Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM Race Report

Anaheim, CA – The third round of the AMA Supercross Series at Angel Stadium proved to be an up and down night for the Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM Factory Racing Team riders Justin Brayton and Ryan Sipes.

Both riders first showed up in Lites Heat #2. When the gate dropped, Sipes rounded the first turn in second while Brayton was right behind in third. Sipes continued to gain ground on the leader, Michael Hall, and on the second lap made the pass for the lead. Sipes continued to hold the lead through the checkered flag taking home his first heat win of the season. Brayton qualified third.

KTM support rider Michael Sleeter qualified into the main shortly after when he finished second behind Jason Lawrence in the LCQ.

Sipes and Brayton both had great gate picks for the main event based on their heat race results but unfortunately did not get the jump they needed off the start and were forced to work their way up from a mid-pack start. By the end of the first lap Brayton had moved into eleventh while Sipes was one spot ahead in tenth. The two traveled together through the pack up to seventh and eighth place respectively. Brayton then made a clean pass on Sipes for seventh and charged forward to try and close the gap on sixth. Sipes stayed close behind until a mistake in the rhythm section caused him to run off the track and drop back to thirteenth. By the moto end, Brayton had secured seventh place while Sipes had fought his was back to eleventh. KTM support rider, Sleeter, finished sixteenth.

“The track mainly had one line, which made it extremely difficult to pass. Here, more than ever, the start mattered and once I started in the middle it was tough to get back to where I needed to be,” commented Brayton. “I didn’t finish where I wanted to, but I am happy to still have finished inside the top ten.”

Jagermeister/MDK/KTM 450 Racing Team rider Josh Summey was awarded the Racer X Gas Card after finishing third in the LCQ – one spot shy of qualifying for the main. “I was really frustrated with my finish tonight. I shouldn’t have had to go to the LCQ, but I will be back next week even stronger,” stated Summey.

Next Event: Round 4 – Houston, TX January 24, 2009

Overall Results Supercross Lites –

1. Ryan Dungey
2. Ryan Morais
3. Jake Weimer
4. Jason Lawrence
5. Chris Blose
6. Dan Reardon
7. Justin Brayton – KTM
8. Kyle Cunningham
9. Michael Hall
10. PJ Larsen
11. Ryan Sipes – KTM
12. Jeff Alessi
13. Eric McCrummen
14. Ben Evans
15. Ryan Clark
16. Michael Sleeter – KTM
17. Scott Champion
18. Shaun Skinner
19. Michael Lapaglia
20. Sean Collier

Overall Points Supercross Lites –

1. Ryan Dungey – 70
2. Ryan Morais – 64
3. Jake Weimer – 63
4. Justin Brayton – 50
5. Chris Blose – 50
6. Ryan Sipes – 39
7. Jason Lawrence – 34
8. Ben Evans – 31
9. Dan Reardon – 28
10. PJ Larsen – 26

Overall Results Supercross –

1. James Stewart
2. Chad Reed
3. Kevin Windham
4. Ryan Villopoto
5. Josh Grant
6. Andrew Short
7. Ivan Tedesco
8. Tim Ferry
9. Jeff Alessi
10. Davi Millsaps
11. Paul Carpenter
12. Josh Hill
13. Nick Wey
14. Heath Voss
15. Troy Adams
16. Steve Boniface
17. Ben Coisy
18. Sean Hamblin
19. Bob Kiniry
20. Matt Boni

Overall Points Supercross –

1. Chad Reed – 64
2. Josh Grant – 61
3. Andrew Short – 53
4. James Stewart – 52
5. Ryan Villopoto – 48
6. Ivan Tedesco – 47
7. Tim Ferry – 43
8. Kevin Windham – 41
9. Mike Alessi – 32
10. Davi Millsaps – 29