Supercross Qualifying
Mike Alessi rocketed out front on his MotoConcepts Racing machine, and took the holeshot in the first heat. Heading into the first rhythm section, James Stewart took an inside line of Alessi, and that moved him into first. In an effort to repeat was his teammate did, Davi Millsaps tried to make the pass on Alessi, but he ran into the rear wheel of Stewart and fell back a few laps. After three laps, Andrew Short advanced into third, while Chad Reed and Ivan Tedesco moved into fourth and fifth, respectively. Reed quickly caught up to Short, but be fell back to 11th when he washed out entering the sand section. When the checkered flag came out, Stewart held onto the lead after eight laps, and he took the win in heat number one. Brett Metcalfe put on a hard charge through the pack after suffering from a bad start, and he moved his way into fifth by the end of the race.
Heat One Results
1. James Stewart (Yam)
2. Mike Alessi (Suz)
3. Andrew Short (Hon)
4. Ivan Tedesco (Kaw)
5. Brett Metcalfe (Suz)
6. Davi Millsaps (Yam)
7. Broc Tickle (Kaw)
8. Chad Reed (Hon)
9. Weston Peick (Kaw)
Phoenix Supercross second place finisher Jake Weimer took the holeshot in heat number two, but had some company from his Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate, Ryan Villopoto, by the first turn. In his second race back, Canard made the push into third on the first lap and would battle for the duration of the heat with Jake Weimer. The two would exchange numerous passes in just eight short laps with Weimer eventually locking the spot. The action between the two allowed Villopoto to speed away without any pressure.
Heat Two Results
1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
2. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
3. Trey Canard (Hon)
4. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
5. Ryan Morais (Yam)
6. Josh Grant (Kaw)
7. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw)
8. Kevin Windham (Hon)
9. Josh Hansen (Kaw)
Supercross LCQ
Justin Brayton would be the first of the “heavy hitters” not to make a main event this season. A rough heat race forced the Honda rider to the LCQ, where Brayton was able to grab the early lead and motor away over rivals Nick Wey and Kyle Partridge, who were consumed in a fight of their own for the last spot in the main event. A miscue through the whoops tossed Brayton to the bales that lined the track and the time spent remounting his machine dropped him to eighth place, deep in the field with little time to charge back. Partridge and Wey would continue to duel, now for the lead, with Matt Georke waiting in the wings for the slightest mistake. Partridge would hold off Wey for the win, but both would transfer to the twenty lap finale.
1. Kyle Partridge
2. Nick Wey
Supercross Main
A heavy cloud was cast over the 450 main event after a vicious crash that included Trey Canard, Ryan Morais, Nick Wey, and Kyle Partridge forced a red flag and complete restart. The moments after the accident were tense, as the medics tended to the motionless Morais and Canard without haste and the remaining riders were ushered back to the starting gate as the two were loaded on to the medical carts.
Jake Weimer’s holeshot and lead would set the tone for the rest of the moto, as the Kawasaki rider countered attacks by the likes of Chad Reed and James Stewart with close lines and scrubs just inches away from the veteran racers. Reed’s faster line down the third base lane would allow him to squeeze inside Weimer before the halfway point. Stewart would also pass the Idaho native in the same place, albeit with more aggression which caused Weimer to drop his bike and fall to eleventh place. With the race under his control, Reed built a lead over second place Stewart and third place Ryan Dungey and maintained the calm demeanor that the Aussie is known for. Stewart would falter after casing the final jump in a long rhythm section and quickly stepped off the side of the bike, handing second place to Dungey. The distance the two had built on fourth place Brett Metcalfe allowed Stewart to remount and still finish on the podium.
With a ride that was seemingly a mirror image of the previous week’s effort, Ryan Villopoto clawed through the pack after being knocked to last place on the first lap. As the other seventeen riders launched over the finish line, Villopoto worked to remove his bike from the safety block that it was perched upon. Over the next twenty laps, Villopoto knifed his way past riders and made it to fourth place, mere feet away from Stewart.
| Overall 1. Chad Reed 2. Ryan Dungey 3. James Stewart 4. Ryan Villopoto 5. Brett Metcalfe 6. Davi Millsaps 7. Josh Hansen 8. Broc Tickle 9. Kevin Windham 10. Mike Alessi 11. Jake Weimer 12. Kyle Chisholm 13. Nick Wey 14. Andrew Short 15. Weston Peick 16. Kyle Partridge 17. Josh Grant 18. Ivan Tedesco 19. Trey Canard 20. Ryan Morais |
450 Class West Championship Standings (After 3 of 17 rounds) 1. Ryan Dungey (67pts/1 win) 2. Chad Reed (63pts/1 win) 3. Ryan Villopoto (63pts/1 win) 4. James Stewart (48pts) 5. Jake Weimer (48pts) 6. Kevin Windham (43pts) 7. Brett Metcalfe (42pts) 8. Josh Hansen (32pts) 9. Andrew Short (32pts) 10. Davi Millsaps (27pts) |
Top Lap Times
1. Ryan Villopoto 54.341
2. Chad Reed 54.446
3. James Stewart 54.565
4. Ryan Dungey 54.750
5. Jake Weimer 55.313
With three weeks of consistent results, Ryan Dungey now controls the point lead. As the tour heads to Oakland, CA, it appears that the 2012 season has just as many variables that 2011 possessed, if not more.
TAGS: chad reed, dodger stadium, eli tomac, james stewart, la, ryan villopoto, supercross, SX
