The eighth round of the Monster Energy Supercross series visited Atlanta for the first of two back-to-back rounds in the Georgia Dome. The red Georgia clay was shaped into a technical track, which made for a great night of action packed racing.
Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsport’s Chad Reed grabbed the holeshot at 2015 Atlanta 1 Supercross, and led all 20 laps to take his first victory of the 2015 season. He was joined on the SX podium by Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Team Honda’s Trey Canard.
As for Reed, it was the veteran’s first win in over a year. “It was awesome” said Reed. “If I had known that bringing my family with me to a race would get me a win, I would have done it a long time ago. Hats off to this Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports race team. We’ve had our ups and downs, but good teams dig deep.
“They gave me the tools to get the job done tonight. I am really, really happy. That was a strong twenty laps and I think I held my breath off and on. It’s been a long time. I am old as the hills, but it’s still fun racing out here with these kids.”
Dungey put in a solid second-place finish to further extend his points lead. The Minnesota native came around the first corner in fourth place and made his way past Phil Nicoletti and Weston Peick to second where he would remain the rest of the race. He now sits 25 points ahead of the second place contender in the point standings – Canard.
And it was Canard jumped to the runner-up position in the points after earning third at Atlanta 1 Supercross. He had his work cut out for him after a ninth-place start, but quickly made moves on the competition to make his way near the front. He made passes on Andrew Short, Cole Seely, Jason Anderson, and Phil Nicoletti in the opening five laps.
He then got around AutoTrader/Toyota/Yamaha’s Weston Peick on lap 10 to take command of third place. He was unable to challenge Dungey or Reed and would remain there for the rest of the race.
Team Honda’s Seely proved once again that he is one of the top rookies in the 2015 season. After coming around the first corner in fifth place, he passed Nicoletti, but got passed by his teammate, Canard, shortly after. He later passed Weston Peick to take a fourth place on the night.
Peick rebounded from a first turn crash last week in Arlington and raced in Atlanta with a torn MCL in his knee. Despite the injury, the ever-persistent Southern California rider put in an impressive fith-place ride in Atlanta. He got a great start coming around the first corner in third place. After passing his teammate, Nicoletti, he was passed by Dungey, Canard, and Seely, and would round out the top five with his fifth-place finish.
RCH/Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Broc Tickle, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett, BTO Sports KTM’s Andrew Short, and Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsport’s Josh Grant rounded out the top ten, respectively.
The 450SX class young guns did not have the best night in the first of two Atlanta races. RCH/Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen suffered a huge crash in practice injuring his left leg.
In addition to that, he had a big get-off in the Main Event on lap eight and only managed to salvage an 18th-place finish on the night. Roczen’s finish puts him down to third place in the championship points standings. GEICO Honda’s Tomac ran up in fourth place before washing the front end out on lap six. He finished in 20th place on the night.
2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Results – Round 8 – Atlanta
1.Chad Reed – Kawasaki KX450F
2. Ryan Dungey – KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
3. Trey Canard – Honda CRF450R
4. Cole Seely – Honda CRF450R
5. Weston Peick – Yamaha YZ450F
6. Broc Tickle – Suzuki RM-Z-450
7. Jason Anderson – Husqvarna FC450
8. Blake Baggett – Suzuki RM-Z450
9. Andrew Short – KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
10. Josh Grant – Kawasaki KX450F
11. Phil Nicoletti – Yamaha YZ450F
12. Davi Millsaps – Kawasaki KX450F
13. Mike Alessi – Suzuki RM-Z450
14. Josh Hill – Yamaha YZ450F
15. Jake Weimer – Kawasaki KX450F
16. Kyle Chisholm – Kawasaki KX450FJimmy Albertson – Yamaha YZ450F
17. Nick Wey – Kawasaki KX450FKyle Partridge – Honda CRF450R
18. Ken Roczen – Suzuki RM-Z450
19. Zackery Freeberg – Yamaha YZ450F
20. Eli Tomac – Honda CRF450R
21. Ronnie Stewart – Suzuki RM-Z450
22. Cade Clason – Honda CRF450R
450SX Class Season Standings (after round 8 of 17):
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 174
2. Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda, 149
3. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki, 143
4. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 115
5. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna, 114
6. Cole Seely, Laguna Beach, Calif., Honda, 111
7. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Kawasaki, 110
8. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki, 99
9. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 94
10. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 78
