Hooters-Moto XXX Tamer St. Louis SX Report
St. Louis, MO. 04/19/08
The fifteenth round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross series kicked off inside the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri this past weekend and with only two rounds left the action was heating up.
After taking a week off from the AMA series to compete in the inaugural ESPN Moto-X Championships, Antonio Balbi Jr. was back inside the semi with both his teammates and was looking to put his Hooters/Moto XXX Tamer Honda into the main event.
Mitch Dougherty started the night off in the second Lites class heat race but would struggle in the opening laps and depart the race just past the half way point.
Eric Sorby was the next rider on the gate for the first Supercross class heat race. Sorby got a top 10 start and immediately started chipping away at the riders in front of him. He consistently moved up through the pack on his way to a solid fourth place finish and a transfer spot directly to the main event.
Antonio Balbi lined up for the second Supercross class heat race but did not fare as well as Sorby. A poor start left Balbi battling through traffic to try and make it into the top nine. The fourth lap saw Balbi attempt to make a charge but he would struggle to hold that pace for the remaining laps and finish in 15th.
The Lites class LCQ did not get off to the start Mitch Dougherty was hoping for as the Lites pilot struggled through the first turn. Again Dougherty would struggle and pull off just past the half way point signaling an early end to his first Supercross season.
In the Supercross class LCQ Antonio Balbi rounded the first turn right around the middle of the pack. Balbi consistently improved his lap times and was able to pick off riders throughout the race but ultimately would finish outside of qualifying position.
Eric Sorby lined up for the Supercross main event hoping to grab a holeshot like he had in Detroit one week prior. Unfortunately, he would not get the $1,500 bonus this week and would need to work his way up from the middle of the pack. Sorby was able to do so and by the third lap was into ninth place where he would stay for the next few laps. Just prior to the half way point of the race a couple of riders were able to slide by Sorby and bump him down to 11th. With five laps left in the race a few more riders made their way by Sorby and dropped him to 14th place, where he would finish a few short laps later.
This next weekend the series heads to the pacific northwest and Qwest Field. The Seattle, Washington round is notoriously a wet one and resident mud specialist Antonio Balbi is looking to duplicate his fifth place finish from the Daytona mudder earlier in the year. This is the penultimate round of the series so be sure to make it out to the races before the season ends in a little less than two week’s time. See you there!
Moto XXX Tamer Racing is proudly supported by:
Hooters, Cumberland, Moto XXX, Tamer Racing, Perfex Corp, Akrapovic Exhaust, American Honda Motor Co., Race Tech Suspension, Pirelli Tires, Wiseco, Sidi Boots, O’Neal MX, Motion Pro, Ti Lube, Moto XXX Performance, Honda Genuine Parts, Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Enjoy Graphics, Deluge Sport, Vortex Sprockets and Bars, JD Jetting, Excel A60 Wheel Sets, RK Chains, Tamer Billet Starting Devices, VP Fuels, Mock Racing, ARC Levers, Honda Rider’s Club of America, Cometic Gaskets, Metaltek, Crower Power, Group D Pit Wear, Interlakes Sport Center, KG Clutch Factory, SDG USA, Polisport Plastics, Ogio, Ready Filter, Vortex Ignitions, Scott USA, Carbon Fiber Works, Bud Racing, Clutch Wipes Hand Cleaner.
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