The Scoop 2

Two of the things that has made this season really memorable is that there aren't just a couple guys racing for the title, but a solid rotation of five guys near the front. That blender of results, along with a few DNFs, DNQs, and crashes has also kept the points really tight, with no runaways.

Unfortunately, we lost one of that group this week, when Trey Canard went down hard while outdoor testing at Competitive Edge, which left him with a fractured (actually re-fractured) femur. The good news is that because he still had a rod in that leg from his previous femur break, that it'll be a much shorter recovery time than it would have been otherwise.

Plenty of you have left a get well message for Trey on the homepage here (which also enters them for a chance to win a pair of Canard Signature Scott goggles), and it's not to late to add your own note.

As for this weekend's race in Seattle? Well, we'll have to wait and see how much precipitation Mother Nature has in store for us, but it doesn't look like it'll be pretty. There's something in it for the local fans, though, as Ryan Villopoto will be making his first race start there in a couple years, and he'll definitely have the hometown crowd on his side...as well as a five-point lead in his pocket. Oh, and he won the last time here.

Do you think Ryan Dungey wishes he had the points from his DNF at Anaheim II? Instead of trailing Villopoto by five, he might have had a 20-point lead at this stage, and be on the verge of clinching his second straight Supercross championship, and third straight title. Still, he in the hunt, and as we've seen so far this season, anything can happen.

Chad Reed's still only eight points back, and coming off a weekend he'd probably rather forget in St. Louis. It'll be interesting to see how he rebounds in Seattle.

Oh yeah, James Stewart's still lurking back there a bit...but is it too late to make a charge in the title chase?

Last week after the main event in St. Louis, we caught up with Ivan Tedesco, who was busily working with Doc G., and getting treatment on his injured knee. He told us, "I hurt the knee in Toronto. Me and Millsaps came together down that start straight...kind of a weird crash just the way we came together. I don't know how I landed on it, but I tore my ACL. The whole year's kind of been like that. Just had small injuries here and there, and I haven't been able to train properly or ride as much as I need to. But I've been pushing through and trying to be out there for the team."

With holeshots in both the heat race and the main event, he definitely got some TV time. But staying there was another story. "I got some good starts, but I can't run with those guys when you're injured, you know? I came here just to do the best I can. Get the best start I can, ride as hard as I can, and that's what I had. I twisted my knee on like lap four, so I knocked it back after that and tried to finish the race. That's the mode I'm in right now, with three left, to do the best I can and finish out the series. Then I'm gonna get my knee repaired and have surgery on it right after Vegas."

This time of the season we just about expect everyone to be be beat up and but everyone is doing their best to make it to the end of the year. "It's kind of been like that all year for me. I've had little nagging injuries, and all these other guys it seems like they've stepped it up, those top five guys especially. They're going faster and faster it seems like, every week. Some of that's just the heat of the battle, but hopefully I can finish out the season decent, get this thing fixed, and look forward to next year. That's all I can really do at this point."

And finally, we asked Ivan whether Doc G was his secret sause for making it through to the end, and he chuckled and said, "He always has been. We were talking about that earlier, and this is the eighth year he's been working with me, and he's definitely prolonged my career. I've been doing this for a while now, and having him on my side has definitely helped me out." And with that, we left Ivan to the rhythmic snapping of the machine.

Earlier this week in the Vital MX Forum, it appeared that there was no shortage of confusion on how the season finale for the Lites class works in Las Vegas, so we asked the AMA Toyota Motocross Series Director, Jeff Canfield, to steer us straight on how it works. "For the Lites, what would be considered the heat race, is in actuality going to be the main events. So the Lites East championship is going down to that Vegas race."

"It's still timed qualifying, just like it normally is for gate pick, and then we run the main events, which will be 15 laps each. The top nine from each of those main events will go to the East/West Shootout. Then we run an LCQ, it's going to be just like a regular event, except that the heat races are going to be main events. With it being a main event, instead of a heat race, we have to give the riders a sight lap. So we have to factor in time for that."

"It's going to be really cool and exciting. I'm really looking forward to it. Now we've got one race for sure where the champion's going to be crowned in Vegas, and ideally, I'd like to see three of them. I think that'd be great for the fans, the riders...everyone involved."

We hope that clears up any confusion.

Hey, remember these guys below? West Coast Lites guys have been on the shelf for so long, it's like getting reacquainted with the series all over again. Here's a little refresher on the point standings.

1. Josh Hansen 128

2. Broc Tickle 125

3. Eli Tomac 116

4. Ryan Morais 96

5. Cole Seely 88

6. Ken Roczen 83

7. Tyla Rattray 80

8. Kyle Cunningham 71

9. Martin Davalos 69

10. James DeCotis 67

The break was definitely good for Josh Hansen, as the points leader got the hand that he broke at Anaheim II surgically repaired. But it wasn't as good for his Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate, Broc Tickle, who broke his collarbone and had to have it plated during the down time. A mere three points separate these two.

We hear GEICO Powersports Honda's Eli Tomac also had a big crash (and accompanying concussion) when he collided with another rider on a crossover at his home track. Apparently Eli's good to go, but we hear the other rider is still dealing with some major broken bone injuries.

Oh, and it'll be another couple weeks before we see Ken Roczen return for the final two rounds of the series. Ken laid the wood to the MX2 riders in last weekend's GP season opener.

How will these guys stack up after the break? It'll be really interesting to see, as well as whether others, like Kyle Cunningham and Martin Davalos, can show the kind of results that they should be getting, considering their raw speed on the track. Be sure to check back this weekend to catch the Pit Bits and racing action from Seattle here on Vital MX.