Geico Powersports Honda Race Report - Steel City

DELMONT, Penn. – The 2008 AMA National Motocross Championships wrapped up for the first time on a Saturday at Delmont, Pennsylvania’s Steel City Raceway, and although weather reports leading up to the race indicated a deluge, no rain reared its ugly head.


During the riders’ meeting at Steel City, GEICO Powersports Honda’s Jake Weimer was awarded the RC Hard Charger Award for his come-from-behind finish in moto two at Southwick.


“It’s pretty cool,” Weimer said. “I think it’s cool, but on one hand, it kind of sucks because you know that you couldn’t have done that good because you’re coming from the back and coming forward, but at the same time, it’s cool to get rewarded for riding hard and not giving up.”


Weimer had a solid day at Steel City. He worked his way up to sixth in the first moto and was closing on Nico Izzi at the finish, but came up about a bikelength short.


“The first moto, I had a decent start, and I got slammed in the first couple corners pretty gnarly, and a couple people got by me,” Weimer said. “The first couple of laps, I rode horrible, but then I got a little bit better and just avoided making any major mistakes and got up to sixth. I didn’t ride great, but I didn’t ride horrible.”


In moto two, though, he found himself in a constant chase behind Brett Metcalfe, which came down to the last couple of laps before it was decided.


“The second moto, I had a pretty good start, and there were dudes going down everywhere,” Weimer said. “I was behind [Brett] Mecalfe forever, and I felt like I needed to get around him, but I wasn’t making it happen. I kind of got stuck in his pace, and then [Nico] Izzi got by both of us, and then I finally decided that I needed to make something happen with Brett. We ended up coming together, and he went down, and it wasn’t really intentional, but it was one of those racing situations where I thought I had it, and he thought he had it, and we came together, and unfortunately, he went down. After I got around him, I set the fastest laptime of the moto, though, and that was on the last lap, so I feel like it shows that I had the speed, but I was just stuck in a rut there for a bit.”


Weimer ended up with his second overall podium finish of the season with a 6-3 for third overall, and he finishes the season a strong fourth in points with 321 points.


Rookie Blake Wharton had a strong come-from-behind ride in the first moto, finishing just behind his teammate Weimer in seventh.


“I had a decent start – maybe sixth – but the first lap, I cased the triple, where I couldn’t double out, and a couple of people passed me back, and I had to work from there,” Weimer said. “I don’t know what place I was in, but I passed a few people and caught up to seventh, which was pretty good. The track was a little slicker than I expected, but it was good.”


Wharton grabbed his second holeshot of his short career to start the second moto, but went down in a slick spot a couple turns into the race and was forced to come from the back of the pack.


“I got the holeshot in the second moto, which was what I needed, but they watered it and it was real slick, and I fell down in the third turn because I washed my front end,” Wharton said. “I kept my bike running and I caught back up to ninth, which was pretty good for my overall. I’m happy.”


He was sixth overall on the day and will go into 2009 with a better idea of what it takes to run up front at the pro level, which is really what he was racing for in 2008 in the first place.


“I was pretty consistent throughout the three races, which was good – a fifth, a 10th and a sixth – and I fell a couple of times, but for my first three outdoors, I felt like I did good,” Wharton said. “I feel like I know what I need to do next year, and I’m looking forward to it. It should be good.”


Dan Reardon was disappointed with his results at the season-finale Steel City, but similar to Wharton, he’s happy that he has a healthy season under his belt so that he knows better what to expect next year.


“It started off actually pretty good,” Reardon said. “Qualifying and practice went well – probably the best it’s been all year – but then I just hit some pretty big bumps in the road during the weekend. The end result was definitely not what I wanted, and it was actually a really bad result. I’ve just got to move past this now, and in a way I’m glad the season’s over, and in a way I’m not. I’m glad I got my feet wet now and I know what to expect, but I want to make sure I do better than this next year and I’m ready to come out swinging. I’m going to work hard, and I’m looking forward to the new season already.”


Reardon went 13-11 for 12th overall and finished out the season 11th in the points standings.


Josh Grant grabbed the holeshot in the opening moto and led the first six laps before losing the lead to eventual winner Ryan Dungey. He ran second until about three laps to go in the race when he experienced a mechanical failure – the first one he’s ever had in four years of racing with the GEICO Powersports Honda team. In moto two, Grant again started at the front and ran second for the first few laps before eventually finished the race in eighth. Grant finished the season ninth in points despite racing only half the series, and finished off with two podiums – at Colorado and Washougal.


The GEICO Powersports Honda team will take some well-earned time off before beginning 2009 testing and returning to action for the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Open of Supercross at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 10-11.


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


Steel City Lites Overall:

1. Ryan Dungey 1-1 Suz

2. Nico Izzi 5-2 Suz

3. Jake Weimer 6-3 GEICO Powersports Honda

4. Brett Metcalfe 3-6 Kaw

5. Broc Tickle 9-4 Yam

6. Blake Wharton 7-9 GEICO Powersports Honda

7. Matt Lemoine 2-32 Yam

8. Phil Nicolletti 8-13 Kaw

9. Kyle Chisholm 18-5 Kaw

10. Steven Clarke 16-7 Suz

12. Dan Reardon 13-11 GEICO Powersports Honda

16. Josh Grant 37-8 GEICO Powersports Honda


AMA Lites National MX Championship (After 12 of 12 rounds):

1. Ryan Villopoto (540/8 wins)

2. Ryan Dungey (468/3 wins)

3. Brett Metcalfe (382)

4. Jake Weimer (321)

5. Nico Izzi (292)

6. Ryan Sipes (228)

7. Kyle Cunningham (198)

8. Kyle Chisholm (189)

9. Josh Grant (186)

10. Trey Canard (173)

11. Dan Reardon (170)