Round two of the AMA Supercross Championship is in the books and after a disappointing first round at Anaheim, James Stewart was able to rebound and take the win in the Supercross class in front of a packed stadium at Phoenix, Arizona’s Chase Field.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Chad Reed kept it a close race in the premier class, finishing within a second of Stewart after 20 laps on the fast Phoenix track. JGR/Toyota/Yamaha’s Josh Grant proved that last week was no fluke, finishing a lonely third ahead of the Red Bull Honda duo of Ivan Tedesco and Andrew Short.
Supercross Heat 1
Villopoto grabbed the first premier-class holeshot of the evening with Honda’s Davi Millsaps not far off. Reed ran in third followed by Kevin Windham and Mike Alessi. Reed didn’t waste time making a move toward the front, looking for a way around Millsaps before Villopoto checked out.
Reed would eventually get around Millsaps and Villopoto to take the heat win. RV held on for second while Millsaps slipped back to fifth, letting Windham and Short by.
Supercross Heat 1:
1. Chad Reed (Suz)
2. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
3. Kevin Windham (Hon)
4. Andrew Short (Hon)
5. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
6. Mike Alessi (Suz)
7. Robert Kiniry (Kaw)
8. Troy Adams (Hon)
9. Nick Wey (Yam)
10. Steve Boniface (Hon)
11. Kyle Partridge (Hon)
12. Daniel Blair (Hon)
13. Ben Lamay (Yam)
14. Matt Boni (Hon)
15. Troy Carroll (Kaw)
16. Vince Friese (Hon)
17. Kyle Keylon (Hon)
18. Chad Ward (Kaw)
19. Tyler Bowers (DNF)
20. Jerred Browne (DNF)
Supercross Heat 2
Josh Grant took the holeshot and the early lead in the second Supercross heat race. Stewart wasn’t far off, followed by Charles Summey, Josh Hansen and Timmy Ferry. Inside of one lap, the race belonged to Stewart. Summey was looking strong and maintained a strong third. Ferry made his way around Hansen and looking to challenge Summey for third. Tedesco also moved his way up, closing in for a good three-way battle for third, but Summey held on.
Supercross Heat 2:
1. James Stewart (Yam)
2. Josh Grant (Yam)
3. Charles Summey (KTM)
4. Ivan Tedesco (Hon)
5. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)
6. Josh Hill (Yam)
7. Josh Hansen (Hon)
8. Paul Carpenter (Kaw)
9. Travis Preston (KTM)
10. Cole Siebler (Hon)
11. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw)
12. Sean Hamblin (Yam)
13. Manuel Rivas (Kaw)
14. Jake Marsack (Hon)
15. Jason Hussey (Kaw)
16. Ben Coisy (Hon)
17. Antonio Balbi (Hon)
18. Gregory Crater (Hon)
19. Cody Coper (Yam)
20. Daniel McCoy (Hon)
Supercross LCQ
Matt Boni grabbed the holeshot in the Supercross class LCQ, and was able to hang on to the lead for four laps, earning one of the last qualifying spots. Daniel Blair started second, and grabbed the final slot on the gate for the main event.
Supercross LCQ:
1. Matt Boni (Hon)
2. Daniel Blair (Hon)
3. Sean Hamblin (Yam)
4. Cole Siebler (Hon)
5. Steve Boniface (Hon)
6. Kyle Partridge (Hon)
7. Manuel Rivas (Kaw)
8. Gregory Crater (Hon)
9. Troy Carroll (Kaw)
10. Ben Coisy (Hon)
11. Antonio Balbi (Hon)
12. Vince Friese (Hon)
13. Ben Lamay (Yam)
14. Jason Hussey (Kaw)
15. Jacob Marsack (Hon)
16. Chad WArd (Kaw)
17. Kyle Chisholm (Yam)
18. Kyle Keylon (Hon)
19. Cody Cooper (Yam)
20. Jarred Browne (Kaw)
21. Daniel McCoy (Hon)
22. Tyler Bowers (Hon)
Supercross Main Event
Josh Grant again grabbed the holeshot with Stewart in second and Reed running a close third followed by Alessi. A pile-up in the sand section on the first lap caused the leaders to get away while nearly the entire field was slowed by the chaos.
Grant didn’t give anything up easily, but Stewart was in control by the green flag, and Reed made his way into second at the start of the third lap. Grant soon found himself in a very lonely third place where he remained solidly between the battle for first and the rest of the pack.
Villopoto was buried in the pack, working his way through the field. He was starting to gain some momentum in his charge, but tangled with Alessi and hit the ground as he was working his way up. RV slipped back to 12th before he got moving again, and struggled to re-gain a handful of positions in the remaining laps.
Reed kept it a tight race and never let Stewart out of his sight. The Phoenix crowd was on their feet as Reed closed in on Stewart in the final laps of the race, but the two kept it clean, and Reed was never quite able to stick a wheel in on Stewart. The San Manuel Yamaha rider took his first Supercross victory of the season and Reed finished nearly a half-second behind, claiming second overall.
Josh Grant’s third-place finish still leaves him in the points lead, now a mere three points over Chad Reed who now sits in second. Stewart sits in seventh, finally on the board after a disappointing DNF in last week’s first round.
Supercross Main Event:
1. James Stewart (Yam)
2. Chad Reed (Suz)
3. Josh Grant (Yam)
4. Ivan Tedesco (Hon)
5. Andrew Short (Hon)
6. Kevin Windham (Hon)
7. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
8. Josh Hill (Yam)
9. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)
10. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
11. Mike Alessi (Suz)
12. Charles Summey (KTM)
13. Paul Carpenter (Kaw)
14. Travis Preston (KTM)
15. Nick Wey (Yam)
16. Robert Kiniry (Kaw)
17. Josh Hansen (Hon)
18. Daniel Blair (Hon)
19. Troy Adams (Hon)
20. Matt Boni (Hon)
