AMA SX Wrap Chapter 1
Published: 17th January 2008
Author: Steve Cox
The wait is over and the smack talk stops as the gate finally drops on the 2008 AMA SX series…
Coming into Anaheim I just about everyone’s lost in the talk about defending AMA supercross champ James Stewart - and rightfully so as Stewart dominated the 2007 series with 13 wins on his way to his first AMA SX crown. But Chad Reed hasn’t exactly been secretive about his desire to no longer be an also-ran at the races and the Aussie draws first blood.
As Team Yamaha’s Grant Langston grabs the first holeshot of the year, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Stewart finds himself on the ground in the first turn and is forced to remount in last place. “I was a little late off the gate,” Stewart says. “I don’t know if I spun or what. I almost looped it out but I got a handful of throttle and headed into the first corner and I thought I was going to get the holeshot, actually, because I don’t know who it was - maybe Langston - overshot the corner a little bit and I was cruising around and got hit from the rear and it pushed my front end out.
“Obviously, I was stuck there. I knew it was a Honda. I think it might have been Windham or somebody stuck in my bike so I had to wait for them to get going and by then I was way back.”
Reed has three previous wins in Anaheim and he grabs the lead from Langston before the end of the first lap, only to stall on lap two and hand the lead back to Langston while Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi assumes second, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry takes over third and Reed gets back going again in fourth.
“I knew I needed to get there and get a good start and it was rutty and every mistake that I made was always around people so I wanted to put together a good start and get out there,” Reed says. “I saw GL and we came together in the first turn and from there it was all blue. I put my head down and made a mistake and I stalled it – I don’t know where that came from but I did that twice tonight. I don’t know if it was my fault or not.”
Reed works his way back by the front three over the next three laps and takes the lead back over on lap five. At this point Stewart’s already running sixth. Reed immediately begins to stretch his lead out over Langston and Ferry on the muddy, rutted track while Stewart tries to find his way by the duo. At the halfway point of the 20-lap race Langston’s forced to single the finish line double by a lapper which allows Ferry to close up on him but as Ferry and Langston fight it out for second Stewart jumps past both of them over the track’s infield triple to take over the runner-up spot, about 10 seconds behind Reed.
Ferry also fights his way by Langston a few laps later and from there the race is over. “We definitely went back and forth,” Ferry says of his battle with Langston for third. “Me and Grant were so close in speed that it came down to who was going to make a mistake. Obviously, the track was really, really tough, so I was definitely glad to come out on top. He had a really good outdoor season so it’s good to start out this supercross season ahead of him.”
So Reed wins the series opener followed by team-mates Stewart and Ferry. Langston hangs on for fourth while Torco Racing Fuels Honda’s Kevin Windham comes home fifth after starting outside the top 10.
“This off-season was pretty brutal,” Reed says of the speculation surrounding his motivations. “A lot of things were questioned from my riding to my weight to whether or not I wanted to race or wanted to win. I guess fat guys can win too! It’s all good. I took it all for the right reasons. I felt like I needed a break. The outdoors were wearing on me and I wasn’t having fun and I went and did things that were fun and that I chose to do – driving cars or whatever. I partied all summer and I had a great time. I’m not going to lie. I brought it to the races when it counted.”
Stewart’s second place still puts him only three points behind Reed in the chase for the 2008 championship. “I was able to get to the top five, I was able to get around those guys and then once I was in second Chad was gone,” Stewart says. “I was happy about it. I felt like coming from last to second was like a win. I showed some heart and it felt good.”
Although the 450s don’t disappoint, most pit pundits expect the Lites class to supply the fireworks at Anaheim I and the small bikes pull through. Torco Racing Fuels Honda’s Dan Reardon grabs the Lites holeshot over Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Stroupe, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, MDK KTM’s Justin Brayton, Stroupe’s team-mate Brett Metcalfe and Boost Mobile/Yamaha of Troy’s Jason Lawrence.
Reardon leads the first four laps before Lawrence finds his way past his flailing competition on the tricky, rutted track and into the lead. However, Dungey’s hot on his heels and finds his way by at the halfway point of the 15-lap Main.
“I think I clicked up into second gear on the start and I think I forgot and clicked up again and started in third,” Lawrence says. “I didn’t come out that good but at the end of the first lap I was in fifth so there were a lot of people not taking the good lines. Pretty much I was right there in the beginning. I tried to be real patient and get to the front and I did and then Ryan jumped in behind me and made it tough and I was getting nervous so I backed it down.”
Dungey takes over the lead and Lawrence follows him but then Lawrence falls down on the tricky track and loses touch with Dungey. From here it is all Dungey.
“I thought it’d be good if I followed him for a while and pressured him into a mistake but I followed him and I pressured myself into a mistake,” Lawrence says. “I went down and Ryan won but I’m three points behind. I can’t complain.”
Lawrence hangs on for second - just in front of Brayton, Reardon and Stroupe - but just like the beginning of the Lites East championship last year round one belongs to Dungey.
“We all bunched up and I was in second waiting to get into first and I kind of got slammed in a corner and then got back to fourth,” Dungey says of the beginning of his race. “Then Lawrence and Brayton got by me. But I was proud of myself because last year, being a rookie, I would’ve freaked out but this year I was acting mature. I took my time and let it come to me. I got a lead and finally put in some good laps. Everybody put up a fight tonight so it was good.”
Series standings Supercross
1 Chad Reed 25 points
2 James Stewart 22
3 Timmy Ferry 20
4 Grant Langston 18
5 Kevin Windham 16
6 Mike Alessi 15
7 Davi Millsaps 14
8 Andrew Short 13
9 Nick Wey 12
10 David Vuillemin 11
Lites
1 Ryan Dungey 25
2 Jason Lawrence 22
3 Justin Brayton 20
4 Dan Reardon 18
5 Austin Stroupe 16
6 Tommy Hahn 15
7 Gavin Gracyk 14
8 Andrew McFarlane 13
9 Chris Blose 12
10 Will Hahn 11