St. Louis Supercross: YZ450F Struggles Less-Stewart

Yamaha Race Report

Almost 60,000 spectators witnessed a dramatic fourteenth round of seventeen in the AMA Supercross/FIM SX World Championship at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis as Ryan Dungey forged ahead with his designs on the title and Muscle Milk JGR’s Justin Brayton was the top Yamaha runner in 6th. Last year’s Supercross Champion, James Stewart, still remains out with injury.

The American was the first of three 2010 YZ450F riders in the top ten with Michael Byrne in 7th and Kyle Chisholm making it to the line in 8th.

A crash between championship rivals Dungey and Ryan Villopoto and a hefty fall later on by Villopoto, leaving Dungey free to win, was the main talking points of this meeting as the series enters the ‘home straight’ with visits to Seattle, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas to go. Brayton, who has finished outside of the top ten only once this season, won his Heat race and was part of the second group battle, narrowly failing to pip former champion Chad Reed to 5th spot.

Justin Brayton says: "It’s disappointing to have so many things looking good for me going into the main event but still come away with nothing," he said. "That’s what happens when you get bad starts and get mixed up back there with everyone going everywhere. At least I know I have the speed though. This was the closest I have to a hometown race, so it was nice racing in front of my friends and family, but I would’ve liked to have done a bit better."

It wasn’t a happy evening for Josh Hill after the L&M San Manuel Yamaha rider faded back to 13th and his lowest finish of the season. Valli Motorsports Ivan Tedesco crashed on the same triple that claimed Villopoto and suffered a collapsed lung, meaning the Houston-podiumee could miss the rest of the calendar.

Hill is third in the points table and with a gap of 41 points to Villopoto could seize second place if the latter cannot participate in the three events remaining due to a suspected broken leg. Brayton is 6th, just ahead of Tedesco.

St Louis saw the last round of the East Coast Lites series and Ryan Sipes has finished 7th in the final classification on the YZ250F. The Moto Concepts rider was challenging for 3rd on Sunday until a slip at the end of the whoops section ended his race. Kyle Cunningham and Martin Davalos were 8th and 9th; Davalos the first finisher at the Edward Jones Dome with 4th.

Round fifteen heads to Qwest Field in Seattle next Saturday.
Crowd: 59,882
Weather: Dry

Lap Record: 0’50.947 (Chad Reed, 18/02/2006)
Last Years Winner: Chad Reed

2010 AMA-SX St. Louis, MO 19/04/2010 – Race 1 – 20 Laps
1    Ryan Dungey    Suzuki    USA    17’51.702
2    Kevin Windham    Honda    USA    0’05.272
3    Andrew Short    Honda    USA    0’12.931
4    Nicholas Wey    Kawasaki    USA    0’28.329
5    Chad Reed    Kawasaki    AUS    0’29.442
6    Justin Brayton    Yamaha    USA    0’30.667
7    Michael Byrne    Yamaha    AUS    0’34.801
8    Kyle Chisholm    Yamaha    USA    0’37.532
9    David D Millsaps    Honda    USA    0’41.997
10    Thomas Hahn    Suzuki    USA    0’42.525
11    Jason Lawrence    Yamaha    USA    -1Laps
12    Justin Keeney    Kawasaki    USA    -1Laps
13    Josh Hill    Yamaha    USA    -1Laps
14    Chris Blose    Honda    USA    -1Laps
15    Matt Boni    Honda    USA    -1Laps
17    Ivan Tedesco    Yamaha    USA    -2Laps

RIDER STANDINGS    17/04/2010
1.    Ryan Dungey    Suzuki    USA    302
2.    Ryan Villopoto    Kawasaki    USA    266
3.    Josh Hill    Yamaha    USA    225
4.    Kevin Windham    Honda    USA    223
5.    David D Millsaps    Honda    USA    215
6.    Justin Brayton    Yamaha    USA    191
7.    Ivan Tedesco    Yamaha    USA    183
8.    Nicholas Wey    Kawasaki    USA    159
9.    Thomas Hahn    Suzuki    USA    139
10.    Kyle Chisholm    Yamaha    USA    136
11.    Michael Byrne    Yamaha    AUS    131
12.    Trey Canard    Honda    USA    103
13.    Andrew Short    Honda    USA    102
14.    Chris Blose    Honda    USA    95
15.    Jason Thomas    Suzuki    USA    69
16.    Grant Langston    Yamaha    RSA    67
18.    Jason Lawrence    Yamaha    USA    53
19.    James Stewart    Yamaha    USA    51
25.    Dan Reardon    Yamaha    USA    25
28.    Weston Peick    Yamaha    USA    17
33.    Kyle Regal    Yamaha    USA    7
42.    Josh Grant    Yamaha    USA    1

MANUFACTURER STANDINGS    17/04/2010
1.    Suzuki    302
2.    Kawasaki    292
3.    Honda    287
4.    Yamaha    269
5.    KTM    3