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Reed, Hill Sweep Anaheim II Supercross
Category: Racing News
Date: 24 Jan 2008
Time: 12:58:14 -0500
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Yamaha YZ450F pilots Chad Reed and Josh Hill stole the show by finishing 1-2 at the third round of the 2008 AMA Supercross Championship in Anaheim, Calif. on Saturday night, Jan. 19. With rival James Stewart out for the season with a knee injury, Reed’s win vaults him into a significant 16-point championship lead over Kevin Windham, who finished third. “Retro Night” at Angel Stadium also proved sensational for Hill, who scored his first career Supercross podium. While in the Lites class, YZ250F warriors Broc Hepler and Jason Lawrence showed massive speed as Hepler claimed a fine second and Lawrence set the fastest Lites race lap. L&M Racing’s Reed was fastest in Supercross practice, followed by Stewart (before his withdrawal), Yamaha Factory Racing’s Grant Langston and Hill, giving Yamaha three of the top four riders. But when the gate dropped for the main event it was Mike Alessi who earned the holeshot ahead of Reed and Hill. The pair quickly got by Alessi and gapped the rest of the field. Impressively though, Hill stayed close to Reed for the entire race and ultimately finished 6.1 sec. behind him – a very impressive result for the Supercross-class rookie. “I felt awesome out there tonight,” said Reed. “My bike’s a lot of fun to go out there and race on. We just put the thing on cruise control and watched the laps wind down.” In the Lites class, Yamaha of Troy’s Lawrence posted the fastest practice time, won his heat race and charged from ninth to third in the final before retiring on lap four. Likewise, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Hepler started in mid-pack and made a steady drive for the front, picking off rider after rider and eventually moving into second behind winner Ryan Dungey. At the checkered flag, just 1.279 seconds separated the two. Hepler’s runner-up finish moves him to second in the points behind Dungey. “I didn’t do my start procedure right and wheelied, so I had to work my way up from the back,” he admitted afterwards. “Now I just need to put it together and do one step better next weekend!” While Reed and Hill were commanding the field in Anaheim, brothers Kevin and Keith Johnson also put in 1-2 performances on their YZ250Fs at the AMA Arenacross series in their hometown of Albuquerque, NM. This is the first time in the brothers’ pro racing career that they have finished first and second together, and with Kevin’s wire-to-wire win, the pair now has one victory apiece in this year’s Arenacross season. “The fans here are awesome and it was really cool to be able win my first one of the year at home,” Kevin said afterwards.