Tommy Hahn has been the surprise of the 2009 Outdoor Motocross season but it was not until Lakewood Colorado that he would finally arrive. Hahn, who has been finishing inside the top 10 all season, established himself as a front-runner by taking 3rd place overall in the 450 class, under the lights, in the high altitude outside of Denver, Colorado.
First race up in the premier class saw CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki rider Tommy Hahn jump out of the gate into a top ten position and finish lap 1 in 8th place. Vision was extremely tough during this moto due to the fact that the sun had dropped below the mountains and it was too light for the lights to be effective but to dark to see clearly. The lighting would get worse before it got better and Hahn, while running down Michael Byrne in 7th place, would misjudge his take off on the huge down hill and land off the course on a hay bale bending his shift shaft inside the transmission, hampering his shifting for the remainder of the moto. Hahn would play it smart and not take any unnecessary chances as he settled into 7th place where he would finish the moto.
Moto # 1 for the 250 riders was up next and CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki rider Kyle Cunningham would charge up the hill and into the first corner in mid-pack but able to make some quick passes to work up to 14th before the end of the first lap. Cunningham would move up as high as 10th place before a crash on lap 5 would send him back to 14th place. Cunningham would struggle in the poor lighting conditions and drop back to 16th by the end of the moto.
Moto #2 for the 450 pilots was on the line and CANIDAE rider Tommy Hahn was ready to go. The team did a great job installing a completely new motor and transmission after the damage in moto # 1. As the gate dropped, Tommy Hahn would find himself in 4th as the riders rounded the first corner. Hahn would set his sights on Michael Byrne in 3rd place and on lap 3, fly past Byrne as the top three riders pulled away from the rest of the field. Andrew Short was next in Hahn’s crosshairs as the two riders dueled it out for 7 laps before Hahn went inside Short to take 2nd place away from the factory rider. Hahn would quickly gap Short and set out for Tedesco in the lead. On lap 12, Hahn made a slight mistake as he pushed hard to close in on the front-runner Tedesco and ran off the track to avoid crashing in a tricky section. Unfortunately, this allowed Short to slip back by and Hahn would have to start over in 3rd place. With time winding down, Hahn pushed hard but would end up just behind Short at the finish line by only 2 bike-lengths, just missing 2nd place. This was the best moto finish for Tommy Hahn of his young career and combined with his 7th place in Moto 1, Hahn would earn a him a career best 3rd place overall for the day! Amazing job Tommy!
Moto #2 for the 250 riders would wrap up the day and Cunningham was set to rebound from his bad luck in the first heat. The start was a mirror image of Moto 1 for Cunningham as he finished the first circuit in 14th. Kyle would move up to 12th place by lap 4 as he pushed towards the front but a mistake on lap 5 would pound the CANIDAE rider to the ground again. Cunningham would remount but obviously beat up, he would not regain his previous speed and would settle for a 21st place finish. Not where this talented rider belongs, he will certainly bounce back for sure next week in Michigan.
Come out to watch the CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki team take on the legendary Redbud track in Buchanan, MI next Saturday July 4th as the series continues. See you there!
Jason Cobb
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