At the San Francisco Supercross Motosport Xtreme Kawasaki
went with one lone rider, Tommy Hahn. Andrew Mcfarlane is out
for six weeks due to a dislocation in his hand that he sustained
while training earlier in the week. We are looking at our options
to place a second rider through Houston.
While it didn't rain Saturday morning the track was still plenty
wet, and Tommy rode conservatively in the single timed practice
session.
He got a good start in his heat, and after lap three his lap times
dropped considerably, with his sixth and last lap being one
second quicker than his best of the previous five. He crossed the
line 3rd, his best heat finish of the year.
In the main Tommy got a great jump, winning the Progressive
Holeshot award, however, he hit a soft spot in the face of the first
jump and nearly went over the bars. He saved it, but ended up
dropping back to fourth by the second turn. When Austin Stroupe
slid off the track Tommy moved up to third. Then Bret Metcalf
went down in the whoops and Tommy ran second from lap
three to five. full story & TH32 Interview on xtremeteamgreen
pic from vitalmx.com
Tommy Hahn Xtreme Interview -ozzy go-
Jake Marsack RacerX Interview -ozzy go-
Privateer Profile: Jake Marsack January 29, 2008
Michigan’s Jake Marsack just had a breakthrough ride. The
Bad Boy Energy Drink rider started the San Francisco final
in 15th and steadily climbed through the pack until the
final laps when he found himself in fourth place. It was an
incredible finish for a privateer and Jake hopes that his
good finish will bump start his season. We tracked him
down at Jeff Alessi’s house where he was prepping for the
next round in Anaheim this weekend. Read the interview
on racerxill.com
B-Hep Supercross Tour
San Francisco - AMA Rnd 4
The rains fell and the mud flew last Saturday in San Francisco.
With a collision right off the start, Broc Hepler struggled to
restart his Yamaha. By the time he was up and running again,
it was too late to catch up in the shortened 10-lap main event.
He crossed the finished line in 12th.
Broc says that he's looking forward to a dry track in Anaheim
this weekend. The weather looks promising so far. pic from
motocross.com
Grant Langston Back In The Premier SX Class Top Ten With 5th @ San Fran
Monster Energy’s Grant Langston (Yamaha) used his
championship Outdoor National MX skills to his advantage
in the mud-clogged Supercross class main event at San
Francisco’s AT&T Park this past Saturday, Round Four of
2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and FIM World
Championship.
Langston, the reigning AMA Outdoor National MX champ,
overcame an early heat race crash to put up a heroic run
that had him all the way up to 4th place – only to cross rut
and crash again in the same spot – settling for the 6th place
transfer spot.
In the Supercross class main event, shortened from 20 laps
to 15 due to the heavy rain, Langston got a mid pack start
and had moved up rapidly into the top ten by the end of the
second lap when he crashed and fell back to near last place.
He managed to get his YZ450F back on the track and into
contention quickly, making up seven places in the next two
laps which put him a click away from the top ten.
“It certainly was wild out there,” said Langston. “I’d gone
down a couple times in my heat race, but knew everyone
else was having difficulties as well and it was possible to
pick up places in a hurry. So I was pushing it early when I
went down and decided it92d be best to try and keep it
upright and salvage some points.
“I was able to make it back into the top ten and eventually
to 5th. This does a lot to set ourselves up for a run at the
podium at the last Anaheim race this weekend.”
Langston, who’d finished 20th and 18th in the previous to
Supercross class main events, moved into 12th place overall
in the standings – just two points out of the top ten.
Next up for Monster Energy’s Grant Langston is Anaheim 3
at Angels Stadium, Feb. 2, Round Five of Monster Energy
Supercross. monsterenergy.com
pics from vitalmx.com
MPCK's Brett Metcalfe & Austin Stroupe Both Place In Top Five @ San Fran Supercross
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe got
things going early at San Francisco’s AT&T Ballpark, winning
his heat race and taking a bunch of momentum into the Lites
class main event despite having to battle torrential rains that
plagued this past weekend’s supercross event, Round Four
of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World
Championship.
With the lead rider (Jason Lawrence) in his sights, Metcalfe –
who had 2nd place in the bag – momentarily slowed a bit
when he reportedly mistook the white flag to be the
checkers. This allowed Thomas Hahn to pass him for 2nd
place, but Metcalfe was still able to hold on and make the
podium (3rd).
“The weather was crazy, but I actually had a lot of fun out
there,” said Metcalfe. “The guys at Pro Circuit had my
KX250F dialed and I think we could have won it had I not
made a few mistakes. Glad we were at least able to make
the podium. I’m looking forward to hopefully doing that
again here in Anaheim this weekend.” 
Metcalfe’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammate,
Austin Stroupe, was on the podium pace as well, running in
3rd place during the early portions of the Lites class final
after ramping up for the main event by finishing 2nd in heat
No. 2. And though a couple bobbles would cost Stroupe a
spot on the podium with Metcalfe, he did manage to salvage
a respectable 5th place overall finish.
Through four Western Region Lites races Metcalfe is in 5th
place in the standings and Stroupe is in 8th – just seven
points outside the top four.
Next up for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team is
Round Five of 2008 Monster Energy Supercross at Anaheim’s,
Calif., Angels Stadium (Feb. 2). monsterenergy.com
Jason Lawrence Wins The San Francisco Monster Energy AMA SX Round!
Monster Energy-backed Jason Lawrence (Yamaha of Troy)
topped a field of the world’s premier Lites class racers this
past weekend in San Francisco, winning his first-ever main
event on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World
Championship, tour.
Lawrence, 20, rode aggressively from start to finish, taking
the lead from Brett Metcalfe and Tommy Hahn on the first lap
and then led every lap of the rain abbreviated ten-lap
contest. During the race Lawrence made numerous saves
that brought the 37,000-plus San Franciscans out of their
seats in approval.
“I have to give it up to Monster and, especially, the whole
Yamaha of Troy team,” said Lawrence. “I know I give those
guys some trouble sometimes, but just because I want a
result like this.”
Lawrence got to the main by virtue of a 3rd place finish in his
heat race. With monsoon-like conditions facing him, Lawrence
buckled down and rode the race of his life to date to take the
win. In fact, it was raining so hard that Lawrence got cleaner
as the race went on. But that was all for not as YoT team
manager Chris McAvoy tackled Lawrence in the mud in
celebration after Lawrence crossed the finish line.
“Now we’re going back to Anaheim so I can try and revenge
(meaning “avenge”) myself,” said Lawrence on the podium.
“I probably feel I should have won there (Anaheim) the last
two times.”
Next up for Monster Energy Supercross is the Anaheim (Calif.)
3 round back at Angels Stadium (Feb. 2).
monsternergy.com
Jason Lawrence RacerX Interview -ozzy go-
Monday Conversation with Jason Lawrence 1 28 2008
Jason Lawrence has been a pro for quite a few years now. After
a successful amateur career, Lawrence struggled at first to be
competitive in the pro ranks, but he has steadily improved. Last
year, in his first year with the proven Boost Mobile/Yamaha of
Troy team, Lawrence showed that he had the speed to run up
front. This last weekend in San Francisco, he showed he also has
the strength and conditioning to stay up front. read the interview
on racerxill.com
Kevin Windham RacerX Interview -ozzy go-
Monday Conversation II with Kevin Windham 1 28 2008
Torco Racing Fuels Honda’s Kevin Windham is rejuvenated, to
say the least. Last year at this time, he literally hated even
driving to the race track, much less being there or actually
racing. To say he has come a long way since then is an
understatement. At the San Francisco supercross, he scored his
third-straight podium finish and is the only rider within one race’s
worth of points of Chad Reed. And he hopes, at the minimum, to
keep it that way. read the interview on racerxill.com
Jacob Marsack Marches to Career-Best 4th Place Finish in San Francisco
Without a doubt, the story of the weekend was Pirelli-backed
Jacob Marsack’s inspired, fourth-place ride in the AMA
Supercross at Round Four of the Monster Energy Supercross
championship at San Francisco’s AT&T Park Saturday
evening. The Berlin, Mich., rider powered his Pro 30/Bad Boy
Honda to the best finish of his career on an evening when
most riders rode to just survive.
Earning his way into the main event with a fifth-place finish in
heat one, Marsack didn’t let the momentum stop. Marsack’s
results took center stage on the CBS Sports television
broadcast and the live Internet webcast, giving the hard-
working privateer the notoriety he deserved for besting some
of the class’ top factory riders. Marsack currently sits 18th in
AMA Supercross class points standings.
“This is a monumental moment for both Jake and Pirelli,” said
Pirelli MX Manager Josh Whitmire. “We’ve worked hard to give
our riders the best set up regardless of the condition, and
tonight is a good example of the success that we will build on
as the season moves on.” full story on TransworldMX
pic from racerxcanada.com
Davi Millsaps earns his First Podium of the Year in San Francisco
San Francisco, California – January 28, 2008 – Red Bull Honda
Team Rider Davi Millsaps earned his first podium position of the
2008 season at the rain-soaked San Francisco Supercross race
in front of a crowd of 37,322 fans.
After being so close all season, Red Bull Honda Team Rider
Davi Millsaps finally earned his first podium position this
weekend by riding to a 3rd place finish in San Francisco. After
leading for a good portion of the race, Davi was thrown off his
line due to the mud soaked track just before going off a jump,
forcing him off the track and off his bike and putting him a few
spots down. Nevertheless, Davi was able to battle back and
work his way back into 3rd as the checkered flag dropped.
Accustomed to running up front, Millsaps has had to overcome
a couple of freak circumstances, including a flying hay bale,
before finally reaching the box this season. “Its taken me
longer to get on the podium this season then I had anticipated
but it’s a big treat to finally be here. Hopefully this will be the
start of many trips back to the box” said the energetic 19 year
old former Supercross Lites Champion. Davi is looking forward
to building off this momentum as the series returns to Anaheim
this weekend. supercrossking.com
pics from vitalmx.com
Brett Metcalfe Earns Second Podium in San Francisco
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe earned his
second podium in three races finishing third at AT&T Park in San
Francisco. Early in the evening Metcalfe won his first heat race of
the season. He was joined on the podium by Motosport Xtreme
Kawasaki rider Tommy Hahn, who turned in his best ride of the
season finishing second after claiming the holeshot in the main
event. Metcalfe’s teammate Austin Stroupe had an eventful night
of racing as he made up nine spots in his heat race to finish
second. In the main event he took the early lead, but went off
track in the slippery conditions. Stroupe recovered and went on
to the finish fifth, marking his third top five in four events.
Motosport Xtreme Kawasaki’s Hahn had a good night starting with
his heat race where he finished third. In the main he sprinted out
to the holeshot and ran near the front, passing Metcalfe on the
last lap to finish second and earn his first podium of the year.
“"We were running well early in the season,"” said Hahn. "“I’’m
happy to be on the podium. It was tough out there but I just
stayed on it and kept my head in it all race. We had a good heat
race and I’m happy to get a good result."”
Metcalfe got out of the starting gate well and was running second
on the third lap when he went down in the sloppy conditions while
trying to pass for the lead. The Australian quickly recovered and
rode back into contention. As the shortened race came to a close,
Metcalfe was once again in the runner-up spot but he was passed
on the last lap pushing him to a third place finish, his second
podium in the last three races.
“I got a good start in the main,” said Metcalfe. “It was difficult
and I was making my way to the front. I was aggressive and
tried to take the lead in a turn and went down. I got up and rode
back to the front.”
For Stroupe the main event was definitely a show as the 17-year-
old rider battled the tricky conditions throughout the race. After
getting a clean start and taking the early lead, he went off the
track but kept his Kawasaki KX™250F upright and rejoined the
field. As the conditions worsened Stroupe continued to have a yo-
yo type race of moving up and falling back. At the end he was on
the upswing again, finishing fifth. “I almost got the holeshot and
was riding well,” said Stroupe. “But I went off the track on the
first lap. I got back on and was...” full story on kawasaki.com
pics from racerxill.com & vitalmx.com
Holeshot, Lead & Crash for Tim Ferry (finally tenth) in SF-SX Main Event
In the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship
main event, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry nailed the
holeshot and grabbed a big lead coming out of the first turn.
Ferry rode steadily in fifth place until he had a hard crash,
sending his bike into the other lane. Ferry quickly got up and
continued riding to finish tenth. Ferry now sits third in the
championship standings.
As heavy rains moved in the supercross main event was slated
to start and no one got out of the gate better than Ferry. After
the first corner, Ferry and his Kawasaki KX™450F were clear of
the entire field. With the rain coming down and the track quickly
deteriorating, Ferry rode cautiously sliding back to the fifth
position. Midway through the race he saw an opportunity to
move up a spot but a spectacular crash in the rhythm section
sent his bike across the other lane. Ferry quickly got back on
and rode to a hard-earned tenth-place finish.
“I got the holeshot, it was my best start by far” said Ferry. “It
feels good to be out front all alone, especially in a mud race but
I guess I rode a little too conservative after the start. I was
getting more aggressive as the...” full story on kawasaki.com
Yamaha Race Report: 2008 San Francisco Supercross
Chad Reed and Jason Lawrence put their Yamaha YZs on top
of the podium in their respective Supercross and Supercross
Lites classes at the fourth round of the 2008 AMA Supercross
Series in San Francisco, CA. on Saturday, Jan. 26. The wins in
rainy, difficult conditions put Reed 19 points ahead of Kevin
Windham in the Supercross standings and boost Lawrence into
third in Supercross Lites. They also represent the first time in
recent years that Yamaha has won both Supercross classes on
the same night.
Supercross
The Supercross final was likewise reduced to 15 laps. Reed
didn’t get the start he wanted, arriving at the first corner in
mid-pack and having to battle his way forward from there. He
moved his L&M Racing YZ450F to fifth by the end of the first
lap, third by lap three, and passed early leaders Windham and
Davi Millsaps for the lead by lap seven. From then on Reed
put his Yamaha on cruise control and pulled out an 11.4-sec.
lead over Windham for his third win of the year. “I came into
this season prepared to lay it down – I want to get these race
wins!” he enthused. “It was a very muddy, exciting night and
both Jason and Chad put on an awesome show,” added
Yamaha Supercross team manager Jim Perry. “They deserve
those wins for sure.”
Supercross Lites
In Supercross Lites, Lawrence blitzed the field in practice by
setting the quickest lap time aboard his Yamaha of Troy
YZ250F. The final was shortened to 10 laps from the usual 15
laps due to the rutty, muddy track, and Lawrence reached the
first turn in third behind Thomas Hahn and Austin Stroupe. But
he quickly passed both and led every lap of the race for his
first career Supercross Lites victory. “I am excited to get my
first Supercross win,” he grinned later. “I’ve been close
several times and I‘m glad to finally put it all together.”
yamaha-motor.com
KTM Race Report: San Francisco Supercross class
The weather forecast called for rain, and rain came
Meanwhile, MDK KTM Factory rider Nick Wey lined up for
Supercross Heat #2. Wey had a 10th placed start off the gate
and managed to move quickly into a qualifying position. He
rode consistent and smooth and stayed in a qualifying position
throughout the heat moving his KTM on to the roster for the
main event.
The rain seemed to be waiting for the Supercross main. Just as
the riders took off from the gate, the rain picked up and began
to pour on the already soaked crowd and track. Wey had a
mid-pack start coming around 11th on the first lap. He quickly
moved into the top ten and began to close in on the pack
ahead. Riders were crashing everywhere and Wey was
cautiously avoiding them as he continued to pick up speed. It
seemed the more the rain fell, the faster Wey got! Throughout
the shortened 15 lap main, Wey battled with Grant Langston,
Eric Sorby, Heath Voss, Tim Ferry and Ivan Tedesco. It was
Tedesco that would give him the greatest battle of all. On the
last lap Wey had caught Tedesco who was currently running in
6th and began to inch closer trying to get a wheel on him in
every turn. On the second to... full story on ktmpress.com
pic from vitalmx.com
Red Riders Race Report: San Francisco Supercross class -ozzy go-
San Francisco is known for its cold, rainy weather—and that’s
exactly what the riders got at the SF round of the AMA/FIM
Supercross Series. Rainy, muddy conditions often scramble the
field, but on this night, the Honda Red Bull Racing and Honda
Torco Racing Fuels teams tackled the challenge head-on.
Both Honda Torco Racing Fuels CRF450R rider Kevin Windham
and Honda Red Bull Racing CRF450R rider Davi Millsaps led the
final race at various points, with Windham finally grabbing
second place at the checkered flag and Millsaps taking third.
All in all, there were six Honda CRF450Rs in the top ten.
The first heat race showed the soggy crowd just how strong the
Honda riders were going to be, with Kevin Windham taking the
win in confident style, nearly 15 seconds ahead of Mike Alessi.
Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short grabbed third, with Honda
CRF450Rs occupying six of the top ten spots.
Heat race 2 was another strong Honda showing, with Honda Red
Bull Racing’s Davi Millsaps hounding Chad Reed for the win,
finally settling for second place just eight tenths of a second
behind. Honda Red Bull Racing’s Davi Millsaps hounding Chad
Reed for the win, finally settling for second place just eight
tenths of a second behind. Honda Red Bull Racing’s Ivan
Tedesco was just 4.8 seconds back in third, with CRF450R pilots
Heath Voss seventh and Eric Sorby eighth.
Mistakes are inevitable on a muddy, greasy track like this, and
it was a series of minor flips and flops that finally decided the
evening’s outcome. Honda Torco Racing Fuels rider Kevin
Windham rocketed past holeshot winner Tim Ferry on the first
lap and led the procession to lap four, with Honda Red Bull
Racing’s Davi Millsaps close behind. Davi soon made the pass on
Kevin, taking the lead with his exciting, damn-the-torpedoes style.
And it was here that the track conditions momentarily got the
best of Windham. Coming off a jump, K-Dub’s bike snapped and
landed crossed-up. Windham hung on and never fell, but he
plowed off the track and let Reed past into second.
Meanwhile, Davi Millsaps was flying, tripling where other riders
were doubling. But his time at the front would be short-lived, as
a tumble into the SafeBlocks let the charging Reed, who had
made his mistake with with a mediocre start, surge to the front.
Millsaps eventually recovered his composure to take his first
podium of the season in third, and Kevin Windham got his best
placing yet this year in second, solidifying his hold on the number-
two spot in the series points... full story on hondaredriders.com
Red Riders Race Report: San Francisco Supercross Lites
Up-and-coming Honda Torco Racing Fuels rider Dan Reardon
turned in a solid performance in his heat, taking a strong fourth
on his CRF250R, while Jake Weimer, who has already notched his
first-ever Supercross Lites win this season, won the second heat
race of the evening in impressive fashion on his Honda Torco
Racing Fuels CRF250R. Honda Troy Lee Designs CRF250R rider
Gavin Gracyk grabbed fourth, with Robert Kiniry putting his
CRF250R into the main via the LCQ.
The start saw two Jake Weimer unable to continue after a tough
start, but Gavin Gracyk found himself in good shape in fourth on
the first lap, with fellow Honda rider Dan Reardon steady in
seventh with Jason Lawrence was out in front.
From there, Dan Reardon made a determined climb toward the
point, eventually taking fifth on lap six and moving into fourth on
lap nine. Gavin Gracyk was fighting hard in the tough conditions,
slipping back to sixth but persevering with excellent maturity and
consistency.
At the end it was Jason Lawrence, Tommy Hahn, Brett Metcalfe
and Honda Torco Racing Fuels rider Dan Reardon, whose strong
weekend allowed him to maintain his second place ranking in the
series points tally, just 19 points back. Gavin Gracyk took his
CRF250R to sixth, with Robert Kiniry bringing his CRF in eleventh.
hondaredriders.com - pic from racerxill.com
Ryan Dungey Maintains Lites Points Lead after San Francisco Mudfest
In spite of soggy conditions, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory
Racing’s Ryan Dungey walked away from this weekend’s
Supercross Lites race at San Francisco’s AT&T Park with a
healthy points lead in the championship. The young rider
finished second in his heat race and seventh in the shortened
10-lap main. Although he’d gotten a good start in the main on
his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RMZ250, Dungey hit a downed bike
and then went down himself. After re-starting his Suzuki,
however, Dungey quickly regained his composure and battled
his way up to at top-10 finish. He currently leads the
championship by almost 20 points.
In the Supercross class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi
did well in his heat race by finishing second, however, the
weather conditions hurt Alessi in the shortened, 15-lap main.
He struggled and finished 15th. Teammate David Vuillemin was
having a good ride in the main event for the first few laps, but
then his knee popped out and he had to pull out of the race.
Ryan Dungey: “We got a bit of rain and only got one short
practice. Going into the heat race, we got second and that was
good. In the main, they cut off five laps from that. I got a
pretty decent start but made a mistake and went off the track,
but got back on and was charging hard. I was running in fourth
and came across a lapper’s bike. I didn’t even see it, I doubled
right into it. I was just thankful that I got right up. I got seventh
but I feel like I rode well, besides those mistakes. I’m just a
little bummed about tonight – if we’d had five more laps, I
could have maybe gotten a top-five finish. But I’m feeling
positive going into Anaheim, we’re going to take care of
business.”
Mike Alessi: “We only had one practice and it was OK. It was
really muddy, and we struggled a bit but we made the bike
better for the heat race. I got a great start in the heat race and
ran second almost the whole race. At the main, it started
pouring down rain and, it’s hard to imagine, but it was the worst
rain I’d ever seen. The track just became a slop-fest. I got a
great jump at the start, but then I spun really bad because of
the rain and ended up 10th or 11th. Then I made a small
mistake and went down. I ended up 15th and that’s not where I
should have been, I think I should have been third or fourth but
things just didn’t go my way. We’ll move on and get ready for
next week at Anaheim.” full story on teamsusuki.com
pics from tranworldmotocross.com & supercross.com
Reed celebrates Australia Day with a win in San Francisco
Patriotic Supercross star Chad Reed has flown the flag for
Australia at the fourth round of the 2008 Monster Energy® Drink
AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, winning the rain
soaked San Francisco event by over 11 seconds.
A poor start saw Reed caught mid pack on the opening lap but
the Australian staged an incredible comeback and was up into
third place on Lap 3 of the shortened 15 Lap race.
On Lap 5, Reed capitalised on a mistake by Kevin Windham to
take second place, he then moved into the lead a lap later.
Once in front, the 2004 AMA Supercross Champion pulled away
from the field, lapping consistently to win his third round of the
season.
“I had a lot of fun out there tonight,” said Reed. “It was good to
get a win in the mud and it was very cool to win on Australia
Day.”
“The track was challenging and I had to work hard to get out in
front but I felt good and my YZ450F performed really well in the
conditions.”
“I came into this season prepared to lay it down and even though
it was extremely muddy out there the championship didn’t cross
my mind.”
“My goals haven’t changed and I want to get these race wins,”
Reed acknowledged.
With next weekend’s fifth round of the series, the final Anaheim
event this year Reed will aim to be only the second rider ever to
sweep all three Anaheim races in a season.
Yamaha tyro Jason Lawrence took out the Pro Lites event ahead
of Thomas Hahn who with Brett Metcalfe made it two Kawasaki
KX250Fs on the podium. Dan Reardon continued his impressive
run of form in fourth place to move four points closer to series
leader Ryan Dungey. At the top of the table however Dungey still
holds a commanding lead with 86 points besting Reardon's tally of
67 while Jason Lawrence's win promoted him into third overall
with 63 poiints giving him a four point advantage over Broc
Hepler who bests Brett Metcalfe by a single point. MCNEWS
pics from vitalmx.com & motocross.com