Wed 27 Feb 2008
Moto East hits the Atlanta Supercross!
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Scroll to the bottom to read Jason’s journal of his Atlanta trip!

Welcome to Atlanta! This is in the afternoon…

He got his wish.

Davi Millsaps looked tired and frustrated before his heat. Little did he know he would bag the biggest win of his career in Atlanta!

random riders ready for action

Sean Hackley appeared to have bike problems in practice.

Hepler’s and Langston’s works Yamahas looked slick

The Makita display was off the hook as usual…

So this is why so many riders are switching to Pirelli!

“Hey girls!..over here!…me, the guy with the camera! aahh…never mind.”

If you know whose Yamaha YZ490 this is, email editorial@motoeastmag.com

DV12 makes his way to the track on his factory Suzuki RMZ450

In 1978, this is all you needed to go to the races. Actually, it’s still all you need!

Toyota had an awesome display, including old helmets of RJ and Magoo done by Troy Lee
SUPERCROSS CLASS RESULTS
1 118 David D Millsaps Tallahassee, FL Honda CRF450R 20 — Honda Red Bull Racing
2 14 Kevin W Windham Centreville, MS Honda CRF450R 20 6.051 Torco Racing Fuels / Honda
3 29 Andrew T Short Smithville, TX Honda CRF450R 20 10.236 Honda Red Bull Racing
4 15 Timmy M Ferry Largo, FL Kawasaki KX450F 20 11.014 Monster Energy Kawasaki
5 25 Nathan Ramsey Menifee, CA Yamaha YZ450F 20 14.607 San Manuel Band of Mission Indians / Yamaha / Fusion Energy
6 22 Chad Reed Tampa, FL Yamaha YZ450F 20 33.91 San Manuel Band of Mission Indians / Yamaha / Fusion Energy
7 24 Charles J Summey Huntersville, NC Yamaha YZ450F 20 35.912 Joe Gibbs Racing / Yamaha
8 42 Paul P Carpenter Ithaca, NY Honda CRF450R 20 44.317 Atomic Racing / Fox / KYB / Enzo / Deluge Sports Drink / Motorex Oils / Dunlop / MDK / Twin Air / Renthal / Motomasters / Moto Options / Pump X / Ten Below Mtrspts / SDG / Hinson / Ride / Cycra / Flu Graphix / Engine Ice / Pro Clean / Lightspeed /
9 12 David Vuillemin Murrieta, CA Suzuki RM-Z450 20 51.481 Rockstar / Makita Suzuki / Bridgestone / Alpinestars / Maxima / Tag / Pro-Taper / One / Mechanix Wear / Showa / Pro Circuit / Snap-On / Twin Air / Hinson / RG3 / DID / Excel / FCC / NGK / Road Champs / Genuine Suz Access
10 37 Jason W Thomas Melrose, FL Honda CRF450R 19 — DNA Energy Drink / BTO Sports / Rick Case Honda / Fly / WMI / BelRay / FMF / Sunline / 661 / Wiseco / XBrand / Visuwals / ASMF / ICW / Dunlop / QTM / Talon / CV4 / Exceldine / Dream Traxx / MX Press / Regina / Applied / Sponsohouse / Twin Air / Ogio / Acerbis / MX ID Systems / Devol / Leatt / FLmx / Reactor Watches / Group D Manf / Pit Posse
LITES CLASS RESULTS
1 48 Trey G Canard Elk City, OK Honda CRF250R 15 — Torco Racing Fuels / Honda
2 577 Martin Davalos Cairo, GA KTM 250SXF 15 7.296 MDK KTM
3 57 Ryan Sipes Vine Grove, KY KTM 250SXF 15 9.57 MDK / KTM / Kalgard / Pro Taper / FMF
4 82 Jake Moss Big Bear Lake, CA Yamaha YZ250F 15 11.907 Yamaha Motor Corp / Toyota / Fly / FMF / North County Yamaha / FactoryEffex / Vortex / Hot Cams / Dunlop / Smith / Shoei / Lightspeed / TCX Boots / Regina / Ready / ARC / CP Pistons / Ezno / JD / Vanquish Clothing / RideMechanix Wear / ICW / Ogio / Barnett / Weapon MX / Excel / Braking
5 391 Tyler T Bowers Danville, KY Yamaha YZ250F 15 16.406 Yamaha Motor Corp / Boost Mobile / FMF / Dasa / CP / Hinson / NGK / Gutr / Met-Tec / Filtron / Yamalube / Enzo / Pivot Works / Easton Bars & Grips / Sunstar / RK / Dunlop / Braking / Ferodo / N-Style / Excel / SixSixOne / Sunline / Fly / Bell / Von Zipper / Etnies / Alpinestars / Yamahaoftroy.com
6 77 Branden L Jesseman New Brighton, PA Kawasaki KX250F 15 17.483 Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki
7 20 Joshua M Grant Riverside, CA Honda CRF250R 15 21.817 Torco Racing Fuels / Honda
8 341 Nico A Izzi Saint Clair, MI Suzuki RM-Z250 15 23.45 Rockstar / Makita Suzuki / Bridgestone / Alpinestars / Maxima / Tag / Pro-Taper / One / Mechanix Wear / Showa / Pro Circuit / Snap-On / Twin-Air / Hinson / RG3 / DID / Excel / FCC / NGK / Road Champs / Genuine Suz Access
9 36 Kyle P Chisholm Seminole, FL Kawasaki KX250F 15 25.229 Motosport / Xtreme / Kawasaki / Moose / Pro Circuit / One / Renthal / Dunlop / ASV / Alpinestar / Smith / Maxima / RK / Excel / Hinson / Twin Air / Light Speed / QTM / St Lawrence / Ogio / Talon / Mechanix Wear / VP
10 979 Ben Coisy Manosque 04100, Honda CRF250R 15 35.801 Honda Red Bull Racing
The Throttle Chronicles- Atlanta Supercross 2008
By Jason Fordney
Baltimore-Washington Airport sat in sullen early morning darkness as I rolled up for my flight to Atlanta. Four thirty a.m. on a Saturday morning is not a busy time around the airport, except for the skycaps, counter people and airport workers that maintain their tireless, timeless airport schedule.
Lugging a laptop, two cameras, and a hastily packed bag of clothes, I was off to the Atlanta Supercross. Sipping the last few drops of my early morning coffee as I meandered through the airport, I took my place at the window seat, pulled out a moto mag and settled in for the flight.
By 8 a.m. I was driving my rental car through downtown Atlanta. Picking up a Dodge Avenger that was way nicer then my truck back home I hit the gas and came upon the skyscrapers of Atlanta with a grin on my face. I knew the people in Atlanta (and the Southeast region) to be friendly folks so I thought I would roll up to the hotel room I had reserved and ask if I could jump in a little early…like 9 a.m.
I had only gotten a few hours sleep the night before due to the redeye nature of my flight (travel hint- book early morning flights on expedia.com and get great prices on flight, hotel, and rental car packages. We got ours for $323 including round trip ticket, one night in a decent hotel, and the hot Gold Avenger I was now wheeling).
Unfortunately the lady at the desk somewhat harshly rejected my suggestion of occupying the room seven hours before check-in, so I resigned myself to heading straight to the stadium and taking some photos.
Grabbing my bags I wearily began my trudge from the hotel lobby back to the parking garage when another lady called me over, said nothing, and handed me a room key. I was confused. “Come back later?” She shook her head and I was off to my room. Thanks lady. Now I could take a nap for an hour or so before I hit the race.
After checking out my camera gear, I discovered I had brought the wrong charger for the “good” camera and the unit was having some other problems. I was not shooting on the floor of the stadium anyhow so I pulled out my trusty Cybershot to try and document some of the action.
The race
People criticize Supercross as not being real moto, and they are right. The answer is Supercross is something unique, and vital for the sport. If you can’t see the value of 60.000 people showing up to cheer on the racers you might be getting a little too cynical. The excitement and hugeness of the stadium is kind of thrilling and intoxicating. (The beer is too, and there was plenty of that in evidence).
In my trips to Georgia I have become familiar with the certain “type” of Atlantan you see in droves at a Supercross. Good ole boys come to mind. Georgians are very friendly people and one thing is for sure- they are crazy for Supercross. And also Coors Light, the Rockstar Energy Girls, motorsickles, Nachos, BBQ, and hot dogs. And thousands of pretty women.
I saw some new former amateur faces in the Lites heats, such as Sean Hackley, Kyle Keylon, and Trey Canard (Trey won the Lites main event in his first attempt!)
There of course was also the Lites class favorite and current champ, Ryan Villopoto, who had a bad night in the main and crashed out of the race. Villopoto will no doubt bounce back strongly and be a contender in the championship. Also in the house was Josh Grant, Martin Davalos (3rd in the main), and Ryan Sipes (second in the main). KTM appears to be on fire with its 250 bike in Motocross Lites. New Rockstar Makita Suzuki Lites rider Nico Izzi also finished 8th in the main.
“DV12″ was also in the house for Suzuki (finishing 9th in the main). Andrew Short rode to a strong third in the main, and Torco Honda legend Kevin Windham yanked down a second place in what is shaping up to be an awesome season for K-Dub.
I was really happy to see Ricky Carmichael in the house and doing laps on a Suzuki RM250, my personal ride and one of the last remaining two bangers. Wonder what kind of message RC was sending by hitting the track on the two-stroke. I have heard him say he’s a two stroke guy, and nobody can ride one faster than the G.O.A.T. The crowd ate up both his mid-Afternoon and nightshow rides. At one point he did a few laps with Chad Reed, who didn’t get half the cheers of RC when he pulled off.
The Live Nation show was an eye popper, with the lights, giant flames, fireworks, and all the trimming of a rock concert/motocross race. It’s a fun time and Atlanta ‘08 did not fail to deliver.
The story of Davi Millsaps storybook win sent shock waves through the motocross world, even though Chad Reed had crashed out of the Supercross main on a “wall of death”- the same one that claimed Villopoto earlier. Villopoto was shaking his wrist after spending some time lying on the stadium floor after flying off his Kawasaki 250. Villy had a bad night, suffering a DNF after being nailed on the ground by the front tire of Josh Grant’s Honda.
The James Stewart-designed track was challenging and fast, with a long start in to an intense left handed sand turn. The big triple and the finish line double out of a bowl turn provided some sketchy landings and lots of bar banging.
Overall the Atlanta Supercross was a huge hit. Said to be the largest attendance on the tour, Atlanta has gained a reputation as a key east coast Supercross. If you missed it this year, don’t forget it will be back next February.
With the four-strokes still pounding in my head I made my way through heavy traffic, weaving through the streets of downtown Atlanta. The bars were hopping and I saw a few racing jerseys making their way through the throngs of people. Too tired myself to sample any nightlife, I headed to my hotel and tried to get some sleep before my 4 a.m. wakeup to fly home.
I slept through my alarm and woke up at 6 a.m., just as my flight was taking to the sky. The little sleep-in cost me some duckets, and I spent all day sleeping on a bench in the Atlanta airport waiting for another flight back to Baltimore. But it was worth it. See ya there next year!







