The Supercross class can be found on PAGE TWO
By Steve Matthes
Photos by Brendan Lutes
Round sixteen of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series took place in the high altitude of Salt Lake City inside the beautiful Rice-Eccles Stadium. The 450 championship was settled last week, but this week the highly competitive West Coast Lites Championship chase was decided with Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer taking home the title. It was his first professional championship, and he wrapped it up by finishing fifth in Salt Lake’s main event. In the Supercross class, veteran Geico Powersports/Honda’s Kevin Windham dominated all day to grab his second consecutive win of the season. The win also moved him comfortably into the runner up position in the points standings heading into the final round in Las Vegas next weekend. All throughout the day, rain loomed in the distance, but never materialized until the gate dropped for the first Lites heat race of the night.
Lites Qualifying
It was the Jake Weimer show from start to finish as the number 12 Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki grabbed the holeshot and led wire-to-wire. Rockstar Suzuki’s Ryan Morais ran second the whole way in a good ride while Morais’ teammate Hunter Hewitt was third until a spill in the whoops four laps in. Meanwhile, MotoConcepts/Yamaha’s Travis Baker went down early in the race and had to work his way up to fifth. He was also one of the only riders hucking the triple almost every lap.
The second 250 heat saw Geico Powersports/Honda’s Trey Canard take the holeshot with Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Josh Hansen close behind. Behind the two leaders, the two Troy Lee/Lucas Oil/Honda riders Wil Hahn and Cole Seely were tucked in behind. The whoops were starting to get slick with the rain pouring down and the bikes beating them up. And because of this, became a source of many problems for the riders including Canard. On the final lap, the Honda rider went down in the whoops, handing the lead and win over to Hansen. Hahn was third and Seely was fourth with Canard’s teammate Blake Wharton in fifth.
Heat One:
1. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
2. Ryan Morais (Suz)
3. Broc Tickle (Yam)
4. Jeff Alessi (Yam)
5. Travis Baker (Yam)
6. Jake Canada (Kaw)
7. Chris Gosselaar (Hon)
8. Hunter Hewitt (Suz)
9. Chris Howell (Yam)
Heat Two:
1. Josh Hansen (Kaw)
2. Trey Canard (Hon)
3. Wil Hahn (Hon)
4. Cole Seely (Hon)
5. Blake Wharton (Hon)
6. Max Anstie (Yam)
7. Phil Nicoletti (KTM)
8. Bobby Kiniry (Suz)
9. Sean Borkenhagen (KTM)
Lites Main Event
The rain was coming down hard when the 30-second board turned sideways, making the already difficult conditions even more trying. The first two riders down the straight whe the gate dropped were Wil Hahn and Josh Hansen with Hahn grabbing the inside in the next right and coming out with the lead. And even though the Troy Lee/Honda rider was riding with the effects of a separated shoulder, he was giving it his all in an attempt to secure second in the championship standings.
The riders behind the top two were unable to triple on the opening lap, causing them to fall further behind. While up front, Hansen made his move on Hahn early and started to check out. Behind them Trey Canard, Ryan Morias and Hunter Hewitt all battled for the final podium position. As for points leader Jake Weimer, he had some tough opening laps and at one point was just outside the top 10. If Hahn had won the race, Weimer would have needed to get tenth or better, which added a little bit of excitement towards the midway point of the race.
Meanwhile up front, Hansen was able to keep stretching out his lead to over 15 seconds ahead of Hahn. Wil, however, had his own problems, as Canard slowly worked his way up to his rear fender and eventually made the pass to take second.
With that, the race was all but over. Hansen took home his first win of the season in a dominating ride with Canard second and Hahn third.
RESULTS:
1. Josh Hansen (Kaw)
2. Trey Canard (Hon)
3. Wil Hahn (Hon)
4. Ryan Morais (Suz)
5. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
6. Broc Tickle (Yam)
7. Phil Nicoletti (KTM)
8. Hunter Hewitt (Suz)
9. Travis Baker (Yam)
10. Jeff Alessi (Yam)
West Coast Lites Points Standings (After 8 of 8 rounds):
1. Jake Weimer (171/4 wins)
2. Wil Hahn (156)
3. Trey Canard (153/2 wins)
4. Broc Tickle (140/1 win)
5. Blake Wharton (116)
6. Josh Hansen (100/1 win)
7. Cole Seely (100)
8. Phil Nicoletti (83)
9. Max Anstie (82)
10. Ryan Morais (76)
TAGS: dirt bike, jake weimer, josh hansen, kevin windham, rain, salt lake city, slc, Snow, supercross, SX
