Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Chris Alldredge was excited for Round 15 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. After Alldredge finished fourth in his heat race, he was poised for a great race in the main event. After getting a good jump out of the gate, he got together with another rider entering the first turn and he went down hard, knocking him out of the race. In the 450SX main event Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsport’s Chad Reed got a great jump out of the gate and battled for the lead early, but an early crash forced him to ride through the field to an eighth place finish. Mafia Moto Crew Kawasaki rider Nick Wey had his best finish of the season and put his KX™450F in the top 10.
Ride Through the Field
After winning his heat race, Reed looked like a contender for the main event win after getting through the first turn near the front of the field. The Australian passed for the lead in the opening lap and after getting passed back on Lap 2, he crashed in a rhythm section while fighting to retake the lead. Reed remounted his KX450F in 21st place and worked hard to ride all the way up to eighth on Lap 20.
What Could Have Been
Alldredge came into Santa Clara looking to get his first podium finish of the season. He felt good during qualifying and rode a solid heat race, giving him a lot of confidence heading into the main event. With a good jump out of the gate, Alldredge stayed on the throttle heading to the first turn when another rider cut in front of him. The abrupt move caused him to crash, snapping his handlebars in two and knocking him out of the race.
“Mitch (Payton) told me I need to be more aggressive and stay on the throttle,” said Alldredge. “I was right there and as we got to the first turn, but then I got cut off and had to get on the brakes which sent me to the ground. I felt really good and I think I could have run with the leaders during the race.”
Heat Race Win
After having a couple of crashes in practice and entering the night show a little battered and bruised, Reed rode a smart race in the heat to earn a win. Reed was running a solid second when the leader made a mistake and Reed capitalized for the victory.
“When you are as invested as much as my team is, you want to get the win every time you are on the track,” said Reed. “I was able to see the leader make a mistake and I knew I could hold on for the heat race win.”
On the Way Out
With only two more events left after the Santa Clara race, Wey made a strong statement, winning a semi race to advance to the main event. Wey got a good start and rode a great race leading all five laps of the semi to take the win. The Michigan native parlayed the semi performance into a top 10 in the main event, his best finish of the year.
New Stadium
Levi’s Stadium made an impressive debut on the Monster Energy Supercross schedule and Alldredge had the honor of being the first rider to take to the track as part of the event’s press day on Thursday. Besides riding, Alldredge also travelled to Comcast Sports Network for a segment on Yahoo! Sports Talk Live.
Bright Lights, Big City
Monster Energy Supercross heads back to the New York area for its second visit to MetLife Stadium in the East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is the final round of the Eastern Region and Joey Savatagy will be back on his KX™ 250F for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team.
Results
Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Saturday, April 18, 2015
450SX Class Results
Ryan Dungey, KTM
Eli Tomac, Honda
Weston Peick, Yamaha
Jason Anderson, Husqvarna
Cole Seely, Honda
Blake Baggett, Suzuki
Justin Brayton, KTM
Chad Reed, Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports Kawasaki
Andrew Short, KTM
10.Nick Wey, Kawasaki
450SX Class Season Standings
Ryan Dungey, KTM, 343
Eli Tomac, Honda, 258
Cole Seely, Honda, 239
Chad Reed, Kawasaki, 212
Trey Canard, Honda, 204
Blake Baggett, Suzuki, 190
Jason Anderson, Husqvarna, 188
Broc Tickle, Suzuki, 168
Ken Roczen, Suzuki, 164
Andrew Short, KTM, 156
Western Regional 250SX Class Results
Cooper Webb, Yamaha
Justin Hill, KTM
Alex Martin, Yamaha
Malcolm Stewart, Honda
Shane McElrath, KTM
Jackson Richardson, Honda
Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha
Matt Bisceglia, Honda
Tommy Hahn, Honda
Scott Champion, Yamaha
21. Chris Alldredge, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
Western Regional 250SX Class Season Standings
Cooper Webb, Yamaha, 186
Shane McElrath, KTM, 124
Zach Osborne, Husqvarna, 117
Justin Hill,, KTM, 116
Aaron Plessinger, Yamaha, 113
Alex Martin, Yamaha, 111
Malcolm Stewart, Honda, 107
Jessy Nelson, KTM, 106
Tyler Bowers, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, 105
Josh Hansen, Motosport.com Kawasaki ,91