Toronto Supercross Race Report

March 29, 2009, 3:49am

On a night when the recently thawed Canadian dirt seemed to be spending more time airborne than on the ground, the racing in Toronto turned into yet another Chad Reed/James Stewart duel as the championship loomed in the balance. The track was incredibly tricky, and the result was anything but definite in either class.

450

Mike Alessi grabbed yet another holeshot in the main event.
While James Stewart made quick work of Mike Alessi out front, Chad Reed (1) had to fight his way through some riders.
Stewart (7) rode a strong race on the extremely soft and tricky Toronto circuit, pulling away from Reed (1) to win his ninth main event of the year.
Reed hung on for second, well in front of third, and now leads the championship by eight points with four rounds left.
Josh Hill (75) passed Josh Grant (33) late in the main on his way to a third-place finish.
Grant finished a strong fourth.
Ivan Tedesco fought it out with a myriad of riders for fifth.
The 450cc podium with Stewart, Reed and Hill.

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi grabbed the Supercross holeshot with San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart right behind him. Alessi led about half of the opening lap before Stewart flew by. Alessi’s Rockstar/Makita Suzuki teammate Chad Reed worked his way into second desperately trying to catch Stewart, while Honda Red Bull Racing’s Ivan Tedesco grabbed third.

Stewart was smooth and continued to pull away from Reed, who continued to pull away from Tedesco. Meanwhile, Alessi was locked in a battle for fourth with DNA Energy/BTOSports.com/BBMX's Matt Boni. Honda Red Bull Racing's Andrew Short soon passed them both, though, and began to battle it out for third with Tedesco.

The rutted track made line choice extremely important, and both Reed and Stewart were essentially following the same lines, which meant Reed was having a hard time reeling in Stewart. By lap seven, the battle for third place involved the Josh Grant/Tedesco/Short/Broc Hepler foursome, who battled it out for several laps. As that battle dwindled down as riders fell or just made big mistakes, Josh Hill began working his way through, and eventually chased down Grant for third, where he would finish.

Stewart continued to increase his lead throughout the race, eventually taking an easy final lap and victory, while Reed hung on for second. Hill was third, Grant stayed in fourth, and Tedesco grabbed fifth. Jason Lawrence did not race due to a hand injury, despite qualifying for the main event successfully.

This win for Stewart moves him back to eight points behind Reed with four rounds remaining.

Toronto 450cc Main:
1. James Stewart (Yam)
2. Chad Reed (Suz)
3. Josh Hill (Yam)
4. Josh Grant (Yam)
5. Ivan Tedesco (Hon)
6. Kevin Windham (Hon)
7. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
8. Matt Boni (Suz)
9. Andrew Short (Hon)
10. Ben Coisy (Hon)
11. Mike Alessi (Suz)
12. Nathan Ramsey (Yam)
13. Kyle Chisholm (Yam)
14. Paul Carpenter (Kaw)
15. Nick Wey (Yam)
16. Tyler Bowers (Hon)
17. Broc Hepler (Yam)
18. Jacob Marsack (Hon)
19. Tommy Hahn (Kaw)

AMA National Supercross Points Standings (after 13 of 17 rounds):
1. Chad Reed (293/3 wins)
2. James Stewart (285/9 wins)
3. Andrew Short (209)
4. Josh Grant (190/1 win)
5. Ivan Tedesco (179)
6. Kevin Windham (173)
7. Mike Alessi (170)
8. Davi Millsaps (166)
9. Ryan Villopoto (165)
10. Josh Hill (128)

Points leader Christophe Pourcel got out front early in Toronto.
Austin Stroupe (981) passed Broc Tickle (43) early in the main for second, but couldn't close in on Pourcel.
One week after failing to make the main event, Tickle stepped up to the podium for the first time in his career, finishing third.
Branden Jesseman was fourth.
Matt Lemoine (41) fought off Nico Izzi (20) for fifth in the main event.
Pourcel's win clinched his first SX title with one round left to run.
The Lites podium with Pourcel, Stroupe and an ecstatic Broc Tickle.

Lites

Division 7/Star Racing Yamaha’s Broc Tickle grabbed the Lites holeshot this week and proceeded to lead the first couple laps before Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel found his way past. Pourcel's teammate Austin Stroupe soon followed suit. While Pourcel was pulling farther ahead of Stroupe and Tickle, Tickle's Star Racing Yamaha teammate Matt Lemoine was in a battle of his own for fifth along with Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Nico Izzi and Suzuki City’s Matt Goerke, while Branden Jesseman ran a solitary fourth.

Wil Hahn added himself into the mix on lap 13, passing the fallen Izzi for sixth, and last week's winner Blake Wharton fell early in the race and fought his way all the way through the pack to tenth place this week.

However, Pourcel's win was enough to clinch his first-ever SX title with one round remaining, as he leads his teammate Stroupe by 28 points.

Toronto Lites Main:
1. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw)
2. Austin Stroupe (Kaw)
3. Broc Tickle (Yam)
4. Branden Jessemen (Kaw)
5. Matt Lemoine (Yam)
6. Wil Hahn (KTM)
7. Matt Goerke (Suz)
8. Vince Friese (Hon)
9. Daniel Blair (Hon)
10. Blake Wharton (Hon)
11. Nico Izzi (Suz)
12. Jason Thomas (Hon)
13. Kyle Keylon (Hon)
14. Kevin Johnson (Yam)
15. Steven Clarke (Suz)
16. Jacob Saylor (Yam)
17. Darryn Durham (Yam)
18. Fred Karrle (Suz)
19. Tyler Wharton (Hon)
20. Brady Sheren (Suz)

AMA Lites Eastern Regional Supercross Championship (after 7 of 8 rounds):
1. Christophe Pourcel (156/4 wins)
2. Austin Stroupe (128/2 wins)
3. Nico Izzi (112)
4. Blake Wharton (102/1 win)
5. Branden Jessemen (91)
6. Wil Hahn (83)
7. Matt Lemoine (82)
8. Matt Goerke (82)
9. Daniel Blair (75)
10. Steven Clarke (71)