GEICO POWERSPORTS HONDA
RACE REPORT
MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS
ROUND 2, PHOENIX
As the AMA Supercross Championship headed into Phoenix, Arizona, for round two, the GEICO Powersports Honda team
was looking to improve from round one in Anaheim.
In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham started near the tail of the top 10 and quickly began to move forward. He got up as far
as fifth before the halfway point before losing one spot and finishing sixth. Having ridden the previous generation of Honda
CRF450R since his return to racing in 2003, he says he’s still struggling with setup on his all-new 2009 machine.
“We’ve got a brand-new chassis, and you can ride [the] Corona [test track] until you’re dizzy, but then come to Phoenix – or
even Anaheim, for that matter – and just be a little bit off,” Windham said. “We’ll continue to work. I’m not losing sight of
where I need to be. I feel like I’m getting better, and that I’ve got the speed, I just need to find that happy place where I can
turn laps.”
Windham moved into the top 10 in points after the event.
In the Lites class, last year’s Lites East champ, Trey Canard, was fast all day, but a miscalculation on the first lap of his Heat
race when he was battling for the lead cost him his night.
“I felt good all day,” Canard said. “I felt like my speed was good, and I could do it for 15 laps, and I felt like my fast lap and
my next lap and my next lap were just as good. I was feeling good going into the night show, and it just went sour from
there. I got a decent start in the Heat, and I was second behind Hall, and I got past him in the first set of whoops, and he
kind of squeezed back underneath me, and he was headed to the outside of the next corner, and I was on the inside, and I
tried to get him back... It was kind of a bonehead move on my part, but I went through them a little too fast and ran into
him. I think my front brake clipped him and it was bad. There’s nothing I can do about it now. I’ll just worry about next
weekend.”
Canard is sore all over, but he expects to be ready to go for Anaheim II.
His teammate Dan Reardon got the holeshot in his Heat race – the third in a row for the Aussie, but then had to work his way
up through the field after his own miscalculation.
“I got the holeshot, but then I overbraked myself,” Reardon said. “I had this feeling that someone was on the outside of me
and I held it on maybe hundreds of a second too long and ended up running into the Tuff Blox. From there, I felt like I
regrouped good and my speed was good, and all in all, I felt strong.”
The Main event didn’t come with a holeshot for Reardon, though, and he ended up mired in the pack.
“I kind of wrecked it out of the gate,” Reardon said. “It was more of a traction thing with the dirt and the gate that I chose,
more so than technique, and I tried to make the best of a bad situation, I guess. When you get a bad start, you end up riding
around guys that you shouldn’t be around, and I ended up getting hit in the second turn and nearly went off the track. I think
I was about 19th. I regrouped and was coming through and made my way up to about 10th just before halfway, and then
some dude crashed in front of me in the sand, and I went back down and went back to like 16th and had to pass all of those
people again, and I ended up 10th. It was a bumpy ride, but I feel that my speed’s there and my program’s strong, I just
need to cross my t’s and dot my i’s and I think it will happen.”
From here, the GEICO Powersports Honda team heads back to Anaheim, California, for round three of the AMA Supercross
Series on January 17 inside Angel Stadium.
Team Sponsors: GEICO Powersports, Honda, Planet Fitness, Unbound Energy, AM/PM, Factory Connection, Fox, Shoei,
Gaerne, DVS, Amsoil Lubricants, Cycra Plastics, Dunlop Tires, EK Chains, Filtron Air Filters, Hinson Clutches, Leatt Brace,
One Industries, Pro Circuit, Renthal, Shock Doctor, Showa, TAG Sprockets, Vortex Ignitions, VP Fuels, and Works
Connection.
Phoenix Lites Main:
1. Ryan Dungey Suz
2. Justin Brayton KTM
3. Ryan Morais Kaw
4. Jake Weimer Kaw
5. Chris Blose Hon
6. PJ Larsen Kaw
7. Ryan Sipes KTM
8. Cedric Soubeyras Yam
9. Ben Evans Hon
10. Dan Reardon GEICO Powersports Honda
Phoenix 450cc Main:
1. James Stewart Yam
2. Chad Reed Suz
3. Josh Grant Yam
4. Ivan Tedesco Hon
5. Andrew Short Hon
6. Kevin Windham GEICO Powersports Honda
7. Ryan Villopoto Kaw
8. Josh Hill Yam
9. Timmy Ferry Kaw
10. Davi Millsaps Hon
RACE REPORT
MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS
ROUND 2, PHOENIX
As the AMA Supercross Championship headed into Phoenix, Arizona, for round two, the GEICO Powersports Honda team
was looking to improve from round one in Anaheim.
In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham started near the tail of the top 10 and quickly began to move forward. He got up as far
as fifth before the halfway point before losing one spot and finishing sixth. Having ridden the previous generation of Honda
CRF450R since his return to racing in 2003, he says he’s still struggling with setup on his all-new 2009 machine.
“We’ve got a brand-new chassis, and you can ride [the] Corona [test track] until you’re dizzy, but then come to Phoenix – or
even Anaheim, for that matter – and just be a little bit off,” Windham said. “We’ll continue to work. I’m not losing sight of
where I need to be. I feel like I’m getting better, and that I’ve got the speed, I just need to find that happy place where I can
turn laps.”
Windham moved into the top 10 in points after the event.
In the Lites class, last year’s Lites East champ, Trey Canard, was fast all day, but a miscalculation on the first lap of his Heat
race when he was battling for the lead cost him his night.
“I felt good all day,” Canard said. “I felt like my speed was good, and I could do it for 15 laps, and I felt like my fast lap and
my next lap and my next lap were just as good. I was feeling good going into the night show, and it just went sour from
there. I got a decent start in the Heat, and I was second behind Hall, and I got past him in the first set of whoops, and he
kind of squeezed back underneath me, and he was headed to the outside of the next corner, and I was on the inside, and I
tried to get him back... It was kind of a bonehead move on my part, but I went through them a little too fast and ran into
him. I think my front brake clipped him and it was bad. There’s nothing I can do about it now. I’ll just worry about next
weekend.”
Canard is sore all over, but he expects to be ready to go for Anaheim II.
His teammate Dan Reardon got the holeshot in his Heat race – the third in a row for the Aussie, but then had to work his way
up through the field after his own miscalculation.
“I got the holeshot, but then I overbraked myself,” Reardon said. “I had this feeling that someone was on the outside of me
and I held it on maybe hundreds of a second too long and ended up running into the Tuff Blox. From there, I felt like I
regrouped good and my speed was good, and all in all, I felt strong.”
The Main event didn’t come with a holeshot for Reardon, though, and he ended up mired in the pack.
“I kind of wrecked it out of the gate,” Reardon said. “It was more of a traction thing with the dirt and the gate that I chose,
more so than technique, and I tried to make the best of a bad situation, I guess. When you get a bad start, you end up riding
around guys that you shouldn’t be around, and I ended up getting hit in the second turn and nearly went off the track. I think
I was about 19th. I regrouped and was coming through and made my way up to about 10th just before halfway, and then
some dude crashed in front of me in the sand, and I went back down and went back to like 16th and had to pass all of those
people again, and I ended up 10th. It was a bumpy ride, but I feel that my speed’s there and my program’s strong, I just
need to cross my t’s and dot my i’s and I think it will happen.”
From here, the GEICO Powersports Honda team heads back to Anaheim, California, for round three of the AMA Supercross
Series on January 17 inside Angel Stadium.
Team Sponsors: GEICO Powersports, Honda, Planet Fitness, Unbound Energy, AM/PM, Factory Connection, Fox, Shoei,
Gaerne, DVS, Amsoil Lubricants, Cycra Plastics, Dunlop Tires, EK Chains, Filtron Air Filters, Hinson Clutches, Leatt Brace,
One Industries, Pro Circuit, Renthal, Shock Doctor, Showa, TAG Sprockets, Vortex Ignitions, VP Fuels, and Works
Connection.
Phoenix Lites Main:
1. Ryan Dungey Suz
2. Justin Brayton KTM
3. Ryan Morais Kaw
4. Jake Weimer Kaw
5. Chris Blose Hon
6. PJ Larsen Kaw
7. Ryan Sipes KTM
8. Cedric Soubeyras Yam
9. Ben Evans Hon
10. Dan Reardon GEICO Powersports Honda
Phoenix 450cc Main:
1. James Stewart Yam
2. Chad Reed Suz
3. Josh Grant Yam
4. Ivan Tedesco Hon
5. Andrew Short Hon
6. Kevin Windham GEICO Powersports Honda
7. Ryan Villopoto Kaw
8. Josh Hill Yam
9. Timmy Ferry Kaw
10. Davi Millsaps Hon
| 01/10/09 |
