REED STILL LEADS AS TITLE CHASE HOTS UP

Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Chad Reed continues to lead the AMA/ FIM World Supercross series after taking second place at Saturday night's Toronto Supercross in Canada.

But the Australian - who has won the final three races - has seen his lead over Yamaha's James Stewart cut from 11 points down to eight with just four rounds to go.

The two-time and defending AMA Supercross Champion won his heat race on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and then brought home a strong podium finish in the 20-lap Main Event. This result means that Reed has been on the podium at every round so far this season.

Team mate Mike Alessi celebrated his fifth Supercross Main holeshot of the year, even as he battled illness and fatigue. The Californian was able to run with the frontrunners at the start of the race before finishing in 11th place.

Michael Byrne remains injured and did not race. He hopes to be backracing again soon.

In the Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Nico Izzi began the night strong by getting a good start in his heat race and then battling for the lead before finishing third. In the 15-lap Main, but the young rider battled an injured hand as well as his competitors. Although Izzi got a rough start, he had worked his way through the pack to sixth place before he went down and by the end of the race, he managed to bring home 11th place.

Chad Reed:

"It was tough, I never felt really 'on it' on Saturday night. This season, I've been trying to get good starts on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and ride consistently. I felt like I rode decent in Toronto, but I just struggled. I made too many mistakes and too many really big mistakes so I'm happy with second. It took a little while to really sort out the lines and then just hit them consistently. I made a lot of costly mistakes that cost me a lot of time and you can't do that. I really needed to get a good start, be patient and push to be out front."

Mike Alessi:

"It was an OK race. I struggled all day with the ruts and I never felt really comfortable. I've been kind of sick lately and I've just been trying to get through these last couple of races. This is tough, the season has kind of worn on me and I'm starting to get kind of tired, but I'm trying to tough it out the best I can. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 was fine but the track was really gnarly. It was just an exercise in survival for me, just to stay on two wheels. The start was good, and I was good for the first five or six laps and then I started feeling really sick during the race and that was pretty much it."

Nico Izzi:

"I got a pretty bad jump off the gate and went into the first turn mid-pack. I was able to make up a few spots on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and I got up as far as sixth. But after that, my hand started getting sore from where I hurt it in St. Louis. I just don't have much feeling or much grip in it, so I can't hang on. I've been trying to let it heal, but that means I haven't been able to ride during the week. I didn't break it but it's still pretty tender. Hopefully, it'll be better next weekend at Jacksonville."

Supercross Results: 1. James Stewart (Yamaha); 2. Chad Reed (Rockstar Makita Suzuki); 3. Josh Hill (Yamaha); 4. Josh Grant (Yamaha); 5. Ivan Tedesco (Honda); 6. Kevin Windham (Honda); 7. Davi Millsaps (Honda); 8. Matt Boni (Honda); 9. Andrew Short (Honda); 10. Ben Coisy (Honda). 11. Mike Alessi (Rockstar Makita Suzuki).

Supercross Points (after 12 rounds): 1 Reed 293, 2 Stewart 285, 3 Short 209, 4 Grant 190, 5 Tedesco 179, 6 Windham 173, 7 Alessi 170, 8 Millsaps 166, 9 Villopoto 165, 10 Hill 128.

Lites Results: 1. Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki); 2. Austin Stroupe (Kawasaki); 3. Broc Tickle (Yamaha); 4. Branden Jesseman (Kawasaki); 5. Matt Lemoine (Yamaha); 6. Wil Hahn (KTM); 7. Matt Goerke (Suzuki); 8. Vince Friese (Honda); 9. Daniel Blair (Honda); 10. Blake Wharton (Honda). 11. Nico Izzi (Rockstar Makita Suzuki).