After “the most exciting Supercross season in history,” Ryan Dungey, Ryan Villopoto, and Chad Reed will get back to work this weekend at the inaugural race of the 2011 Motocross season.
The 2011 MX Season will start this weekend at the Hangtown Classic near Sacramento. Dungey, who wasn’t quite able to defend his Supercross crown this year, will have another shot to win back to back titles in Motocross.
"We've had a couple good weeks of testing," said Dungey. "With 24 motos and 12 rounds, there's a lot of racing, and it'll be real exciting with a lot of good competition. I'm really looking forward to the outdoors. Hangtown is a great track. It's always fun and real challenging. We're going to try to get off to a good start and carry that momentum throughout the season."
In order to win his second consecutive MX title, Dungey will have to beat Ryan Villopoto, the 2011 Supercross champion. Villopoto had a fantastic season and was able to edge out the championship against amazingly stiff competition.
The competition at Hangtown this weekend will be missing one key ingredient. James Stewart announced earlier this week that he would not be competing at Hangtown. The 2011 Supercross season took its toll on Stewart, who said that he’ll start racing when he’s “ready.”
Rookie sensation Trey Canard will also be missing the opening event this weekend. Canard was a contender for the title, but an injury forced him to miss the closing rounds of the season. Honda has not given a date for Canard’s return, but did say that he’d be ready toward “the beginning of the season.”
Chad Reed, however, will be there in California this weekend to challenge Dungey and Villopoto. Reed finished second in the 2011 Supercross championship, and won the MX title just two years ago.
Motocross veteran Kevin Windham will also be in the mix this season, as well as Mike Alessi and Andrew Short.
The 2011 MX season has a tough act to follow, but with many of the same players, it could be one for the books.
