Anaheim II Race Report
January 24, 2010 6:55am | by: Steve Cox
It seems impossible to imagine even after the races have already been run, but despite the efforts of Mother Nature, the Anaheim II Supercross, round three of the Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series, was a dry one. Amazingly dry. Dirt Wurx did a tremendous job in fixing up a track that was built nearly a week prior to the race and then rained on (albeit with a sheet of plastic on top) for the entire week leading into Anaheim II. The looks on the riders’ faces as they walked the track during the day on Saturday said it all. They all expected a mud bath, but they got a respectable race track instead.
LITES
In the Lites class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer continued his hot streak inside Angel Stadium, grabbing the holeshot in his heat race, and then running off to victory, and then nearly grabbing the holeshot from his teammate Josh Hansen, and then running off to victory again.
Up until round three, there were other riders who looked like they genuinely had something for Weimer, but, as a friend put it Saturday night, Weimer put in a virtuoso performance in the Lites main event. There’s no better way to describe it. Not only did he pull away to a sizeable lead pretty early on in the race, but he never looked like he was in a hurry on his way to a perfect season through three rounds of racing.
However, he may have been helped by the fact that good friend and rival Ryan Morais, of the Rockstar/Canidae Suzuki team, was knocked out of competition during his heat race earlier in the night when he went down hard and was taken to the hospital for observation overnight.
In the main, following Weimer, his teammate Hansen struggled to keep up with Weimer at first, but then lost the runner-up spot to fast-starting Wil Hahn of the Lucas Oil/TLD Honda team on the fourth lap. Then, seven laps later, Hansen lost another spot, this time to GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard, who started outside the top 10. In the late stages, it seemed as though Canard was going to put a run in on Hahn, but Hahn wouldn’t have it.
At the finish, it was Weimer cruising in for the win over Hahn, Canard, Hansen and Hahn’s teammate Cole Seely.
Weimer now enjoys a 19-point lead with only three rounds in the books.
Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Results: Anaheim 2
450cc
San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart was obviously hurting at Anaheim II. He dropped out of the only timed practice session of the day while favoring his right wrist, and then sat out opening ceremonies before getting beaten by his friend and teammate Josh Hill in the first 450cc heat of the night.
However, Stewart has always been among the toughest riders in the paddock when it comes to riding through pain, and last night was no exception. Stewart actually got the holeshot in the main event over his teammate Hill, with the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki pair of Austin Stroupe and Ryan Dungey running third and fourth.
Dungey was by Stroupe by the third lap and began closing the gap on the San Manuel Yamaha pair, who were dicing out front. Despite his injury, Stewart was still attempting to put himself back into the lead whenever he was passed, and did so successfully for nearly half the race until Dungey caught them and got into the mix.
Dungey had to work hard to pass Stewart, but once it was completed, he went after Hill, and with about five laps left in the 20-lap main, he finally made a pass stick on Hill, who admitted after the race that the pace wore him out early on and he had nothing left at the end.
Dungey took his second win in a row, this time over Josh Hill, with his teammate James Stewart finishing third and salvaging 20 points in the championship despite his injuries. Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short finished a solid fourth coming from behind, and perhaps the most impressive performance off of the podium went to GEICO Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham, who finished a solid fifth place despite rounding the first lap in 13th.
In the championship at this point, Dungey holds a fairly sizable points lead over Hill of 15 points, with Ryan Villopoto (who was seventh on the evening) third in points, Short fourth, and Stewart has moved into fifth place, 21 points behind Dungey.
AMA Supercross Class Results: Anaheim 2
LITES
In the Lites class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer continued his hot streak inside Angel Stadium, grabbing the holeshot in his heat race, and then running off to victory, and then nearly grabbing the holeshot from his teammate Josh Hansen, and then running off to victory again.
Up until round three, there were other riders who looked like they genuinely had something for Weimer, but, as a friend put it Saturday night, Weimer put in a virtuoso performance in the Lites main event. There’s no better way to describe it. Not only did he pull away to a sizeable lead pretty early on in the race, but he never looked like he was in a hurry on his way to a perfect season through three rounds of racing.
However, he may have been helped by the fact that good friend and rival Ryan Morais, of the Rockstar/Canidae Suzuki team, was knocked out of competition during his heat race earlier in the night when he went down hard and was taken to the hospital for observation overnight.
In the main, following Weimer, his teammate Hansen struggled to keep up with Weimer at first, but then lost the runner-up spot to fast-starting Wil Hahn of the Lucas Oil/TLD Honda team on the fourth lap. Then, seven laps later, Hansen lost another spot, this time to GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard, who started outside the top 10. In the late stages, it seemed as though Canard was going to put a run in on Hahn, but Hahn wouldn’t have it.
At the finish, it was Weimer cruising in for the win over Hahn, Canard, Hansen and Hahn’s teammate Cole Seely.
Weimer now enjoys a 19-point lead with only three rounds in the books.
Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Results: Anaheim 2
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
- Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., Kawasaki
- Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda
- Gautier Paulin, France, Yamaha
- Max Antsie, Hemet, Calif., Yamaha
- Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas
- Travis Barker, Temecula, Calif., Honda
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 75
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 56
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 56
- Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda, 51
- Ryan Morais, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 42
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha, 42
- Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda, 38
- Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., Kawasaki, 32
- Max Anstie, Hemet, Calif., Yamaha, 32
- Gautier Paulin, France, Yamaha, 30
450cc
San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart was obviously hurting at Anaheim II. He dropped out of the only timed practice session of the day while favoring his right wrist, and then sat out opening ceremonies before getting beaten by his friend and teammate Josh Hill in the first 450cc heat of the night.
However, Stewart has always been among the toughest riders in the paddock when it comes to riding through pain, and last night was no exception. Stewart actually got the holeshot in the main event over his teammate Hill, with the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki pair of Austin Stroupe and Ryan Dungey running third and fourth.
Dungey was by Stroupe by the third lap and began closing the gap on the San Manuel Yamaha pair, who were dicing out front. Despite his injury, Stewart was still attempting to put himself back into the lead whenever he was passed, and did so successfully for nearly half the race until Dungey caught them and got into the mix.
Dungey had to work hard to pass Stewart, but once it was completed, he went after Hill, and with about five laps left in the 20-lap main, he finally made a pass stick on Hill, who admitted after the race that the pace wore him out early on and he had nothing left at the end.
Dungey took his second win in a row, this time over Josh Hill, with his teammate James Stewart finishing third and salvaging 20 points in the championship despite his injuries. Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short finished a solid fourth coming from behind, and perhaps the most impressive performance off of the podium went to GEICO Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham, who finished a solid fifth place despite rounding the first lap in 13th.
In the championship at this point, Dungey holds a fairly sizable points lead over Hill of 15 points, with Ryan Villopoto (who was seventh on the evening) third in points, Short fourth, and Stewart has moved into fifth place, 21 points behind Dungey.
AMA Supercross Class Results: Anaheim 2
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
- Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
- Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
- Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
- Michael Byrne, Atlanta, Ga., Yamaha
- Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 72
- Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha, 57
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 52
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 52
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha, 51
- Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda, 51
- Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 43
- Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 41
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 37
- Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki, 30