Monday Kickstart – Anaheim I SX 2012

As the reigning champion, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto entered the stadium down a green carpet lined by his team. He then got into the Kawasaki Terex that was given to him earlier in the week at the Kawasaki team intro. It’s good to be the champ…

Gratuitous Monster Girl photo…

Geico Honda’s Wil Hahn was all smiles after his heat race win early on in the evening. Last year, Wil missed the majority of the season after crashing in the first practice at A1 and breaking his back. Since then, he returned back to action during the Nationals, but missed the entire SX season. In the main event, he finished eighth, but broke his nose after in a crash.

Wil’s teammate Eli Tomac was a heavy favorite heading into Anaheim I, but his night didn’t go exactly as planned. He had a horrible heat race where he crashed right off the start and was forced to climb his way back through the field to a qualifying position. Then on the last lap, his bike quit running. In the LCQ, Tomac pulled a massive holeshot from the very outside gate and proceeded to run away with the win. Then in the main event, he finished a very solid third.

In the weeks leading up to Anaheim I, TLD/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Cole Seely wasn’t on many people’s radar. Yes he won two races last year, but after a less than impressive outdoor season, not many people saw him as a true contender in the new SX season. How wrong must those people feel now? Seely was easily the most dominant rider in the main event, as he caught and passed Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson and Tyla Rattray and maintained the front position for the remainder of the race.

It goes without saying that Seely couldn’t have done it without his trainer Charles Dao and his mechanic Rich Simmonds.

Villopoto was sporting this new Volcom Thor gear throughout the day at Anaheim.

Only the most diehard fans stay until the champagne is popped. Here, RV sprays down the last remaining superfans as everyone else clears out of the stadium.

The track at Anaheim was totally different than any Supercross track that we’ve seen in a long time. It featured a tone of turns, not many rhythm sections, and huge bowl turns. Many of the riders stated that it was nothing like what they were used to practicing on. Be that as it may, though, all of the top contenders in both classes left A1 injury free.