Round one is in the books at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The first Lites class victory of 2009 went to Jake Weimer of the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. It was a good night for Mitch Payton’s camp, as Weimer’s teammate, Ryan Morais, took second, followed by Ryan Dungey, who salvaged a sub-standard night to land on the podium.
Lites Heat 1
The first Lites heat Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Morais out front early followed by Justin Brayton of the Muscle Milk/MDK KTM team, and Ryan Dungey in third. Dungey appeared to have bike problems on the first lap and he was forced to DNF the race halfway into the first lap. Morais’ teammate, Jake Weimer moved into third, and the Pro Circuit duo began to squeeze Brayton out of second place.
Weimer eventually got around his teammate, Morais for the lead, which he held to the end. Brayton held on to third behind Morais, and Chris Gosselaar and Jeff Alessi rounded out the top five.
Lites Heat 1 Results:
1. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
2. Ryan Morais (Kaw)
3. Justin Brayton (KTM)
4. Chris Gosselaar (Kaw)
5. Jeff Alessi (Hon)
6. Ben Evans (Hon)
7. Mike Sleeter (KTM)
8. Michael Horban (Yam)
9. Sean Borkenhagen (Hon)
(Top 9 transfer to main event)
10. Carlos Gonzalez (KTM)
11. Jerry Lymburner (Yam)
12. Cole Seely (Suz)
13. Michael Lapaglia (Suz)
14. Derek Costella (Hon)
15. Danny Bajza (Hon)
16. Michael Hall (Yam)
17. P.J. Larsen (Kaw)
18. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
19. Rhett Urseth (Kaw)
20. Sean Collier (Yam)
Lites Heat 2
Geico Powersports Honda teammates Trey Canard and Dan Reardon came out swinging, both battling for the holeshot and banging bars in the second turn. Reardon led the early charge, but Canard soon relieved him the of top spot.
Boost Mobile’s Jason Lawrence made his return to racing at Anaheim, after finishing up his suspension from AMA Pro racing at the end of 2008. J-Law didn’t get the best start, but made quick progress coming up from fourth. Lawrence soon made his way into second behind Canard. Lawrence almost looked content to sit behind Canard and take second, but Canard soon handed off the lead when he went down in a corner. From there, Lawrence rode to a calm win, while Canard re-mounted to re-join the race in third, where he finished behind his teammate, Reardon.
Troy Lee Designs’ Chris Blose finished fourth while Cedric Soubeyras of France rounded out the top five.
Lites Heat 2 Results:
1. Jason Lawrence (Yam)
2. Dan Reardon (Hon)
3. Trey Canard (Hon)
4. Chris Blose (Hon)
5. Cedric Soubeyras (Yam)
6. Kyle Cunningham (Kaw)
7. Shaun Skinner (Hon)
8. Ryan Clark (Hon)
9. Adam Chatfield (Hon)
(Top 9 transfer to main event)
10. Daniel Hendrix (Hon)
11. Justin Kenney (KTM)
12. Mickael Musquin (Yam)
13. Eric McCrummen (Hon)
14. Alex Martin (Hon)
15. Deven Raper (Kaw)
16. Jason Potter (Hon)
17. Ross Johnson (Hon)
18. Topher Ingalls (Yam)
19. Scott Champion (Hon)
20. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
Lites LCQ
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey made quick work of the LCQ, running away with the lead. Ryan Sipes followed in second place with Fun Center Suzuki teammates Michael Lapaglia and Cole Seely dicing for third. Sipes was the last rider to make it to the main, however, as he finished second to Dungey in the LCQ.
Lites LCQ Results:
1. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
2. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
(Top 4 tranfer to main event)
3. Cole Seely (Suz)
4. Michael Lapaglia (Suz)
5. Eric McCrummen (Hon)
6. Derek Costella (Hon)
7. Topher Ingalls (Yam)
8. Jerry Lymburner (Yam)
9. Alex Martin (Hon)
10. Carlos Gonzalez (KTM)
11. Rhett Urseth (Kaw)
12. Mickael Musquin (Yam)
13. Danny Bajza (Hon)
14. Ross Johnson (Hon)
15. Deven Raper (Kaw)
16. Scott Champion (Hon)
17. Jason Potter (Hon)
18. P.J. Larsen (Kaw)
19. Daniel Hendrix (Hon)
20. Justin Kenney (KTM)
21. Michael Hall (Yam)
22. Sean Collier (Yam)
Lites Main Event
A first lap crash certainly mixed things up for the 250F class main event. While Geico Powersports Honda’s Dan Reardon grabbed the holeshot and was off to an early lead, Jake Weimer followed in second. Jason Lawrence, Kyle Cunningham and Trey Canard were involved in the pile-up following the second turn.
Reardon, meanwhile, was making a run for it while Weimer began to close the gap with Brayton, Sipes, Morais and Blose in tow. Dungey was working his way up from a mid-pack start and Lawrence (also working his way through the pack) wasn’t far off.
It didn’t take long for Weimer to gain control of the race leaving Reardon, Brayton and Morais to battle for the runner-up position. Coming out of the whoop section, however, Reardon tangled with Brayton, sending both riders to the ground and handing second place over to Morais. Brayton was able to re-join the race but Reardon was not.
Both Dungey and Lawrence were impressive with their charges through the pack and into the top five. Dungey managed to land on the podium, finishing third behind the Pro Circuit Kawasaki duo of Weimer and Morais. Jason Lawrence was fourth across the line, but was docked a position at the finish for cutting the track when he crashed and re-entered the track on the opposite side.
Lites Main Event Results:
1. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
2. Ryan Morais (Kaw)
3. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
4. Chris Blose (Hon)
5. Jason Lawrence (Yam)
6. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
7. Justin Brayton (KTM)
8. Jeff Alessi (Hon)
9. Ben Evans (Hon)
10. Chris Gosselaar (Kaw)
11. Ryan Clark (Hon)
12. Sean Borkenhagen (Hon)
13. Adam Chatfield (Hon)
14. Trey Canard (Hon)
15. Shaun Skinner (Hon)
16. Cedric Soubeyras (Yam)
17. Mike Sleeter (KTM)
18. Michael Horban (Yam)
(DNF) Dan Reardon (Hon)
(DNF) Kyle Cunningham (Kaw)
