The future met the past for the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team this weekend during the opening round of the 2009 Monster Energy Supercross series in Anaheim, Calif.
The future came out early in the Lites class. Defending East Coast Lites SX champion Trey Canard and teammate Dan Reardon banged bars and battled for the hole shot in the second qualifying heat at Angels Stadium. Reardon took an early lead, but Canard soon pushed his Honda CRF 250 out front.
Defending West Coast Lites SX champion Jason Lawrence returned from an AMA supported
suspension and quickly settled in behind Canard. Already in the transfer spot, Lawrence kept the pressure on Canard, who gave away the lead when he missed the rut heading into one of the big Anaheim turns. Reardon also capitalized on the mistake and took over second place. Canard quickly remounted and finished third behind Lawrence and Reardon.In the main event, it was more bad luck for Canard after a first lap crashed shook up the field. While Reardon grabbed the holeshot coming of the start, Canard was right in the mix until the second turn when Lawrence got squirrely and crashed into Canard and a pile-up of other riders.
Reardon kept the lead for a few laps before former teammate Jake Weimer closed the gap and took over for the win. Reardon would crash out of the race and was given a DNF. Canard was able to remount, but was only able to make it up to 14 when the checkered flag dropped.
SUPERCROSS
Kevin Windham will once again be leading the AMSOIL charge in the Supercross class in 2009. After getting banged around of the start, Windham settled in to his qualifying heat and finished eighth, good enough to advance into the main.
Once in the main, Windham started quickly before literally getting caught up in the action. K-Dub was running fourth behind former James Stewart, Chad Reed and former AMSOIL rider Josh Grant. Stewart and Reed were battling back and forth entering a rhythm section when the two riders tangled, sending both to the ground. Grant was able to get by the chaos, but Windham was forced to take a line on the inside of the track. Stewart, who took a hard hit to the head during the crash, was trying to get his bike out of harm’s way, but instead pushed the Yamaha right into Windham’s line. With nowhere to go, Windham slammed into Stewart, sending both riders to the ground. It took Windham a few moments to get the Honda CRF 450 restarted. By then, much of the field had passed by and Windham was only able to get back a few spots, finishing 15th. Grant took his first win in the Supercross class, followed by Andrew Short and Reed.
The GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team will follow the circuit to Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. this Saturday for the second round. The Anaheim race, which aired live on SPEED last weekend, will re-air with two hours of coverage on Tuesday starting at noon Eastern Standard Time. Round two will air on SPEED this Sunday starting at 5:00 p.m. EST.
AMSOIL's Kevin Windham gets caught up in crash between Chad Reed and James Stewart
The GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda team will follow the circuit to Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. this Saturday for the second round. The Anaheim race, which aired live on SPEED last weekend, will re-air with two hours of coverage on Tuesday starting at noon Eastern Standard Time. Round two will air on SPEED this Sunday starting at 5:00 p.m. EST.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
