Sign of the (Lap) Times: RedBud

July 3, 2007, 12:00pm

Motocross Lites

In the AMA Motocross Lites class, it was total domination by Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, who laid down the fastest lap times in each moto on his way to a perfect 1-1. His teammate, Ben Townley, was second fastest each time out, but he was a little under a second slower the first moto, and over two seconds slower in moto 2.

Pos.	Moto 1	Moto 2	Rider	Bike
1	02:30.814	02:31.242	Ryan Villopoto	Kawasaki
2	02:31.525	02:33.324	Ben Townley	Kawasaki
3	02:35.229	02:38.300	Josh Grant	Honda
4	02:33.233	02:37.843	Jason Lawrence	Yamaha
5	02:38.185	02:38.683	Jake Weimer	Honda
6	02:36.453	02:39.346	Tommy Hahn	Honda
7	02:39.861	02:41.296	Ryan Morais	Yamaha
8	02:39.317	02:39.443	Andrew McFarlane	Suzuki
9	02:38.061	02:41.629	Chris Gosselaar	Kawasaki
10	02:39.246	02:41.148	Kyle Chisholm	Kawasaki
11	02:39.464	02:40.306	Joaquim Rodrigues	KTM
12	02:40.673	02:40.658	Robert Kiniry	Kawasaki
13	02:37.435	N/A	Josh Hill	Yamaha
14	02:41.024	02:41.035	Matt Lemoine	Yamaha
15	02:40.005	02:41.450	Tucker Hibbert	Kawasaki
16	02:38.590	N/A	Ricky Renner	Honda
17	02:39.016	02:39.771	Matt Goerke	Yamaha
18	02:40.923	02:41.530	Daniel Sani	Yamaha
19	02:40.815	02:44.115	Kelly Smith	Suzuki
20	02:38.089	02:39.348	Broc Tickle	Yamaha

But it’s interesting to note at how far out front these top two guys are. Check the fastest lap time of the third-place guy—he’s a few seconds off the pace every lap. And it shows, as Villopoto won the second moto by almost a minute and a half over third-place Josh Grant.

RV was flying at RedBud

But the most surprising aspect of RV’s Red Bud weekend is when you compare his lap times to the MX class. Although the track was long, rough, rutted, and fast, RV’s best lap of 2:31.242 was just a tad slower than RC’s 2:30.924; and it was faster than that of James Stewart, who logged a 2:31.688 as his fastest time in Moto 2. I think this race was definitely a statement on know who is going to represent the MX2 class for the United States at this year’s MXdN at Budds Creek.

Jake Weimer rode well for fifth overall

And here’s a nod to SoBe No Fear/Samsung Honda’s Jake Weimer, who put in a solid 7-4 for fifth overall—his best overall finish of the season.

Motocross class

In the first moto, James Stewart recorded the fastest MX lap time with a 02:29.532, just a few hundredths faster than RC. The third quickest was Red Bull KTM’s Mike Alessi, who had been fast all weekend long. In moto 2 RC took the honors of having the fastest time, and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tim Ferry was third behind his teammate Stewart.

Pos.	Moto 1	Moto 2	Rider	Bike
1	02:29.802	02:30.924	Ricky Carmichael	Suzuki
2	02:29.532	02:31.688	James Stewart	Kawasaki
3	02:33.311	02:35.186	Mike Alessi	KTM
4	02:33.887	02:34.705	Tim Ferry	Kawasaki
5	02:34.427	02:36.786	Andrew Short	Honda
6	02:33.840	02:38.610	Grant Langston	Yamaha
7	02:38.773	02:38.265	Jeff Alessi	KTM
8	02:38.041	02:37.609	Kevin Windham	Honda
9	02:37.439	02:39.916	David Vuillemin	Honda
10	02:40.190	02:40.202	Michael Byrne	Suzuki
11	02:38.917	02:41.467	Josh Summey	Honda
12	02:39.051	02:38.996	Gavin Gracyk	Honda
13	02:39.360	02:40.339	Ivan Tedesco	Suzuki
14	02:40.291	02:43.199	Kyle Lewis	Honda
15	02:39.706	02:43.054	Bobby Garrison	Yamaha
16	02:41.644	02:40.613	Troy Adams	Suzuki
17	02:39.600	02:41.662	Justin Sipes	Kawasaki
18	02:42.428	02:41.731	Ryan Mills	Kawasaki
19	02:41.033	N/A	Antonio Balbi	Honda
20	02:42.304	02:42.679	Shaun Skinner	Honda

The top five finishers have pretty consistent lap times from the first and second motos—until you come across Team Yamaha’s Grant Langston. GL’s fastest lap in the first moto was a 2:33; in the second moto it was a 2:38. One of the most consistent times came from Rockstar Suzuki’s Michael Byrne. His first moto he logged a 2:40.190; Moto 2 he had a 2:40.202.

Red Bull KTM's Mike Alessi

Farther back, Jeff Alessi put in some good lap times, as well as Moto XXX Honda’s Josh Summey, and privateer Gavin Gracyk, whose fastest lap times each moto were better than Makita Suzuki’s Ivan Tedesco.