"It’s pretty big,” Villopoto said of winning at Daytona. "This is a
unique track like I said earlier, and to get a win here with the way the
track is – it’s kinda outdoors, it’s supercross, it’s very technical –
so to get a win here it’s awesome. And this is kinda like a turning
point in the season, we’re closing down onto the homestretch here and to
get a win here is huge.”
Villopoto made a brief mistake on Lap 12 and washed out in a
rutted-turn section. However, he recovered quickly and maintained the
lead.
"Whenever you have a fall like that, all that’s running through your
mind is, `don’t stall the bike and get up as quick as you can and take
off,’” Villopoto said. "Luckily, I had a nice lead and I was able to get
up and regroup.”
Ryan Dungey known as "Mr. Consistency,” finished on the podium for the fourth straight race. Broc Tickle was fourth followed by Andrew Short, Wil Hahn and Wilson.
The win gives Villopoto a 28-point lead over Dungey as the series
heads to Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. next week. Roczen is third in the
championship battle, one point behind his Red Bull KTM teammate.
James Stewart, who sits fourth in the standings, was forced into the
mechanics area on the opening lap after colliding with Mike Alessi’s
bike. Stewart lost one lap to the leaders while getting repairs and
would finish 18th. He now trails Villopoto by 52 points.
Blake Baggett (Photo: Frank Hoppen)
Blake Baggett raced to his first 250SXEastern Regional Supercross victory of the season Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida.
After moving into the lead on Lap 2, Baggett proved to be the
dominant rider by leading the remaining 14 laps and winning by a
16.7-second margin.
"It’s Daytona, you gotta block out anything that’s bad,” Baggett
said, referencing his crash in practice. "This place is awesome, there’s
no other place like this. I love coming here, I love racing here. I won
here in 2011 and now again in 2014 so just excited.”
Adam Cinciarulo who hails from nearby Port Orange, Fla., finished second ahead of teammate Martin Davalos.
It was the second time this season that Pro Circuit Kawasaki has
swept the 250SX class podium. The three Pro Circuit riders swept the
podium at the Eastern Regional season-opener in Arlington, Texas; and on
that occasion, it was Cianciarulo picking up the win over Baggett and
Davalos.
GEICO Honda riders Blake Wharton
and Justin Bogle finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Jeremy Martin
was sixth followed by Matthew Bisceglia, Vince Friese, Kyle Cunningham
and Matthew Lemoine.
Cianciarulo has yet to finish worse than second in his rookie
campaign, giving him a seven-point advantage over Davalos. Baggett is
third in the title fight, 15 points behind Cianciarulo.
The series heads to Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. on March 15 for round five of the championship.
