World/AMA Supercross Champion Chad Reed is tonight wondering when a little bit of good luck is going to go his way after finishing second for the seventh round in succession at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome this evening.
Reed got off to a great start in his heat race, taking the holeshot before greeting the chequered flag over five seconds ahead of his nearest rival.
The Australian’s luck took a turn for the worse at the start of the 20 lap final when rival Josh Hill hit the start gate causing it to flinch and in turn, trigger Reed to launch his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 into the gate.
Reed was then forced to back up while his rivals took off and he once again found himself with the near impossible task of coming through from the back of the field.
The 26 year olds ‘never give up’ ethos was apparent as he worked his way up to sixth by the end of the first lap. By the end of lap nine he was up to third and he moved into second on lap 12 but was hindered by backmarkers as he mounted a charge on the sandy track.
“I was a little too ready on the start,” Reed explained. “Josh Hill hit the gate and it flinched and I pretty much ran right into it, then had to back up. After that I had to play it smart and to be honest I was lucky to finish the first lap as far up the order as I did.”
“From there I just had to be patient and wait for the right opportunities to pass. Once I got in front of Ryan (Villopoto)I put my head down and pulled away.”
“I am bummed, I really felt I had a good battle to take to James tonight and I was ready to go. Even though the results don’t show it we were a lot closer tonight than last week,” Reed added.
The series will reach the halfway point on Saturday 28 February when the ninth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship Series heads to Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time.
| AMA SX Results, Rnd 7, San Diego 1 James M. Stewart, Yamaha 2 Chad Reed, Suzuki 9.4 secs 3 Ryan D. Villopoto, Kawasaki 13.4 secs 4 Andrew T. Short, Honda 19.5 secs 5 Broc D. Hepler, Yamaha 26.2 secs 6 Kevin W. Windham, Honda 30.5 secs 7 Ivan Tedesco, Honda 32.2 secs 8 Timmy M. Ferry, Kawasaki 35.7 secs 9 Joshua R. Hill, Yamaha 38.1 secs 10 David D. Millsaps, Honda 46.3 secs | AMA SX Standings 1. James Stewart, Yamaha, 177 2. Chad Reed, Suzuki, 174 3. Andrew Short, Honda, 140 4. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, 126 5. Josh Grant, Yamaha, 120 6. Ivan Tedesco, Honda, 116 7. Kevin Windham, Honda, 111 8. Davi Millsaps, Honda, 102 9. Mike Alessi, Suzuki, 93 10. Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, 87 |
| AMA SX Lites 1. Chris Poucel, Kawasaki 2. Nizo Izzi, Suzuki 6.4 secs 3. Martin Davalos, KTM 9.4 secs 4. Blake Wharton, Honda 10.1 secs 5. Branden Jesseman, Kawasaki 12.3 secs 6. Wil Hahn, KTM 14.3 secs 7. Austin Stroupe, Kawasaki 17.5 secs 8. Matthew Lemoine, Yamaha 36.2 secs 9. Matthew Goerke, Suzuki 45.3 secs 10. Steven Clarke, Suzuki 49.1 secs | AMA SX Lites East Standings 1. Pourcel 50 2. Izzi 42 3. Davalos 34 4. Wharton 34 5. Stroupe 32 6. Hahn 30 7. Jesseman 25 8. Goerke 23 9. Metcalfe 22 10. Clarke 19 |
