My flight to Vancouver was great! I had the opportunity to meet the LaPaglia family, Ryan Sipes, Ryan Morais, and Billy Laninovich. I had an awesome conversation and race talk with Mr. LaPaglia, which also made the flight go by fast. They are all such cool people and I can’t wait to meet up with them again in Anaheim. I was excited to meet Michael who is one of the top amateurs in the country and was thrilled to finally see him race a pro race in Vancouver.
Vancouver proved to be another awesome test to the rider’s abilities. Fast lap times were achieved despite a tough start, long whoop sections, and the rocky track. I had an eventful and busy weekend at the track in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, BC. Vancouver is a beautiful city and luckily it was a little warmer than last weekend in Toronto. Not only did I get to meet fans and work the podium, I also got to commentate during practice on Friday and did the 30-second board at the race for the first time.
Commentating at practice had to be one of the highlights for me. I had the microphone in my hand and it was great! Sitting up in the tower, I was able to observe the whole track in detail. Practice is a great time to learn about a rider’s style. Each rider definitely has his own method of learning the track and creating strategy. Vuillemin stood out in practice going through whoops smooth and perfect. You could tell he was very comfortable with the 2-stroke, and not to mention one of the only 2-strokes out there. I wonder if he will make the move to a 4-stroke? James would take it slow at times, carefully analyzing each piece of the track. It is very interesting to see how methodical he was in choosing his lines. He rode smooth. During the race, the way he took the whoops was phenomenal - on the rear tire, passing riders with absolute ease. He makes it look too easy. In addition Millsaps’ practice lap times were super fast and he looked very confident.
Saturday night we knew we were in for some good intense racing from what we saw last weekend in Toronto. Wow! What an experience standing at the end of the first strait away, 30-second board in hand, staring each rider in the eye as they intently awaited the drop of the gate. When the gate dropped in both main events, it was a full on race to the first sharp left turn. The start was crucial. It could make or break the race. Both the Lites and Supercross mains were action packed. But for the Supercross class Stewart took off in the start, led the whole race, and took home the 1st place trophy again. It wasn’t the battle everyone was looking forward to with Carmicheal and Tedesco getting bad starts and Reed riding on an injured leg from practice. I do believe the racers will use the next weeks before Anaheim to do some serious training. Speaking for most fans, we want to see the tire to tire battles between these talented riders and I have a feeling we are going to see awesome racing this season!
In The Lites class there were tons of talented riders on the line. Throughout the race there were battles back and forth and numerous position changes. Millsap’s took a horrible start, but impressed everyone with his speed and perfection. He made his way from the back of the pack up to his 2nd place finish on the podium. Ramsey took the 1st place finish as he did last year in Canada and Laninovich held the 3rd place trophy after an impressive race. LaPaglia rode solid earning a 10th place finish in his first pro Supercross.
With all the changes of the new Supercross season, there is one we may have overlooked. Jaime Little is no longer on the track. I do miss her. She spent the past years with the circuit and did an amazing job. But I had the chance to meet the new, vibrant Speed announcer Kristi Voda. She is doing an awesome job and is really dedicated to the sport and learning more about it.
I wrapped up my weekend flying home on the plane with Billy Laninovich and his father. Billy and I sat next to a crazy little boy who made the flight entertaining. He was super hyper, wouldn’t stop talking, and threw crackers at us. We returned the favor by throwing our candy at him, but we finally calmed him down by giving him Supercross magazines. I think we got a new Supercross fan! What a perfect way to end the weekend!
With Anaheim 1 only three and a half weeks away and the holidays upon us, I plan to take some time off to relax and do some riding. I'm making the transition to a 250F from my trusty XR250R and plan to get as much riding time in as I can.
I wish everyone a warm and wonderful Holiday and Happy New Year full of dirt bike riding and awesome racing action. Ride safe. I’m looking forward to Anaheim1.
See you at the races!
Brittney
Miss Supercross
missupercross@yahoo.com
