KTM report – US Supercross Lites West Series: 6th round San Diego, CA

Posted by Ray | 17 February 2009 | Comment

The Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM Factory West Lites Supercross Team had another great weekend with both team riders scoring top ten finishes at the sixth round of the AMA Supercross West Lites Championship Series at Qualcomm Stadium.

The night started off well for team rider Justin Brayton as he lined up for heat number one and managed to get a 5th place start around the first turn. In the quick six lap sprint he passed his way up to 3rd to qualify for the main. His teammate Ryan Sipes lined up for heat number two, where he started out 7th on the first lap and was able to move up quickly to the 4th place position easily transferring to the main. KTM support rider, Michael Sleeter, qualified from the LCQ to earn the final transfer spot in the main event.

The start meant everything in the main event given the track was very fast paced and the top leaders could pull away from the pack very easily if given a decent start. Unfortunately, Sleeter and Brayton were two of the riders that had to work even harder for a top position once they rounded the first turn in 20th and 16th respectively. Sipes had the best start of the KTM riders with a 7th place spot after the first lap.

Within the first five laps, Sipes had moved his way into 5th place where he began to pull a gap on the riders behind him. Meanwhile, Brayton was charging as hard as he could practically sprinting past the bottom half of the field to work his way into the top ten. By the fifth lap he had done just that and from then on he began to pick off one rider each lap until the tenth lap. Once he had secured 7th place he finally had some time to throw down solid lap times as he found himself all alone with the 6th place rider, Chris Blose, about a quarter of a lap ahead of him. On the final lap of the race, Brayton caught and passed Blose to finish his incredible charge through the pack in 6th place. Sipes raced a smooth and consistent race and earned his first top five finish of the season when he crossed the checkered flag in 5th.