Anaheim 1 always carries the most hype. New riders, teams, and bikes are all unveiled after a brief two month hiatus from the racing season. Press day takes place the Thursday before the opening round, giving all us media jackals ample opportunity to hound the top riders with the same questions rephrased over and over again.
If I took 3 things from press day they would be: the riders are healthy, the bikes are shiny, and everyone is anxious to go racing.
At noon, the riders took their respective positions and began to engage the public for the first time in 2013. James Stewart discussed his decision to go yellow a little more in detail and Ryan Villopoto put to rest any doubt about his knee. Chad Reed acknowledged newcomer Justin Barcia, and Ryan Dungey was fairly reserved as usual. Villopoto was presented with his second straight championship ring and we saw some new Monster/Kawaski sponsors for 2013.
At 2 pm several of the top riders took to the track for about twenty minutes. This session included Villopoto, Stewart, Dungey, Reed, Barcia, Josh Grant, Kevin Windham, Andrew Short, Trey Canard, Davi Millsaps, and Josh Hill. All riders have at least one win in 450 Supercross.
Until the gate drops at A1 its difficult to place the riders. Again, all are healthy, hungry, and have very shiny bikes, so check out the exclusive slide show from the A1 press conference.
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