Villopoto & Pourcel Dominate Houston SX

Chad Reed Returns

Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel clinched his second-consecutive AMA Supercross Lites Eastern Region title with a dominating win at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto led wire-to-wire after grabbing the holeshot in the AMA Supercross main event.

Teammate Chad Reed, also on a KX450F, made his return to racing after being out due to injury for three months. Reed finished fourth, working his way through the pack after a dismal start.

Pourcel, who takes the AMA Supercross Lites Eastern Region tile with one round to remaining, has won five of seven Eastern Lites races on his KX250F this year.

Christophe Pourcel says: "I normally don’t think about the championship at the races, I just want to put in a good race," Pourcel said. "I am really happy that I was able to wrap it up early, but next week I still want to go out with a win." After the race, with his team members gathered around, Pourcel hung his No. 1 plate on the doors of the team semi–a Pro Circuit tradition.

In the Supercross class, Villopoto nailed the holeshot in the main event and put a solid gap between him and second place. With his consistent lap times, Villopoto took the win by 6.9 seconds.

Coming into Round 13 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship, Villopoto faced a 21-point deficit, but with his win and Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey finishing fifth, he made up nine points and put himself in position to make a run for the title.

Ryan Villopoto says: "It definitely wasn’t a perfect day, by any means, but I really wanted the win. I’ve made mistakes in the past, but my goal was to put in 20 solid laps. I feel like I did that, and I was able to get my seventh win. Since I fell in Atlanta, the main goal for me was to keep winning races and hopefully Dungey would make a mistake. Tonight he made a pretty big mistake and I was able to capitalize, especially with the win. I want to go out in the next couple races and try to chip away the best I can at the points gap."

Reed made his return to racing after taking time off to completely recover from the wrist injury he sustained in the second round of the series. He posted fast lap times all day and showed his enthusiasm to be back after being away for three months.

Chad Reed says: "It feels really good to be back racing and not sitting in the stands watching. It was really hard for me to watch and be out that long. To be honest, it was good to finally get 20 full laps in. I haven’t really done that with this team other than Australia, but that was a different format, so it was nice to get out there and be in the top-five my first race back. Racing was a little different this weekend compared to the past because I have the possibility of being called home to be with Ellie (his wife who is due to give birth to their first child). Every time I came in off the track, I wanted to go back and check my phone to see if anything had progressed. We were lucky to have it work to where I could come to the race this week, but now we have to wait and see what happens throughout this upcoming week."

Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Dean Wilson made his return to the Eastern Region AMA Supercross Lites competition in Houston. After missing the last two events due to visa problems, the Canadian was in great spirits and was extremely happy to be back with his team.
Wilson’s ninth place result didn’t reflect how well he rode after competing in only his fourth

After a decent start, Wilson worked his way up to third and was constantly looking for a place to pass for second. On the last lap, Wilson crashed in the whoop section and had to settle for ninth after running in the top-three until the final lap.

Dean Wilson says: "I was so disappointed that I made that mistake," Wilson said. "I know everyone makes mistakes, but that one hurt a little bit. I really wanted to be on the podium. Next week I want to finish with my best result. It was really hard to be stuck and want to race so badly. I’m glad we got it all worked out, and now I want to finish the season strong."

AMA Supercross Series, An FIM Championship – Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas – April 10, 2010

Supercross Class Results
1. Ryan Villopoto, Seattle, Wash., Kawasaki
2. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda
3. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
4. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Kawasaki
5. Ryan Dungey, Belle Paine, Minn., Suzuki
6. Tommy Hahn, Alvord, Texas, Suzuki
7. David Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
8. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
9. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
10. Josh Hill, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha

Supercross Lites Class Results (East)
1. Christophe Pourcel, Groveland, Fla., Kawasaki
2. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki
3. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda
4. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda
5. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha
6. Kyle Cunningham, Fort Worth, Texas, Yamaha
7. Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., Yamaha
8. James Decotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda
9. Dean Wilson, San Jacinto, Calif., Kawasaki
10. Troy Adams, Homosassa, Fla., Suzuki

Supercross Point Standings
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Paine, Minn., Suzuki, 277
2. Ryan Villopoto, Seattle, Wash., Kawasaki, 265
3. Josh Hill, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha, 217
4. David Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 203
5. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 201
6. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 179
7. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 176
8. Nick Wey, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 141
9. Tommy Hahn, Alvord, Texas, Suzuki, 128
10. Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha, 123

Supercross Lites Point Standings (East)
1. Christophe Pourcel, Groveland, Fla., Kawasaki, 159
2. Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Suzuki, 126
3. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 122
4. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 113
5. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki, 102
6. Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., Yamaha, 91
7. Dean Wilson, San Jacinto, Calif., Kawasaki, 83
8. Kyle Cunningham, Fort Worth, Texas, Yamaha, 69
9. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha, 65
10. Troy Adams, Homosassa, Fla., Suzuki, 58

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