May 5, 2008

Reed 2008 champion with Las Vegas victory

Yamaha Racing

Chad Reed is the new 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross /FIM World Championship number one after registering his ninth victory of the season in front of more than 39,000 spectators at the Sam Boyd stadium in Las Vegas last weekend. The Australian, still recovering from a broken shoulder blade, went into the final round of seventeen with a ten point lead over main rival Kevin Windham but blitzed the field once more aboard his YZ450F to clinch his second crown in the class (the other obtained in 2004).

Reed obtained his 13th podium of the season after an electric start that saw him pull through from outside the top five on the first lap to pass Windham and motor to the chequered flag by over six seconds. The track inside the Nevada venue was one of the longest and trickiest of the season but Reed coped with the pressure of seeing Windham take victory in the two previous races to produce a vintage and deserving performance when it counted.

"I didn't really think about winning until I saw that Kevin [Windham] wasn't really riding away," he commented. "I didn't know what he was doing, or what his gameplan was, but I felt really confident from the Heat race that I had a lot more speed than him. It seemed like any time, I could just pull up right alongside of him, and I was stronger in the whoops. Then we made some changes to the bike to make it easier on me, and I just came out in the main event and knew I could ride a fast pace if I had to."

"I'm a lot better now, but I still had to be careful, and it's the experience," he said regarding his fractured shoulder. "I've been there before, unfortunately. I broke my scapula before, and I knew that I needed to get through those first two weekends, and then I'd be a lot stronger."

"Coming into the season, I knew I could be strong, and I knew that it was a race between James Stewart and I, and Kevin, but once James went out, the season got really tough," Reed added concerning his 2008 campaign. "I think I lost focus. Winning became really easy. I felt like I was on a roll, and no one was going to beat me. I just got too content. It was just becoming kind of easy, and I made mistakes."

"Next year is a long way away, and there's a lot of stuff that needs to happen between now and then. I want to put my head down and just enjoy the experience. It's been a rough season, and there have been a lot of ups and downs. I just want to thank everybody."

The 25 year old ends a comprehensive and record-breaking - but also difficult - season with a thirteen point gap over Windham. Josh Hill was fifth and Nathan Ramsey finished with seventh.

Thanks to Jason Lawrence's title in the West Coast Lites division Yamaha have claimed championships in two of the three supercross classes in 2008.

The AMA Motocross championship - in which Yamaha and the YZ450F are defending champions - begins at Glen Helen on May 25th.

Circuit Length: n/a
Crowd: 39,227
Weather: Dry

2008 AMA-SX Las Vegas, NV 04/05/2008
Race 1 - 20 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Chad Reed Yamaha AUS 23'18.500
2 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0'6.629
3 Andrew Short Honda USA 0'10.544
4 Josh Hill Yamaha USA 0'20.546
5 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'24.700
6 Nicholas Wey KTM USA 0'27.700
7 Charles Summey Yamaha USA 0'35.916
8 Travis Preston Kawasaki USA 0'46.244
9 Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 0'65.687
10 David Vuillemin Suzuki FRA 0'70.010
11 Heath Voss Honda USA -1 Laps
12 Paul Carpenter Honda USA -1 Laps
13 Jason Thomas Honda USA -1 Laps
14 Kelly Smith Kawasaki USA -1 Laps
15 Ryan Clark Honda USA -1 Laps

Rider Standings 03/05/2008

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Chad Reed Yamaha AUS 365
2. Kevin Windham Honda USA 352
3. Andrew Short Honda USA 281
4. David D Millsaps Honda USA 278
5. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 228
6. Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 217
7. Nathan Ramsey Yamaha USA 173
8. David Vuillemin Suzuki FRA 169
9. Nicholas Wey KTM USA 159
10. Charles Summey Yamaha USA 144
11. Paul Carpenter Honda USA 144
12. Heath Voss Honda USA 130
13. Travis Preston Kawasaki USA 109
14. Jason Thomas Honda USA 100
15. Eric Sorby Honda USA 84
26. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 38
41. Broc Hepler Yamaha USA 3