Windham makes long awaited return to the top of the podium at Steel City.
Edited copy courtesy of Brandon Short from Alli Sports Thousands of the most avid East Coast motocross fans lined the fences to watch longtime veteran and fan favorite Kevin Windham take the overall win in the 450 Class for Honda Red Bull Racing. After taking a Supercross-only approach to his career, Windham returned to the Outdoor Nationals at Round 7 when he replaced the injured Davi Millsaps. Despite a pair of special appearances last season, the 17-year veteran has not competed in the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship on a regular basis since 2007, capturing his last series victory at Unadilla. On Saturday, he fended off the challenges of GEICO Powersports Honda's Brett Metcalfe to take the Moto 1 win and followed it up with a solid runner-up finish in Moto 2 behind Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey to secure the overall.
"I hurt right now," said Windham. "It's awesome though. I didn't know what to expect coming into this weekend but it's great to get back on top. Each time I'm able to get (a win) it makes it that much more special. I really don't know if I'm ever going to have this opportunity again." Photo courtesy of Tom Hobbs, Honda Europe.
Metcalfe's second and third-place moto scores placed him second overall while Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGR's Justin Brayton tied a career-best finish in third (5-4). Photo courtesy of Tom Hobbs, Honda Europe. Dungey, who claimed the premier class title last weekend as a rookie, saw his impressive nine-race winning streak come to an end after experiencing misfortune in the opening moto and posting a DNF. However, he rebounded in Moto 2 with a convincing win to finish sixth overall (40-1).
FMF Steel City National,Round 11 of 12
450 Class Championship Standings
Lites Class: With the 250 Class championship coming down to the wire, GEICO Powersports Honda's Trey Canard captured his fifth overall victory in the last six races. After a tough outing last weekend ended his four-race winning streak, Canard bounced back in dominant fashion at Steel City. With strong starts in both motos, he worked his way into the lead and withstood extensive pressure from championship rival Christophe Pourcel in each moto to sweep the day and close in on the championship lead. "Since RedBud everything has just gone really well for me," said Canard. "I just need to keep riding to the best of my ability. To look into all the 'ifs' and 'maybes' for next weekend and the championship doesn't do anything to help me so I'm just going to approach it just like I have every other race." Pourcel posted a runner-up finish aboard his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki (2-2) while his teammate and winner from last week Tyla Rattray rounded out the podium in third (3-4). Pourcel's advantage over Canard sits at just seven points heading into the season finale.
Canard holds the best average finish in the class at 4.8 and has also led the most laps with 106. Photo courtesy of Tom Hobbs, Honda Europe.
250 Class (Moto Finish)
250 Class Championship Standings
Women's: The MotorcycleUSA.com Women's Motocross Championship continued its championship with Round 7 of the eight-race season. Current series points leader Jessica Patterson captured her sixth overall win for DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha (2-1) while Honda Red Bull Racing's Ashley Fiolek finished second (1-2) with MotoConcepts Yamaha's Mariana Balbi in third (3-4). The 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship concludes next weekend with the 12th and final round of the season and the inaugural Pala Motocross National from Pala Raceway in Pala, Calif., on Saturday, September 11.
WMX Class (Moto Finish)
WMX Class Championship Standings (After 7 of 8 Rounds)
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