Marmont Earns Top Ten – Reardon Makes Return

January 30, 2011, 1:20pm

JDR/J-Star/KTM rider Ryan Marmont earned another top ten finish in the AMA Supercross West Lites class, while his AMA Supercross class teammate Dan Reardon returned to racing since undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus prior to the season opener at Angel Stadium.

Marmont’s confidence was high as he rolled into the parking lot of the Oakland Coliseum for the fourth round of the series after finishing 7^th at the third round last weekend. “I felt good and was hoping my speed would be strong at this race and I would be able to manage another top ten finish,” remarked Marmont.

This week’s track threw a lot of riders for a loop as the whoop section was the most challenging of the season and the light rain that spread itself out over the course of the day made for deep ruts and slick ground. These conditions were hard to adapt to and Marmont was one of the riders that struggled. “I just couldn’t get comfortable earlier in the day and I struggled all day long with the whoop section,” mentioned Marmont.

Marmont suffered from a terrible start in his Lites heat race and finished the race outside of the top nine qualifying positions. “I felt terrible after the heat and just made it my plan to win the LCQ.”

Marmont did just what he set out to do. He nailed the holeshot in the LCQ and led every lap to take the win and one of the final transfer spots into the main event. Marmont did not get a great gate pick for the main event but he garnered a decent start based on how far out he was. “I was able to stay out of trouble on the first two turns and came out inside the top ten.”

While many riders struggled in the main event, Marmont was able to put it together. He later reported that the laps he got to put in through the LCQ had helped him find better lines for the main event. At the end of the fifteen laps he crossed the finish line in 10^th overall. After four rounds, he now sits 13^th overall in the point standings.

In the Supercross class, the JDR/J-Star/KTM Team had two 350 SX-F riders competing in the night show. Tye Simmonds, who qualified for his first main event at the Los Angeles Supercross was back to try and make it two weekends in a row while fellow Aussie, Dan Reardon, made his return to the series after sitting out the first four rounds with a torn meniscus.

Both riders had a rough go in the heat finishing just outside the top nine. The two riders had to go to the LCQ for the final qualifying attempt where Reardon was able to finish 2^nd behind Chris Blose to take the final transfer spot just edging out the #942 bike of Simmonds. “I was really bummed to not make it in the main event this weekend but it just makes me try harder for next week,” remarked Simmonds.

Reardon was given last gate pick for the main event and suffered from it off the start. He rounded the first turn in near last and began to put in the work to move his KTM forward. “By the time the main event rolled around my knee was beginning to bother me. It was more because I am still lacking a full range of motion and it was becoming tricky to navigate my knee carefully around the deep ruts,” stated Reardon. “This was definitely a tough track and probably not the easiest to make my return at but my goal coming into this race was to qualify into the main and finish the race without crashes and I was able to do that.”

Reardon eventually finished the race in 16^th position. “It’s not the best result but it felt good to be back. I feel like I am improving everyday and as my knee progresses I feel my results will improve. I am looking forward to the next few rounds,” remarked Reardon.

Next Event: Anaheim, CA – February 5, 2011

Overall Results Supercross Lites Class –

Broc Tickle
Josh Hansen
Eli Tomac
Ken Roczen – KTM
Tyla Rattray
Ryan Morais
Kyle Cunningham
James Decotis
Bruce Rutherford
Ryan Marmont – KTM
Gared Steinke
Ben Evans
Nick Paluzzi
Jake Canada
Antonio Balbi
Martin Davalos
Scott Champion
Casey Hinson – KTM
Travis Baker
Cole Seely

Overall Point Standings Lites Supercross –

Josh Hansen – 88
Broc Tickle – 87
Ryan Morais – 70
Eli Tomac – 69
Cole Seely – 60
Tyla Rattray – 58
Ken Roczen – 49
Martin Davalos – 45
Kyle Cunningham – 44
James Decotis – 40

Overall Results Supercross Class –

Overall Point Standings Supercross Class –

James Stewart – 92
Ryan Villopoto – 90
Ryan Dungey – 78
Trey Canard – 71
Chad Reed – 70
Brett Metcalfe – 55
Andrew Short – 49
Kevin Windham – 46
Justin Brayton – 39
Kyle Chisholm – 39