Thursday, June 12, 2008

Round 3 of the AMA Motocross Championship

The third round of the 2008 AMA National Motocross championship saw two GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda riders score their best career finishes this season. Under some of the toughest weather conditions in years, the Freestone National, located about 100 miles south of Dallas in Wortham, Texas, featured temperatures that reached 104 degrees with very high humidity.

However, Jake Weimer beat the heat and recorded his best-ever AMA National overall finish with a 4-4 score, coming from behind in both motos to finish just off of the podium in fourth overall.

"I've gotten fourth in motos before, but never two motos in a row, and the best I've done overall before is fifth," Weimer said. "It was tough. That was probably the toughest race I've ever done. For some reason, it was real difficult, and the results show that, in how many people finished, and how many people pulled off and passed out.

Weimer now sits sixth in points and is within striking distance of fourth in the championship.
AMSOIL teammate Dan Reardon had his best showing in 2008 as he scored his best overall finish (sixth). With his finish, Reardon moved to ninth in the points standings.

"It was good in Texas," Reardon said. "My starts weren't the best, and I'm struggling with them when the start lines get a little deep, but I'm working on it, and getting more comfortable. The first moto, I was about 18th and worked my way to about 10th, then I crashed, went back to 18th, and had to re-pass all of those people again. It was a long moto for me. The second moto, I was around 16th, and I worked my way up to sixth at one point, but then got passed and put back to seventh."

"The heat was crazy," Reardon continued. "It was about survival the last few laps. My body had that pins-and-needles sensation, and cold chills, and with a couple laps to go, I just wanted off the bike. Once I was off of it, I stood in a cold shower for like 20 minutes just to cool back down.

Trey Canard had a tough go of it in Texas. He was running mid pack on the opening lap when he went down and suffered a minor concussion. He nearly finished the moto, catching up to a points-paying position, but then pulled off late in the moto after he began to get dizzy, likely from a combination of heat and hitting his head. He sat out moto two to be safe.

The AMSOIL team continues the torrid schedule and heads to Pennsylvania this coming Sunday for round four of the AMA Motocross Nationals at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris. AMSOIL is also the Exclusive Official Oil of AMA Motocross.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.