MXSponsor.com Privateer Shuttle Race Report What a whirlwind couple of weeks. Well here is the Privateer Shuttle Race Report for Anaheim 1. Things got started early as Rich and our videographer Matt Wozney headed out to Anaheim on New Years Eve. Between registering with the AMA, organizing practices with the riders, scheduling meetings with sponsors, and getting all the shuttle equipment set up, it was hectic.
Friday Rich and Matt headed out with several riders to go and practice to gear up for the race. They spent time over at Josh Grant’s house throwing down some laps and some more time out at Beaumont with Willy Browning. Things were looking good until MXSponsor rider Ty Morrow threw a chain that wadded up between his frame and the motor. Luckily Ty has great support and was able to get things in order for Saturday.
Saturday’s practice went off well for the riders (with the exception of the killer whoops). Willy Browning, Isaiah Johnson, and James Marshall were pulling down some of the fastest laps in practice. Ty Morrow and Greg Crater were looking fast too. They were set for the qualifiers an hour later.
In Qualifier 2, Isaiah and Willy placed 3 and 4 making the evening program and were looking fast. James Marshall got a bad start but climbed to 5th to make the evening program as well.
During Qualifier 1 for the Supercross Lites, Ty got caught up in the first corner along with the rest of the class and couldn’t recover with a finish of 11th. The consolation didn’t treat him much better as he narrowly missed the evening program.
During the Heat 1, James Marshall went up against Stewart, Reed, Vuillemin, Mike Larocco, Ryan Clark. He faired with 13th and a chance in the Semi.
Heat 2 had Willy and Isaiah head to head against Carmichael. Fonseca, Wey, McGrath, Tedesco and Mike Brown. The two battled the track missing qualifying for the main. Willy finished 3 spots behind McGrath in 12th. Isaiah pulled off after a crash with some mechanical issues.
The most exciting moment of the night came when James Marshall lined up against Ryan Clark and Mike Larocco for Semi #1. James, focused on the first turn, came off a great start to take the holeshot in front of 45,000 screaming fans (see image). James led all of lap 1 until coming into the rhythm/whops with Mike Larocco and crashing. Larocco passed and went straight to the checkers. The crash was enough to put an end to James’ evening as his bike was tweaked from the crash. But the exhilaration of being out front was something that James will never forget.
We wish the best of luck to the guys as they head out to Phoenix. Chris Welsh will be making his debut at Phoenix this weekend. Be sure to check out the privateer shuttle website for more information, pics, and videos in the coming days.
