All eyes were on the big hyped three, but it was Amsoil Chaparral Honda’s Kevin Windham with the big win tonight on the muddy track of Anaheim Stadium. Mike Larocco and Ricky Carmichael rounded out the podium taking second and third, respectively. Where were the other two big-hitters? Bubba Stewart finished fifth behind Sebastien Tortelli and Chad Reed finished a disappointing sixteenth appearing to be having problems with a locked-up front wheel. Nathan Ramsey piloted his 250F through the muck to claim the 125 class win followed by Josh Woods and three-time Japanese motocross champ Akira Narita.It was about survival tonight on the slimy, rutted-out Anaheim track. The slippery, wet conditions made for some incredibly wild racing with more crashing and passing than any Supercross we’ve seen. For the spill-seekers, this was a race to see. But ultimately, steady patience was rewarded. “I took the slow route,” said second place finisher Mike Larocco, “I just tried to stay up, keep it on two wheels and wait for the checkered flag.”The conditions were so extreme, the race schedule was changed to include only two heat races (eight laps) per class followed by one LCQ (three laps). The top eight from each heat and the top four from the LCQ went on to the main. Read on for a play-by-play of the night’s events, and check back tomorrow for more pictures to come.125 heat 1
Ivan Tedesco got out to an early lead and was able to slow to a steady pace as the nasty tracked worked over the field—including Tedesco. But he was able to stay consistent and won his heat. The conditions were so sloppy that riders were looked forward to the rather brutal-appearing sand whoop section—undoubtedly the most-solid ground of the night.1. Ivan Tedesco
2. Ryan Morais
3. Billy Laninovich
4. Danny Smith
5. Jay Marmont
6. Tommy Hahn
7. Akira Narita
8. Sean Collier
9. Travis Bannister
10. Dylan Lord
11. Steve Mertens
12. Vincent Blair
13. Tiger Lacey
14. Michael Young
15. Andrew Short
16. Chris Gosselaar
17. Turbo Reif
18. Eric Nye
19. Brandon Schlensig
20. Broc Hepler
21. Ryan Wilson125 heat 2
Lamson holeshot and then battled with Nathan Ramsey before falling in the mud, letting Ramsey slip by and pull away from the pack. Lamie was able to recover and was never too far back. As in heat 1, there were plenty of spills, endos and tipovers. Joshua Summey got his Honda lodged in the muck in the same corner that struck a victim in the first heat race. The bike was buried in mud with the tops of his wheels barely visible. It was so badly stuck that Summey had to abandon his bike and the track workers blocked it off with tuff blocks. In the end Ramsey kept his lead to win the heat race.1. Nathan Ramsey
2. Steve Lamson
3. Ryan Abrigo
4. Richie Owens
5. Ryan Sipes
6. Jacob Martin
7. Joshua Woods
8. Ryan Sipes
9. Bryan Johnson
10. Tim Weigand
11. Jesse Casillas
12. Michael Sleeter
13. Kyle Mace
14. Kyle Partridge
15. Levi Reid
16. Clayton Miller
17. Eric McCrummen
18. Chad Gaumer
19. Joshua Summey250 Heat 1
Kyle Lewis grabbed the holeshot with the pack hot on his heels. Within one lap McGrath had taken over the number one spot, much to the crowd’s delight, opening up a wide lead. The crowd was on their feet rooting for the former champ, going wild every time he came around. Stewart finally caught Lewis, moving into second place, setting his sights on the steady MC. How rough was it? Watching Bubba struggle to stay on the bike and on the track put things in perspective. Stewart was finally able to take over the lead when McGrath came up short on the finish line jump, stalled and fell. Stewart held the lead to the end of his heat race: A nice way to start his 250cc career.1. James Stewart
2. Mike Larocco
3. Michael Byrne
4. Kyle Lewis
5. Heath Voss
6. Antonio Balbi Jr
7. Damon Huffman
8. Jeremy McGrath
9. Sean Hamblin
10. Joseph Oehlhof
11. Justin Buckelew
12. Erick Vallejo
13. William Browning
14. James Povolny250 Heat 2
Carmichael and Reed set off with Reed tripling into the rhythm section on the first lap. It turned into a close dogfight between the two that had fans on their feet. It was a matter of who could stay upright and not get stuck in traffic. RC finally pulled off the triple on the fifth lap—the same lap where Reed slid on the jump face and aborted flight. By then, Carmichael was on his game and opening the gap on Reed. Windham was trailing in third, down by over half a lap, but maintaining a solid pace. Reed fell on the final lap as RC spent his time thrilling the crowd over the triple—nearly landing off the track. Reed fell again, but stayed in second thanks to his healthy gap on third.1. Ricky Carmichael
2. Chad Reed
3. Kevin Windham
4. David Vuillemin
5. Sebastien Tortelli
6. Tyler Evans
7. Travis Pastrana
8. Robbie Reynard
9. Jeff Gibson
10. Ernesto Fonsec
a11. Nick Wey
12. Jason Thomas
13. Isaiah Johnson
14. Jimmy Wilson
15. Scott Roegner
16. Rusty Holland
17. Hans Neel
18. Brian Mason
19. Gray Davenport
20. Justin KeeneyAfter the heat races, the rain began to fall in earnest, and would continue throughout the evening events. The inside line of the mud-hole-turn that swallowed Summey’s bike was blocked off by the Dirtwirks crew.125 Main Event
Tedesco holeshot and was off to an early lead with Ryan Morais in second until he got squirrelly in a turn and was clipped by Ramsey’s handlebars. From second place, Ramsey caught and passed Tedesco in the triple section and worked on opening up a gap. Joshua Woods hung in third while Lamson was in fifth after Akira Narita. The field slowly spaced out and the riders became increasingly difficult to identify. Woods worked his way past Tedesco who seemed to be struggling more as the race progressed.By lap seven it was Ramsey, Woods, Tedesco, Narita, Hahn and Lamson. It was now so ugly that riders could barely make it around the track on two wheels. “I got my paddle feet out,” said Ramsey, “I forgot about trying to find the dry spots and just slopped it up!” Ramsey was the only rider even attempting to double anything. Tedesco continued to slide backwards as Narita and Hahn worked past the Kawasaki rider. Ramsey held on to give the KTM 250 SXF its first AMA Supercross win followed by Josh Woods and three-time Japanese motocross champion Akira Narita, both taking their first-ever Supercross podium.1. Nathan Ramsey
2. Josh Woods
3. Akira Narita
4. Tommy Hahn
5. Steve Lamson
6. Ryan Sipes
7. Danny Smith
8. Ivan Tedesco
9. Brett Metcalfe
10. Richie Owens
11. Eric McCrummen
12. Ryan Morais
13. Sean Collier
14. Billy Laninovich
15. Jesse Casillas250 Main Event
Carmichael came charging into the main, guns blazing, boldly tripling where 125 riders had just been paddling through. Halfway into the first lap, he had opened up a lead on Windham and Stewart. Soon after, Bubba went down in the whoops giving third to Reed with Larocco in fourth. Carmichael was letting it all hang out, railing the slippery whoops and tripling in the rhythm section until a bad landing off a double sent him down. Windham got by as he struggled to get his bike up. Finally back on two wheels, he was facing the wrong way on the track. In an effort to head back to the corner and turn around, he went down again losing even more time. Before recovering from the second crash, he was nearly lapped by Windham, now leading the race.”During those first few laps, I felt like I was in control,” said Carmichael. “But then I made a mistake and I threw it away tonight. I just wasn’t the better guy.” He was disappointed in taking third for the night and felt that he let down Team Suzuki, but admitted he was glad about one thing: “At least I beat the other two guys who were supposed to kick my [butt].”The track was playing no favorites. Guys were hitting the ground everywhere and the riders were changing positions so much it was nearly impossible to tell who was where. Even the mechanics couldn’t tell what place their riders were in. The pit boards were as confused as the jumbo-tron trying to sort out who was in which place. Throughout the chaos, RC was coming back and ever-so-steadily working his way back towards the podium, but at lap 9 of 12 it was a long shot. Windham went down, but maintained the lead even though it took him a while to get unstuck and get his 450 relit. In the mean time, Reed was slipping further back in the field. He appeared to be having problems with his front wheel getting locked up, and at one point was pushing his bike through the sand whoops. Heading the final lap, it was Windham, LaRocco and Carmichael. Reed was down in the teens and Stewart was in fifth place behind Tortelli, riding very subdued—looking like the rough course was winning.1. Kevin Windham
2. Mike Larocco
3. Ricky Carmichael
4. Sebastien Tortelli
5. James Stewart
6. Nick Wey
7. David Vuillemin
8. Jeff Gibson
9. Ernesto Fonseca
10. Travis Pastrana
11. Heath Voss
12. Tyler Evans
13. Michael Byrne
14. Joe Oehlhof
15. Damon Huffman
16. Chad Reed
17. Antonio Jorge Balbi Jr.
18. Kyle Lewis
19. Robbie Reynard
20. Jeremy McGrathTo see more notes on Anaheim One, and series statistics, click here.
Ivan Tedesco got out to an early lead and was able to slow to a steady pace as the nasty tracked worked over the field—including Tedesco. But he was able to stay consistent and won his heat. The conditions were so sloppy that riders were looked forward to the rather brutal-appearing sand whoop section—undoubtedly the most-solid ground of the night.1. Ivan Tedesco
2. Ryan Morais
3. Billy Laninovich
4. Danny Smith
5. Jay Marmont
6. Tommy Hahn
7. Akira Narita
8. Sean Collier
9. Travis Bannister
10. Dylan Lord
11. Steve Mertens
12. Vincent Blair
13. Tiger Lacey
14. Michael Young
15. Andrew Short
16. Chris Gosselaar
17. Turbo Reif
18. Eric Nye
19. Brandon Schlensig
20. Broc Hepler
21. Ryan Wilson125 heat 2
Lamson holeshot and then battled with Nathan Ramsey before falling in the mud, letting Ramsey slip by and pull away from the pack. Lamie was able to recover and was never too far back. As in heat 1, there were plenty of spills, endos and tipovers. Joshua Summey got his Honda lodged in the muck in the same corner that struck a victim in the first heat race. The bike was buried in mud with the tops of his wheels barely visible. It was so badly stuck that Summey had to abandon his bike and the track workers blocked it off with tuff blocks. In the end Ramsey kept his lead to win the heat race.1. Nathan Ramsey
2. Steve Lamson
3. Ryan Abrigo
4. Richie Owens
5. Ryan Sipes
6. Jacob Martin
7. Joshua Woods
8. Ryan Sipes
9. Bryan Johnson
10. Tim Weigand
11. Jesse Casillas
12. Michael Sleeter
13. Kyle Mace
14. Kyle Partridge
15. Levi Reid
16. Clayton Miller
17. Eric McCrummen
18. Chad Gaumer
19. Joshua Summey250 Heat 1
Kyle Lewis grabbed the holeshot with the pack hot on his heels. Within one lap McGrath had taken over the number one spot, much to the crowd’s delight, opening up a wide lead. The crowd was on their feet rooting for the former champ, going wild every time he came around. Stewart finally caught Lewis, moving into second place, setting his sights on the steady MC. How rough was it? Watching Bubba struggle to stay on the bike and on the track put things in perspective. Stewart was finally able to take over the lead when McGrath came up short on the finish line jump, stalled and fell. Stewart held the lead to the end of his heat race: A nice way to start his 250cc career.1. James Stewart
2. Mike Larocco
3. Michael Byrne
4. Kyle Lewis
5. Heath Voss
6. Antonio Balbi Jr
7. Damon Huffman
8. Jeremy McGrath
9. Sean Hamblin
10. Joseph Oehlhof
11. Justin Buckelew
12. Erick Vallejo
13. William Browning
14. James Povolny250 Heat 2
Carmichael and Reed set off with Reed tripling into the rhythm section on the first lap. It turned into a close dogfight between the two that had fans on their feet. It was a matter of who could stay upright and not get stuck in traffic. RC finally pulled off the triple on the fifth lap—the same lap where Reed slid on the jump face and aborted flight. By then, Carmichael was on his game and opening the gap on Reed. Windham was trailing in third, down by over half a lap, but maintaining a solid pace. Reed fell on the final lap as RC spent his time thrilling the crowd over the triple—nearly landing off the track. Reed fell again, but stayed in second thanks to his healthy gap on third.1. Ricky Carmichael
2. Chad Reed
3. Kevin Windham
4. David Vuillemin
5. Sebastien Tortelli
6. Tyler Evans
7. Travis Pastrana
8. Robbie Reynard
9. Jeff Gibson
10. Ernesto Fonsec
a11. Nick Wey
12. Jason Thomas
13. Isaiah Johnson
14. Jimmy Wilson
15. Scott Roegner
16. Rusty Holland
17. Hans Neel
18. Brian Mason
19. Gray Davenport
20. Justin KeeneyAfter the heat races, the rain began to fall in earnest, and would continue throughout the evening events. The inside line of the mud-hole-turn that swallowed Summey’s bike was blocked off by the Dirtwirks crew.125 Main Event
Tedesco holeshot and was off to an early lead with Ryan Morais in second until he got squirrelly in a turn and was clipped by Ramsey’s handlebars. From second place, Ramsey caught and passed Tedesco in the triple section and worked on opening up a gap. Joshua Woods hung in third while Lamson was in fifth after Akira Narita. The field slowly spaced out and the riders became increasingly difficult to identify. Woods worked his way past Tedesco who seemed to be struggling more as the race progressed.By lap seven it was Ramsey, Woods, Tedesco, Narita, Hahn and Lamson. It was now so ugly that riders could barely make it around the track on two wheels. “I got my paddle feet out,” said Ramsey, “I forgot about trying to find the dry spots and just slopped it up!” Ramsey was the only rider even attempting to double anything. Tedesco continued to slide backwards as Narita and Hahn worked past the Kawasaki rider. Ramsey held on to give the KTM 250 SXF its first AMA Supercross win followed by Josh Woods and three-time Japanese motocross champion Akira Narita, both taking their first-ever Supercross podium.1. Nathan Ramsey
2. Josh Woods
3. Akira Narita
4. Tommy Hahn
5. Steve Lamson
6. Ryan Sipes
7. Danny Smith
8. Ivan Tedesco
9. Brett Metcalfe
10. Richie Owens
11. Eric McCrummen
12. Ryan Morais
13. Sean Collier
14. Billy Laninovich
15. Jesse Casillas250 Main Event
Carmichael came charging into the main, guns blazing, boldly tripling where 125 riders had just been paddling through. Halfway into the first lap, he had opened up a lead on Windham and Stewart. Soon after, Bubba went down in the whoops giving third to Reed with Larocco in fourth. Carmichael was letting it all hang out, railing the slippery whoops and tripling in the rhythm section until a bad landing off a double sent him down. Windham got by as he struggled to get his bike up. Finally back on two wheels, he was facing the wrong way on the track. In an effort to head back to the corner and turn around, he went down again losing even more time. Before recovering from the second crash, he was nearly lapped by Windham, now leading the race.”During those first few laps, I felt like I was in control,” said Carmichael. “But then I made a mistake and I threw it away tonight. I just wasn’t the better guy.” He was disappointed in taking third for the night and felt that he let down Team Suzuki, but admitted he was glad about one thing: “At least I beat the other two guys who were supposed to kick my [butt].”The track was playing no favorites. Guys were hitting the ground everywhere and the riders were changing positions so much it was nearly impossible to tell who was where. Even the mechanics couldn’t tell what place their riders were in. The pit boards were as confused as the jumbo-tron trying to sort out who was in which place. Throughout the chaos, RC was coming back and ever-so-steadily working his way back towards the podium, but at lap 9 of 12 it was a long shot. Windham went down, but maintained the lead even though it took him a while to get unstuck and get his 450 relit. In the mean time, Reed was slipping further back in the field. He appeared to be having problems with his front wheel getting locked up, and at one point was pushing his bike through the sand whoops. Heading the final lap, it was Windham, LaRocco and Carmichael. Reed was down in the teens and Stewart was in fifth place behind Tortelli, riding very subdued—looking like the rough course was winning.1. Kevin Windham
2. Mike Larocco
3. Ricky Carmichael
4. Sebastien Tortelli
5. James Stewart
6. Nick Wey
7. David Vuillemin
8. Jeff Gibson
9. Ernesto Fonseca
10. Travis Pastrana
11. Heath Voss
12. Tyler Evans
13. Michael Byrne
14. Joe Oehlhof
15. Damon Huffman
16. Chad Reed
17. Antonio Jorge Balbi Jr.
18. Kyle Lewis
19. Robbie Reynard
20. Jeremy McGrathTo see more notes on Anaheim One, and series statistics, click here.
