MDK KTM Race Report: Southwick Motocross

Southwick, MA – Round 11 of the AMA National Motocross Championship Series proved to be the biggest challenge of the season for the MDK KTM Teams as they set out to tackle the rough sand track.

With Martin Davalos out due to an injury suffered at Millville and Matt Goerke moving up to the Motocross class, Justin Brayton and Ryan Sipes formed the two-man team for the MDK KTM Lites Factory effort this weekend at Southwick.

“The track was tough, but I really like this race. Having such a rough track really separates the field,” commented Brayton after the race. Brayton and his teammate, Sipes both suffered from a bad start the first moto and were forced to fight their way through the pack. Sipes managed to move up close to the top ten by the sixth lap when, unfortunately, his bike had an electrical issue that caused him to DNF the moto. Meanwhile, Brayton had climbed from his 24th place start to 15th by the halfway point and managed to pick off two more riders by the moto end to finish 13th in moto one.

Although, the second moto was much rougher than the first, both Brayton and Sipes had better starts and put their KTM’s out front early. Sipes, started 3rd in moto two, and held that position through the first three laps while Brayton was inside the top ten but crashed early on the first lap after losing his front end in a corner. “I got up quick, but since my crash was on the first lap, the entire group of riders passed me before I could get back on the track. I came around the first lap in 34th - not where I wanted to be,” stated Brayton.

Out front Sipes, made a mistake that allowed Brett Metcalfe and Nico Izzi to pass him. Fortunately, he recovered quickly and immediately got back by Izzi to snatch 4th position. By the halfway point, Brayton had moved his way inside the top twenty passing no less than at least one rider per lap on his charge to the front. He managed to work as high as 15th position before he crashed a second time sending him back to 25th with three laps to go. He managed to move up to 22nd before the moto end. His 13-22 results earned him 19th overall. Meanwhile, Sipes was on fire out front. He managed to hold his 4th place position from lap five through the end of the moto. His 38-4 scores earned him 9th overall for the day.

The new face of Michael Hall was under the MDK KTM Lites Team canopy for the second weekend in a row. In his second race after graduating from the KTM Factory Junior Team, Hall joined the MDK KTM Team at Southwick to compete in the highly competitive Lites class. In the first moto, he started 18th and managed to work as high as 14th before pulling off. But it was the second moto where he shined. He got a great start and was running inside the top five, right behind Sipes. Unfortunately, he suffered a bad crash on the ninth lap which caused him to sit out the rest of the race. “I was really excited with my ride the second moto and was bummed that I crashed while running up front. I am getting checked out by the doctor this week, but if all goes well, I will be back to race the final round at Steel City next weekend,” commented Hall after the race.

In the Motocross class, Matt Goerke, in his second race aboard his KTM 450 SX-F was again showing he had the speed and skill to survive in the large displacement class. He started 11th the first moto while his teammate Nick Wey had a horrible gate pick and got caught behind a first turn pile up losing valuable time and positions eventually finishing lap one in 24th. By the end of the moto, Goerke had moved his way into 6th position and was closing in on the top five. On the last lap he managed to catch and pass Sean Hamblin to take 5th overall in moto one. Wey had also been on the move, passing ten people to move into 14th by the moto end.

The second moto held another good start for Goerke while Wey was again pushed to the outside and came around 19th. Goerke started 6th and held the position staying close behind the top five riders. Unfortunately, on lap eight, he suffered a mechanical problem that caused him to not finish the race. His 5-31 results earned him 12th overall. His teammate, Wey, was still charging hard on the rough course and managed to move into 11th by the halfway point. He stayed in that position until the last lap where he made a last minute move to get by Ivan Tedesco to earn 10th for the moto. Wey’s 14-10 scores secured him 11th overall for the day. He currently sits 6th in series points.

Next Event: Round 12 – Steel City Raceway – Delmont, PA – August 30-31, 2008

Overall Results Motocross Class –

1) James Stewart (1,1)

2) Cody Cooper (7,2)

3) Tim Ferry (4,4)

4) Andrew Short (2,9)

5) Sean Hamblin (6,6)

6) John Dowd (9,5)

7) Jeff Alessi (8,8)

8) Michael Byrne (11,7)

9) Josh Hill (37,3)

10) Marc De Reuver (3,34)

11) Nick Wey (14,10)

12) Matt Goerke (5,31)

13) Ivan Tedesco (13,14)

14) Antonio Balbi (10,35)

15) Zach Osborne (32,11)

Overall Series Points Motocross Class –

1) James Stewart – 550

2) Tim Ferry – 370

3) Andrew Short – 362

4) Michael Byrne – 341

5) Cody Cooper – 266

6) Nick Wey – 246

7) Jeff Alessi – 231

8) Mike Alessi – 221

9) Josh Hill – 208

10) Davi Millsaps – 203

Overall Results Motocross Lites Class –

1) Ryan Villopoto (1,1)

2) Ryan Dungey (3,2)

3) Brett Metcalfe (2,3)

4) Kyle Chisholm (5,5)

5) Jake Weimer (6,9)

6) Dan Reardon (8,8)

7) Nico Izzi (11,7)

8) Matt Lemoine (7,12)

9) Ryan Sipes (38,4)

10) Blake Wharton (4,28)

11) Kyle Cunningham (19,6)

12) Broc Tickle (14,11)

13) Phil Nicoletti (12,15)

14) Steven Clarke (9,32)

15) Jake Moss (23,10)

Overall Series Points Motocross Lites Class –

1) Ryan Villopoto – 535

2) Ryan Dungey – 418

3) Bret Metcalfe – 347

4) Jake Weimer – 286

5) Nico Izzi – 254

6) Ryan Sipes – 210

7) Kyle Cunningham – 191

8) Trey Canard – 173

9) Josh Grant – 173

10) Kyle Chisholm – 170