Round 1 - AMA/FIM Supercross Series 2010 - Anaheim - January 9

Saturday, 09 January 2010 12:53

Defending Supercross Champion James Stewart battles Ryan Dungey to win exciting first round of the 2010 AMA / FIM Supercross Series! Chad Reed DNF. Jake Weimer victorious in 250 West Supercross Lites event!

Angel Stadium

A beautiful January day in southern California for the opening round of Supercross. About 70 degrees during the day ... a little bit cooler in the evening. The track is challenging, ... the dirt just right.

In practice, all the 'names' are out there - James Stewart, Chad Reed, Andrew Short, Ryan Villopoto, Ryan Dungey, Josh Grant, Kevin Windham, etc., but we also see Jason Lawrence & former World Motocross Champion and AMA MX Champion Grant Langston. Thomas Hahn is riding the number 10 Suzuki. And although he will be riding the Eastern division of Supercross Lites, Austin Stroupe is riding on the Factory Suzuki 450 today.

First 250 Lites heat - it's Broc Tickle number 20 on a Yamaha winning! Max Anstie on a Yamaha number 48 is second, Trey Canard 38 is next, and Gautier Paulin, number 321 from Europe, riding a Yamaha in fourth.

Second 250 Lites heat - Jake Weimer number 12 smokes 'em all! Ryan Morais is next, followed by Josh Hansen, Cole Seely, and KTM's Tommy Searle, riding his first ever AMA Supercross event.

Next, the first 450 Supercross Heat - Davi Millsaps with the holeshot! Ryan Dungey in second. Chad Reed is back in third. On lap seven Dungey has moved in right behind Millsaps, ... but Millsaps holds off Dungey in an exciting finish. Reed is a ways back in third. Next is Kevin Windham, Ivan Tedesco, and Grant Langston.

Now is the second 450 Supercross Heat - it's Austin Stroupe with the holeshot! He's followed by James Stewart and Andrew Short. Halfway thru the second lap, Stewart takes over the lead. Short is in second, then Stroupe. Stroupe is being chased by Ryan Villopoto. At the end of the eight lap heat, it's James Stewart with the win, Andrew Short second, then Ryan Villopoto, Austin Stroupe, Justin Brayton, Michael Byrne, and Greg Aranda.

250 Main Event! Holeshot to Jake Weimer! Josh Hansen is right behind. But Hansen falls at the start of the second lap. It's Weimer with a comfortable lead already on lap two! Ryan Morais on Suzuki is now second, third place is Trey Canard, then Blake Wharton! Ten laps in, Weimer is leading second place Trey Canard by a little over four seconds. Morais is next, then Wharton. And after 15 laps, the winner of the first 250 Main Event of 2010 is - Jake Weimer! Second place is Trey Canard, followed by Ryan Morais, Blake Wharton, Wil Hahn of the Troy Lee Honda team, Broc Tickle, Tommy Searle, Josh Hansen, Max Anstie (also racing his first AMA Supercross) and Jeff Alessi.

The crowd is standing on their feet as the start of the final race of the night gets ready to blast off - the 450 Supercross Main Event! The holeshot goes to Ryan Dungey! James Stewart is in second, Ryan Villopoto is third, Andrew Short is fourth, Kevin Windham is fifth. Chad Reed is in 14th place.

Chad Reed is off the track. Looks like possibly a front wheel issue, maybe damaged spokes from a foot-peg? Austin Stroupe's foot-peg? Regardless - Chad is spectating on the side of the track - and not happy. (Officially Chad scores two points with a 19th place.)

The crowd is still standing! At the halfway point of the 20 lap main event, Dungey is looking very good on the 450, and seems to be gaining confidence. Stewart is second. Villopoto is now 12 second behind in third. Then it's Short, Windham, and Brayton.

Dungey is stretching his lead now on the next few laps! Villopoto has dropped to fifth. Leader-board is Dungey, Stewart, Windham, Short, Villopoto, and Josh Hill.

A few laps are remaining. Stewart is now closing up on Dungey. He's right behind him now as they are on lap 17! In the tight left hand 'first-corner' as they start lap 18, Stewart passes Dungey for the lead! On the final lap, Dungey is going for it! He's trying to get by Stewart! The crowd is going crazy! As the checkered flag falls, it's defending Supercross Champion James Stewart winning the first AMA 450 Supercross race of 2010! Dungey second, followed by Windham with a nice ride in third, Andrew Short, Ryan Villopoto, Josh Hill, Ivan Tedesco, Justin Brayton, Davi Millsaps, and Grant Langston tenth in his first race since the end of 2007.

Notes: Tyla Rattray is recovering from injury, and will be racing Eastern Division Supercross 250 Lites. Defending Eastern Supercross Champ Christophe Pourcel is recovering from injury as well, and will also be racing in the East. Brett Metcalfe and Justin Barcia will both be racing East for GEICO Honda. Fastest lap times averaged approx. 56 seconds. Josh Grant did not start the 450 Supercross Main Event.

Read Amanda's Blog & Quotes from many riders ...

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Right now on Supercross.com, you can ...

The new, Supercross.com iPhone applications, Version 1 is here!

Join the Supercross Community for free - upload your own photos, build your profile, upload videos, post in the message boards ...

You can see James Stewart's "special" riding tips just for you on how to win a Supercross Championship!

The Supercross.com Store is open, and you'll like what's in there!

See Amanda interview Ryan Dungey & Roger De Coster of Team Suzuki.

You can see Kawasaki's Supercross Kick off Party!

You can see Red Bull's Supercross Media day at a secret location that we can't tell you about!

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Facts & stats courtesy Feld Motor Sports:

AMA Supercross Class Titles by Brand: Honda: 15 (1982, '83, '84, '86, '88, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '02, '03). Yamaha: 11 (1974, '77, '78, '79, '80, '98, '99, '00, '04, '08, '09). Kawasaki: 6 (1976, '85, '87, '97,  '01, '07). Suzuki: 3 (1981, '05, '06). Can-Am: 1 (1975).

AMA Supercross Class Wins by Brand: Honda: 191 (First win 1976). Yamaha: 160 (First win 1974). Kawasaki: 93 (First win 1976). Suzuki: 51 (First win 1976). Can-Am: 7 (First win 1974). CZ: 2 (First win 1974).

AMA Supercross Class Champions: Jeremy McGrath: 7 ('93, '94, '95, '96, '98, '99, '00). Ricky Carmichael: 5 ('01, '02, '03, '05, '06). Bob Hannah: 3 ('77, '78, '79). Jeff Stanton: 3 ('89, '90, '92). Jeff Ward: 2 ('85, '87). Chad Reed: 2 ('04, '08). James Stewart: 2 ('07, '09). Rick Johnson: 2 ('86, '88). Jim Ellis: 1 ('75). Jim Weinert: 1 ('76). Mike Bell: 1 ('80). Mark Barnett: 1 ('81). Donnie Hansen: 1 ('82). David Bailey: 1 ('83). Johnny O'Mara: 1 ('84). J. M. Bayle: 1 ('91). Jeff Emig: 1 ('97).

Ricky Carmichael became the first racer to win a championship on three brands, and he did it in one decade (KAW, HON, SUZ). Chad Reed is racing for his seventh career win in Anaheim. Since 1974, the winner of the first race of the season has gone on to win the AMA Supercross championship 17 times.

First Time Winners in Anaheim: 1979: Kent Howerton. 1982: Donnie Hansen. 1983: David Bailey. 1984: Johnny O'Mara. 1990: Damon Bradshaw. 1993: Jeremy McGrath. 2003: Chad Reed. 2009: Josh Grant.