By Lee Manis
BUDDS CREEK, Md. - August 22nd may just be a routine late summer Saturday for some, but for the sleepy little town of Mechanicsville this year, it means hosting the 12th round of the 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship race at Budds Creek Motocross Park.
This year's series has been full of lots of surprises and brought excitement to what might have been a bit of a dull motocross year. First with Chad Reed's last minute announcement that he would compete in the series, then we were told that defending champion James Stewart would sit this year out. Early year favorites Mike Alessi and Ryan Villopoto where both side lined with injury leaving the door wide open to crown a new motocross champion.
The weather made for a very challenging day for the competitors at Budds Creek MX Park as rain began to fall on the mid day races. The Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita/Suzuki's Chad Reed of Australia, was able to power thru the wet conditions to take his fifth overall victory of the season and capture his first AMA Pro Motocross championship in the primer 450cc Class. The Honda mounted team mates David Millsaps and Ivan Tedesco rounded out the 2nd and 3rd places respectfully for the day in the 450cc Class.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Jake Weimer, of Rupert, Idaho, grabbed the 250 Class win for his third victory of the season. Jake is also fresh off of being selected for Team USA for the Motocross De Nations in Franciacorta, Italy. Monster Energy /Pro Circuit /Kawasaki mounted Christophe Pourcel took home 2nd overall this weekend followed in 3rd by the Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki's rider Ryan Dungey
Local hero Stephen Stella from Westminster, Maryland competed in the 250cc Motocross class. Stephen's day may have not turned out exactly as he would have wished for with a 37th overall but it's worth mentioning that the Maryland native was competing with 40 of the worlds best 250cc Motocross riders. With 80 riders vying for just 40 starting spots it's no small feat just to make it to the main event.
Southern Maryland Dirt Riders Club awarded their fifth annual Southern Maryland Dirt Riders Privateer Award at the AMA Motocross National at Budds Creek on Saturday to two lucky privateers. One 250 rider and one 450 rider was selected from a pool of riders that qualified for the Budds Creek race. This marks the third year the award was given in the memory of the Maryland rider Kevin Crine #574. A plaque was awarded on the podium by the club president Steve Blinn and each rider received a thousand dollars. The money raised for the privateers is donated by club members at Southern Maryland Dirt Riders club events leading up to the Budds Creek National.