Discount Tire Racings/TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed won his 43rd Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, race last Saturday night at Angel Stadium and has a record 125 podium finishes as the action continues tomorrow night at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium. Reed joined some elite company in a Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart on the all-time win list at Angel Stadium with eight.
To take a lap around this weekend’s track in San Diego, click the video below
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“Tying Jeremy (McGrath), Ricky (Carmichael), and James (Stewart) at such a prestigious stadium, a stadium that for the most part Jeremy built, is a nice accolade for me,” said Reed. “It’s nice and cool to know that I still have more opportunities next year to be able to beat the likes of the ‘King of Supercross’ and the ‘Greatest of All Time.’
“Through the night program I felt pretty good and going into the main it was one of those things where I knew I needed to get a good start because it was going to be a difficult track to pass on. When I went into the lead on the first lap, for me to lead 20 laps and to win meant a lot because with my first win, there was no real pressure on me. I kind of sat in 6th and saw what they were doing and was never really in the battle until the last 5 laps. It was the kind of win where the monkey was finally off my back and I finally won in my 30s. With our second win felt like I went out there and rode my race and earned it.
“San Diego is a stadium where I’m the winningest rider with six wins. It’s a stadium that I have obviously done really well at. I haven’t had a back-to-back win since 2009 so really that is the goal, to try to get a back-to back win, get the points lead, and head to the East Coast.
Three-time defending 340SX Class champion Ryan Villopoto has a two-point lead over Reed in the season standings and joins Reed as the only riders to have two wins this season. Villopoto’s lone win in San Diego cam in 2012 en route to his second championship.
“San Diego has been good to us in the past,” said Villopoto. “It usually has a challenging track with big whoops. The points are tight and we’d love to leave San Diego and head East with the points lead. Chad (Reed) and I had a good battle there in 2012 so hopefully we can put on a good show.”
Villopoto’s Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Jake Weimer earned a season-best eight place in Anaheim and remains 10th in the season standings.
“Last weekend I felt the best I have so far this season,” said Weimer. “The result wasn’t great, but I rode better, qualified better, and was happy leaving Anaheim. San Diego’s track is always a good one and I feel ready to battle up front.”
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Stewart admittedly struggled at Angel Stadium on Saturday night. But in the end, Stewart still managed to put in a very respectable ride on his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 bringing home a solid seventh-place result and moving into the top five in the overall championship points.
Stewart started the night off in Anaheim on a positive note in his 450 class Heat Race by getting a great start and taking the lead immediately. He went on to ride perfectly for all six laps and capture his third consecutive Heat Race win of the year. In the 20-lap Main Event, Stewart grabbed the holeshot but then got shuffled back to fourth. He continued to fight for a podium spot for the first half of the race before getting hit by another rider and going down. Despite this, he remounted and made his way through the field to finish seventh.
“We ended up seventh,” said Stewart. “I don’t know, I was sliding out everywhere and making mistakes. I felt good going into the main event and then I don’t know what happened. I still feel good, this was just a tough weekend for me. We still have a lot of racing left and we’ll get it figured out before San Diego next weekend.”
Rockstar Energy Racing’s Ivan Tedesco picked up his first top-10 finish of the season despite struggling through qualifying.
“Not a bad day,” said Tedesco. “I do well once again in qualifying practice; I don’t know why, but I haven’t been able to figure it out. I qualified 20th today and finished 10th, so there was definitely some progress through the night. I’m a better racer than I am in practice, so hopefully I can figure it out sooner and be better throughout the day. I’m going to keep working at it and look to finish better than 10th next week.”
Team Honda/Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia has yet to finish on the podium, but he did finish a season-best fourth place in Anaheim.
“Practice was good. I was either the fastest or just a little off the quickest rider so that makes me feel good and gives me confidence,” explained Barcia. “The only thing that has been hurting me is my starts, and the team and I are really working on that. We have been getting better and better, but that is the only thing that is really holding me back. When we look at the times after the races, I am right there in speed. I just need to get off that gate a little better. The Heat Race tonight didn’t go as planned. I got pinched on the start and ended up going down and wasn’t able to fight my way back into position. I didn’t get the best start again in the semi but was able to win that, so that was good. I got a decent start in the Main Event, and was able to work my way into fourth. Once I get those starts figured out I know I’ll be on the podium. Next weekend is going to be awesome in regards to the race being military appreciation. I really respect what our military does for us each and every day. I am excited to run my custom gear to help support.”
GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn is still working on his first 450SX Class podium finish. Through the first five races, his best finish was an eighth place in Oakland.
“I crashed in the whoops earlier in the day and hurt my hand. I was doing as much therapy between sessions as possible but it really started hurting towards the end of the main,” explained Hahn from Anaheim. “I was really hoping for my best race of the year today since I made good progress last weekend in Oakland and have always enjoyed Anaheim. I was ready to tear it up but that crash changed things. Thankfully my hand’s not broken.”
GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac made his first start of the season following a crash during practice at the season opener that resulted in a shoulder injury. And the bad luck didn’t stop in Anaheim; Tomac suffered a flat tire and finished 21st
“I just wanted to get back into the groove as much as I could,” stated Tomac. “I was still hoping for a top-five finish in the main but ended up getting a flat tire. Overall, it was a good day, and I was able to do some things on the track that the other guys weren’t, which was cool. I did feel my shoulder getting a bit weak in the Main Event, so I know I still need to build strength back so I can attack the whole time. I am really looking forward to San Diego, especially with the military theme. My brother is in the service, so I think it is cool that we are able to show our respects and do something like this.”
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson shook the monkey off his back in Anaheim as he scored his first Western Regional 250SX Class win of the season. Wilson finished second the week before Anaheim, losing the race on the last lap to Rockstar Energy Racing’s Jason Anderson. If Wilson wins the remaining four races of the season, he will win the championship.
“I’m looking forward to San Diego,” said Wilson. “Last weekend’s win was big for us and put us right back in the hunt. Last time I raced San Diego we won so we’re looking to make up as many points as possible before the break.”
Justin Hill earned his third consecutive top-five finish with a fourth place in Anaheim and looks forward to making his Qualcomm Stadium debut.
“Last week was a bummer,” said Hill. “I feel I have the speed to win and am not happy with anything but the podium. I’ve never raced in San Diego before but I’m looking forward to racing in a new stadium.”
Anderson came into Anaheim with a six-point lead in the season standings, but with a season-worst fourth place finish, he is tied in points with Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Cole Seely at 109.
“This weekend was alright, but tied in points now,” said Anderson after Anaheim. “Every time I get a cushion it seems like something just doesn’t go my way. You know we’re just going to keep pushing, do what we do every weekend and come out battling next weekend.”
Yamahalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Copper Webb added a second podium to his rookie campaign with a third place.
“The weekend was good,” said Webb. “I qualified really good in practice with a third and a third and qualified second in my heat. I got a pretty start; I think I was third and then got shuffled back to fifth. I had a gnarly crash in Oakland and my wrist was pretty jacked up. I’m lucky just to be racing, so getting a podium is pretty cool.”
Although he crashed in the Main Event, Seely did not lose any positions in the points standings and finished second in Anaheim.
“It honestly went from all-right traction to slick in one lap,” stated Seely. “I thought I had a flat tire for a little bit, but I felt it out and realized it wasn’t flat, and then a couple laps later, washed the front end. It is part of racing making mistakes. Luckily Dean (Wilson) and I established a big enough gap on the third-place rider, and I was able to ride it in for second.”
