Pourcel Wins East Opener

Cycle News Staff | February 20, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 20, 2010) – Talking to Christophe Pourcel you would have never known the defending AMA Supercross Lites East Champion was coming off collarbone surgery, resulting in  very few practice hours on the bike leading up to the season opener. But the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit rider was very matter of fact in assessing his race win at Indy. “I planned on winning and I did,” Pourcel said.  Simple as that.  With Pourcel being a foreigner and not having complete command of English, one might write off his incredible confidence as something perhaps lost in translation. Whatever the case, Pourcel was the man to beat all night in the Lites class and in the final he put up the results to back his talk. He led every lap and never appeared to break a sweat in his 5.2-second victory over Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Austin Stroupe. Justin Barcia finished a close third on the GEICO Powersports Honda. The difference pre-race between Pourcel and Stoupe was obvious. Pourcel was loose and supremely confident, while Stroupe was somewhat withdrawn, feeling the pressure of the battle.  That attitude carried over into the final. Pourcel took off and ignored the slick track, flicking his Kawasaki into the turns and throttling up without fear. Stroupe was tighter on the bike, preferring to keep his Suzuki’s wheels in line. Stroupe looked tidy and precise, but unwilling to go outside his comfort zone. “This track wasn’t the kind of track I wanted to push on,” said Stroupe, who won Indy last year. “So I settled for second tonight, I’ll train hard this week and move on to Atlanta and see what we can come up with.” Barcia got the holeshot, with Pourcel in hot pursuit. “I got a good start and passed him [Barcia] on the triple,” said Pourcel, who improved on his second-place finish here in ’09. “It was all good. I felt pretty good on the track and got like a six-second lead and that was it and I just rode smooth. The track was slippery and a bit dangerous. My shoulder felt better than I expected. I think I’ll be alright in the morning with some pills or something.” Barcia said he started the day slow, but progressively worked his way to the top group by his heat race. He crashed in the final, but was quickly back on the bike and worked hard to score the podium result. “It took me awhile to get things figured out, but once I did everything felt great,” said Barcia, a 17-year-old making his debut in the series. “Third place is pretty good. Mike LaRocco told me not to make any mistakes and sure enough I lost the front end on the sand about six laps in. I got up and kept charging and got to third, so it was good.” Ryan Sipes was fourth Moto Concepts/FMF Yamaha, frustrated that he rode too cautiously in the closing laps. Geico Powersport Honda’s Brett Metcalfe recovered from a hard crash in his Heat race and scored fifth. Round two of the series takes place next Saturday in Atlanta.Lucas Oil Stadium

Indianapolis, Indiana

Results: February 20, 2010 (Round 1 of 7)HEAT 1 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Austin Stroupe (Suz); 2. Justin Barcia (Hon); 3. James Decotis (Hon); 4. Michael Willard (Hon); 5. Brett Metcalfe (Hon); 6. Taylor Futrell (KTM); 7. Jake Moss (Suz); 8. Vince Friese (Yam); 9. Levi Kilbarger (Hon); 10. Darryn Durham (Hon); 11. Gared Steinke (Yam); 12. Nico Izzi (Yam); 13. Shane Sewell (Yam); 14. Nicholas Jackson (Hon); 15. Kyle Cunningham (Hon); 16. Drew Yenwerich (Yam); 17. Lucas Crespi (Suz); 18. Tony Gallo (Hon); 19. Codi adams (Yam); 20. Les Smith (Yam).Race Time: 5 min., 11.154 sec.Margin of Victory:  3.234 sec.HEAT 2 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 2. Ryan Sipes (Yam); 3. Kyle Regal (Yam); 4. Martin Davalos (Yam); 5. Troy Adams (Suz); 6. Dean Wilson (Kaw); 7. Adam Chatfield (Kaw); 8. Blake Baggett (Suz); 9. Tevin Tapia (KTM); 10. Josh Lichtle (Yam); 11. Justin Sipes (Kaw); 12. Alex Martin (Hon); 13. Kyle Gills (Kaw); 14. Jason Hussey (Kaw); 15. Steven Clarke (Suz); 16. Kyle Keylon (Suz); 17. Kurtis McCabe (Hon); 18. Vernon McKiddie (Kaw); 19. Michael Akaydin (Kaw); 20. Matthew Lemoine (Suz).Race Time: 5 min., 09.289 sec.Margin of Victory: 3.288 sec.LCQ (4 laps, 1-2 transfer): 1. Kyle Cunningham (Hon); 2. Nico Izzi (Yam); 3. Darryn Durham (Hon); 4. Justin Sipes (Kaw); 5. Gared Steinke (Yam); 6. Kyle Gills (Kaw); 7. Matthew Lemoine (Suz); 8. Vernon McKiddie (Kaw); 9. Alex Martin (Hon); 9. Alex Martin (Hon); 10. Michael Akaydin (Kaw); 11. Steven Clarke (Suz); 12. Kyle Keylon (Suz); 13. Codi Adams (Yam); 14. Jason Hussey (Kaw); 15. Shane Sewell (Yam); 16. Nicholas Jackson (Hon); 17. Less Smith (Yam); 18. Lucas Crespi (Suz); 19. Josh Lichtle (Yam); 20. Tony Gallo (Hon); 21. Drew Yenerich (Yam); 22. Kurtis McCabe (Hon).Race Time: 3 min., 27.418 sec.Margin of Victory: 1.145 sec.MAIN (15 laps): 1. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 2. Austin Stroupe (Suz); 3. Justin Barcia (Hon); 4. Ryan Sipes (Yam); 5. Brett Metcalfe (Hon); 6. Dean Wilson (Kaw); 7. Kyle Regal (Yam); 8. Nico Izzi (Yam); 9. Martin Davalos (Yam); 10. Troy Adams (Suz); 11. Blake Baggett (Suz); 12. Jake Moss (Suz); 13. Levi Kilbarger (Hon); 14. Adam chatfield (Kaw); 15. Taylor Futrell (KTM); 16. Michael Willard (Hon); 17. Vince Friese (Yam); 18. Kyle Cunningham (Hon); 19. Tevin Tapia (KTM); 20. James Decoits (Hon).Race Time: 13 min., 09.972 sec.Margin of Victory: 5.221 sec.EASTERN REGIONAL MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS LITES CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 1 of 7 rounds): 1. Christophe Pourcel (25/1 win); 2. Austin Stroupe (22); 3. Justin Barcia (20); 4. Ryan Sipes (18); 5. Brett Metcalfe (16); 6. Dean Wilson (15); 7. Kyle Regal (14); 8. Nico Izzi (13); 9. Martin Davalos (12); 10. Troy Adams (11); 11. Blake Baggett (10); 12. Jake Moss (9); 13. Levi Kilbarger (8); 14. Adam chatfield (7); 15. Taylor Futrell (6); 16. Michael Willard (5); 17. Vince Friese (4); 18. Kyle Cunningham (3); 19. Tevin Tapia (2); 20. James Decoits (1).