|
Yamaha Racing
Reed back on top in Canada
Yamaha's Chad Reed got back to winning ways with his seventh victory of the 2008 AMA Monster Energy Supercross championship in Toronto last weekend. The Australian reengaged his title quest to claim the twelfth round of the campaign and lead the series by 20 points with just five events remaining.
After missing the podium for the two last races Reed was faultless across an extremely difficult, muddy and rutted terrain that saw many of his peers taste Canadian mud at some stage. Yamaha's Josh Hill was running as high as second before a mistake caused him to lose positions and he eventually crossed the finish line in fifth. Reed though cautiously led from start-to-finish for his ninth set of silverware this year. After the 'Monsoon' conditions at Daytona this was the second time the riders had to traverse a tricky circuit after the frozen dirt that was imported into the stadium began to melt and fall apart.
"The dirt was horrible! It was survival out there," laughed the recently-turned 26-year-old former champion. "It was important to get that holeshot and try to get out front, and I just tried to control the race. I watched the pitboard and attempted to keep [the gap] at 10 seconds, and when it go to anything under that, I tried to pick it up a little bit. I think the key tonight was that slow was fast."
"I'm happy. It's going great. I've had some ups and downs, but I've got seven wins now, and like I said, I want to get this thing over and done with," added Reed who used the first break in the Supercross calendar to fly home to Australia for a holiday last week.
After beating main threat Kevin Windham, Reed was able to add a further three points to his advantage in the standings. The first of the five remaining races takes places next weekend at the Texas Stadium in Dallas.
 KTM Racing
US Supercross Series
MDK KTM Factory Team rider Nick Wey earned his best finish of the year at the 12th round of the AMA Supercross Series at the Rogers Centre.
Wey, who has claimed to be "as good as new" after recovering from pneumonia which plagued him for the majority of the season, showed he wasn't lying with his best performance of the series in front of this week's Canadian crowd.
The night started off well for the Michigan native when he almost nailed the holeshot in Heat #2. He ended up fourth around the first turn and hung on to that position through the end of the heat sending him and his KTM to the main event with a great gate pick.
When the gate dropped for the main event Wey managed a mid-pack start around the first turn but by the end of the first lap had moved his way up into 7th. By lap three he had moved into 6th when the current 5th place runner, Josh Hill, crashed and dropped back. Wey stayed smooth and consistent gaining time on the now 5th place ride of Troy Adams. By lap 9, Wey caught and passed Adams for the 5th place position. Wey held 5th position until the very last lap when a last minute charge by Josh Hill moved him back to 6th. "I was bummed to lose that top five spot to Josh (Hill) on the last lap but I am excited to be back where I should - running with the top five," reported Wey after the race. The points earned this week move Wey back into 9th position in overall series points.
Team Suzuki
VUILLEMIN BATTLES FROZEN TORONTO
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's David Vuillemin battled a frozen and muddy AMA Supercross track at the Edwards Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the weekend.
In spite of the less-than-stellar conditions, the Frenchman rode hard and picked up a 13th-place finish. He is currently in eighth-place overall in the AMA Supercross Championship points chase.
In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Nico Izzi took the weekend off from racing because the Toronto event was not a part of the East Coast series.
David Vuillemin:
"We got a big surprise when we discovered the track on Saturday morning. The dirt was frozen when they built the track, and by Saturday the frozen dirt turned into mud. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 was great but the track was really tricky with a lot of ruts and mud. It was the first time I'd ridden on a muddy Supercross track inside a dome! I never felt comfortable all day. We tried to
change the set-up of the bike to make me feel better in these conditions, but it didn't really help. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki team gave it their all, but it was a difficult weekend for me with a 13th-place finish. I can't wait for next weekend in Texas to redeem myself."
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, on Saturday, April 5, 2008.
|
