Stewart, Sipes Fastest In Houston SX Qualifying
Cycle News Staff | February 12, 2011
Timed qualifying is in the books at the Houston Supercross and, once again, it’s San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart at the top of the leaderboard. However, the series points leader is in close company.
In the Lites class, the East Coast rider finally got the chance to see how they stack up against each other for the first time, and Ryan Sipes, on the DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha, set the bar with the quickest lap time in qualifying.Stewart, however, was the fastest overall with a 48.567, but he’s joined by two other riders in the 48s – Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto. Dungey recorded a 48.676 and Villopoto a 48.708. Unlike the previous two Supercross races, Stewart chose to ride the final qualifying session, but for just four laps. But that was all he needed.
There are eight riders in the 49-second bracket, that group led by Team Honda’s Trey Canard with a 49.002. Kyle Chisholm, on the MotoConcepts Yamaha, rounded out the top five. Other riders in the 49-second bracket include KTM Red Bull’s Andrew Short, Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGR Yamaha’s Justin Brayton, GEICO Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham and TwoTwo Motorsports Honda’s Chad Reed.KTM Red Bull’s Ken Roczen is the final rider in the 49s, right behind JGR Yamaha’s Davi Millsaps.Three riders are in the lead group among the Lites-class racers. Sipes heads them all with a 49.583, followed by Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders Blake Baggett and Dean Wilson.
There are 10 riders all bunched up in the 50-second bracket, which is led by DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha’s Gannon Audette, who is closely followed by Darryn Durham, Nico Izzi, P.J. Larsen, Justin Barcia and Matthew Lemoine.Qualifying 14th fastest, the last rider in the 50-second group was Malcolm Stewart, the younger brother of James Stewart. Riding a Suzuki City RM-Z250, Stewart recorded a 50.911.
