Monster Energy Kawasaki Riders Keep Streak Alive

January 22, 2007, 1:45pm

IRVINE, Calif. (January 20, 2007) - Monster Energy Kawasaki rider James Stewart and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Ryan Villopoto set Angel Stadium on fire last night with back-to-back wins at the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross in Anaheim, Calif. Monster Energy Kawasaki has raised the bar for this season’s Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, winning both the AMA Supercross and AMA Supercross Lites main events three weeks in a row.

Stewart began the day with a runaway win in his heat race and followed it up with another dominant performance in the main event. The victory stretched his lead to 13 points over Chad Reed in the AMA Supercross point standings and 10 points in the World GP standings.

“I was struggling a bit in the heat race but I know that you probably couldn’t tell by the way I was riding,” said Stewart after the race. “But I went back and asked the guys what can we do and they came through. I have to give it up to the team, Monster Energy Kawasaki. They always pull through for me when I need them.”

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry rode to a solid fourth-place finish in the main event, continuing his streak of top five finishes. Ferry's performance last night earned him the third place spot in the AMA Supercross points and fourth in the World GP standings.

Paul Carpenter turned in a career-best ride at Anaheim and brought his Cernic’s Kawasaki home to a seventh-place finish in the main event, while teammate Jeff Gibson was 12th.

Villopoto continued the recent string of successes for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki. Managed by Pro Circuit founder Mitch Payton, Villopoto's team has garnered all three AMA Supercross Lites wins this season, including last weekend’s podium sweep. On this night, Villopoto was clearly no match for the rest of the riders as he won his heat race and the main event, each by over 10 seconds. He now has two wins and one second-place finish and seems to be in control of his own destiny.

“I wasn’t too pumped on my start, but I was strong in the whoops all night, so I knew that’s where I could make passes,” said Villopoto. “I made some passes there, especially in the qualifier and then in the main I had to battle with a few other guys. Other than that, it was a good race and I just have to improve my starts."

Christophe Pourcel, after winning last week in Phoenix did not fare as well on this night in Anaheim. Pourcel came into the race with a slight break in his left hand, suffered while practicing during the week. Pourcel elected to ride through the pain, and actually looked good after winning his heat race. Unfortunately his evening didn't end well. Pourcel came up short on a jump and was forced to pull off the track. “We think that he may have fractured a bone in the bottom of his leg, near his ankle,” stated Payton. Pourcel will visit the doctor this week for further evaluation.

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Chris Gosselaar followed up his third-place finish in Phoenix with a fifth in the main event at Anaheim. He now sits in third place in the AMA Western Region Supercross Lites standings.

Team MotoSport Outlet’s Steve Boniface put his Kawasaki KX250F out front the entire evening, nearly winning his heat race and riding to a seventh place finish in the main event.

For photos of this event and additional news and race results, visit www.kawasaki.com/racing.

Results:

Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Event Results, Anaheim 2
1.        James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Monster Energy Kawasaki
2.        Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha
3.        Nick Wey, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
4.        Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Monster Energy Kawasaki
5.        Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki
6.        Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
7.        Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Cernic’s Kawasaki
8.        Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
9.        Josh Summey, Stanley, N.C., Honda
10.        Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha

Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP Season Standings
1.        James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Monster Energy Kawasaki , 117
2.        Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha, 107
3.        Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 91
4.        Tim Ferry, Largo , Fla., Monster Energy Kawasaki , 84
5.        Nicholas Wey, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 74
6.        David Vuillemin, Menifee, Calif., Honda, 64
7.        Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Honda, 56
8.        Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 55
9.        Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Cernic’s Kawasaki, 53
10.        Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 51

Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1.        James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Monster Energy Kawasaki , 75
2.        Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha, 62
3.        Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Monster Energy Kawasaki , 50
4.        Nicholas Wey, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 46
5.        Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 44
6.        Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 42
7.        Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss, Honda, 40
8.        Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 36
9.        Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 34
10.        Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Honda, 32

Amp’d Mobile Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Event Results, Anaheim 2
1.        Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
2.        Jason Lawrence, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha
3.        Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha
4.        Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda
5.        Christopher Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
6.        Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Honda
7.        Steve Boniface, Corona, Calif., Team MotoSport Kawasaki
8.        Troy Adams, Homosassa, Fla., Suzuki
9.        Kyle Partridge, Las Vegas, Nev., Honda
10.        Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., KTM

Amp’d Mobile Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings

1.        Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, 72
2.        Jason Lawrence, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha, 55
3.        Christopher Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, 49
4.        Christophe Pourcel , France, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, 47
5.        Matthew Lemoine, Pilot Point, Texas, Yamaha, 42
6.        Steve Boniface, Corona, Calif. , Team MotoSport Kawasaki, 40
7.        Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Honda, 38
8.        Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha, 36
9.        Troy Adams, Homosassa, Fla., Suzuki, 36
10.        Josh Hansen, Lake Elsinore, Calif., KTM, 33