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Kawasaki Racing
Monster Energy Kawasaki Completes a Clean Sweep at Hangtown
It was a perfect weekend for the Monster Energy Kawasaki racing team as James Stewart and Timmy Ferry claimed the top two spots at the 40th Anniversary of the Hangtown Classic in Sacramento, Calif.
 Stewart earned his second straight AMA Toyota Motocross Championship overall win once again winning both motos. Ferry finished 2-2 on the day to take home the second overall spot. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto also stood on the top step of the podium twice during the event. Villopoto swept the motocross lites motos to claim his first overall win of the season. Austin Stroupe finished 3-4 in the motos for an overall finish of fourth, just ahead of his team-mate Brett Metcalfe, who finished 4-5 to claim fifth overall. Branden Jesseman finished 6-12 and eighth overall, placing all four of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki riders in the top 10.
On Top Again
For the second straight week, Stewart led every lap in both motos en-route to another dominant overall win. In the first moto, Stewart nailed the holeshot and rode away from the pack winning the 17-lap race by more the 30 seconds. The second moto went much the same way as the first for Stewart, just missing the holeshot. He raced side-by-side for much of the first lap, but once clear, Stewart started gapping the field once again and rode to another impressive victory.
“I’m just happy to be back racing,” said Stewart. “I really appreciate everything that everyone has been doing for me. The fans have been treating me great and I’m just happy to get another win. I want to keep getting better every week and just keep working hard.”
Cleen Sweep
Villopoto proved why he is the two-time defending AMA Motocross Lites champion sweeping both motos in impressive fashion to claim his first overall win at the Hangtown Classic. After finishing 2-1 and runner-up overall last year at this event, Villopoto wanted to leave nothing to chance. His average margin of victory for both motos was more than 10 seconds. The win is Villopoto’s 13th career AMA motocross lites victory.
“This week feels definitely better than last,” said Villopoto. “I got good starts in both motos and I was able to ride my own race. Last week the first moto wasn’t that good. This week I made it all work and I’ve got a little lead in the points and I just want to make that gap bigger.”
Riding to the Front
Ferry joined his Monster Energy Kawasaki team-mate on the podium in both motos, finishing runner-up to Stewart each time. Ferry’s return to the podium wasn’t easy as he had to work his way through the field in typical ‘Red Dog’ fashion. The second moto in particular showed Ferry’s passion for the podium as he passed 17 riders in 13 laps on his way to second place.
“My start was horrendous in the second moto,” said Ferry. “I kind of flubbed it. I did something I haven’t done in a while; I rode really aggressive and made a lot of passes in the first few laps. That was the difference in me getting back into second place. I knew James was long gone, but I wanted that second spot really bad.”
Experience Matters
The 33-year-old Ferry hears the same thing every week from his fans. ‘Thanks for making us old guys look good,’ is said at every autograph session and even when he is just standing under the tent. This weekend Ferry ensured he would continue to hear the encouragement as he passed many younger riders on his way to second overall. Some of the riders he competes against are 10 to 15 years younger, but Ferry knows with the age also comes good experience.
“My age didn’t affect me fitness wise,” said Ferry. “I think it gave me a bit of a mental edge. Knowing some of these guys are so young, it gave sort of a high or a mental boost when I passed them.”
Riding Strong
Stroupe came to the Hangtown Classic having never raced on the track. Though he is already a motocross lites overall winner, he has made only five AMA professional starts including this weekend. The 17-year-old rider used the confidence gained from last week’s win to quickly learn the track and battle for a podium finish.
“Fourth is a good result,” said Stroupe. “This being my first year racing here, I think I adapted to the track well. I was going faster in every session and in the motos I was going faster at the end than I was at the start.”
Top Five Again
All weekend long Metcalfe showed he had the speed to be at the front of the field. The Australian rider challenged his team-mate Villopoto for the top spot on the time sheets during practice and after two slow starts, worked his way close to a podium finish. This marked the second week in a row that Metcalfe has finished in the top-five overall.
“Finishing 4-5 was good,” said Metcalfe. “I’m happy with how I rode, but my starts weren’t good enough. I need to get better starts if I’m going to be on the podium. I also went down once in each moto. I need to get rid of those mistakes and I will be right there.”
Tough Track
As the track changed so did the lines of all the riders trying to post the fastest lap times. For Metcalfe the changing conditions caught him in each of the motos.
“Every turn on this track takes 100 percent concentration,” said Metcalfe. “I’m not sure if I was not cautious enough, or maybe overcautious I don’t know. In both motos I lost the front end in about the same spot. Maybe I was just too confident on that slick surface.”
Weather Matters
The weather in Sacramento was nearly perfect, at least for the spectators. For the riders who raced for nearly 70 minutes the warm weather and tough track meant conditioning was key to staying in front.
“I feel like today everyone’s endurance really showed,” said Stewart. “That may be why sometimes I had an even bigger lead. Endurance was a key today. This week was definitely challenging and it showed.”
The Cream Rises
At the Hangtown Classic the track changed dramatically throughout the motos, unlike the last weeks event at Glen Helen Raceway. The track kept getting rougher as each lap clicked off and with the track changing every lap it, it appeared to separate the riders.
“When the track gets rough it gets harder to ride,” said Villopoto. ”That’s when the good guys shine. The top five guys hope for rougher track conditions and for it to be hot because that is when we excel.”
Track Changes
Ferry has been coming to the Hangtown Classic for more than 10 years and has seen the track go through many changes. He has ridden it the traditional clockwise direction and also in reverse, as they raced it this weekend. Through all the years, the biggest changes have come in the starting area and Ferry thinks this year’s was the best they have ever had.
“The start was wide and short” said Ferry. “So it wasn’t scary like the Glen Helen start. It was wide through the first two turns and the then it tightened up which spread everyone out. The dirt was good too. They put a lot of sand at the start and overall I think it was one of the biggest positives this year as far as the track is concerned.”
KTM RACING
US Motocross Series
Warm weather and a new track kicked off the second round of the AMA Motocross Championship at the 40th annual Hangtown Classic and the MDK KTM Factory Team riders were prepared to take on the challenge.
MDK KTM Factory Team rider Nick Wey was looking forward to the first moto of the Motocross class after finishing 9th overall at the first round at Glen Helen the week prior. When the gate dropped for moto one he was 12th off the start. He continued to hold his pace and battled back and forth with Honda's Andrew Short through the majority of the moto. With a couple laps to go, Wey made the pass on Short and went on to pass Cody Cooper for 10th.
As Wey pulled off the line for moto two he was pinched off and stuck near the back of the pack in the bottom thirty. After the first lap he had moved into 24th. He put his game face on and charged forward to fight through the pack for the remainder of the moto. At the end of the moto, Wey had moved his KTM into 14th. His 10-14 results gave him 12th overall for the weekend.
US Motocross Lites Series
As the gate dropped for moto one of the Motocross Lites class all three MDK KTM riders hopped out front off the gate.
Unfortunately their bout toward the front end of the pack would be short-lived as they were cut off at the first turn and pushed back near the bottom twenty. By the end of lap one, Matt Goerke had moved into 11th position, followed by his team-mate Ryan Sipes in 13th and Justin Brayton in 20th. As time ticked on, they charged hard to move through the pack. Soon Goerke and Sipes were side by side in 11th and 12th. Sipes passed Goerke to take the 11th place position. Goerke stayed close by until he made a few mistakes causing him to lose a couple positions as he moved down into 14th. At the end of moto one, Sipes finished a hard fought 12th, Goerke was two positions back in 14th and Brayton worked his way up from near last to 17th.
In Motocross Lites moto two, Ryan Sipes' luck changed as he charged forward to come around the first turn in 4th. His team-mate, Goerke, was immediately behind him in 5th. Unfortunately, Brayton got pinched off again at the start and came around in 39th. By lap 4 Sipes had moved into 3rd after passing Dan Reardon. Goerke had begun to slip back into 7th while Brayton was busy ploughing through traffic now sitting in 23rd. After a strong race Sipes managed to finish a solid 7th for the moto, Goerke hung on inside the top ten to finish 9th while Brayton worked up from his bad starting place of 39th to 16th. After combining both moto scores, Sipes finished a respectable 9th overall, followed by Goerke in 11th and Brayton in 16th.
Ben Townley
Townley endures painful Hangtown Motocross Classic
 Factory Red Bull Honda’s Ben Townley has experienced another setback in his 2008 AMA Motocross campaign. The 23-year-old New Zealander took a big tumble in one of the Saturday practice sessions at round two of the series near Sacramento, California.
Townley was diagnosed with a chipped right ankle bone but was cleared to ride two gruelling 30 minute + 2 lap motos on Sunday after he put in a gutsy performance to qualify 12th.
Soaring temperatures and rough track conditions certainly put riders to the test as Moto 1 got underway with Townley grabbing a reasonable start and positioning himself in the top ten. ‘BT’ rode through the pain to claim 8th spot by the end of the moto.
A slightly better start in moto 2 saw the number 101 Red Bull Honda have to deal with a charging Tim Ferry and Mike Alessi in the opening stages. Townley slotted into his race rhythm, trying not to take any extra risks, as he chased fellow Honda team-mate Davi Millsaps and privateer Steve Boniface to the flag.
“This is not how I want to be racing but I have to deal with it and keep the ball rolling,” explained Townley. “The last few weeks have been really testing both physically and mentally but I’ve been able to overcome the setbacks and I’ll be looking forward to Texas and getting my body healed.”
Townley heads back to his home base in Tallahassee Florida to prepare for the 3rd round of the AMA Nationals at Freestone County Raceway in Wortham, Texas on the 7-8 June.
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