2009 Monster Energy Supercross: Houston 1

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Click the following link for a 34-photo gallery of Supercross race action from Houston.	You can also click the following link for a 45-photo gallery from Saturday's pre-race action in the pits, as well as timed qualifying.
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Okay, tell us if you’ve heard this one… Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Chad Reed has to work his way through the pack, and James Stewart (San Manuel / Yamaha / JSE) scores another win. Yeah, it sounds a bit like the scenario in last week’s race at Anaheim 2, but this time around it was in Houston, TX, at round four of the 2009 Monster Energy Supercross series.

For as solid as Chad has looked this season, and for as vulnerable as Stewart had appeared over the first three rounds, it almost looked like the roles were reversed this week. Stewart looked much more controlled and solid than at any round this season, while Chad struggled with a few crashes in practice.

So what accounts for the difference in the final standings this week? As the riders came together in the first turn, a bump and bobble dropped Reed to mid-pack, while out front, we had an entirely new leader. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto led the first three laps of the main event, before giving way to Stewart. While Reed made it back to second place, passing Villopoto on lap 13 (of 20), the gap between himself and Stewart seemed to remain constant, and Stewart had a nearly ten-second lead at the finish.

Ryan Villopoto hung on for third, and scored his first podium in the big-bore class.

Stewart’s third win of the season vaulted him into a tie with Josh Grant for second in points, only nine back of Reed.

Houston also hosted the first round of the 2009 Lites East Supercross series, and while Austin Stroupe laid down the fastest times in practice, Christophe Pourcel (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) completed an amazing comeback by going wire-to-wire in the main event and score the main event win. Pourcel had suffered serious spinal injuries in ’07 which delayed his return to the Supercross series for the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. We’d heard rumors of his speed, and there was no hiding it on Saturday night.

Nico Izzi (Rockstar Makita Suzuki ) was in second until just before the halfway point of the main event, but Brett Metcalfe (Geico Powersports Honda) took that spot away. While Metcalfe did reel in Pourcel a bit near the end, Christophe still had 1.3 seconds in hand at the end. The final podium? That was Pourcel, Metcalfe, and Izzi.

Now the Lites East guys go back on the shelf for three weeks, while the Lites West riders get three more rounds in at San Francisco (next weekend), Anaheim, and San Diego, before the East series resumes in Atlanta.

Want to see more from Houston? Click the link above for a 34-photo gallery of race action.

Results

Monster Energy Supercross

Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX

Supercross Lites Heat 1
1. Brett Metcalfe

2. Christophe Pourcel

3. Nico Izzi

4. Tyler Wharton

5. Wil Hahn

6. Darryn Durham

7. Matt Goerke

8. Branden Jesseman

9. Chad Ward

Supercross Lites Heat 2
1. Austin Stroupe

2. Matt Lemoine

3. Martin Davalos

4. Blake Wharton

5. Vince Friese

6. Daniel Blair

7. Teddy Parks

8. Jacob Saylor

9. Kyle Gills

Supercross Heat 1
1. Chad Reed

2. Josh Grant

3. Heath Voss

4. Timmy Ferry

5. Davi Millsaps

6. Ryan Villopoto

7. Josh Hill

8. Charles Summey

9. Manuel Rivas

Supercross Heat 2
1. James Stewart

2. Ivan Tedesco

3. Kevin Windham

4. Mike Alessi

5. Andrew Short

6. Kyle Chisholm

7. Benjamin Coisy

8. Cole Siebler

9. Matt Boni

Supercross Lites LCQ
1. Steven Clarke

2. Hunter Hewitt

Supercross LCQ
1. Josh Hansen

2. Paul Carpenter

Supercross Lites Main Event
1. Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki)

2. Brett Metcalfe (Honda)

3. Nico Izzi (Suzuki)

4. Austin Stroupe (Kawasaki)

5. Blake Wharton (Honda)

6. Wil Hahn (KTM)

7. Martin Davalos (KTM)

8. Darryn Durham (Yamaha)

9. Daniel Blair (Honda)

10. Matt Goerke (Suzuki)

11. Jacob Saylor (Yamaha)

12. Branden Jesseman (Kawasaki)

13. Steven Clarke (Suzuki)

14. Hunter Hewitt (Kawasaki)

15. Teddy Parks (Suzuki)

16. Tyler Wharton (Honda)

17. Kyle Gills (Kawasaki)

18. Matt Lemoine (Yamaha)

19. Chad Ward (Kawasaki)

20. Vince Friese (Honda)

Supercross Main Event
1. James Stewart (Yamaha)

2. Chad Reed (Suzuki)

3. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)

4. Andrew Short (Honda)

5. Josh Grant (Yamaha)

6. Ivan Tedesco (Honda)

7. Mike Alessi (Suzuki)

8. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki)

9. Kevin Windham (Honda)

10. Davi Millsaps (Honda)

11. Josh Hill (Yamaha)

12. Heath Voss (Honda)

13. Paul Carpenter (Kawasaki)

14. Cole Siebler (Honda)

15. Matt Boni (Honda)

16. Benjamin Coisy (Honda)

17. Kyle Chisholm (Yamaha)

18. Charles Summey (KTM)

19. Manuel Rivas (Kawasaki)

20. Josh Hansen (Honda)

Supercross Point Standings
1. Chad Reed 86

2. James Stewart 77

3. Josh Grant 77

4. Andrew Short 71

5. Ryan Villopoto 68

6. Ivan Tedesco 62

7. Timmy Ferry 56

8. Kevin Windham 53

9. Mike Alessi 46

10. Davi Millsaps 42