Reed writes the opening chapter
By TMX Archives on 8th Dec 06
CHAD Reed took first blood in the battle for the World Supercross GP crown, and got his newly-formed, factory-backed Yamaha team off to a winning start with a strong victory over the semi-retired Ricky Carmichael and a battered and bruised James Stewart in an eventful and controversial opening championship round in Toronto last Saturday night that saw Stewart right at the centre of all the major talking points of the evening and possibly on the injury list already.
Although still a full month before the official AMA Supercross series stirs into life at Anaheim I, Toronto attracted most of the big names in the Supercross class to the gate, but just like the previous season it was the big three of Reed, Carmichael and Stewart who were on a completely different level to the rest of the field and the winner was always going to come from this trio. In the end, though, it was Reed who stayed on two wheels and rode a strong, smart race to take an important and confidence boosting victory.
A controversial night for Stewart started in practice when a coming together with Suzuki's Ivan Tedesco left the former Lites champion nursing a suspected broken hand and his team filing a complaint with the FIM concerning Stewart's riding. It continued late into the main event after the Kawasaki rider had been embroiled in a fierce battle for the win with Reed.
AMP'D MOBILE WORLD SUPERCROSS GP
Rd 1 – Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada.
SUPERCROSS: 1 Chad Reed (Yam), 2 Ricky Carmichael (Suz), 3 James Stewart (Kaw), 4 Tim Ferry (Kaw), 5 David Vuillemin (Hon), 6 Nick Wey (Hon), 7 Ryan Clark (Hon), 8 Paul Carpenter (Kaw), 9 Heath Voss (Hon), 10 Jeff Gibson (Kaw).
Series Standings: 1 Reed 25, 2 Carmichael 22, 3 Stewart 20, 4 Ferry 18, 5 Vuillemin 16, 6 Wey 15, 7 Clark 14, 8 Carpenter 13, 9 Voss 12, 10 Gibson 11.
SUPERCROSS LITES: 1 Martin Davalos (KTM), 2 Broc Tickle (Yam), 3 Zach Osborne (KTM), 4 Michael Willard (KTM), 5 Troy Adams (Suz), 6 Tyler Medaglia (Suz), 7 William Ainsworth (Kaw), 8 Robert Marshall (Kaw), 9 Benjamin Ritter (Kaw), 10 Logan Martin (Hon).
Next round: December 9, BC Place, Vancouver.
For full report, results and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, December 8, 2006