Laninovich Takes First Supercross Win In San Francisco

2005 AMA THQ Supercross
Round 4: San Francisco, CA
January 29, 2005

Honda Red Rider Billy Laninovich scored his first career AMA 125cc
Supercross win tonight in convincing fashion, leading all but the first lap
en route to the checkers aboard his Amsoil/Chapparal/Napster Honda CRF250R.
Team Honda's Andrew Short repeated his round three performance by tallying
his second straight runner-up finish, making it a 1-2 Honda hoot atop San
Francisco's SBC Park podium.

Laninovich, whose victory made him the fourth different winner in as many
rounds, struck quickly as the first lap wound down, railing past Danny
Smith into the lead he'd never surrender. Shortly after that, Team Honda's
Short also got by Smith, but couldn't close the gap on a blistering
Laninovich before crossing the line in second.

"This is the first win of my career, so I can't even explain how happy I
am," said Laninovich, who vaulted 10 spots (from 17th to seventh) in the
points standings with his win. "I hope this is the first of many. I had a
little battle with Danny Smith on lap 1, but I was able to move into the
lead and ride smart."

Over in 250 action, meantime, Amsoil/Chapparal/Napster Honda's Mike LaRocco
logged his second podium finish in four rounds, taking the checkers in
third behind race winner Ricky Carmichael and runner-up Chad Reed. Iron
Mike started the main in second behind Reed (who snagged holeshot honors)
until Carmichael got by on lap two, after which he and his #5 CR250R Honda
held down third for the remaining 18 laps.

Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca and MDK Moto/MSRMX Honda's Nick Wey turned in
solid fifth- and sixth-place rides, respectively.

LaRocco's Amsoil/Chapparal/Napster Honda teammate, Kevin Windham, on the
other hand, had a night he'd probably rather forget, having to work his way
up to a ninth place finish after crashing and falling far back in the field
on lap four. And though K-Dub lost out on valuable points in his pursuit of
series leader Carmichael, the Honda rider still sits in second, 16 points
behind Carmichael and 10 points over the third-place Reed.

Next weekend, the THQ AMA Supercross Series heads back to Southern
California for the third and final Anaheim round.

THQ AMA 250 Supercross Results
1. Ricky Carmichael - Suzuki
2. Chad Reed - Yamaha
3. Mike LaRocco - Honda
4. David Vuillemin - Yamaha
5. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda
6. Nick Wey - Honda
7. Heath Voss - Yamaha Sebastien Tortelli - Suzuki
8. Michael Byrne - Kawasaki
9. Kevin Windham - Honda
10. Tyler Evans - Suzuki


THQ AMA 250 Supercross Points Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael - 95 - Suzuki
2. Kevin Windham - 79 - Honda
3. Chad Reed - 69 - Yamaha
4. Mike LaRocco - 66 - Honda
5. Nick Wey - 59 - Honda
6. Ernesto Fonseca- 58 - Honda
7. Sebastien Tortelli - 57 - Suzuki
8. Heath Voss - 51 - Yamaha
9. David Vuillemin - 49 - Yamaha
10. Michael Byrne - 44 - Kawasaki



THQ AMA 125 West Supercross Results
1. Billy Laninovich - Honda
2. Andrew Short - Honda
3. Ivan Tedesco - Kawasaki
4. Ryan Morais - Suzuki
5. Brett Metcalfe - Yamaha
6. Bryan Johnson - Yamaha
7. Ryan Sipes - Suzuki
8. Danny Smith - Yamaha
9. Jay Marmont - KTM
10. Christopher Gosselaar - Suzuki


THQ AMA 125 West Supercross Points Standings
1. Ivan Tedesco - 80 - Kawasaki
2. Ryan Sipes - 67 - Suzuki
3. Danny Smith - 58 - Yamaha
4. Andrew Short - 56 - Honda
5. Tommy Hahn - 49 - Honda
6. Nathan Ramsey - 46 - KTM
7. Billy Laninovich - 42 - Honda
8. Brett Metcalfe - 41 - Yamaha
9. Jay Marmont - 39 - KTM
10. Jesse Casillas - 35 - Honda