MOTO RESULTS FROM COLORADO: Ivan Tedesco goes 1-1, Short 2-2 and Skippy 3-7; Alessi Tries, But The Pain is Too Much After A Crash; Nice Guys Finish First As Jake Weimer Wins 250 Class

MOTO RESULTS FROM COLORADO:
IVAN TEDESCO GOES 1-1, SHORT 2-2 AND SKIPPY 3-7; ALESSI TRIES, BUT THE PAIN IS TOO MUCH AFTER A CRASH; NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST AS JAKE WEIMER WINS 250 CLASS

PERTINENT FACTS FROM LAKEWOOD, COLORADO

ENTRY LIST: Although a full field would be 80 riders, Lakewood drew 73 450 riders and 75 250 riders.

BEST AND WORST QUALIFYING TIMES: The 450 qualifying times were over a second faster than the best 250 qualifying times (because of the 6100 foot elevation and hilly circuit).

FASTEST 250 QUALIFYING TIME: Christophe Pourcel was the fastest with a 2:15.304.

FASTEST 450 QUALIFYING TIME: Josh Grant set fast qualifying time for the second race in a row with a 2:14.140.

LAST 250 MAN IN ON TIME: Dustin Gills did a 2:23.230 to be the last timed qualifier to get in the 250 mains. That was only eight second a lap slower than Pourcel.

LAST 450 MAN IN ON TIME: Anthony Boughton was the last 450 rider into the show with a 2:21.634. Boughton was only seven seconds off of Josh Grant’s fastest time.

WHAT ABOUT THE WOMEN? This week there were 28 women entered in the race (up from the season low of only 20 riders at Mt. Morris). The fastest women in timed qualifying was Ashley Fiolek at 2:31.941. Fiolek was 16 seconds a lap slower than the 250 Men’s fastest qualifier and would have had the 73rd fastest time in the 250 National qualfiying

THE SLOWEST RIDERS TO TRY TO QUALIFY: Shane Bennett did a 2:45.887 in timed 250 qualifying (about 30 seconds a lap slower than Pourcel). Cody Drewek was the slowest 450 rider in timed qualifying with a 2:38.718 (only 24 seconds a lap slower than Grant). The slowest women was Taryn Covington with a 3:09.346 (38 seconds a lap slower than Fiolek).

WHO MADE IN IN THROUGH THE LCQ? Cameron Rodriquez and Travis Freistat went 1-2 in the 250 Consolation race to get the last two spots in the 40-man field. Michael LaPaglia and Bobby Garrison got the spots for the 450 mains.

HOW DID THE LCQ RIDERS DO? In the 250 class, Cameron Rodriquez went 39-39 for 40th place. Travis Freistat went 32-23 for 28th. In the 450 class, LCQ winner Michael LaPaglia went 29-29 for 35th overall, while LCQ runner-up Bobby Garrison had a 27-25 day for 30th overall.

THE 450 POINTS CHASE: Chad Reed went from 19 points ahead of Mike Alessi to 14 points ahead ofÿ Andrew Short (Short gained ten points on Reed at Lakewood). Lakewood winner Ivan Tedesco is third place in points, but is still 35 points back. Josh Grant is the only contender who didn’t gain ground on Reed in Colorado. Josh is now 44 points behind Reed.

THE 250 POINTS CHASE: Christophe Pourcel gained seven points on second place chaser Ryan Dungey and now leads by nine points (217 to 208). Tyla Rattray passed the injured Trey Canard in points to take over third overall, but is 57 points behind Pourcel (that is two full motos, plus seven points in arrears). Tommy Searle is fourth in points, but is 64 points back.

WHO HAD A BAD DAY AT THUNDER MOUNTAIN IN THE 450 CLASS? Chad Reed struggled, but many riders would have loved to get 3-7. In fact though, Mike Alessi leads the bad news list. In a brave attempt to stay in the points chase, Mike tried to race the 450 class. Mike got in on speed (28th fastest) and got a third place start in moto one, but Josh Grant cleaned his clock (although in Grant’s defense he had the pass made and was obviously heading for the outside berm when Alessi turned to the inside and hit Grant …not the other way around). In the crash Mike hurt his knee again. He remounted and rode two laps, but pulled out in pain. Another injured rider, Tim Ferry came back at Lakewood. He qualified tenth fastest in the 450 class, and got a 12th in the first 450 moto to earn his first points of the season. Jeff Alessi hurt his shoulder and missed the second 450 moto. Justin Brayton got no points at Lakewood. Josh Hill did start the first moto, but disappeared very quickly and didn’t start the second round.

WHO HAD A BAD DAY AT THUNDER MOUNTAIN IN THE 250 CLASS? Amazingly, Christophe Pourcel had a bad day, even though he extended his points lead. A weird starting gate incident caused him to get a last place start in moto two. Pourcel didn’t jump the gate, but somehow got his rear wheel caught in it. Tyla Rattray is fourth in overall points, but was just barely capable of hanging in the top ten at Lakewood (8-9). Martin Davalos DNF’ed moto one, but did get a tenth in moto two.

WHERE HAVE THE RIDERS GONE? Only 35 riders showed up for the second 450 moto and only 32 completed at least one lap. The 250 class was much more resilient; 39 riders showed up at the gate and all 39 did at least one lap.

WHO HAS SCORED POINTS THIS YEAR: After the last race only 32 riders in the 250 class had earned any points after four rounds. Now, after five rounds the number has jumped to 36 (with the addition of Rustin Meyer, Ryan Clark, Luke George and Martin Davalos). 36 may seem like a low number, but only 83 riders have raced in the five 250 Nationals so far this season. In the 450 class, 48 riders have earned at least one point (up nine riders from the last race). The new points earners from Colorado were Shane Sewell, Travis Sewell, Travis Bannister, Sean Hackley, Adam Chatfield, Robert Fitch, Tim Ferry, Kyle Keylon and Robert Castro. In total numbers, only 71 riders have been involved in any of ten 450 National motos so far.

THE OFFICIAL RACE REPORT: For just the second time in history, the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship raced under the lights for round five from Thunder Valley MX in Lakewood, Colo., producing a pair of first time winners. Honda’s Ivan Tedesco dominated the 450 class, sweeping the evening’s motos while Pro Circuits Jake Weimer captured the 250 class victory.

Tedesco was the first rider out of the gate in each moto, grabbing the holeshot and never looking back, Ivan led every lap on Saturday night. The evening marked Tedesco’s first wins, moto and overall, since moving into the premier 450 class in 2006. “This is actually my first win outdoors since 2005,” said Tedesco. “I won here in the 250 class and that lead to a championship in that class. It’s been a long time coming and I’ve had to battle through some injuries over the years, but I feel like I’m in top form and it feels great. This year didn’t start out great at the first race, but I’ve had podiums and great runs since then.”

Andrew Short made it a 1-2 sweep for Honda with second overall (2-2). Canidae/Motosport’s Tommy Hahn rounded out the podium with a career-best third place.

450 National points leader Chad Reed posted 3-7 moto finishes for fourth overall. With their performances, both Short and Tedesco closed in on Reed. Short currently sits second, 14 points behind, while Tedesco moved into third, 35 points out.

The 250 class: After failing to score a single point at the previous round, Jake Weimer bounced back in convincing fashion in Lakewood. The Pro Circuit rider kept on the rear fender of teammate Christophe Pourcel throughout the first moto to come home second. In moto two, he capitalized on a great start to grab the early lead. After a fall dropped him to third, Weimer recovered to re-take the lead and the overall win. “This was something huge for me,” boasted Weimer. “I didn’t know if I was going to ever get an outdoor win. I got two good starts on my Kawasaki and I only made one small mistake in the second moto. I’m really excited because this is my first moto and overall wins.”

Pourcel grabbed the runner-up spot with a 1-6 to give the Pro Circuit team a one-two result while KTM’s Tommy Searle finished third (5-3) for the second race in a row.

The WMX Class also completed its fifth round of the 2009 season. Honda Red Bull Racing’s Ashley Fiolek swept both motos to continue her undefeated streak for overall finishes this season. Cernics Suzuki’s Sherri Cruse finished second, while MotoConcept’s Mariana Balbi finished third.

“In the first moto I came out and really try to push myself hard and get a good start,” stated Fiolek. “In the second moto, I want to be there up front and race to get the overall so I just try and ride my best but ride smart as well.”

The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship continues next weekend with round six on Saturday, July 4, from Buchanan, Michigan. Coverage can be seen live on NBC at 4:30 p.m. ET.