Sign Of The (Lap) Times: Detroit

April 24, 2007 11:32am

AMA SX Lites

Finish	Best Lap Time	Rider	Bike
3	48.661	Tommy Hahn	Honda
1	48.662	Ryan Dungey	Suzuki
2	48.858	Ben Townley	Kawasaki
4	48.896	Billy Laninovich	Honda
5	49.129	Ryan Morais	Yamaha
6	49.338	Branden Jesseman	Yamaha
8	49.355	Mike Alessi	KTM
17	49.379	Broc Tickle	Yamaha
7	49.647	Kelly Smith	Suzuki
10	49.750	Darcy Lange	Kawasaki
18	49.815	Jeff Alessi	KTM
11	49.887	Robert Kiniry	Kawasaki
9	49.915	Matt Boni	Kawasaki
22	50.100	Sean Hackley	Yamaha
13	50.222	Tucker Hibbert	Yamaha
12	50.799	Zach Osborne	KTM
14	50.885	Teddy Maier	Honda
15	51.146	Ricky Renner	Honda
20	51.209	Brad Ripple	Kawasaki
16	51.498	Tyler Bright	Yamaha

Although it was very, very close, Team Honda’s Tommy Hahn finally showed the speed that he’s capable of by laying down the fastest lap time in the Lites class in Detroit. His 48.661, which came on lap seven, barely beat out winner Ryan Dungey’s 48.662, which came on lap four. The difference came on the start, where Dungey pulled the Progressive Direct Holeshot, and Hahn had to fight his way up from a mid-pack start. It’s also interesting to note that the fastest Lites time would only be 12th fastest in the AMA Supercross class this time.

Team Honda's Tommy Hahn was very fast in Detroit

But what about our title contenders? The fastest lap time from the top three finalists came from our new champion, Ben Townley, who posted the third-fastest lap time of the night with a 48.858. Our championship runner-up Ryan Morais had the fifth-fastest lap time of the night in the Lites class, with a 49.129. The big surprise though is Darcy Lange, who seemed way off pace in Detroit. Lange could only muster up the 10th fastest lap time of the main event in what was a problematic night on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit KX250F.

Red Bull KTM's Mike Alessi

Biggest surprise: It just comes to a surprise that Red Bull KTM’s Mike Alessi had only the seventh fastest main-event lap time after having such a blistering heat race win. Alessi has proved earlier this season that he was capable of having lap times in the top two or three, but he was off the pace in Michigan.

AMA SX

Finish	Best Lap Time	Rider	Bike
1	47.004	James Stewart	Kawasaki
4	47.421	Kevin Windham	Honda
3	47.686	Tim Ferry	Kawasaki
2	47.749	Chad Reed	Yamaha
21	47.805	Davi Millsaps	Honda
5	48.067	Andrew Short	Honda
8	48.216	Ivan Tedesco	Suzuki
15	48.495	Michael Byrne	Suzuki
7	48.561	Heath Voss	Honda
9	48.632	Paul Carpenter	Kawasaki
6	48.696	David Vuillemin	Honda
11	49.565	Josh Summey	Honda
18	49.921	Eric Sorby	Kawasaki
10	50.012	Jason Thomas	Honda
12	50.066	Jeff Gibson	Kawasaki
14	50.173	Brock Sellards	Honda
13	50.188	Keith R. Johnson	Yamaha
16	50.222	Jacob Marsack	Kawasaki
20	50.574	Robbie Reynard	Honda
19	50.802	Tyler Evans	Suzuki

It was hard to tell what it was, but San Manuel Yamaha’s Chad Reed was simply off the pace in Detroit. All season long Reed has been within the top two or three in lap times, and he even recorded the fastest lap of the night a few weeks back in Dallas. But that track was moist and tacky; Detroit was dry and slippery, which Reed just didn’t look comfortable on. So for the first time all season, Reed fell out of the top three in lap times.

SoBe No Fear/Samsung Mobile Honda's Kevin Windham was the second fastest rider in Detroit

But we saw the sudden re-emergence of SoBe No Fear/Samsung Mobile Honda’s Kevin Windham, who clocked a lap time that was within a half-second of James Stewart’s. Windham did that on lap five; Stewart was fastest on lap three, which solidifies my hypothesis of James’ game plan. He pulls the holeshot and gets out of dodge.

Behind Windham was Stewart’s Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate, Tim Ferry, with a 47.686. Reed was fourth with a 47.749, and Team Honda’s Davi Millsaps rounded out the top five in the AMA Supercross class with a 47.805.

Biggest Surprise: For recently coming off an injury, Team Honda’s Andrew Short is really putting in some impressive lap times and finishes. Short has less than five premiere-class races under his belt, and his lap times are only a second slower than the fastest in the world. Give Shorty some time…