2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
Two weeks at at Daytona Supercross by Honda, Ryan Villopoto displayed the raw talent that helped earn him to two AMA Supercross titles.
The Monster Energy Kawasaki KXF450 rider was unstoppable at Daytona, eventually taking the win ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia.
But it was not only his fifth win of 2013 AMA Supercross. The race also propelled him to the top in points, Villopoto becoming the only other rider than Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps to lead the 2013 series.
And last week at Indy, Villopoto further solidified his top position by taking the win – his sixth of 2013 SX. The two-time Supercross Champion was joined on the podium by Dungey and Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart.
As the series heads to Toronto, Canada, this weekend, Villopoto holds a nine-point lead over Millsaps with six rounds remaining. The lone SX race of 2013, Toronto Supercross will take place at the Rogers Centre Saturday evening.
Villopoto took his seventh win of the 2012 AMA Supercross series last season at Toronto before over 47,000 fans, and coincidentally, can take his seventh win of 2013 there Saturday.
Villopoto’s latest performances have been nearly flawless. But he had to work to win at Indy. Taking the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot was Millsaps, who was quickly passed by Stewart. Villopoto started in fourth, but moved into third on the opening lap.
On lap three, Villopoto passed his rival Millsaps, but the Suzuki RM-Z 450 rider quickly countered the pass. The two would battle, but on lap six, Villopoto would make his pass stick. On the same lap, Stewart stalled his Suzuki RM-Z 450, and Villopoto took over the lead.
Villopoto was not challenged again, and went on to take the 30th win of his career, and the first rider to win four races in Indianapolis. Behind, Dungey passed Millsaps for second on the seventh lap. And on the final lap, Millsaps crashed while in third, giving the final podium position to Stewart.
Besides his sixth this season, and third consecutive, it was also Villopoto’s fourth victory at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450F Supercross) says: “Lucas Oil Stadium has been great to me. It’s an amazing stadium and I love coming here. Ryan [Dungey] was able to make up some time on me here and there, but I just kept pushing hard until the end.”
Feld Motor Sports says the Toronto stop will mark just the third race this season in which Villopoto’s bike will carry the red number plate that signifies the championship leader. After losing possession of the plate at the first race of the season in Anaheim, Calif., Villopoto has overcome a 16th-place start to the championship to make up a deficit in the standings that was as large as 27 points following the sixth race of the season. After taking over the points lead from Millsaps for the first time two races ago, Villopoto has almost opened a double-digit margin over his Suzuki-mounted counterpart.
The Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship has shaped up to be a competitive battle to the finish on the heels of a second consecutive win by Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin in Indianapolis. Just one week after capturing his first career Monster Energy Supercross victory, Musquin overcame an incident in the first turn of the Main Event inside Lucas Oil Stadium to pass virtually the entire 20-rider field and take over the lead on the final lap and steal another win, Feld Motor Sports says.
In the championship, Musquin moved to within nine points of GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn, who finished third in Indianapolis and has finished on the podium in all five races this season. Musquin also took over second in the standings after Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson was unable to compete following a crash on the opening lap of his Heat Race. Wilson was taken to the hospital for further evaluation and reportedly suffered a broken rib, broken back, broken shoulder, and punctured lung as a result of the incident, Feld Motor Sports says.
With Wilson seemingly out of the picture for the remainder of the Eastern Regional Championship, this appears as if it may be a two-rider battle for the title. Both Hahn and Musquin had never won a Main Event prior to the 2013 season, and both will be going for his first career championship, Feld Motor Sports says.
Last season’s Eastern Regional 250SX Class race in Toronto featured a great battle for the win between Justin Barcia and Ken Roczen, with Barcia prevailing, Feld Motor Sports says.
The first 450SX Class race held in Toronto was March 8, 2008, when Chad Reed won aboard a Yamaha. Villopoto is the only rider to win more than once inside the Rogers Center, winning two of the last three seasons. No rider has ever won in both the 450SX Class and 250SX Class in Toronto, but Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia will look to become the first on Saturday night. Christophe Pourcel claimed the first 250SX Class victory in Toronto in 2009 while riding a Kawasaki. With the injury to Dean Wilson, the 250SX Class will feature its fourth different Toronto winner in five years of racing from the Rogers Centre, Feld Motor Sports says.
Tickets are available at the Rogers Centre Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge by phone at (855) 985-5000, supercrossonline.com, or online at www.ticketmaster.ca.
Practice and qualifying begin at 12:30 p.m. and the main event starts at 7:00 p.m. Total Access Passes are $125 Adult/Child; Gold Circle $42 Adult/Child; Extreme Seats $25 Adult/Child; Treadhead $15 Adult/Child; Pizza Pizza Kids Tickets $15 (excludes TAP and Gold Circle seats).
Toronto AMA Supercross on TV
Live coverage of Toronto Supercross begins at 7:30 p.m. EST Saturday, March 23, on SPEED.
2013 AMA Supercross 450 Class Season Standings (after 11 of 17 rounds):
- Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 227
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 218
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 210
- Chad Reed, Australia, Honda, 178
- Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 168
- Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 165
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 155
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 136
- Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 112
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 109
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Season Standings:
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 112
- Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 103
- Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki, 88
- Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki, 87
- Kyle Peters, Greensboro, NC, Honda, 67
- Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki, 67
- Vince Friese, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Honda, 65
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 53
- Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 53
- James Decotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda, 52
Past Winners in Toronto
450SX Class
- March 24, 2012: Ryan Villopoto
- March 26, 2011: Ryan Dungey
- March 13, 2010: Ryan Villopoto
- March 28, 2009: James Stewart
- March 29, 2008: Chad Reed
250SX Class
- March 24, 2012: Justin Barcia
- March 26, 2011: Dean Wilson
- March 13, 2010: Justin Barcia
- March 28, 2009: Christophe Pourcel
