Wey and Brayton Make History

April 21, 2008, 6:17am

St. Louis, MO – MDK KTM riders Nick Wey and Justin Brayton made history when they both qualified for the Supercross main event aboard their KTM 450SX-F machines marking the first time two KTM 450’s have ever competed in the Supercross main event.

Justin Brayton

MDK KTM riders can also rejoice in the fact that they pulled the holeshot in three of the four heat races starting with MDK KTM Lites rider Ryan Sipes in Heat #1. He held the lead until turn five when he missed a triple jump and got passed by two riders. He remained in 3rd until he ran into a tuff block and crashed. He quickly recovered and finished 6th to qualify into the main.

Matt Goerke was up next in Heat #2 where he sat in 7th off the start and was able to work his way into 5th by the end of the heat. MDK KTM Factory rider Martin Davalos was unable to compete tonight after a crash in practice tore his inner thigh muscle.

MDK KTM Factory rider Nick Wey earned the second KTM holeshot of the night during his best heat race of the season. Shortly after the start, while still in the lead, he made a mistake that allowed two riders to pass. Soon he found himself back in the lead after a mistake by the first two. Wey maintained the lead until lap 7 when Davi Millsaps began to pressure him. Wey held him off for a lap until both riders came together and Wey crashed. He recovered quickly thanks to his electric start KTM 450SX-F and was able to finish 6th.

Nick Wey

MDK KTM West Lites rider Justin Brayton made his debut on the KTM 450SX-F in Heat #2 with a massive holeshot (number 3 for those counting). He continued to lead the opening lap of his first-ever Supercross race before surrendering the lead to Josh Hill. He stayed in second until lap 7 when he was passed by Kevin Windham. He would go on to finish a remarkable 3rd place to qualify into his first Supercross main event.

Matt Goerke

Goerke’s decision to line up on the far outside gate turned out to be the wrong choice when he got pushed out on the first lap of the Supercross Lites main event resulting in a first turn crash and a 21st place start for the Florida native. Despite his poor start, Goerke rode a strong and exciting race working his way up through the pack to finish inside the top ten with a 9th overall for the night. His teammate Sipes also gave a notable performance coming from 15th on the start to 7th for the night in spite of a crash on lap 11 in a battle with Ben Coisy for that 6th place spot.

Wey got a great jump on the start of the Supercross main event but it ended when he found himself in the middle of a first turn pile up. Brayton managed to avoid the wreckage and came around in 7th on lap 1. Even with Wey’s 19th place spot at the end of lap one, he rode his heart out and passed each rider within his site to finish 11th for the night. This included a last lap, bar-to-bar battle with David Vuillemin for that 11th spot. Brayton had an astonishing ride in his Supercross class debut working as high as 6th place which he held until lap 14 when he was passed by Davi Millsaps. Brayton rode consistent and smooth throughout the night and finished a solid 7th overall on his new KTM 450SX-F ride. With this finish, he has the confidence he needs to return to the West Lites Championship Series next week in Seattle, WA.

Ryan Sipes

Next Event: Round 16, Seattle, WA – April 26, 2008

Overall Results Lites Class:
1. T. Canard
2. B. Jesseman
3. J. Grant
4. R. Villopoto
5. R. Morias
6. K. Chisholm
7. R. Sipes – KTM
8. N. Izzi
9. M. Goerke – KTM
10. B. Payne

Overall Lites Series Points Results:
1. T. Canard – 147
2. R. Villopoto – 137
3. N. Izzi – 99
4. B. Jesseman – 94
5. J. Grant – 91
6. T. Bowers – 86
7. R. Morias – 84
8. R. Sipes – 84
9. M. Davalos – 73
10. B. Payne – 71
11. M. Goerke – 62

Overall Results Supercross Class:
1. K. Windham
2. C. Reed
3. A. Short
4. N. Ramsey
5. T. Hahn
6. D. Millsaps
7. J. Brayton – KTM
8. P. Carpenter
9. T. Preston
10. J. Thomas
11. N. Wey – KTM
12. D. Vuillemin
13. H. Voss
14. E. Sorby
15. B. Johnson
16. J. Hill
17. J. Gibson
18. K. Johnson
19. T. Adams
20. K. Smith
21. T. Ferry

Overall Supercross Series Points Results:
1. C. Reed – 318
2. K. Windham – 305
3. D. Millsaps – 244
4. A. Short – 241
5. J. Hill – 196
6. T. Ferry – 190
7. N. Ramsey – 173
8. D. Vuillemin – 146
9. P. Carpenter – 136
10. N. Wey – 131