New points leader Ryan Villopoto carries two-race win streak into Indianapolis
For the first time in 2013, a rider other than Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps will carry the red number plate in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, as the world’s best riders make their return to Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night for the 11th race of the season. Following a dominant outing at Daytona en route to his 450SX Class-leading fifth win of the season, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto surpassed Millsaps atop the championship standings and carries a two-point lead into Saturday night’s race. Villopoto has gained considerable momentum in the championship over the past month of competition. In the last four races Villopoto boasts three victories and a runner-up effort, compared to second, third, sixth, and 10th-place efforts for Millsaps over that span. Villopoto has made up a 24-point deficit with his recent surge, passing both Millsaps and Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey along the way. In Daytona, Villopoto grabbed the holeshot and opened a slight gap early, only to lose traction in his rear wheel, turn sideways, and ultimately launch off the side of the track in an effort to prevent falling over. He dropped to third following the incident, but worked his way past Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia for second and Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen for the lead by Lap 4. Once back out front, Villopoto pulled away from the field for perhaps his most convincing effort of the season and now has posted at least five victories for four consecutive seasons. "We’re in a good place,” said Villopoto following the race. "The track was so tough [in Daytona], you just had to keep on your toes and be ready for anything. We didn’t expect to be back in the points lead this fast, but from here we will try to keep the wins coming.” Saturday in Indianapolis will mark the first time Villopoto has carried the red number plate, which signifies the current championship points leader, since the opening race in Anaheim, when it signified Villopoto as the defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion. The timing to reclaim his possession of the red plate couldn’t be better as Lucas Oil Stadium could very well be considered Villopoto’s favorite venue, taking the checkered flag for three consecutive seasons. On the heels of his worst two results of the entire 2013 season, Millsaps will be looking up in the standings for the first time this year, albeit just two points out. Millsaps is enduring some lingering effects from incidents at the St. Louis stop of the championship as well as practice in the week leading up to Daytona. Admittedly, he wasn’t at his best last weekend settling for a season-worst 10th-place finish, but after such a strong start to his championship campaign, Millsaps is still well within reach of his first career title. "Well, Daytona was the worst race of the season so far, [so] I got that out of my way,” said Millsaps. "Now it's time to climb my way back up to the top. It's supercross, it's going to happen. Other guys had bad races and now I just got rid of mine." Should Millsaps finish in front of Villopoto on Saturday night in Indianapolis, he would almost be guaranteed a share of the points lead. The third member of this developing championship battle is Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey. In Daytona, Dungey posted a quiet runner-up effort to claim his sixth podium finish of the season, ending a two-race drought. He was gaining on Villopoto in the closing stages of the Main Event, but took the strong result as a step towards gaining more momentum in Indianapolis. He enters Lucas Oil Stadium with a 14-point deficit to Villopoto in the standings. "It was a pretty rough track [in Daytona],” commented Dungey on the podium. "Luckily, we got my suspension dialed in after practice and my bike worked really well. I got off to a great start and was able to put myself in a good position early on. It feels great to get back up on the podium.” This trio of championship leaders will lead the highly-talented lineup of riders set to make their anticipated return the "Circle City,” arguably the mecca of motorsports in America. A total of five different winners have stood atop the podium thus far in 2013, and with seven races still remaining, the 450SX Class title fight is only beginning to heat up. During the 2012 stop from Lucas Oil Stadium in front of nearly 60,000 spectators, Villopoto needed to overcome a bad start in order to capture the win. After climbing through the field throughout the Main Event, Villopoto made a late pass on leader Justin Brayton with only four laps remaining to claim his sixth win of the year en route to the title. Through its first four races, the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship has boasted three different winners, making for a parity-filled start to the season. In Daytona, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin became the second rider this season to claim his first career Monster Energy Supercross victory, joining championship leader Wil Hahn. Musquin timed the drop of the gate perfectly in the Main Event to pull an easy holeshot and establish himself as the early leader. Following several laps of pressure from Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson, Musquin maintained control of the lead and eventually began to pull away from the field to become the 90th different winner in 250SX Class history and the fifth Frenchman to ever win a Main Event in the division. "Obviously I had a lot of fun riding the [Daytona] track,” said Musquin after the race. "I knew everyone was going to be fast, so I stayed calm out front and tried to have fun. I am so happy to get this win and to also gain more confidence knowing that I was pulling away from them each lap.” Hahn maintained control of the championship lead aboard his GEICO Honda, finishing second to follow-up his back-to-back victories. He is now the only rider in the Eastern Regional Championship to finish on the podium in each of the four races this season. Hahn currently holds a five-point lead over Wilson, who ultimately settled for a fourth-place finish in Daytona after challenging for the lead early. Last season’s Eastern Regional 250SX Class race in Indianapolis was a memorable one for Rockstar Energy Racing’s Blake Wharton, who raced to his second career victory inside Lucas Oil Stadium following a late pass for the lead. The first 450SX Class race held in Indianapolis was March 21, 1992, when Jeff Stanton won aboard a Honda. Jeremy McGrath has the most wins in Indianapolis with six, all of which came inside the old RCA Dome, which hosted Monster Energy Supercross from 1992 to 2008. Since 2009, only Villopoto and Chad Reed have emerged victorious inside Lucas Oil Stadium. Reed, Ricky Carmichael, and Ezra Lusk are the only riders to win at Indy in both the 450SX Class and 250SX Class. Jimmy Button claimed the first 250SX Class victory in Indianapolis in 1992 while riding a Yamaha. Since Lucas Oil Stadium began hosting Monster Energy Supercross in 2009, four different riders have claimed the 250SX Class win, making it one of the unpredictable stops of the Eastern Regional Championship. 450SX Class Results: Daytona
450SX Class Points
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results: Daytona
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Points
Monster Energy's Ryan Villopoto takes over points lead in Daytona
Monster Energy’s Ryan Villopoto captured his fifth win of the season at the historic Daytona Supercross, helping him secure the points lead in the 450SX class. His victory marks the third win in five tries in the premier class at the one-of-a-kind event at Daytona International Speedway that started over 40 years ago.
Following an roller-coaster start to
the season, the two-time supercross champion kept his cool and has won
three of the last four main events. Villopoto’s win-streak put him in
position to take over the points lead and the coveted red number plate
for the first time this season, leading the second-place rider by two
points with seven rounds remaining.
Monster Energy rider Chad Reed
overcame a tough start in the main event, pushing his way through the
pack to finish a solid fifth. His result helped push him into a tie for
fourth in the points standings.
In the 250SX class, Monster
Energy’s Dean Wilson showed his speed all day. He eventually transferred
that speed into the main event where he finished just off the podium in
fourth.
Also in the 250SX class, Wilson’s
teammate Justin Hill put together an impressive showing after starting
outside the top 10 in the main event. Using the long lap times, Hill
made his way up the leaderboard to finish sixth.
The track in Daytona is unlike
anything else the riders see on the Monster Energy Supercross circuit.
With deep sand and lap times in the 1 minute 20 second range, riders
were faced with longer than normal heat and main event races.
Monster Energy’s Ricky Carmichael was in the house to watch the racers tackle the track he helped design. He will host the stars of tomorrow with the Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross Championship Sunday and Monday.
 TwoTwo Motorsport's Chad Reed Reed finished 5th in the action-packed Monster Energy Supercross at Daytona International Speedway. The Australian set the fastest lap time in qualifying, but a first lap clash in his heat race, left Reed at the back of the pack. Impressively the TwoTwo Motorsports rider came through from dead last to finish the heat race fifth. Reed got a good start in the 20-lap 450 SX 'Main Event' and quickly worked his way into the top five, a mistake on Lap 9 saw him go down and drop two spots. As the ruts deepened, the Daytona track claimed a number of seasoned scalps, but the crowd were treated to the Reed of old, as he stormed past James Stewart, Ken Roczen and fellow Honda rider Trey Canard over the closing laps of the race. Chad Reed: "On paper that was not the result I was hoping for but there were still plenty of positives. The bike was fast and it felt good to be able to get back up, race hard and move up through the order in both my heat and the main. It was crazy out there, the track was gnarly and the ruts just got deeper, every lap there was someone off. I felt good tonight and I was competitive, we will take a lot out of tonight." The next event will see the Monster Energy Supercross head to Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday 16th March. |
