Honda Red Riders Win at RedBud

Torrance, CA: The RedBud National in
Buchanan, MI, marked the halfway point in the 2011 AMA Motocross
Championship and Women’s Motocross Championship this weekend, and
the Honda Red Riders put in commanding performances on their CRF250Rs
and CRF450Rs in taking two victories. TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed
extended his championship lead after taking the overall win in the
450 class, while American Honda Racing’s Ashley Fiolek swept both
Women’s class motos to secure her second overall victory of the
season.

American Honda Racing’s Kevin Windham
put in a strong effort, going 12-6 for ninth overall. In moto one
Windham got a midpack start but suffered a get-off on the opening
lap, forcing him to ride a come-from-behind race. In the second, he
got a better start, moving from 10th on the opening lap up to sixth
by the race’s end. His American Honda Racing teammate Josh Grant
finished moto one in seventh. However, after getting a great start in
moto two and running inside the top 10, he injured his knee on lap 14
and he was unable to complete moto two. His good result in moto one
put him 12th overall for the round.

Reed dominated moto one for the win and
finished in third place in moto two for the overall round victory.
Reed’s win aboard his TwoTwo Motorsports/American Honda
Racing–prepared CRF450R extended his lead in the series to 16
points. “It was definitely a good result for the team,” said
Reed. “There’s a lot of stiff competition this year—both the
Ryans (Villopoto and Dungey) are incredibly fast—so to win is not
an easy task. The RedBud crowd was crazy and to be on top of the
podium in front of such a vocal group of fans was a great way to
finish the weekend.”

Another Honda rider having a good
weekend in the 450 class was Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s
Christian Craig. He went 10-10 for 10th overall.

In the 250 class, GEICO Honda’s Wil
Hahn made an impressive return to racing after being injured and not
racing since January, going 8-6 for sixth overall. GEICO Honda
fill-in teammate Lance Vincent finished the weekend in 17th position.
Unfortunately, GEICO Honda teammates Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac
suffered setbacks to their championship campaigns as both riders
missed out on garnering points. Barcia showed good speed early in the
day, recording the fastest lap time in qualifying. However, he
crashed out of moto one and had a mechanical issue in moto two,
thereby failing to earn points for the round. Tomac was on the pace
in practice until he crashed hard and was then struck by another
rider while attempting to remount his bike. He was taken to a local
hospital for medical examination and released later in the day with
no serious injuries. Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Cole Seely
finished ninth overall, while privateer Scott Champion nabbed 10th
place.

In the Women’s class, Fiolek
dominated both motos aboard her Honda CRF250R, taking wire-to-wire
victories for the overall win and extending her lead in the
championship to eight points. Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s
Tarah Gieger finished third overall, while fellow Honda racers Kasie
Creson and Lindsey Palmer rounded out the weekend in eighth and ninth
spots, respectively.

450 Class Overall Results

1. Chad Reed (Honda) 1-3

2. Ryan Dungey 2-2

3. Ryan Villopoto 9-1

4. Brett Metcalfe 4-5

5. Mike Alessi 8-4

6. Justin Brayton 5-7

7. Andrew Short 6-8

8. Davi Millsaps 3-13

9. Kevin Windham (Honda) 12-6

10. Christian Craig (Honda) 10-10

450 Class Championship Points (after 6
of 12 rounds)

1. Chad Reed 268

2. Ryan Villopoto 252

3. Ryan Dungey 246

4. Brett Metcalfe 178

5. Davi Millsaps 173

6. Kevin Windham 172

7. Andrew Short 130

8. Christian Craig 119

9. Mike Alessi 115

10. Jake Weimer 112

250 Class Overall Results

1. Blake Baggett 1-1

2. Dean Wilson 2-2

3. Tyla Rattray 5-3

4. Kyle Cunningham 4-4

5. Broc Tickle 7-5

6. Wil Hahn (Honda) 8-6

7. Ryan Sipes 3-14

8. Martin Davalos 11-7

9. Cole Seely (Honda) 9-10

10. Scott Champion (Honda) 13-13

250 Class Championship Points (after 6
of 12 rounds)

1. Dean Wilson 258

2. Blake Baggett 244

3. Tyla Rattray 242

4. Eli Tomac 176

5. Kyle Cunningham 163

6. Broc Tickle 143

7. Justin Barcia 137

8. Gareth Swanepoel 120

9. Cole Seely 112

10. Martin Davalos 111

WMA Overall Results

1. Ashley Fiolek (Honda) 1-1

2. Jessica Patterson 2-2

3. Tarah Gieger (Honda) 3-3

4. Vicki Golden 4-4

5. Sayaka Kaneshiro 6-6

6. Jacqueline Strong 5-7

7. Marissa Markelon 9-5

8. Kasie Creson (Honda) 8-8

9. Lindsey Palmer (Honda) 7-10

10. Jackie Ives 10-11

WMA Championship Points (after round 4
of 8)

1. Ashley Fiolek 185

2. Jessica Patterson 177

3. Tarah Gieger 148

4. Jacqueline Strong 108

5. Kasie Creson 98

6. Marissa Markelon 97

7. Vicki Golden 95

8. Sayaka Kaneshiro 83

9. Lindsey Palmer 83

10. Sara Price 79

For more information, contact American
Honda Motor Co., Inc. (310) 783-3745.

About Honda

American Honda Motor Co., Inc., is the
sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs, MUVs and
personal watercraft in the US. American Honda’s Motorcycle Division
conducts the sales, marketing and operational activities for these
products through authorized Honda dealers. For more information on
Honda products, go to powersports.honda.com.