Yamaha Racing 

Round six of the 2009 AMA Supercross series and the third and final stop in the Anaheim stadium, Los Angeles, was the scene of LandM San Manuel Yamaha rider James Stewart's latest triumph and his fifth win in a row. The 23 year old's imperious streak of success continues on the YZ450F and his masterful escape to victory from gate-to-flag means that Yamaha maintain their 100% record in the current campaign as Joe Gibbs Racing's Josh Grant claimed the opening event.

The 51st Main at Anaheim witnessed Yamaha's 18th collection of the winner's garland and thanks to Grant's sensational debut effort they have swept the LA trio of races.

Stewart's latest accomplishment came after another electric start in which he was able to front the field and keep Chad Reed at bay, despite a greasy surface from rainfall before and during the action. The distance between the two protagonists fluctuated throughout the twenty minute duration but the AMA Motocross champion was never viably threatened and celebrated his 30th SX career victory when he crossed the line.

"I saw Chad behind me. We stayed the same distance, then I pulled away and soon got caught up with the lappers; he came close again and it was good racing. I think, for me, it was kind of tough because the lappers were battling each other and I knew he was following close behind, but hey,it was a great race. I put myself in the best position and I was able to get a win," said the victor, who passed everyone up to 6th position.

With 5th spot in Los Angeles '09 Rookie Grant sustained his run of top five finishes. He had been circulating as high as third when he suffered a nasty-looking crash. Grant recovered to fifth in a determined ride but had some chest pain after the race. He stays third in the table, 16 points behind Stewart.

Stewart was initially 19 points adrift of standings leader Reed after his surprising DNF at round one. He has closed the gap to just 3 as Reed has chased him into the runner-up position for the last five meetings.

Round seven takes place next week in the confines of the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

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KTM Racing

At the third and final Anaheim Supercross Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM Factory rider Justin Brayton earned his second podium finish of the season with his impressive 3rd place result in the West Supercross Lites main event.

Practice was delayed and reduced to one practice session for all riders due to heavy rainfall earlier in the day. Brayton eventually got his turn to practice where he put in a great lap time which earned him pole position in heat race two.

Both Brayton and his teammate, Ryan Sipes, lined up in the second heat. Once the gate dropped Brayton came across the first turn in 4th while Sipes was only a few spots back in 7th. Brayton quickly moved into the 2nd place position while Sipes had already passed into 5th. Brayton made a small mistake near the end of the heat which allowed Morais to move into 2nd. Brayton stayed close to Morais through the end of the heat to take 3rd while Sipes held on to 5th.

Missing from the final Anaheim Supercross was the Jagermeister/MDK/KTM Freestyle show which was cancelled due to the muddy track conditions as a result of the rainy weather.

The Lites main event marked the first holeshot for Brayton as he shot out of the gate and pulled the early lead for the first time this season. His teammate, Sipes, was not as fortunate and ended up in the back of the pack after coming together with a couple other riders.

Brayton continued to lead a remarkable race as the Kawasaki rides of Jake Wiemer and Morais stayed with him and together the top three lengthened the gap on the rest of the pack. Brayton led the race for six laps until Weimer made a pass right before the whoop section, Brayton maintained his speed and blitzed by Weimer to regain the lead through the whoops. A couple turns later Weimer was able to pass Brayton back for the 1st place position. On lap eight, while Brayton was still currently in 2nd place he began a battle with Morais that lasted for a couple laps before Brayton made a slight bobble that allowed Morais to get by. Meanwhile, Sipes who had a near last start moved up from 18th to 7th by the seventh lap. He continued his impressive charge and grabbed another position to move into 6th a few laps later. When the checkered flag flew Brayton finished 3rd to earn his second podium of the season with his teammate Sipes finished 6th after an exciting charge th rough the pack.

On the podium, Brayton stated, "I am really happy to be up here. I can't thank my team enough for all of their hard work. My Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM is an awesome bike and I am very thankful to be a part of the KTM team."

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Team Suzuki

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Chad Reed carded his fifth-straight second-place finish this past Saturday night at round six of AMA Supercross at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. The two-time and defending AMA Supercross Champion battled the elements as well as the competition in the 20-lap Supercross main, thanks to rainy conditions, but still captured a podium finish and held on to the overall championship points lead. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Mike Alessi had a rough night, crashing in the mud and coming from last place to finish 11th. Finally,
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Michael Byrne did not race, due to an injury sustained in the off-season. Byrne plans to return to racing at next week’s round in San Diego.

In the Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey overcame a bad start to bring home a fourth-place finish. Although the young rider won his heat race, the 15-lap main event saw him go down in a turn-one pile-up. In spite of this, he remounted his RM-Z250 in last place and worked his way through the field to bring home an impressive fourth-place result.

Chad Reed:
“The third Anaheim race was good, although the track was extremely tough and you had to be real patient and not over-ride the track. I felt a lot better this week than I had in the past, we made some progress during the week with the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and I felt really, really comfortable. I felt that my pace and speed were up overall. But it was a long, tough race and it was a difficult track to pass on, so I’m happy to have stayed on two wheels and finished on the podium.”

Mike Alessi:
“It was a rough day, for sure. Practice was really muddy, and I just tried to get through it safely and get into the night show. In my heat race, I was running second and then I went to hit the brake and I had mud packed up on my footpeg and couldn’t hit the brake and missed the turn and crashed. When I got back up, I worked my way back up to eighth and, luckily, I qualified. In the main, I was running fourth on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 but in a slippery turn, I lost the front end and fell. I was really bummed because I was right there with the top guys and I felt like I could go with
them. But I crashed and had to come from last place. I never gave up charging and I made it to 11th, but I felt like if I hadn’t crashed, I could’ve been in fifth or sixth place. But that’s how things go and we’ll work hard this week and hope to do better next week at San Diego.”

Ryan Dungey:
“It was a tough day. I was able win my heat race and I felt really good on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 on the track and going into the main. But in the start, I was trying to sneak around on the inside and I must have lost my front end, I just made a mistake and I was on the ground. But overall, it was a great ride, it was pretty solid. We did some damage control and, overall, it wasn’t too bad of a night – going from last to fourth.”

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009.

Chad Reed, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #1
2nd Place – Anaheim 3 Supercross
1st Place – Overall Championship Points Standings

Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #800
11th Place – Anaheim 3 Supercross
9th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings

Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z250, #10
4th Place – Anaheim 3 Supercross Lites
2nd Place -- Overall Championship Points Standings

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Bridgestone Motorsports

Not even rain and cold temperatures could stop the charge of Bridgestone riders in Monster Energy AMA Supercross competition Saturday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. Bridgestone-shod motorcycles took first and second places in both Supercross and Supercross Lites, with James Stewart notching his fifth consecutive win in the top category.

Stewart (Team San Manuel / JSE Yamaha), the 2007 AMA Supercross and 2008 AMA Motocross champion, stormed to the lead from the starting gate and led all 20 laps despite the treacherous, muddy conditions. Since finishing 19th at the season opener last month, Stewart has been unbeatable.

“The start was key tonight,” Stewart said, “and Bridgestone really came through with the perfect tires. I gated well with the rear tire and the front tire got me around the first turn safe and into the lead."

Chad Reed (Rockstar / Makita Suzuki) thrilled the chilled crowd of 43,812 by battling back from mid-pack at the start to wind up second and give Bridgestone a 1-2 finish. Reed also managed to maintain the season points lead by three over Stewart (130-127), with Bridgestone’s Josh Grant (JGRMX / Toyota Yamaha) in third.

In Supercross Lites Western Regional competition, Jake Weimer (Monster Energy / Pro Circuit Kawasaki) rode to his second straight win and third of the season. Weimer’s teammate, Ryan Morais, came home second.

Once again, Weimer was elated with the performance of his Bridgestone tires. “We went with the M203/M204 soft terrain combo for the track conditions tonight and I couldn't be happier,” said Weimer, who also took over the Western Regional points lead. “The tires were great in the mud sections and crossed over really well to the dryer hard base whoops and jumps."

Doug Schopinsky, who oversees Bridgestone tire development for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, said the rainy conditions created plenty of extra work for the Bridgestone crew, but it was worth the effort. “With the weather and revised schedule, we really had our work cut out for us at this event,” Schopinsky said. “The guys at the truck really had their A-game on and we fitted all our riders with the options for what conditions came our way. Rain is always a challenge for tire selection, especially in Supercross. Bridgestone's wide range of soil applications and terrain crossover with the patterns gave our riders the performance tonight to once again dominate the podium.”

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Kawasaki Racing

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Finishes 1-2 at Anaheim 3
As the racing began at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., the remnants of an on and off rain from the day were evidenced by the perfect rainbow that framed the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki pit area. The team collected its pot of gold at the podium as Jake Weimer and Ryan Morais finished 1-2 in both their heat race and the main event. Weimer’s third win of the season vaulted him to the season points lead and it didn’t come without drama as Morais attempted a pass with just two corners remaining before the checkered flag. In the supercross class Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry finished tenth while Ryan Villopoto missed the main after going down in both his heat race and the last chance qualifier.

New Leader
Weimer’s domination of California continued as the tour made its third stop at Angels Stadium. In his heat race, the mud along the start straight didn’t slow Weimer down as he jumped out to the holeshot and led wire-to-wire to earn his fifth heat-race win in as many starts. In the main event, Weimer came out of the first turn in third, but quickly made his way to the front despite the difficult conditions. His third win of the season gives him a three-point lead in the race for the AMA Supercross Lites Western Regional championship.

“It feels good to get the win and take over the points lead,” said Weimer. “It’s hard to explain it, the last two weekends have been tough. At San Francisco I wasn’t the fastest guy and it’s hard to win when you’re not the fastest guy. Here at Anaheim, the track was tough, really tough, and I got two good starts and I won both the heat and the main again. I’m just so pumped for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki.”

Runner-Up Again
After finishing second in his heat race, Morais knew he wanted to be in the lead and came out of the gate fast to grab the holeshot in the main event. After dropping back to third early in the race, Morais charged back to the front, challenging his teammate on the last lap for the win.

“The race was just amazing,” said Morais. “I got the holeshot in the main event and I was leading. I’m not sure what I was thinking during the first three or four laps; I was just kind of jumping around. I regrouped and put a charge on. I was able to take a chance on the last lap and try for the win. I think I was next to Jake when the lapper put me high up on the berm. I was up near the tough blocks and I was just hanging it all out. It’s awesome for this Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team to go 1-2. These guys work so hard for us and it is nice to be able to repay these guys like this.”

Going for It
With just two turns to go before the checkered flag, Morais saw the opportunity to get his first career win. With lapped traffic giving him the chance to challenge for the win, Morais charged hard into the corner and then was pushed high keeping him from completing the pass.

“I didn’t know where we were on laps,” said Morais. “All of a sudden I saw the white flag and was surprised a little. I thought ‘I better get going’ and when the lapper kept Jake from jumping the double I knew I was going for it. I didn’t care if I crashed, we had a big enough lead that if I went down I still had time to get up and finish second. It was so close.”

Keeping Steady
After battling for all 15 laps of the main event a week ago, Weimer took control of the race in Anaheim and pulled out to a comfortable lead lapping every rider up to sixth place.

“My start wasn’t as good in the main event as it was in the heat race,” said Weimer. “I was still towards the front, but the bike was sliding through the corner. I got into second pretty quick and then rode behind (Justin) Brayton for a while. I saw a spot and took it to grab a lead. I put in some good laps, but then got caught up in some lappers and made some mistakes near the end of the race that gave Ryan a chance.”

Top 10
The veteran Ferry had to lean on his experience all night as the riders only had 10 minutes of practice because of the forecasted rain. With the track changing on every lap, Ferry rode strong to get a top-10 finish.

“I came out of the gate pretty good,” said Ferry. “There was some mud about half way down the start straight that hindered me a little bit. I got caught on the outside and lost some spots. I think I was last. I just tried to ride consistent and keep the bike up and I was able to work up to 10th.”

Getting Ready
Even though the schedule was shortened and the riders were only given one short practice session, the mechanics in the Monster Energy Kawasaki pits were busy all afternoon getting the bikes ready for a muddy track.

Great Design
Heading into the weekend, Ferry was excited by the design of this week’s track, but with rain falling into the weekend, those hopes were dashed as all the riders knew they wouldn’t be able to ride the track to its full potential.

“Design-wise, I think that was the best track of the season,” said Ferry. “It was kind of depressing to see all the puddles during the track walk. It could have been a lot worse though. The rain held off until the last five laps. If it would have come earlier we wouldn’t have been able to jump anything. It was tricky and really rutty.”

Tough Night
Coming off of two consecutive podium finishes; Villopoto was looking to stand on the box again. During his heat race he looked to be in good position as he nailed the holeshot. He was riding a strong race before his front wheel found a hole in the muddy track, throwing him over the handlebars.

“I got a good start in the heat race,” said Villopoto. “I got the holeshot, but made a small mistake and fell back to fourth. I was on the guys in front of me and came into the whoops. I caught my front wheel in a hole and went down. I crashed pretty hard. It’s just bruises on the outside so I’ll be okay. I’m looking forward to racing next week in San Diego.”

Feeling at Home
After struggling at Angels Stadium early in his career, Morais has found success in Anaheim this season finishing second in all three events.

“Anaheim has treated me well,” said Morais. “ I had a bad past at Angels Stadium. Until this season I had never finished a main event without getting hurt and I’m so happy to have that streak over. It’s been awesome to be up on the podium and I’m ready to try and get my first win in San Diego.”