AMA Supercross Wraps up in Jacksonville Florida

When the AMA Monster Energy Supercross Series made its second visit to the state of Florida it was not just another race, it was history. Why you may ask? Because this was the first time the city of Jacksonville has hosted an AMA Supercross Event and boy did they make a great debut. The track was in mint condition, the fans were great and the racing was even better. This was the final round of the East Coast Lites Series and the #74 of Branden Jesseman was looking to go out with a bang.

Qualifying in 4th for his Heat Race Jesseman was looking primed to put his CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki up front in Heat Race #1. After a bad start the #74 was on the outside of the top-9 looking in. Midway through Heat #1 Jesseman was battling bar-to-bar trying to get into the top-9 when the #981 of Austin Stroupe ran into his back tire causing Jesseman to go down. Jesseman was able to regroup and make a hard charge at the ninth spot but it too little too late for the #74 as he found himself outside the top-9 and heading to the LCQ.

In the LCQ Jesseman was able to put his Heat Race behind him and jump out to a great start. He quickly found himself up front and never looked back, leading his CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki to an easy win in the LCQ.

Jesseman faced a tough challenge for the start of the Main Event seeing as the #74 would have the second to last gate pick and found himself placed way on the outside. When the gate dropped for the Main Event Jesseman quickly found himself pushed to the outside and buried deep in the pack. After the third lap Jesseman was still buried mid-pack and fighting his way to the front. A few laps later Jesseman had fought his way into the top-10 and was steadily gaining momentum. As the checkered flagged waved in the wind Jesseman found his #74 crossing the line in 8th place. While he didn't end the series how he wanted too, he proved he could fight his way through the pack and into a top-ten position. Jesseman ended the series one point behind rookie Blake Wharton for fifth place, (Jesseman finished in sixth place). While the East Coast Series has ended watch out for Jesseman when the Supercross Series heads to Las Vegas for the East/West Shootout.

Coming off a DNF in Toronto in the #48 of Tommy Hahn was looking to finally put it all together as the AMA Monster Energy Supercross Series returned to the states. After failing to qualify in his Heat Race Hahn was staring down the barrel of the LCQ. But instead of letting the past affect him the #48 pushed as hard as ever and pushed his CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki to a second place finish in the LCQ. Having a similar gate pick to the CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki Lites rider Branden Jesseman, Hahn knew he was going to have to come from the middle of the pack if he was going to put his #48 in a top-ten position.

As the gated dropped for the Main Event, Hahn found himself pushed way to the outside and buried deep in the pack. But Hahn would push his #48 to his best ride of the year as he found himself inside the top-ten after lap 8. Instead of being satisfied with his first top-ten of the year Hahn would battle his way up to the 7th position as the checkered flag dropped. This was the best finish of the year for Hahn and after a season of injuries and bad luck the #48 of Tommy Hahn is looking like he has finally put it all together.

Jacksonville marked the end of the season for the East Coast Lites series, but don't worry Supercross fans, the West Coast Lites Series returns in two weeks when the series heads out west to Seattle. And look for the CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki West Coast Lites Team of P.J. Larsen and Kyle Cunningham to be as strong as ever after having six weeks off to work out any adjustments.

A quick injury update for the CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki Lites Team. Hunter Hewitt is still rehabbing his broken femur and hoping to return for the outdoor season in May.

Check back in two weeks for the Seattle Race Report.

Track Conquers All Racers at Daytona

Daytona has always been know for its rough tracks and unique format. Instead of the usual layout on the stadium floor, Daytona is laid out in the grass on the infield of the “tri-oval” on the front stretch of the Speedway. Because of the extra room and toughness of the track, lap times are much longer than that of a normal Stadium race. This year’s track caused problems for every rider at every level, which made for some amazing racing. 

In the Lites qualifying Heat # 2, Jesseman would have a rough go, as he would charge into the first turn at the front of the pack only to be hit from behind sending him to the ground with his handlebar stuck in the rear wheel of another bike. By the time they got untangled, he was over a 1/2 a lap down. He charged up to 13th by the end sending him to CANIDAE “Lucky Dog” Last Chance Qualifier. 

Heat Race # 2 for the 450 riders would feature CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki rider Tommy Hahn. Off the gate, Hahn would have a good start but be forced to the outside of turn one where he made contact with another rider. Hahn’s bike would become entangled with the other rider and ripped out from underneath Hahn and drug down the track as Hahn hit the ground hard. Hahn would rush to remount his bike but would find himself in last place. Never one to quit, Hahn put on a charge that was impressive to say the least. He would work his way past more than half the field and finish in 9th place, which was good enough for a transfer position for the Main Event. 

 

CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods sponsors the "Lucky Dog" L.C.Q., which is the final opportunity for all remaining riders to make it into the "Big Show.” CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki’s own Branden Jesseman would win the short 4 lap race to transfer into the Main Event along with Broc Tickle in the Lites class and Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short would be the final two 450 “Lucky Dog” riders to move on. 

In the Lites Main Event, Jesseman looked great off the start as he secured a top 10 start and stayed clear of the chaos to move up through the pack. As Jesseman flew through the air on the backside of the long track, Josh Lichtle would loose his front end and crash hard leaving Jesseman nowhere to land. Jesseman would experience a hard impact as he slammed into the downed rider’s bike as he hit the ground hard. Branden would remount and finish lap 1 in 17th place and would spend the rest of the race trying feverishly to make it to the front. By lap six he had moved to 14th but hit the ground again when was taken out by a block pass from the rider he was overtaking. Branden would rally to finish a respectable 13th place on this tremendous track. 

In the Supercross class, CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki rider Tommy Hahn got a great start as he avoided trouble in a huge first turn crash that collected some of the sports biggest names. Hahn would find himself in 3rd place for the first five laps as he rode exceptionally well up front. As the laps wore on, the track would deteriorate rapidly causing the riders to fatigue and struggle as riders jockeyed for position. At the finish line, it was Hahn in 10th after a long hard fought day.

Next week, the team moves to the Superdome in New Orleans for round 11 of the 18-race season. It should be exciting so check it out!

Tommy Hahn photo courtesy: cudbyphoto.com

Jason Cobb