Press Release

Langston Wins 2nd Straight, Extends AMA Toyota Motocross Lead

GuyB
9/4/2007 8:01pm

Villopoto’s Victorious in AMA Motocross Lites in Wortham

WORTHAM, Texas (September 2, 2007) – Yamaha’s Grant Langston, of Clermont, Fla., won for the second consecutive week and extended his points lead at the Monster Energy Freestone National, Round 11 of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF. Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash., picked up his fifth win of the season in AMA Motocross Lites at the inaugural race at Freestone County Raceway.

Langston, who entered Texas with a two-point lead in the standings, posted a second in the opening moto and then followed it up with a convincing win in moto two to gain the overall victory. Honda’s Andrew Short, of Smithville, Texas, finished third overall on the day with a 1-5 moto finish and now trails Langston by eight points in the AMA Motocross class standings.

KTM’s Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., was second on the day (3-2) but lost ground on Langston and now sits 15 points behind in fourth. Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry, of Largo, Fla., finished fourth overall (4-3) and is third in the championship chase with a 13-point deficit.

The championship is still up for grabs as 50 points are available at the final round next week in San Bernardino, Calif.

“The points lead is so tight and I knew I needed to win to take control of the championship,” said Langston, who notched his 11th career AMA National win. “Obviously I got a little extra cushion ( it doesn’t change any strategy. I like Glen Helen I’ve always done well there. I’m definitely looking forward to it and hopefully I can finish this off and win a championship.

Villopoto turned in two near-perfect rides en route to a 1-1 sweep of the motos. He has six overall victories on the season, but more importantly, he now holds a 19 point lead over Kawasaki teammate Ben Townley, of Tallahassee, Fla. A crash in the fist turn of moto one hurt Townley’s title chances, and ultimately lead to a 6-2 finish, earning third overall on the day but losing valuable championship points to Villopoto.

Yamaha’s Broc Hepler, of Kittanning, Pa., finished second overall with a solid 3-3 performance.

The AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF heads west on September 8-9 for Giant RV Motocross Nationals Presented by Yamaha, the final round of the 12-race series.

AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF
Monster Energy Freestone National
Freestone County Raceway – Wortham, Texas
September 2, 2007
Round 11 of 12

Motocross (Moto Finish)


  1. Grant Langston, Clermont, Fla., Yamaha, 2-1
  2. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 3-2
  3. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 1-5
  4. Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 4-3
  5. Cody Bryan Cooper, New Zealand, Honda, 7-6
  6. Ivan Tedesco, Montgomery, Texas, Suzuki, 5-8
  7. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 9-7
  8. Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 6-10
  9. Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Wash., Yamaha, 37-4
  10. Gavin Gracyk, Blissfield, Ohio, Honda, 14-11

Motocross Class Point Standings


  1. Grant Langston, Clermont, Fla., Yamaha, 394
  2. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 386
  3. Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 381
  4. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 379
  5. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 322
  6. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 291
  7. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 290
  8. Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 218
  9. David Vuillemin, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 207
  10. Ivan Tedesco, Montgomery, Texas, Suzuki, 198

Motocross Lites (Moto Finish)


  1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 1-1
  2. Broc Hepler, Kittanning, Pa., Yamaha, 3-3
  3. Ben Townley, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 6-2
  4. Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 4-6
  5. Trey Canard, Elk City, Okla., Honda, 5-5
  6. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., KTM, 11-4
  7. Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 10-7
  8. Broc Tickle, Cary, N.C., Yamaha, 9-8
  9. Kyle Chisholm, Seminole, Fla., Kawasaki, 8-9
  10. Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Kawasaki, 2-32

Motocross Lites Point Standings


  1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 497
  2. Ben Townley, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 478
  3. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 346
  4. Jason Lawrence, Murrieta, Ga., Yamaha, 277
  5. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 267
  6. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Honda, 226
  7. Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 202
  8. Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 202
  9. Broc Tickle, Cary, N.C., Yamaha, 189
  10. Kyle Chisholm, Seminole, Fla., Kawasaki, 176

For more information on the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship, presented by FMF, log on to www.amamotocross.com for live timing and scoring at @theWireLIVE!.

Racer X Illustrated will host a new and improved webcast on www.motocross.com, with live racing action hosted by Jason Weigandt. The Racer X Motocross Show on Motocross.com has also been added on Saturday night of each race weekend, featuring practice footage and interviews taken earlier in the day.

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