Rattray leads Supercross Championship
South African Tyla Rattray is at the top of the 2012 AMA Supercross Championship after a win in Phoenix, Arizona.
If there is something that brings a gleam to a top level Supercross rider's eye, it's a red number plate on his bike. This plaque is
handed out after each event to the current championship leader, and after the second round of the AMA/FIM Supercross championship at a
sold-out Chase Field stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, Tyla Rattray took possession of this very same gleamworthy object.
When buzz from the 2012 season hit cyberspace, some pundits theorised that Rattray, as a relative newcomer to the specialised field of Supercross
and therefore not universally rated as a championship contender, would opt to navigate his way safely through the season before launching a
full-on assault for the outdoor motocross title later in the season. The South African marches to a different drum, however, and his racing
career is liberally speckled with examples of how he tackled his shortcomings head-on and turned them into strong points.
Rattray started off the 2012 Supercross in sizzling fashion with a second place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, and came into the second
round in Phoenix with his tail well up. He was realistic too, of course. In 2011 he also started his campaign off with a podium finish, but
after that his results meandered a bit, and he even collected a full-size imprint of an angry Kawasaki in his back during a training
accident that kept him out of one race. Phoenix is always touted by the riders as one of the more difficult rounds, as it is, so the South
African's confidence was tempered by a healthy dose of realism and get-it-done-itis. He certainly started off on the right foot
(boot) and blitzed to the fastest lap time in the training session. His next session was somewhat more subdued, yet he still went into the
evening's program as seventh fastest in the list. Bear in mind, too, that at this level of racing the difference in lap times between the
top 10 or so contenders is often measured in shavings of seconds.
Rattray launched his Monster Kawasaki off the line well in the qualifying race, and actually nosed ahead in the start straight. Being
more on the outside, though, he had to yield to teammate Dean Wilson and Martin Davalos in the first corner, and charged into proceedings in
third place. He was a picture of smoothness and concentration as he disposed of the qualifying formalities, and three laps into the short,
sharp qualifying race he had moved into second position. As is so often and predictably the case, Mitch Payton's team had two 'green mambas'
fighting it out for the lead, and it was Wilson who crossed the line first, with Rattray a shade under three seconds adrift.
One of the aspects of Rattray's racing armoury that needed some overhauling when he first got into the unfamiliar territory of US racing
was his starts. In racing parlance, good starts are an extremely important part of a complete racing package, and particularly so in Supercross,
where the races are shorter and the track more challenging, making passing a lot more difficult. He worked on this without fail, and lately
you could count on him to launch off the line like a society girl on her way to a handbag sale. Mrs. Rattray must have also got a great
bean-laden, hole shot, juice concoction going at home, because yet again the #28 machine surged to the front, leaving Rattray in the
rarefied air that is the lead in an AMA Supercross race.
Rattray over-jumped a triple jump early into the race, and the resultant loss of rhythm meant that he could not clear the next section
cleanly. This allowed Wilson and Frenchman Marvin Musquin to sneak by. Wilson, feeling out of sorts and nursing illness, now had all the
incentive he needed to light the afterburners and clear off into the lead. Rattray, meanwhile had the dual tasks of hauling down Musquin and
fending off the advances of Zack Osborne, who was lurking with some intent in fourth position. Once the rearguard action against Osborne had
been taken care of, Rattray had all his faculties free to focus on the Frenchman. The two riders yo-yoed closed to each other and further
apart, and halfway through the race, Rattray closed the gap to within a second. He never found the opportunity to force the pass, however,
and crossed the line in third position.
The more significant part of the evening's eventual enjoyment happened behind the South African, in fact. The first round winner, Cole
Seely, at once stage occupied fourth spot after having displaced Osborne, but Eli Tomac produced a late surge that was the stuff of a
feel-good Hollywood script and displaced his fellow Honda rider. This deprived Seely of enough points to allow Rattray to sneak into the
championship lead by a single point, hence the broad smile when the red number plate was placed into his grateful palm.
"I'm really happy with the championship lead, especially as I was feeling quite ill tonight," said Rattray after the race.
"It's still early in the season though, so my focus is to do well on a race-by-race basis. To win the title, you need to be consistent.
I've worked hard on my starts, and they are working well now. The bike set-up is great, and I'm looking forward to the next round at Dodger
stadium."