SX Racing News
2010 YZ450F and YZ250F technology were apparent in the winner’s circle in front of more than 51,000 spectators at Qwest Field, Seattle as Muscle Milk JGR’s Justin Brayton earned his first ever podium finish with 3rd place in the AMA Supercross/FIM World Championship and Broc Tickle was delighted with a maiden victory in the West Coast Lites.
The fifteenth round of seventeen saw the series head to the tip of the west coast and the uncovered venue in Seattle that presented a rutty and technical layout to the riders after some typically inclement weather in the days leading up to the meeting.
The 39th Main Event to start in Seattle witnessed mistakes and relatively lengthy lap-times as the riders battled the conditions. Although Brayton could not give Yamaha their first win in the city since 1998 he did snare a chance to reach second at one stage after an error by new champion Ryan Dungey.
Brayton was not immune to the difficultly of the terrain and was relegated to 3rd by the end of the 20 lap sprint.
Justin Brayton says: "I’ve had a lot of ups and downs and in St. Louis I really thought it was my night, but it wasn’t to be last week," he said. "This week, it was really tough but I think the key to the night was the starts; I got good starts tonight and that helped a lot."
San Manuel Yamaha’s Josh Hill is still struggling with a rib injury and did not complete the race after nine laps. Two Six MX Racing’s Michael Byrne was 7th and Motoconcept Yamaha’s Kyle Chisholm was the third YZ450F rider in the top ten with 10th spot.
In the penultimate outing for the West Coast Lites campaigners Yamaha Star Racing’s Broc Tickle was able to put the YZ250F on top of the podium for the first time in two years after he capitalised on incidents to title contenders Jake Weimer and Trey Canard to escape with the Main Event.
He led for almost the entire distance for a debut triumph Indoors.
Broc Tickle says: "During the break I did a bunch of outdoor testing with the team and then when I came back to riding supercross two weeks ago, I felt fresh," he said. "It definitely feels good and now that I’ve done it, I want to keep working towards being the best – not racing for podiums, or top-fives, or top-tens, but to win. Winning is what this is all about, and that’s what I want to keep doing."
Josh Hill is now 5th in the championship but still has a chance of reaching the top four while he heads Brayton in 6th and the injured and absent Ivan Tedesco in 7th. Tickle is 4th in the Lites standings and 11 points from second place.
The penultimate round of the 2010 contest will take place at the Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City next Saturday. The West Coast Lites will finish in Utah but Las Vegas will host the traditions West-East Shootout in two weeks time.
Crowd: 51,544
Weather: Dry
Last Years Winner: Ryan Villopoto
