Minutes before the Houston Supercross this weekend, a tornado
touched down not far from the track, and the winds were strong
enough to rip the awnings off several of the factory semis parked
in the pits, including that of the Honda Torco Racing Fuels truck—
the team was undoubtedly upset.
Shortly thereafter a tornado of another type entirely touched
down on the track: Honda Torco Racing Fuels Kevin Windham on
his Honda CRF450R. This CRF450R-powered storm flat blew away
every other bike on the track, and gave K-Dub a well-deserved
win in the premier class.
The Houston track, while built by Dirt Wurx, had been designed
by Windham as well. Windham actually drove to the event, living
just five hours from Houston. The track didn’t give Windham any
advantage, though. After the race, number 14 commented, “Man,
I screwed up. I should’ve built this track like my track at home.”
In the first heat races of the night, Honda Red Bull Racing rider
Davi Millsaps was once again right up front, finishing second and
followed closely by teammate Andrew Short. The Millsaps/Short
rivalry isn’t talked about much in the press, but this year it’s
providing fans with some of the best, closest racing on the track.
Millsaps was injured for much of the Motocross season last year,
while Short came within a race of winning the National
Championship.
In the second heat, it was all about Windham, the Centreville,
Mississippi rider scoring an easy win. A heat win is nice, but
everyone kicks it up a notch when the main comes around.
When the gate dropped in the main, it was Honda Red Bull
Racing’s Davi Millsaps with another great holeshot, the second in
two races. Millsaps lit out and rode hard, serving notice that this
was going to be a gloves-off fight right from the first turn. With
Windham right behind, it was Honda one-two for the first lap.
It’s tough to fall in the first laps of a race: the pack is so close
and dense that a downed rider can lose a dozen positions in only
a second. That’s what happened to Millsaps, and by the time he
was up and rejoined the race it was in 20th position.
Andrew Short, meanwhile, had also gotten an excellent start,
completing the first lap in fourth, and then moving up into third
when Millsaps fell. Short held that position until lap eight, riding
in front of series leader Chad Reed. As the leaders began to
approach lapped traffic, though, there was some reshuffling of
the second, third, fourth, and fifth-place riders. Eventually Short
ended up in fifth, where he finished.
Millsaps had begun his charge back, passing three and four
riders per lap. By lap nine, he’d moved from last to ninth. As
you move up in the pack, though, it gets tougher and tougher to
pass, and Millsaps had to settle for an eight-place finish: still
remarkable considering his first-lap mishap.
As for Windham, he just checked out, riding flawlessly and
never challenged once for the lead. “When I got to the lappers
early, Chad [Reed] was in second, I thought to myself, ‘Man,
this is the pivotal point of the race. If I don’t get through these
guys, that’s going to be his chance to tighten up.’ I mean, that
was really the race for me. There were a lot of little steps, but
when you’re racing guys...” full story on hondaredriders.com
pics from tedescophoto.com
Red Riders Race Report: Houston AMA Supercross class
Andrew Short Interview -ozzy go- mxlarge.com
No presentation!
the writer view is ...
pic from hondaredriders.com
2008 « Why Not? Energy Drink » Fantasy SX Ranking -ozzy go- rules & full standing
Ranking after stop #2: Phoenix SX top-21
1. James Stewart (Kawasaki) 93 points
2. Chad Reed (Yamaha) 92 points
3. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 83 points
4. Jason Lawrence (Yamaha) 75 points
5. Andrew Short (Honda) 70 points
6. Kevin Windham (Honda) 64 points
7. Tim Ferry (Kawasaki) 60 points
8. Grant Langston (Yamaha) 53 points
9. Justin Brayton (KTM) 52 points
9. Ivan Tedesco (Honda) 52 points
11. Broc Hepler (Yamaha) 49 points
11. Dan Reardon (Honda) 49 points
13. Mike Alessi (Suzuki) 45 points
14. Josh Hill (Yamaha) 42 points
15. Brett Metcalfe (Kawasaki) 41 points
16. David Millsaps (Honda) 39 points
17. Nathan Ramsey (Yamaha) 37 points
18. Michael Lapaglia (Suzuki) 36 points
19. Jake Weimer (Honda) 35 points {Rank + 27}
19. Wil Hahn (Yamaha) 35 points
21. Tommy Hahn (Kawasaki) 34 points
pic from racerxill.com
Red Riders Race Report: Phoneix Supercross -ozzy go-
After the mud, sweat and cheers of Anaheim 1, the fast, dry
Phoenix Supercross track was something completely different.
And from the action on the track, both the riders and the crowd
approved.
It was also a standout performance from the Honda Red Bull
Racing team and Honda Torco Racing Fuels team. Kevin
Windham nailed down a spot on the podium with Andrew Short
and Ivan Tedesco following in fourth and fifth-places in the
Supercross main event. And young Jake Weimer did even
better, breaking through on his CRF250R to take his first-ever
Supercross Lites win, holding off a last-lap charge and coming
home a well-deserved winner.
Supercross class
Honda Red Bull Racing riders Andrew Short and Ivan Tedesco
served notice of their speed and consistency early on, taking
third and fifth in their heat race. CRF450R-mounted privateer
Heath Voss also advanced straight to the main with a strong
eighth, as did fellow Honda pilot Paul Carpenter in ninth.
The Heat Race 2 saw Honda Red Bull Racing’s Davi Millsaps ride
his CRF450R to an emphatic third place, with Kevin Windham,
the Pirate of the Coliseum, captaining his Honda Torco Racing
Fuels CRF450R to fifth. Bryan Johnson (eighth) and Antonio Balbi
(ninth) also took their Hondas directly into the main event.
When it came time for the Main, Davi Millsaps used the power
and agility of his CRF450R to nail down fourth place off the line,
but a miscue on the second lap sent him back in the pack. Kevin
Windham, however, was carving through the field and heading
for the front from his eighth-place start, taking fourth by the
second lap and third by lap three. In similar fashion, Honda Red
Bull Racing newcomer Ivan Tedesco and his teammate Andrew
Short advanced to fourth and fifth in the early going, the three
Hondas circulating in a virtual Red Tide of roost.
Up at the front, James Stewart was trading places with Anaheim
1 winner Chad Reed: Reed made Stewart work for every tenth
of a second, but Stewart eventually let him put a couple seconds
on the Australian. 
Andrew Short had been hounding Tedesco for fourth in the early
laps, clearly dissatisfied with fifth place: after a few laps of good,
clean, side-by-side racing, he finally edged ahead of Ivan.
Windham cruised just a few bike lengths ahead of the
Short/Tedesco battle, eventually bringing his Honda Torco Racing
Fuels CRF450R home to an impressive podium spot, cementing
his third-place ranking in the season’s points with yet another
inspiring performance. Short’s fourth-place finish at Phoenix put
him in fifth place in season points, with Ivan Tedesco eighth and
Davi Millsaps in ninth.
With his strong finish in Phoenix and the season still young,
Windham was ecstatic to take his first podium of the year.
“The Honda Torco Racing Fuels team had been working hard all
night to get me up here on the podium. I felt like I was close at
Anaheim 1, but I didn’t get it done [when] I went down in the
first corner. - “But I did it here tonight,” continued the veteran.
“I kinda felt like I’d been left out a little bit, I kinda had to get
myself back up here in the limelight. - “It feels good to keep us
old guys up here. I feel...” full story on hondaredriders.com
pics from tedescophoto.com
Red Riders Race Report: Anaheim 1 - Supercross class -ozzy go-
The first Supercross of the year is always a big event:
New teams, new riders, new bikes, and a look at who’s
done their homework in the off season. And what better
place to kickstart the whole circus than at Angel Stadium
in Anaheim, California, just miles from all of the major
players’ corporate headquarters? Given the action in
2007, the 2008 season looks like it’ll be one you’ll
definitely want to watch closely..
A long chain of winter rainstorms in the area gave the
Anaheim track the consistency of chocolate buttercream
frosting. In these treacherous, unpredictable conditions,
anything goes—and pretty much did.
The American Honda team showed up in their new Red
Bull Racing colors, with CRF450R riders Davi Millsaps,
Andrew Short and Ivan Tedesco all itching for the
season’s first gate to drop.
Kevin Windham, riding a CRF450R for the companion
Torco Racing Fuels Honda team, showed his mastery of
the mud early on by taking a strong, confident second
place in his heat, obviously slowing behind eventual heat
winner James Stewart to check out the ever-changing
lines and ruts. Fellow Honda CRF450R riders Ivan
Tedesco and Andrew Short finished right behind
Windham in the heat, showing the team’s strength and
depth.
All bets are off in a mud race, though, and Anaheim was
a perfect example of that. As the gate dropped, the pack
charged off into the first turn. Windham and Tedesco
immediately got caught up in a turn-one dogpile when
Stewart lost the front and crashed in front of them.
Everyone got untangled and restarted, but Windham and
Tedesco were really going to have to fight to regain
position. And fight they did.
Meanwhile, Grant Langston and Chad Reed took
advantage of the confusion to sneak off into the lead,
Reed powering past Langston on the first lap. Reed had
his own problems on the next lap, however, stalling his
bike and letting Langston first place. Reed kept his cool,
though, restarting and setting out to re-pass Langston by
lap four. Mike Alessi, Tim Ferry and Nick Wey rounded
out the top five.
James Stewart was working his way back through the
mud-spattered mob, but with a clear track ahead of him,
Reed had his head down and his speed up, trying to
check out before anyone else could solve the puzzle of
this slippery, unpredictable course.
Stewart worked his way into second by the mid-point of
the race, 16 seconds behind Reed. Stewart closed the
gap further in traffic, down to 13 seconds at one point,
but then seemed to fade, conceding the victory to the
flying Aussie by more than 20 seconds at the end.
Kevin Windham muscled his CRF450R to a fine fifth-place
finish at the end, with fellow CRF450R riders Davi Millsaps
and Andrew Short not far behind in seventh and eighth.
hondaredriders.com - pics from
transworldmotocross.com & tedescophoto.com
Andre Short TransworldMX Interview -ozzy go-
Catching Up With...Andrew Short 12.31.2007
Word at the Honda test track is that Andrew Short
is the man with a plan, cutting the fastest, most
aggressive laps of anyone on the team aboard his
Honda CRF450R. Quiet and soft spoken, Short is
never one to toot his own horn, but while speaking
with the Colorado native you can tell he is plenty
confident going into this weekend’s season opener.
interview on transworldmotocross.com
pic from hondaredriders.com
Andrew Short AMA Interview -ozzy go-
Team Honda’s Andrew Short really impressed me in
the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championships
Presented by FMF. Not only was it his first year on
the 450 in the Motocross class, Short had come back
from a long, injury-induced layoff. Taking a few
races to get going, the 25-year old was soon a
regular podium guy; in particular gathering a pretty
dominant moto win in Texas - as the 2007 season
wound down, Short was in contention for his first
AMA Championship!
Eventually, after all his hard work and determination
to regain his form, Andrew Short would finish third in
points – not bad for the Motocross Class rookie!
With Christmas closing in, and the opening round of
the 2008 Supercross season close behind, I spent
some rare “down” time with Andrew. interview on
amamotocross.com - pic from motocross.com
Reed Wins Again At Bercy SX
USA leads race for team title
Chad Reed continued his run for the Bercy Supercross title with yet another
main event win in Bercy Stadium at the 25th running of the Bercy Supercross
classic in Paris. Tonight’s win, however, was in doubt until the final few laps
of the 15-lap race.
Grant Langston grabbed the holeshot to start the main and quickly pulled
away to a secure lead while Reed got squeezed out in the first turn and
finished the opening lap in fourth.
Langston enjoyed relatively fresh air out front while fellow Yamaha rider
Reed was forced to battle his way past Honda riders Andrew Short and
Jeremy McGrath before he could even think about making a run at
Langston.
Once in second, Reed started to reel the fleeing Langston, setting up what
might have been a suspenseful finish. However, Langston helped Reed’s
cause by crashing wildy off the side of a jump with just four laps to go,
handing Reed a clear path to victory.
With Langston out of the picture, Reed cruised home with the easy win
while Short came home with a well-deserved second.
Langston rebounded for third, while KTM’s Justin Brayton turned in a
spectacular ride, working his way though traffic after a bad start to finish
fourth.
Honda’s Josh Grant improved on last night’s performance to finish fifth with
McGrath adding to Team America’s cause with a sixth.
Reed now holds a commanding lead in the race for the “King of Bercy” title,
while the US squad holds the edge in the team standings. cyclenews.com
Saturday Overall
1. Chad Reed (Australia/Yamaha) 1-1
2. Andrew Short (USA/Honda) 2-2
3. Grant Langston (South Africa/Yamaha) 3-3
4. Justin Brayton (USA/KTM) 5-4
5. Josh Grant (USA/Honda) 6-6
6. Jeremy McGrath (USA/Honda) 7-8
Saturday Race One
1. Chad Reed (Australia/Yamaha)
2. Andrew Short (USA/Honda)
3. Grant Langston (South Africa/Yamaha)
Saturday Race Two
1. Chad Reed (Australia/Yamaha)
2. Andrew Short (USA/Honda)
3. Grant Langston (South Africa/Yamaha)
Saturday Head-to-Head Final
1. Chad Reed (Australia/Yamaha)
2. Grant Langston (South Africa/Yamaha)
pics from sxweekendwindow.blogspot.com
Thor US Open Race Report
The 2007 Rockstar U.S. Open of Supercross was held this past
weekend in Las Vegas, NV. An all-star rider list set the stage for a
preview of the '08 Supercross season and for the first time at the
Open the Lites and the SX class were combined to form a stacked
Open class.
Night 1:
Thor's Chad Reed started off the night with a win in the Superpole
competition taking home the first cash prize of $10K. Chad also
went on to win his heat.
With the qualifiers out of the way, it was on to the main event.
Chad Reed jumped out to an impressive holeshot, adding to his
winnings for the night. After the holeshot, Reed ran away with the
race. Dodging lapped traffic he held on for the win with Grant
Langston picking up the second spot. Andrew Short rounded out
the podium.
Night 2:
Chad Reed started off night 2 with a heat win rockin' the all new
Thor OG Core gear. Although missing out on the Holeshot, he
quickly took over the lead from Billy Laninovich and held on for
win with Tim Ferry coming in 2nd.
Night 2's main event went a bit differently for the win favorites.
Chad Reed got caught in a first turn pile up leaving Jake Weimer
to grab the holeshot. Chad tried to regain his composure and
work his way through the pack but hit the dirt twice more leaving
him with an 8th for the nights racing. Jake Weimer ended up
holding on for the top spot with Josh Demuth and Mike Alessi
filling the podium. With the disappointing end to a great start of a
weekend, Chad still managed to take home the 2nd overall for
the event. Grant Langston worked his way up to 5th in the final
giving him enough points for the title of 2007 U.S. Open Champion
and a $100K bonus check. racerxill.com & thormx.com
Getting Even and Getting Odd at the U.S. Open of Supercross -ozzy go- alpinestarsinc.com
As very recent history has taught us, Chad Reed out-and-out
smoked the field on the opening night of the 2007 Rockstar
Energy Drink U.S. Open by completing a triple play in winning the
Toyota Superpole, his heat easily and, finally, the main event. All
things considered, if one were to walked around the large MGM
Grand parking garage that served as the pit area for the U.S.
Open and taken an ad hoc pole, the general consensus was that
Reed and the dominance he displayed made for an evening of
racing that was downright boring. So much so that on Saturday
morning, as mechanics and team members began preparing the
bikes for the race later that night, many feared another Reed
whitewash. But unlike any city on Earth, in 24 hours, Las Vegas
can change things dramatically — for both the good and the bad
— for a person. In fact after the running of the second night of
the U.S. Open, all one had to do was to ask Chad Reed about
Vegas and what it can do to a person.
Heat number one got the dice rolling on Saturday night in the
MGM Grand Garden Arena with Team Honda’s Andrew Short
racing away to win the opening heat over an impressive, hard
charging Josh Demuth. Chad Reed won heat number two over Tim
Ferry and Team Sobe/No Fear/Samsung/Honda 250F-mounted
Jake Weimer. Michael Byrne led the third heat out and in of the
jam-packed MGM Grand Garden Arena with Mike Alessi and
Branden Jesseman in tow. Just behind were Australian Supercross
champion, Dan Reardon (now riding for the Sobe/No Fear/
Samsung/Honda team), and Grant Langston. On lap number three
new Team Suzuki rider Mike Alessi found a way around Byrne
while Langston moved into third by the finish. LCQ
DNA Energy
Drink/BTO Sports teamsters Jason Thomas and Bryan Johnson
both won their respective last Chance Qualifier races and earned
spots on the gate for the main event.
Reed would get back up and take off only to rear end the blue
fender of Grant Langston’s Yamaha. From that point, for all
intents and purposes, it was all over but the shouting for Reed.
When the checkered flag was grabbed and waved manically,
young Jake Weimer was the first rider to meet it. Somewhere out
there on the floor of the arena the fate of the winner of the 2007
U.S. Open hung in the balance. Mike Alessi had zapped Michael
Byrne for fourth, while Grant Langston had made it all the way
back to fifth. In a frenzy, the mathematics were done and it was
declared that 2007 AMA National Motocross Champion Grant
Langston had won the 2007 Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open of
Supercross with a somewhat unbelievable overall score of 2-5.
“Man, I don’t know where to begin,” beamed Langston atop the
podium. “It was the wildest race I ever been in my life. I got hit
about 15 times that time, and I hit about five people and I didn’t
know where I was. I looked at my pit board and it looked like
Japanese! This is just unbelievable. I just did what I could. I got a
pretty good jump off the gate but I got collected up in that mess,
but it’s racing and I didn’t give up. It just fell in my lap!”
It was also an amazing night in Sin City for Jake Weimer, his win
both impressive and shocking in nature. “Tonight I got a little bit
of luck on the start, got into the lead, and it was a long 20 laps,”
he smiled. “My team is doing an awesome job and I’m super
pumped to be up here.” alpinestarsinc.com
Langston Wins Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open $100,000 Check
Lites Class Racer Weimer Wins Main Event
Yamaha’s Grant Langston, of Clermont, Fla., won the Rockstar
Energy Drink U.S. Open at the packed MGM Grand Garden Arena
tonight finishing 2-5 and winning $100,000. Honda’s Jake Weimer,
of Rupert, Idaho, won the main event.
“That was the craziest race of my entire life,” said an elated
Langston. “I was hit about 15 times out there tonight, and I hit 15
people myself. I didn’t know where I was at, so I kept looking at
my pit board. I never gave up tonight.”
Last night’s champion, Chad Reed, needed to win the Progressive
Holeshot and the main event tonight to win the $250,000 Trifecta
Bonus Award. Earlier in the evening, he captured the superpole,
which put him one step closer to the jackpot.
When the gate dropped, the field of 14 riders sprinted to the first
turn. Reed, Langston and Tim Ferry tangled in turn one, ending all
hopes of winning the $250,000. Weimer won the Progressive
Holeshot with fellow Honda rider Josh Demuth, of Keller, Texas, in
tow.
“I never gave up after that crash,” added Langston
On lap 11 Reed and Honda’s Andrew Short, of Smithville, Texas,
collided and crashed. Upon re-entering the race, Reed crashed
again with Langston. Weimer held on for the win, Demuth finished
second and Suzuki’s Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., finished
third.
“That was an awesome race,” said Weimer. “I crashed last night
and made up for it tonight with a great start.”
Last night Reed led all 20 laps of the main event, beating
Langston and Short respectively. “I was going for the holeshot
and went down,” said Reed. “Timmy (Ferry) had a bad night last
… we race with a lot of emotion and things happen.”
Although Langston and Reed tied in overall points, Langston was
awarded the victory due to his fifth-place finish over Reed’s
eighth-place finish tonight. In the two race format, the results of
the second race take precedence over the first race.
Honda’s Mike LaRocco swept both nights of racing in the
Alpinestars Rematch race. LaRocco, who won the 2002 U.S. Open
championship, and Jeff Emig, who won the 1999 U.S. Open
championship, traded positions several times in tonight’s main
event before Emig stalled the bike in the corner, allowing LaRocco
to run away with the win. ussx.com - pics from vitalmx.com
US Open Saturday Results
MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV, October 13, 2007
2007 Rockstar Energy Drink US Open Day Two
US Open Saturday Main Event
1. Jake Weimer (Honda CRF250R)
2. Josh Demuth (Honda CRF450R)
3. Mike Alessi (Suzuki RM-Z450)
4. Dan Reardon (Honda CRF250R)
5. Grant Langston (Yamaha YZ450F)
6. Justin Brayton (KTM 250SXF)
7. Andrew Short (Honda CRF450)
8. Chad Reed (Yamaha YZ450F)
9. Heath Voss (Honda CRF250R)
10. Jason Thomas (Honda CRF450R)
11. Michael Byrne (Suzuki RM-Z450)
12. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki KX450F)
13. Jeff Gibson (Kawasaki KX450F)
14. Bryan Johnson (Honda CRF450R)
Alpinestars Championship Re-Match
1. Mike LaRocco (Honda CR250R)
2. Damon Huffman (Suzuki RM-Z450)
3. Jeff Emig (Kawasaki KX450F)
Semi 1 winner: Justin Brayton (KTM 250SXF) - 8 riders
Semi 2 winner: Dan Reardon (Honda CRF250R) - 8 riders
Semi 3 winner: Jeff Gibson - 8 riders
LCQ 1 winner: Jason Thomas (Honda CRF450R) – 11 riders
LCQ 2 winner: Bryan Johnson (Honda CRF450R)
Heat 1 - 11 riders
1. Andrew Short (Honda CRF450)
2. Josh Demuth (Honda CRF450R)
3. Heath Voss (Honda CRF250R)
Heat 2 - 11 riders
1. Chad Reed (Yamaha YZ450F)
2. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki KX450F)
3. Jake Weimer (Honda CRF250R)
Heat 3 - 11 riders
1. Mike Alessi (Suzuki RM-Z450)
2. Michael Byrne (Suzuki RM-Z450)
3. Grant Langston (Yamaha YZ450F)
Toyota Superpole Qualifying
1. Chad Reed (Yamaha YZ450F) 0:43.084
2. Grant Langston (Yamaha YZ450F) 0:43.214
3. Andrew Short (Honda CRF450) 0:43.527
4. Mike Alessi (Suzuki RM-Z450) 0:43.883
5. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki KX450F) 0:44.566
6. Jake Weimer (Honda CRF250R) 0:44.997
7. Dan Reardon (Honda CRF250R) 0:45.080
8. Josh Demuth (Honda CRF450R) 0:45.325
9. Justin Brayton (KTM 250SXF) 0:45.630 2
10. Jason Thomas (Honda CRF450R) 0:47.189
Champions Re-Match Practice
1. Mike LaRocco (Honda CR250R) 0:46.220
2. Jeff Emig (Kawasaki KX450F) 0:46.830
3. Damon Huffman (Suzuki RM-Z450) 0:47.999
pics from vitalmx.com
TransworldMX Race Report: U.S. Open Day One -ozzy go-
It has begun. The 2007 Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open is
underway, pyrotechnics and all. The stage was set early this
week when the G.O.A.T. Ricky Carmichael announced that he
would not run the U.S. Open, and James Stewart directly followed
that announcement with one of his own—he, indeed, would be
racing for that big cash purse. It was to be a sneak peek into the
2008 Supercross season. Chad Reed, James Stewart, Timmy
Ferry, Grant Langston, and Andrew Short would all be there to
prep for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, James Stewart
decided that his knee was not quite ready for racing and he pulled
out after practice. So how did the first night of the Open pan out?
full story on transworldmotocross.com
