AMA-SX: Reed takes brave 12th in Detroit
Published: 14th April 2008
Author: Yamaha Racing
Yamaha's Chad Reed defied chest and back pain to score 12th position in Detroit for the fourteenth round of the 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship last weekend. The Australian crashed heavily in practice and had to visit hospital prior to being released to take his slot in the gate for the main event at Ford Field.
Reed used his AMA provisional 'joker' (that enables riders in the top ten of the standings to miss one qualification and still be eligible to compete) after his accident that saw a diagnosis of a fractured scapula (shoulder blade), and likely some lung bruising among other small ailments. The 25 year old was coughing up blood at one point but was determined not to miss the race.
Gingerly placing his YZ450F - on which he has taken eight victories this season - into the gate, further misfortune struck the series leader when he went down with a gaggle of other riders on the first corner. From that moment Reed looked to salvage what he could by working his way through the pack to claim 12th and lose just 11 points to main title rival Kevin Windham.
"I just put my head down and went for it; I tried to be the best lapper out there," Reed commented. "I can't believe I crashed in the first turn. That's unbelievable. To feel the way I do, crash in the first turn and come back to 12th, this is a win right here. If we're standing in Vegas and we're the champions, this is the one that got it done."
"I've been here before," he added. "With a 27-point lead, I'm not going to just stand and watch it go. I've always been able to go out there and grit my teeth, but this was possibly the worst race of my life. I spent four hours in the hospital, and I was scared for my life, to be honest. I've never coughed up so much blood in all my life. I'm happy to be here."
Reed now holds an advantage of 16 points over Windham. There will be precious little time for the former champion to recover however with the final three rounds in St Louis, Seattle and Las Vegas taking place in the next three weeks.
It is unlikely that AMA Motocross champion Grant Langston will make a return to supercross before the end of the season. The South African had a retinal problem that has kept him on the sidelines for most of the campaign and he is now looking towards a defence of his outdoor crown next month.
Josh Hill was fourth and is the second highest Yamaha rider in the standings. The Detroit event was only the fourth race from fourteen in which a YZ450F has not made the top three.
In the Lites division Ryan Morais was able to obtain his best finish of the year so far with second place.
Also in the United States, Yamaha held a high profile at the Moto X World Championships in San Diego. YZ machinery ruled Supermoto X (Mark Burkhart), Speed and Style (Nate Adams), Moto X Racing (Broc Hepler) and Freestyle (Nate Adams) competitions.
2008 AMA-SX Detroit, MI. 14/04/2008
Race 1 - 20 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 David D Millsaps Honda USA 17'0.620
2 Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 0'2.267
3 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0'12.172
4 Josh Hill Yamaha USA 0'24.752
5 Andrew Short Honda USA 0'27.848
6 Travis Preston Kawasaki USA 0'49.485
7 David Vuillemin Suzuki FRA 0'49.795
8 Charles Summey Yamaha USA -1 Laps
9 Heath Voss Honda USA -1 Laps
10 Jason Thomas Honda USA -1 Laps
11 Kelly Smith Kawasaki USA -1 Laps
12 Chad Reed Yamaha AUS -1 Laps
13 Nathan Ramsey Yamaha USA -1 Laps
14 Ryan Clark Honda USA -1 Laps
15 Eric Sorby Honda USA -1 Laps
Rider Standings 12/04/2008
1. Chad Reed Yamaha AUS 296
2. Kevin Windham Honda USA 280
3. David D Millsaps Honda USA 229
4. Andrew Short Honda USA 221
5. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 191
6. Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 189
7. Nathan Ramsey Yamaha USA 155
8. David Vuillemin Suzuki FRA 137
9. Paul Carpenter Honda USA 122
10. Nicholas Wey KTM USA 121
11. Charles Summey Yamaha USA 120
12. Heath Voss Honda USA 101
13. Travis Preston Kawasaki USA 81
14. Eric Sorby Honda USA 76
15. Jason Thomas Honda USA 74
23. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 38
38. Broc Hepler Yamaha USA 3
Manufacturer Standings 12/04/2008
1. Yamaha 317
2. Honda 302
3. Kawasaki 251
4. Suzuki 186
5. KTM 121