Sign of the (Lap) Times: Freestone
Lites
With both Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart absent from AMA Toyota Motocross, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto has presented an argument for himself as the fastest rider in America right now. Aboard a Mitch Payton-tuned KX250F, for the past several races we’ve seen RV set the fastest lap time of the day out of both classes, and it’s not just by a few hundredths of a second—he’s gapping riders by a couple seconds a lap.
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And in only his second pro national, Austin Stroupe was very impressive again, as he not only passed Broc Hepler on the last lap of the first moto but also recorded the second fastest lap time—2:16.276—in only his third moto as a professional!
Another trend we’ve been seeing in the Lites class is consistent rides from Red Bull KTM’s Martin Davalos, who recorded another sixth overall in Texas. Davalos’ outdoor season got off to a rocky start as his first four results of 2007 was a 9th, 38th, 41st and 17th. Since the Thunder Valley National, Davalos’ scorecard reads like this: 6th, 6th, 4th, 7th, 6th. Those are solid performances by the Ecuadorian.
Pos.
|
Moto 1
|
Moto 2
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
1
|
02:14.337
|
02:14.558
|
Kawasaki
|
|
2
|
02:17.246
|
02:18.926
|
Yamaha
|
|
3
|
02:17.101
|
02:14.609
|
Ben Townley
|
Kawasaki
|
4
|
02:17.723
|
02:20.239
|
Kawasaki
|
|
5
|
02:17.604
|
02:19.998
|
Honda
|
|
6
|
02:18.525
|
02:19.973
|
KTM
|
|
7
|
02:19.814
|
02:23.077
|
Honda
|
|
8
|
02:20.224
|
02:23.252
|
Yamaha
|
|
9
|
02:20.801
|
02:23.601
|
Kawasaki
|
|
10
|
02:16.276
|
02:18.072
|
Kawasaki
|
|
11
|
02:21.631
|
02:25.478
|
Joaquim Rodrigues
|
KTM
|
12
|
02:19.631
|
02:24.415
|
Honda
|
|
13
|
02:19.641
|
02:25.064
|
Yamaha
|
|
14
|
02:22.839
|
02:23.937
|
Yamaha
|
|
15
|
02:24.046
|
02:26.282
|
Yamaha
|
|
16
|
02:23.530
|
02:28.327
|
Andrew McFarlane
|
Suzuki
|
17
|
02:25.458
|
02:28.504
|
Kawasaki
|
|
18
|
02:25.167
|
02:28.034
|
Honda
|
|
19
|
02:22.450
|
02:23.440
|
Yamaha
|
|
20
|
02:20.040
|
02:24.979
|
Yamaha
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How is Villopoto doing it? The tracks are slightly smoother for the Lites in the first and second moto, as intermissions come beforehand. But like Tony Cairoli in Europe, he is riding at such a frantic yet controlled pace that he’s just hanging it out (and hanging on) more than anyone else.
AMA Motocross
For the second consecutive week, the rider with the fastest lap time in each moto in the AMA Motocross class was not able to take the overall win. In Texas, Honda’s Andrew Short was a man on a mission, decimating the field in the first moto to take the win and the points lead. Short’s lap time in the first moto—a 2:15.320—was a full two seconds faster than that of Grant Langston’s.
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And in his maiden voyage in the AMA Motocross class, Team Yamaha’s Josh Hill was impressive on the YZ450F, as he had the fifth-fastest lap time in the second moto. His fourth-place finish ahead of Short also helped his teammate, Langston, in the championship hunt.
Pos.
|
Moto 1
|
Moto 2
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
1
|
02:17.330
|
02:18.519
|
Yamaha
|
|
2
|
02:17.794
|
02:19.778
|
KTM
|
|
3
|
02:15.320
|
02:18.416
|
Honda
|
|
4
|
02:18.307
|
02:19.899
|
Kawasaki
|
|
5
|
02:19.966
|
02:22.803
|
Cody Cooper
|
Honda
|
6
|
02:19.254
|
02:23.622
|
Suzuki
|
|
7
|
02:20.288
|
02:21.176
|
Honda
|
|
8
|
02:22.504
|
02:25.171
|
Suzuki
|
|
9
|
02:20.476
|
02:20.241
|
Yamaha
|
|
10
|
02:22.964
|
02:25.403
|
Honda
|
|
11
|
02:24.671
|
02:27.238
|
Kyle Lewis
|
Honda
|
12
|
02:25.816
|
02:24.253
|
Honda
|
|
13
|
02:21.926
|
02:28.458
|
Honda
|
|
14
|
02:23.040
|
02:24.599
|
Kyle Keylon
|
Honda
|
15
|
02:22.561
|
02:26.239
|
Suzuki
|
|
16
|
02:22.968
|
02:31.372
|
KTM
|
|
17
|
02:25.113
|
N/A
|
Honda
|
|
18
|
02:24.236
|
02:25.825
|
Shaun Skinner
|
Honda
|
19
|
02:26.617
|
02:27.754
|
Honda
|
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20
|
02:24.229
|
02:31.152
|
Ryan Mills
|
Kawasaki
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