Race Report - Steel City
Chris
- September 05 2009
- 19,231 views
- 36 comments
words: Antonovich
photos: Kinman
The whirlwind 12-stop tour that is the Lucas Oil AMA National Championship came to a close in Pennsylvania, and the racing was met with clear skies (a blessing, considering the previous east coast rounds). Two titles were still to be decided when the day began, as both the Lites class and the WMA championships were still hanging in the balance at the end of a long summer that started in May on the opposite side of the country at Glen Helen. With two six motos left in one of the most unpredictable seasons in AMA history, the surprises continued up until the champagne and sweat soaked number one plate was finally handed over. While it’s nowhere near as good as being there, here is the final race report of the 2009 AMA National Championship.
250 Moto One
The gate clanged into the PA soil and Geico Powersports/Factory Connection/ Honda rookie Justin Barcia bolted to the first turn with the early lead. Just behind him, the title contenders of Rockstar/Makita/ Suzuki hotshot Ryan Dungey and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s French import Christophe Pourcel made their way around the recent overall winner and went to the top two spots to try and settle the championship in thirty-five minutes. Dungey would attempt multiple passes in Pourcel, sneaking on the inside and going wide around Pourcel in the rhythm and downhill sections, but Pourcel would fire right back and hold off the USA MXoN team member. The contenders were close enough for the majority of the race that it was easy to see the different styles the two have; Pourcel’s smooth and consistent flow and Dungey’s more American wide open attack. On the closing laps, Dungey did falter and lost a bit of time to Pourcel, then hung back and stayed in second, losing minimum points going into the second moto with a slight point lead over Pourcel. The duo’s lead over Justin Barcia was well over fourteen seconds, a clear display of the speed the two possess.
250 Moto One Results
1. Christophe Pourcel
2. Ryan Dungey
3. Justin Barcia
4. Jake Weimer
5. Austin Stroupe
6. Ryan Sipes
7. Ryan Morais
8. Blake Wharton
9. Brett Metcalfe
10. Steven Clarke
250 Moto Two
Moto two had a shake up for the holeshot, as Christophe Pourcel came across the stripe first with Ryan Dungey buried in the back of the top ten. The Kawasaki rider had a clear track ahead and started to gap the rest of the field as RD10 fought through traffic to keep damage control on his point lead, and would come to fifth place by the end of the first lap. Dungey made his way around the third and fourth place rookies of Geico Powersports/Factory Connection/Honda’s Blake Wharton and privateer Pro Circuit/Kawasaki supported Blake Baggett, and the two Blake’s would battle back and forth while keeping Dungey from establishing too massive of a gap. Ten seconds ahead of the three Americans, Pourcel led the final laps of the season and won the overall, but Dungey’s 2-2 scores were enough to clinch his first AMA National title.
Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM’s Tommy Searle had a rough final day to his season; while chasing Blake Wharton in the first moto the front end seemed to wash out, and he re-fired in a puff of smoke. The second moto would have him running second to Pourcel before another crash dropped him to sixth. Justin Barcia would be unable to match his success from the first moto, and could only muster a thirteenth in the final race of the day. Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM rider Ryan Sipes would also put in solid results with a 5-6 for his day’s scores, which was enough for a fourth overall.
250 Moto Two Results
1. Christophe Pourcel
2. Ryan Dungey
3. Blake Wharton
4. Blake Baggett
5. Ryan Sipes
6. Tommy Searle
7. Brett Metcalfe
8. Jake Weimer
9. Broc Tickle
10. Austin Stroupe
Overall
1. Christophe Pourcel 1-1
2. Ryan Dungey 2-2
3. Blake Wharton 8-3
4. Ryan Sipes 6-5
5. Jake Weimer 4-8
6. Justin Barcia 3-13
7. Austin Stroupe 5-10
8. Brett Metcalfe 9-7
9. Tommy Searle 13-6
10. Blake Baggett 17-4
Championship Points
1. Ryan Dungey 503
2. Christophe Pourcel 492
3. Brett Metcalfe 378
4. Jake Weimer 353
5. Justin Barcia 340
6. Tommy Searle 332
7. Broc Tickle 285
8. Blake Wharton 273
9. Tyla Rattray 236
10. Matt Lemoine 189
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September 6th, 2009 at 3:59 am
good fer tommy he deserves it!!
September 6th, 2009 at 4:01 am
I WAS THERE AND IT WAS CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 6th, 2009 at 4:38 am
A KTM won a moto!!!!!!!!!! HOLY SH!T. I never thought i would see that. Wouldve thought Short or Byrne woulda won a moto before brayton though.
September 6th, 2009 at 5:39 am
dungenator rocks frenchie…to bad for pourcel….i mean…dnf at southwick again for pro-circuit??? what..next year maybe tone the power down mitch and win the champ. right…i mean year before….four dnf's…and this year 2…at the same track???..way to go ryan…it was your year…and i pulled for that…and tommy deserves that win too…next supercross…i can't wait….thank's for a great year….
September 6th, 2009 at 7:36 am
For the most part, Pourcel rocked the Dungenator. He didn't build the motor or the start gate at Lakewood. Or make the Mickey-Mouse flag ruling at Hangtown(?) that cost him points. On the track he was the rocker, Dungey more often the rockee. But it's why they run the races.
September 6th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Hey Truth, is that the first time a KTM has won a moto in the big bike class?? Might be wrong, but i think it is. Never thought it would happen before the 2011 linkage bike. Or the 350cc one.
September 6th, 2009 at 8:28 am
all well and good, but remember people, Sir Chad won the championship… AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OI OI OI!!!
Byrner got 4th.
and Metty got 3rd in the lites. FINE JOB LADS!!!
September 6th, 2009 at 9:34 am
It is a shame for Pro Circuit to get engine problems on pourcel's bike, in both motos in southwick. They loose the championship because of that. Poor…
September 6th, 2009 at 10:08 am
dont forget mossy with the 4th overall
September 6th, 2009 at 10:34 am
alessi won 2007
September 6th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
yeah the PC bike problems made it somewhat anti-climatic, but thats one of the best parts of racing! Again, why i love southwick. Running two motos at southwick is part of this championship! the wick put on the ebst show this year, i though. They were all great! one of the best MX seasons ever i though. Cant wait til the big dogs come to play next year! hopefully they all stay healthy..
September 6th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
USA, USA, USA!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
September 6th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Has any one heard that dungey may go to San Man.. Yamaha team nxt Year??
September 6th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I doubt it. Stewart wouldnt want that bc Dungey is to fast to drop drop back and make take out moves on Chad.
September 7th, 2009 at 12:17 am
he already signed with suzuki
September 7th, 2009 at 4:31 am
Dungey and JS are friends,Dungey rides at his house when they are on they east coast! There is Video of it on this site.. I was just wondering about that San man. deal i guess it was just another net rumor.. I think JS 1 will have another team mate next yr hell it could be shorty the honda guys struggled big time this year! I really dont think JS 1 needed to much help to beat Reed! But get this JS 1 has a younger brother who is being groomed by none other, then the Kawi Boys… Check out some of his vids on you tube..
September 7th, 2009 at 5:59 am
Malcom will never be the rider James is. Sure he is fast, but i don't think he will ever have the speed to run with James, Chad, Villopoto, etc….
September 7th, 2009 at 6:10 am
Ryan hasn't been training with James for awhile now. He has had a place in Tallahassee for almost a year and has been riding at Ricky's with Tedesco.
September 7th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
or get a factory ride
September 7th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Dungey lucky guy, you suck, Pourcel is the real deal.
September 7th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
dungey got lucky and chad reed is still a joke he wins when everyone gets hurt and when he loses all he does is make excuses like "throwing up" when he pulled off cause he sucks at life js7 pwns him
September 7th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
You are trying too hard.
September 7th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
go aussies, reed, moss, byrne
September 7th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Its all racing, in a perfect world where no one gets hurt or there bikes dont blow up and the riders dont crash JS 1 would own all these guys in the 450 class and it appears that he dosent really have to much more to prove to any body . Pourcel would do the same in the 250 class but thats not the case, JS 1 still gives these guys the ghost any way even some times when he crashes and he has Reed coverd Pourcel i give him another year and its a whole new ball game,as far as Malcom is concerned who knows what he will do he is still a amature but i would'nt rule him out for the future and he already has a factory ride.What gets me is all the guys that have factory rides and they get beat by support riders who are HUNGRY! Honda should pick a new team.RV will be healthy come Jan .10!! Its a whole new season in a few months.And by the way when JS1 was comming up he use to train at RC's home also,I read that in the very first interview he did back in the day when he turned pro..
September 8th, 2009 at 4:16 am
JS 1…who's that guy?
I does not matter who was hurt or who did not ride the nationals…if he really wanted to be out there he would of pulled something together. Reed had a supercross deal as well, and he pulled some strings, put an insurance claim, bet on himself to win before he knew stewart was not racing outdoors and before alessi,grant, rv hurt themselves. Stewart as amazing, but reed deserved the championship. Avoiding injuries is part of being a champion, and in order to win a championship you must first race the races. I love stewart, but to discredit the racers who won the races this year is foolish
September 8th, 2009 at 5:40 am
JS 1 = James Stewart #1
get with the program danny-o
you ruh-tard.
September 8th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
No but…rumors of alessi going to JGR
September 9th, 2009 at 1:13 am
js1 blah blah blah the man can ride and he is extremly fast and talented. But where was he for the outdoors at home. The 1 thing i cant stand is a supercross only rider. These guys get paid big bucks and have it all laid out for them. Yes they sacrifice alot from the amatuer ranks up and they work it is not always easy. But what about the guys that put in the same effort if not more you know the ones who never catch that money break. bUT THEY HAVE A BIGGER HEART THAN MOST PROS, yet they never get noticed. I heard a mechanic tell a rider once years ago " Son you cant out run money" Thats the way the industry works now its all about who you know not what you know,Lets face it at the end of the day its all about how many bikes can we sell.
September 9th, 2009 at 3:31 am
really? It was a reference to supercross when kyle chrisohlm came into chad reed, which reed then responded kyle chrisholm? Who's that guy. Sarcasm duh
September 9th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
lets all hope stewart doesnt race outdoors again, best season in the us since ricky was spanking stewart all over the place! oh and you got to admit the aussies are looking good for the mxDn!
September 9th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
ewwww i hate seeing dungey even on the box! bc he tries to sound just like ricky
September 12th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
yeah dungey and reed sucked their way to championships…
September 15th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Yeah that it!!!! My brother Jake Moss!
September 15th, 2009 at 6:50 am
Hell yeah!!!! Go jake Moss!!!
September 16th, 2009 at 3:23 am
why did reedy pull off im confused
September 21st, 2009 at 12:39 am
Southwick '09 was the first (and to date only) MX race I've ever seen, and I am hooked! I ride trails and street myself, so I have some clue how grueling those motos must be, but I was unprepared for how exciting it was to watch, it's way cooler than racing on macadam (preaching to the choir here I suppose).
I wish there was a track near my home (there was, and then some jerk built houses next to it and you know what came next). I especially enjoyed the WMA motos because, frankly, it was easier to follow with a less crowded field (an audible PA system would help too, FWIW). Patterson absolutely blew doors there, no one else was even close, not to take anything from Ms. Fiolek who obviously had built a formidable lead elsewhere. We were rooting for Pourcel, simply out of love for la france et une francaise, mais il ne fait pas si bien la… c'est dommage.