SUPERCROSS: THQ World Supercross Gelredome summary

Fonseca Wins THQ World Supercross GP at Gelredome

ARNHEM, Holland (December 13, 2003) - Honda's Ernesto Fonseca, of Canyon Lake, Calif., won his first THQ World Supercross GP at the Gelredome, leading all 20 laps in the main event. Damon Huffman, of Canyon Country, Calif., finished second and Andrew Short, of Colorado Springs, Colo., third. In the 125cc class, Belgian Steve Seronval won the main event.

Australian Jay Marmont earned the $1,500 holeshot award in the 250cc main event with Fonseca and Yamaha's Mike Brown in tow. Both Fonseca and Voss passed Marmont, who rides for KTM, to take over first and second respectively. Suzuki's Tyler Evans, of Canyon Lake Calif., rallied his way through the field to fourth place by mid-race. Evans passed Short but the two tangled shortly after in a corner, causing Evans to crash and lose valuable places.

Huffman, a 13-year veteran of the sport, passed Brown for second and gained valuable time on Fonseca.

"I told Ernesto on the starting line that if I was in second place around lap 16 or 17, he better watch out," said Huffman. "The more racing I do the better I get. These races have helped me so much, and I expect to be fast when we return to America."

Short, who will race the THQ AMA 125cc Western Regional Supercross Series in the U.S., is getting used to racing in tight situations.

"I don't like being knocked to ground, so I need to start getting tough," said Short on the incident with Evans. "I apologize to Tyler, but this is racing and that happens. I've always been Mr. Nice guy, and that is going to stop when I am on the track. Every spot you lose is very valuable, and you can't win championships if you are on the ground."

The next time Short will race in the 250cc class will be Houston. "I feel like I am way ahead of my competitors who stayed at home. I feel great on the 250cc bike, but it's the actual racing that helped me. This trip has been great."

Fonseca, who is teammates with injured three-time THQ AMA Supercross Series champion, learned a lot from doing the two international rounds.

"I was a little tight tonight," said Fonseca. "I know that when I race the first few races of a series, I am always nervous, so I am glad I have that out of my system before we start in the U.S.," said Fonseca. "These races are very important to me because I need to take my racing to the next level. Last year, I was third to Carmichael and Reed; this year, I need to be the top guy."

THQ World Supercross GP Event Results, Arnhem, Holland
1. Ernesto Fonseca, Honda
2. Andrew Short, Suzuki
3. Damon Huffman, Honda
4. Grant Langston, KTM
5. Keith Johnson, Yamaha
6. Jay Marmont, KTM
7. Tyler Evans, Suzuki
8. Heath Voss, Yamaha
9. Greg Schnell, Yamaha
10. Doug DeHaan, Honda

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