US Supercross Lites West Series: 6th round Anaheim, CA

[totalmotorcycle]

US Supercross Lites West Series: 6th round Anaheim, CA
FMF/KTM rider PJ Larsen had his best overall Supercross finish in only his second week as a replacement rider for the injured, Tommy Searle, with a 5th overall at Angel Stadium.

Larsen had a decent start to the day turning lap times within the top ten overall times and eventually qualifying to the night show in 11th. Larsen was placed in heat #2 for the night show along with KTM Factory Services/One Industries rider Sean Borkenhagen.

Both riders lined the gate for the start of the heat and came out pretty even around the first turn. Borkenhagen was sitting in 7th with Larsen one spot back in 8th. The two riders held their pace for the next two laps and then moved up a spot on the third lap. On the next lap current 3rd place rider Max Anstie suffered a terrible crash that caused a red flag on the race. All riders returned to the gate while the medic crew attended to the injured rider.

On the restart, Borkenhagen got a better jump coming out in 4th while Larsen's jump was equal to his first starting in 8th place. Borkenhagen held 4th for two laps and then was passed by Jeff Alessi and dropped to 5th. On the fourth lap he made a mistake that allowed the train of riders behind him to pass and he eventually finished 9th to qualify to the main. Larsen moved from his 8th place start up one position to finish 7th in the heat.

Two other KTM riders would join Larsen and Borkenhagen in the Lites Main Event. New York native Phil Nicoletti transferred from his heat and KTM privateer Hugo Dagod earned the final transfer spot in the Last Chance Qualifier.

Larsen has shown his ability to learn quickly and apply it to his racing quite quickly over the past two weeks. He showed up at the San Diego Supercross with only two days testing on a Supercross track and eventually earned a top ten finish that night. Larsen continued to impress on this night as he took off down the start straight in the Lites Main Event rounding the first turn in 5th. He held 5th position for a few laps, at which point Jake Weimer crashed ahead of him and allowed him to move into 4th place. Larsen remained in a close battle for 4th place with Blake Wharton for the next few laps until Wharton put an aggressive block pass on Larsen for the position. Larsen remained close and eventually finished the race in 5th place earning his best career finish.

"I am so happy to finish inside the top five. It just speaks volumes for the KTM bikes. I was able to jump on the bike with little preparation and come out and earn my best finish. I am very happy and can't thank the FMF/KTM Team enough for giving me this opportunity," remarked Larsen.

Also, finishing well was Nicoletti who earned an impressive 6th place finish after charging his way through the pack from a dead last start. Borkenhagen finished 12th and Dagod finished 20th.

Results
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.

1 38 Trey Canard Honda
2 20 Broc Tickle Yamaha
3 49 Wil Hahn Honda
4 21 Blake Wharton Honda
5 44 PJ Larsen KTM
6 175 Phillip Nicoletti KTM
7 585 Travis Baker Yamaha
8 12 Jake Weimer Kawasaki
9 52 Antonio Balbi Kawasaki
10 801 Jeff Alessi Yamaha


Standings
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT. POINTS

1 12 Jake Weimer Kawasaki 135
2 38 Trey Canard Honda 121
3 49 Wil Hahn Honda 114
4 20 Broc Tickle Yamaha 100
5 21 Blake Wharton Honda 89
6 200 Cole Seely Honda 76
7 48 Max Anstie Yamaha 63
8 100 Joshua Hansen Kawasaki 60
9 801 Jeff Alessi Yamaha 56
10 175 Phillip Nicoletti KTM 56
21 19 Tommy Searle KTM 27


Next Event: April 24, 2010 - Seattle Supercross