Cycle News

ROUND 2/JANUARY 11, 2014 CHASE FIELD/PHOENIX, ARIZONA SUPERCROSS P40 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES JUSTIN BRAYTON: "I'M FAR FROM DONE" Every one knows that Justin Brayton is fast, it's just that he hasn't shown his true potential in quite a while, not since his Honda days in 2012, when he showed consistent speed. So Brayton pretty much caught everyone off guard when he blasted into the lead early in the 450 main. Actually, that wasn't too surprising, since Brayton is often times a fast starter, but what was surprising was that he stayed up front the whole race after taking the lead on the first lap. Brayton spent much of the race doing a fine job holding former Supercross champ Ryan Dungey at bay, then Villopoto came calling. Villopoto made short work of Dungey and had to fight his way to get around Brayton, which he did on the 14th lap. Brayton, however, didn't back off and kept Villopoto on his toes the rest of the way and even threatened him a time or two, especially through the whoops, where Brayton excelled above all others. "Last year wasn't a very good year for me, I think my best finish was fifth," said Brayton. "Yamaha came out with a new bike this year and it's a good motorcycle and they gave us a great package to work with, and we work really closely with them. I think all the guys at JGR, we all work as a team this year, and I know how hard you have to work to be up here on the podium and I'm willing to do it. It's really motivating to see it pay off, but I tell you what, I'm far from done. I feel like I have a new lease on life with this bike and with the team now gelling. There's a lot going on, I got married, I've got a kid coming and a lot of things that are positive; not just in racing, but in life." Brayton took full advantage of his great start at Phoenix. "I got a great jump out of the gate. The start was so slick tonight, I knew, lining up, I needed to get a good the while, Brayton kept a seemingly timid Ryan Dungey at bay for the duration of the race. The win moved Villopoto into the series points lead with Roczen finishing the race in sixth after tangling with Justin Barcia and start, and that's what I did," said Brayton. "Sometimes it's hard to execute, but I did tonight and I put myself in a good position. I need to keep putting myself in those positions and I think I'll win one of these. "We worked on tons of starts during the off-season and tons of starts before Anaheim. It's just you got to go to the gate confident. I went to the gate confident at Anaheim and it just didn't work out. I started seventh, I think, at Anaheim and I ended up sixth. Tonight I started third and I ended up second. There's a lot of fast guys and you've got to start up front to finish with them." Brayton excelled particularly well in the whoops, which were especially treacherous. "The whoops were nasty tonight, and I felt I had a drive on Villopoto on that last lap, but it's early in the season and I respect Ryan, he's got a number one on his bike for a reason. But for sure, this is a confidence builder." Another deciding factor for Brayton this year has been his new trainer, Nathan Ramsey, who joins Buddy Antunez as Brayton's confidante and advisor. "Nathan is a great fit for me, we relate so well together, in both racing and off the track," said Brayton. "That's refreshing to have someone like that in my corner, someone I trust. Every word that comes out of his mouth, I believe. I've got to give it up to Buddy Antunez, too. 'Budman' has been with me a long time, too." When asked what the biggest difference from the Brayton of last year and the Brayton of 2014, he says that there is plenty of credit to go around. "For one, the bike," said Brayton. "I think Yamaha has done a huge leap forward with their motorcycle, and also just gelling with the team. Also, I think you've got to want it." going down. "I didn't get a very good start, the gate is always tough here," said Villopoto. "Once I got going, I was able to run clean laps and make my passes stick and just keep pluck- ing away." Brayton's finish was somewhat of a surprise to everyone - excluding Brayton. "I feel really good about this, starts like that are what you need when you're racing guys like

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