Monster Energy Supercross - Salt Lake City Report
Sunday 28 April: Ryan Villopoto secures his third consecutive Monster Energy Supercross Title and Jason Anderson breaks through for his inaugural 250SX Class victory.
Monster Energy Supercross images.
After
an intense three-rider battle that lasted the entire Main Event,
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto secured his third consecutive
Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, on Saturday
night in front of a crowd of 43,149 inside Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles
Stadium. Villopoto needed his 450SX Class-leading ninth win of the
season, and the 33rd win of his career, in order to achieve
the feat.
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey was the first rider out of the gate in the 450SX Class Main Event, claiming the Nuclear Cowboyz® Holeshot
Award with Villopoto alongside. The champion wasted little time in
making a pass on Dungey for the lead and then set a torrid pace over the
opening laps to open a two-plus second advantage.
Millsaps
got alongside Dungey on Lap 2 and made the pass for second, setting his
sights on Villopoto. Eventually, Millsaps and Dungey closed the gap on
Villopoto following the halfway point with all three riders sitting
within a second of one another at one point. Millsaps had an opportunity
to make a move for the lead, but Villopoto withstood the pressure and
the difficulty of getting through lapped traffic to lead all 20 laps and
clinch the title on a high note.
"It’s
unreal,” said Villopoto, who tied his career best total of nine wins in
a season. "It was a crazy race and the track was really technical. Any
little mistake would make it anyone’s game. We [Monster Energy Kawasaki]
started the season off really rough and had a lot of stepping stones to
overcome, but we did it as a team and we did it well.”
Villopoto
became the fifth rider in Monster Energy Supercross history to win
three championships, joining Bob Hannah, Jeff Stanton, Jeremy McGrath,
and Ricky Carmichael. He also joined Hannah, McGrath, and Carmichael as
the only riders to win three titles consecutively.
Millsaps
overcame a start outside the top five to finish second, with Dungey in
third. The pair sits second and third in the championship, respectively,
and are separated by three points heading into the final race of the
season next weekend.
450SX Class Results: Salt Lake City
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda
- Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha
- Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Suzuki
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM
- Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 346
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 318
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 315
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 261
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda, 224
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 220
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 202
- Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 177
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 174
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 165
Thor MX image
Western Regional 250SX Class Championship
In the Main Event, GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne captured the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot
Award with teammate Eli Tomac and Anderson closely behind. Anderson
made a quick pass on Tomac prior to the conclusion of the opening lap
and then passed Osborne for the lead on the following lap.
As
Anderson started pulling away, Tomac started to go in the opposite
direction. The winningest rider in the Western Regional Championship
this season had the opportunity to take over the points lead after Red
Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen failed to qualify for the Main Event. However,
Tomac continued to lose positions, eventually dropping to ninth place.
Out front, Anderson won by over five seconds, leading every lap of the Main Event.
"It’s
crazy,” exclaimed Anderson. "The last five laps were definitely tough
to be out front. To come out with a win, I’m stoked. This team has been
there for me from the beginning and to get a win for them is awesome. I
always seem to race well here [in Salt Lake City]. I’m not sure what it
is, but I like it.”
Troy
Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Cole Seely charged to a runner-up finish,
while Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Martin Davalos overcame a
start outside the top 10 to finish third. Tomac rebounded from his early
difficulties to battle his way to a sixth-place result.
"I
started the race in second, but just blew it in the whoops,” said
Tomac. "It was a section that just got me all day. There were a couple
passes where I got through them ok, but there were others where I got
wild and out of control.”
"It
was a bad night, definitely not what I came here to do,” said Roczen,
whose crashes in the Heat Race and Last Chance Qualifier prevented him
from making the Main Event.
"I
wanted to finish the season off strong, not with a DNF at the
second-to-last race. As much as I had bad luck tonight, I did get a
little break with Tomac finishing sixth, so I still have the
championship lead going into Las Vegas [season finale] next weekend. I
will need to ride the race of my life there.”
Roczen
entered the night with a 20-point advantage over Tomac, but now just
five points separates the duo heading into the final stop of the Western
Regional 250SX Class Championship.
Monster
Energy Supercross will bring the 2013 season to a close next weekend
from Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday, May 4.
Western Regional 250SX Class Results: Salt Lake City
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki
- Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
- Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Kawasaki
- Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., KTM
- Christian Craig, Wildomar, Calif., Honda
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
- Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Suzuki
- Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., KTM
- Travis Baker, Romoland, Calif., Yamaha
Western Regional 250SX Class Points
- Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM, 163
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 158
- Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 135
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki, 124
- Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Kawasaki, 114
- Zach Osborne, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 111
- Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha, 96
- Christian Craig, Wildomar, Calif., Honda, 87
- Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki, 87
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., KTM, 87
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