GEICO Honda team ready to conquer Dodgerland; Fill-in rider Faith signed

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 19) – After a strong start through the first two events of the 2012 AMA Supercross season, GEICO Honda's riders are looking to capitalize on their early momentum at this Saturday's stop at Dodger Stadium.

Supercross Lites West rider Eli Tomac is smack in the middle of a tight points race. He goes into LA in fifth place but is only four points behind point leader Tyla Rattray. Tomac acknowledged that his starts in the main event have been his biggest weakness, and therefore the focus of his preparation this week.

"I feel like I need to do a couple thousand of them," Tomac said. "I've looked at the track map of Dodger Stadium and it looks like it will suit me pretty well."

Tomac has spent much of the winter staying in Southern California and he said he'll have a secret weapon once Saturday rolls around.

"I'll get so sleep in my own bed at night," Tomac said. "When you get to do that before the race, it's awesome. You feel so much more energized than sleeping in a hotel bed."

Supercross star rider Kevin Windham barely missed out on his first podium of the season last Saturday in Phoenix and he said he's ready to mix it up again this weekend.

"We're still extremely early in this series and anything can happen," Windham said. "Getting so close to the podium while frustrating, really is pushing me forward. It's just a matter of splitting hairs right now. You look at the times of the top guys, and we're all running nearly identical lap times.

"When you are dealing with less than a second per lap difference, the smallest things can change the complexity of a race. With the level of competition we have today you have to leave no stone unturned on the track."

Windham currently sits in fifth place in the Supercross standings, just six points behind Jake Weimer and Chad Reed, who are tied for third.

GEICO Honda also has signed Gavin Faith to a four-race deal to fill in for injured Lites West rider Wil Hahn. This will be Faith's first Supercross race, but he does have pro racing experience racing in Australia.

"This bike is so fast, it's awesome," Faith said. "I'm not looking to conquer the world in this first race, but four races should be enough to prove myself. I've only had a few days on the bike before this race. I'm comfortable on it, but there's always room to improve.

"Don’t really know the pace and don't know how I stack up yet, so I'm kind of going in blind from that respect. I want to run some consistent laps and build from there."

Practice for Saturday's Monster Energy AMA Supercross event gets under way at 12:30 p.m. PST from Dodger Stadium with the main event scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The Supercross race will be televised on CBS affiliates at noon EST on Sunday. The Lites race will air at noon Eastern on Monday.