Race a Toyota Truck in a Moto!

The Toyota Zone stepped things up for 2007.

This year fans will sit 4 at a time in a Toyota truck that is also a racing simulator!

So when you are at the supercross, you can stop by the Toyota Zone, hop in, and you are "in" a moto at Glen Helen. Very cool idea.

Anaheim 1 - Big Press Day

KW leads in new haircut points.

I like to call Anaheim 1's press day "New Haircut Day." That's the day the new teams gather for a lunch and press conference at Anaheim. All the main characters were there but Reed, who is resting uncomfortably and hoping for the best this weekend.

Brooks spoke for Reed and said he took a hard crash Sunday. He's been X-rayed and checked out and his concern is pain - not bones. His collarbone injury is a chipped part, and his sternum has a compression fracture. Structurally, Chad is good. They still plan on making a "game time" decision Saturday.

Chad doesn't have to push himself in practice or the heat race either. The new SX format rules allow one to use a muilligan to get into the main twice, as long as you are in the points. So Chad could actually suit up and make a lap of practice and say "ouch." Then he lines up for the heat and does it again, then uses one of his two options to get into the main and he just has to suffer for 20 laps and he gets points. It's a living.

Some photos from today.

Interesting things:

Stewart and Ferry's Monster Kawasakis were seen by quite a few people for the first time.

RC dropped the Berik boots he made famous two years ago and is now in Fox Racing boots. Fox even has their boot people here meeting with him as he rides and taking notes.

RC's number backgrounds are red to indicate he has he FIM points lead.

Stewart didn't comment publically yet, but everyone is watching for a sign of Red Bull activity on his helmet. So far, nothing spotted.

Davi Millsaps should be ready by Anaheim 3, but he spoke in the press conference today. Windham did too, and talked about racing in the premier class 10 years now.

RC and Stewart both got nice supercross championship rings.

Local/news/TV media turnout was really good. Interest in supercross by the media in southern California is the best anywhere. One of the guys from Speed Freeks asked Stewart a question and joked about Peyton Manning, and Stewart joked right back at them.

Kawasaki's SX Kick-Off and Monster Kawasaki

Kawasaki employees and team riders met in the afternoon Wednesday before Anaheim 1 in a "SX Kick-Off." Monster Kawasaki debuted its new graphics and Bruce Stjernstrom joked that productivity went up since Monster Energy arrived!

All the greenies were there - Monster Kawasaki (Stewart and Ferry), Monster Pro Circuit (but Ben is still in Florida training), plus Cernic's and Motosport Outlet. Christophe Pourcel was there too.

Since everyone is curious about the Stewart/Red Bull thing, the buzz is his deal was up Dec 31, but that's not confirmed and no one commented.

Anaheim 1 - It's On!

Any time Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart are ready to throw down, you don't want to miss it. RC and James always seem to find each other on the track, so this one is likely to be a good one. Since Anaheim always sells out, at least you can catch the start of the 2007 Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series LIVE on SPEED.

RC and James are ready to appear at the preseason press conference tomorrow (Thursday). Chad Reed is still expected to appear, but he's a maybe for this weekend due to a fractured shoulder blade. If he can ride through the pain, he will. Tedesco is a maybe too, with his hand just now healed up.

The thing to watch with RC this weeked will be his attitude. He's been looking forward to racing without the ever-present title pressure hanging over his head, and he believes he can change his style and go faster to match any challenge Stewart serves up. RC hasn't won an Anaheim 1, and you can bet he doesn't want to leave this weekend disappointed.

Don't expect Stewart to cut RC any slack either. He may feel less title pressure right now, but he's not going to plan on starting his season in cruise. For this weekend as Stewart likes to say, "It's on."

Chad Reed is one tough guy. We already know he can handle an incredible amount of pain and still go fast from Daytona. This may be another weekend just like that one. As of this writing the best estimate of Reed being in for the weekend is about 50% in 50% out.

2007 brings more changes than no RC every weekend. Supercross gets a new format that is designed to be more live TV friendly, so people are thinking ahead. Semis are gone-but this actually got tested in Canada at world supercross and it went fine.

Patience Pays Off for RC with Vancouver Win

RC waited for his chance to pass Stewart in the main at Vancouver. It took more than half the race, but he jumped when he had the chance, and he won it. The two set a blistering pace on the loose Vancouver "moon dirt," and they opened a gap on Reed, who was still third.

RC now leads the series, and goes driving Monday. He's driving a lot now, but it hasn't slowed him down on a motorcycle. He even told me in our Monday Conversation interview that he does think about racing patiently now in a main and that it's a skill he's going to need.

Stewart had a rough day with his foot still hurting. He skipped the second practice as a result. He got a ride to the press conference on a cart and limped in. He said he's going for points and "I'm a racer," and will race as long as he is able. He wasn't really sure until late Thursday.

RC and Stewart were riding on the edge all night. The two were also in the same heat, which RC won and broke Stewart's heat race win streak that goes back to who-knows-when.

Reed said he just never got the track down and even went over to a section he had trouble with after the main to just sit there and look at it before the interviews.

The dirt here is loose and doesn't form well, and this was a challenge for selecting tires-nothing seemed to really work, except patience.

Sipes was impressive in Lites, starting with a holeshot, then he led every lap. Dungey was second Osborne third.

RC looked really, really happy with his win and took a lot of time to ride around waving to fans and doing burnouts.

The protest fuss faded pretty fast. It was smart of John Gallagher, the FIM rep, to get it decided and announced early to get on with things.

At last this year's racing is over and people get a little vacation before Anaheim 1.

Check in Monday for the Monday Conversation with RC, when he talks about his race this weekend, his car days, and his goals in AMA racing before he is done.

Vancouver is scheduled to air next-day on Speed, so check it out. Maybe they will show the Evans-Johnson fight in the LCQ!

www.martymoates.com/

Brad Zimmerman had just built a site where people can post memories and photos of our good friend, Marty Moates. Check it out.

www.martymoates.com

Photo of the Vancouver Track

From just now.









Best Practice Times, Practice 1:

RC - 54.024
Reed - 54.117
Stewart - 55.192
Vuillemin - 55.424
Ferry - 55.567
Byrne - 56.127
Wey - 56.238
Carpenter - 56.936
Gibson - 57.150
Voss - 57.227

Important message, Kyle Lewis, who just peeked into the computer screen while this update was going up, said "Tell everyone on the web I said hi!"

Note: Stewart has qualified so he will be skipping the second practice to save himself for tonight.

In practice #2, RC was again the fastest, with Vuillemin second, Ferry third, Reed 4th, and Wey 5th. Stewart rested his leg. No explanation on Reed. They went back into the truck to get ready for tonight.

Another odd thing, RC had a flat in that last practice and pulled off early. He has had like 2 flats in his whole pro career. Strange.