2008 AMA MX Championship: Red Bud

Click the following link for a 37-photo gallery of AMA National motocross race action from Red Bud Track 'n Trail in Buchanan, MI. You can also click the following link for a 25-photo gallery from Saturday's pre-race action in the pits, as well as timed qualifying. Don't forget, if you're a Vital MX member, you can comment on any of the photos in the gallery. Not a member? Join now! It's fast and free.

Red Bud was the second round of the Monster Energy/Kawasaki Triple Crown of Motocross, so there was some extra cash on the line for the winners, and the potential for a $25,000 payday in each class if a rider could sweep all three rounds (High Point, Red Bud, and Steel City). Considering that Monster Energy Kawasaki’s James Stewart and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto have been absolutely dominant so far this season, their prospects are looking good.

While the class winners at Red Bud may have been familiar, beyond that, there was plenty that made the Red Bud AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF at Red Bud different.

Davi Millsaps (Honda Red Bull Racing) went out early in the day in MX1 action, after a hard cartwheeling crash left him with an injured shoulder. He didn’t return for moto two.

The biggest shocker of the day, however, was shortly after the start of the second MX1 moto. Mike Alessi crashed at the bottom of the ski jump, flipped into the downside of a blind landing area, and several riders hit him while he was down. The latest word that we’ve received is that he has a pair of broken scapulas, a broken rib, and a bruised lung. While he’s expected to make a full recovery, he’ll no doubt miss several races.

Among the on-track survivors, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s James Stewart had what looked like a relatively routine 1-1 day. He was followed by Andrew Short (Honda Red Bull Racing), who scored a pair of thirds; and Michael Byrne (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), whose 4-4 gave him not only his best moto finishes of ’08, but first podium appearance since returning from a knee reconstruction.

James has a 79-point lead over Mike Alessi in the standings, but with Mike’s injuries, which will undoubtedly keep him sidelines for several rounds, you can effectively look back to Timmy Ferry, who’s 99 points behind James.

In MX action, Ryan Villopoto had to work past fast-starting KTMs in each moto (Martin Davalos and Ryan Sipes traded holeshots), but once out front, it was business as usual, as he pulled away from the pack.

Geico Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard was next best in the MX2 class, finishing second in both motos for his best results of the year. In moto two he had a crash that allowed Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) to close up behind him in the late stages of the race. But in a heartbreaker, Ryan’s bike expired as he was heading up to LaRocco’s Leap on the final lap. Martin Davalos used a pair of 6-3 moto scores to grab third overall…another high water mark for a podium finisher.

In the MX2 points chase, Ryan Villopoto now has a 95-point (nearly four motos worth) over Ryan Dungey.

Next week we’ll return to the site of the 2007 Motocross of Nations, Budds Creek, MD, for round seven of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF.

Don’t forget to check out the photo galleries (see the links above) for much more from Red Bud.

MX1
1. James Stewart (Kawasaki) 1-1

2. Andrew Short (Honda) 3-3

3. Michael Byrne (Suzuki) 4-4

4. Nick Wey (KTM) 5-5

5. Charles Summey (Yamaha) 9-7

6. Jeff Alessi (Honda) 7-9

7. Jimmy Albertson (Honda) 8-10

8. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki) 23-2

9. Mike Alessi (Suzuki) 2-33

10. Cody Cooper (Suzuki) 16-6

11. Antonio Balbi (Honda) 14-8

12. Michael Blose (Honda) 10-13

13. Josh Hill (Yamaha) 6-30

14. Matt Boni (Honda) 17-12

15. Sean Hamblin (Yamaha) 20-11

16. Justin Sipes (Suzuki) 13-19

17. Kevin Rookstool (Honda) 11-28

18. Kyle Tobin (Honda) 15-18

19. Billy Laninovich (KTM) 12-29

20. Ryan Clark (Honda) 21-14

21. Chris Blose (Honda) 32-15

22. Jeff Gibson (Kawasaki) 24-16

23. Tyson Hadsell (Honda) 33-17

24. Tyler Bright (Honda) 18-25

25. Chad Charbonneau (Honda) 19-32

26. Ricky Renner (Kawasaki) 31-20

27. Jake Marsack (Honda) 34-21

28. Adam Blessing (Honda) 26-22

29. Steven Houser (Yamaha) 27-33

30. Tony Boughten (Yamaha) 22-24

31. Carter Gurnee (Honda) 38-26

32. Kristofer Miller (Honda) 28-28

33. Adam Chatfield (Suzuki) 25-31

34. Davi Millsaps (Honda) 36-34

35. Jarred Jet Browne (Suzuki) 37-35

36. Jase Lewis (Honda) 30-36

37. Robert Fitch (Honda) 35-37

38. Travis Sewell (Suzuki) 29-38

39. Tyler Medaglia (Suzuki) 39-39

40. Chris Whitcraft (Kawasaki) 40-40

MX2
1. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) 1-1

2. Trey Canard (Honda) 2-2

3. Martin Davalos (KTM) 6-3

4. Josh Grant (Honda) 5-4

5. Nico Izzi (Suzuki) 4-5

6. Andrew McFarlane (Kawasaki) 7-10

7. Kyle Chisholm (Kawasaki) 11-7

8. Kyle Cunningham (Honda) 12-9

9. Brett Metcalfe (Kawasaki) 10-11

10. Ryan Sipes (KTM) 3-20

11. Jake Moss (Yamaha) 17-8

12. Matt Lemoine (Yamaha) 14-12

13. Jake Weimer (Honda) 28-6

14. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 8-24

15. Robert Kiniry (Honda) 15-15

16. Dan Reardon (Honda) 9-32

17. Tommy Hahn (Kawasaki) 18-13

18. Broc Tickle (Yamaha) 20-14

19. Matt Goerke (KTM) 13-36

20. Tucker Hibbert (Yamaha) 19-17

21. Mike Brown (Yamaha) 37-16

22. Justin Brayton (KTM) 16-37

23. Wil Hahn (Yamaha) 21-18

24. Sean Hackley (Kawasaki) 36-19

25. Levi Kilbarger (Honda) 24-21

26. Sean Borkenhagen (Honda) 22-22

27. Ben Ritter (Suzuki) 34-23

28. Shane Sewell (Suzuki) 23-25

29. Kyle Gills (Suzuki) 30-26

30. Tyler Bowers (Yamaha) 31-27

31. Ryan Newton (Kawasaki) 25-28

32. Tanner Reidman (Suzuki) 32-29

33. Ozzy Barbaree (Suzuki) 33-30

34. Adam Miller (KTM) 26-31

35. Scott Jendro (Honda) 27-33

36. Willy Browning (Suzuki) 29-34

37. Justin Workman (Honda) 39-35

38. Michael Willard (Yamaha) 38-38

39. Stephen Stella (Kawasaki) 35-39

40. Phil Nicoletti (Kawasaki) 40-40