Anaheim I Race Report

January 4, 2009, 6:35am

Dan Reardon (122) grabbed the holeshot to start the Lites main event in front of Jake Weimer (19), Jason Lawrence (1), Trey Canard (39) and the rest of the field. Canard and Lawrence went down together in the second turn. Lawrence got up near the back of the pack while Canard had trouble refiring his bike and lost a lap.
Weimer (19) passed Reardon (122) after a couple of laps and began to check out.
Justin Brayton (114) ran third early, but when trying to pass Reardon for second, they connected and both went down, handing second to Ryan Morais.
Ryan Dungey came from midpack to finish third.
Jason Lawrence caught up to fourth at the finish, but due to an inadvertant track-cutting incident, was docked a position and finished fifth.
Chris Blose finished fourth in the Lites main.
Ryan Morais finished a strong second.
Jake Weimer took his second-ever Lites main-event win and leads the points after one round of racing.
Weimer (middle), Morais (left) and Dungey (right) celebrate on the podium.

"There's a reason why the races are run." That's the saying. The 2009 Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Season opener at Angel Stadium is the reason for the statement.

Always exciting, round one this year had everything - crashes, rivalries, more crashes, more rivalries, and surprise victories in both classes.

When everyone seemed to be worried about Ryan Dungey, Jason Lawrence and Trey Canard in the Lites class, it was Jake Weimer and Ryan Morais - new teammates on the Pro Circuit team - who swept the top-two spots.

Lites Main Event Results:

1. Jake Weimer (Kaw)

2. Ryan Morais (Kaw)

3. Ryan Dungey (Suz)

4. Chris Blose (Hon)

5. Jason Lawrence (Yam)

6. Ryan Sipes (KTM)

7. Justin Brayton (KTM)

8. Jeff Alessi (Hon)

9. Ben Evans (Hon)

10. Chris Gosselaar (Kaw)

11. Ryan Clark (Hon)

12. Sean Borkenhagen (Hon)

13. Adam Chatfield (Suz)

14. Trey Canard (Hon)

15. Shaun Skinner (Hon)

16. Cedric Soubeyras (Yam)

17. Mike Sleeter (KTM)

18. Michael Horban (Yam)

19. Dan Reardon (Hon)

20. Kyle Cunningham (Kaw)

James Stewart (7) grabbed the holeshot in the 450cc main, followed by Josh Grant (33), Chad Reed (1) and the rest of the field.
Reed (1) was quick to move by Grant and began putting pressure on Stewart (7).
Before the end of the second lap, Reed (1) jumped past Stewart (7) in a rhythm section and began to pull away.
After a few laps, Stewart (7) found his rhythm and began to reel Reed (1) back in. On the seventh lap, Stewart made a pass stick, but then missed a shift in a 180-degree left-hander, collecting Reed and both went down in a heap.
Stewart was unable to continue the race as he inadvertantly collected Kevin Windham (who was moving into second at the time) and then couldn't restart his bike. He was credited with 19th.
Grant led the remaining 13 laps of the main event, but with two to go, collected a Tuff Block cover in his rear brake.
Grant took his and JGR's first-ever win.
Andrew Short was second after passing Reed as he struggled without a front brake.
Reed finished third.
Timmy Ferry was fourth.
After winning his Heat race convincingly, Villopoto overcame and early fall in the main event to finish a solid fifth.
Grant (center) celebrates with Short (left) and Reed (right).
The Joe Gibbs Racing team celebrates its first win.

And in the 450cc class, as if not to be outdone by the wild Lites main event, James Stewart and Chad Reed traded the lead a few times before colliding and both crashing in a heap, handing the lead (and eventual win) to Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha's Josh Grant over Andrew Short and Reed, who recovered for third despite not having a front brake.

Stewart now trails Reed by 18 points and Grant by 23 with 16 rounds still left to run.

Next Saturday night, they'll do it all again in Phoenix. And again, the result is not guaranteed, as we saw in both classes at Anaheim I.

Main Event Results:

1. Josh Grant (Yam)

2. Andrew Short (Hon)

3. Chad Reed (Yam)

4. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)

5. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)

6. Ivan Tedesco (Hon)

7. Heath Voss (Hon)

8. Ben Coisy (Hon)

9. Nick Wey (Yam)

10. Paul Carpenter (Kaw)

11. Mike Alessi (Suz)

12. Davi Millsaps (Hon)

13. Cole Siebler (Hon)

14. Matt Boni (Hon)

15. Kevin Windham (Hon)

16. Josh Hill (Yam)

17. Steve Boniface (Hon)

18. Bobby Kiniry (Kaw)

19. James Stewart (Yam)

20. Josh Summey (KTM)