Reed rolls at Red Bud
Published 6:19 pm Monday, July 4, 2011
BUCHANAN — Mother Nature herself couldn’t keep thousands of motocross fans from ascending on the hallowed grounds of Red Bud MX in Buchanan over the holiday weekend for the annual Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship.
Friday brought a full day of rain to the area, which cancelled the amateur racing on the pro track, and Saturday brought temperatures that exceeded 90 degrees, but that didn’t stop the record crowd of over 30,000 people from witnessing Chad Reed, Blake Baggett and Ashley Fiolek claim overall championships in the 38th annual Rockstar Energy Drink Red Bud National.
Red Bud was the sixth stop on the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross schedule and Reed had already laid claim to three overall victories. With a solid first place finish in the first 450 motocross of the day, his third place finish in the second 450 moto was enough to edge out reigning series champion, and defending Red Bud champion, Ryan Dungey, who placed second in both motos. Ryan Villopoto, who crashed during the first moto and finished ninth, recovered to win the second moto and claim the overall third place rounding out the podium in the 450 class.
“I got a good start (in Moto 2) and got into third,” said Reed. “Dungey made some mistakes and I tried to get by, but then I made mistakes and (Mike) Alessi passed me. At that point I knew I had to just settle down and be smart. I actually learned a lot today. I got my butt kicked last week, and we worked on suspension. Each time I went out on the track today, it was different. I learned a lot about my bike, and a lot about myself as a person about the decisions I need to make on race days.”
Reed holds onto a 16-point lead over Villopoto in the series standings at the halfway point.
For Dungey it was his second runner-up finish on the season.
“I felt good today,” said Dungey. “It was just a little unfortunate. I wanted to run in contention with Villopoto, but I wasn’t making it happen. Now we’ve got a week to work on things and get better. We’ll just keep plugging away. At this point, points are valuable. We’re halfway now. I can’t get stuck behind like that. I need to get up and go.”
In the 250 motocross class it was a trio of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s that dominated the day with Blake Baggett and teammate Dean Wilson finishing first and second respectively in both motos, and overall, while fellow teammate Tyla Rattray captured third overall grabbing the last podium spot.
In the first moto Baggett capitalized on a Justin Barcia crash as he moved up to second then chased down Ryan Sipes to take the lead and he never looked backed. In the second moto Baggett took over the lead by the end of the first lap as he led wire to wire. With the two wins on the day Baggett leads the series with seven moto victories in 12races.
“Going 1-1 is a pretty good day I’d say,” said Baggett. “The championship is still really far out. Neither of my teammates has had a bad race yet, but if they do, I want to be there to capitalize. I just want to be there in the end, and if it happens, it happens. No matter what, I’m going to give it my all.”
Despite his series leading seven moto victories, Baggett still trails his teammate Wilson by 14 points for the series championship.
For the second consecutive year the women’s championship series converged on Red Bud and in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Women’s Motocross Championship it was American Honda’s Ashley Fiolek who stole the show. Fiolek, who was clearly the fan favorite, raced to two first place finishes to claim the overall No. 1 spot. The two wins helped extend her points lead to eight points over defending series champion Jessica Patterson, who finished second overall with two second place finishes on the day. Wrapping up the podium for the women was Tarah Geiger with third place finishes in both motos.
The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship takes a weekend off before returning to action in Millville, Minnesota on Saturday, July 16 for the Spring Creek Motocross National.
450 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Chad Reed, Kurri Kurri, Australia, Honda (1-3)
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (2-2)
3. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki (9-1)
4. Brett Metcalfe, Mannum, Australia, Suzuki (4-5)
5. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM (8-4)
6. Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha (5-7)
7. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM (6-8)
8. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha (3-13)
9. Kevin Windham, Baton Rouge, La., Honda (12-6)
10. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda (10-10)
450 Class Championship Standings
1. Chad Reed, Kurri Kurri, Australia, Honda – 268
2. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 252
3. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki – 246
4. Brett Metcalfe, Mannum, Australia, Suzuki – 178
5. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha – 173
6. Kevin Windham, Baton Rouge, La., Honda – 172
7. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM – 130
8. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda – 119
9. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM – 115
10. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki – 112
250 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki (1-1)
2. Dean Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland, Kawasaki (2-2)
3. Tyla Rattray, Durban, South Africa, Kawasaki (5-3)
4. Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha (4-4)
5. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki (7-5)
6. Wil Hahn, Wichita, Kan., Honda (8-6)
7. Ryan Sipes, Louisville, Ky., Yamaha (3-14)
8. Martin Davalos, Quito, Ecuador, Suzuki (11-7)
9. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (9-10)
10. Scott Champion, La Jolla, Calif., Honda (13-13)
250 Class Championship Standings
1. Dean Wilson, Glasgow, Scotland, Kawasaki – 258
2. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki – 244
3. Tyla Rattray, Durban, South Africa, Kawasaki – 242
4. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda – 176
5. Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha – 163
6. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki – 143
7. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda – 137
8. Gareth Swanepoel, Johannesburg, South Africa, Yamaha – 120
9. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda – 112
10. Martin Davalos, Quito, Ecuador, Suzuki – 111
WMX Class (Moto Finish)
1. Ashley Fiolek, St. Augustine, Fla., Honda (1-1)
2. Jessica Patterson, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha (2-2)
3. Tarah Gieger, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico., Honda (3-3)
4. Vicki Golden, El Cajon, Calif., Kawasaki (4-4)
5. Sayaka Kaneshiro, Osaka, Japan, Suzuki (6-6)
6. Jacqueline Strong, Cottonwood, Ariz., KTM (5-7)
7. Marissa Markelon, Bridgeport, Conn., Yamaha (9-5)
8. Kasie Creson, Vallejo, Calif., Honda (8-8)
9. Lindsey Palmer, Albuquerque, N.M., Honda (7-10)
10. Jackie Ives, Visalia, Calif., Yamaha (10-11)
WMX Class Standings
1. Ashley Fiolek, St. Augustine, Fla., Honda – 185
2. Jessica Patterson, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha – 177
3. Tarah Gieger, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico., Honda – 148
4. Jacqueline Strong, Cottonwood, Ariz., KTM – 108
5. Kasie Creson, Vallejo, Calif., Honda – 98
6. Marissa Markelon, Bridgeport, Conn., Yamaha – 97
7. Vicki Golden, El Cajon, Calif., Kawasaki – 95
8. Sayaka Kaneshiro, Osaka, Japan, Suzuki – 83
9. Lindsey Palmer, Albuquerque, N.M., Honda – 83
10. Sara Price, Canyon Lake, Calif., Kawasaki – 79
Alexah Pearson, Rocklin, Calif., KTM – 79