Torco Racing Fuels Honda Race Report: Round 5

ANAHEIM, Calif. – In the season’s final visit to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, the Torco Racing Fuels Honda team looked to improve in both classes. In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham was looking for his first win of the season. In the Lites class, Jake Weimer was looking for his second, and Dan Reardon was looking to improve from fourth place and get up onto the podium for the first time in America.

However, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Weimer started out the night strong in practice, and then went out and passed his teammate Reardon on the last lap to win his Heat race.

“In practice, I was stoked,” Weimer said. “I didn’t ride super-good the first practice, but I was pumped on the track, so I was feeling good. Then, I got a good start in my qualifier and followed Reardon around the whole time. I knew that I could make a pass where I did, because I felt like I was a little bit faster right there. I got close enough on the last lap, and with a couple straightaways to go, I made the pass and got the win. And we had the fastest Heat by a pretty good amount, so I was feeling good going into the main.”

Unfortunately for Weimer, the main ended just as it began. Heading into the sand section just after the first turn, he clipped another rider, went down, and then was hit by the riders behind him.

“I got maybe around a fifth-place start,” Weimer said, “and a green bike got sideways in front of me, and I highsided off the back of it and went down. I got hit a couple times. I’m all right. I’m a little bit sore, but that knocked me out of the race. I’m really bummed out for how things turned out because I felt like I could’ve won. I guess I just have to start pulling every holeshot so I don’t have to deal with that stuff.”

Weimer slipped to 15th in the points standings with three rounds left to run.

Reardon’s night got tough just after Weimer passed him in their Heat race, when Jason Lawrence cleaned Reardon out for second and knocked him down in the last turn.

“The night was pretty crazy for me from the start,” Reardon said. “The Heat was going good, but me and Lawrence came together, and obviously I came out second-best. I tried to push [my bike] up over the finish line, but it wasn’t going. That ramp was steep. I was last, and then I had last pick in the LCQ. I was sitting about eighth until the last couple laps, then I just got through for fourth, which gave me last pick again in the main.”

In the main, Reardon came through from a mediocre start, but then fell, which likely cost him another top-five finish.

“I was way outside off the start, and I worked my way up to about sixth, but then I crashed,” Reardon said. “That put me back in like 11th or something, and I caught back up to eighth. I’m just kind of bummed out that I crashed. It was a silly mistake on my behalf, so we’ll pick it up. I’m working well during the week, but I’ve just got to put all of the pieces together on the weekend.”

Despite the mistakes, Reardon still sits solidly in third in the points standings with three rounds left to run.

Windham was fast all day on the Anaheim III track, and he briefly challenged points leader Chad Reed for the lead in his Heat race before going down. He recovered for third in the Heat, but went into the main event with confidence, knowing he could run with Reed. However, in the main event, he started behind Reed and challenged him for the first few laps, but then began to fade, eventually finishing fourth.

Did he get tired?

“I think that I rode good enough that probably people would think that, but around lap six or eight, I got a double pinch on my front [tire] tube,” Windham said. “Right as Davi [Millsaps] was coming by me, I was kind of losing my front end a little bit, and I couldn’t figure it out. But then when [Timmy] Ferry came by me, I knew something was up. By lap 10, I was on the rim on the front. My guys knew what was going on, and they did a great job keeping their eyes on it, and I would make sure to look down and make sure it’s still circular when I was in the air. The tire held on good, and the rim held together incredibly well, so we’re thankful for that. When you have a bad night, and you have a flat front for over half of the race, and you get fourth, I think we’re pretty optimistic about that. I just think that I rode good enough that people wouldn’t have imagined that I had a flat, so in a way, I’m thankful, and I’m ready for the news to hit the air so that people don’t think that I dropped anchor.”

It was the first time that Windham missed the podium since round one, but he lost valuable points in the championship and sits 26 points behind Reed in second place. However, there are still 12 rounds left to run, and anything can happen.

From here, the Torco Racing Fuels Honda team heads down the California coast to San Diego for round six of the AMA Supercross Series on January 12 inside Qualcomm Stadium.

Team Sponsors: Torco Race Fuels, Honda, Planet Fitness, No Fear Energy, AMSOIL, Factory Connection, No Fear, Shoei, Gaerne, Spy, DVS, Cycra, Dunlop, EK, Ferodo, Hinson, Ogio, One Industries, Pro Circuit, Renthal, Showa, TAG, Twin Air, and Works Connection.

Anaheim III Lites Main:
1. Jason Lawrence Yam
2. Austin Stroupe Kaw
3. Brett Metcalfe Kaw
4. Billy Laninovich KTM
5. Kyle Cunningham Hon
6. Tommy Hahn Kaw
7. Justin Brayton KTM
8. Dan Reardon Torco Racing Fuels Honda
9. Bobby Kiniry Hon
10. Gavin Gracyk Hon
22. Jake Weimer Torco Racing Fuels Honda

AMA Western Lites Standings (After 5 of 8 rounds):
1. Ryan Dungey (96/2 wins)
2. Jason Lawrence (88/2 wins)
3. Dan Reardon (80)
4. Brett Metcalfe (47)
5. Austin Stroupe (38)
6. Tommy Hahn (38)
7. Justin Brayton (36)
8. Broc Hepler (33)
9. Gavin Gracyk (53)
10. Kyle Cunningham (47)
15. Jake Weimer (31/1 win)

Anaheim III 450cc Main:
1. Chad Reed Yam
2. Davi Millsaps Hon
3. Timmy Ferry Kaw
4. Kevin Windham Torco Racing Fuels Honda
5. Andrew Short Hon
6. Mike Alessi Suz
7. Nathan Ramsey Yam
8. Nick Wey KTM
9. Troy Adams Hon
10. Manu Rivas Kaw

AMA Supercross Standings (After 5 of 17 rounds):
1. Chad Reed (122/4 wins)
2. Kevin Windham (96)
3. Timmy Ferry (77)
4. Mike Alessi (69)
5. Andrew Short (67)
6. Davi Millsaps (65)
7. Nathan Ramsey (57)
8. Ivan Tedesco (53)
9. Nick Wey (53)
10. Josh Hill (49)