Reed Takes Supercross Series Lead
Chad Reed has taken the lead in the AMA/ World Supercross Championship after a, incredible charge from the back to second place at Saturday's third round at Anaheim, while Rockstar Makita Suzuki team mate Ryan Dungey increased his lead in West Coast Championship with victory in the Lites class.In the Supercross Main - held in front of 43,000 fans at Angel Stadium - Reed was knocked down to 20th place after a first-corner crash, but spent the remaining 19 laps carving his RM-Z450 through the pack, moving into second place on lap 18.
Chad Reed:
"This was a good race weekend; we made some good changes to the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RMZ450 and kind of found out where we needed to be. The first and second practices went well, and in the heat race, I realised it would be important to get a good start. In the Main Event, I got down there in the top four but came together with another rider and went down. I thought it was going to be a real tough race - maybe I'd get a top five or something - so to get up on the podium, second especially, is awesome."Mike Alessi:
"Anaheim 2 was good and we're making steady improvement. I did well in practice and was fifth in my heat race. The last two weeks, I've been sixth, so there was some improvement there. In the Main Event, I got a good holeshot and was running up front a couple of laps and battling with the top guys, like Reed. I was riding a good, consistent pace and ended up ninth, which is better than the 11th that I've gotten the last couple of weeks. Like I said, it's just steady improvement, getting a little better every week. My Rockstar Makita Suzuki was running great and the guys did a great job... like always."In the Lites, Dungey made his move to the front after passing leader Ryan Morais on lap four and was never challenged from then on.
Ryan Dungey:
"Anaheim 2 went really well. It started with practice when we made some minor changes to the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250. I felt good in practice and we were right there with bike set-up - and that was a good start of the day. The track was different, and the bike worked really awesome in every area. It was a fun night. Lining up for the Main, I felt like the night was our night again: I had to take control and do what I knew how, but at the same time, I knew a Holeshot was going to be key because it was tough to pass out there. But I was able to put myself in a good position, ride out my laps and be smart and be smooth." Supercross Main: 1 James Stewart (Yamaha), 2 Chad Reed (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), 3 Kevin Windham (Honda), 4 Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki), 5 Josh Grant (Yamaha), 6 Andrew Short (Honda), 7 Ivan Tedesco (Honda), 8 Tim Ferry (Kawasaki), 9 Mike Alessi (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), 10 Davi Millsaps (Honda).Championship points (after 3 rounds): 1 Reed 64, 2 Grant 61, 3 Short 53, 4 Stewart 52, 5 Villopoto 48, 6 Tedesco 47, 7 Ferry 43, 8 Windham 41, 9 Alessi 32, 10 Millsaps 31.
