in post-race tech inspection. They fine or take points away. Imagine if the NFL officials watched a post-game video in search of a lineman holding an opposing player—then reversed the play, canceled the touchdown and the win went to the other team. Football fans would revolt. As in football, the Supercross fans in the stands and those at home watching on TV want to know that what they paid for or spent their time watching is, in fact, as it appeared. What the Dungey incident now means is that no race is official, until every yahoo in the pits is through complaining about every infraction they think they saw, and demanding that the AMA watch the video.
GENTLEMEN, PUT YOUR FLAGS AWAY! BETTER YET, USE THE YELLOW FLAGS AS INTENDED — AND MAYBE EVEN ENHANCE THE YELLOW FLAG RULE, BY MAKING IS A HOLD YOUR POSITION, NO-PASSING FLAG, AS IT IS AT MOST AMATEUR MOTOCROSS EVENTS.
Yes, some guilty riders will slip through the AMA’s amazingly porous net, but that’s better than damaging the image of the sport because the AMA officials are flag crazy. Gentlemen, put your flags away! Better yet, use the yellow flags as intended — and maybe even enhance the yellow flag rule, by making it a hold your position, no-passing flag, as it is at most Amateur motocross events.
The AMA should overturn the Dungey penalty and then fix their own flaws—which is the positioning of flaggers, lacksadasical flag waving, sudden interest in being the center of attention and listening to post-race hearsay from outside sources that have an axe to grind. We are not saying that heads should roll at the AMA for this lack of judgement, only that heads should be used.
Straighten up AMA—this started back at Hangtown in 2009, when seven riders were penalized for ignoring what was then a red-and-yellow flag—waved by a flagger who was on the wrong side of the track, about 50 feet away from the drop-off that the riders couldn’t afford to take their eyes off of. The ruling was wrong then—and the ruling is wrong now. The AMA official didn’t think they were to blame back at Hangtown, but they were. And, guess what, those seven riders were penalized one position—not two. So much for consistent enforcement of the penalties. Snap out of it. You need to fix the AMA system before altering the outcome of a race after the fact. Get your house in order—then enforce the rules from a position of righteousness.
JODY WEISEL’S PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Jon Ortner will be getting decomposed granite out of his Hanes for a week.
MXA’S PAINTING OF THE WEEK — BY THE GUY IN THE PHOTO ABOVE
Artist Jon Ortner has continued working on his Ryan Dungey painting. We are showing it on the wall in his studio to illustrate the size of the work. You can click on the image to see a bigger version of it. For more info go to www.jonortnerart.com.
REM POSTER OF THE WEEK — STARRING THE GUY IN THE TWO PHOTOS ABOVE
For more info go to www.remsatmx.com
VENTURA COUNTRY OFFROAD SHOW ON APRIL 9-10
For more info go to www.venturacountyoffroadshow.com
“BABES IN THE DIRT” AT HUNGRY VALLEY — APRIL 22-24
For more info go to www.babesrideout.com
CZ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP REVIVAL — APRIL 24
For more info go to www.avdra.com
LISTA DE HONOR: 2016 GRAND PRIX WINNERS AT A GLANCE
Jeffrey Herlings (84) is off to the same start as usual. He just needs to avoid the big mistakes that cost him the 250 title in 2014 ad 2015.
Date Venue 450 250
Feb. 27…. Qatar…………………..Tim Gajser…………..Jeffrey Herlings
Mar. 6…..Thailand……………….Romain Febvre…….Jeffrey Herlings
Mar. 28…Holland………………..Romain Febvre…….Jeffrey Herlings
April 10….Argentina………………
April 17….Mexico………………
May 1…… Latvia………………
May 8……Germany………………
May 15….Italy………………
May 29….Spain………………
June 5……France………………
June 19….Great Britain………………
June 26….Italy………………
July 24…..Czech Republic………………
July 31…..Belgium………………
Aug. 7……Switzerland………………
Aug. 28….Holland………………
Sept. 3…..Charlotte, USA………………
Sept.11…..Glen Helen, USA………………
450 Points leader…Romain Febrve (Yam)
250 West points leader…Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)
GRAND PRIX TOP TENS: A LONG WAY TO GO
Tony Cairoli (222) has dominated the last five years, but Romain Febvre has proven to be very tough to beat.
450 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
(After 3 of 18 events)
1. Romain Febvre…137
2. Tim Gajser…124
3. Evgeny Bobryshev…107
4. Jeremy Van Horebeek…104
5. Antonio Cairoli…100
6. Max Nagl…84
7. Shaun Simpson…80
8. Kevin Strijbos…79
9. Tommy Searle…63
10. Glenn Coldenhoff…42
Jeffrey Herlings (84) is perfect in the first three GPs of the year.
250 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
(After 3 of 18 events)
1. Jeffrey Herlings…150
2. Pauls Jonass…112
3. Jeremy Seewer…112
4. Aleksandr Tonkov…91
5. Brent Van Doninck…78
6. Petar Petrov…76
7. Benoit Paturel…75
8. Samuele Bernardini…60
9. Alvin Ostlund…60
10. Vsevolod Brylyakov…59
UPCOMING RACES: WHO, WHAT, WHY & WHERE
2016 AMA SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
April 9………………..….Indianapolis, IN
April 16………………….St. Louis, MO
2016 AMSOIL ARENACROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
April 9-10…………………Salinas, CA
April 16-17………………..Tacoma, WA
April 22-24………………..Nampa, ID
May 6-8……………………Las Vegas, NV
2016 REM MOTOCROSS
April 9………………………..Glen Helen, CA
April 16………………………No race (Tough Mudder mud run)
April 23………………………Glen Helen, CA
April 30………………………Glen Helen, CA (USGP track)
2016 KTM JUNIOR SUPERCROSS CHALLENGE
April 16……………………..St. Louis
May 7……………………….Las Vegas
2016 FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
April 10……………………..Neuquen, Argentina
April 17……………………..Leon, Mexico
2016 AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
April 17………………………Appin, NSW
May 1…………………………Broadford, VIC
2016 BRITISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
April 10……………………..Landrake (Postponed new date to come)
2016 AMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
May 21………………………..Hangtown, CA
May 28.………………………Glen Helen, CA
UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
Sept. 3……………………..…Charlotte, USA (Saturday)
Sept. 11……………….…..….Glen Helen, USA
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO MXA AND MAKE MONEY
You probably haven’t seen the April 2016 issue of MXA yet, but if you subscribed it would be in the trusty hands of a uniformed agent of the U.S. Government on its way to your mailbox right now. Or, you can wait for the product reviews, KTM 450SXF Factory Edition test and tech features to appear on the internet…in a couple months. Your choice.
Do you subscribe to MXA? You should. We know that you think that print magazines are dead and that the internet will fill the void, but most of the stuff in the current issue of MXA won’t appear on the web for several months, if at all. Luckily, you can get all of MXA on your iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Android by going to the Apple Store, Amazon or Google Play. Better yet get the Digital desktop version at https://hi-torque.com/product/motocross-action-digital-edition/ for $9.99 a year. The MXA test riders prefer the print version and not just because it is delivered by a uniformed employee of the U.S. Government, but because for only $19.99 you get 12 issues and a free $25 Gift Card from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. That means that there is a profit to be made in this deal for you. For the Print magazine go to: http://hi-torque.com/product/subscribe-to-motocross-action-magazine/
THE ANSWER TO THE MOTO-CHALLENGE QUESTION
Answer: The Suzuki that Tom (left) and Dan (right) White built was for Brad Lackey (above) to race at the ABC-TV Superbikers race. Superbikers was a precursor to what we now know as Supermoto. Is it just coincidence that Lackey is racing past a White Brother’s banner?
Photos: Jody Weisel, John Basher, Brian Converse, Rich Stuelke, Massimo Zanzani, MXA
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