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It's late January and AMA Monster Energy Supercross is in full swing while the rest of the motorcycle racing world remains frozen in the off-season. But that doesn't mean there isn't any news. Lots, actually.
From the inevitable Supercross injuries to the retirement of number 69, from new colors in the MotoAmerica paddock and even more injuries in the MotoGP "dream team," here's your quickfire summary of what's happening this offseason.
No repeat champion in Supercross
Injuries always play a role in deciding the Supercross championship and we usually see them happen distressingly early in the season. 2019 has already fit that pattern as defending champion Jason Anderson is out of contention due to injury.
After starting the season with uneven finishes of 14th, second and ninth in the first three rounds, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider broke his arm in two places and fractured a rib during a practice day, putting him out for likely two months and ending any hope of defending his title.
Meanwhile, back on the whoops and triples...
| AMA Monster Energy Supercross standings | |
|---|---|
| Cooper Webb | 83 |
| Ken Roczen | 81 |
| Eli Tomac | 80 |
| Marvin Musquin | 79 |
| Justin Barcia | 72 |
In the preseason, nobody would have doubted a prediction that Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac and Marvin Musquin would rank a close second, third and fourth in the points after four races. What would have drawn skepticism is the idea that none of the three would have won any of the first four rounds — in addition to Anderson also being winless and out of contention. Instead, each winner has been a surprise and Red Bull KTM's Cooper Webb leads the standings as the only rider with two wins, which also happen to be his first two wins in the 450 class.
Even Webb can't believe it. "I had no idea I’d be able to accomplish that," he said after Saturday's race in Oakland. "My goal this season was to win a race, so for it to happen this way is pretty spectacular."
Injuries hinder the MotoGP "dream team," too
Statistically, the Repsol Honda pairing of Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo is the strongest team in MotoGP history. The two riders have won the last seven titles, something no other teammates have ever been able to match. Injuries have cast a little doubt on the dream, however.
Lorenzo recently broke the scaphoid bone in his left wrist in a training crash and Márquez is still recovering from the surgery he had right after the end of the 2018 season to fix a shoulder that was popping out of place during normal activities, not just in a racing crash. Wrist and shoulder injuries are some of the worst for racers, and Márquez's surgery was particularly complex. He said this is the longest he's gone without riding a motorcycle since he began riding as a small child.
Márquez admitted he won't be 100 percent for the preseason test at Sepang but he will ride anyway, since Lorenzo is out and Honda satellite team rider Cal Crutchlow can't pick up the slack in testing because he is still barely able to walk after the very nasty destruction of his ankle in a crash last year at Phillip Island. The bigger question is whether the two Repsol riders will be competitive at the first race in Qatar on March 10. I'm still sticking by my prediction of a title sweep, but the other teams have been given more reason to hope.
Ducati returns to U.S. Superbike racing
Any U.S. race fans who want to see the new Ducati Panigale V4R ridden to its potential will have more opportunities and closer to home. Kyle Wyman Racing will field the new V-four in the MotoAmerica Motul Superbike championship in 2019.
Kyle Wyman is a popular presence in the MotoAmerica paddock and his is a truly privateer effort, a family team where he is both team owner and rider. Wyman had planned to switch brands from Yamaha for 2019, and for a while it looked like he'd be riding a BMW S 1000 RR. (His brother, Travis, races a BMW in the Stock 1000 class.) But his decision to race a Ducati brings a popular marque back to the grid, 25 years after the last time it won the title.
#69: To retire or not to retire?
MotoGP has announced that Nicky Hayden's number 69 will be retired at a ceremony at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas in April. While Hayden remains one of the few MotoGP racers of whom nobody ever speaks ill, there are differing opinions on the idea of retiring race numbers.
I would rather see a great young rider try to win races, and honor Nicky Hayden's memory that way. I always think of Hayden when I see someone racing with the #69 plate. If there is no one racing with it, I will see it less. Which I think is a shame. https://t.co/PdeRfokw5f
— David Emmett (@motomatters) January 24, 2019
Retire @MotoGP numbers for a time period, I’d like to see a 34 back on the grid and I bet @KevinSchwantz would too.
— Jeremy McWilliams (@McWill99) January 25, 2019
Several numbers have been retired from MotoGP, from Kevin Schwantz's 34 to Marco Simoncelli's 58, among others. For what it's worth, Valentino Rossi said he'd be happy to see other riders using 46 after he retires.
World Superbike: Racing is less than a month away
For roadracing fans, the winter (in the northern hemisphere) drought ends in less than a month with the Yamaha Finance Australian round of the Superbike World Championship (in the southern hemisphere) on February 22-24. The Superbike teams wrapped up preseason testing in recent days. First, at a test session in Jerez in Spain recently, four-time champion Jonathan Rea was both fastest and most consistent, followed by Alex Lowes on a Yamaha, Rea's new Kawasaki teammate Leon Haslam and Álvaro Bautista, who came over to WSBK from MotoGP, on the Ducati Panigale V4R.
Testing then moved across the border to Portimao in Portugal, where Rea sent a warning shot whizzing past his rivals. After being fastest during the two days of the test, Rea put a qualifying tire on his Ninja at the end of the session and set a lap nearly a full second faster than anyone else's. Lowes was again second, Bautista moved up to third, Haslam was fourth and the other Pata Yamaha rider, Michael van der Mark, set the fifth-best time. Rea's former teammate, Tom Sykes, finished sixth as he worked to get accustomed to the BMW S 1000 RR he is riding in 2019. Notably absent from the top of the time sheets is the man who most often beat Rea in recent years, Ducati's Chaz Davies. Davies was hampered by a back injury and was off his usual pace.
This season will see some significant changes as the Superbikes will run three races each weekend instead of two, adding a short sprint race on Sunday, which will pay reduced points and set the front of the grid for Sunday's full-length race.
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