James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto continue their wins streaks ...
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Unadilla Valley Sports Center
MX 250 Lites ran a clean first moto, but the second moto was red flagged for lightning about 9 minutes into the race. The AMA decided to wait the storm cell out and restart the race for 21 minutes + 2 laps after a 15 minute break.
Ryan Villopoto took another convincing win taking both motos, first moto on hard pack and second moto in mud. Regarding his Saturday qualifying overall fastest time, beating even James Stewart, he had this to say: “It’s nothing to be happy about, the track faded away for those guys on the 450s.” Ryan modestly downplayed the hype of his impending 2009 move to the MX class to compete with #7. RV is looking forward to a good finish at Washougal next weekend. He said; “I don’t think I’ve won a moto there, never an overall. I definitely want to lead the lites class there.” Villopoto comes closer to clinching the Lites outdoor title, now 109pt ahead of Ryan Dungey.
Ryan Dungey solidified his 2nd place standing in the lites class, now 51 points ahead of Brett Metcalfe, with consistent 2/2 finishes. The Suzuki rider rode strong all weekend, and was actually pulling a lead on RV in the first moto before a “little swap, got kicked, and landed in the slop” allowing Villopoto to steal the lead away.
Brett Metcalfe yet again stood on the third podium spot for the overall with a 6/4. Mitch Payton confirmed #123 will be on the Pro Circuit squad again in 2009 and Brett says his confidence is improving at each round and his immediate goal is to earn his overall podium spot with top 3 moto scores and increased speed.
The weekend got off to a rough start for Martin Davalos with a 39th first moto score due to mechanical DNF, but he rebounded to take third in the rain in moto 2.
Rain and mud in the second moto did not treat the top honda riders in the lites class well, with all finishing outside the top 10. Josh Grant 3/12, Trey Canard 5/13, and Kyle Cunningham 4/19 were all vying for 3rd place in the only battle in the Lites moto1.
Austin Stroup is still out with an injury. Mitch Payton, Pro Circuit team owner, was unable to give an expected timeframe for his return to the series.
In the 450 Motocross class, Factory Kawasaki’s James Stewart put the bad karma of his previous Unadilla performances behind him on the way to winning both motos and the overall in NY. “When the rain came, I was thinking the track was trying to take it away from me, but I kept fighting.” After winning the second moto, James dropped his bike and stomped his boots into the muddy soil, symbolically “kicking the tracks ass.” “I had to kick it back after hitting the ground so many times here.” Sunday was Stewart’s first race finish in the MX class at Unadilla, breaking his record of crash induced DNFs in 2005-2007. pulls 120 points ahead of Tim Ferry for the 2008 AMA outdoor title chase, likely to take the title 2 rounds early.
Michael Byrne stepped up to his best ever outdoor moto and overall results at Unadilla, with a 2/3 score for second overall. Said about his improving performance: “I’m back, it’s been a long road with my knee. I have a great team and a great bike, so that helps a lot. I’m just trying to keep the ball rolling and improve my results each week.” #26 was excited to finish ahead of Short and Ferry, his rivals thus far in the series. “It was a good battle for me to win, I knew once I got to the halfway point, I could maintain the speed and be smooth and smart against those guys.” Byrne picked up points on Andrew Short and is now within striking distance of taking over third place in the series.
Suzuki Privateer Cody Cooper, #902 was the standout performance in the second moto by sticking to James Stewart until the very end. Cooper, in second place, had lap times faster than Stewart and was catching up when James fell before the halfway point. Cody: “I didn’t see him tip over as he was a bit ahead of me. I got right up to him, but then he charged and got back ahead.” The crowd was up at the fences cheering on the closest finish so far in the 450cc class with Cooper and Stewart within a few bike lengths at multiple points in the race. #902 took home the 3rd place trophy for his 5/2 moto scores along with the confidence of knowing he has put up the best fight against James we have seen all year.
Factory Honda’s team has been reduced to one, with the bikes of Tedesco, Townley, and Millsaps staying under the awning all weekend. Millsaps will remain out until his shoulder injury is fully healed. The remaining rider Andrew Short had an unusually poor second moto coming in 14th resulting in 7th overall.
Timmy Ferry had the third podium spot in check when he fell at the end of the second moto giving the trophy to Cooper by dropping from 4th to 6th in the moto. #15 would have to settle for fourth overall on the day.
The 2008 USA Motocross of Nations team was picked today. You can read that article right here.
Photos and Race Report by Nate Crisman.
