Motocross 338, deep in the heart of "downtown" Southwick, Massachusetts has a long history of brutal weather, and gnarly track conditions, this week was no exception. While not quite as hot or humid as usual, it was still plenty warm in this little nook of extreme southern Massachusetts, and the track - which at one point was probably a lot like beach sand, but is now more silt-like in consistency - lived up to its reputation. Regardless, James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto still easily (very easily, in fact) won each of their motos as the series heads into the finale at Steel City next weekend.

Motocross Class

It wasn't far into the first turn before James Stewart put everyone in his rearview mirror, and fled the scene. After superman checked out, it was up to the rest of the pack to sort out the remaining positions on the podium.

In an interesting twist, Motocross GP competitor and factory Honda rider Marc de Reuver came over from his home in Lommel, Belgium to give U.S. racing a go thanks to a break in his busy GP schedule. De Reuver, known as a sand master - or perhaps THE sand master now that Stefan Everts is retired - came to Southwick with big expectations. He predicted a podium visit before he even got to the track and, after witnessing his performance in practice on Saturday and Sunday, few questioned his prediction. The personable Dutchman dropped the hammer for a couple of hot laps in his sessions, and ended up sitting pretty with the 2nd fastest times going into the first moto.

A horrible jump off the gate and first turn position left him with his work cut out, as he sliced and diced his way from 28th to 3rd by roughly the halfway point. In doing so, he managed to pass every U.S. factory rider except Andrew Short and Stewart, but once he made it into 3rd Short was just fast enough to keep a nice gap to end the moto in 2nd. Moto two was quite different, though, as DeReuver was a non-factor after a few laps and admittedly just ran out of steam after falling once, and pulled out of the moto.

From the other side of the globe Kiwi privateer sensation Cody Cooper took his Suzuki City RMZ450 into 2nd behind another Stewart holeshot and managed to hold onto the position for the duration, which meant a 2nd overall ahead of Stewart's teammate Timmy Ferry who'd chugged along for solid 4-4 and 3rd overall. Living Legend John Dowd came out of moto-retirement to post an impressive 9-5 for 6th overall.

Motocross Results

Top 20 Overall

1) James Stewart (Kaw) 1-1
2) Cody Cooper (Suz) 7-2
3) Tim Ferry (Kaw) 4-4
4) Andrew Short (Hon) 2-9
5) Sean Hamblin (Yam) 6-6
6) John Dowd (Suz) 9-5
7) Jeff Alessi (Hon) 8-8
8) Michael Byrne (Suz) 11-7
9) Josh Hill (Yam) 36-3
10) Marc DeReuver (Hon) 3-33
11) Nick Wey (KTM) 14-10
12) Ivan Tedesco (Hon) 13-13
13) Matt Goerke (KTM) 5-30
14) Jason Thomas (Hon) 20-11
15) Broc Hepler (Yam) 12-19
16) Antonio Balbi (Hon) 10-34
17) Michael Willard (Yam) 18-14
18) Chad Charbonneau (Kaw) 29-12
19) Ryan Clark (Hon) 22-15
20) Matt Boni (Hon) 15-36

Motocross Points Standings after 11 of 12 Rounds

1) James Stewart (550/11 wins)
2) Tim Ferry (370)
3) Andrew Short (362)
4) Michael Byrne (341)
5) Cody Cooper (266)
6) Nick Wey (246)
7) Jeff Alessi (231)
8) Mike Alessi (221)
9) Josh Hill (208)
10) Davi Millsaps (203)

Motocross Lites Class

Besides a few remarkable instances in each Lites moto, it was business as usual for 3-time and defending champion Ryan Villopoto, as he smoked the field - no doubt as a bit of redemption for losing the last two overalls to Ryan Dungey. Despite going 3-2, Dungey was never a threat for the win this weekend, as Villopoto simply was not to be beaten, regardless of what his practice laptimes may have implied. One of the remarkable instances that we'd mentioned occurred in moto one, when Geico Powersports' freshman Blake Wharton ripped a beautiful holeshot and really put the hammer down to string out the usual front-runners of Metcalfe, Dungey and Villopoto in tow behind him. It took several laps before RV1 made his way around the lot of them (and once out front, was gone), but it was several more before Metcalfe and then Dungey got past, and it was quite an impressive ride by the rookie at one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. Moto two was significantly less interesting, with a Villopoto runaway up front, Dungey in second for the entire moto and Metcalfe again making his way up to 3rd. Great rides were also put in by MDK/KTM's inconsistent fast guy Ryan Sipes putting it up in the front group and staying there until the end, finally coming across in 4th just behind Metcalfe. Also of note was Nico Izzi starting up front and fading back, and Sipes' rookie teammate Michael Hall running in the top 5 for a few laps before a fall and broken bike put him out. Visiting Canadian fast-guy Jeremy Medaglia got a nice gig to ride Jason Lawrence's vacant YZ250F and at times was looking great, but unfortunately was black-flagged due to receiving outside assistance when his mechanic re-started his bike for him after a fall. Motoworld Racing's Kyle Chisholm put his decades of sand riding experience to good use by earning his best-ever National finish with a remarkable 5-5 for 4th overall and, hopefully, a wake-up call for teams looking for the fastest guy to lose his ride since Chad Reed. Jake Weimer's reasonable consistency earned him the final top 5 overall spot via 6-9 finishes.

Motocross Lites Results

Top 20 Overall

1) Ryan Villopoto (Kaw) 1-1
2) Ryan Dungey (Suz) 3-2
3) Brett Metcalfe (Kaw) 2-3
4) Kyle Chisholm (Kaw) 5-5
5) Jake Weimer (Hon) 6-9
6) Dan Reardon (Hon) 8-8
7) Nico Izzi (Suz) 11-7
8) Matt Lemoine (Yam) 7-12
9) Ryan Sipes (KTM) 38-4
10) Blake Wharton (Hon) 4-28
11) Kyle Cunningham (Kaw) 19-6
12) Broc Tickle (Yam) 14-11
13) Phil Nicoletti (Kaw) 12-15
14) Steven Clarke (Suz) 9-32
15) Jake Moss (Yam) 23-10
16) Bobby Kiniry (Hon) 10-26
17) Wil Hahn (Yam) 18-14
18) Scott Champion (Hon) 29-13
19) Justin Brayton (KTM) 13-22
20) Jeremy Medaglia (Yam) 15-38

Motocross Lites Points Standings after 11 of 12 Rounds

1) Ryan Villopoto (535, 8 wins)
2) Ryan Dungey (418, 2 wins)
3) Brett Metcalfe (347)
4) Jake Weimer (286)
5) Nico Izzi (254)
6) Ryan Sipes (210)
7) Kyle Cunningham (191)
8) Trey Canard (173)
9) Josh Grant (173)
10) Kyle Chisholm (170)

 Courtesy of MotoCross.com