2011 AMA 450 Motocross
Spoiler Alert: AMA Motocross 450 Results Below
Two weeks following the AMA Supercross finale in Vegas, the 2011 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship throttled into action at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Saturday evening.
Taking the overall win after a 2-1 finish in the 43rd annual Rockstar Energy Hangtown National was the Australian Chad Reed aboard the self-funded Two-Two Motorsports Honda CRF450R. This was the second consecutive overall win for Reed at Hangtown Motocross.
Taking the win in Moto 1 was the reigning AMA Motocross Champion, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey. Reed, who finished the 2011 AMA Supercross season in second, finished Moto 1 in second, with the 2011 AMA Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F) finishing third.
In Moto2, Villopoto took the early lead, and a battle began between him, Dungey and Reed. Dungey would take the lead by the half-way point, but Reed soon passed both of his rivals and held the lead for the win.
Following the Hangtown Classic, Reed and Dungey each have 47 points in the 2011 AMA Motocross Championship. Villopoto is in third with 40 points.
Chad Reed (Two-Two Motorsports Honda Motocross) says: “I’m a little surprised. I tested the last two weeks and it’s gone well. Normally, this track is always hard, choppy and one lined. We came back this weekend and it was a completely different track than we were expecting.
“I had a lot of fun today. It was a great racetrack. I got two good starts, (ran) up front and I fought for it. I’m a little surprised how comfortable I was with the track and bike. We’ve had only a little time to work on the bike.”
Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) says: “I had a week of outdoor testing and that helped us out. I felt good today. Coming into the weekend, we had a couple weeks of testing and got a good base setting.
“I just wanted to get things started, see where were at and move forward. I was trying to bulldog it in the second moto and Chad (Reed) got by me. I got behind him and saw some different lines. It took me a while to get back up there. I made one last attempt, but I’m happy with that result. I made a hard attempt to get by and was riding on the ragged edge, so I decided to back it down. It’s a long season.”
Dungey’s 1-2 moto results landed him in the runner-up spot overall, while Villopoto finished his first motocross race since the Hangtown round in 2009 with the final spot on the podium (3-3).
The 2011 AMA Motocross Championship continues next week for the Rockstar Energy Freestone National from Freestone Raceway in Wortham, Texas, Saturday, May 28.
2011 Hangtown AMA Motocross 450 Results (Moto 1, Moto2)
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda (2-1)
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (1-2)
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki (3-3)
- Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda (6-4)
- Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda (5-5)
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda (4-7)
- Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Yamaha (8-8)
- Christophe Pourcel, France, Yamaha (7-11)
- Ricky Dietrich, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha (11-9)
- Christian Craig, Hemet, Calif., Honda (14-10)
2011 AMA Motocross 450 Class Championship Standings (after 1 of 12 rounds)
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda – 47
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki – 47
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 40
- Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda – 33
- Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Honda – 32
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda – 32
- Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Yamaha – 26
- Christophe Pourcel, France, Yamaha – 24
- Ricky Dietrich, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha – 22
- Christian Craig, Hemet, Calif., Honda – 18
- Michael Byrne, Dade City, Fla., Suzuki – 18