Monday Kickstart – Anaheim I SX 2012

KTM Red Bull rider Marvin Musquin finished fourth at Anaheim 1, and was arguably the smoothest rider on the track. Expect the personable Frenchman to reach the podium in no time at all.

VMS/Star Racing’s Austin Stroupe was looking good going into Anaheim I. He had been riding and training hard and wasn’t hindered by an injury like he had been in years past. Unfortunately for the Yamaha rider, he was unable to make the main event, but be that as it may, he still showed flashes of speed throughout the day, especially during practice and qualifying.

Monster Energy never disappoints with their pit presence. This year the Monster Energy station in the center of the pits was bigger than ever with a roughly 30-minute wait to get in and a hot tub complete with Monster girls.

This year’s season opener was easily one of the best-attended events in recent memory. The sold out crowd showed up early to enjoy the festivities in the pits and remained until the checkered flag flew at the end of the night.

The JWR/DNA/Kawasaki pits were well stocked with not only DNA Shred Stix, but Jeff Ward’s old Factory Kawasaki KX250 was on display for people to check out. We stared at it while grabbing a bite to eat and couldn’t believe how much motocross technology has changed over the years.

JWR/DNA/Kawasaki’s Kyle Chisholm was sporting these cool custom Tagger Designs painted helmets at A1. It’s also worth mentioning that Kyle just signed with HJC Helmets for the new year.

Throughout the day Nick Wey was seen sporting this custom Michigan Mafia vest. NYK is one of the most colorful guys in the pits, and to be honest, we weren’t that surprised to see him having a little fun at the pressure-filled season opener.

After losing their main sponsors Rockstar and Makita, Brett Metcalfe was the lone man left standing on the team. With Yoshimura as the team’s title sponsor, Metty is looking to run at the front for the year. At Anaheim, he turned in a 11th place finish.

Opening ceremonies were much the same as they have always been, however, every rider from the top-10 in points from last season was introduced. As the season goes on, the top-10 in points will be the ones introduced during opening ceremonies. For Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, A1 was only his second race aboard the all-new KTM 450SX-F, and in spite of the doubters, Dungey finished a very strong third in the main event after fighting off challenges from James Sterwart.