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Yamaha Racing
Reed seventh in Daytona quagmire
The heavens opened and created a swamp at the Daytona Speedway for the tenth round of the 2008 AMA Supercross series, a FIM World Championship. Yamaha San Manuel's Chad Reed was three corners from his seventh victory of the season before being forced to retire.
To make matters worse for the Australian he was later penalised for cutting the sodden track and dropped to seventh place for his lowest standing of the season so far. Despite the drama and eventual outcome, the 25-year-old still leads the championship by 23 points with seven rounds remaining.
The deluge of rain on Saturday ruined the outdoor course partly designed by AMA legend Ricky Carmichael. The races in both Supercross and Lites classes were only just able to start, with some American sources describing the conditions as the worst ever seen for a SX event.
Reed - like most of the riders - was barely recognisable after the first few corners and fought in the early stages with Kevin Windham before being able to make a break, although the battle of attrition would be lost mere metres from the flag.
"It just sucked water and mud through the air boot," said Larry Brooks, San Manuel Yamaha team manager. "There was standing water on the track, and the bike sucked water and dirt, and when he stopped to line up for a rut, it just had no compression, got stuck in some mud and stopped. He had a minute and 15 second lead with three corners to go and couldn't finish, so obviously he's upset, but stuff happens. We should be happy that he got those points and move on to the next one."
Brand-mate Josh Hill has a similar problem after four laps. Reed was still the top ranked Yamaha finisher with seventh while Nathan Ramsey managed to take twelfth. There were no top ten entrants in the Lites division.
Team KTM Racing
US Supercross Lites East Series: 3rd round Daytona Beach, FL
The MDK KTM riders were on hand to contribute to the nights exciting action.
Although riders practised on a dry course all would change by 2:00pm in the afternoon when rain poured down causing a cancellation of second practice and evoking an earlier start to the evening. The first heat race kicked off half an hour earlier than normal at 6:30pm. Soon after, MDK KTM Factory rider Martin Davalos joined MDK KTM Lites Team riders, Matt Goerke and Ryan Sipes, in Heat #2 of the Lites Supercross class. Goerke got a great jump off the gate and came around the first turn in 3rd while Davalos and Sipes suffered poor starts. Davalos got stuck in a mud hole on the first lap and took another lap to get back and going again. In the short four lap heat, the time lost cost him a transfer spot to the main. Meanwhile, Sipes had charged his way up to 10th, but also, was short of making the main. Goerke, however, was still going strong and finished 3rd in the heat qualifying in good position into the main.
 In the Lites last chance Davalos and Sipes (pictured right) had to finish in the top four in order to transfer to the main. Sipes got a decent start within the top ten and began to move forward. He quickly moved into the top three and began to ride safe in order to qualify into the main. Unfortunately, Davalos had an ill-fated start and had to charge his way up through the pack. Just as he moved into qualifying position he lost control of the bike while attempting a double jump and flipped off the track into a river of mud. Davalos was uninjured but was unable to finish the heat. Back out front Sipes had moved into second earning himself a spot on the main event line-up.
The Lites riders were rushed to the field in order to get the show underway as the rain had began to pour harder and did not look like it would seize for some time. The main event was shortened from its normal 15 laps to 10 due to the awful track conditions. When the gate dropped for the main event Goerke and Sipes both garnered mid-pack starts. Sipes was turning quick lap times and was able to muscle his way into 6th by the end of the race. Goerke kept it on two wheels and was able to finish 11th for the night. With the points earned tonight Sipes now sits 2nd in overall points, Davalos is holding on to 6th and Goerke is in 14th.
Next Event: Minneapolis Supercross, Saturday March 15, 2008
Results
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.
1 48 Trey Canard Honda United States
2 2 Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki United States
3 109 Matt Boni Honda United States
4 979 Ben Coisy Honda United States
5 702 Jimmy Albertson Suzuki United States
6 57 Ryan Sipes KTM United States
11 41 Matthew Goerke KTM United States
Standings
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT. POINTS
1 48 Trey Canard Honda United States 75
2 57 Ryan Sipes KTM United States 51
3 979 Ben Coisy Honda United States 47
4 2 Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki United States 44
5 341 Nico Izzi Suzuki United States 42
6 577 Martin Davalos KTM Ecuador 33
14 41 Matthew Goerke KTM United States 22
US Supercross Series: 10th round Daytona Beach, FL
The highly anticipated Daytona Supercross provided fans the action-packed racing they've come to expect from this one-of-a-kind sandy, outdoor style based track.
MDK KTM Factory Team rider, Nick Wey, was up next in Supercross class Heat #1. He began near the end of the pack after getting caught behind a few riders having trouble in the first mud-packed turn. He quickly charged up and was able to finish 9th by the end of the heat to transfer to the main.
As the rain poured down the gate dropped a final time as the Supercross main event took off. Wey was near last on the start and by the end of lap 1 had moved himself into the top fifteen. Wey continued to charge forward lap by lap of the 12 lap main event. He eventually moved into 10th and was gaining ground on a few riders ahead when too much water got sucked in the airbox and caused his bike to hydro-lock. This occurred on lap 10 causing him to DNF with two laps to go. Despite his mechanical problems due to the horrendous track conditions, including mud puddles deep enough to cover half the bike, Wey finished 16th for the night and remains 9th in overall points.
Next Event: Minneapolis Supercross, Saturday March 15, 2008
Results
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.
1 14 Kevin Windham Honda United States
2 118 David Millsaps Honda United States
3 66 Jacob Marsack Honda United States
4 12 David Vuillemin Suzuki France
5 55 Antonio Balbi Honda United States
16 27 Nicholas Wey KTM United States
Standings
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT. POINTS
1 22 Chad Reed Yamaha Australia 223
2 14 Kevin Windham Honda United States 200
3 29 Andrew Short Honda United States 154
4 118 David Millsaps Honda United States 149
5 15 Tim Ferry Kawasaki United States 137
9 27 Nicholas Wey KTM United States 89
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