Josh Summey at Anaheim Th...
Josh Summey at Anaheim Three.
For the third and final time of 2007 the AMA Supercross series rolled into Anaheim, California where fans were greeted with warm and sunny weather in the packed house of Angel's stadium. Unfortunately for team Moto XXX, a mid-week get-off by Kyle Lewis left the veteran rider on the sidelines for Anaheim 3. With Kyle out, his teammate, Josh Summey, was left to carry the team through the weekend.
After posting an 11th fastest qualifying time earlier in the day, Josh headed to the start line sixth in heat race one. The gate dropped and the pack took off down the long Anaheim start straight. Summey got off to a mid-pack start but disaster struck shortly after on lap two leaving Josh on the ground and struggling to get to his bike. Fortunately for Josh, another downed rider forced the AMA to throw the red flag (the second of the night) signaling a restart of the race. This gave Josh another shot to try and finish in the top nine and qualify straight to the main event. Unfortunately, the second start wasn't any kinder and once again Josh was off to a mid-pack start. Two laps into the race Josh went down again, this time in one of the slick and rutted turns. Even though he got back up and going quickly, time ran out and Summey crossed the line in 11th position.
The LCQ is an extremely tough race as only the top two riders make it into the 20 rider main event. With that in mind, Josh knew what he had to do; win. As the six lap sprint got under way, Josh took the lead in the third turn and never looked back. He rode fast and smooth around the technical Anaheim track securing the win and one of the final transfer spots to the main. After the win, Josh said; "The LCQ is a tough race. I knew I had to go out and ride well in order to make it into the main. My goal is to be as consistent as possible this year and that means making main events and earning as many points as I can."
Following his LCQ win, Josh lined up on the outside of the 20 rider gate for the final race of the evening. He got a good jump off the line and charged hard down the long straightaway. As the pack came together entering turn one Josh was forced to back off and file in behind the other riders. Heading down the first of many tricky rhythm sections, Josh tried furiously to try and get by as many riders as possible early on. At the end of the third lap he sat in 15th position and looked to work his way up. As the race progressed the track began to deteriorate forcing riders to take many different lines. As Summey attempted to make a pass another rider made a mistake causing Josh to hit the dirt. After a quick pit stop Summey got back into the action and put his head down. Over the next 10 laps Josh posted some of his fastest laps of the night while eventually crossing the finish line in 19th. Even though Josh didn't end the night with the finish he was looking for he remains optimistic. "Obviously I would have liked to have finished better but the main thing is I earned some points, stayed healthy, and now I'm looking forward to getting back into the top 10 next weekend in Houston," commented Summey.
This next weekend the series heads to Houston, Texas and Reliant Stadium where Josh looks to build on his three consecutive main event appearances and the team welcomes back veteran Kyle Lewis. See you there!
Moto XXX Racing is proudly supported by:
Honda, Supersports Inc., Deluge Sport, Akrapovic, Moose Racing, Scorpion Helmets, Tag Metals, Sidi Boots, Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Race Tech, Dunlop, Honda Genuine Parts, Braking, Motion-Pro, Atomic 22, Ti-Lube, Pro-Comp Wheels and Tires, Polisport Plastics, Lucky 13, RK Racing Chain, Excel, Honda Rider's Club of America, Sunline ARC, Carbon Fiber Works, Scott USA, SDG, VP Racing Fuels, Crower Power, Vortex Ignitions, LA Sleeve, Scott USA, Hinson Clutch Components, Ogio, N-Fab, Darkside, Ready Racing.
For more information or to contact Moto XXX please visit www.motoxxx.com or call (951) 359-6999.