Internet rumors that Chad Reed would join the last national of 2007 at Glen Helen were bogus, but Mike Brown did make an appearance and was 5th fastest Saturday.
The best times Saturday were posted by Ferry in MX, and Villopoto in Lites. The MX top ten were:
Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 2:33.207
Grant Langston, Clermont, Fla., Yamaha, 2:33.448
Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Wash., Yamaha, 2:34.646
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 2:34.975
Mike Brown, Johnson City, Tenn., Honda, 2:35.816
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 2:36.211
Kevin Rookstool, Klamath Falls, Ore., Honda, 2:36.418
Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 2:36.481
Michael Lapaglia Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 2:36.955
Cale Wallace, Walnut, Calif., Honda, 2:36.960
With the MX title chase so close, it never hurts to have as many names as possible on the track if you can. Yamaha's strategy to put Josh Hill in MX paid off big last weekend when Hill passed Short in moto 2, knocking him back 2 points to benefit Langston. And to make it worse, he rode the last few laps ahead of Short "mooning" him, since his gear wasn't staying on!
Tedesco crashed out of the first practice and will miss tomorrow, so that's it for his time at Suzuki.
The Lites top ten:
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 2:34.450
Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Kawasaki, 2:35.382
Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 2:35.459
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 2:36.349
Ben Townley, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 2:36.658
Jake Moss, Corona, Calif., Yamaha, 2:36.948
Trey Canard, Elk City, Okla., Honda, 2:37.096
Broc Hepler, Kittanning, Pa., Yamaha, 2:37.276
Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 2:37.335
Jake Weimer, Rupert, Id., Honda, 2:37.980
Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 2:17.732
Villopoto is going into the last round with the points advantage over Townley, but those two are so far ahead, no one else has a chance even if both stayed home. Villopoto has put together his second motos in the latter half of the season and made less mistakes.
Some other buzz:
-Millsaps was at Motobowl and his inner ear problem is cleared up, but he's not racing yet.
-Stewart's knee is much better than expected, and his recovery time is more like a month, instead of 4-6 months. A lot of people were assuming his injury was an ACL, but it doesn't look like that was the case. He might even make the US Open but they are not pushing him.
-Kyle Lewis is retiring after this season, so Glen Helen is his last pro national.
-Langston made the switch to MSR gear and Bell Helmets. This must be his season to change everything. A couple weeks ago he signed on with Monster Energy too.
