Monster Energy Cup live on ESPN this Sunday
Wednesday 16 October: The world's top supercross and motocross riders take to the stage for the second-annual Monster Energy Cup at Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium this Saturday night Nevada time. SKY in NZ will screen it live on ESPN (Channel 34) from 3pm Sunday NZ time.
The
Monster Energy Cup will be broadcast to 124 countries around the globe and live
domestically on SPEED on their Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. - PST. SPEED
will provide the broadcast to an additional 45 countries and territories
outside of the U.S., including Canada and South America. ESPN
International will broadcast the race live – for the first time ever – to 78
countries in Australia & New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa.
Led by defending Monster Energy Cup
Champion Ryan Villopoto, this year’s line-up includes 2010 Supercross Class
Champion Ryan Dungey, two-time Supercross Class Champion Chad Reed, supercross
veteran Kevin Windham, defending Lites Class Champions Justin Barcia and Eli
Tomac and 250cc AMA Motocross champion Blake Baggett.
"I’m
really excited to head back to Vegas in October for the Monster Energy Cup,”
said defending Monster Energy Cup winner Villopoto. "There is so little time in
between races, it’s tough to recover for all three Main Events. It also becomes
demanding for the team to get to the gate ready for three races on a track that
requires different set-ups; it’s a full team effort. The track had some cool
features last year that made it exciting, so I hope that they have more
surprises in store come October.”
"It's
going to be tough to repeat this year," said Villopoto. "Last year we
had a perfect night and came away with the million, but this year it sounds
like all the top guys are going for it. With the three race format, consistency
will be the key."
"They've
made some changes to the track this year," added Villopoto. "It's
always exciting to race a track that's a little different from your typical
supercross track. The joker lane should be interesting and some strategy will
definitely come into play."
At the inaugural
Monster Energy Cup, Villopoto swept all three races. He earned the holeshot in
the first two races, and in the third and final race, he passed holeshot winner
Mike Alessi on the opening lap and rode to the $1 million victory.
The Monster Energy
Cup Championship rounded out a perfect season for Villopoto having won the
450cc AMA Motocross and Supercross Class championships as well as the Motocross
des Nations.
Last
year’s runner-up, Ryan Dungey, made his debut at the Monster Energy Cup aboard
his Red Bull KTM motorcycle, finishing 3-2-2. Dungey recently captured his
second 450cc AMA Motocross Championship.
Chad Reed,
who will make his Monster Energy Cup debut, has not raced since suffering a
major crash at the Cowboys Stadium stop during this year’s Monster Energy
Supercross Championship. In the crash he fractured
his T-6, two ribs, tibia, fibula, torn ACL, LCL, and meniscus.
"On
race day, it will have been eight-plus months since I have raced,” said Reed.
"It's been a lot of work with rehab, but I'm excited to get back to racing and
to have my fitness at 100%. If I win a million bucks in Vegas – I mean – you
just add it to the collection; it would be better in my bank account than
anyone else’s.”
One
of the most anticipated Open Class debuts is that of Justin Barcia, who is a
two-time defending Lites Class Champion. The Monster Energy Cup will be the
first time the Muscle Milk Honda rider will compete inside a stadium on a 450cc
motorcycle.
"The
$1 million is life changing for a rider, but I’m more focused on just going out
there and racing to the best of my abilities,” said Barcia. "I mean, it’s
certainly a nice prize, but you just can’t go out there focusing on that,
because you’ll make mistakes and divert your attention from the main goal of
racing solid and being at the top spot. I feel that the three 10-lap main event
format was the perfect length. It’s always a good experience to get on the gate
three times, because you get the opportunity to capitalize and learn from your
earlier performance. I don’t think anything should be changed. A race like this
certainly brings out the true talent of a rider. You really need to lay it on
the line to contend against the others.”
The 2012
Monster Energy Cup features an all-new track design inspired by five-time
Supercross Class Champion Ricky Carmichael. The Carmichael-inspired track
design will consist of supercross and motocross obstacles unlike any other
racetrack design in the world. New to this year’s track will be a 200’ banked
sweeping turn that will be built in the stands, two 11 rider starting gates
split by 220’ before they converge at the apex of the 300’ start straight and
the joker lane that riders will have to race through at least once during laps
2-10. After racing through these sections of the track, fans will be treated to
equally exciting racing lanes that are built into the Monster Energy Fan Zone,
which is located outside of the stadium. The Monster Energy Cup posts a
$250,000 purse with the winner walking away with a $100,000 check, and any
rider that wins all three Main Events will take home $1 million.