125 CLASS
James "Bubba" Stewart dominated the 125 class atUnadilla, making his outdoor season perfect at least for the races he didn'tmiss due to injury. Even a broken front brake didn't slow him enough in thefirst moto to let anyone else keep up.
KTM's Grant Langston, who said after the race Stewart's speed was"frightening," was second overall and made up enough points to getjust one point from Mike Brown for the series. Langston's KTM teammate RyanHughes also had a good day with a third overall, even though he wasn't 100% dueto a broken ankle from Southwick. Hughes got a break from another KTM teammateBrett Metcalfe, who let Hughes by in moto 2 when Hughes started to fade. Hughes,currently third in points, is still in the running for the championship.
Stewart got the lead immediately in moto 1 and started checkingout at an incredible rate in the first moto, only to lose his huge lead with afall that broke his front brake. He got back up just ahead of Langston, andstill in the lead, held off Langston for several laps before he started pullingaway again for the win.
In moto 2, Stewart was back out front and gone again after just 2laps, and won by a huge margin. The best race in this moto was between KTMteammates Hughes, Metcalfe, and Langston.
"It was good coming off where I came from in the last race,"said Hughes, "The week was tough. The whole week (my leg) hurt like hell. Itook some Celebrex this weekend and it made a huge difference. All weekend ithurt every time I rode. The first moto went good. The second moto I was upthere but I just don't have the riding fitness right now. On my bicycle itsgood but on the motorcycle I have to gain back what I lost. It will come."
Langston was happy enough to finish second to Stewart and make upsome points on Brown. "This is the third time I have been second thisyear," he said, "I am happy with second. I have been struggling withmixed results. I went 3-2 today and gained in series points. Right now that isimportant. It was actually a lot of fun out there even though the track wasslick and it was easy to fall. There was once or twice where I almost fell butI kept it on two wheels. It is always good to be able to race aggressively butkeep it clean. I think at the point I made the pass, Ryno was getting a littletired. We had our teammate Metcalfe behind us too. I made a good clean pass andput my head down a little bit."
Sometimes you never know if you want to believe what Stewart saysin post-race press conferences. He explained his first moto fall that broke hisfront brake as a distraction over lunch. "The reason I fell is I washungry and I was thinking about what I was going to eat after the race,"he said, "After the first moto I went back and ate so I was good. I lookeddown when I crashed and saw I wasn't going to have a front break. I knew Grantwanted to get around me but I was going to make him work for it."
Stewart has a lot of points to make up for the title since himissed the first 4 rounds, but he is moving his way up the points. "I wentfrom 12th in points to 6th so we will see," he said, "I am not reallylooking at the championship right now, I just want to win some races."
250 CLASS RESULTS
1. Kevin Windham, Centreville, MS., Honda (1-1)
2. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, FL., Honda, (2-2)
3. Timmy Ferry, Largo, FL., Yamaha (3-3)
4. David Vuillemin, Corona, Ca., Yamaha (5-4)
5. Chad Reed, Menifee, Ca., Yamaha, (6-5)
6. Ezra Lusk, Bainbridge, FL., Kawasaki (4-9)
7. Mike LaRocco, South Bend, IN., Honda (7-7)
8. Jean Sebastien Roy, Acton Vale, QC., (12-6)
9. Kyle Lewis, Henderson, NV., Honda (9-10)
10. John Dowd, Ludlow, Ma., KTM, (8-11)
250 CLASS SERIES STANDINGS
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, FL., Honda, 338 pts
2. Kevin Windham, Centreville, MS., Honda 285 pts
3. Chad Reed, Menifee, Ca., Yamaha, 255 pts
4. Timmy Ferry, Largo, FL., Yamaha 242 pts
5. Mike LaRocco, South Bend, IN., Honda 198 pts
6. David Vuillemin, Corona, Ca., Yamaha 179 pts
7. Ezra Lusk, Bainbridge, FL., Kawasaki 177 pts
8. John Dowd, Ludlow, Ma., KTM, 156 pts
9. Ernesto Fonseca, Costa Rica, Honda 135 pts
10. Larry Ward, Florence, SC., Honda 131 pts
125 CLASS RESULTS
1. James Stewart, Haines City, Fl., Kawasaki, (1-1)
2. Grant Langston, Temecula, CA., KTM (3-2)
3. Ryan Hughes, Temecula, CA., KTM (4-4)
4. Mike Brown, Johnson City, TN., Kawasaki (7-3)
5. Brett Metcalfe, Temecula, Ca., KTM (5-5)
6. Branden Jesseman, Fombell, Pa., Suzuki (2-11)
7. Craig Anderson, Corona, Ca., Yamaha (8-7)
8. Michael Byrne, Australia, Honda (6-9)
9. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mi., Yamaha(10-8)
10. Ivan Tedesco, Lake Elsinore, Ca., Yamaha (16-6)
125 CLASS SERIES STANDINGS
1. Mike Brown, Johnson City, TN., Kawasaki, 249 pts
2. Grant Langston, Temecula, CA., KTM, 248 pts
3. Ryan Hughes, Temecula, CA., KTM, 216 pts
4. Brock Sellards, Sherrodsville, OH., Yamaha, 167 pts
5. Eric Sorby, Murrieta, CA., Kawasaki, 160 pts
6. James Stewart, Haines City, Fl., Kawasaki, 150 pts
7. Brett Metcalfe, Temecula, Ca., KTM, 150 pts
8. Ivan Tedesco, Lake Elsinore, Ca., Yamaha, 149 pts
9. Michael Byrne, Australia, Honda, 147 pts
10. Craig Anderson, Corona, Ca., Yamaha 143 pts