The United States supercross season kicks off this weekend with no Kiwis in the mix but perhaps a couple of Australian riders will be able to wave the flag for Downunder.

Australian Brett Metcalfe has settled into his new home at Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki and ready for this weekend’s opening round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross season when the gate drops at Anaheim on Saturday night.

Metcalfe is the newest member of the Rockstar Makita Suzuki Team, coming off a season that got him noticed and put him at the top of new team manager Mike Webb’s wish list for 2011.

The Australian has adapted well to the new team and his Suzuki RM-Z450, having spent countless hours on the test and practice tracks preparing for his new challenge and now he teams up with the man most are picking will be top of the podium at the end of racing on Saturday night, defending open class champion Ryan Dungey.

Preseason buzz is already calling the upcoming season the most anticipated championship of all time. With past two-time champions Chad Reed (of Australia), riding for his own Honda-powered TwoTwo Motorsports, and San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart flanking Dungey, a long line-up of young challengers and experienced veterans are looking for their first taste of global recognition.

Perhaps no rider is more motivated than Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto. The three-time AMA National Champion captured the most wins in 2010 during a season-long battle with Dungey that ended prematurely with a frightening crash in St. Louis. After being forced to sit off a bike for nearly five months, Villopoto is determined to take care of what he considers to be unfinished business against a foe he is all too familiar with.

Also looking to bounce back from their own personal misfortunes from last season are both Reed and Stewart.

Two of the most dominant riders of the past decade are the stalwarts who ushered in the present generation of riders and neither came close to accomplishing what they set out to do last season after stepping away from the championship before the third and fourth rounds, respectively.

For both riders, 2011 marks the first season in which they are not seen as the top contenders for the championship. Pundits are giving Dungey and Villopoto considerably more attention with a hope of a resumption of their exciting rivalry and both of the “elder statesmen” of the sport will be look to prove them wrong.

Beyond the foursome of championship-proven talent is a crop of fast young talent eager to make their own dreams come true. Led by former Supercross Lites champion Trey Canard, who will be making his Supercross class debut for Team Honda just one year after a memorable guest appearance in the class, this group also contains former race winners Josh Grant, at Team Honda, and Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGR’s Davi Millsaps.

Dungey is ready to pick up where he left off in order to defend his 2010 title in the 2011 AMA Supercross Championship.

The 2011 season will be one to watch; as it includes what many are calling the deepest, most-competitive fields in AMA Supercross history with no less than half-a-dozen riders who all have a legitimate chance to top the podium. Dungey and his Yoshimura-equipped 2011 Suzuki RM-Z450.

Dungey’s 2010 season was historic, with the 21-year-old becoming the first Rookie to win both the AMA Supercross Championship and the AMA 450 Motocross Championship in the same season.

Combine that with his Supercross Lites and AMA 250 Motocross Championships in 2009 and Dungey has won four consecutive titles on his RM-Zs, not to mention the 2009 and 2010 MX of Nations titles. Dungey will take this momentum into 2011 and is looking forward to the challenge.

“2011 should really be a great season; one the fans can really get into,” said Dungey.

“I think there are six or seven guys who have won a race and are still able to win on any given night. Our team has had a really good off-season. We sort-of just carried the momentum in from last season and just went back to work.”

The 2011 season kicks off Saturday, January 8 at Angel stadium in Anaheim, California.

© Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com