AMA Supercross Series : Windham, Ramsey and Preston shine in soggy San Diego

AMA Supercross Series 250cc/125cc West
Round 4: San Diego, CA
January 24, 2004

Windham, Ramsey and Preston shine in soggy San Diego


On a rare cold and soggy San Diego evening, a crowd of 61,062 inside
Qualcomm Stadium warmed up quickly and a collective effort by the Red
Riders was the culprit. In both the 125 and 250 main events, Honda CRF
riders stepped up to the podium yet again, demonstrating their powerful Red
Riders wares along the way. As bad luck would have it, Ernesto Fonseca
wasn't one of them. During practice on Saturday afternoon, Fonseca
dismounted his CR250R in the whoops and injured his right knee. The
swelling prevented him from competing and pending a diagnosis early in the
week Fonseca's return to racing is indefinite.

250
From the drop of the gate Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Kevin Windham and his
nemeses, Chad Reed, separated themselves from the rest of the field and
turned the 20-lap main event into one of the most exciting Supercross races
in recent memory.

"I wanted to attack early and get up there," said Windham about his game
plan going into the main event. The same strategy worked in his heat race,
when the CRF450R rider got the holeshot and ran away with the race,
finishing 15.5 seconds ahead of the second place rider. Windham is yet to
loose a heat race in 2004.

In the main event, Reed got the holeshot and led the opening laps with
Windham all over his rear wheel and sometimes beside him. At times the two
stars entered the bowl turns of the Qualcomm racetrack together, exited
them simultaneously and then soared over triple jumps and through rhythm
sections side by side. On the third lap Windham moved into the lead and
towed Reed around the racetrack in the same manner, occasionally getting a
glimpse of his challenger's wheel. The racing was tight and aggressive,
even with an occasional rub, but also very clean.

"I think that the aggressiveness has to be there and I think that's what
keeps the crowd on their feet," said Windham about the closeness of his
race with Reed. "It's going to be a battle for the rest of the season."

The crowd was indeed on their feet watching the back and forth battle rage
into the final laps of the race. Unfortunately it didn't come down to the
final lap due to a lapped rider who entered Windham's line on the approach
of one of the track's three triple jumps. The last-second detour forced the
#14 Honda CRF450R to double instead of triple the jumps, and allowed Reed
to complete the last few laps unchallenged. Windham crossed the finish line
with a 3.1-second deficit.

Red Riders Mike LaRocco and Damon Huffman weren't able to join the Windham
and Reed race, but they did make their presence felt in the rest of the
20-man field. MotoXXX Honda-sponsored Huffman put his CRF450R into third
place at the start and held the position for nearly four laps before
eventual third place finisher David Vuillimen took over the final podium
spot. Huffman ended the evening in eighth place; the last rider to finish
on the lead lap thanks to Windham and Reed's blistering pace.

LaRocco had a drastically different race than Huffman. Instead of starting
strong, the Amsoil/Chaparral Honda rider gated in the middle of the field
and in true LaRocco fashion took his CR250R all the way to fifth place,
nearly capturing fourth from Michael Byrne. The fifth place result marked
LaRocco's lowest finish in 2004, which explains his strong third place
position in the series point standings. His teammate, Windham trails by one
point.

125
A pair of Hondas piloted by Nathan Ramsey and privateer Greg Schnell got a
great launch off the downward sloping starting pad and put their CRF250Rs
into the first turn two abreast. The official main event holeshot award
went to Schnell, but it wasn't the first time in the evening that Ramsey's
front tire had reached the apex of the first corner on fresh soil. An
earlier holeshot helped the #25 CRF250R transfer to the main via a
runner-up finish in the second heat.

Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Travis Preston, who stands taller than Ramsey,
also finished second in his heat, but in the main his starting woes
continued. A handful of riders separated him from Ramsey and Schnell into
the first corner, and Preston would once again start the main event from
mid-pack; he had his work cut out for him.

"It kind of threw me off; I had a hard time with that all night," said
Preston about the unusual starting gate, which was elevated approximately
two feet above the level of the track. "It was different because you have
to take off and then let off (the throttle) to get a good drive and we
don't have that at the practice track. They only give us one practice
start, so that was kind of an issue."

Recapturing the lead immediately became an issue for Ramsey and Schnell.
After exiting the first turn, the Red Riders allowed Roncada the point. Up
to the challenge, Ramsey kept pace with the leader for the opening laps,
while the quick starting Schnell gave way to Gosselaar and Tedesco. It was
on the seventh lap however, that the shake up began. Tedesco moved into the
lead and Ramsey followed, leaving Roncada well behind. But in a sport where
precision matters, Ramsey made a few minor mistakes, unnoticeable to the
naked eye, and was unable to keep Tedesco's pace.

"I had a few mess ups where I missed some rhythm sections and I think that
cost me a lot," said Ramsey of his round four performance. "The first four
are down now. Hopefully I can take the next four."

Other than his poor start, Preston didn't miss a beat throughout the main
event. By mid race, his teammate, Gosselaar, who finished the evening a
season high fifth, and rival Roncada were the only obstacles that stood in
his way for a third consecutive podium finish. However, Preston was so
focused on the racetrack that he was unaware of his position in the
results.

"After I got by Chris (Gosselaar) I had a clear track and then I saw
something green up there so I started working harder and harder," said
Preston about his pursuit on third place Roncada. "I passed Stephane
(Roncada) and then I didn't see anything. I had no idea what place I was in
so I kept charging."

Preston and the rest of the Red Riders will continue their hard charge as
the series heads back to Edison International Field in Anaheim, California
on January 31.

250 Main Event Results
1. Chad Reed - Yamaha
2. Kevin Windham - Honda
3. David Vuillemin - Yamaha
4. Michael Byrne - Kawasaki
5. Mike LaRocco - Honda
8. Damon Huffman - Honda
12. Joseph Oehlhof - Honda
14. Clark Stiles - Honda
15. Robbie Reynard - Honda
16. James Povolny - Honda
18. Hans Neel - Honda

250 AMA Supercross Point Standings
1. Chad Reed - Yamaha - 97
2. David Vuillimen - Yamaha - 76
3. Mike LaRocco - Honda - 72
4. Kevin Windham - Honda - 71
5. Michael Byrne - Kawasaki - 58
6. Damon Huffman - Honda - 51
14. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda - 28
16. Robbie Reynard - Honda - 24
19. Joseph Oehlhof - Honda - 13
20. Clark Stiles - Honda - 11

125 West Main Event Results
1. Ivan Tedesco - Kawasaki
2. Nathan Ramsey - Honda
3. Travis Preston - Honda
4. Stephane Roncada - Kawasaki
5. Chris Gosselaar - Honda
6. Akira Narita - Honda
14. Greg Schnell - Honda
19. Jonathan Shimp - Honda

125 AMA West Supercross Point Standings
1. Ivan Tedesco - Kawasaki - 100
2. Stephane Roncada - Kawasaki - 80
3. Travis Preston - Honda - 75
4. Nathan Ramsey - Honda - 72
5. Andrew Short - Suzuki - 60
8. Greg Schnell - Honda - 45
9. Chris Gosselaar - Honda - 42
18. Johnny Marley - Honda - 18