Chad Reed kicked off the 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series with an impressive performance at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, tonight, topping Kawasaki teammates James Stewart and Tim Ferry for the win on a rutted and slippery track.
A steady rain on Friday left the Anaheim course extremely wet and in poor condition despite the fact that it had been covered until mid-day today, and when the gate dropped in the 20-lap final the track was still quite slippery and deeply rutted.
At the start of the main event, Yamaha’s Grant Langston emerged from the first turn with the lead, while Reed followed just behind. Meanwhile, Stewart lost his front wheel heading into the turn, starting a chain reaction that also collected Honda riders Kevin Windham and Ivan Tedesco.
By the end of the opening lap, Reed had moved his L&M Yamaha around Langston, as the two led Suzuki’s Mike Alessi, Ferry and KTM’s Nick Wey through the opening lap.
Reed gave the lead right back to Langston on lap two, however, when he stalled his bike while trying to remove a tear-off. But the Aussi quickly rejoined the action, retaking the lead on lap four with an impressive pass on Langston.
In the meantime, Stewart quickly and methodically work his way through traffic, moving into the runner-up position by the halfway point of the race, however by that time Reed had pulled to a 12 second advantage over the field.
Reed extended his lead to 21 seconds over Stewart by the finish, easily taking his fourth Anaheim victory, while Stewart finished second ahead of Ferry and Langston.
“I have been thinking about this race since last May,” said Reed. “I knew I needed a good start tonight and had to fight. I have been working really hard, and this win shows that hard work pays off.”
Windham, who won the 2005 Anaheim opener under similar conditions, battled back from his first lap crash to finish fifth, with Alessi in sixth and Honda riders Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short finishing seventh and eighth.
In the Lites division, Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey out-dueled Yamaha’s Jason Lawrence to take the win in an exciting 15-lap final.
Lawrence took the early lead after passing holeshotter Daniel Reardon (Torco Honda) on lap five. Reardon, Lawrence, Dungey and KTM’s Justin Brayton jockeyed for the lead during the first half of the race, with Dungey taking over on the seventh lap with an aggressive pass on Lawrence over the triple jump. Lawrence followed Dungey closely until he crashed on lap nine, at which point Dungey pulled clear of the pack to finish with an eight second margin over Lawrence while Brayton coasted home for an impressive third.
“This is awesome,” said Dungey. “Coming from Minnesota, this is a huge win for me. I could not do this without my entire family. It was a great race, and we will see who comes out on top at the end of the season.”
Supercross Final
1. Chad Reed (Yam)
2. James Stewart (Kaw)
3. Tim Ferry (Kaw)
4. Grant Langston (Yam)
5. Kevin Windham (Hon)
6. Mike Alessi (Suz)
7. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
8. Andrew Short (Hon)
9. Nick Wey (KTM)
10. David Vuillemin (Suz)
Lites Final
1. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
2. Jason Lawrence (Yam)
3. Justin Brayton (KTM)
4. Daniel Reardon (Hon)
5. Austin Stroupe (Kaw)
6. Tommy Hahn (Kaw)
7. Gavin Gracyk (Hon)
8. Andrew McFarlane (Kaw)
9. Chris Blose (Suz)
10. Wil Hahn (Yam)
