Sign of the (Lap) Times: Seattle

On Friday afternoon I got a call from Troy Lee Designs Honda team manager David Pingree, who was standing on the Seattle supercross track laid out inside Qwest Field. “Dude, the track is definitely going to change the championship this weekend,” he told me. “The soil here isn’t even like dirt; it’s like sand. It’s going to rut up pretty bad, like Toronto. I think something major is going to happen. Other than that, my guys are going really fast…” Click.

I have to admit, Mr. Pingree’s assessment was spot on, as not only did we see a major swing in the AMA Supercross championship battle, we also saw a first-time winner and a rider top the fastest-lap chart for the first time this season.

AMA Supercross

Let’s begin with the AMA Supercross class, since this is where we saw the most action. If you had to guess who the fastest rider of the night was in Seattle, who would you say? Stewart, Reed or Villopoto, right? Well you’d be wrong, as the fastest lap time was recorded by Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi on lap two of the main event. After pulling yet another holeshot, Mike sped off to lead the first seven laps before a slight bobble dropped him back. Mike still finished fourth and closed to within one point of Kevin Windham for fifth overall in the championship standings. Second-fastest on the night was eventual winner and local crowd favorite, Ryan Villopoto, who took his first-ever AMA Supercross-class victory after missing the past few races health issues. Third fastest was James Stewart, whose runner-up finish boasted him to the championship lead. He was followed by JRGMX/Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant and Honda Red Bull Racing’s Davi Millsaps. So where was Chad Reed? The defending champion could only muster the eighth fastest lap time on the soft and rutted Seattle circuit on his was to a season low seventh-place finish. Check out the rest of the field’s fastest main-event lap times below.

Finish	Best Lap	Rider	Bike
4	53.697	Mike Alessi	Suzuki
1	53.960	Ryan Villopoto	Kawasaki
2	54.017	James Stewart	Yamaha
6	54.495	Josh Grant	Yamaha
3	54.599	Davi Millsaps	Honda
10	54.979	Kevin Windham	Honda
5	55.272	Andrew Short	Honda
7	55.499	Chad Reed	Suzuki
16	55.749	Kyle Chisholm	Yamaha
13	55.967	Tom Hahn	Kawasaki
14	55.984	Matt Boni	Honda
8	56.101	Paul Carpenter	Kawasaki
19	56.129	Troy Adams	Honda
11	56.324	Nick Wey	Yamaha
12	56.418	Heath Voss	Honda
9	56.460	Ivan Tedesco	Honda
20	56.465	Billy Laninovich	Kawasaki
17	56.517	Tyler Bowers	Honda
15	56.596	Jason Thomas	Honda
18	57.393	Jake Marsack	Honda

 
Mike Alessi
photo: Simon Cudby

AMA Supercross Lites

While there were some new faces atop the lap chart in the AMA Supercross class, it was the usual suspects setting the fast laps in the Lites division, as eventual winner and points lead Ryan Dungey topped the board with a 54.385. Third-place finished Trey Canard was second quickest aboard his GEICO Powersports Honda ride, followed by the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki duo of Ryan Morias and Jake Weimer, who are both still in contention for the championship with one round remaining. Rounding out the top five is Troy Lee Honda’s Jake Moss, who was on the gas all night long, winning his first Heat race en route to his best finish of the season. He may top that this weekend, as his team manager told me in that phone call over the weekend that his guys “flat out haul ass on hardpack.” Check out the rest of the lap times below.

Finish	Best Lap	Rider	Bike
1	54.385	Ryan Dungey	Suzuki
3	54.420	Trey Canard	Honda
2	54.554	Ryan Morais	Kawasaki
4	55.258	Jake Weimer	Kawasaki
5	55.278	Jake Moss	Honda
7	55.802	Kyle Cunningham	Kawasaki
9	55.878	Michael Hall	Yamaha
8	56.041	Chris Blose	Honda
17	56.468	Ryan Sipes	KTM
6	56.513	Jimmy Albertson	Honda
10	56.595	Jeff Alessi	Honda
13	56.852	Dan Reardon	Honda
11	57.190	P.J. Larsen	Kawasaki
19	57.303	Gray Davenport	Kawasaki
15	57.536	Derek Costella	Honda
14	57.546	Alex Martin	Honda
12	57.793	Sean Borkenhagen	Honda
16	57.813	Michael Horban	Yamaha
18	59.039	Eric McCrummen	Honda

 

 
Ryan Dungey
photo: Simon Cudby