Honda Riders Battle Their Way to the Podium in San Diego

Torrance, CA: Round six of the Monster
Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship series took place
this weekend in San Diego, CA. Honda had a successful night on the
podium with TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed and Troy Lee
Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda racing’s Cole Seely both capturing second
place in the Supercross and Lites classes.

Team Honda Muscle Milk rider Justin
Brayton showed impressive strength Saturday night after coming back
from a bad crash in qualifying to finish sixth overall in the main.
After going down hard in the second qualifying practice it was
uncertain if Brayton would be able to ride the rest of the night.
Following some rest and an evaluation from the Asterisk medical team,
the decision was made to ride. Brayton finished a solid fifth in his
heat race. In the main, he grabbed a mid-pack start and battled his
way through the entire 20 laps to a sixth-place overall finish.

TwoTwo Motorsports rider Chad Reed made
his fifth podium appearance for the season with a second-place
finish. Following a less-than-desirable start in his heat, Reed was
given a second chance after the race was red flagged due to a crash.
In the second start he was able to grab the holeshot and gap the rest
of the pack for the win. During the main Reed got a third-place start
but quickly made the pass for second. He spent the rest of the 20
laps charging at the front, battling with the rider in first up until
the last lap.

GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham had a
disappointing end to his night after riding strong all day. After
posting the fourth-quickest qualifying time of the night, Windham
rode a solid heat race, finishing in fifth place. During the main he
got a mid-pack start but charged to fourth before going down in the
whoops in the closing stages of the race. He was able to get up and
finish the race in 16th position.

“The track was pretty difficult. The
whoops ate a lot of people in the main and unfortunately I was one of
them,” said Windham. “I felt good the first 17 laps and the GEICO
Honda was running great, which makes me feel confident that I am
inching closer and closer to the podium. It is frustrating, though,
having such a good ride and then making one mistake that puts you on
the ground. I am looking forward to next weekend and heading East.”

Troy Lee Designs/ Lucas Oil/ Honda’s
Cole Seely made his way to the podium for a second consecutive week
with a second-place finish in the Lites main. Seely started the night
out strong, taking the win in his heat, followed by teammate Travis
Baker. In the main, Seely nabbed a third-place start but quickly made
the pass for second where he stayed the rest of the 20-lap race. “The
night went really well for me,” said Seely. “I am happy with a
podium heading into the break, as well as sitting way better in
points.”

After winning three Lites races in a
row and taking the points lead, GEICO Honda rider Eli Tomac had an
unfortunate night in San Diego. He crashed hard in the long whoop
section during the main, preventing him from finishing the race and
robbing him of his championship points lead. Heading into the break,
Tomac now sits in second place in the Lites West championship by a
mere two points.

Supercross Main Event

1. Ryan Villopoto

2. Chad Reed (Honda)

3. Ryan Dungey

4. Brett Metcalfe

5. Josh Hansen

6. Justin Brayton (Honda)

7. Davi Millsaps

8. Kyle Chisholm

9. Mike Alessi

10. Nick Wey

Supercross Championship Points (after 6
of 17 rounds)

1. Ryan Villopoto 133

2. Chad Reed 127

3. Ryan Dungey 123

4. James Stewart 101

5. Kevin Windham 78

6. Brett Metcalfe 75

7. Jake Weimer 72

8. Davi Millsaps 70

9. Justin Brayton 68

10. Josh Hansen 64

Supercross Lites West Main Event

1. Dean Wilson

2. Cole Seely (Honda)

3. Matt Moss

4. Gareth Swanepoel

5. Nico Izzi

6. Gavin Faith (Honda)

7. Billy Laninovich (Honda)

8. Travis Baker (Honda)

9. Vince Friese (Honda)

10. Nick Paluzzi

Supercross Lites West Points (after 6
of 9 rounds)

1. Dean Wilson 116

2. Eli Tomac 114

3. Cole Seely 101

4. Marvin Musquin 89

5. Nico Izzi 78

6. Matt Moss 73

7. Zach Osborne 67

8. Travis Baker 63

9. Tyla Rattray 60

10. Jason Anderson 58

About Honda

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is the
sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and MUVs in the
U.S. American Honda’s Motorcycle Division conducts the sales,
marketing, and operational activities for these products through
authorized Honda dealers. For more information on Honda products, go
to www.powersports.honda.com.