US Supercross Lites West Series: 2nd round Phoenix, AZ

It wasn't just the attendance and temperature that was better than the muddy and cold opener at Anaheim, the racing was too.

MDK KTM Lites riders, Justin Brayton and Billy Laninovich, were eager for the day to start. Brayton wanted to show the audience that he could maneuver his KTM to the front once again and Laninovich wanted to show the crowd that he too was a front runner after a spill of bad luck left him out of the main event the week prior.
 
Both riders suited up for Heat #2. As the gate dropped Laninovich jumped out into the top three while Brayton wasn't as fortunate and ended up mid-pack around turn one. Laninovich was able to hang on to third when the checkers flew earning himself a good gate spot for the main event. Brayton charged hard and worked his way through the pack passing for the last qualifying position on the final lap.
 
Soon the lights got brighter and the crowd screamed as the Lites main event was about to get underway. Brayton and Laninovich took their spots on the grid and waited in anticipation of the gate drop. Joining them on the gate was All American KTM rider Brad Graham on the #240 250SX-F lining up for his first main event of the year. When the gate dropped, Brayton got a great jump and came around the first turn in 5th while his teammate wasn't too far behind in 10th. The crowd stood on their feet the first ten laps as the top ten riders remained within milliseconds of each other. The front running order changed repeatedly from lap to lap as Lites riders diced back and forth. By lap ten Brayton was hanging on to 6th while his teammate was in 10th. The lead pack continued to speed around the track remaining close each lap. With only a couple laps to go Brayton made a mistake when he tipped over in the rhythm section after the first turn letting one rider go past him. He regained composure and was able to catch back up to sixth when the checkered flag dropped. His teammate Laninovich finished 10th.
 
"I'm glad to see Justin (Brayton) running up front again. His speed is there. The top ten riders are so close. Justin was closing in on the pack all night and I know next weekend he will be up front again," stated MDK KTM Lites Team Manager Danny Paladino. Also content with Laninovich's performance, Paladino continued, "Billy made a big improvement from last week's race to tonight's performance constantly showing his speed as he stayed with the lead pack. The whole MDK KTM crew is great, every member of the team is giving his all and it shows."
 
Results
POS.  RIDER  MANUFACT.  NAT.
   
1  30 Jake Weimer  Honda  United States
2  28 Ryan Dungey  Suzuki  United States
3  123 Brett Metcalfe  Kawasaki  United States
4  60 Broc Hepler  Yamaha  United States
5  338 Jason Lawrence  Yamaha  United States
6  114 Justin Brayton  KTM  United States
10  132 Billy Laninovich  KTM  United States

 
Standings
POS.  RIDER  MANUFACT.  NAT.  POINTS
    
1  28 Ryan Dungey  Suzuki  United States  47
2  338 Jason Lawrence  Yamaha  United States  38
3  114 Justin Brayton  KTM  United States  35
4  122 Daniel Reardon  Honda  United States  31
5  60 Broc Hepler  Yamaha  United States  28
18  132 Billy Laninovich  KTM  United States  11