Yamaha Racing
James Stewart is rapidly climbing back into the title hunt.
James Stewart raced to his third straight victory in just his fourth appearance in the AMA Supercross series with the San Manuel LandM YZ450F Yamaha. The 23 year old conquered the fourth round of the 2009 contest (also an FIM World Championship) at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas; the first time the '09 competition had left the west coast of the USA.
In front of a little more than 48,000 spectators Stewart started reasonably well and was fourth around the opening turns. He needed another two laps before he relegated Ryan Villopoto and was then able to control the remaining 17 circulations in the 16 minute sprint.
The 2009 edition was the 44th Supercross meeting to be held in Houston with Pierre Karsmakers winning the inaugural event in 1974 with a Yamaha. Stewart's success increased Yamaha's tally to 15 triumphs in the State since the mid-1970s. In taking the chequered flag he also registered the 27th AMA SX win of his career.
"The bike was definitely better this weekend," he said. "I just felt more comfortable when we first got here, and we changed some stuff, and it's coming along. I think it was definitely a better weekend for me, and I'm just going to try and keep on improving and see what happens."
Supercross class rookie Joe Gibbs Racing's Josh Grant finished fifth to maintain his streak of a top five finish in each round so far. "I told myself coming into this season that I wanted to be top-five every weekend, and so far, I've been better than that," he reflected. "We had two good races at the beginning, and that's about it, but the last two tracks, I haven't really felt comfortable on, so for me to not feel comfortable on a track and still get top-five and still ride the way I've been riding is good."
Stewart has risen from fourth to second in the standings and now lies just 9 points behind leader Reed. Grant is in third place but level on points with his brand-mate.
Round five takes place next weekend at the ATandT Park in San Francisco.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki
Chad Reed (left) has done a good job of landing on the podium, but the Suzuki rider needs to get up front early and battle for the win.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Chad Reed continues to lead the AMA Supercross Championship points chase after finishing an impressive second place at Saturday night’s Houston, Texas, event at Reliant Stadium. Two-time and defending AMA Supercross Champion Reed won his heat race and then overcame a rough start to finish second in the 20-lap main event. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Mike Alessi, meanwhile, celebrated his strongest results of the season at Houston. Alessi finished fourth in his heat race and then got the holeshot in the main event, where he eventually brought home a seventh-place result. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Michael Byrne did not race, due to an injury sustained in the off-season. He hopes to be back racing as soon as possible.
In the Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Nico Izzi picked up a podium position in the season-opening round of the East Coast series. The 2008 AMA Supercross/Motocross Rookie of the Year finished third in his heat race and then third in the main event at Houston on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250.
Chad Reed:
“It was tough for me this weekend, I don’t know why, so to get second is awesome. It was really a struggle all weekend. I didn’t have the groove and I was pushing it, and I fell a few times in practice, so it wasn’t for lack of trying. But to get on the podium and to get second is awesome, considering how I felt out there. Basically, I’m just trying to get out there on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and do what I can do and try to get on the podium… I’m happy that we didn’t lose any ground this weekend, even though we struggled a bit.”
Mike Alessi:
“This was a good weekend. We are steadily improving with every race, getting a little more speed, a little more confidence, a little bit more aggression. In practice, I was in the top-10 times. In the heat race, I ended up fourth – I bettered last week by one position. In the main, I got the holeshot. My Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 got me off to a great start and I was riding up front, battling with the top guys and then I was running sixth for most of the race. I made a mistake at the end, though, and I ended up seventh. Like I’ve been saying, I’m working on steady improvement and getting better every week.”
Consistency is vital and Josh Grant has been doing a great job of remaining near the front of the pack.
Nico Izzi:
“My day was pretty good, though it started out a little rough. I had a pretty good get-off in the first practice and I had to regroup from that. I came out in the second practice and put in some good laps. In the heat race, I was able to work my way up into third. Then, in the main event, I got a pretty good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and was in second and put in about eight laps. But then I made a mistake and moved back to third. I was struggling to get back into it but I held on for a podium position.”
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009.
Chad Reed, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #1
2nd Place – Houston Supercross
1st Place – Overall Championship Points Standings
Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #800
7th Place – Houston Supercross
9th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings
Nico Izzi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z250, #20
3rd Place – Houston Supercross Lites
3rd Place -- Overall Championship Points Standings
Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM
Hahn, who is still recovering from a practice crash injury just five weeks back, surprised the crowd when he qualified 6th in his heat race. Davalos also put in an impressive ride with his 3rd place heat race finish.
In the main event both riders earned decent starts with Hahn rounding the first turn in 6th while Davalos was just two spots back in 8th. Both riders rode a smooth and consistent race maintaining their positions throughout the fifteen laps. At the finish, Hahn came across the line in 6th with his teammate right behind in 7th.
Monster Energy Kawasaki
Christophe Pourcel had a similar intro to American Supercross Lites action when he last visited. The win puts him in the driver's seat as the East Coast series gets into full swing later in the season.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Christophe Pourcel returned to AMA racing and the top of the podium at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. At the season opening round for the AMA Supercross Lites Eastern Region season, Pourcel showed his injuries over the last two seasons haven’t slowed him down as he earned his second AMA career win. His teammate Austin Stroupe finished fourth in the main event. It was a night of firsts in the supercross class as Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto led the main event and earned his first career podium with a third place finish. Teammate Timmy Ferry finished eighth.
Top of the Box
Pourcel nabbed his second win in as many races, taking the checkered flag first at Houston. Of course there was a nearly two year break between starts as Pourcel recovered from serious injures. His race on Saturday showed he had not lost any of his competitive fire or skill as he led wire-to-wire for the victory.
“It’s good for me, and the team,” said Pourcel. “It is an amazing feeling for me. I feel awesome. It’s good to be back on the bike and back racing. It was a technical track and I think the fastest way around was just to be smooth. I tried to be smooth all race and it paid off.”
First Podium
The podium monkey is finally off Ryan Villopoto's back.
After riding a strong race, Villopoto climbed up on the podium in Houston, earning his best finish to date in the supercross class. After leading the main event early, RV settled into second, continually running fast laps and keeping the leader in site. Near lap 12, Villopoto went down just before the finish line, giving up second place, but he recovered quickly and held on to third place.
“I’m not going to say I had second place in the bag,” said Villopoto. “But I definitely had a shot at it if I didn’t go down. We’re making steps forward and that’s what we want to do. I just want to minimize mistakes and I should be on the podium again.”
Fourth Place
Stroupe’s return to Houston started to look like it would be a repeat of last year, when he earned his first professional win at Reliant Stadium. The 18-year-old showed a lot of speed early, winning his heat race. After a good start in the main event, he was ready to go back to the top of the podium. A difficult section midway through the first lap caught some riders out and after some contact, Stroupe was forced off the track. He regrouped quickly and started to come up through the field, making an amazing pass of two riders at once to move up to fourth.
“My start was decent,” said Stroupe. “I think I came out about fifth and I thought I could make a move on the tabletops. I went on, on, on in that section and someone hit the brakes hard at the end of the section and I had nowhere to go. I hit him head on and went off the track. A lot of guys got by there and then I just got back up and came up as far as I could.”
Quick Start
After falling in his heat race, Villopoto had to ride his way up through the field to secure a good gate pick for the main. With his sixth place result, RV had 12th gate pick, but the lack of choices didn’t keep him from getting his best start of the year as he rocketed into the first turn and took the lead on the first lap.
“I went down in the heat race so I didn’t get a good gate pick and had to start on the inside,” said Villopoto. “I got an awesome start on my Kawasaki KX 450F and by the third or fourth turn I was in the lead. It was a good race. I led for a couple of laps. I felt James (Stewart) come up on me and he passed me, then I passed him right back. We were a little racy there and it was fun.”
Keys to Victory
The French transplant has proven again that he's competitive on this side of the Atlantic.
Pourcel took the lead right out of the starting gate in the supercross lites main event, and never looked back. Having not raced in nearly two years, Pourcel showed he hadn’t lost any of his reaction time or determination as he sped into the first turn to grab the holeshot.
“I was close to the middle of the gate,” said Pourcel.” I was just inside and I focused on getting a good start. I just imagined no one was near me and I got the holeshot twice. My Kawasaki KX 250F was really fast out of the gate. I think it is really good to be focused on getting a good start.”
Traffic Jam
Ferry got a good start out of the gate, but the tight turn complex after the start straight looked like a crowded highway at rush hour. With bikes all fighting for position, the tuff blocks marking the track were strewn throughout the turns adding more obstacles to the already difficult track.
“I came through the first turn pretty good,” said Ferry. “The switch-back made it really difficult, the tuff blocks were bouncing around and were all over the track. I lost time when I went in between the tuff blocks, but it was the same for everyone where I was.“
First Race Nerves
Though he is entering his second season as a pro, Stroupe still felt the nerves of the first race of the season. A good performance in the heat race helped to calm his nervousness and with one race now behind him, he’s ready to challenge for the championship.
“I think it is good to get the first race out of the way, because I was nervous,” said Stroupe. “It was cool to win the heat race. I have that under my belt and now we have a couple of weeks before the next round. I know what I need to work on and I am just concentrating on getting ready for Atlanta and the rest of the season.”
Out of Sync
Despite the congestion on the first lap, Ferry was methodically working his way through the field and looking to get back into the top five. On lap 13 of the 20-lap main event, Red Dog got out of sync with the flow of the track and lost time to the riders he was gaining on. Though he was able to regain the rhythm of track, Ferry had to settle for an eighth-place result.
“I had a really good pace going,” said Ferry. “Then just after halfway, I missed the triple and swapped out in the whoops and just didn’t get the rhythm section right. Before that I was catching the guys in front of me and I thought I could get a good finish. After that I lost the flow of the track for a couple of laps and just had to settle in where I was. I’m going to look at the race on video to see what I can work on.”
Progress Report
RV ran up front early but was unable to match Stewart's pace.
Villopoto is nearly a quarter of the way through his rookie campaign in the supercross class and he continues to move up in the standings. After earning his first career podium, Villopoto is looking to return to the podium next week.
“The season started a little rough, but it’s getting better”, said Villopoto. “We just want to keep moving forward and last week we got fourth, this week was third, so now we are looking for a second and a first. I was getting a little irritated about not getting on the podium and riding like I know I can. Overall it was a good race for me, but without the fall it would have been better.”
Changing Focus
Pourcel was slated to race for the West Coast title before an injury in late November changed the teams plans. With the East Coast season starting later and finishing earlier than the West Coast, Pourcel was able to heal fully from his broken collarbone and also will be able to look ahead to the motocross season.
“I was focused on the West Coast season until I broke my collarbone,” said Pourcel. “Then I shifted my focus to the East Coast. I think going for the East Coast championship is more for me. It gives me more time to prepare in the winter and also for the motocross season this summer. I think that is good for me. “
Home Cooking
Heading to Houston also meant Ferry was heading back East and getting closer to home. Ferry lives in Florida, but with the first four rounds closer to the West Coast, Red Dog became a temporary California resident. Even though the tour returns to the Golden State for the next three rounds, Red Dog is going to commute from his Florida home, taking advantage of the familiar surroundings.
“I haven’t been home in almost a month, said Ferry. “I’m looking forward spending some time at my house. I’ve been living in a hotel for a month now and by going home I’ll be able to get back into a good routine. I’m going to chill out this week and hope San Francisco isn’t muddy.”
Terminal Velocity
Pourcel Takes Top Podium Position at First East Coast Round!!
Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki must be happy with the decision to back Pourcel.
Round four of the Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Championship was round one of the Lites Eastern Regional Supercross Championship. As such, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders Jake Weimer and Ryan Morais got the weekend off, and instead Austin Stroupe and Christophe Pourcel were in town for the squad.
And after practice, Stroupe and Pourcel were first and second in qualifying, having posted the two fastest laps of the day leading into the Heats.
Pourcel fought for the lead in his Heat, but came up just short of the win. In the second Heat, it was all Stroupe, who worked his way through the pack to take the win.
In the main event, Pourcel got out to the holeshot, while Stroupe was close behind. However, Stroupe had an off-track excursion on the opening lap and was forced to come back through the pack from behind. He rounded the first lap in ninth.
Stroupe went back to work immediately, passing his way back through the field until he sat fourth about four laps into the race, where he would stay to the finish.
However, Pourcel had a better time of it out front. He led every single lap of the main event and was never really challenged despite it being his first race in over 16 months.
“I didn’t ride last year, and I got the win in my first race back, so I think I can say it’s awesome for me,” former MX2 World Motocross Champion Pourcel said. “I honestly don’t have any words to describe how happy I am right now. It’s more than awesome.”
“I couldn’t ask for a better start to the season with the amount of exposure Terminal Velocity has received, due to the efforts of the Pro Circuit team”, said TVP’s Director of Marketing Joe Parsons. “As our boys keep winning, we are developing more and more partnerships with the premier brands within the Motocross industry.”
After the first round of the Lites East, Pourcel now leads the championship, while Stroupe sits fourth, with seven rounds left to run.
The Lites East goes on hiatus this weekend while the Lites West continues its championship on January 31st, with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders Jake Weimer and Ryan Morais taking to the track inside AT&T Park. The Lites East returns to action on February 21st in Atlanta.
Team San Manuel
The San Manuel Yamaha of James Stewart looked much better in Houston than at previous rounds. JS is getting comfortable on the bike and that's not good for his competition.
Team San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart took his third win of the 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series, an FIM World Championship, earning him another valuable 25 points within the overall championship points race.
Posting the fastest lap times of the evening, Stewart won Heat Race 2,for the direct transfer to the Main. Teammate Kyle Chisholm also ran Heat Race 2, finishing a hard earned 6th for a direct transfer to the Houston main, marking Chisholm’s first Main event race of his rookie 2009 season.
Before a packed Houston crowd of 48,277 at Reliant Stadium, Stewart thundered out of the gate in second place and moved into the coveted first place spot on lap 4 where he remained until taking the checkered flag with a close to 10 second lead over the second place podium spot. Teammate Chisholm, qualifying for his first Main of his rookie season, finished 17th.
Post-race Stewart had this to say, “I felt good all day, I knew it was going to come down to the start. I love it here in Texas so I would like to say thanks to all of (the fans). It was all good clean racing tonight, especially with Villopoto. I had a great line over in the whoops and it all just worked out tonight. Every week we get better and my San Manuel Yamaha is working great.” “Its funny how you can win three out of 4 races and still be down in the points, we are going to keep cranking away and do our best!”
Team San Manuel Yamaha Highlights/Houston – Round 4 -
James Stewart, Number 7, YZ 450F - Heat Race #2 – Winner
Kyle Chisholm, Number 38, YZ 450F - Heat race #2 – 6th place
James Stewart – Season to Date: 3 wins; 1 - 19th place
James Stewart – Championship Points - 77
Team Suzuki City
Suzuki City’s Matt Goerke cards 10th in Eastern Regional SX Lites Opener
Over 48,000 fans came out to Houston’s Reliant Stadium Saturday night to catch Round 4 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series, which was also the opening round for the Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites class. Nerves and adrenaline were at an all-time high for these young riders, and Suzuki City’s night ended on a high note with both riders making it into the twenty-man Lites main event with team captain Matt Goerke cracking the top 10 on his Suzuki City RM-Z250. A top 10 is a respectable finish by many standards, but not Goerke’s.
Matt Goerke:
“It didn’t go as planned at all, I had kind of a bad night,” says Goerke, who crashed in practice and injured his shoulder slightly. “After that crash I just got bad starts and didn’t ride to the best of my abilities. I was definitely nervous because it was the first race and all, but I plan on changing that around in Atlanta. It’s nice having a few weeks off to regroup, and I’m just going to work on my starts and my sprints and just trying to be more relaxed at the race. I’m sure the next race will be a lot better. If I ride like myself I feel I should be on the podium at Atlanta.”
Steven Clarke:
“It was nothing I expected,” begins Clarke, who finished 13th in his debut after crashing twice. “I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it was and it turned out that it was pretty easy if I stayed up. I crashed twice in my qualifier and then made it through the LCQ then crashed twice in the main. I wasn’t really nervous at all. I try not to let nerves get to me. I know my speed is there and as long as I get a good start and don’t crash I’ll be a front runner. I think my goal for Atlanta is top five now that I’ve been there and saw that I can do it. The bike was awesome; it was really fast, the tires were working great and my suspension was awesome. I can’t really complain about anything except for my crashes!”
The next stop for the Suzuki City team is the Atlanta Supercross on February 21, 2009.
Matt Goerke, Suzuki City RM-Z250, #34
10th Place – Houston Supercross
10st Place – Overall Championship Points Standings
Steven Clarke, Suzuki City RM-Z250, #77
13th Place – Houston Supercross
13th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings
