Sign of the (Lap) Times: Seattle
This year’s Seattle track was quoted by one rider as being “the driest, muddiest track they’ve ever seen.” After every practice session the Dirt Wurx crew was on the course spreading lime and filling ruts, doing their best to give the riders what they wanted. As the night wore on, the track looked more like Daytona than Seattle, and clinching the AMA Supercross championship wasn’t going to be as easy as everyone thought for James Stewart.
Finish
|
Best Lap Time
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
1
|
50.171 |
Kawasaki
|
|
2
|
50.794 |
Honda
|
|
6
|
51.311 |
Yamaha
|
|
4
|
51.867 |
Kawasaki
|
|
3
|
51.918 |
Honda
|
|
5
|
52.566 |
Honda
|
|
13
|
52.771 |
Suzuki
|
|
12
|
53.208 |
Yamaha
|
|
11
|
53.260 |
Kawasaki
|
|
7
|
53.444 |
Suzuki
|
|
10
|
53.558 |
Kawasaki
|
|
8
|
53.605 |
David Vuillemin
|
Honda
|
9
|
53.684 |
Honda
|
|
15
|
54.429 |
Robbie Reynard
|
Honda
|
19
|
54.710 |
Honda
|
|
14
|
55.056 |
Brock Sellards
|
Honda
|
17
|
55.193 |
Kevin Johnson
|
Yamaha
|
16
|
55.429 |
Joe Oehlhof
|
Kawasaki
|
18
|
55.507 |
Bryan Johnson
|
Honda
|
20
|
55.957 |
Kyle Lewis
|
Honda
|
But once again the Monster Energy rider prevailed. One would think that he would’ve adopted a conservative approach to secure the championship. Well, it appeared he did. And even though he rode conservatively, number 7 still managed to log the fastest main event lap time on his way to his first-ever AMA Supercross championship.
Stewart’s 50.171 was the fastest time of the night, and Team Honda’s Davi Millsaps was second with a 50.794. San Manuel Yamaha’s Chad Reed was third with a 51.311, and Tim Ferry was fourth with a 51.867. Third-place finisher Kevin Windham had the fifth fastest time of the night with a 51.918.
Team Honda's Davi Millsaps was on the gas in Seattle to take second place--his best career SX finish.
Biggest surprise: The sudden resurgence of Team Honda’s Davi Millsaps. Prior to Seattle, Davi’s highest ranking in the lap chart was in Dallas, where he logged the fourth-fastest time in the SX class. And then you give him one of the roughest circuits that these riders have seen all year, and he’s within a half-second of James Stewart. This was a very good sign for the outdoor nationals.
SX Lites
The rough and rutted course definitely leveled the playing field between the 450s and the 250Fs. On the east coast we’ve been seeing a difference of at least a second from the fastest lap times in each class, but this week Ryan Villopoto was fastest, and his time was within a second of Stewart’s. SoBe No Fear/Samsung Mobile Honda’s Josh Grant was the second-fastest Lites rider with a 51.525.
Finish
|
Best Lap Time
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
1
|
50.914 |
Kawasaki
|
|
20
|
51.525 |
Honda
|
|
3
|
51.589 |
Yamaha
|
|
2
|
51.860 |
Yamaha
|
|
4
|
52.966 |
Honda
|
|
5
|
53.364 |
Kawasaki
|
|
8
|
53.433 |
Dusty Klatt
|
Yamaha
|
22
|
53.705 |
Yamaha
|
|
6
|
53.897 |
Mike LaPaglia
|
Yamaha
|
10
|
54.048 |
KTM
|
|
9
|
54.128 |
Yamaha
|
|
19
|
54.131 |
Joaquim Rodrigues
|
Kawasaki
|
7
|
54.135 |
Suzuki
|
|
11
|
55.482 |
Yamaha
|
|
21
|
55.669 |
Yamaha
|
|
13
|
55.741 |
Vernon McKiddie
|
Yamaha
|
14
|
55.751 |
Honda
|
|
15
|
56.219 |
KTM
|
|
12
|
56.358 |
Ryan Grantom
|
Yamaha
|
18
|
57.352 |
Kawasaki
|
But it’s very interesting to note that the fourth fastest rider in the Lites class, Jason Lawrence, had a 51.860, which was faster than the fourth fastest finisher in the Supercross class—Tim Ferry.
All things considered, we are all in for a treat Saturday in the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout.
Josh Hill scored third overall in the Western Regional Lites series as a rookie
Biggest surprise: Team Yamaha’s Josh Hill gets the nod in the Lites class. After a superb heat-race win, Hill finally led his first supercross lap as a pro and went on to finish third in Seattle, giving him third overall in his rookie season. This is a bright spot in Team Yamaha’s very bleak season thus far.