The AMA Supercross Series kicked off with a bang tonight in Anaheim, with all three of the top “Supercross” (formerly the 250cc class) riders battling it out for the win.
In the “Supercross Lites” class (formerly the 125cc class), youngster Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) led for most of the main, especially surprising considering he reached the main via the last chance qualifier. Villopoto was eventually passed by veteran Andrew Short (Honda), but hung on to take an impressive second place behind Short. Third went to Billy Laninovich (Honda).
Chad Reed (Yamaha) started several positions ahead of Ricky Carmichael (Suzuki) and James Stewart (Kawasaki), and charged to the front to take an early lead while Carmichael and Stewart battled through the pack. The two Floridians eventually moved to just behind Reed, and swapped second place back and forth for a time before Carmichael went down and remounted in fifth. Once free of the challenge from Carmichael, Stewart caught and passed Reed to take the lead, and held it until the finish. He put a significant gap on Reed in the process – the Yamaha rider finished more than nine seconds adrift of Stewart, in second place. Carmichael was able to fight back up to finish in third.
For more info, results and points, check out the official World Supercross GP site here.
