Reed storms San Francisco…
Published: 28th January 2008
Author: Pondo
As a deluge strikes the AT&T Park in the race by the bay, the Thunder from Down Under reigns supreme…
Heavy rain on the west coast of America meant that preparations for the San Francisco round were abbreviated and somewhat sketchy - a delayed schedule, and with the track kept under wraps as late as possible, meant that the track was surprisingly good, given the amount of precipitation in the area. But as much as a wet race normally means a change in the regular results, Chad Reed was in no mood to jazz things up by performing at anything less than his dazzling best.
But the performance of the meeting, before the main events, had to be that of Broc Hepler. The Hamburger hit difficulties in his heat race and had to go to the LCQ - for a rider of his quality, that wouldn’t normally be a problem, but in a mud race, all bets are off. The factory Yamaha star then had a first turn mishap that put him off track and dead-last in a four lap race with, on the face of it, no way back. But no-one told Broc that -the flame-haired youngster just pulled the trigger and came charging back through the field, aware that he needed to make the main to keep his viable challenge for the championship alive. Incredibly, he made ten passes on lap one, and came across the line in second place, fully qualified for the main…
But when it came to the Lites main, it was Tommy Hahn, Austin Stroupe and Jason Lawrence who got out first - pre-season title contender Lawrence put in a great ride, fast and rock solid as others fell aside, to take his first Supercross win. Championship leader Dungey, in contrast, had a relatively wretched crash-marred ride to seventh, with Super Broc down in twelfth. The closing stages were notable for a battle between Tommy Hahn and Brett Metcalfe over second - unfortunately for Metty, when the white flag flew in the rain-shortened race, Pro Circuit’s resident Aussie mistook it for the chequers, slowing down and handing Hahn the podium gift-wrapped and with a lovely ribbon on top. Dungey still holds a comfortable lead over Reardon, J-Law and Hepler - just not as comfortable a lead as he held before.
Tim Ferry got an uncharacteristic holeshot in the Supercross class main event as the rain started to pour, but Kevin Windham sailed by on lap one for the lead. Davi Millsaps started third but went straight for Ferry to try and pressure K-Dub, quickly making his way by to be shortly followed by Ivan Tedesco and Reed, who tripled past Ferry on lap two. The race then settled into a battle of wills, the plaudits and the prizes going to those making the fewer mistakes rather than the outright fastest. Head and shoulders above the rest at that game was Chad Reed - with the exception of a so-so start, Speedy Reedy didn’t put a foot wrong all night, and just let the race come to him, his presence seemingly buffeting the rest off the track and out of the way. Kevin Windham was next on the list - K-Dub only made a couple of mistakes, but his inability to go for the big doubles and triples cost him time. Not so Davi Millsaps - the Duke was up for clearing everything in sight, but the slick conditions made it a dangerous proposition, and he got bit more than once. Ivan Tedesco and Grant Langston both had great rides, coming back from deep in the pack, but both suffered a late race entanglement to finish behind Jake Marsack - Michigan privateer Marsack’s fourth place was a genuine heart-warming turn-up for the books.