Southwick Motocross
The beaches of Sandwick this morning here at Moto-X 338 gave witness to some riding trouble and lots of tweaking for the AMA Pro Motocross bikes during practice sessions.
Numerous mx riders including Ryan Dungey and Andrew Short pulled off multiple times to make adjustments in order to lay down speedy times here on the beaches of Massachusetts.
The GEICO Powersports Honda team was even seen getting new suspensions during the intermission as an adjustment for the afternoon.
In the 450cc motocross class the 101 of Ben Townley and 55 of Kyle Chisolm stormed out to an early lead during the morning sessions.
As 450 practice went on they remained on top, joined by Brett Metcalfe and Ryan Dungey, who is looking to lock up the 2010 Championship this afternoon. Also in the third spot is Canadian visitor Jeremy Medaglia, a great story to keep track of this afternoon.
Local boys Robby Marshall (8th) and John Dowd (23rd) will be ready for the afternoon as the track favors the familiar. Seems like everyone will have their hands full with Townley today, who won the last time he raced here. Is today finally his day to break through?
Biggest story this morning was Andrew Short. A blown up bike in the first practice and a rough second practice had him outside the top forty. A provisional rule via his series ranking has qualified him in with the last gate pick.
Can he get a holeshot from the worst draw? He’ll need to, and run well, because if Dungey wins the moto and Shorty is outside the top six, the championship is over.
The 250cc Motocross Lites division saw Pro Circuit domination with Pourcel, Rattray and Wilson leading through session one.
The aforementioned GEICO Powersports team came out with new suspensions in round two and kept charging forward, but still locked up spots behind the Monster Energy franchise.
The sand has been tough on the Pro Circuit team in the past, and this track cost Christophe Pourcel his shot at the championship last year, so we know he will be looking for vengeance. He currently has first gate selection while hard charging Trey Canard finished practice in 10th and will be close on his heels.
New father Tyla Rattray also rides well in the sand based on his European days, and after two solid practices, you better believe he’ll be ready to charge in the afternoon motos.
The WMX returns this week as does the Jessica Patterson/Ashley Fiolek rivalry. The usual suspects posted the top three practice times in Patterson, Fiolek and #18 Tarah Geiger.
Patterson holds a 22-point lead headed into today and will have to work as hard as she can to keep it as Ashley looks to build on her X-Games momentum and achieve the three-peat.
Check out the times below for a top ten practice recap before we hit the live motos this afternoon. The thing everyone knows about the ‘Wick is that lines change throughout the day.
These times may mean everything, or nothing depending on who can readjust and have their bikes and minds ready to go 30+2. Make sure to hit up the live stream to watch moto #1s as they happen!
450 Practice Results
1. Ben Townley – 1:56.149
2. Kyle Chisholm – 1:56.379
3. Jeremy Medaglia – 1:56.761
4. Ryan Dungey – 1:56.818
5. Brett Metcalfe – 1:56.879
6. Justin Brayton – 1:57.121
7. Matthew Goerke – 1:57.300
8. Robby Marshall – 1:57.315
9. Travis Sewell – 1:57.339
10. Kevin Windham – 1:57.396
250 Practice Results
1. Christophe Pourcel – 1:57.564
2. Tyla Rattray – 1:57.899
3. Dean Wilson – 1:59.114
4. Travis Baker – 1:59.389
5. Eli Tomac – 1:59.710
6. Phillip Nicoletti – 1:59.776
7. Blake Wharton – 1:59.814
8. Justin Barcia – 1:59.825
9. Broc Tickle – 2:00.222
10. Trey Canard – 2:00.227
WMX Practice Results
1. Ashley Fiolek – 2:13.759
2. Jessica Patterson – 2:14.038
3. Tarah Geiger – 2:14.567
4. Vicki Golden – 2:18.490
5. Sarah Whitmore – 2:19.096
6. Mariana Balbi – 2:19.146
7. Sara Price – 2:19.498
8. Heidi Cooke – 2:23.728
9. Sherri Cruse – 2:24.218
10. Hailey Larson – 2:24.417
