It was a great evening of racing in San Diego, California at Round 3 of the AMA Supercross series. David Vuillemin (Yamaha) won his first 250cc Supercross race in the United States ahead of second place Mike LaRocco (Honda) and third place Kevin Windham (Honda).

Jeremy McGrath (Yamaha) had an off night, finishing fourth after a bad start. McGrath appeared to lack his normal speed, and perhaps he was preoccupied with thoughts of his good friend Jimmy Button (Yamaha). Button was injured during the last 250cc practice this afternoon. Lacking any official word on Button’s condition, we will reserve comment at this time. Button was removed on a stretcher after being taped to immobilize his body. We will update you as soon as we have something reasonably solid to report.

Webmaster’s Note: As I am posting this article (12:12 AM PST), unconfirmed reports on the internet say that Jimmy suffered a bruised spinal cord and has already regained most of the feeling in his body. While this is by no means a trivial injury, I’m happy to hear that Jimmy is not paralyzed and should make a full recovery soon.

Ricky Carmichael (Kawasaki) ran near the front of the pack during the first third of the race before crashing and ultimately finishing mid-pack. Carmichael still hasn’t found his rhythm on a 250.

It was a toss up between Vuillemin and LaRocco as to who was the fastest rider on the track tonight. Vuillemin appeared very strong, but LaRocco passed his Honda teammate Windham late in the race and closed somewhat on Vuillemim before taking the checkered flag in second place. Windham, although fast enough to podium this evening, still lacks the speed he showed toward the end of the 1999 Supercross season.

Greg Schnell (Yamaha) passed last week’s 125cc winner Tallon Vohland (Kawasaki) late in the race to take the 125cc victory. Vohland finished ahead of his Kawasaki teammate Shae Bentley, who just nipped KTM’s Rodrig Thane for third place.

Bentley was considered one of the fastest 125cc riders at the start of the 1999 AMA Sueprcross series before a series of injuries virtually eliminated his competition in the entire 1999 indoor and outdoor championships. Bentley is now just rounding back into form, and tonight’s podium finish may be the boost he needs to start winning.

The winner of the opening round of the 125cc West Coast series in Anaheim, David Pingree (Suzuki), was working his way to the front after a mediocre start when a crash put him well back in the pack. He ultimately finished in 6th place.

Round 4 of the AMA Supercross series is next Saturday night in Phoenix, Arizona.

125cc Main Event Results (Top 10)

1. Greg Schnell (63) (Yamaha)
2. Tallon Vohland (711) (Kawasaki)
3. Shae Bentley (104) (Kawasaki)
4. Rodrig Thain (120) (KTM)
5. Travis Preston (34) (Suzuki)
6. David Pingree (35) (Suzuki)
7. Billy Payne (195) (Kawasaki)
8. Jason McCormick (36) (Honda)
9. Ryan Terlecki (53) (KTM)
10. Jason Thomas (51) (Yamaha)

125cc Points Standings (Top 5 after 3 of 16 rounds)

1. Tallon Vohland (61) (Kawasaki)
2. Greg Schnell (59) (Yamaha)
3. David Pingree (58) (Suzuki)
4. Danny Smith (40) (Honda)
5. Shae Bentley (36) (Kawasaki)

250cc Main Event Results (Top 10)

1. David Vuillemin (934) (Yamaha)
2. Mike LaRocco (5) (Honda)
3. Kevin Windham (14) (Honda)
4. Jeremy McGrath (1) (Yamaha)
5. John Dowd (16) (Kawasaki)
6. Sebastien Tortelli (21) (Honda)
7. Damon Huffman (20) (Suzuki)
8. Timmy Ferry (15) (Yamaha)
9. Greg Albertyn (7) (Suzuki)
10. Ricky Carmichael (4) (Kawasaki)

250cc Points Standings (Top 5 after 3 of 16 rounds)

1. Jeremy McGrath (68) (Yamaha)
2. Mike LaRocco (64) (Honda)
3. David Vuillemin (63) (Yamaha)
4. Kevin Windham (53) (Honda)
5. Sebastien Tortelli (45) (Honda)

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