AMA: Windham and Preston Podium Anaheim 2

AMA Supercross Series 250cc/125cc West
Round 3: Anaheim, CA
January 17, 2004

Windham and Preston Podium Anaheim 2

After his breakthrough win in Phoenix last week, Kevin Windham returned to
Anaheim, California's Edison International Field for round three of the AMA
Supercross Series with a burden lifted from his shoulders. His round two
victory in Phoenix proved that a near two-year absence from Supercross has
not dulled his championship potential one iota. Armed with a renewed
confidence, the 25-year-old from Centreville, Mississippi took the next big
step toward his first 250 Supercross crown when he won his heat race with
Saturday evening's fast time and then set a blistering pace in the main
event that only one other rider was able to match. The win eventually went
to Chad Reed, but for the first nine of 20 laps, Windham made it abundantly
clear that he and his Honda CRF450R will remain championship contenders all
year long.

A similar winning situation for Honda looms large in the 125 ranks. After a
disappointing first round, Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Travis Preston resumed
his normal position on the podium in Phoenix with a third-place showing. On
Saturday night in Anaheim, Preston clearly demonstrated he remains hungry
enough and fast enough to snare the 125 West Region Supercross championship
once again. On his way to posting the fastest 125-class lap time of the
evening, the Honda CRF250R pilot led 11 of 15 laps in the main event and
finished second to Ivan Tedesco by a mere 1.6 seconds.

250
Windham, who has won every heat race he's entered in 2004, kept the streak
alive when he dove into the first left-hand turn in the lead and then
rocketed away from the rest of the competition. Finishing second behind the
Amsoil/Chaparral hotshoe was Planet Honda privateer Robbie Reynard, whose
Honda CR250R crossed the finish line 12.6 seconds behind Windham. Factory
Honda's Ernesto Fonseca also ran toward the front of the first heat race
fray, claiming the final transfer spot in fourth place. Mike Larocco and
his Honda CR250R finished one position behind Fonseca, and he later
qualified for the main event via a second-place finish in the first semi.

The start of the main event was a near carbon copy of Windham's heat race.
Immediately after exiting the first turn, Windham's powerful CRF450R ate up
the treacherous whoop section situated immediately beyond the short start
straight. David Vuillimen, Reed and Fonseca all tucked in close behind,
having escaped the first-lap follies in the whoops. LaRocco wasn't as
fortunate. The former National Motocross Champion got a poor jump off the
line and completed the first lap in ninth place, as Windham and company
quickly separated themselves from those running outside the top five.

As the laps counted down, Windham continued to control the lead as
Vuillemin and Reed traded positions with one another behind him. Both of
Windham's competitors made attempts to steal the lead early on, but Windham
denied their repeated probes. It wasn't until the midway point of the race
that Reed finally passed Windham and had it not been for a lapped rider who
balked KW, a ferocious fight for the lead would have ensued throughout the
entire main event.

"Tonight he (Reed) definitely had one up on me," said Windham after the
event. "Somebody has to win, but tonight it wasn't me. I'll just go back
and work hard, just like I have been, continue to test, get stronger and
continue riding. I'm having a great time.

"I gave it all I had, unfortunately it wasn't enough. But I definitely
don't have anything to hang my head about," continued Windham. "I'm looking
forward to San Diego and the rest of the rounds."

Windham wasn't the only Amsoil/Chaparral rider to wave the team flag
valiantly. LaRocco mounted an impressive charge through the pack, finishing
fourth and nearly catching third-place Vuillemin in the process. Fonseca
followed LaRocco to the checkers for fifth place, the best finish since he
won the Arnhem, Holland round of World Supercross GP in December.

125
After CRF250R riders Nathan Ramsey and Travis Preston dominated the second
125 heat race with first- and third-place performances, it was no surprise
to see the two Red Riders at the front of the pack as the 125 main event
waved off. Only this time, instead of Ramsey taking the lead as he did in
the heat race, it was Preston out front. The tall southern Californian
gapped the rest of the 22-man field, leaving Ramsey to fight for the
runner-up spot with Stephane Roncada and Tedesco. For five laps, Ramsey
fought tooth and nail until he and Roncada tangled in a tight turn and
Ramsey was sent to the ground. The incident was unintentional, but the
damage was done as Ramsey fell back to sixth place and was unable to rejoin
the race for the lead. He eventually climbed back to a lone fourth place.

As the race continued and lapped riders came into play, Tedesco and Roncada
began to gain ground on Preston. On lap 12 Tedesco took over the lead and
shortly thereafter Roncada made a play to push Preston back to third. The
move stuck momentarily, but Preston counterattacked, regained the runner-up
spot and began to make ground on Tedesco. Preston came up less than two
seconds short of taking his first Supercross win of 2004; however, his
second-place finish marked his best placing in the New Year.

After two consecutive trips to the podium by Windham and Preston,
Supercross heads south to San Diego, California's Qualcomm Stadium on
January 24. The Red Riders plan to take the seaside town by storm with a
wave of Honda dominance come next Saturday night.


250 Main Event Results:
1. Chad Reed - Yamaha
2. Kevin Windham - Honda
3. David Vuillemin - Yamaha
4. Mike LaRocco - Honda
5. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda
7. Damon Huffman - Honda
10. Robbie Reynard - Honda
17. Craig Anderson - Honda

250 AMA Supercross Point Standings:
1. Chad Reed - Yamaha - 72
2. (Tie) Mike LaRocco - Honda/David Vuillemin - Yamaha - 56
4. Kevin Windham - Honda ? 49*
5. Michael Byrne - Kawasaki - 40
6. Damon Huffman - Honda - 38
11. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda - 28
16. Robbie Reynard - Honda - 18
19. (Tie) Jason Thomas - Honda/Daryl Hurley - Suzuki/Isaiah Johnson -
Yamaha ? 8

*Pending appeal

125 West Main Event Results:
1. Ivan Tedesco - Kawasaki
2. Travis Preston - Honda
3. Stephane Roncada - Kawasaki
4. Nathan Ramsey - Honda
5. Andrew Short - Suzuki
9. Greg Schnell - Honda
14. Akira Narita - Honda
17. Justin Buckelew - Honda
22. Johnny Marley - Honda

125 AMA West Supercross Point Standings:
1. Ivan Tedesco - Kawasaki - 75
2. Stephane Roncada - Kawasaki - 62
3. Travis Preston - Honda - 55
4. Andrew Short - Suzuki - 52
5. Nathan Ramsey - Honda - 50
7. Greg Schnell - Honda - 38
9. Chris Gosselaar - Honda - 26
15. Johnny Marley - Honda - 18