Sign of the (Lap) Times: Glen Helen
The final round of the 2007 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented riders with the longest race track of the season at Glen Helen. The track was over a mile and a half long, and it threw a little bit of everything at the riders, including uphills, downhills, off-cambers, sand, ruts, whoops, hardpack and very big jumps. But as we’ve seen all year long, the cream rises to the top, and our champions were both able to record the fastest lap time in the first moto. They both then cruised in Moto 2, knowing that there was a title on the line and a moto win or setting the fastest time wasn’t necessary—they just had to garner a respectable finish.
And yet again, both Villopoto and Townley had faster lap times than all of the 450 riders, even on Glen Helen’s massive uphills.
Lites
In the first Lites moto, the three fastest lap times came from riders aboard Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasakis. Ryan Villopoto was fastest with a 2:34.362, which came on lap six. Ben Townley’s best lap was a little over a second slower than RV’s, and his came on lap three. Rounding out the top three was Brett Metcalfe with a 2:37.243. Like Townley, Metcalfe’s best lap also came on the third lap.
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The second moto again saw the Pro Circuit riders out front, this time occupying the top four spots in lap times. BT and RV flip-flopped, as Townley was a man on a mission, recording a 2:37.987 on his way to the moto win and overall. RV cruised home to a championship, but still managed to log a 2:38.266, which was good enough to be the second fastest Lites rider in the moto. Stroupe had the third fastest time, with Metcalfe fourth. Trey Canard rounded out the top five, with a 2:41.620.
Pos.
|
Moto 1
|
Moto 2
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
1
|
02:35.655
|
02:37.987
|
Ben Townley
|
Kawasaki
|
2
|
02:34.362
|
02:38.266
|
Kawasaki
|
|
3
|
02:37.243
|
02:41.135
|
Kawasaki
|
|
4
|
02:39.137
|
02:42.640
|
Yamaha
|
|
5
|
02:38.377
|
02:41.134
|
Kawasaki
|
|
6
|
02:39.933
|
02:43.330
|
KTM
|
|
7
|
02:40.340
|
02:44.180
|
Honda
|
|
8
|
02:38.425
|
02:41.620
|
Honda
|
|
9
|
02:39.975
|
02:44.088
|
Suzuki
|
|
10
|
02:43.188
|
02:44.145
|
Kawasaki
|
|
11
|
02:41.556
|
02:43.906
|
Honda
|
|
12
|
02:42.112
|
02:47.353
|
Yamaha
|
|
13
|
02:43.677
|
02:44.556
|
Kawasaki
|
|
14
|
02:40.983
|
02:43.017
|
Yamaha
|
|
15
|
02:45.771
|
02:43.317
|
Yamaha
|
|
16
|
02:43.567
|
02:46.541
|
Zach Osborne
|
KTM
|
17
|
02:43.364
|
N/A
|
Andrew McFarlane
|
Suzuki
|
18
|
02:45.267
|
02:47.415
|
KTM
|
|
19
|
02:47.550
|
02:49.880
|
Adam Miller
|
KTM
|
20
|
02:43.728
|
02:55.300
|
Kelly Smith
|
Suzuki
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AMA Motocross
The first moto of the AMA Motocross class at Glen Helen was one of the best battles we’ve seen all season, and when it looked like the current points leader was distressed, running in fifth, he turned it on and recorded the fastest lap time of the moto with a 2:36.537, which came on lap 11 of the 14 lap moto. Mike Alessi was second fastest, but when the checkered flag flew, he was 10.7 seconds back of the #8 Yamaha, losing three more points in the championship battle. Langston’s time ended up being the fastest of the day in the AMA Motoross class.
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Kevin Windham was unbelievable in the second moto, taking off for the moto win and scoring the fastest lap time along the way. Langston, riding with the title in mind, was still second quickest, with Mike Alessi rounding out the top three. Yamaha’s Josh Hill improved to the fifth fastest time, with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tim Ferry in sixth.
Pos.
|
Moto 1
|
Moto 2
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
1
|
02:36.537
|
02:39.851
|
Yamaha
|
|
2
|
02:36.702
|
02:39.980
|
KTM
|
|
3
|
02:37.363
|
02:38.703
|
Honda
|
|
4
|
02:37.434
|
02:42.663
|
Kawasaki
|
|
5
|
02:38.046
|
02:41.578
|
Honda
|
|
6
|
02:42.057
|
02:41.697
|
Yamaha
|
|
7
|
02:39.337
|
02:43.158
|
Honda
|
|
8
|
02:44.010
|
02:48.653
|
Honda
|
|
9
|
02:45.333
|
02:49.705
|
Kyle Mace
|
Kawasaki
|
10
|
02:42.318
|
02:49.909
|
Honda
|
|
11
|
02:40.787
|
02:45.876
|
Cody Cooper
|
Honda
|
12
|
02:47.606
|
02:42.984
|
Suzuki
|
|
13
|
02:46.174
|
02:50.756
|
Richie Owens
|
Honda
|
14
|
02:43.077
|
02:46.121
|
Suzuki
|
|
15
|
N/A
|
02:47.298
|
Honda
|
|
16
|
02:47.872
|
02:49.581
|
Honda
|
|
17
|
02:42.744
|
N/A
|
Michael LaPaglia
|
Yamaha
|
18
|
02:44.986
|
02:49.945
|
Scott Simon
|
Kawasaki
|
19
|
02:45.521
|
02:49.674
|
Kevin Rookstool
|
Honda
|
20
|
DNS
|
02:49.083
|
Suzuki
|