Monster Energy Supercross: New Orleans 2009 4

Photo Galleries!
Click the following link for a 32-photo gallery from the Monster Energy Supercross in the Louisiana Superdome.	Click the following link for a 33-photo gallery of Pit Bits images from the pits and Saturday's practice sessions.

Two riders who had dismal weekends in Daytona rebounded in New Orleans, as the series visited the Louisiana Superdome for the first time since 2002. James Stewart topped the Supercross class, and Austin Stroupe took the Supercross Lites win.

The ongoing battle between James Stewart (San Manuel / Yamaha / JSE) and Chad Reed (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) for the 2009 Monster Energy Supercross title swung back in James Stewart’s favor as he grabbed the holeshot to start the main event. Even though Chad Reed kept the pressure on early, James steadily crept away en route to his eighth win of the season. That reduces Chad Reed’s points lead back to eight, with six rounds remaining.

Other notables? Yamaha Factory Racing’s Broc Hepler rode a very solid 20 laps to grab his first Supercross-class podium. The most impressive ride of the night? That might have belonged to Geico Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham, who charged from near mid-pack to fourth at the finish. Nate Ramsey made his first appearance in almost a year, filling in for the injured Cody Cooper at JGRMX Toyota/Yamaha, and he took an LCQ win.

As for the Lites class, the biggest surprise was that a couple of the frontrunners didn’t make the main event. Both Nico Izzi (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) and Martin Davalos (Muscle Milk MDK KTM) had crashes in the LCQ that left them sidelined for the main event. Of course, that left things pretty wide open for some new faces on the podium.

One familiar face grabbed the win, as Austin Stroupe (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) grabbed the holeshot and led the entire main for his second win of the season. He was joined by Branden Jesseman (Canidae Motosport Kawasaki), and Blake Wharton (Geico Powersports Honda) who made his first podium appearance.

What else pegged our interest meter? After some extra time on the Geico Powersports Honda, Daniel Blair put in a good ride, finishing seventh. He said he had a much easier time timing sections this week. His biggest problem last week? Keeping the front end down. Also, Lites East points leader Christophe Pourcel (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) didn’t look like his usual self in New Orleans, and finished fourth…though he still has a very healthy 31-point lead with three races remaining.

Want to see more on the night? Check out the links above for our Pit Bits and Race Report photo galleries, and we’ll see you in St. Louis next weekend!

Results

2009 Monster EnergySupercross

New Orleans, Louisiana

Supercross Lites Heat 1

1. Blake Wharton

2. Darryn Durham

3. Jacob Saylor

4. Levi Kilbarger

5. Broc Tickle

6. Jason Thomas

7. Chad Ward

8. Dennis Jonon

9. Daniel Blair

Supercross Lites Heat 2

1. Branden Jesseman

2. Austin Stroupe

3. Matt Goerke

4. Tyler Wharton

5. Wil Hahn

6. Christophe Pourcel

7. Bryan Johnson

8. Phil Nicoletti

9. Teddy Parks

Supercross Heat 1

1. Chad Reed

2. Kevin Windham

3. Justin Brayton

4. Mike Alessi

5. Tyler Bowers

6. Davi Millsaps

7. Nick Wey

8. Josh Grant

9. Matt Boni

Supercross Heat 2

1. James Stewart

2. Andrew Short

3. Ivan Tedesco

4. Ryan Villopoto

5. Josh Hill

6. Heath Voss

7. Broc Hepler

8. Kyle Chisholm

9. Robert Kiniry

Supercross Lites LCQ

1. Steven Clarke

2. Matt Lemoine

Supercross LCQ

1. Nate Ramsey

2. Troy Adams

Supercross Lites Main Event

1. Austin Stroupe (Kawasaki)

2. Branden Jesseman (Kawasaki)

3. Blake Wharton (Honda)

4. Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki)

5. Wil Hahn (KTM)

6. Darryn Durham (Yamaha)

7. Daniel Blair (Honda)

8. Broc Tickle (Yamaha)

9. Matt Goerke (Suzuki)

10. Steven Clarke (Suzuki)

11. Levi Kilbarger (Honda)

12. Dennis Jonon (Kawasaki)

13. Tyler Wharton (Honda)

14. Jacob Saylor (Yamaha)

15. Teddy Parks (Suzuki)

16. Chad Ward (Kawasaki)

17. Matt Lemoine (Yamaha)

18. Phil Nicoletti (Honda)

19. Bryan Johnson (Honda)

20. Jason Thomas (Honda)

Supercross Main Event

1. James Stewart (Yamaha)

2. Chad Reed (Suzuki)

3. Broc Hepler (Yamaha)

4. Kevin Windham (Honda)

5. Andrew Short (Honda)

6. Mike Alessi (Suzuki)

7. Josh Grant (Yamaha)

8. Justin Brayton (KTM)

9. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)

10. Matt Boni (Honda)

11. Josh Hill (Yamaha)

12. Nick Wey (Yamaha)

13. Ivan Tedesco (Honda)

14. Tyler Bowers (Honda)

15. Nate Ramsey (Yamaha)

16. Heath Voss (Honda)

17. Troy Adams (Honda)

18. Davi Millsaps (Honda)

19. Kyle Chisholm (Yamaha)

20. Robert Kiniry (Kawasaki)

Supercross Lites East Point Standings

1. Christophe Pourcel 115

2. Austin Stroupe 84

3. Nico Izzi 82

4. Branden Jesseman 73

5. Wil Hahn 68

6. Blake Wharton 66

7. Martin Davalos 57

8. Matt Lemoine 51

9. Steven Clarke 51

10. Matt Goerke 50

Supercross Point Standings

1. Chad Reed 246

2. James Stewart 338

3. Andrew Short 179

4. Ryan Villopoto 165

5. Josh Grant 152

6. Ivan Tedesco 148

7. Kevin Windham 146

8. Mike Alessi 146

9. Davi Millsaps 139

10. Josh Hill 102