Monster Energy Supercross in Seattle
Monday 23 April: Andrew Short captures his first career Monster Energy Supercross victory with Ken Roczen second. Ryan Sipes wins Western Regional Supercross Lites’ return to action.
Monster
Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship’s return to the West
Coast was greeted by 52,731 fans inside CenturyLink Field on Saturday
night, for the 15th race of the 2012 season. After nearly six
seasons of racing in the Supercross Class, L&MC Racing Honda’s
Andrew Short captured his first career win in the
premier division, leading every lap.
Short was the first rider out of the gate in the Supercross Class Main Event, securing the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot Award with
Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Brayton and Red
Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen in tow. Behind them, 2012
Monster Energy Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo went down following a mid-pack start, appearing to favor his leg while
on the ground. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider walked off the track
under his own power, but did not complete a lap of competition in front
of his hometown crowd.
"Ryan
didn’t get such a good start,” said Reid Nordin, Monster Energy
Kawasaki Team Manager. "He was charging through the pack and lost the
front end and ended up getting a handle bar to the gut, which knocked
the wind out of him, and he got a stinger when the foot peg came down on
him. He’s really bummed out and upset with himself with what happened.
He really wanted to do well for the fans here.”
Out
front, Short and Roczen began a spirited battle for the lead on Lap 6,
shifting momentum back-and-forth for several laps. Eventually, Short
asserted himself in the top spot and took the win comfortably.
"It
doesn’t feel real,” exclaimed Short, who missed seven races earlier
this season to injury. "My team has been through some challenges, but we
stuck together. There are so many people who have helped me in 11 years
of doing this. I’m getting old. I didn’t believe (I could win)
too much until the end and I think that’s been one of my problems in the
past. All I wanted to do was be out here and to win is unreal.”
Roczen
posted a career-best runner-up finish in first race in the Supercross
Class this season. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer, of Rupert,
Idaho, rounded out the podium in third.
Supercross Class Results: Seattle
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
- Ken Roczen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
- Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
- Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki
- Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha
- Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Kawasaki
Supercross Class Season Standings
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 323
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 222
- Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 219
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 207
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 191
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha, 178
- Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki, 176
- Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki, 173
- Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 166
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki, 146
Western Regional Supercross Lites Class
Following
a two-month break from Western Regional Supercross Lites Class
competition, Star/Valli Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes grabbed his
first win of the season.
As
the gate dropped on the Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Main
Event, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson edged out both Sipes and GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac to grab the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot Award, only to have Sipes
assert himself in the lead shortly thereafter.
As
Sipes opened a margin over the field, Wilson and Tomac went head to
head in a heated battle for the runner-up spot. The class’ two top
contenders for the championship traded the position a few times, before
coming together on Lap 8, causing Wilson to fall to the ground.
Tomac
looked to close in on Sipes, but was ultimately caught by Red Bull
KTM’s Marvin Musquin on the final lap. Sipes led
all 15 laps of the main event, bouncing back from an injury he suffered
earlier in the season.
"I
worked really hard to come back here and didn’t think I’d be able to,”
said Sipes, who has won just two points-paying races in his career. "I
tried not to push. I tried to conserve and flow. I didn’t go fast, but I
didn’t go slow either. The first five races (this season) were so
tough. I felt good, but I was pushing too hard. It just feels so good to
come back form (my) injury like this.”
Musquin
held on for second, while Tomac finished third, taking over the points
lead from Wilson, who recovered to finish seventh following his crash.
"I
wasn’t happy with my heat race, but it was go time in the main event,”
said Tomac, who holds a four-point lead in the championship standings.
"Dean (Wilson) put some block passes on me and I said, ‘let’s play.’ I
got into him there, but I guess that’s racing. I was rusty in practice
but I gave it my all tonight. When we made contact, my clutch was bent,
so I was riding in third gear. I’m looking forward to Salt Lake City
because it’s like a home race for me.”
Monster Energy Supercross continues next weekend, hosting the 16th race of the 2012 season from Salt Lake City’s Rice Eccles Stadium.
Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Results: Seattle
- Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha
- Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
- Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki,
- Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki
- Billy Laninovich, Riverside, Calif., Honda
- Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda
- Vince Friese, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Honda
Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 134
- Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki, 130
- Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 119
- Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 111
- Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha, 78
- Nico Izzi, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha, 78
- Matt Moss, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 77
- Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda, 75
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki, 73
- Billy Laninovich, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 70
Copy and results courtesy of Denny Hartwig for Feld Motor Sports.
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