Houston Supercross Race Report
January 25, 2009 2:31am | by: Steve Cox
The Houston Supercross featured cold weather outside, and a strange track design inside. The first turn was actually a chicane, with the riders bearing left in a 90-degree turn into a 180-degree left, then an immediate 180-degree right. What it meant on the track was carnage, and lots of it.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto made short work of Alessi out front and took over the lead, while Alessi went backward, losing spots to both Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short and San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart. Stewart moved into second before the end of the first complete lap and set out after Villopoto.
However, he didn’t gain on Villopoto initially until Villopoto began making a few mistakes, which allowed Stewart to catch him. On lap four, Stewart finally made a move on Villopoto entering a section of three tabletops in which the fastest line was to jump across the tops. When Stewart made the pass, he allowed Villopoto back up the inside and lost his own drive into the tabletops. Villopoto quickly took the lead back, only to lose it again a couple of turns later.
With Stewart out front, he set sail, although he didn’t pull out a dramatic amount over Villopoto for most of the race.
Reed rounded the first lap in eighth and began moving forward. By lap five, he moved by JGR/Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant for fourth, and had only Short, Villopoto and Stewart in front of him. On lap 13, Reed made his way by Short for third, and that very lap, one turn before the finish, Villopoto washed his front end out and went down, handing Reed second.
The finishing order was set, with Stewart taking his third win in a row over Reed, Villopoto (his first podium in the 450cc class), Short and Grant.
Stewart now trails Reed by only nine points, 86-77, with 13 rounds still left to run. Stewart also sits tied for second in points with Grant.
Just like the 450cc class, the Lites class saw havoc in the first turn, but Frenchman Christophe Pourcel, of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team, got away clean with the lead in the early going, with teammate Austin Stroupe chasing Yamaha’s Darryn Durham and miscalculating the tabletop second and knocking them both off the track, handing second to Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Nico Izzi and third to GEICO Powersports Honda’s Brett Metcalfe.
Metcalfe chased Izzi around for almost half the race before Izzi began to slow and Metcalfe found his way by for second. From there, Metcalfe put in the work to try and chase down Pourcel, but he couldn’t gain fast enough, and Pourcel hung on for the win, followed closely by Metcalfe, and then Izzi, Stroupe and rookie Blake Wharton.
After their opener, the Lites East takes a break for a few weeks while the Lites West goes back to work next weekend in San Francisco.
Houston Lites Main:
1. Christophe Pourcel Kaw
2. Brett Metcalfe Hon
3. Nico Izzi Suz
4. Austin Stroupe Kaw
5. Blake Wharton Hon
6. Wil Hahn KTM
7. Martin Davalos KTM
8. Darryn Durham Yam
9. Daniel Blair Hon
10. Matt Goerke Suz
11. Jacob Saylor Yam
12. Branden Jesseman Kaw
13. Steven Clarke Suz
14. Hunter Hewitt Kaw
15. Teddy Parks Suz
16. Tyler Wharton Hon
17. Kyle Gills Kaw
18. Matt Lemoine Yam
19. Chad Ward Kaw
20. Vince Friese Hon
Lites East Points (After 1 of 8 rounds):
1. Christophe Pourcel 25/1 win
2. Brett Metcalfe 22
3. Nico Izzi 20
4. Austin Stroupe 18
5. Blake Wharton 16
6. Wil Hahn 15
7. Martin Davalos 14
8. Darryn Durham 13
9. Daniel Blair 12
10. Matt Goerke 11
Houston 450cc Main:
1. James Stewart Yam
2. Chad Reed Suz
3. Ryan Villopoto Kaw
4. Andrew Short Hon
5. Josh Grant Yam
6. Ivan Tedesco Hon
7. Mike Alessi Suz
8. Timmy Ferry Kaw
9. Kevin Windham Hon
10. Davi Millsaps Hon
11. Josh Hill Yam
12. Heath Voss Hon
13. Paul Carpenter Kaw
14. Cole Siebler Hon
15. Matt Boni Hon
16. Ben Coisy Hon
17. Kyle Chisholm Yam
18. Josh Summey KTM
19. Manuel Rivas Kaw
20. Josh Hansen Hon
450cc Points Standings (after 4 of 17 rounds):
1. Chad Reed 86
2. James Stewart 77/3 wins
3. Josh Grant 77/1 win
4. Andrew Short 71
5. Ryan Villopoto 68
6. Ivan Tedesco 62
7. Timmy Ferry 56
8. Kevin Windham 53
9. Mike Alessi 46
10. Davi Millsaps 42
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto made short work of Alessi out front and took over the lead, while Alessi went backward, losing spots to both Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short and San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart. Stewart moved into second before the end of the first complete lap and set out after Villopoto.
However, he didn’t gain on Villopoto initially until Villopoto began making a few mistakes, which allowed Stewart to catch him. On lap four, Stewart finally made a move on Villopoto entering a section of three tabletops in which the fastest line was to jump across the tops. When Stewart made the pass, he allowed Villopoto back up the inside and lost his own drive into the tabletops. Villopoto quickly took the lead back, only to lose it again a couple of turns later.
With Stewart out front, he set sail, although he didn’t pull out a dramatic amount over Villopoto for most of the race.
Reed rounded the first lap in eighth and began moving forward. By lap five, he moved by JGR/Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant for fourth, and had only Short, Villopoto and Stewart in front of him. On lap 13, Reed made his way by Short for third, and that very lap, one turn before the finish, Villopoto washed his front end out and went down, handing Reed second.
The finishing order was set, with Stewart taking his third win in a row over Reed, Villopoto (his first podium in the 450cc class), Short and Grant.
Stewart now trails Reed by only nine points, 86-77, with 13 rounds still left to run. Stewart also sits tied for second in points with Grant.
Just like the 450cc class, the Lites class saw havoc in the first turn, but Frenchman Christophe Pourcel, of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team, got away clean with the lead in the early going, with teammate Austin Stroupe chasing Yamaha’s Darryn Durham and miscalculating the tabletop second and knocking them both off the track, handing second to Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Nico Izzi and third to GEICO Powersports Honda’s Brett Metcalfe.
Metcalfe chased Izzi around for almost half the race before Izzi began to slow and Metcalfe found his way by for second. From there, Metcalfe put in the work to try and chase down Pourcel, but he couldn’t gain fast enough, and Pourcel hung on for the win, followed closely by Metcalfe, and then Izzi, Stroupe and rookie Blake Wharton.
After their opener, the Lites East takes a break for a few weeks while the Lites West goes back to work next weekend in San Francisco.
Houston Lites Main:
1. Christophe Pourcel Kaw
2. Brett Metcalfe Hon
3. Nico Izzi Suz
4. Austin Stroupe Kaw
5. Blake Wharton Hon
6. Wil Hahn KTM
7. Martin Davalos KTM
8. Darryn Durham Yam
9. Daniel Blair Hon
10. Matt Goerke Suz
11. Jacob Saylor Yam
12. Branden Jesseman Kaw
13. Steven Clarke Suz
14. Hunter Hewitt Kaw
15. Teddy Parks Suz
16. Tyler Wharton Hon
17. Kyle Gills Kaw
18. Matt Lemoine Yam
19. Chad Ward Kaw
20. Vince Friese Hon
Lites East Points (After 1 of 8 rounds):
1. Christophe Pourcel 25/1 win
2. Brett Metcalfe 22
3. Nico Izzi 20
4. Austin Stroupe 18
5. Blake Wharton 16
6. Wil Hahn 15
7. Martin Davalos 14
8. Darryn Durham 13
9. Daniel Blair 12
10. Matt Goerke 11
Houston 450cc Main:
1. James Stewart Yam
2. Chad Reed Suz
3. Ryan Villopoto Kaw
4. Andrew Short Hon
5. Josh Grant Yam
6. Ivan Tedesco Hon
7. Mike Alessi Suz
8. Timmy Ferry Kaw
9. Kevin Windham Hon
10. Davi Millsaps Hon
11. Josh Hill Yam
12. Heath Voss Hon
13. Paul Carpenter Kaw
14. Cole Siebler Hon
15. Matt Boni Hon
16. Ben Coisy Hon
17. Kyle Chisholm Yam
18. Josh Summey KTM
19. Manuel Rivas Kaw
20. Josh Hansen Hon
450cc Points Standings (after 4 of 17 rounds):
1. Chad Reed 86
2. James Stewart 77/3 wins
3. Josh Grant 77/1 win
4. Andrew Short 71
5. Ryan Villopoto 68
6. Ivan Tedesco 62
7. Timmy Ferry 56
8. Kevin Windham 53
9. Mike Alessi 46
10. Davi Millsaps 42
