Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Jake Weimer stood on the top step of the podium for the second consecutive year as he dominated the supercross lites class at the season opener in Anaheim (1), California.
The season opener at Anaheim is the Super Bowl of supercross as everyone is excited for the new season. With that excitement comes added pressure, but that didn’t seem to affect Weimer at all. He paced both practice sessions, easily won his heat race, rocketed to the main event holeshot and led wire-to-wire for his fifth career supercross lites win.
Weimer’s teammate Josh Hansen overcame an early fall to finish eighth. In the supercross class, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto returned from a knee injury to finish fifth, while his new teammate Chad Reed saw his night end early after contact with another rider damaged his bike.
Weimer ran a nearly flawless race in both the heat and the main event making it look easy.
Jake Weimer Speaks…
"I felt really good," said Weimer. "I was comfortable in the lead, but it was nice that I had to ride hard to stay out front. I felt like I was in control and I felt good on my Kawasaki KX250F. I could do whatever I needed, whenever I needed. My bike was turning great and getting the holeshot shows I had all the power I needed. Today was tough, but I had fun and I felt like I rode well."
"Anaheim is probably the most stressful race of the year," said Weimer. "There’s so much hype and so many appearances leading into the race. Everyone is watching and you feel a tremendous amount of pressure. I’m definitely happy to be done with this race and to come away with a win."
"This year is a little bit different," said Weimer. "It is my last year in the lites class. I watched the supercross class main event and those guys are going really fast. My goal is to win the championship this year, but I also want to improve my speed and go faster every week so I’m ready to move up."
