Anaheim III , Carmichael wins again and Tedesco earns his first podium! Reed rode outstanding and the Progressive Direct holeshot king, Kyle Lewis, took home another check. And James, well, it looks as if he was up to his old tricks –crash and burn. The Lites class gave us great action with Langston leading the race after passing Alessi. No matter what the predictions are or how smooth practice goes, anything can happen in the “night show.” With another sold out crowd, the fans got another great night of racing excitement.
For me, the week started on Wednesday. I traveled to Southern California early for the Big Air Kids Fair at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital. This is an event where the giving spirit of the motocross and freestyle industry shines and I was very happy to lend my time to help out. This events main focus is to bring much needed smiles to children enduring serious medical conditions that many of us would find hard to bare. These are the bravest children I’ve ever met and I felt privileged to have met them and their families. A big ‘hats off’ to Steve Bauer for organizing this event. The big show started off in the parking lot where many of the children and their families gathered. This was one totally excited audience! Freestyle riders Jeff Tilton, Tommy Clowers, and Ronnie Renner put on an awesome, high flying, freestyle show. The freestyle action brought huge smiles to their faces. The children who could not come out of the hospital flooded the windows to watch the show. After the big show that made everyone gasp with excitement and amazement, we took a tour of the hospital to visit all of the children. This was the part that I felt a bit nervous about but Renner really helped to cheer up the moment. I quickly felt at ease and knew my smile and kind words came before any nervous feeling I had. We broke up into two groups: myself, Ronnie Renner, Mike Alessi, and Andrew Short in one; and Erin Bates, Jeff Emig, Jeff Tilton, and Tommy Clowers in the other. We made our way through the hospital. Thanks to all the wonderful industry donations, we had tons of swag to give to the children. It was heart filling to see the children’s faces light up and to be able to sit and talk with them. Most were timid at first, but once we started talking they didn’t want us to leave. They truly enjoyed our company, smiles, and the great Supercross and Freestyle gifts. I was very happy to be apart of this wonderful event put on by Steve Bauer.
With Anaheim III in only a few days, I took some time to visit family friends in Riverside where I assisted my little 2 year old buddy with some shovel work making jumps in his backyard. This is something I’m pretty good at. I had much experience as a youngster. In my neighborhood any empty lot was fair game to be turned into a track. Haha! It was nice to be able to visit and hang out with the Vogel family.
Saturday, I was more than ready to start the day at the stadium. With a sold out crowd expected, the pits were predictably packed with fans. I signed autographs at the merchandise booth and met tons of fans who I talked race talk with. I also got to meet a new addition to the Stewart family, a little pot belly pig. It was adorable! Before I hit the pits I spent some time in the tower with Erv Braun watching practice. The riders lap times were not only fast, but very close. One thing that stood out was that this is the only track with a sand section. It might have been somewhat of a challenge for the riders to get used to but most rode through with ease creating some pretty good roosts.
From my podium perspective this was a race that had mixed reviews. We saw yet another excellent race, but did not get to see that Stewart, Carmichael battle we all buzz about. James’s first fall after the start set the tone for his rocky race. Ask MC who got a taste of Stewart and gave a very clear hand gesture to prove it. Ha! Tedesco proved himself and held a strong race that led him to the podium. And Kyle Lewis, a long time veteran of Supercross, pulled off another Progressive Direct holeshot.
In the Lites class we got another holeshot from Alessi, who took home the third place trophy. Short took a well earned second place after his pass on Alessi. Langston pulled ahead of the pack to have a smooth ride to the finish where he found himself on the podium for the second time this year. Ramsey had a great race in San Francisco and a good start at A3, but didn’t end up making it near the podium after a spill in the rhythm section.
The door has closed on the Anaheim ’s and next week we are headed to San Diego , then off to the east. I’m very excited to see if San Diego brings Reed all he needs to take the win as he has the past 3 years at San Diego . Any predictions?
See you at the races!
Brittney
Miss Supercross
missupercross@yahoo.com
