Southwick: Kawasaki race notes

Monster Energy Kawasaki Sweeps Southwick

Monster Energy Kawasaki swept the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship event at Motocross 338 in Southwick, Mass. as Monster Energy Kawasaki's James Stewart and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto both went 1-1 for the overall wins. There was a Kawasaki party on the podium as Monster Energy Kawasaki's Timmy Ferry went 4-4 and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Brett Metcalfe went 2-3, both for third overall. Motosport Xtreme Kawasaki's Kyle Chisholm finished with his best result of the year as he went 5-5 for fourth overall, just missing out on the podium.

Perfection Coming
With two more moto wins, Stewart now has won all 22 motos run this season. As the series heads to its finale at Steel City, he is looking to score a perfect season of 24 moto wins and 12 overall wins. Today the track was the roughest he has ridden this year, but the sand didn't seem to slow the 22-year-old one bit.

"It was tough out there today." said Stewart. "This is a man's track and it rode like that. It was really rough but I was able to ride my own race and get another win. I had a little trouble with some lappers out there, but my bike was good and I could take some different lines and still be fast."

Still Winning
Villopoto is looking to wrap up his AMA Motocross Lites career by winning the last two overalls of the season. He is halfway to his goal after going 1-1 at Southwick, a track he hadn't won on before Sunday.

"It feels good," said Villopoto. "Even though I wrapped up the title, I still want to get as many overall wins as I can. The track was really rough today but I think that is good. It seems to separate the more conditioned riders when it's rough like this."

Almost Again
During the last two events, Villopoto has found trouble in the second moto causing him to finish second overall. It almost happened again, but as they say the third time is the charm. Near the end of the second moto, Villopoto had built a good cushion over second place, but fell in a corner and had to scramble to get back on his bike. Luck was on his side as the bike was still running and he was able to get going again and maintain a four second lead over second place.

"I went down in the second moto," said Villopoto. "It was a little scary because that has happened the last couple of weeks. Luckily the bike was still running and I just had to get it turned around. I had a pretty big lead so it didn't hurt me too bad."

Podium Finish
Metcalfe continues to have a great close to the season, earning another podium finish. The Australian rider had a tremendous first moto and overcame a bad start in the second moto to earn a spot on the podium.

"It was a good day," said Metcalfe. "Finishing 2-3 feels good. I got a great start in the first moto and I just went along with it. I held off (Ryan) Dungey for second, he was attacking pretty hard. In the second moto I just didn't get the start that I needed. It was difficult to pass, but I made it up to third and I'm happy with the finish."

Back on the Box
Ferry rode two solid motos to finish 4-4 and earn third overall. On the difficult track, Red Dog's experience paid off as he was able to find the fast way around the track to earn a podium finish.

"I'm pretty excited" said Ferry. "I didn't ride as well as I wanted to today, but I got a trophy and made some points on Andrew (Short) so I can't complain. The track was pretty brutal today."

Xtreme Fourth
Chisholm earned his best finish of the year going 5-5 for fourth overall. The Motosport Xtreme Kawasaki rider has put together a solid season and currently sits tenth in the series' standings.

Staying in the Moment
Stewart is shooting for a perfect season, but when the green flag flew at the first race in Glen Helen his goal for the season was to win the championship. With the title locked up now he can set his sights on the elusive perfect season, even if it will bring some nerves to the starting gate.

"A perfect season hasn't been my goal," said Stewart. "But if I win the first moto next week I know it will be on my mind. I may be a little more nervous on the starting gate, but I think everything will work out."

Championship Standing
With just one race remaining, Ferry is second in the championship standings with an eight point edge over third. With his podium, Ferry earned two valuable points over his competition and is looking to have a good ride at Steel City to hold on to the runner-up spot.

"I'm not where I want to be, I would rather have a bigger lead," said Ferry. "I did salvage some points so I just need to keep riding hard and make sure I get second in the championship."

Moving Target
The Southwick event has always been known as a sand event, and even though that hasn't changed, the track is developing into a harder packed surface.

"The track has changed over the years, said Ferry. "It's not as sandy as it used to be. It has more rocks and a harder base. I ran a sand tire the first moto and an intermediate in the second. I don't know which one was better."

Hanging the Plate
Villopoto kept a Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki tradition by hanging his 2008 AMA Motocross Lites number one on the team's race transporter. The entrance to the truck is adorned with all the champion's plates the team has earned, including three others won by Villopoto.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie
Metcalfe has been named to the Australian Motocross of Nations team making it four Kawasaki riders representing their countries at the event. Metcalfe will ride the MX2 class and compete against his teammate Villopoto.

"I'm excited to go there," said Metcalfe. "It's the biggest motocross race in the world and I'm going with a good team. It's going to be a fun time over there."

-credit: kawasaki.usa