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Click the following link for a 36-photo gallery of Supercross race action from St. Louis. You can also click the following link for a 26-photo gallery from Saturday's pre-race action in the pits, as well as timed qualifying. Don't forget, if you're a Vital MX member, you can comment on any of the photos in the gallery. Not a member? Join now! It's fast and free. |
Wow. If you were in St. Louis you got to see the 2008 Lites East champion crowned, and it was Torco Racing Fuels Honda's Trey Canard. Trey had taken the first three wins of the season, while Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto struggled to come back from a pre-season wrist surgery. As Villopoto healed up, the tide began to turn, and heading into St. Louis, Ryan was coming off three straight wins. Often momentum is key, and it seemed to be falling into Villopoto's favor.
While Canard grabbed the holeshot, Villopoto's teammate, Branden Jesseman, took the lead shortly afterward. But he soon gave way to Villopoto and Canard. Villopoto then got by Canard, and many observers thought that was that...that he'd ride away to the championship. But Canard battled back and caught Villopoto in the corner leading to the finish line jump. He came in fast, and caught Villopoto by surprise, bumping inside the Kawasaki rider. Villopoto ended up tangling with the finish line structure, and went down. That allowed Canard to get away, riding to the win and a championship in his rookie season.
In the Supercross class, it was obvious that Chad Reed was still suffering the affects from his Detroit practice crash. While he'd laid down a couple fast practice laps in St. Louis, he was clearly in damage control mode, trying to give up as few points as possible to his closest pursuer, Kevin Windham.
Kelly Smith grabbed the holeshot, but Reed quickly took the lead, followed by Windham. After four laps, Kevin Windham took the lead, and rode on to his third win of the season. Reed hung in for second, and Andrew Short picked up the final podium spot.
For much more coverage, including 36 photos and captions, click the links above.
The Monster Energy Supercross series continues next week in Seattle.
Supercross Lites Heat 1
1. Trey Canard
2. Ryan Morais
3. Kyle Partridge
4. Billy Payne
5. Tyler Bowers
6. Ryan Sipes
7. Nico Izzi
8. Kyle Keylon
9. Josh Grant
Supercross Lites Heat 2
1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Branden Jesseman
3. Benjamin Coisy
4. Kyle Chisholm
5. Matt Goerke
6. Travis Sewell
7. Justin Sipes
8. Jimmy Albertson
9. Jason Hussey
Supercross Heat 1
1. Davi Millsaps
2. Tommy Hahn
3. Kelly Smith
4. Eric Sorby
5. Jeff Gibson
6. Nick Wey
7. Andrew Short
8. Bryan Johnson
9. Kevin Johnson
Supercross Heat 2
1. Josh Hill
2. Kevin Windham
3. Justin Brayton
4. Nate Ramsey
5. Chad Reed
6. Troy Adams
7. Paul Carpenter
8. Travis Preston
9. Jason Thomas
Supercross Lites LCQ
1. Levi Kilbarger
2. Tanner Reidman
3. Ricky Renner
4. Bruce Dehn
Supercross LCQ
1. David Vuillemin
2. Heath Voss
Supercross Lites Main Event
1. Trey Canard (Honda)
2. Branden Jesseman (Kawasaki)
3. Josh Grant (Honda)
4. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
5. Ryan Morais (Yamaha)
6. Kyle Chisholm (Kawasaki)
7. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
8. Nico Izzi (Suzuki)
9. Matt Goerke (KTM)
10. Billy Payne (Honda)
11. Tyler Bowers (Yamaha)
12. Travis Sewell (Suzuki)
13. Kyle Partridge (Honda)
14. Jimmy Albertson (Suzuki)
15. Justin Sipes (Suzuki)
16. Ricky Renner (Kawasaki)
17. Levi Kilbarger (Honda)
18. Tanner Reidman (Suzuki)
19. Jason Hussey (Honda)
20. Kyle Keylon (Honda)
21. Brude Dehn (Kawasaki)
22. Benjamin Coisy (Honda)
Supercross Main Event
1. Kevin Windham (Honda)
2. Chad Reed (Yamaha)
3. Andrew Short (Honda)
4. Nate Ramsey (Yamaha)
5. Tommy Hahn (Kawasaki)
6. Davi Millsaps (Honda)
7. Justin Brayton (KTM)
8. Paul Carpenter (Honda)
9. Travis Preston (Kawasaki)
10. Jason Thomas (Honda)
11. Nick Wey (KTM)
12. David Vuillemin (Suzuki)
13. Heath Voss (Honda)
14. Eric Sorby (Honda)
15. Bryan Johnson (Honda)
16. Josh Hill (Yamaha)
17. Jeff Gibson (Kawasaki)
18. Kevin Johnson (Yamaha)
19. Troy Adams (Honda)
20. Kelly Smith (Kawasaki)
21. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki)
What do you think? If you’re a Vital MX member (membership is free), you can leave a comment below, or talk about it in the Vital MX Forums.
