The 2011 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship season was widely regarded as the greatest of all time, after an intense battle for the championship which was affirmed by five pilots during the entire 17 race season. Ryan Villopoto, Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey, Trey Canard and James Stewart shared victories each, keeping stadiums across the country crowded.
In the end, it was Villopoto prevailed, taking the points for 15 weeks, and overcoming all the challenges of his rivals to claim the title of the first premier class after two years marked by injury and illness.
For 2012, the five riders return, ready to rekindle the magic of last season, while many of the recognizable names of other sports also enter the season looking to launch their names into the mix. The championship season of parity-driven past was undoubtedly the best season ever in the 37-year history of the Monster Energy Supercross, and a deeply talented field pilots poised to strike inside the tracks of the most famous stadiums in the United States, this trend should reach even greater heights.
The most poignant League this season is a result of the amount of hardware made by competitors ready to battle for the world title. For the first time since 1991, four of the past champions will take to the track. In fact, since the 2008 season, Reed, Stewart, Dungey and Villopoto have secured the last four titles, respectively.
While the veteran duo of Reed and Stewart amassed Hall of Fame career, settling in the upper half of the list of all-time wins and winning multiple championships, Villopoto, Dungey and Canard have taken the sport by storm since making the move to Supercross class. Villopoto grabbed several wins in three seasons of competition, while Dungey made history in 2010 when he became only the second rookie in history to win the title. As for Canard, his rookie season last campaign was marked by three impressive wins, but resulted in a premature end after he suffered a painful injury.
As a result, the sport is in the midst of a strong youth movement, led by this trio of small arms. However, despite the success of his younger rivals, both Reed and Stewart have shown that neither the pilot is ready to give way to their successors hard-charging. The motivation of each respective driver led the race exceptional and quite possibly the season's most competitive sport has ever seen.
Besides the 2012 competition is being tabbed as a time of significant change for many of the biggest names in sport. Most notably are the respective movements of both Stewart and Dungey. After three years with the San Manuel Yamaha, Stewart played a high profile for Joe Gibbs Racing stable and Toyota / Yamaha / JGRMX, while Dungey will compete professionally in a machine that Suzuki is not the first time in his young career , gather your mentor and team manager Roger DeCoster at Red Bull KTM.
"I am excited about the family of Gibbs racing," Stewart said in his press conference to announce his signing with the team. "My goal is to pass the Supercross Jeremy McGrath's record of 72 wins supercross.'m More than halfway, and we look forward to realize this dream during my time with JGR."
"I like the way Roger KTM supported since he made the change last year, and I appreciate KTM aim to work hard to develop his race team to win championships," said Dungey on the KTM official announcement. "I'm doing this to win races and work to get that championship (the first) for KTM."
In addition, Reed will embark on his second year as a team owner and pilot, after an extremely successful season in the first place. As 2011 passed the championship, Reed received more support from American Honda for their TwoTwo Motorsports / Bel-Ray Racing effort, and would expect that with the support of even greater mark of success for 2012, Reed will be much better than one years before.
As for Canard, the ups and downs he experienced in 2011 will be assured transition into their second season. After two separate fractures of his left femur broken earlier in the space of eight months, Canard learned to appreciate the success they achieved in the competition during his rookie season. They say there's no better motivation in sport than being forced to watch from outside, and Canard is a true testament to that. With a return to American Honda set for next season, Canard will undoubtedly be the pilot more eager to go to the track in January, and will try to make a statement soon.
"Injuries are part of our sport," he wrote in his column Canard Racer X Illustrated. "But to be there and see everything that was happening was difficult. Seeing the championships decided and realizing that I was not part of what was difficult. But you know what? It is also the motivation to go there, because you realize how bad you lost. It adds fuel to the fire to return as soon as I can. "
However, after one of the most successful seasons in the history of the AMA unique in that Villopoto won the Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Motocross crowns, also the head of the U.S. team for the seventh straight victory at the Motocross of Nations, all eyes will be on the champion, who ended the 2011 season, claiming the biggest purse in the history of the sport with Monster Energy Cup, "Monster Million."
Since making his move to the elite level of supercross in 2009, Villopoto suffered a slow but upward. The trials and tribulations he faced as a result of their misfortunes fierce competitor who built a mature and learned to seize every opportunity that presented itself. In 2011, Villopoto took the championship by the horns, and was rewarded for it. With early access to his Monster Energy Kawasaki's 2012 machine, Villopoto has secured an advantage over the competition that he hopes to play in their favor in January. He will look to become the first driver since Ricky Carmichael in 2005 and 2006 to win back-to-back Monster Energy Supercross titles.
"It's unreal," said Villopoto, after his victory in the Monster Energy Cup. "I'm glad we were able to pull it off. To support it in the next year would be difficult, so if we do, it would be great."
Combine these five superstars to the long list of talented challengers like Andrew Short, Kevin Windham, Davi Millsaps, Justin Brayton, Ivan Tedesco, Mike Alessi, Brett Metcalfe, Jake Weimer and Josh Grant, to name a few, and you have what is arguably the field's most talented riders ever to align yourself with a starting gate.
The group of stars first class competitors are ready to fight over 17 races in search of a World Championship. History has shown that anything can happen in the sport of supercross last season and was a real indication of that. With four world champions, eight Supercross Lites Regional Champions, and a total of 15 different drivers who have won a race Monster Energy Supercross in any room, very stacked field of riders set to enter Angel Stadium of Anaheim on January 7, is unlike anything ever seen before.
Monster Energy Supercross is an all-time high with respect to parity, competitiveness, the depth of talent, and average speed of competition. The likes of "Big Five" a year ago have helped take the sport to new heights, inaugurating a new era for the greatest spectacle in racing. It would be difficult to find a way to build the "Biggest Season Ever" in 2011, but it would not surprise anyone in the industry to competition in 2012, is unpredictable as is the creation of being.
For the first time in the history of sport, SPEED will broadcast live coverage from the following 11 races: Race 1 Anaheim, Phoenix, San Diego, Arlington, Atlanta, St. Louis, Daytona, Indianapolis, Toronto, Seattle and Las Vegas. In addition, CBS Sports will provide coverage of next day in Los Angeles, Oakland, Anaheim Race 2, Houston, New Orleans and Salt Lake City. Fans should check local TV listings for additional details.
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