Race Recap: Stewart Remains Perfect Under the Lights at Thunder Valley

This weekend, Thunder Valley hosted the first night race in AMA Motocross history. This new idea was implemented to expand the sport into primetime. The unfamiliar night racing left the riders with concerns. The main focus of these worries was the amount of lights to be focused on the track. Riders did not want any shadows keeping them from seeing the intricacy of the turns and jumps.

AMA Motocross Lites Class

Points leader, Ryan Villopoto, jumped out to an early lead earning the holeshot in moto one.

Villopoto rode well finishing 1-1 at Thunder Valley

Villopoto would take the lead and run with it, winning moto one. Some excitement could be seen early in the race as Suzuki's Nico Izzi and Monster Energy® Kawasaki's Austin Stroupe battled for second. Stroupe eventually fell and did not finish the race. Trey Canard, who did not race last week, started outside the top-20, but charged hard the entire race to finish fifth. Ryan Dungey, second in the points standings, looked to challenge Izzi for second late in the moto. It came down to the final turn, but Dungey could not make the pass and finished third.

Izzi battled to finish second in moto one

In moto two, Josh Grant jumped out to grab the holeshot. Thunder Valley was Grant's first event of the year coming back from a concussion suffered at the Monster Energy® Supercross Finals.

The surprise of the moto came early when Dungey went down hard. This was his first DNF of the season. Villopoto needed to do some work as he started 12th. He moved up the field to catch up to Grant. The two riders had a great battle swapping positions multiple times. Villopoto eventually made the pass and won the moto. Grant finished second. Canard rode solid in moto two to finish third. Stoupe fell once again in moto two. He scored no points for the day.

Coming off of injury Grant rode well finishing 4-2

The podium featured Villopoto in first (1-1), Grant in second (4-2) and Izzi in third (2-4). In fourth was Canard (5-3) and Daniel Reardon raced to a solid fifth (7-7).

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Villopoto first (center), Grant second (left), and Izzi third (right)

AMA Motocross Class

The always quick, Mike Alessi, jumped out in moto one for the holeshot.

Points leader, James Stewart, moved quickly passing Alessi before the end of lap one. Stewart pulled away from the pack as he won the moto easily. Alessi rode comfortably finishing second. Honda rider, Andrew Short, finished third. Timmy Ferry, fourth in the points standings, started the moto in 22nd. He charged hard the entire race to finish eighth. Privateer, Sean Collier, had a solid moto finishing sixth.

Stewart remained perfect this weekend at Thunder Valley

In moto two, Alessi earned the holeshot once again.

Alessi earned both holeshots and finished 2-2

This moto, the Suzuki rider held onto the lead for three laps before Stewart made the eventual pass. Stewart cruised once again to earn the victory. Alessi held on finishing second. Davi Millsaps had a solid second moto and finished third. The main excitement in moto two could be seen between Short and Ferry battling for fourth. Ferry seemed to be Short's shadow for most of the moto. Short would hold onto the spot and finish fourth. Ferry would finish fifth. Collier had another decent moto, finishing ninth for his second top-10 finish of the day.

Collier earned two top-10 finishes at Thunder Valley (6-9)

The podium featured Stewart in first (1-1), Alessi in second (2-2), and Millsaps rounding off the podium in third (4-3). Short finished fourth (3-4) and Michael Byrne rode consistently finishing fifth (5-6).

Stewart first (center), Alessi second (left), and Millsaps in third (right)

The next stop of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship takes place this weekend at Michigan's RedBud Track and Trail. Along with a total of $10,000 up for grabs at the event, this weekend's race will be the second event of the Monster Energy®/Kawasaki Triple Crown of Motocross. Stewart and Villopoto, having already won the first event at High Point, find themselves with the opportunity to win a $25,000 bonus if they can win this weekend at RedBud and the last stop of the Triple Crown in Steel City, PA on August 31. You can be sure the huge bonus will be in the back of the rider's minds. The field is going to have to bring its A-game if they don't want to see the two warriors walk away with an extra $25K apiece this season.