San Francisco's AT&T Park played host to a pair of muddy main events for Round 4 of the AMA Supercross championship.
It was a wet and wild pair of main events during Round 4 of the AMA Supercross series. Chad Reed claimed his third win in the premier class, but it didn't come easy, with the run-away points leader surviving a rain-shortened 15-lap main. Honda riders Kevin Windham and Davi Millsaps claimed podium finishes. The Lites main event saw Jason Lawrence take the win ahead of Tommy Hahn and Brett Metcalfe.
Although the expected rain did not fall Saturday morning, practice was postponed until late afternoon with the track covered. As workers pulled off the plastic, water accumulated in the valleys between jumps. When the riders emerged for the track walk at 4:30 they were surveying a slippery-looking surface. The first practice laps confirmed as much, with riders splashing through muddy puddles and big names like Tim Ferry, Mike Alessi and the points-leading Chad Reed taking some tumbles.
Before the heat races started, a brief shower pelted the dirt and fans at AT&T field. If the usual AT&T Park tenants, the San Francisco Giants, were playing a home game, officials may have called a rain delay, but this is Supercross - it was time for some racing.
Finally, after several years of brilliant flashes, Jason Lawrence kept it together long enough for his first-ever SX Lites win.
The Lites main event began with a steady, sprinkling rain and a track with deep ruts. Due to the poor conditions, the main event was reduced to 10 laps. The crucial holeshot was won by Austin Stroupe, but Jason Lawrence overtook by the end of Lap 1, with Stroupe headed off-track after landing a difficult triple.
On Lap 3, Lawrence bobbled in the whoops, with Metcalfe overtaking, but in turn bobbling away the momentary lead. Lawrence then held a tentative advantage, extending it ahead of a trio of Kawasaki riders - Tommy Hahn, Stroupe and Metcalfe.
At the halfway mark Lawrence opened up a 2-3 second gap on the Kawis. Meanwhile, the championship points leader, Ryan Dungey was mired back in seventh. Coming in the main event second-place in the points, Broc Hepler had to come from last in the LCQ at SF to even make the main, where he struggled back in 17th.
As the rain fell with increasing intensity, the track soon turned into a quagmire. Lawrence survived the carnage, motoring on to the checkers and celebrating his victory by rolling around in the mud. Hahn tallied a career best with an impressive second-place finish, with Metcalfe taking the final spot on the rostrum. Dan Reardon was fourth, with Stroupe rounding out the top 5.
As for Dungey, the points leader salvaged a pair of crashes with a seventh-place finish. The Suzuki ace was fortunate, as his nearest competitor in the points coming in, Hepler, fared even worse, finishing 12th.
Supercross Lites San Francisco Results
Dungey struggled with the slop and finished outside the top-5.
1. Lawrence
2. Hahn, T
3. Metcalfe
4. Reardon
5. Stroupe
6. Gracyk
7. Dungey
8. Blose, C
9. Hahn, W
10. Blose, M
West Coast Supercross Lites Points Standings
1. Dungey - 86
2. Reardon - 67
3. Lawrence - 63
4. Hepler - 59
5. Metcalfe - 58
Tim Ferry was able to get the power down best on the muddy 450 start.
The Supercross main event began with the deluge in full force. Ferry snagged the holeshot, but Kevin Windham jumped out for the early lead before Lap 1 was finished. K Dub, who looked great in his heat race tried to nail down his advantage. In the mean time, a poor start saw Chaw Reed stuck outside the top 5.
Lap 3 of the 15-lap main saw Windham, followed by Millsaps, Ferry, Tedesco and Reed. Windham and Millsaps began to work out a gap over the pack, with Milssaps taking the lead on Lap 5.
But Reed had worked his way into third and started to close the gap on the leaders. Lap 6 saw Windham execute a poor jump off a triple, heading sideways into the haybales. With the lead then his to lose, Millsaps lost it on the next lap and the same triple combination that gave Windham trouble.
Now the leader by default, Speedy Reedy was in command once again. Following the Yamaha ace was Windham, followed by Tedesco and Millsaps.
With 5 to go, the deteriorating track turned the final laps into a survival match with Reed and company just trying to muscle their way through the heavy ruts. Ferry had a nasty get-off, with the rain relentlessly pouring down, as did Tedesco and many others. A third-place Millsaps kept pushing forward, gaining ground on the second-place Windham, but his efforts resulted in yet another crash.
With too many crashes to count, Reed motored ahead, steady and sure. The Aussie avoided problems, and by keeping clear of the carnage crossed the finish with a 10-second advantage. The final podium spots were filled by Kevin Windham and Davi Millsaps. Privateer Jacob Marsack and Grant Langston rounded out the top five.
Supercross San Francisco Results
Chad Reed survived the muddy carnage at San Francisco to motor on to his third victory of the season.
1. Reed
2. Windham
3. Millsaps
4. Marsack
5. Langston
6. Tedesco
7. Wey
8. Voss
9. Adams
10. Ferry
Supercross Points Standings
1. Reed - 97
2. Windham - 78
3. Ferry - 57
4. Alessi - 54
5. Tedesco - 53
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