Lites Heat 1
Once the gate finally dropped for the first Lites heat, many of the key players suffered mistakes and falls to allow a shake up for the rest of the night. After getting the holeshot, Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM rider Martin Davalos was leading until getting connected with a fast closing Austin Stroupe and his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, with both going down at the nearly vertical wall at the end of the whoops. They would remount and go on to transfer directly to the main, after Stroupe’s impressive charge to fifth and Davalos came back to ninth. Geico Powersports/Honda’s Blake Wharton had a small rookie mistake over the dragon back section that affected numerous riders, including his older brother Tyler and his MDK Motorsports Honda. Blake would only complete two laps of his heat, and Tyler would also fall in the long whoop section a few laps later. Suzuki City rider Matt Goerke would also become a victim of a fall and would only do three laps around the circuit to force himself a spot in to the LCQ. The top five finishers would be Wil Hahn, Darryn Durham, Levi Kilbarger, Philip Nicoletti, and Austin Stroupe.
1. Wil Hahn
2. Darryn Durham
3. Levi Kilbarger
4. Phil Nicoletti
5. Austin Stroupe
Photos by Bayo Olukotun
Lites Heat 2
The second heat for the Lites class started out with Moto Concepts/Honda’s Vince Friese nailing the holeshot and leading the first few laps like last weekend in Atlanta. Friese would lead for multiple laps before dropping to fourth place, after holding off Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki youngster Nico Izzi and forcing him not to triple on the first lap. Izzi would later power by and build an impressive lead to finish the race in five minutes nineteen seconds over Suzuki City rider and England native Steven Clarke. Canidae/Motosport/Kawasaki’s Branden Jesseman was smooth and consistent throughout the race for a third place finish, while Star Racing Yamaha’s Matt Lemoine picked off five riders in three laps to a well earned seventh place. Meanwhile, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider and the current point leader going in to tonight, Christophe Pourcel mounted a charge of his own, crossing the stripe in fourteenth the first time around to fifth by lap two. The final top five would be Izzi, Clarke, Jesseman, Pourcel, and Daniel Blair.
1. Nico Izzi
2. Steven Clarke
3. Branden Jesseman
4. Christophe Pourcel
5. Daniel Blair
Lites LCQ
The Lites LCQ was a family reunion for the Wharton brothers, as they would both be fighting for the final two tickets into the Main Event, along with a gate full of hungry riders. But Blake’s rookie year reached a low point, as he didn’t achieve the position he needed; that would go to his older brother Tyler and his MDK Honda. Kyle Gills got the holeshot and win he promised his mechanic and locked himself into the fifteen lap main. Matt Georke would not be so lucky, after a hard earned third place resulted in the Asterisk Gas Card. Joining him in the stands would be Jason Thomas and Josh Litchle, both of whom had various difficulties in the race.
1. Kyle Gills
2. Tyler Wharton
TAGS: Austin Stroupe, chad reed, Christophe Pourcel, indianapolis, indy, james stewart, Mike Alessi, Nico Izzi, Race Report, ryan villopoto, supercross
