250 Words: Anaheim 3

We almost had a very exciting race in the Supercross Lites class at A3, but a red flag ruined that. Yamaha of Troy’s Jason Lawrence had just passed Red Bull KTM’s Josh Hansen, and current points leader Ryan Villopoto was mired in mid-pack. Unfortunately, SoBe/No Fear/Samsung Honda’s Jake Weimer hit the ground in the first turn, forcing the officials to red-flag the race.

The second time around, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Villopoto didn’t waste any time and pulled the Progressive Direct holeshot. At the end of lap one, RV already had a sizable lead, and he continued to stretch it out throughout the next 14 laps, giving him a clean sweep at Anaheim 3—just like that other extraordinary Kawasaki rider. SoBe/Samsung Mobile Honda’s Josh Grant started and stayed in second place the entire race, but he didn’t have anything for Villopoto, who now has a comfortable 31-point lead over J-Law after five rounds.

The best battle in this class was for the final podium position, which Red Bull KTM’s Martin Davalos looked to have a solid hold on until around the midway point, when Lawrence was able to pass him over a triple. Davalos lost momentum in the pass and came up short on the triple, causing him to lose a few more positions. Lawrence was able to hit the podium after a mid-pack start, and he was followed across the finish by Team Yamaha’s Josh Hill, who again overcame a terrible start and passed Josh Hansen in the waning moments of the main event.