Monster Energy Yamaha's Brandon Currie Race Report
The first round of the XTRM 2009 AMA Supermoto Championship kicked off at Fontana's Auto Club Speedway last Sunday. Over the winter, Monster Yamaha's 2008 Lites Champion, Brandon Currie, created his own Supermoto program with the assistance of AGM (Atkins Global Management) along with the loyal support from Monster Energy and Graves Yamaha. After two consecutive lites championships, Currie has now stepped up to the 450 premier class for 2009.
Aboard his Monster Graves Yamaha, and following a.m. showers, Currie set fastest time in practice. A wrong tire choice in Qualifying landed him 3rd on the start line next to Ward and Monster's Mark Burkhart.
Currie was off to a 5th place start, and worked his way up to 2nd behind leader Jeff Ward. Wardy was riding smooth, but Currie felt he had the speed to make a move past the racing legend. As he checked out Wards lines and calculated his strategy, Currie went up the inside, caught his foot peg on the curbing, and ended up sliding out. Currie remounted, and rode to a 5th place finish.
450 Final - 5th
Championship standings - 5th
"The race was a good learning experience as it was my first AMA 450 race after moving up. I know I have the speed to run up front and I have the confidence to get wins this year. I want to say thanks to Monster Energy for helping me get my team off the ground and I plan on winning some races and work on a championship. My mechanic did great with the weather and we're happy that our Monster Graves Yamaha was the best bike on the track." Commented Currie after his first race of the season.
