Brayton Earns Second Podium of the Season

February 9, 2009, 10:08am

Anaheim, CA – At the third and final Anaheim Supercross Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM Factory rider Justin Brayton earned his second podium finish of the season with his impressive 3rd place result in the West Supercross Lites main event.

Practice was delayed and reduced to one practice session for all riders due to heavy rainfall earlier in the day. Brayton eventually got his turn to practice where he put in a great lap time which earned him pole position in heat race two.

Both Brayton and his teammate, Ryan Sipes, lined up in the second heat. Once the gate dropped Brayton came across the first turn in 4th while Sipes was only a few spots back in 7th. Brayton quickly moved into the 2nd place position while Sipes had already passed into 5th. Brayton made a small mistake near the end of the heat which allowed Morais to move into 2nd. Brayton stayed close to Morais through the end of the heat to take 3rd while Sipes held on to 5th.

Missing from the final Anaheim Supercross was the Jagermeister/MDK/KTM Freestyle show which was cancelled due to the muddy track conditions as a result of the rainy weather.

The Lites main event marked the first holeshot for Brayton as he shot out of the gate and pulled the early lead for the first time this season. His teammate, Sipes, was not as fortunate and ended up in the back of the pack after coming together with a couple other riders.

Brayton continued to lead a remarkable race as the Kawasaki rides of Jake Wiemer and Morais stayed with him and together the top three lengthened the gap on the rest of the pack. Brayton led the race for six laps until Weimer made a pass right before the whoop section, Brayton maintained his speed and blitzed by Weimer to regain the lead through the whoops. A couple turns later Weimer was able to pass Brayton back for the 1st place position. On lap eight, while Brayton was still currently in 2nd place he began a battle with Morais that lasted for a couple laps before Brayton made a slight bobble that allowed Morais to get by. Meanwhile, Sipes who had a near last start moved up from 18th to 7th by the seventh lap. He continued his impressive charge and grabbed another position to move into 6th a few laps later. When the checkered flag flew Brayton finished 3rd to earn his second podium of the season with his teammate Sipes finished 6th after an exciting charge through the pack.

On the podium, Brayton stated, “I am really happy to be up here. I can’t thank my team enough for all of their hard work. My Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM is an awesome bike and I am very thankful to be a part of the KTM team.”

Next Event: San Diego, CA – February 14, 2009

Overall Results Lites Supercross –

Overall Point Standings Lites Supercross –

Jake Weimer – 113
Ryan Dungey – 110
Ryan Morais – 102
Justin Brayton – 88
Ryan Sipes – 69

Overall Results Supercross –

Overall Point Standings Supercross –

Chad Reed – 130
James Stewart – 127
Josh Grant – 111
Andrew Short – 102
Ivan Tedesco – 91