Press Release

Season-Opening Press Conference Sets the Stage for Highly Anticipated Monster Energy Supercross Season


Championship’s Top Five Finishers Speak to the Media in Anaheim

ANAHEIM, Calif. (January
5, 2011) – After the most statistically competitive season in history
one year ago, the 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World
Championship, season is now mere hours away, and on Thursday, Feld Motor
Sports® welcomed the industry, local media, national media,
and international media to the annual season-opening press conference
from Angel Stadium. Reigning champion, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan
Villopoto, along with the rest of the top five from last season’s final
standings – TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing’s Chad Reed, Red Bull
KTM’s Ryan Dungey, Toyota/Yamaha/JGR’s James Stewart, and American Honda
Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard – spoke to the attending media, offering
their thought’s on the season that lies ahead.

The
2011 season, dubbed the “Greatest Season Ever” featured a five-way
battle for the championship throughout the 17 races. Each of Thursday’s
invited riders at the press conference claimed at least one victory in
2011, and up until Canard’s unfortunate season-ending injury with three
rounds to go, all five were within 20 points of one another.

Ultimately,
Villopoto emerged as the champion, capturing a series-leading six
victories en route to his first career Supercross Class championship. It
signified the beginning of a historic year for Villopoto, who captured
both AMA-sanctioned titles as well as the record-setting million-dollar
bounty at the inaugural Monster Energy Cup in October. He returns ready
to defend his title, looking to become the first rider since Ricky
Carmichael in 2005-2006 to claim back-to-back championships.

”It’s
tough to defend the title,” said Villopoto. “Every year is a new year.
But, I think a lot of it is based on what you did in the offseason to
prepare and coming into the season ready so that on the weekends (at the
races) it’s fun. We’re out there to get a job done, and that’s to win.
We need to minimize mistakes, and Anaheim has a lot of hype, but you
can’t win the championship here. You can definitely lose it though. I’ve
put in the work this offseason. I’m ready; the bike is 100%, so I think
we’re there. I think we’re all just ready to bring it on.”

For
Reed, the 2011 season started with the creation of TwoTwo Motorsports,
his own race team for which he would also ride for. A strong start to
the season with consistent podium efforts eventually resulted in two
wins for Reed, landing second in the championship. He also received the
support of Factory Honda and now, enters the 2012 season as a
full-fledged American Honda rider.

“We’ve
had a lot more months to prepare for the season this time around,” said
Reed. “As a rider, coming into the season, I haven’t been with the same
bike and group of people in a long time. We have more support from
Honda and I think we have the best bike. I think you need to win races
now in order to win a championship. Year after year, I’ve been there on
the podium, but I’ve only had a couple race wins. I think you need about
five this year to be there, so its going to take that effort week in
and week out to be a contender.”

In
his 2011 title defense, Dungey posted the most consistent overall
effort of all his rivals. However, just one victory, in addition to a
DNF and the second Anaheim race, relegated him to third in the
championship. Despite that, Dungey was a factor in the championship the
entire course of the season and now makes the move to Red Bull KTM for
2012, rejoining his mentor Roger DeCoster. The biggest move of the
offseason has generated considerable buzz throughout the industry, and
now Dungey is prepared to bring KTM is first taste of success in the
premier division.

“The
opportunity that presented itself at KTM led to the change in teams,”
said Dungey. “It was a lot of fun at Suzuki, but in going to KTM, there
was that level of commitment. It was the perfect fit for me. What
they’ve accomplished in the time we’ve had, and being back with Roger
and Ian (Harrison) has been a lot of fun. Preparations are going well
and we had a great offseason. I feel rested and I feel fit, so I’m
looking forward to Saturday.”

Stewart
posted five victories in 2011, and on several occasions showcased his
impressive speed, highlighted by a dominant effort at the second Anaheim
race. However, despite his regular presence at the front of the field,
Stewart’s typically reliable consistency took a hit, ultimately
resulting in a fourth-place finish in the standings. During the
offseason, Stewart made a highly-publicized move to Joe Gibbs Racing,
drawing national media attention to the sport and generating huge
anticipation for his first season with the highly-recognizable
franchise.

“The
biggest change for me this season is going to JGR,” said Stewart. “It
was a good change and one that I needed. I spent a lot of time in the
offseason trying to decide what was best for me. The team is good, so
we’ll find out. Although it’s been 10 years (as a pro), I’ve had the
opportunity to be rejuvenated and refreshed, but I knew I had to make
some changes for 2012. We won five races last season, but it still
wasn’t where we needed to be. I went to the drawing board and did what I
needed in order to make it happen.”

Canard’s
aforementioned season-ending injury derailed an otherwise memorable and
extremely impressive rookie season in the Supercross Class. Three
victories highlighted his season as he surprised many with his speed,
consistency, and lack of intimidation against his experienced
counterparts. Unfortunately for Canard, his season will start late after
suffering another injury in preparation for the championship, but once
he returns, many expect him to assume his position up front.

“Unfortunately,
I’ve learned what to do with my down time because I’ve had so much
opportunity to do so (due to injuries),” said Canard.  “On the plus
side, I’ve been able to do things I don’t always get to do. I also keep
training to stay in shape, so I can come back strong. Through all the
adversity, I’ve become a stronger person and a stronger athlete. I’m
going to continue to strive whether it means more injures or more
success.”

The
buzz is huge and the gate is about to drop on what many think will be
the most competitive Monster Energy Supercross season of all time, and
it all commences on Saturday night. Fans unable to make it out to Angel
Stadium can catch LIVE coverage on SPEED, beginning at 7 p.m. PT.

2012 Monster Energy Supercross Teams and Riders
(* - denotes Supercross Lites Class)

Monster Energy Kawasaki
Ryan Villopoto
Jake Weimer

TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Honda
Chad Reed

Red Bull KTM
Ryan Dungey
Marvin Musquin*
Ken Roczen*

Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX
Davi Millsaps
James Stewart

Team Honda Muscle Milk
Justin Brayton
Trey Canard

L&Mc Racing Honda
Andrew Short

GEICO Honda
Justin Barcia*
Justin Bogle*
Jimmy DeCotis*
Wil Hahn*
Eli Tomac*
Kevin Windham

TiLUBE/Foremost Insurance Kawasaki
Chris Blose
Nick Wey

Dodge Motorsports/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Kawasaki
Josh Hansen
Josh Hill
Kyle Partridge
Ivan Tedesco

MotoConcepts Suzuki
Mike Alessi
Jeff Alessi
Jake Canada*
Vince Friese*
Tommy Weeck*

Yoshimura Suzuki
Brett Metcalfe

BTOSports.com/BBMX Suzuki
Jimmy Albertson
Michael Byrne
Jason Thomas

Star Racing/Valli Motorsports Yamaha
Kyle Cunningham*
Nico Izzi
Ryan Morais
Kyle Peters*
Ryan Sipes*
Austin Stroupe
Gareth Swanepoel*

Jeff Ward Racing Kawasaki
Kyle Chisholm
Josh Grant

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
Blake Baggett*
Darryn Durham*
Tyla Rattray*
Broc Tickle
Dean Wilson*

Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda
Travis Baker*
Christian Craig*
Cole Seely*

Rockstar Energy Suzuki
Jason Anderson*
Martin Davalos*
Hunter Hewitt*
Blake Wharton*

JDR/J-Star KTM
PJ Larsen*
Ryan Marmont*
Matt Moss*
Malcolm Stewart*

Ohlins USA
AJ Catanzaro*
Taylor Futrell*
Les Smith*

Eleven10 Mods Honda
Alex Martin*

RockRiver Yamaha
Jarred Browne
Seth Caldwell*
Ben LaMay
Alex Millican
Joey Peters*

Dragon Racing Fuels/AG Motorsports/Cernics KTM
Gannon Audette*

Munn Racing KTM
Sean Hackley Jr.
Lance Vincent

Hansen Racing Kawasaki
Matt Lemoine*
Nick Myers*

Rockwell/Fire Police MX
Drew Gosselaar*
Killy Rusk*
Bruce Rutherford*

For more information on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, please log on to www.SupercrossOnline.com. For all media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig dhartwig@feldinc.com or 630-566-6305. To follow Monster Energy Supercross on Facebook and Twitter, log on to http://www.facebook.com/supercrosslive and http://twitter.com/supercrosslive.

 

About Feld Motor Sports®

Feld Motor Sports®,
Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor
sports entertainment.  Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include
Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMA Arenacross Series, Nuclear Cowboyz®
, and IHRA® Nitro Jam®
Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the
world’s largest producer of live family entertainment.  For more
information on Feld Entertainment, visit
www.feldentertainment.com.

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