The penultimate Supercross round in California produced a lot of excitement as 43,812 diehard fans braved the rain and cold temperatures inside Angel Stadium in Anaheim to witness San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart take his fifth consecutive win of the 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.
Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Chad Reed, meanwhile, brought home his fifth straight second-place finish to retain the points lead. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer, of Rupert, Idaho, garnered his third win in the AMA Arenacross Lites class and grabbed the class points lead.
Stewart led the field through the first corner with Red Bull Honda’s Davi Millsaps and JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha’s Josh Grant in tow. The 2007 series champion never looked back and led all 20 laps of the main event. Reed found himself mid-pack off the start and moved into the top five by the second lap.
Reed would continue his charge, breaking into the top three on lap five and into second before the halfway mark. He maintained a blistering pace to close in on Stewart, but settled for the runner-up spot.
Millsaps held of the late charges of teammate Ivan Tedesco, and despite throwing some elbows and swapping some paint in the last turns of the race, Millsaps grabbed the last podium spot, leaving his teammate to collect fourth.
“Man it was crazy out there,” explained Stewart. “I was just riding out there and realized it was raining. We got one more race out here in California and so far it’s been good. The thanks really goes out to my team. Larry Brooks, San Manuel and all the crew; they’ve been awesome this year.”
“It was sketchy,” said Reed. “I just tried to put in some consistent laps. The guys put the bike together for the mud and we just tried as hard as we could. Starts are part of the race. I just need to work on them. I really want to thank my team Rockstar/Makita Suzuki. I’m definitely feeling a lot better now than I have been.”
Weimer opened the AMA Supercross Lites main event with a modest start, but worked his way to the front behind leader Justin Brayton, of the Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM team before the conclusion of the first lap. The two riders engaged in a heated battle until lap eight when Weimer made the winning pass and brought teammate Ryan Morais along with him. Morais would stay close, keeping Weimer honest to bring home a runner-up finish. Brayton maintained his hold on third.
“Yeah, this is a huge win, for sure,” said Weimer. “Once I got by Justin [Brayton] I just kept my head down and tried to ride consistent for the rest of the main. It feels great to take the points lead and the momentum going into San Diego next weekend.”
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey was left to do damage control after he found himself on the ground in the first turn along with Chris Blose, Trey Canard and Ryan Sipes. Dungey came around nearly dead-last, but worked his way back up to a top-five finish, carding fourth for the night ahead of Jeff Alessi, who turned in his best performance of the year with a fifth-place finish.
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Results: February 7, 2009 (Round 5 of 8)
SX LITES HEAT 1 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Ryan Dungey (Suz); 2. Chris Blose (Hon); 3. Dan Reardon (Hon); 4. Ben Evans (Hon); 5. Kyle Cunningham (Kaw); 6. PJ Larsen (Kaw); 7. Ryan Clark (Hon); 8. Sean Borkenhagen (Hon); 9. Daniel Hendrix (Hon); 10. Jake Moss (Hon); 11. Carlos Gonzalez (KTM); 12. Rhett Urseth (Kaw); 13. Eric McCrummen (Hon); 14. Michael Sleeter (KTM); 15. Scotty Wennerstrom (Kaw); 16. Michale Horban (Yam); 17. Michael Hall (Yam); 18. Ross Johnson (Hon); 19. Tanner Reidman (Suz); 20. Travis Freistat (Yam).
Race Time: 6 min., 53.44 sec.
Margin of Victory: 6.78 sec.
SX LITES HEAT 2 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Jake Weimer (Kaw); 2. Ryan Morais (Kaw); 3. Justin Brayton (KTM); 4. Trey Canard (Hon); 5. Ryan Sipes (KTM); 6. Jeff Alessi (Hon); 7. Justin Keeney (KTM); 8. Adam Chatfield (Hon); 9. Derek Costella (Hon); 10. Brady Sheren (Suz); 11. Danny Bajza (Hon); 12. Hunter Meyer (Hon); 13. Alex Martin (Hon); 14. Mitchell Rask (Hon); 15. Cole Seely (Suz); 16. Michael Lapaglia (Suz); 17. Topher Ingalls (Yam); 18. Shaun Hillion (Kaw); 19. Christopher Gosselaar (Kaw); 20. Jerry Lymburner (Yam).
Race Time: 6 min., 34.724 sec.
Margin of Victory: 5.588 sec.
SX LITES LCQ (4 laps, 1-2 transfer): 1. Jake Moss (Hon); 2. Eric McCrummen (Hon); 3. Christopher Gosselaar (Kaw); 4. Cole Seely (Suz); 5. Brady Sheren (Suz); 6. Hunter Meyer (Hon); 7. Michael Sleeter (KTM); 8. Jerry Lymburner (Yam); 9. Rhett Urseth (Kaw); 10. Michael Lapaglia (Suz); 11. Michael Horban (Yam); 12. Scotty Wennerstrom (Kaw); 13. Danny Bajza (Hon); 14. Tanner Reidman (Suz); 15. Topher Ingalls (Yam); 16. Carlos Gonzales (KTM); 17. Mitchell Rask (Hon); 18. Shaun Hillion (Kaw); 19. Alex Martin (Hon); 20. Michael Hall (Yam); 21. Ross Johnson (Hon); 22. Travis Freistat (Yam).
Race Time: 4 min., 42.882 sec.
Margin of Victory: 3.626 sec.
SX LITES MAIN (15 laps): 1. Jake Weimer (Kaw); 2. Ryan Morais (Kaw); 3. Justin Brayton (KTM); 4. Ryan Dungey (Suz); 5. Jeff Alessi (Hon); 6. Ryan Sipes (KTM); 7. Dan Reardon (Hon); 8. PJ Larsen (Kaw); 9. Chris Blose (Hon); 10. Eric McCrummen (Hon); 11. Adam Chatfield (Hon): 12. Trey Canard (Hon); 13. Ryan Clark (Hon): 14. Jake Moss (Hon); 15. Kyle Cunningham (Kaw); 16. Ben Evans (Hon); 17. Sean Borkenhagen (Hon); 18. Derek Costella (Hon); 19. Justin Keeney (Hon); 20. Daniel Hendrix (Hon).
Margin of Victory: 3.470 sec.
WESTERN REGIONAL MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS LITES SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 5 of 8 rounds): 1. Jake Weimer (113/3 wins); 2. Ryan Dungey (110/2 wins); 3. Ryan Morais (102); 4. Justin Brayton (88); 5. Ryan Sipes (69); 6. Chris Blose (68); 7. Dan Reardon (56); 8. PJ Larsen (51); 9. Jeff Alessi (39); 10. Eric McCrummen (38); 11. Trey Canard (36); 12. Ben Evans (36); 13. Jason Lawrence (34); 14. Adam Chatfield (34); 15. Kyle Cunningham (33); 16. Ryan Clark (25); 17. Sean Borkenhagen (21); 18. Cole Seely (20); 19. Mike Sleeter (19); 20. Cedric Soubeyras (18).
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Results: February 7, 2009 (Round 6 of 17)
SX HEAT 1 (8 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Davi Millsaps (Hon); 2. Chad Reed (Suz); 3. Tommy Hahn (Kaw); 4. Heath Voss (Hon); 5. Timmy Ferry (Kaw); 6. Josh Hill (Yam); 7. Steve Boniface (Hon); 8. Kyle Chisholm (Yam); 9. Troy Adams (Hon); 10. Jarred Jet Browne (Kaw); 11. Jacob Marsack (Hon); 12. Andrew Short (Hon); 13. Chris Johnson (Suz); 14. Michael Blose (Hon); 15. Vince Freise (Hon); 16. Jack Carpenter (Kaw); 17. Ben Lamay (Yam); 18. Tyler Bowers (Hon); 19. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw); 20. Vernon McKiddie (Hon).
Race Time: 8 min., 34.499 sec.
Margin of Victory: 2.801 sec.
SX HEAT 2 (8 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. James Stewart (Yam); 2. Josh Grant (Yam); 3. Ivan Tedesco (Hon); 4. Kevin Windham (Hon); 5. Nick Wey (Yam); 6. Daniel McCoy (Hon); 7. Matt Boni (Hon); 8. Mike Alessi (Suz); 9. Josh Hansen (Hon); 10. Manuel Rivas (Kaw); 11. Paul Carpenter (Kaw); 12. Eric Sorby (Yam); 13. Gregory Crater (Hon); 14. Travis Preston (KTM); 15. Kyle Partridge (Hon); 16. Adam Metzler (Hon); 17. Antonio Balbi (Hon); 18. Charles Summey (KTM); 19. Ben Coisy (Hon); 20. Cole Siebler (Hon).
Race Time: 8 min., 27.806 sec.
Margin of Victory: 13.942 sec.
SX LCQ (6 laps, 1-2 transfer): 1. Andrew Short (Hon); 2. Paul Carpenter (Kaw); 3. Ben Lamay (Yam); 4. Jacob Marsack (Hon); 5. Tyler Bowers (Hon); 6. Michael Blose (Hon); 7. Manuel Rivas (Kaw); 8. Jarred Jet Browne (Kaw); 9. Vince Friese (Hon); 10. Charles Summey (KTM); 11. Eric Sorby (Yam); 12. Adam Metzler (Hon); 13. Christopher Johnson (Suz); 14. Gregory Crater (Hon); 15. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw); 16. Vernon McKiddie (Hon); 17. Jack Carpenter (Kaw); 18. Antonio Balbi (Hon); 19. Travis Preston (KTM); 20. Kyle Partridge (Hon); 21. Ben Coisy (Hon); 22. Cole Siebler (Hon).
Race Time: 6 min., 39.402 sec.
Margin of Victory: 2.388 sec.
SX MAIN EVENT (20 laps): 1. James Stewart (Yam); 2. Chad Reed (Suz); 3. Davi Millsaps (Hon); 4. Ivan Tedesco (Hon); 5. Josh Grant (Yam); 6. Andrew Short (Hon); 7. Kevin Windham (Hon); 8. Josh Hill (Yam); 9. Kyle Chisholm (Yam); 10. Timmy Ferry (Kaw); 11. Mike Alessi (Suz); 12. Matt Boni (Hon); 13. Steve Boniface (Hon); 14. Paul Carpenter (Kaw); 15. Nick Wey (Yam); 16. Heath Voss (Hon); 17. Daniel McGoy (Hon); 18. Josh Hansen (Hon); 19. Tommy Hahn (Kaw); 20. Troy Adams (Hon).
Race Time: 20 min., 42.523 min.
Margin of Victory: 3.386 sec.
MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS, AN FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 6 of 17 rounds): 1. Chad Reed (130); 2. James Stewart (127/5 wins); 3. Josh Grant (111/1 win); 4. Andrew Short (102); 5. Ivan Tedesco (91); 6. Ryan Villopoto (88); 7. Kevin Windham (82); 8. Davi Millsaps (75); 9. Mike Alessi (68); 10. Timmy Ferry (67); 11. Josh Hill (64); 12. Paul Carpenter (46); 13. Heath Voss (45); 14. Nick Wey (32); 15. Ben Coisy (31); 16. Matt Boni (24); 17. Kyle Chisholm (23); 18. Cole Siebler (23); 19. Steve Boniface (18); 20. Charles Summey (13).
