Sign of the (Lap) Times: Las Vegas
It’s been reiterated over and over how the Las Vegas Supercross is like no other throughout the season. What is it that sets this event apart? The track? The environment? The pressure?
This year’s track was similar to years past; very technical and hard-packed, with that high-speed section dubbed “Monster Alley.” You’d think this type of track would probably suit the 450 a bit better, but when comparing lap times from each class, the Lites were faster across the board, from first down to last. Let’s dig in and analyze the Las Vegas lap times a little closer.
Lites
If you were in attendance on Saturday night, I’m sure you could agree that the Lites main event was one of the best races ever! I don’t think anyone could’ve ridden a dirt bike any faster than Ryans Dungey and Villopoto Saturday night, and it was the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider who logged the fastest lap time of the entire evening with a 1:08.342 en route to his second-consecutive Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout.
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As for the rest of the class, RV’s teammate, Austin Stroupe, who actually passed and pulled away from Dungey in the Heat race, was third fastest, and the rider wearing #1E, Trey Canard, was fourth fastest on his way to third on the podium. Take a look at the rest of the field below:
Finish
|
Best Lap Time
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
1
|
1:08.342 |
Suzuki
|
|
2
|
1:08.645 |
Kawasaki
|
|
10
|
1:10.645 |
Kawasaki
|
|
3
|
1:10.697 |
Honda
|
|
7
|
1:10.884 |
Kawasaki
|
|
4
|
1:11.453 |
Honda
|
|
6
|
1:11.524 |
KTM
|
|
9
|
1:11.925 |
Yamaha
|
|
11
|
1:12.308 |
Yamaha
|
|
21
|
1:12.331 |
KTM
|
|
5
|
1:12.772 |
Yamaha
|
|
15
|
1:13.189 |
Suzuki
|
|
8
|
1:13.320 |
Kawasaki
|
|
20
|
1:13.328 |
Honda
|
|
14
|
1:13.851 |
Justin Keeney
|
Honda
|
22
|
1:13.854 |
Yamaha
|
|
16
|
1:13.978 |
Honda
|
|
13
|
1:14.178 |
Yamaha
|
|
19
|
1:14.581 |
KTM
|
|
17
|
1:14.809 |
Yamaha
|
|
12
|
1:14.860 |
Bob Kiniry
|
Honda
|
21
|
1:15.868 |
Honda
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Biggest surprise: Yamaha’s Matt Lemoine looked fast all day, and in the main event he was able to record the ninth-fastest lap time with a 1:12.308, just a few ticks off of Factory Yamaha’s Broc Hepler’s best time.
Matt Lemoine put in some quick laps. photo: Simon Cudby
AMA Supercross
It was neither the champion nor the runner-up with the fastest lap time in Vegas; rather, it was Honda Red Bull Racing’s Davi Millsaps, who grabbed the Progressive Direct Holeshot Award and raced off with the lead for a few laps. Unfortunately, an early crash cost Millsaps a spot on the podium, as well as third place in the final standings of the 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
|
Finish
|
Best Lap Time
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
5
|
1:09.005 |
Honda
|
|
1
|
1:09.361 |
Yamaha
|
|
2
|
1:09.420 |
Honda
|
|
3
|
1:09.617 |
Honda
|
|
4
|
1:10.146 |
Yamaha
|
|
6
|
1:10.486 |
KTM
|
|
9
|
1:10.715 |
Kawasaki
|
|
7
|
1:10.743 |
Yamaha
|
|
8
|
1:11.293 |
Kawasaki
|
|
10
|
1:11.961 |
David Vuillemin
|
Suzuki
|
15
|
1:12.895 |
Honda
|
|
12
|
1:13.066 |
Honda
|
|
11
|
1:13.267 |
Honda
|
|
13
|
1:13.649 |
Honda
|
|
16
|
1:13.708 |
Kevin Johnson
|
Yamaha
|
14
|
1:14.013 |
Kelly Smith
|
Kawasaki
|
19
|
1:14.319 |
Robbie Reynard
|
Suzuki
|
18
|
1:15.072 |
Honda
|
|
17
|
1:15.267 |
Tyler Bright
|
Honda
|
20
|
1:16.531 |
Eric Sorby
|
Honda
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Biggest surprise: Sixth fastest in the AMA Supercross class was MDK KTM’s Nick Wey, who went on to finish sixth, tying his season best. It’s obvious that Nick is getting more comfortable on the KTM 450 SX-F each and every weekend, and here’s hoping he can carry this momentum into the AMA/Toyota Motocross Championships.
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