With the mud of Anaheim I out of the picture, the Phoenix Supercross promised a dry track, and heads-up racing. What that meant for the Torco Racing Fuels/AMSOIL Honda team was a chance for a more straightforward race without the added variables supplied by mud.
The chief beneficiary of the dry track was AMSOIL's Jake Weimer. After failing to make the
main following a myriad of problems in round one, Weimer showed up ready to compete in Phoenix, despite injuring his shoulder at the opener.
Weimer grabbed the holeshot in the main, just in front of round-one winner Ryan Dungey and Broc Hepler.
“I was pretty confident in my gate because it was pretty loamy, so I figured I would get a good jump,” Weimer said. “In my qualifier, I had a good jump, but I got a lot of wheelspin, so I tried to pick a gate that had a lot more loam. It worked out good, obviously. It always feels easy when you get the holeshot, so it was good.”
Weimer settled in behind Dungy and Hepler for the next few laps while those two battled it out for the lead, and then capitalized on their mistakes. First, he passed Dungey when Dungey failed to jump a triple, and then Hepler soon after he fell. From there, Weimer fought off the late-race advances of Dungey to win his first Lites Main Event, coming full circle from failing to make the main one week earlier.
“I’m pretty stoked,” Weimer said after the race. “You hear everybody say it, but I don’t think it’s totally set in yet. Obviously, you’re excited to win, but I’m sure that tomorrow it’ll be like, ‘Oh, man, I really did win!’ Obviously, I’m stoked and happy with the team and the way everything’s going. My training program and everything’s good, so... That’s what we work to do, so it’s good to go out there and do your job right.”
With the win, Weimer moved all the way to sixth in the championship with six rounds still left to run.
Weimer’s Lites teammate Dan Reardon was a part of the epic battle for the top spot throughout most of the main event, as the leading pack of riders was as many as eight deep through much of the main event. Reardon’s eighth place is good enough to leave him fourth in points with six rounds still left to run.
In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham was looking forward to getting a dry race under his belt. In the main event, Windham didn’t get the greatest start, but at least this time he made it through the first turn without getting hung up.
“I didn’t do what I needed to do in the Heat, so I was a little concerned about the start in the main event,” Windham said. “I was also concerned about my gate position, but I got down to the first turn quickly and got out unscathed. It seemed like there was a crash in every one of those first turns. I started to make it through that, and from there on out, I felt good.”
Windham went to work immediately to get up to the front, and he came from outside the top 10 in the first turn to third in only three laps.
“It took me a little while to get up to third, but once I did, I felt the pressure behind me, stayed focused, and brought it home,” Windham said. “It was a good night for me. I was happy with it. It feels good to be holding my own against at least 17 of the guys, other than myself. At first, we
were struggling some, but the team worked with me and it got better with time. That feels good. It seems like all of the work paid off.”
It was Windham’s first podium finish of the season, and moved him up to third in the championship with 15 rounds still left to run. From here, the Torco Racing Fuels/AMSOIL Honda team heads back to Anaheim, Calif. for round three of the AMA Supercross Series on January 19 inside Angels Stadium.
(courtesy: Steve Cox)
The chief beneficiary of the dry track was AMSOIL's Jake Weimer. After failing to make the
main following a myriad of problems in round one, Weimer showed up ready to compete in Phoenix, despite injuring his shoulder at the opener.Weimer grabbed the holeshot in the main, just in front of round-one winner Ryan Dungey and Broc Hepler.
“I was pretty confident in my gate because it was pretty loamy, so I figured I would get a good jump,” Weimer said. “In my qualifier, I had a good jump, but I got a lot of wheelspin, so I tried to pick a gate that had a lot more loam. It worked out good, obviously. It always feels easy when you get the holeshot, so it was good.”
Weimer settled in behind Dungy and Hepler for the next few laps while those two battled it out for the lead, and then capitalized on their mistakes. First, he passed Dungey when Dungey failed to jump a triple, and then Hepler soon after he fell. From there, Weimer fought off the late-race advances of Dungey to win his first Lites Main Event, coming full circle from failing to make the main one week earlier.
“I’m pretty stoked,” Weimer said after the race. “You hear everybody say it, but I don’t think it’s totally set in yet. Obviously, you’re excited to win, but I’m sure that tomorrow it’ll be like, ‘Oh, man, I really did win!’ Obviously, I’m stoked and happy with the team and the way everything’s going. My training program and everything’s good, so... That’s what we work to do, so it’s good to go out there and do your job right.”
With the win, Weimer moved all the way to sixth in the championship with six rounds still left to run.
Weimer’s Lites teammate Dan Reardon was a part of the epic battle for the top spot throughout most of the main event, as the leading pack of riders was as many as eight deep through much of the main event. Reardon’s eighth place is good enough to leave him fourth in points with six rounds still left to run.In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham was looking forward to getting a dry race under his belt. In the main event, Windham didn’t get the greatest start, but at least this time he made it through the first turn without getting hung up.
“I didn’t do what I needed to do in the Heat, so I was a little concerned about the start in the main event,” Windham said. “I was also concerned about my gate position, but I got down to the first turn quickly and got out unscathed. It seemed like there was a crash in every one of those first turns. I started to make it through that, and from there on out, I felt good.”
Windham went to work immediately to get up to the front, and he came from outside the top 10 in the first turn to third in only three laps.
“It took me a little while to get up to third, but once I did, I felt the pressure behind me, stayed focused, and brought it home,” Windham said. “It was a good night for me. I was happy with it. It feels good to be holding my own against at least 17 of the guys, other than myself. At first, we
were struggling some, but the team worked with me and it got better with time. That feels good. It seems like all of the work paid off.”It was Windham’s first podium finish of the season, and moved him up to third in the championship with 15 rounds still left to run. From here, the Torco Racing Fuels/AMSOIL Honda team heads back to Anaheim, Calif. for round three of the AMA Supercross Series on January 19 inside Angels Stadium.
(courtesy: Steve Cox)
