250 Words: Indy Lites

March 3, 2008 9:18am | by:
It was another exciting weekend at the Indianapolis Supercross in the Lites class. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Branden Jesseman pulled the Progressive Direct holeshot but was immediately passed by Torco Racing Fuels Honda's Trey Canard for the lead, with Villopoto coming out in fourth. The stage was set for a good night of racing. After a few laps, Canard looked strong but Villopoto was starting to find his rhythm as he was railing the outside of the berms and starting to pull up on Canard each lap.

  • Trey Canard (48) pressured Jesseman into a mistake en route to his second-consecutive Lites victory.
Around the halfway point, Villopoto put in his best lap of the night, pulled up on Canard, and went for the pass in the turn before the finish. All of a sudden, Villopoto clipped a hay bale, causing him to high side. Canard had nowhere to go and hit into RV's downed bike, causing him to stall while Jesseman inherited the lead. But then on the very next lap Jesseman stalled his KX250F in the very same turn and gave the lead back to Canard!

With Canard in the lead, Rockstar Suzuki’s Nico Izzi was in second and looking for his first podium. But you can never count out Ryan Villopoto, as he was putting on a charge of a lifetime to make up as many points as possible. With a few laps to go, he passed MDK KTM's Sipes and Honda Red Bull's Coisy and was coming for Izzi. On the last lap, Villopoto passed Izzi for the second spot on the podium, earning his first 22 points of the season.

Canard has gained 28 points on Villopoto in the first two rounds of the series. If he can keep it on two wheels, it’s going to be nearly impossible for Villopoto to come back and win this championship. But you never know...

Indy Lites Results:
1. Trey Canard (Hon)
2. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
3. Nico Izzi (Suz)
4. Ben Coisy (Hon)
5. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
6. Branden Jesseman (Kaw)
7. Tyler Bowers (Yam)
8. Billy Payne (Hon)
9. Matt Goerke (KTM)
10. Martin Davalos (KTM)
11. Jake Moss (Yam)
12. Josh Grant (Hon)
13. Travis Sewell (Suz)
14. Ryan Morais (Yam)
15. Nathan Skaggs (Hon)
16. Michael McDade (Hon)
17. Jimmy Albertson (Suz)
18. Willy Browning (Suz)
19. Leighton Lillie (Hon)
20. Zach Ames (Hon)
21. Kyle Partridge (Hon)
22. Shane Sewell (Kaw)