The San Diego Supercross is a classic of modern supercross, and coming into Saturday Night’s race at Qualcomm Stadium, defending champ Chad Reed of the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki team had won five of the previous six San Diego rounds. Yet to win a race in 2009, San Diego came at the perfect time for Chad Reed.
The Lites class featured the last Lites West round before the season takes the next two months off, and Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey needed the race to rebound from his previous two losses to championship rival Jake Weimer.
Dungey fought over the holeshot with Weimer’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate Ryan Morais, and although the two tussled over the lead, Dungey secured the position after only a few laps. Morais settled into second, just in front of GEICO Powersports Honda’s Dan Reardon and Trey Canard, MCRMX’s Jeff Alessi, Weimer, Muscle Milk/MDK KTM’s Ryan Sipes, and the rest of the field.
Weimer went to work right away on Alessi, while Canard did likewise with Reardon, and on the third lap, Weimer got by Alessi, while Canard found a way by Reardon on lap four. Reardon went down on the fourth lap, handing the position to Weimer, and Weimer set out after Canard. On lap six, Weimer made a block pass stick on Canard on lap six. From there, the top five were set, with Dungey taking his third win over Morais, Weimer, Canard and Sipes.
With two rounds left to run, in about eight weeks, Weimer trails Dungey by two points.
Lites Main:
1. Ryan Dungey Suz
2. Ryan Morais Kaw
3. Jake Weimer Kaw
4. Trey Canard Hon
5. Ryan Sipes KTM
6. Justin Brayton KTM
7. Chris Blose Hon
8. Jake Moss Hon
9. Jeff Alessi Hon
10. Cole Seely Suz
11. Eric McCrummen Hon
12. Ben Evans Hon
13. Sean Borkenhagen Hon
14. Derek Costella Hon
15. Alex Martin Hon
16. Michael Lapaglia Suz
17. Ryan Clark Hon
18. Dan Reardon Hon
19. Danny Bajza Hon
20. Mike Sleeter KTM
Lites West Points (after 6 of 8 rounds):
1. Ryan Dungey 135/3 wins
2. Jake Weimer 133/3 wins
3. Ryan Morais 124
4. Justin Brayton 103
5. Ryan Sipes 85
6. Chris Blose 82
7. Dan Reardon 59
8. Trey Canard 54
9. Jeff Alessi 51
10. PJ Larsen 51
Normally, it’s almost expected that Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi would get the holeshot to start any race he’s in, but lately he’s been bested by San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart. Stewart grabbed another holeshot inside Qualcomm Stadium, with Alessi second, his teammate Reed third, Yamaha’s Broc Hepler fourth, and Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short fifth.
Reed immediately shoved his way by Alessi for second and set out after the fleeing Stewart. Hepler followed Reed through for third. It wasn’t long before Short was pressuring Alessi for fourth, and after making the pass, went out after Hepler in third. On lap four, Short took the inside away from Hepler and the two collided, with Hepler going down. From there, the top five were set, with Stewart taking his sixth-straight win over Reed, Short, Villopoto and Davi Millsaps.
With 10 rounds still left to run, and with the series heading east to Atlanta, Reed and Stewart are tied on points.
450cc Main:
1. James Stewart Yam
2. Chad Reed Suz
3. Andrew Short Hon
4. Ryan Villopoto Kaw
5. Davi Millsaps Hon
6. Mike Alessi Suz
7. Kevin Windham Hon
8. Michael Byrne Suz
9. Nick Wey Yam
10. Ivan Tedesco Hon
11. Josh Summey KTM
12. Tommy Hahn Kaw
13. Kyle Chisholm Yam
14. Timmy Ferry Kaw
15. Heath Voss Hon
16. Troy Adams Hon
17. Steve Boniface Hon
18. Ben Coisy Hon
19. Broc Hepler Yam
20. Josh Grant Yam
450cc Points (after 7 of 17 rounds):
1. James Stewart 152/6 wins
2. Chad Reed 152
3. Andrew Short 122
4. Josh Grant 112/1 win
5. Ryan Villopoto 106
6. Ivan Tedesco 102
7. Kevin Windham 96
8. Davi Millsaps 91
9. Mike Alessi 83
10. Timmy Ferry 74
