Villopoto’s seventh victory of the season in Toronto
Monday 25 March: Ryan Villopoto’s win streak grows to four with his seventh Monster Energy Supercross victory of the season in Toronto. Marvin Musquin makes it three-straight Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship.
The lone international stop of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, signified the 12th
race of the 2013 season as 48,669 Canadian fans converged inside
Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Saturday night. For the seventh time this
season, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto took the checkered
flag, increasing his lead in the 450SX Class Championship while also
extending his current winning streak to four races.
The 450SX Class Main Event was one of the most captivating of the season as Villopoto claimed the Nuclear Cowboyz® Holeshot
Award, but lost the lead shortly thereafter to TwoTwo Motorsports
Honda’s Chad Reed. Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps followed Reed
by Villopoto as well into second, setting the stage for a thrilling
battle that also included Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Team Yoshimura
Suzuki’s James Stewart.
Millsaps was able to slip past Reed for the lead on the second
lap of the race and set the pace for the first half of the 20-lap Main
Event. On Lap 3, Villopoto moved past Reed into second and set his
sights on Millsaps out front. One lap later, Dungey moved into podium
position.
Mere bike lengths separated Millsaps and Villopoto for the next
eight laps with Villopoto attempting to slip by his championship rival
on several occasions. On Lap 11 just after the finish, Villopoto slipped
inside Millsaps and was able to take over the position. Once out front,
Villopoto pulled away for his 31st career 450SX Class
victory and became the first rider to win back-to-back races in Toronto
during the six years the Rogers Centre has been a stop on the Monster
Energy Supercross schedule.
"It was unbelievable,” exclaimed Villopoto. "Davi is riding
really well and he was riding exceptionally well [tonight]. I got around
him with about halfway to go [in the Main Event] and I was able to get a
little bit of a gap. Everybody up here [on the podium] is unbelievable
and it shows how fast we really are when we run a pace like that on a
track that was so [difficult].”
Millsaps went unchallenged en route to a runner-up effort,
signifying his first podium finish since a third-place effort in Atlanta
four races ago.
"It was definitely a good race,” said Millsaps. "I got off to a
pretty good start and I just tried to ride my own race as much as I
could. I made a lot of mistakes here and there, and throughout the first
half of the race. Ryan eventually got by me and I did the best I could
to keep up and do whatever I could.”
Shortly after Villopoto took over the lead, Dungey stalled his
bike while trying to close the gap on Millsaps, losing the third spot to
Reed. Just a couple laps later, Dungey reclaimed the position to secure
his third consecutive podium finish.
Villopoto now carries a 12-point lead over Millsaps into the 13th race of the season. Dungey sits 22 points out of the lead in third.
450SX Class Results: Toronto
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM
- Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., KTM
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 252
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 240
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 230
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda, 196
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 184
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 169
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 165
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 148
- Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 122
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 122
250 Eastern Regional Championship
In the 250SX Class,
Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin captured his third consecutive win in the
Eastern Regional Championship, gaining ground in the standings with a
wire-to-wire effort.Musquin was the first rider to cross the stripe for the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot
Award, followed by privateer Honda rider Jimmy DeCotis and Slaton
Racing’s Vince Friese. Both Rockstar Energy Racing’s Blake Wharton and
GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn, Musquin’s primary championship rivals, started
inside the top five and began to work their way forward.
On Lap 2, DeCotis crashed out of second, allowing both Wharton
and Hahn to gain a position on the track. Before long, Wharton and Hahn
began to battle for second, which helped Musquin extend his lead. On Lap
6, Hahn made the move for the position and attempted to catch Musquin
out front.
The French rider maintained his advantage for the remainder of
the 15-lap Main Event and won by over three seconds. Prior to the 2013
season, Musquin had never won a Monster Energy Supercross Main Event,
but now he has won three in-a-row and is closing in on the lead in the
championship.
"Today my confidence wasn’t so much there because I had a crash
[in practice],” said Musquin. "But I really need to thank the team,
because they are better than me and helped push me tonight. It was a
tough day. I had a great start [in the Main Event] and it’s such a good
feeling when you’re hurting because you don’t know what’s going to
happen. It was great.”
Hahn, the current championship leader, minimized the damage
done to his lead in the standings by finishing second. Wharton held off a
late charge by MyPlash/Metal Mulisha/Star Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin to
finish third.
"I need to get my starts back, it’s killing me right now,” said
Hahn. "I’ve got to turn my brain back on and I’ve got to get back on
that top step [of the podium] where I belong.”
Hahn’s lead in the Eastern Regional Championship now sits at
six points over Musquin as both riders search for their first career
Monster Energy Supercross titles.
Monster Energy Supercross will observe the Easter holiday next
weekend before returning to action on Saturday, April 6, from Houston’s
Reliant Stadium. The action for the 13th race of the 2013 season will kick off at 8 p.m. ET. SPEED will provide live coverage of the race, beginning at at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results: Toronto
- Marvin Musquin, France, KTM
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
- Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha
- Vince Friese, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Honda
- Cole Thompson, Brigden, Can., Honda
- James Decotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda
- Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda
- Jackson Richardson, Cairns, Australia, Honda
- Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Season Standings
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 134
- Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 128
- Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki, 108
- Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki, 87
- Vince Friese, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Honda, 80
- Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda, 78
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 71
- Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki, 68
- Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 66
- James Decotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda, 66
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