MDK KTM Earns Podium at the First Race of the Year
Anaheim, CA - What better way to celebrate the first big rain storm of the season than at the opening round of the AMA Supercross FIM Championship Series in Anaheim, CA?
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Shortly after practice the MDK KTM riders suited up for their heats. Justin Brayton on the #114 MDK KTM 250SX-F machine was first up in Heat #1. Brayton was in third position after turn one. It was a three way battle around the course the first lap as riders aggressively diced back and forth. Brayton eventually moved up to second behind Suzuki's Ryan Dungey. Brayton settled into second safely qualifying into the main.
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Next up was MDK KTM Factory rider Nick Wey in Heat #1 of the Supercross class. Wey had a mid pack start and charged hard through the mud as he began to catch and pass his competitors. He was able to grab a hold of seventh position by the end of the heat which earned him a direct transfer to the main event.
In the last chance qualifier Laninovich suffered a bad start near the end of the pack. As he began moving forward he bobbled in a section and suffered an unfortunate crash. He was able to remount but by that time the race had ended and he wasn't able to qualify to the main.
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As the gate dropped for the Supercross main event the 450s charged hard toward the first turn. Nick Wey came around in seventh. He soon passed into the top five. The battle was strong the first few laps as he and the other riders swapped positions back and forth. On lap six Wey accidentally stalled the bike while in 5th place. He got it started again but had dropped back to 11th. For the remainder of the race he continued to push forward moving into the top ten with four laps to go. He managed to get up to ninth when the checkered flag dropped. "I think Nick rode well tonight. It was unfortunate that he stalled the bike and lost a few positions but his speed was there. Now that he has the first race out of the way I believe he will be a top runner next week," stated MDK KTM Factory Team Manager Steve Lamson after the main event.
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Supercross Lites Results:
1. Ryan Dungey
2. Jason Lawrence
3. Justin Brayton - KTM
4. Dan Reardon
5. Austin Stroupe
1. Chad Reed
2. James Stewart
3. Tim Ferry
4. Grant Langston
5. Kevin Windham
6. Mike Alessi
7. Davi Millsaps
8. Andrew Short
9. Nick Wey - KTM
10. David Vuillemin