Round 7 – AMA/FIM Supercross Series 2011 – San Diego

Chad Reed wins San Diego Supercross. Eli Tomac wins his first ever 250 Lites Supercross Main Event. The points in all series are closer than ever with Ryan Villopoto leading James Stewart by three points in premiere Supercross, as the series heats up going to Atlanta next weekend!

Qualcomm Stadium

It was expected to rain all day and night. But during the day, it only rained a bit off and on. The track was covered to protect it from the rain and be maintained for the night time program. It did start to rain more as the night time program was getting under way. However, the Feld Motor Sports / Dirt Wurx crew know how to do their jobs. The track is in great condition as the opening ceremonies get under way before the first heat race of the night.



The first 250 West Heat takes off!




The track is a bit slick, and it is raining, but all-in-all everything is in good shape. The early leader is Nicholas Paluzzi on the 72 Yamaha. He’s followed very closely by Jim Decotis (66). Tyla Rattray is third, followed Broc Tickle in fourth and Ryan Morais in fifth.

In the 6 lap qualifier, Paluzzi is leading on the last lap, but Decotis makes a pass on a tight left hand corner. They both bobble and it makes room for Broc Tickle to pass! At the finish it’s Tickle with the win! Decotis is second, Paluzzi third, Rattray fourth, and Morais fifth.

In the 250 Heat 2 its Ken Roczen with the holeshot, and he’s already pulling away! Eli Tomac is second, Josh Hansen, riding with broken bones in his hand, is third.

Ken Roczen is out in front of this six lap heat race. Eli Tomac is second, Cole Seely has moved into third, followed by Josh Hansen in fourth and Ben Evans in fifth. The checkered flag falls and it’s Ken Roczen with the heat win! Second is Eli Tomac, followed by Seely, Hansen, and Evans.

In the Supercross Heat 1 qualifier it’s Ryan Villopoto (2) with the holeshot! Trey Canard is second, Chad Reed is third, Ivan Tedesco fourth and Fabien Izoird is fifth.

In this eight lap qualifier, Ryan Villopoto is stretching out his lead. Trey Canard is second, Chad Reed is third, followed by Tedesco and Millsaps as it is starting to rain very hard.

At the end of this eight lap heat, it’s series points leader Ryan Villopoto with the victory. Trey Canard finishes second. Chad Reed third, then Tedesco, and Millsaps.

In the Supercross Heat 2 qualifier it’s James Stewart with the holeshot! On the second lap of this eight lap heat, Justin Brayton is in second, then Kyle Regal, Mike Alessi, and Ryan Dungey.

At the halfway point of this race, James Stewart is pulling a good lead. Justin Brayton is second, Kyle Regal third, Supercross champ Ryan Dungey next, and fifth is Mike Alessi. Andrew Short, Kevin Windham and Nick Wey follow.

James Stewart ‘easily’ wins Heat 2. The track is starting to get very slippery with the rain and mud, but the riders are doing all the jumps. Second goes to Justin Brayton, then Kyle Regal, Ryan Dungey, Andrew Short, Brett Metcalfe, and Mike Alessi in 7th. Windham dropped to 13th. Fastest lap time for Stewart is 55.9 seconds.

250 West Main Event – 15 laps. It’s number 19 Eli Tomac on the Honda with the lead! Josh Hansen is second, James Decotis is third, followed by Tyla Rattray, Kyle Cunningham, and Broc Tickle.

On Lap six Eli Tomac is out front on the Honda, his teammate James Decotis is second, Tyla Rattray has moved into third, followed by Broc Tickle and Cole Seely.

Ten laps into this race, it’s Eli Tomac still leading, former World MX 2 Champion Tyla Rattray second, Broc Tickle into third. Then Cole Seely, J Decotis, and Josh Hansen.

And the checkered flag goes to Eli Tomac, who has won his first ever AMA 250 Lites West Main Event! Second goes to Tyla Rattray, third is Broc Tickle. Fouth is Cole Seely, followed by James Decotis, Josh Hansen, and Ken Roczen.

Eli, a native of Colorado, said after his win, “The first five laps I just put my head down and pulled away. It was kinda’ crazy. The track was really tricky and slippery. I got a little nervous out front, but I have learned a lot this season and I’ve gotten better.”

Supercross 20 lap Main Event. It is pouring rain as the Main Event blasts off the starting line. It’s Chad Reed with the holeshot. The track is getting really sloppy, but the top guys are still doing all the big jumps.

On lap three Trey Canard bursts past Chad Reed and into the lead! James Stewart is in third, followed by Andrew Short in fourth, and Ryan Dungey in fifth. After a fall on turn three on the first lap, Ryan Villopoto is 20th.

Canard makes a mistake on lap six. Chad Reed takes advantage and takes a big lead. James Stewart is second as Canard drops to third. Fourth is Ryan Dungey, followed by Andrew Short, Mike Alessi, Davi Millsaps, Brett Metcalfe, Nick Wey, Ivan Tedesco, and Justin Brayton. Kevin Windham is out on the third lap.

At the halfway point, Chad Reed is leading with a seven second lead over James Stewart  who is in second place. Third is Trey Canard, followed by Ryan Dungey. Ryan Villopoto is charging hard and is now in 11th place.

On lap 15 it looks like Chad Reed is heading for his first win in the AMA Supercross in a long time. He’s leading James Stewart by almost eight seconds.

On lap 17 Canard and Dungey pass Stewart as his bike stalls in a corner! The running order now is Reed, Canard, Dungey, Stewart, Short.

Still on lap 17, Canard goes down! Running changes and now its Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey, James Stewart, Andrew Short, and Trey Canard in fifth!

Chad Reed has won the San Diego Supercross! Defending Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey finishes second, James Stewart is third, followed by Canard, Millsaps, Short, Ryan Villopoto.

This is Chad’s sixth win in San Diego. He’s quite happy about it, as he takes a victory lap for the 53,000+ fans, and doing a few burnouts along the way.

Supercross winner Chad Reed said afterwards, “This is incredible. I have put so much work into this team to make it the best it can be. To win with your name on your chest makes everything so much better. This one is emotional. I just followed Trey (Canard) because he was showing me some (good racing) lines. When he went down, it just became about putting together twenty clean laps.”

Recap: In the 250 West series, Josh Hansen leads team-mate Broc Tickle, 128 to 125. Eli Tomac is third in the series with 116 points. The West region now takes a few weeks off, as the East series gets going. In the premiere Supercross class – Ryan Villopoto leads James Stewart in the points chase, 146 to 143. Reed and Canard are tied at 130 each, then Dungey with 123.

Next race – Saturday night – Georgia Dome in Atlanta!

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