Official 2017 Supercross Thread

Gotta keep in mind that Roczen is still young. He will learn how to be consistent like reed or Dungey who almost never get top slot but consistently podium.

 

Dungey won 9 of the 17 rounds last season. He was on the podium 16 rounds, only missed it 1 time. He got a 4th place finish in Giants Stadium.
Reed used to be very consistent, but that was years ago. I only remember 1 maybe 2 podiums for him last season.

 

The reason SX doesn't recognize the MX Nationals much (if at all) is because you have 2 promoters at odds. Trust me, I know first hand. In the next year or so some things may go down that will cause even more conflict...if Feld moves forward with the plan they have in place. Time will tell. But the short of it, is Feld basically wants to control the Pro Racing scene and they have the upper-hand because SX is where the money is at.

 

I get that 2 companies run the series. Doesn't mean that the other series does not exist.
It just was funny to hear them say that Roczen has not won anything to warent the new deal with Honda and such.
Nascar and Indy car are competing series of racing, run by separate companies. They still acknowledge the existence of the other.

 

The difference is they are dealing with the same group of riders (unlike Nascar / Indy). I can't comment on the auto racing stuff because I don't follow it closely. But I work in the SX/MX industry, so that is the reason. Feld wants to expand SX and basically be the only Pro series that matters. Pretty much leaving the National series with no top riders, since schedules may over-lap. That would force the teams / riders to choose 1 series over the other. See now?

 

Gotcha.
Hope that does not happen. I enjoy watching the racing of motocross better, but enjoy the show of Supercross better. Whoever puts on Motocross really needs to figure out how to do a better TV airing.

 

Thisready happened with offroad racing. SCORE is pretty much pointless minutes maybe 2 or 3 races, BITD has gained almost all the control. NORRA, SNORE and MORE are pretty much b level now.

 

Racing in stadiums will always bring more excitement. Supercross is like WWF on two wheels.

 

I feel like you are spot-on. And also, I believe most fans echo what you just said.

However, each series has it's own flaws and it really makes it hard. Nationals is great for the hard-core fans, amateur racers and enthusiasts. The bad is that it doesn't appeal well to the casual fan. People that don't love the sport, don't want to sit in the sun, in a field all day. Very limited seating and the TV deal is annoying. The racing is amazing. It's true racing: elevation, weather, dirt that changes at each location etc. But they need to do something to appeal to the casual fan, as that is spiraling a bit.

SX on the other hand is more of a show, IMO. The racing is ok, but it's a lot of the same, from week to week. Cookie-cutter tracks, short races, not a lot of conditions to deal with etc. And it's rhythm section, turn, rhythm section, turn etc. But it's much easier to appeal to the masses, plus the hard-core fans still like it because it's dirtbike racing. The seating is easy for everyone, better numbers, better TV etc. But SX, if it expands, and pushes out the Nationals, will really hurt Am / Privateer racing. And that in-turn, trickles down to less hard-core fans etc etc. And I personally don't think the sport survives off of casual fans alone. So really, it just sucks because they sort of need each other for the sport to grow, as a whole. But that is my opinion. Sorry for the rambling, I don't want to get off topic.

 

Your descriptions of why I like motocross over supercross are spot on. I have only ridden a dirt bike 1 time, but do ride street bikes. I would love to own 1, but not practical where I live.

I love watching motocross, but the TV networks make it so difficult. Tune in at a certain time on Mavtv for moto 1, then some random # of hours, or days later tune into NBC SPORTS for moto 2. Half the time something gets screwed up and I only get to see 1 moto....

 

Let's not forget the global power of Coca Cola who owns a big stake in Monster. Corporate power to make a profit at all costs. So much money in this business of energy drinks and entertainment. Hell, i just went to A1 and a tall boy of Corona was $13, so i went for the 16 oz. IPA in an Angels cup and that was $15!!! lol Funny thing is that when those top riders are on the podium taking a "sip" of those energy drinks the cans are filled with water or empty. No way they drink that crap. Their diets are too regulated.

I worked for Lucas Oil in 2015 and set up every track for all 12 rounds. Most every track had a lower attendance than previous years( minus red bud), according to those locals i spoke with that worked their tracks. You guys are 100% right, tv coverage for MX blows with having to switch different channels and too many commercial breaks, of course Lucas owns MAVTV, so they wanted their share of coverage to be shown on their channel. I think SX should not do 17 rounds, i think 12 would be easier on the riders and more consistent with the Nationals, but that'l never happen, too much $ at stake. Feld has $ in its eyes and only wants to get bigger with more domination. You can't make these riders race year round, too many injuries, not enough rest time and if Feld has their way they will nix the nationals or make guys choose, as said in above post, which will suck. I will forever prefer watching/attending the outdoor nationals. rant over. go Dungey

 

You are right on a lot of that, for sure. SX having Monster is a good thing, in a way. There is certainly more money involved in SX, for obvious reasons. The downside is that I think SX is run purely as a business, so any grass-roots goes out the window. Where as Nationals have that part covered, but are having trouble finding out how to update things to appeal to the casual fan. And you are correct about the water in the drink cans lol. A few years ago, when Rockstar was the Nationals title sponsor, we had the pallets of the yellow cans for riders and employees but they were filled with water lol. We also hauled the regular Rockstar hand-out can, on pallets too, for each round.

And yes, attendance numbers have slightly dipped, but I think even SX has felt a hit there. That is in both attendance and merch sales etc. But that is just because the sport / industry isn't thriving at the moment.

 

AMA should let me design a supercross track. I could promise one of the best tracks ever.
Big jumps and big berms with a lot of speed. A whole lot of bmx and downhill mtn biking in
a stadium. Pin it to win it!!!

 

Good one this weekend. The top 2 were on another level. I thought RD was going to set him up, if not for that mistake. But it is what it is, KRoc did it again. Hopefully RD can keep the pressure on and make it interesting. Would be nice if someone else could get up in the mix. Supposedly both Stewarts will be back either this round or the next one. So that should be interesting.

 

I don't want to come off in the wrong way, but I think Webb is a bit overrated coming into the 450s. Don't get me wrong, all these guys are racing because they're the best of the best, but I don't get why people think Webb will just jump right in and hang with the vets. It seems like every time we see riders from 250s move up to 450s they either sink or swim. Webb didn't have much competition in the 250s so of course he looked amazing, but from what we've seen so far he seems to be one of those middle of the pack guys. I wish him the best of luck though and hope he succeeds. On a side note it's good to see Honda taking a run at the championship, it's been a long time since they've had a solid shot.

 

You are right. I was for sure 1 of the guys who talked Webb up. So far, I have been way off. The reason why I was thinking he would be outside the norm is basically his attitude. He is 1 of those guys who takes losing personally. So I figured that if he could come in and not be intimidated by the top 450 guys, then that right there would give him an advantage over most 450 rookies. Also, he went head to head with the world's top guys in the MX of Nations this year and did quite well. When guys like Tomac and Dungey backed out of the event, he stepped up asked to be the captain and even took a subtle shot at the guys who didn't want to represent their country. He's just a big time competitor and I love seeing that. Supposedly he is struggling with bike set-up and overall adjustment to the 450. I'm giving him some time but I still think you will see him up front before the year is over (but I could be wrong lol).

 

Webb is surprising me as well. I did not see him as a contender for the championship at all this season, but did not expect him to be lapped either like last week and possibly week 1. Like was said, he did quite well on the 450 in the MX of nations so I thought he would be a solid top 10 guy. Yamaha is spending big bucks on him And reed and not getting much. Dean Wilson on the privateer yamaha( with some yamaha help) is doing better than both of them.
Roczen and dungey have been good to watch. I'm happy to see Roczen doing good. I don't know why but I've never been much of a fan of Dungey, although he is the type of person I typically like (quiet, keeps his head down working and suceeds).
I want Anderson or Tomac to get in there and compete. I like when a bunch of people are fighting it out.
I'm torn on the stewart's...James has been my favorite rider since a rookie in the 125's. Watching his amazing speed over the others made me a fan for life on him. I realize he is no longer a true threat, but on the right night he can still surprise people.
Malcolm, it shocks me couldn't get a ride. He may have gotten his start as the little brother of James, but he did win the lites east last year. How does a raining champ not find a ride.....
The 2 of them.waiting till round 3, or beyond is really passing me off.

 

I don't know for sure, but the rumor is that Malcolm pissed some ppl off at Geico when he basically held out of the Nationals. So going into the off-season he had some burned bridges. Then supposedly some of the offers that were on the table either weren't enough money or some other hang-up. So basically, I think the budgets are already tight, with the teams. Then Malcolm had some baggage and it kept people from signing him for what he thought he was worth. But the dude can ride. I hope they actually follow through and race. I guess he is supposed to be on a Suzuki. James, on the other hand is either also going to be on a Suzuki but I also heard it could be a Husky or a Yam. Who knows lol.

 

I would like to see Seely do good this season. I know he probably won't be a championship contender with the way KR and RD are riding, but he has been pretty consistent for a underdog so to say. I think we could see a few top 3 finishes from him maybe, but I'm predicting he finishes the season in the top 5. It would also be good to see Reed win at least one more race before he retires.

 

I'm super bummed I didn't catch the race this past weekend... I don't have cable set up at my new place yet so I missed it. From what I hear it was a damn good battle between Dungey and KRoc. Hopefully we see more of that in the coming races. I'll be out at A2 this weekend... Anyone else gonna be there?