Reed Seventh in Daytona Quagmire

The heavens opened and created a swamp at the Daytona Speedway for the tenth round of the 2008 AMA Supercross series, a FIM World Championship. Yamaha San Manuel's Chad Reed was three corners from his seventh victory of the season before being forced to retire.

To make matters worse for the Australian he was later penalised for cutting the sodden track and dropped to seventh place for his lowest standing of the season so far. Despite the drama and eventual outcome, the 25 year old still leads the championship by 23 points with seven rounds remaining.

The deluge of rain on Saturday ruined the outdoor course partly designed by AMA legend Ricky Carmichael. The races in both Supercross and Lites classes were only just able to start, with some American sources describing the conditions as the worst ever seen for a SX event.

Reed - like most of the riders - was barely recognisable after the first few corners and fought in the early stages with Kevin Windham before being able to make a break, although the battle of attrition would be lost mere metres from the flag.

"It just sucked water and mud through the air boot," said Larry Brooks, San Manuel Yamaha team manager. "There was standing water on the track, and the bike sucked water and dirt, and when he stopped to line up for a rut, it just had no compression, got stuck in some mud and stopped. He had a minute and 15 second lead with three corners to go and couldn't finish, so obviously he's upset, but stuff happens. We should be happy that he got those points and move on to the next one."

Brand-mate Josh Hill has a similar problem after four laps. Reed was still the top ranked Yamaha finisher with seventh while Nathan Ramsey managed to take twelfth. There were no top ten entrants in the Lites division.

Round eleven takes place next weekend at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Race 1 - 12 Laps               

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Kevin Windham, Honda, USA, 19'48.890

2, David D Millsaps, Honda, USA, 0'22.420

3, Jacob Marsack, Honda, USA, 0'111.833

4, David Vuillemin, Suzuki, FRA, 0'137.726

5, Antonio Balbi, Honda, USA, 0'151.760

6, Heath Voss, Honda, USA, -1 Laps

7, Chad Reed, Yamaha, AUS, -1 Laps

8, Andrew Short, Honda, USA, -1 Laps

9, Eric Sorby, Honda, USA, -1 Laps

10, Ryan Dungey, Suzuki, USA, -2 Laps

11, Bryan K Johnson, Honda, USA, -2 Laps

12, Nathan Ramsey, Yamaha, USA, -2 Laps

13, Dusty Klatt, Kawasaki, USA, -3 Laps

14, Travis Preston, Kawasaki, USA, -3 Laps

15, Paul Carpenter, Honda, USA, -4 Laps

16, Nicholas Wey, KTM, USA, -4 Laps

17, Josh Hill, Yamaha, USA, -5 Laps

18, Charles Summey, Yamaha, USA, -5 Laps

19, Cole Siebler, Honda, USA, -7 Laps

20, Jeff Gibson, Kawasaki, USA, -11 Laps

Rider Standings 07/03/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points

1, Chad Reed, Yamaha, AUS, 223

2, Kevin Windham, Honda, USA, 200

3, Andrew Short, Honda, USA, 154

4, David D Millsaps, Honda, USA, 149

5, Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, USA, 137

6, Nathan Ramsey, Yamaha, USA, 123

7, Josh Hill, Yamaha, USA, 110

8, David Vuillemin, Suzuki, FRA, 102

9, Nicholas Wey, KTM, USA, 89

10, Paul Carpenter, Honda, USA, 86

11, Charles Summey, Yamaha, USA, 72

12, Mike Alessi, Suzuki, USA, 69

13, Heath Voss, Honda, USA, 67

14, Jacob Marsack, Honda, USA, 61

15, Ivan Tedesco, Honda, USA, 53

21, Grant Langston, Yamaha, RSA, 38

33, Broc Hepler, Yamaha, USA, 3

Manufacturer Standings 07/03/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, Yamaha, 224

2, Honda, 215

3, Kawasaki, 183

4, Suzuki, 142

5, KTM, 89