News 30 Jan 2010

AMA SX: Dungey and Weimer lead SX into San Francisco

Weimer is dominating the West Lites title so far heading into San Francisco.

Weimer is dominating the West Lites title so far heading into San Francisco.

AMA Supercross class points leader Ryan Dungey, of Belle Plaine, Minn., brings a 15-point lead into tomorrow night’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, at San Francisco’s AT&T Park and a two-race win streak.

Since 1974, the first rider to win two AMA Supercross class main events in a season has gone on to win the championship 17 times. Dungey, who is riding in his first full season as a rookie in the AMA Supercross class will compete for his third consecutive win this season.

“To get our second win was unbelievable and I can’t thank the guys on the team enough,” said Dungey, who rides for the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki team. “Now, I’m just going to try to carry the momentum and remember its one race at a time. I also want to have fun, enjoy it, and let the rest come. I enjoy San Francisco, and last year they did a great job on the track with preparation, so I’m looking forward to the race on Saturday.”

Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki’s Team Manager was confident that Dungey could content for the podium positions coming into the season and is impressed with his early success in the AMA Supercross class.

“I knew going into the season that Ryan was a podium guy. I was confident in him, and he’s doing even better than just getting on the podium, said DeCoster. “He’s the most consistent and he’s winning. At the same time, the team needs to keep its feet on the ground and do one race at a time. We’re doing well, but the championship is a long ways off. We cannot get carried away and think this is it. It’s only the third race out of 17.”

Defending AMA Supercross class champion James Stewart, who rides for the San Manuel Yamaha team is no stranger to winning in San Francisco as he is the only rider in history to win in San Francisco in the AMA Supercross and AMA Supercross Lites classes. Last weekend in Anaheim marked only the sixth time in his career that he’s finished third in AMA Supercross class racing.

Monster Energy Kawasaki heads to San Francisco hoping to get back on the podium with Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash. After avoiding a mud race in Anaheim, Villopoto hopes the weather cooperates again in San Francisco.

“I hope it isn’t a mud race,” said Villopoto. “We had a great track at Anaheim and anytime we can avoid mud is best. I’ve been working on a few things this week and I’m ready to challenge for the win.”

In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer, of Rupert, Idaho, is looking to stay perfect after he has won the first three races of the season.

“I’m just staying in my routine,” said Weimer. “I want to keep doing the same things and stay successful. There really is no secret to winning, you just have to work hard and be ready to take advantage when you can. So I’m just going to keep putting in the laps during the week to stay on top of the box.”

Weimer’s teammate Josh Hansen had his best finish of the season at Anaheim and he is looking to parlay that into a trip to the podium this week.

“I’m right there and I know I can win,” said Hansen. “It is time for me to get on the podium and put together a complete race. I’ve been fastest in practice. I’ve grabbed a couple of holeshots and I’ve won a couple of my heats but I need to put all that together in the main event.”

Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short equaled his best showing of the season last week, coming from behind to finish in fourth place aboard his CRF450R, elevating him to a tie for third in the AMA Supercross class points chase.

“I’m really happy with the way I rode at Anaheim and I definitely feel like the overall result didn’t reflect my effort put in,” said Short. “I didn’t get a great start and had to work really hard to come from behind. Considering all the rain and lack of track time in the lead-up to the event, I’m definitely proud of the way I rode and my result. I share third place in the series points, which is a great place to be heading into in San Francisco, and again they’re predicting a wet race—we’ll see.”

GEICO Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham finished the first lap in 13th place and put in a gutsy effort to take fifth place. Millsaps got a mid-pack start and battled hard to reach as high as sixth place but then dropped two spots to finish eighth.

Last week, Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Wil Hahn put in the best race of his season, finishing in second position. GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard rallied aboard his CRF250R to overcome his slow—outside the top ten—start, taking the checkers a close third.

“I put myself in a tough spot by not getting a good start,” said Canard. “I knew I had to ride a smart race if I was going to catch the riders in front and just kept chipping away to eventually get third. I’m happy to be second in the series points after three rounds an looking forward to San Francisco this weekend.”

Cole Seely scored his best finish of the 2010 season on his Troy Lee Designs Honda CRF250R, by grabbing fifth spot while GEICO Powersports Honda’s Blake made the best of his mid-pack start to take eighth place.

Supercross made its début at AT&T Park back on January 23, 2003 when Ricky Carmichael won the AMA Supercross class and Stewart won the AMA Supercross Lites class. Carmichael holds the record for the most wins at AT&T Park with three. In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Nathan Ramsey is the only rider to earn two wins in San Francisco.

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