450 Moto 1 The first moto drag race to the holeshot stripe was an Aussie throw down between Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki captain Chad Reed and Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/ Honda’s Jake Moss. Reed held his own and was far enough away from the major pileup that seemed to throw the first moto wide open, which had his fellow Australian and teammate Michael Byrne and Red Bull Honda’s Dave Millsaps and Ivan Tedesco at the tail end of the pack. The Canidae/Motosport/Kawasaki squad had a stellar set of opening motos, which was aided by lone 450 rider Tommy Hahn’s unbridled chase of Reed. The Kawasaki rider stumbled but never backed off of Reed, and the chase is highlight of his young big-bore career. They would finish the moto with a massive distance between themselves and Belgian teenager Clement Desalle, who is currently fourth in the MX1 standings in the World Championship that takes place on the other side of the ocean. The previously mentioned first turn scramble was the catalyst for the surges of many factory riders. Byrne would pass half the field and finish in 15th, and Tedesco was able to pass three more before settling in ninth. Josh Grant was the more fortunate of the Joe Gibb’s riders, as the vicious ragdoll-like twist of Cody Cooper was the end of the Kiwi’s day. And last but not least, in response to last week’s DNF at Millville, Jason Lawrence took his Monster Energy/ Boost Mobile/ ampm/ Yamaha from the mid teens to 10th place after letting a quicker Justin Brayton on his Jagermiester/MDK/KTM take ninth. The riders then cooled down and ready for their live television finale, which further exemplified how 2009 has been unpredictable.
Moto 1 Results 1. Chad Reed 2. Tommy Hahn 3. Clement Desalle 4. Matt Georke 5. Josh Grant 6. Jake Moss 7. Andrew Short 8. Jimmy Albertson 9. Justin Brayton 10. Jason Lawrence
450 Moto 2 The sun faded behind the massive fir trees and the 450 class funneled back to the starting gate for the second moto, all before a Speed Channel audience. Looking to rebound from a troubling day (engine failure in practice, a poor start in the first moto), Josh Grant cracked the throttle and took the early lead over the thumping blur of color and metal. Just behind him were Lawrence, Red Bull Honda’s Millsaps, and the younger of the Alessi brothers, Jeffrey, on his MotoConcepts Honda. Reed was unable to reclaim the opening lap magic and was shuffled back to seventh, where he was working on Team Solitaire’s Antonio Balbi. Babli’s pace in the top 10 was enough to maintain his position, but his Honda engine gave up the ghost in heartbreaking fashion.Reed was long past Balbi by that point, and had switched to overdrive speed as the seconds ticked off the clock. Chad launched his Suzuki past Millsaps, rode the high line Byrne, and found a tiring Lawrence to steal away third away from. Once around the Jersey wild child, Reed saw the race unfolding like Red Bud had just a few weeks ago, but now the tables had turned. Reed was now the hunter and Grant the prey, and the momentum carried by the “Double Deuce” into every section sliced the lead Grant had established. It was in the chicanes that Chad made his move, and once by Grant he never looked back. They would finish eight seconds apart, and another five seconds between Grant and Lawrence.
Moto 2 Results 1. Chad Reed 2. Josh Grant 3. Jason Lawrence 4. Michael Byrne 5. Jarred Browne 6. Nick Wey 7. Davi Millsaps 8. Justin Brayton 9. Ben LaMay 10. Jimmy Albertson
450 Overall 1. Chad Reed 1-1 2. Josh Grant 5-2 3. Jason Lawrence 10-3 4. Justin Brayton 9-8 5. Michael Byrne 15-4 6. Jimmy Albertson 8-10 7. Nick Wey 13-6 8. Tommy Hahn 2-38 9. Ivan Tedesco 11-11 10. Clement Desalle 3-25
450 Point Standings 1. Chad Reed 337pts 2. Josh Grant 272pts 3. Andrew Short 267pts 4. Ivan Tedesco 258pts 5. Michael Byrne 207pts 6. Tommy Hahn 171pts 7. Cody Cooper 157pts 8. Justin Brayton 152pts 9. Nick Wey 149pts 10. Mike Alessi 142pts
