January 8, 2008

Torco Racing Fuels Honda Storms Anaheim I

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The opening round of the 2008 AMA Supercross Series had a lot going for it, but the weather wasn’t quite one of them. From Thursday through Saturday morning, rain poured down on the floor of Angels Stadium. It never got past a very light drizzle on Saturday, the day of the race, but the damage was done. The track had absorbed a lot of water by race time, and the race was almost a full-blown “mudder”.

Mud races have a tendency to turn a competition of skill and daring into a bit of a lottery. Success or failure is, in many ways, determined at the start of the race.

AMA Supercross rookie (but multi-time Australian Supercross Champion) Dan Reardon won the lottery in the main event, as the Aussie took his Torco Racing Fuels Honda CRF250R to the holeshot and led the first four laps of the main event, despite growing up in a very dry area of Australia – so mud riding is not his strong suit.

Reardon held on for fourth place in his first-ever AMA Supercross event.

“I was reasonably happy with the way things went,” Reardon said of the event. “A good start was important, and with it being a mud race, I didn’t know what to expect otherwise. I just wanted to go out and stay out of trouble, and that’s what I did. I’m looking forward to Phoenix and the rest of the series.”

His Lites-class teammate Jake Weimer, however, lost the lottery every time he played in the mud of Anaheim I. He was knocked sideways exiting the first turn in his heat race and went down while leading, and he banged up his shoulder a bit and dropping out of the race. Never one to back down from a bit of pain, Weimer returned for the LCQ and was running in a qualifying position before again coming into contact with another rider, and again ending up on the ground, cutting his night short.

“The mud basically ruined my night,” Weimer, among the favorites heading into the series, said. “I’ve never really been a mud rider, but I rode decent in practice. In the qualifier, I got a good start and then just got carried away, and it pretty much ended my night there. I’m getting my shoulder checked out, but I’ll be racing Phoenix one way or the other.”

In the 450cc class, some expected a lot of Kevin Windham. The last time Anaheim I was a mudder, in 2005, Windham won the event. This year, however, he confronted one track obstacle that no other riders had to – James Stewart’s bike, on the ground in the first turn.

Windham took a while to get free after getting stuck behind Stewart’s downed bike, which meant the only riders he didn’t have to pass were the other ones on the ground in the first turn alongside him.

“Things were going just as I planned and expected,” Windham said. “I had a good qualifier and I think we were going in the right direction, but I had a mishap in the first turn, and had to pick up the pieces from there.”

Despite the poor start, Windham put his mud-riding skills to good use and still caught all the way up to fifth place, passing Mike Alessi (who was second off the start) for the spot with about four laps to go.

“I really had a strong ride,” Windham said. “It obviously wasn’t a podium performance, because when you have a podium performance, you end up on the podium, but I definitely had podium speed. I have a lot of things to be optimistic about from the first round.”

From here, the Torco Racing Fuels Honda team heads to Phoenix , Arizona , for round two of the AMA Supercross Series on January 12 inside Chase Field.

Team Sponsors: Torco Race Fuels, Honda, Planet Fitness, No Fear Energy, AMSOIL, Factory Connection, No Fear, Shoei, Gaerne, Spy, DVS, Cycra, Dunlop, EK, Ferodo, Hinson, Ogio, One Industries, Pro Circuit, Renthal, Showa, TAG, Twin Air, and Works Connection.

Anaheim I Lites Main:

1.         Ryan Dungey              Suz

2.         Jason Lawrence           Yam

3.         Justin Brayton             KTM

4.         Dan Reardon             Torco Racing Fuels Honda

5.         Austin Stroupe            Kaw

6.         Tommy Hahn              Kaw

7.         Gavin Gracyk              Hon

8.         Andrew McFarlane     Kaw

9.         Chris Blose                  Suz

10.       Wil Hahn                     Yam

Anaheim I 450cc Main :

1.         Chad Reed                  Yam

2.         James Stewart             Kaw

3.         Timmy Ferry               Kaw

4.         Grant Langston           Yam

5.         Kevin Windham        Torco Racing Fuels Honda

6.         Mike Alessi                 Suz

7.         Davi Millsaps              Hon

8.         Andrew Short             Hon

9.         Nick Wey                    KTM

10.       David Vuillemin         Suz

Web photos from the event can be found at:

http://www.coxmx.com/fcracing/sx1.html