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Yamaha Racing
Reed 2008 champion with Las Vegas victory
 Chad Reed is the new 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross /FIM World Championship number one after registering his ninth victory of the season in front of more than 39,000 spectators at the Sam Boyd stadium in Las Vegas last weekend. The Australian, still recovering from a broken shoulder blade, went into the final round of seventeen with a ten point lead over main rival Kevin Windham but blitzed the field once more aboard his YZ450F to clinch his second crown in the class (the other obtained in 2004).
Reed obtained his 13th podium of the season after an electric start that saw him pull through from outside the top five on the first lap to pass Windham and motor to the chequered flag by over six seconds. The track inside the Nevada venue was one of the longest and trickiest of the season but Reed coped with the pressure of seeing Windham take victory in the two previous races to produce a vintage and deserving performance when it counted.
"I didn't really think about winning until I saw that Kevin [Windham] wasn't really riding away," he commented. "I didn't know what he was doing, or what his gameplan was, but I felt really confident from the Heat race that I had a lot more speed than him. It seemed like any time, I could just pull up right alongside of him, and I was stronger in the whoops. Then we made some changes to the bike to make it easier on me, and I just came out in the main event and knew I could ride a fast pace if I had to."
"I'm a lot better now, but I still had to be careful, and it's the experience," he said regarding his fractured shoulder. "I've been there before, unfortunately. I broke my scapula before, and I knew that I needed to get through those first two weekends, and then I'd be a lot stronger."
"Coming into the season, I knew I could be strong, and I knew that it was a race between James Stewart and I, and Kevin, but once James went out, the season got really tough," Reed added concerning his 2008 campaign. "I think I lost focus. Winning became really easy. I felt like I was on a roll, and no one was going to beat me. I just got too content. It was just becoming kind of easy, and I made mistakes."
"Next year is a long way away, and there's a lot of stuff that needs to happen between now and then. I want to put my head down and just enjoy the experience. It's been a rough season, and there have been a lot of ups and downs. I just want to thank everybody."
The 25-year-old ends a comprehensive and record-breaking - but also difficult - season with a thirteen point gap over Windham. Josh Hill was fifth and Nathan Ramsey finished with seventh.
Thanks to Jason Lawrence's title in the West Coast Lites division Yamaha have claimed championships in two of the three supercross classes in 2008.
The AMA Motocross championship - in which Yamaha and the YZ450F are defending champions - begins at Glen Helen on May 25th.
Chad Reed
Aussie Reed becomes latest World Champion
Australian Supercross sensation Chad Reed has become a motorcycling World Champion for the second time in his distinguished career.
Reed managed to win the final round of the 2008 AMA Supercross Series in Las Vegas, which is also recognised as an FIM World Championship.
The 2008 World Supercross Champion has added the title to the one that he claimed back in 2004, after finishing this year’s Championship 13 points ahead of American Kevin Windham.
Reed only needed to finish sixth at the final round event in Las Vegas to win the title, but managed to weave his way through the field and pass Kevin Windham with a trademark Reed move, to take the race lead.
It was a lead that Reed never surrendered, and speaking at the press conference after the race, he admitted that it felt amazing to be once again crowned World Champion.
“This is an amazing feeling – this feels good,” he admitted.
“It’s what the dreams are about, it’s why I packed my bags at 18 years old and headed off to Europe, for this feeling right now.
“Every second of it was worth it when you get this.”
Reed admitted that this year’s title had a slightly different feel about it to the one that he won in 2004, as he had to fight harder for results this time around.
“2004 was one of those years where I just, I was on the podium every weekend – my worst finish was third, and it seemed like it as a relatively easy season.
“This one started out like that and then it just seemed like it got a little bit derailed half way and I just think I was making a lot of mistakes.
“It was really tough to concentrate and to find the motivation when James (Stewart) went away, and winning became so easy where the winning wasn’t feeling like winning.
“I felt like I was just out there and was becoming a bit of a robot, and wasn’t really having a lot of fun to be honest.
“I think that it was great to take a few falls and get a bit of a slap to the back of the head.
“K-Dub (Kevin Windham) stepped it up and started riding strong, and it makes it a sweet feeling here in Vegas.”
Reed will take some well earned time off now before heading home for the onset of the 2008 Australian Supercross Championship.
Reed happy to have family on hand
Chad Reed has admitted that one of the best things about winning the 2008 Supercross World Championship on the weekend, was having his family on hand to witness it.
Reed flew his parents in from Australia to be part of weekend in Las Vegas, and by winning the final round and claiming his second world crown, he didn’t certainly didn’t leave them disappointed.
Speaking at the official post-event press conference, Reed revealed how he paid for his parents to share the experience with him.
“I flew them over this weekend, flew mum and dad over first class, and they were excited,” he said.
“I told them: ‘hey you guys, I want you to come over’, and didn’t tell them what I’d booked them.
“Mum called when she found out and was pretty excited.”
Reed explained that coming into the pits after the race and embracing his parents was an emotional moment, and one which he will not soon forget.
“It was a good feeling. Not a lot of things bring tears to my eyes, but it’s a good feeling to come in and hug mum and dad and just to know where you’ve been and where you’re going.
“I sacrificed a lot as a kid, and I have a brother and a sister and I pretty much ran the family. When I wanted to go racing we got to go racing and as they say, when Chad was happy the family was happy.
“It’s just been one of those things that has been tough.
“My relationship with them has been rocky – up and down, but they’re my mum and dad, they’ve stood by me, and I’ll love them till death.
“I’m glad they’re here to experience it.”
KTM Racing
US Supercross Series: 17th round Las Vegas, NV
The final round of the Supercross Series that kicked off at Sam Boyd Stadium was jam packed of the world's finest riders including MDK KTM Factory rider Nick Wey.
Wey pulled off a tremendous start in his heat for the third week in a row coming out of the starting area in 2nd place. Unfortunately, he made a mistake in the whoops on the first lap allowing two riders to go past, dropping him to 4th. He held 4th for the rest of the moto to easily qualify for the main.
The Supercross main event was a replay of Wey's heat as he came flying out of the gate in 3rd position. Andrew Short managed to make a pass on Wey, but Wey stayed close and maintained 4th position for a while longer until Reed made a move. Wey stayed close not letting the gap between the top four riders get out of site. Soon he was battling for 5th with Honda's Davi Millsaps. The two battled back in forth for the last few laps with Wey out front and then Millsaps. On the last lap Wey tried to make a pass stick but bobbled over a jump allowing Millsaps to jump ahead as they crossed the finish line. In his best looking ride of the season Wey finished 6th. "Nick (Wey) looked very fast tonight and we were incredibly impressed on his last minute charge for 6th. We feel incredibly confident in his speed as we leave here and begin to prepare or the outdoors," commented MDK KTM Factory Team Manager Steve Lamson.
Brayton 6th in Lites class shoot out
Shoot out of the Supercross Lites Series that kicked off at Sam Boyd Stadium with MDK KTM Lites Team riders Justin Brayton, Matt Goerke, and Ryan Sipes.
Brayton was up first in Lites heat #1. After a 12th place start he found himself in a second corner pile up. He was last to remount which set him 20 seconds back from the rest of the pack ultimately sending him to the LCQ.
Goerke and Sipes hopped out front early in Lites heat #2 coming down the long start straight in 4th and 5th respectively. Goerke continued to move forward at an aggressive pace quickly moving into 3rd. He caught up and battled with the 2nd place ride of Trey Canard but wasn't able to make the pass stick. Goerke finished 3rd in his heat. Sipes managed to cross the line in 7th after a couple late moto mistakes cost him a few positions.
In the Lites LCQ Brayton redeemed himself by pulling a massive holeshot leading the race from start to finish, never looking back. "I was bummed to have to qualify through the LCQ but I was glad it was an easy win for me," reported Brayton.
The first KTM to come into the stadium off the start of the West vs. East Coast Shoot Out was Goerke sitting in 8th. His team-mate, Brayton, got held up on the start and was back in 18th. Sipes had even worse luck when he crashed in the first turn, setting him back nearly a lap. Back inside, Goerke was on the gas moving through the pack. Just short of the halfway mark, Goerke had worked his way into 6th and was closing fast on the 5th place ride of Ryan Morias when he crashed hard over a small table jump before the finish line. Goerke's crash knocked the wind out of him and caused him to retire from the race.
Meanwhile, Sipes, who was still down a lap after his start, was giving his best effort to catch any rider he could. By the end of the moto, he ended up 19th overall. The highlight of the Shoot Out was Brayton's charge through the pack. Despite his near last place start he blasted through the pack passing one or more riders on each lap. When the checkered flag flew he had moved his way up from 18th to 6th less than a bike length back from the 5th place rider.
Team Suzuki
DUNGEY WINS AT LAS VEGAS FINALE
 Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's Ryan Dungey capped off the 2008 AMA Supercross Lites season by not only winning the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout for the second year in a row, but by also being honoured with the Rising Star Award as well.
In the Las Vegas season finale event, Dungey finished second in his heat race and then came from behind to take the win in the 15-lap SX Lites main.
Later in the weekend, he was honoured with the new Rising Star award at the Live Nation awards banquet.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Nico Izzi had a rough night in the SX Lites main and finished 15th while team mate David Vuillemin picked up his 10th top-10 finish in the premier Supercross class.
Ryan Dungey:
"To win this race two years in a row is huge for me. It was a very special win for me because I came from behind and rode smart on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250. I lost some time in the beginning of the race, but I was able to find my groove as the race progressed. We're getting ready to start testing for AMA Motocross now and I'm glad to take the momentum from this win into the upcoming race season."
David Vuillemin:
"I always enjoy racing in Las Vegas, though it was a pretty tricky track and the whoops were really bad this year. But I felt like I rode good in practice, and I had a decent heat race and main event. On the first lap of the main though, I lost three spots right off the bat. But I finished in the top 10 and I can't complain. Now it's time to turn the page and get ready for motocross. We have three weeks until that series starts and we'll be testing the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and getting ready for the season."
Nico Izzi:
"I had a pretty good heat race and practice was going good but I had a little bit of a rough main. I got caught in the first-turn pile-up and then I caught up to about sixth place, but then I fell and went off the track. There's only so much you can do after that. Overall, I felt like I rode pretty good -- I was hammering out the whoops and everything. I definitely learned a lot, but I had some unfortunate bad luck. Now I'm just looking forward to the motocross season."
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at round one of AMA Motocross at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, on May 24 - 25th.
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