Ryan Villopoto injured the ACL in one of his knees during the week. He opted to sit out Moto 2 after crashing in the first.
After the season-opener of the
2009 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Glen Helen, the series moved up the west coast to Nor-Cal, and the the Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA)…AKA Hangtown. The host club, the Dirt Diggers North, always put on a good show, and this year was no exception. They offer up a VIP experience for the fans who want it, via their Superticket program, and they also put in a lot of effort on the track itself.
For example, this year the track ran in its usual clockwise configuration, which the riders seem to like better. (Last year it ran in the opposite direction.) They also added 1200 tons of sand, and also mixed in a large quantity of rice hulls. That’s better than the wood chips that seemed so prevalent a few years back. That changed up the track quite a bit from the usual hardpack.
Because it’s a state-owned facility, and because the state is talking about closing over 200 state parks due to a huge budget deficit, we asked whether it would have an affect on the future of the event. At this point, it appears that the closures won’t cause a problem, because the SRVAs aren’t on the list for closure. Could that change? We’ll see.
Oh, one of the rumors following Glen Helen is that in the future, the series may not return there, and we may end up at a different facility.
The law once again caught up with bad-boy Jason Lawrence after he was penalized for riding his bike from the staging area and then black-flagged for jumping the gate.
Surprises this weekend? There were a few. Injuries are already starting to take a toll in the 450 class. Timmy Ferry was already on the tender side following his return from a broken heel, but he also crashed in practice, and opted to sit out the race. Then came the news that his teammate, and Glen Helen 450 winner,
Ryan Villopoto, had seriously injured the ACL in one of his knees during practice prior to Hangtown. He crashed in the first moto, and while he finished, he opted to sit out the rest of the day, and it looks like he’s done for the season with impending surgery.
Davi Millsaps also had a rough day, starting the day with a heavily taped ankle, and ending it with a ride on the Asterisk Mobile Medical Mule, holding a bloodied towel to his face. In the Lites class, Muscle Milk MDK KTM’s Martin Davalos re-broke the fibula that he’d injured during the Supercross season, and was MIA in Hangtown.
Not surprising? That Jason Lawrence got in trouble for riding his bike from the staging area before the second moto. After that, he couldn’t go with his original gate pick, and got moved to the outside of the gate. From there, he jumped the gate, and got black-flagged. That was following a DNF in the first moto when he went down in the second turn, breaking his rear brake reservoir, and suffering a DNF. Unfortunately, it’s time for a little less nonsense, and a lot more results.
While last weekend was a little rough, with a few snafus, this weekend seems a lot smoother. As far as the racing itself? It was a tripleheader weekend, with the WMA Pro Women, and the usual 250 and 450 class action.
(
Top) Ashley Fiolek flying to another overall win in the women's division; (
middle) Christophe Pourcel led the charge for the 250 class; (
bottom) Mike Alessi captured his first overall win at Hangtown in the 450 class.
There won’t be any season sweep for Honda Red Bull Racing’s Ashley Fiolek, after she traded moto wins with former champ Jessica Patterson. Ashley’s 1-2 moto scores was good enough to beat Jessica Patterson’s 3-1 for the overall. Series rookie Vicki Golden used a 2-3 score for third overall and a podium in her second WMA Pro race.
In the 250 class Christophe Pourcel (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) scored the overall with a 1-3 score. He’d passed rookie Justin Barcia (Geico Powersports Honda) with a pair of laps left to go in the first moto. Series points leader Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) had a rough first moto, but came back to seventh after starting in the mid-20s. Dungey came back to win the second moto, but third overall was the best that his 7-1 would get for him. He did, however, retain the points lead, with a two-point advantage over Pourcel. Geico Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard was third overall on the day, and he definitely has the speed to win one of these.
Mike Alessi (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) was close to unstoppable in Hangtown. Even off-track excursions, crashes, and an old nemesis (Josh Grant) couldn’t keep him from a 1-2 day, and his first 450 overall win. Ivan Tedesco (Honda Red Bull Racing) was second overall on the day. He’d led much of the first moto, but settled for second, with a 2-4 day. His biggest problem for the day? It might have been the wardrobe malfuction that he suffered, that left him, um…rather exposed. But regardless, it was a solid comeback after a pair of DNFs at Glen Helen due to a crash and concussion.
Things got a little weird in both classes, with lots of disqualifications based on jumping sections where their new “no jump” flag was being displayed. Six 250 riders were penalized positions, including overall winner Christophe Pourcel, though it didn’t have any bearing on his final results. 450 Moto 2 winner Josh Grant was also docked a position, though that wasn’t determined until later, after the podium celebrations had been completed.
Chad Reed should have been on the podium, but missed out on his shot at some additional TV time.
There was lots of discussion between the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki and JGRMX Toyota/Yamaha teams and the AMA afterward. One things that’s indisputable, however, is that we’ll reconvene against next weekend, as the series hits Freestone County Raceway in Wortham, TX for the Flagstar Bank National.
Results
Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Hangtown Motocross Classic; Sacramento, CA
450 Hangtown Results
1. Mike Alessi (Suzuki) 1-1
2. Ivan Tedesco (Honda) 2-4
3. Chad Reed (Suzuki) 6-3
4. Andrew Short (Honda) 3-6
5. Josh Grant (Yamaha) 9-2
6. Dan Reardon (Honda) 7-5
7. Matt Goerke (Suzuki) 5-9
8. Justin Brayton (KTM) 8-10
9. Tommy Hahn (Kawasaki) 11-8
10. Cody Cooper (Yamaha) 4-23
11. Jimmy Albertson (Yamaha) 14-13
12. Nick Wey (Yamaha) 12-15
13. Jake Moss (Honda) 24-7
14. Chris Blose (Honda) 19-11
15. Josh Hill (Yamaha) 10-20
16. Troy Adams (Honda) 20-12
17. Michael Byrne (Suzuki) 18-14
18. Bobby Bonds (Yamaha) 13-19
19. Davi Millsaps (Honda) 15-35
20. Jeff Alessi (Honda) 22-16
450 Point Standings
1. Mike Alessi 92
2. Josh Grant 74
3. Chad Reed 73
4. Ryan Villopoto 55
5. Tommy Hahn 52
6. Andrew Short 51
7. Dan Reardon 41
8. Matt Goerke 41
9. Ivan Tedesco 40
10. Cody Cooper 37
250 Hangtown Results
1. Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki) 1-3
2. Trey Canard (Honda) 3-2
3. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 7-1
4. Brett Metcalfe (Honda) 5-4
5. Tyla Rattray (Kawasaki) 4-7
6. Broc Tickle (Yamaha) 6-6
7. Blake Wharton (Honda) 9-5
8. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki) 8-8
9. P. J. Larsen (Kawasaki) 10-10
10. Justin Barcia (Honda) 2-29
11. Matt Lemoine (Yamaha) 12-11
12. Ben Evans (Honda) 13-14
13. Tommy Searle (KTM) 30-9
14. Steven Clarke (Suzuki) 15-15
15. Austin Stroupe (Kawasaki) 11-30
16. Max Antsie (KTM) 39-12
17. Eric Nye (KTM) 16-18
18. Sean Borkenhagen (Honda) 14-19
19. Wil Hahn (KTM) 40-13
20. Kyle Cunningham (Kawasaki) 18-18
250 Point Standings
1. Ryan Dungey 86
2. Christophe Pourcel 84
3. Trey Canard 75
4. Tyla Rattray 70
5. Brett Metcalfe 63
6. Justin Barcia 54
7. Jake Weimer 53
8. Blake Wharton 52
9. Tommy Searle 48
10. Broc Tickle 47
Women’s Hangtown Results
1. Ashley Fiolek (Honda) 1-2
2. Jessica Patterson (Honda) 3-1
3. Vicki Golden (Honda) 2-3
4. Sherri Cruse (Suzuki) 4-4
5. Sara Price (Kawasaki) 8-5
6. Elizabeth Bash (Kawasaki) 9-7
7. Tatum Sik (Suzuki) 7-9
8. Jacqueline Strong (Honda) 6-10
9. Mariana Balbi (Honda) 5-11
10. Penni Cyrus (Kawasaki) 12-6
11. Sayaka Kaneshiro (Suzuki) 10-8
12. Kimberly Kocher (KTM) 15-12
13. Jackie Ives (Yamaha) 14-13
14. Sarah Whitmore (KTM) 11-16
15. April Zastrow (Honda) 17-14
16. Hailey Larson (Yamaha) 13-19
17. Alyssa Fitch (Honda) 18-17
18. Jessica Smith (Honda) 19-20
Women’s Class Series Points
1. Ashley Fiolek 97
2. Jessica Patterson 87
3. Vicki Golden 78
4. Sherri Cruse 72
5. Sara Price 63
6. Elizabeth Bash 56
7. Tatum Sik 54
8. Jacqueline Strong 39
9. Mariana Balbi 48
10. Sayaka Kaneshiro 47
