2013 Monster Energy AMA SupercrossThe 2013 Monster Energy Supercross series heads to Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend for round 11 of 17. The competition was intense all season, but heading into Indy things are really starting to heat up.
Following his fifth win 2013 AMA Supercross last weekend at Daytona, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto became the first rider of the season to knock Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps out of the points lead.And as the series heads to Indy, Villopoto already has an advantage – he won there last season.During last year’s Indy Supercross race, which was held before nearly 60,000 spectators, Villopoto had a bad start. But he ascended through the field, and with four laps remaining he made a pass on Justin Brayton for the lead. Aboard the Kawasaki KX-F 450, Villopoto would finish ahead of Brayton (then Muscle-Milk Honda) and Millsaps (then JGRMX Yamaha).The momentum began ascending for Villopoto over the past four races, the reigning SX champ winning three of those. Meanwhile, Millsaps began losing points, mostly due to his 10th-place finish at Daytona and sixth at St. Louis.Then at Daytona last Saturday, Villopoto grabbed the holeshot, but went off the track, dropping to third. But he worked his way back into the lead by the fourth lap, and went on to win by over five seconds ahead of Dungey, with Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia taking third.During his recent surge, Villopoto made up a 24-point deficit, not only passing Millsaps in the points, but also Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey.Through its first four races, the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship has boasted three different winners, making for a parity-filled start to the season. In Daytona, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin became the second rider this season to claim his first career Monster Energy Supercross victory, joining championship leader Wil Hahn, Feld Motor Sports says.Hahn maintained control of the championship lead aboard his GEICO Honda, finishing second to follow-up his back-to-back victories. He is now the only rider in the Eastern Regional Championship to finish on the podium in each of the four races this season, Feld Motor Sports says.Hahn currently holds a five-point lead over Wilson, who ultimately settled for a fourth-place finish in Daytona after challenging for the lead early, Feld Motor Sports says.Last season’s Eastern Regional 250SX Class race in Indianapolis was a memorable one for Rockstar Energy Racing’s Blake Wharton, who raced to his second career victory inside Lucas Oil Stadium following a late pass for the lead.The first 450SX Class race held in Indianapolis was March 21, 1992, when Jeff Stanton won aboard a Honda. Jeremy McGrath has the most wins in Indianapolis with six, all of which came inside the old RCA Dome, which hosted Monster Energy Supercross from 1992 to 2008. Since 2009, only Villopoto and Chad Reed have emerged victorious inside Lucas Oil Stadium. Reed, Ricky Carmichael, and Ezra Lusk are the only riders to win at Indy in both the 450SX Class and 250SX Class, Feld Motor Sports says.Jimmy Button claimed the first 250SX Class victory in Indianapolis in 1992 while riding a Yamaha. Since Lucas Oil Stadium began hosting Monster Energy Supercross in 2009, four different riders have claimed the 250SX Class win, making it one of the unpredictable stops of the Eastern Regional Championship, Feld Motor Sports says. 2013 Indy AMA Supercross on TVLive broadcast coverage of the action from Indianapolis can be seen exclusively on SPEED, beginning at 7:30 PM EST.2013 Monster Energy Supercross 450SX Class Points (after 10 of 17 rounds):
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 202
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 200
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 188
Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 163
Chad Reed, Australia, Honda, 163
Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 152
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 135
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 122
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 104
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 99
2013 Eastern Regional Monster Energy Supercross 250SX Class Points:
Hello everyone and welcome once again to the Ultimate Motorcycling podcast—Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
Motos and Friends is brought to you by the Yamaha YZF-R7—Yamaha’s awesome supersport machine that is as capable on the racetrack as it is on the street. …and it’s comfortable too! Check it out at at your local Yamaha dealer, or of course at YamahaMotorsports.com.
In this week’s first segment, Senior Editor Nic de Sena rides the BMW K 1600 GT. This is the sporty bagger version of BMW’s K series of machines, those are the models with the awesome 6-cylinder engine. The GT has been given a little makeover for 2023, and Nic gives us his take.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my all time heroes—three-time World Champion racer ‘fast’ Freddie Spencer. I’ll do my best not to come off as too much of a fanboy here, but frankly it’ll be tough!
In my humble opinion, Spencer is a contender for the GOAT—greatest of all time. Sure, his career was a little shorter than some, and his number of championships falls behind the likes of Lawson, Doohan, Rossi, and of course Marquez. But at the time, Freddie literally changed the way motorcycles were ridden. 30 years before Marc Marquez, Freddie was able to push the front wheel into a slide, corner after corner, lap after lap in order to get the bike turned faster than anyone else. Freddie took completely different lines and was able to get on the throttle so early he could out accelerate anyone off a corner.
In the modern era, of course Freddie is the chairman of the FIM MotoGP Stewards panel. This is the panel of referees for all three classes of Grand prix racing. I talked to Freddie about his task there, and although for contractual reasons with Dorna and the FIM he cannot talk about specific riders, teams, or events, nevertheless his explanation of the job makes for interesting listening. It’s a tough job, and frankly I wouldn’t want to do it!
At any rate, Freddie’s new book ‘Feel’ is available on Amazon—I’d highly recommend you reading it whether you’re a fan of Freddie or not, even whether you’re into racing or not; every rider has something to learn from his mental approach.
Actually—Ultimate Motorcycling is giving away five copies of the book—signed by Freddie himself—to the first five listeners who contact us with the correct answer to the question: How many national AMA championships did Freddie win, and which years were they?
Please email your answers to producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we will contact the winners and send you a signed copy of Feel. Those five winners will be announced on a future episode. Unfortunately for legal reasons this offer is ONLY open to US residents.
So, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
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