The storm is coming. Some of you reading this might think I’m figuratively referring to round one of the Monster Energy Supercross series kicking off this weekend in Anaheim and I guess I am but I’m also being literal in that a storm is coming. Even the most optimistic weatherman would take a look at the system coming into Southern California this weekend and not predict some wetness.

Will we see a repeat of 2005 when practices were cut and a total mud bath of a main event that saw Honda’s Kevin Windham win? It’s not going to be an ideal way to start the 17-round supercross series but it should be exciting nevertheless.

As usual the field is stacked coming into the opening round and it should be interesting to see who’s done what in the off-season to elevate their game. When you look at the front-runners, there are legitimate questions with each of them save for defending champion Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey.

How is Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac? And his operated shoulders? How’s the new Kawasaki suiting him? Is Jimmy John Suzuki’s Kenny Roczen happy with his bike? Is a year away from racing going to hurt Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart? What about Cole Seely? Can he bring his raw speed up to the level of the other riders?

Dungey, on the other hand, has none of these types of questions surrounding him. He’s on the same bike, same trainer, has confidence from his 450SX and MX titles and he’ll be the complete package once again. How do you beat a guy that’s only off the podium one time in seventeen races?

250s

Despite a lot of the teams trying desperately to not let the fans and media know which of their riders is riding each coast I think though some texts, calls and emails I’ve figured out who we’ve got lining up at Anaheim in eight days barring any last minute injuries.

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki will have Joey Savatgy and Chris Alldredge, Yamalube/Star Yamaha will have defending champion Cooper Webb, Alex Martin and Mitchell Harrison, GEICO Honda’s got Christian Craig, Jordon Smith and Jimmy Decotis, Troy Lee Designs KTM will go with Jessy Nelson and Mitchell Oldenburg, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s will feature Zach Osborne. I’m sure I missed a few teams and or riders but that’s the main factory supported guys that are lining up.

With a busy off-season where he’s been hauling ass every time he’s lined- up, I think Webb has to be the favorite here (I heard from a good source that Webb’s already signed with Yamaha for 2017 and beyond by the way—that’s some early work!) but Savatgy, Osborne and Nelson will have a thing or two to say about Cooper trying to keep his number one plate. I also will be watching to see Christian Craig’s comeback to supercross after a few years off. None other than David Vuillemin (who is Rider Coach for the BUD Racing Kawasaki guys) said in his Pulpmx Column this week that he’s been very impressed with Craig this off-season and he’s not the only guy to tell me that.

Outsiders coming in?

One rider that may make that “leap” is sophomore Jason Anderson. The Rockstar Husqvarna rider got a couple of podiums last year, his rookie term, and by all accounts is flying this off-season. Anderson’s got that raw speed and aggression that a rider needs and he just has to stop making mistakes, like his series-long feud with Suzuki’s Blake Baggett in 2015. He’s better than that, he’s better than plowing into dudes in turns and if he matures a bit, he’ll be deadly.

Speaking of Baggett he’s out of the opening rounds with a wrist injury that some thought would be series-ending but in talking to some of the Suzuki guys, they’re hoping that if everything goes right Baggett could only miss a month of action. Without a title sponsor, there’s no pressure for the yellow team to put someone on the bike so it’ll just be Stewart for a bit.

Also in other news with Suzuki, there was a strong rumor that Yoshimura Suzuki was going to pick up True Value Hardware stories as a title sponsor and it was going to be announced real soon. Well, we’re less than a week out and still no announcement and my sources say they’re still working on it but the two sides are still far apart.

The Wey out

Nick Wey, long one of the sports top privateers hung-it-up this past week. A former Pro Circuit Kawasaki and factory Suzuki racer, Wey has had his own team the last few years and has been one of the sports more popular riders.

“I’ve known all along that you can’t race forever,” he said. “I’ve never taken any opportunity or sponsorship or race for granted. I’ve always tried to be prepared and do my best and be appreciative. I definitely understood that I couldn’t race forever, but at the same time I’ve known too much and how bike setup and things can help your overall results and how much easier it is if you have a good bike. And I know you’re wasting your time if you don’t.”

“Really I just needed a partner to come in and help so I could hire some more employees to help with things, so I could really do the best I could instead of doing most things on my own,” he added. “But that didn’t necessarily work out. I’m not going to field the full season. I don’t even really have any plans to race at all at this point. I’ve been riding and training like I was going to race until this last week here. That’s kind of how things came together.”

The pits will be a little less fun without a guy like Wey around. We would say good luck to him but he doesn’t need it, he’ll be successful no matter what he does next.

Photo by Simon Cudby