Reed second in dramatic AMA SX round
The Aussie continues his consistent run, and jumps to second in the standings after Villopoto and Stewart fail to score championship pointsAustralia’s Chad Reed (Honda) has finished second in round 11 of the AMA Supercross Championship in Jacksonville, Florida, as main rivals Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) and James Stewart (Yamaha) both fell by the wayside.
Villopoto didn’t make it to the business end of proceedings after crashing in the last chance qualifier, while Stewart was stretchered off the circuit -- early reports suggest a pelvic injury -- after colliding with another rider on the first lap of the final.
Honda’s Trey Canard came out of the early carnage with the lead, and he finished the 20-lap final 0.805 seconds ahead of Reed, with defending champion Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) third. It was Canard’s second AMA open class victory.
“I really needed this win,” said Canard. “I can’t tell you enough how much this means to me. I got nervous at one point and looked at the board and realised how close it really was. I put on a fight and it really paid off tonight.”
Reed acknowledged victory was within his grasp, but he maintained a cool head when it mattered.
“There is a bigger piece of the pie that I want and sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war,” Reed said.
“With that said I do want to win. I felt we were a lot better tonight than last week, but there were still a few things missing here and there.
“I would of had to cut him off and have some contact (to pass Trey), which could have seen both of us off and I didn’t want to give up any points to Ryan (Dungey).
“I felt like I rode smart and consistent and you have to be consistent to win championships.”
Reed has now overtaken Stewart to move into second place in the standings on 214pts, with Villopoto (221) still leading.
Dungey (203), Stewart (198) and Canard (194) complete the top five.
The next instalment of the championship will be at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Saturday, March 26.
Supercross Class Results: Jacksonville
1. Trey Canard, Honda
2. Chad Reed, Tampa, Honda
3. Ryan Dungey, Suzuki
4. Kevin Windham, Honda
5. Andrew Short KTM
6. Ivan Tedesco Kawasaki
7. Mike Alessi, KTM
8. Austin Stroupe, Yamaha
9. Nick Wey, Yamaha
10. Chris Blose, Kawasaki
Current standings (after round 11 of 17):
1. Villopoto– 221
2. Reed – 214
3. Dungey – 203
4. James Stewart, Yamaha – 198
5. Canard – 194
6. Short– 145
7. Windham - 121
8. Justin Brayton, Yamaha – 121
9. Davi Millsaps, Yamaha – 118
10. Brett Metcalfe, Suzuki – 107
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