Monster Energy Kawasaki
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Scores Second-Straight Double Podium in Anaheim
Jake Weimer is one half of a potent 1-2 punch from the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki Supercross Lites squad.
Monster Energy/Pro/Circuit/Kawasaki’s second trip to Angels Stadium in Anaheim produced similar results to its first as Ryan Morais and Jake Weimer both visited the podium on Saturday night. Morais jumped out to the holeshot in the main event and held on to finish second, just one spot ahead of his teammate Weimer. In the supercross class, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto earned the best finish of his young career, finishing fourth. His teammate Timmy Ferry was eighth.
Another Podium
For the third straight race, Morais finished on the podium. After rocketing to the holeshot in the main event on his Kawasaki KX™250F, he led the first three laps and held on to match his career best finish of second.
“I didn’t have the greatest jump,” said Morais. “I just thought, I’m better off holding it on and trying to risk going wide, rather than staying in the middle of the pack with the way the turns were, especially where they split. That is the first holeshot of my career in a main event and the first time I’ve ever led a main event so it is a big step for me and I feel like I did well tonight.”
New Training Program
Morais was unable to ride during the week leading up to the race as a flu bug sidelined him, keeping him on the couch and in his house. His preseason preparations paid off, as he didn’t seem to miss a beat on his way to the podium.
“Considering everything I have gone through this week,” said Morais. “I didn’t ride at all since the race in Phoenix. I’ve just been on the couch sleeping trying to get over what I have. Today was the first day I got off the couch and got out of the house. I’ve done this before, but it never worked out this well. I’m just thankful for this team and everyone working so hard.”
Career best
Supercross rookie Ryan Villopoto is getting his 450 legs and challenging for podiums.
Though Villopoto has only three supercross class races under his belt, he showed the competition he is ready to compete for wins. The 20-year-old put together a solid race and stayed at the front throughout the 20-lap main.
“It was a good night,” said Villopoto. “I was able to run all night with the guys up front. I went into the main and got a good gate pick and a good start. I was right there in fourth. I got past Josh (Grant) and I was working on Kevin (Windham). The track was tough. It was hard to pass and to make a pass you had to really set it up. I wasn’t able to get Kevin and I saw Chad (Reed) catching me and I was tightening up a little bit. I was able to finish fourth. I’m making progress, but we are still not where we want to be.”
Podium Party
Weimer joined Morais on the podium finishing third in the main event. For the third race in a row, Weimer went out and won his heat race, this time grabbing the holeshot. With his performance in the main event, Weimer sits third in the points standings.
“Winning the heat gave me some confidence,” said Weimer. “I want to win every race I start. My speed and everything is there, but tonight just wasn’t my night. As soon as we stepped foot on the track for the track walk, I wasn’t psyched about the track. I understand everyone has to ride it and everyone has to deal with it, but it just didn’t fit me. I didn’t feel good and I’m just going to have to come back at the next race ready to lay wood.”
Top Ten
Ferry got out of the starting gate well, but was bottled up in the first tight section coming out in 11th. He was able to make some early passes and was charging to get up into the top five before a fall cost him time.
“My lap times were good,” said Ferry. “I feel like I rode well. I fell out there. I just washed the front end out. I was riding behind Ivan (Tedesco) and Andrew (Short) and I thought I could get both of them and get up to sixth. I would have been happy with that. The track was tough; it was hard to pass out there. Eighth just isn’t too good. When I see that, I feel like I have better speed than that and I need to be in the top five.”
Peaking Early
Morais’ lack of riding during the week changed his strategy a little to try and sprint out and then hold on for the best finish he could get. The strategy paid off as Morais earned his third podium of the season and moved up to second in the championship standings, just six points back of the leader.
“I rode as hard as I could for the first seven laps,” said Morais. “Then I started getting pretty tired and I was coughing. I saw I had a gap back to Jake, so I took a couple of laps to regroup and then got back after it. Jake got caught up in some lappers, which gave me a break as well.”
Tightening Up
Supercross track design is almost as much of an art as it is a science and the racing has been exciting all year. It seems track design is helping to keep the racing close. Ferry is in his 17th supercross season and he knows the racing is as close as its been in a while.
“You can almost say the first three races this year have been on some of the tightest track I’ve ever raced on,” said Ferry. “This track, I’m not really sure what to think of it. It had some neat sections, and it had some sections that I thought didn’t make a lot of sense. Part of racing is being able to adapt to the track and the racing was close. I could hear the fans yelling during the race so you know they were excited. My fastest lap was less than a second off of the winners and I finished eighth, so you know there is some good racing on the track.”
Signature Series
Ryan Morais is the closest to Ryan Dungey in the West Coast Lites Championship.
Villopoto’s best finish of the season came as he debuted his Thor signature gear. Dressed in a stylish design incorporating his race number on his pants and sleeves, Villopoto looked as good as he raced.
“I really like having a signature gear,” said Villopoto. “Riding on the Pro Circuit team, we all had to wear the same stuff, same colors, so it was cool to be able to pick out the style and color I wanted. Having the number two on the leg made it special. It was my first time wearing a signature gear and it was cool.”
Starting Gate
With the tight track, getting out of the starting gate well was paramount to getting a good finish. Ferry got his best start of the year, but as the tight first turn funneled into a split section, Ferry was squeezed into the slower line.
“I feel like I got down to the first turn pretty well,” said Ferry. “I just got banged around and got the short end of the stick. I was probably about five spots higher than where I came out. I tried to be as aggressive as possible, but it was really one lined.”
Extra Half Lap
The track layout for the second of three events gave the riders a little extra time to race. Because the finish line was located close to the start the first lap of each race didn’t start until the leader crossed the finish line. That meant each race went an extra half lap through the tightest section as well as the technical rhythm section.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki
Chad Reed on a Suzuki... It still looks strange to us, but Speedy Reedy continues to be consistent and leads the championship.
Chad Reed has taken the lead in the AMA/ World Supercross Championship after a, incredible charge from the back to second place at Saturday's third round at Anaheim, while Rockstar Makita Suzuki team mate Ryan Dungey increased his lead in West Coast Championship with victory in the Lites class.
In the Supercross Main - held in front of 43,000 fans at Angel Stadium - Reed was knocked down to 20th place after a first-corner crash, but spent the remaining 19 laps carving his RM-Z450 through the pack, moving into second place on lap 18.
Chad Reed:
"This was a good race weekend; we made some good changes to the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RMZ450 and kind of found out where we needed to be. The first and second practices went well, and in the heat race, I realised it would be important to get a good start. In the Main Event, I got down there in the top four but came together with another rider and went down. I thought it was going to be a real tough race - maybe I'd get a top five or something - so to get up on the podium, second especially, is awesome."
Mike Alessi:
"Anaheim 2 was good and we're making steady improvement. I did well in practice and was fifth in my heat race. The last two weeks, I've been sixth, so there was some improvement there. In the Main Event, I got a good holeshot and was running up front a couple of laps and battling with the top guys, like Reed. I was riding a good, consistent pace and ended up ninth, which is better than the 11th that I've gotten the last couple of weeks. Like I said, it's just steady improvement, getting a little better every week. My Rockstar Makita Suzuki was running great and the guys did a great job... like always."
In the Lites, Dungey made his move to the front after passing leader Ryan Morais on lap four and was never challenged from then on.
Ryan Dungey:
"Anaheim 2 went really well. It started with practice when we made some minor changes to the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250. I felt good in practice and we were right there with bike set-up - and that was a good start of the day. The track was different, and the bike worked really awesome in every area. It was a fun night. Lining up for the Main, I felt like the night was our night again: I had to take control and do what I knew how, but at the same time, I knew a Holeshot was going to be key because it was tough to pass out there. But I was able to put myself in a good position, ride out my laps and be smart and be smooth."
Yamaha Racing
Without question the fastest man in Supercross, Stewart nearly lost valuable points with a practice injury.
James Stewart scored his second win from three races in the seventeen round 2009 AMA Supercross series (also an FIM World Championship) onboard his San Manuel LandM YZ450F by owning the 50th meeting to be held at the Anaheim Stadium in Los Angeles last Saturday.
The AMA Motocross Champion took Yamaha’s 17th success at the venue and also increased his personal triumph tally to 27; equalling Bob Hannah in 5th place on the all-time victory roll.
Despite the impressive numbers Anaheim II was a hard meeting for the 23 year old. He collided with Travis Preston during practice and badly cut his hand, he then admitted that he made mistakes and wasn’t riding well during the race that was watched by over 43,000 people.
On a track that was not easy for overtaking Stewart needed half of the 20 laps to pass Ivan Tedesco, Ryan Villopoto and then impressive Rookie and fellow Yamaha rider Josh Grant. Two circulations later and he demoted Kevin Windham for the lead and would hold the advantage to the chequered flag. Chad Reed had recovered from a first corner crash to make his way to second place, therefore limiting Stewart’s points gain in the standings. Grant held on for fifth place and has yet to drop out of the top five in the first three events.
Stewart is running down Reed in the points, with only 12 to go.
“It was a tough weekend for me as far as getting adjusted to the track,” Stewart admitted. “Also, physically, it was definitely tough for me. But if we can get wins like this, I can’t imagine what it will be like when things go smoothly; maybe we can do even better.”
Stewart is now up to fourth in the series, 12 points from the top, while Grant is second and just 3 points from reigning champion Reed.
Round 4 takes place next Saturday at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
American Honda
Ivan Tedesco was fast off the line but faulted midway into the race but still holds the sixth spot in points heading in to Houston.
Honda Red Riders returned to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA on Saturday, January 17, to tackle round three of the 2009 Supercross, an FIM World Championship. GEICO Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham landed his first podium of the season and Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short, Ivan Tedesco and Davi Millsaps continued their championship campaigns aboard Honda’s CRF450Rs. Honda Red Bull Racing’s newest team member, 2008 WMA Women’s Motocross Champion Ashley Fiolek, joined the team at Anaheim and was welcomed by the Angel Stadium crowd during the evening’s ceremonies.
Kevin Windham dominated racing early on, leading from the opening lap and racing away to a commanding lead in the Supercross main event. Windham’s experience aboard his GEICO Powersports Honda CRF450R showed as he held off rivals for more than half the race. Windham went on to celebrate his first Supercross podium of the season, finishing in third.
“The race was awesome and for me it feels like a win after leading comfortably for over half of the race,” said Windham. “The bike was dialed in perfect and everything just worked great. At the first two rounds of the season I just didn’t quite have everything together but the GEICO Powersports Honda team worked really hard to get everything in sync this week and that really showed here at A2. I feel I rode a strong race for third and I’ll carry this momentum into Houston next weekend, confident I can win there again like last year.”
Andrew Short's strong riding has put him in third place in the points standing.
Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short put his CRF450R through its paces, riding hard to take the checkered flag in sixth place. Short’s campaign was slowed by first-turn commotion but the 27-year-old Honda pilot finished strongly laying down smart, consistent laps. Honda Red Bull Racing teammate Ivan Tedesco was fast off the line but faulted midway into the race. The Honda pilot re-gathered to finish in seventh. After a mid-pack start, Honda Red Bull Racing’s Davi Millsaps fought hard to cross the finish line in tenth place.
Honda continues to lead the manufacturers charge in the championship standings with all four Honda pilots placed in the top ten. Short is in third position with 53 points, Tedesco has 47 points for sixth, Windham’s in eighth with 41 points and Millsaps rounds out the top ten with 31 points.
Top Honda Supercross finishes
3rd - Kevin Windham
6th - Andrew Short
7th – Ivan Tedesco
10th - Davi Millsaps
Supercross Championship Points
3rd - Andrew Short 53
6th - Ivan Tedesco 47
8th - Kevin Windham 41
10th - Davi Millsaps 31
Team TLD / Seaspan / PPG / Honda
Chris Blose shot up from seventh place at the start up to finish fifth place.
Chris Blose continues to impress as the 2009 season progresses. The course at Anaheim 2 was a strange throwback to tracks of the mid-eighties. But the lack of flow and rhythm in the track didn't throw Blose out of his.
Sporting TLD's retro-styled Limited Edition "A Day in the Dirt" gear and AIR helmet, (available at finer dealers in mid-February), Chris started the main event off in seventh position and quickly worked his way to fourth. He was passed by Jason Lawrence near the halfway point and he would follow him to the checkers for fifth position. That result leaves him tied for fourth in the point standings after the first three rounds.
"I'm happy with the way I rode," said Blose. Adding, "I tightened up a little bit in the middle of the race but I was able to regroup and finish strong. I'm really happy with my program here at TLD and we're going to keep working on stepping up to the podium soon."
Steve Boniface made the 450 main event but it wasn't without some drama. While running in a qualifying position in his heat race a slower rider lost control of his bike and flew off the track and into Steve's lane. Steve and another rider were collected in the carnage and both riders were slow to get up.
Team TLD / Seaspan / PPG / Honda had their first "fire drill" of the season and were able to get Boniface's mangled machine to the line in time for the LCQ. Steve transferred through the LCQ and gritted out a 16th place finish in the main event despite a very sore hand.
Rookie rider Sean Borkenhagen looked fast all weekend but a crash in his heat race and a bad start in the LCQ kept his from qualifying this weekend. "Borky" is a determined kid though and he has better days ahead of him.
Steve Boniface had a little trouble during the qualifying but made it though and managed a 16th place finish in the main event.
Team TLD / Seaspan / PPG / Honda would like to thank all of the amazing companies that have supported our racing efforts over the years. We would also like to welcome our new sponsors that will be an integral part of the crew in years to come. Among those are Seaspan, Avia, Skullcandy, Rossignol, Kasey Kahne Racing and Icon Aircraft. These companies have come onboard for 2009 and we are excited about working with them.
We would also like to acknowledge the sponsors that are returning this year. Those include American Honda, Wings for Life, PPG, Pacific Collision Centers, Couts Heating and Cooling, Dunlop, VP Racing Fuels, Pro Circuit, Pro Honda Oils, Renthal, ODI, Excel, RK, N-Style, Selle Italia, Alpinestars, Jimmy Vasser, Cornwell Tools, Cumberland, Cycra, Malcolm Smith, Flexfit, Hinson, Leatt Brace, Light Speed, MetTec, Momo, Muc-Off, QTM, Talon Hubs, CRF's Only and Twin Air. We could not go racing without you. Thank you for your support of the Troy Lee Designs Race Team.
We would also like to acknowledge Mid-Cities Honda for their continued support of Sean Borkenhagen.
The AMA Supercross Series continues next Saturday in Houston, TX. For more information visit:
www.supercrossonline.com
Team San Manuel Yamaha
Despite starting in fourth place Stewart blazed to the front to take the win in Anaheim.
Team San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart took his second win of the 2009 Supercross season, earning him 25 points and moving him up several spots to 4th overall in the championship points race.
Despite suffering a minor crash during practice, Stewart dominated Heat Race 2, finishing first with an almost 7 second lead over the second place finisher. Teammate Kyle Chisholm ran Heat Race 2 as well, finishing 13th and then taking 8th in the Last Chance Qualifier.
In the evening’s main event, Stewart moved into 4th place on the second lap and quickly began his charge to the front, taking the lead on the nearly impassable track on lap 10. Bending a brake lever on a hard landing, Stewart kicked the brake back into position and was able to take the win before a standing, packed Anaheim crowd.
From the winner’s podium Stewart had this to say, “I’m very happy with this win – when points are coming down the way they are, this win is important. I’ll take it for Team San Manuel, Yamaha, L&M Racing and Red Bull!”
Team San Manuel Yamaha Highlights/Phoenix – Round 2
James Stewart, Number 7, YZ 450F - Heat Race #2 - Winner
Kyle Chisholm, Number 38, YZ 450F - Heat race #2 – 13th place; LCQ 8th
James Stewart – Season to Date: 2 wins; 1 19th place
James Stewart – Championship Points - 52
