AMA Toyota MX Championship–Steel City '06

After Saturday practice was rained out at Steel City, Sunday was reduced to one round of practice for everyone. Here's the quick version of what happened during the motos…and you can see (and read) more in the Photo section. (You can also click here to jump directly there.)

Red Bull KTM's Mike Alessi holeshot the first Lites moto, but then began working his way through the pack. Makita Suzuki's Broc Hepler took over from Alessi on the first lap, and began to stretch out a huge lead over the entire pack. Yamaha of Troy's Andrew McFarlane also got by Alessi, and was running in second for much of the moto until he got gobbled up by Sobe/Samsung Mobile/No Fear/Honda's Josh Grant and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's ace, Ryan Villopoto. For a chunk of the middle of the first moto, there was a freight train of riders, including Brett Metcalfe, McFarlane, Troy Adams, Alessi, Grant and Villopoto.

MX Lites Moto One

Unfortunately, Team Honda's Andrew Short tweaked a knee and pulled off just before the halfway point. (He didn't return for the second moto.) That left a great duel between Villopoto and Grant for the runner-up spot, which Grant took possession of. Hepler was long-gone, though, and took an easy win in front of his hometown fans. Grant hung on for second, and Villopoto took the final podium spot.

MX Moto One

When the gate dropped for the first Heavyweight moto, it was Makita Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael out front, followed by Kawasaki's James Stewart. The big surprise was Rockstar Energy/Bill's Pipes/Suzuki's Ryan Mills, who grabbed (and held) third spot throughout the entire moto. James stayed close to RC for a few laps, but RC's pace proved to be too much, and he pulled out a comfortable lead. RC took the easy win, followed by Stewart and Mills.

Sobe/Samsung Mobile/No Fear/Honda's Windham grabbed fourth, and the best race on the track was for fifth and sixth between Kawasaki's Michael Byrne and Honda's Davi Millsaps, with Byrne holding onto the spot.

WMA

During intermission, the WMA ran their first moto (which was rained out along with practice on Saturday), and Sarah Whitmore took the moto win, but Jessica Patterson wrapped up her third consecutive WMA title. You can eSwyMzI=
">check here for more detailed text, or here for the photo gallery.

MX Lites Moto Two

Broc Hepler was first to the first turn in this one, and he quickly pulled another disappearing act en route to his third straight overall win. Behind him, Ryan Villopoto moved into second and comfortably defended his points lead from there. First moto runnerup, Josh Grant, moved into third, displacing Andrew McFarlane and KTM's Zach Osborne to get there. Mike Alessi finished up in fifth spot, which allowed Villopoto to extend his points lead to 29, heading into the season finale in Glen Helen next weekend.

MX Moto Two

James Stewart wheelied into the lead in moto two, and was looking good, leading a pair of laps before going down and handing the lead to Ricky Carmichael. From there, the moto had a bit of a processional feel, with big gaps between RC, James, and Kevin Windham.

By taking the overall win (along with his wins at High Point and Red Bud), RC claimed the Monster Energy Kawasaki Triple Crown, and the $30,000 bonus that went with it…all while fine-tuning his MXdN setup. He was using a setup similar to what he'll be using in England (short of the same fuel).

The series wraps up next weekend at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA, so be sure to check back here for the latest from the season finale.

WMA Moto Two

Jessica Patterson holeshot and took the moto win, followed by Sarah Whitmore, who grabbed the overall. Sarah had to be psyched about her result, especially after her race at Steel City in '05, where she went down hard.

For complete results from Steel City, c3VsdHMsMjMx
">click here.

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