The Motorcycle-Superstore.com Holeshot Championship in the 450cc class is the last piece of the 2013 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship season puzzle that will be solved at Saturday’s Red Bull Lake Elsinore National.
Three riders – James Stewart, Justin Barcia, and Ryan Villopoto – are still mathematically alive to win the $25,000 prize with the points available in each moto looming large.
Tim Clark (Director of Sports Marketing for Motorcycle Superstore) says: “I think the Las Vegas oddsmakers would call this one pretty close. With the way Ryan Villopoto has dominated the last couple of rounds, the only solid bet is that one of these three guys will win it.”
Stewart, rider of the Yoshimura Suzuki, goes into the weekend with a one-point lead over Barcia and his Honda Muscle Milk bike and a three-point margin over Villopoto and the Monster Energy Kawasaki.
Points for the Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot Championship are earned in every moto in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The first moto is worth one point, the second moto awards two points, and any rider who takes both holeshots at the same race receives a bonus point.
That scoring system opens up a number of clinching scenarios for all three riders:
* If Stewart holeshots Moto 2, he wins no matter what Barcia or Villopoto do.
* If Barcia holeshots both motos, he wins with 12 points.
* If Villopoto holeshots both motos, he wins with 10 points.
* Barcia needs at least the Moto 2 holeshot with Stewart getting no holeshots.
* If Barcia, Villopoto, and Stewart get no holeshots, Stewart wins.
* If Josh Grant (currently five points) holeshots both motos, he would tie Stewart in points but would lose on a tiebreaker.
Justin Barcia says: “Realistically all I need to do is get some good holeshots, then I’ll be in good shape. I’m going through my regular routine this week. We’re going to be doing some testing, too. I’ll get in a couple of extra starts as well because I want to get that award; it’s a big deal.
“With the season championship pretty well wrapped up, being able to go to the track this week with a chance to still win a title is pretty cool.”
The most intriguing scenario comes if Stewart holeshots the first moto and Barcia takes the second. That would put the riders in a tie and trigger a number of tiebreaking scenarios.
Both riders will then have one “sweep” of both moto holeshots (the first tiebreaker). Both riders will have three second-moto holeshots (the second tiebreaker). Both will have a total of six holeshots (the third tiebreaker). The final tiebreaker comes down to Most Laps Led in Holeshot Motos. After Utah, Barcia has led 28 laps and Stewart has led 23 laps. These are only the laps led in the motos where they each had the holeshot.
On the 250cc side, GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn clinched the $15,000 prize with two races left on the schedule despite missing the first part of the motocross season recovering from surgery.
Tim Clark says: “For Wil Hahn to miss the first few rounds and then come back to dominate the 250cc class holeshots is pretty impressive. It was an amazing rebound, especially when you consider he was able to wrap up the Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot title with two rounds left.”
The first 450cc moto will air live on the NBC Sports Network starting at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The second moto will air at 6 p.m. on FOX Sports 2.
450cc Holeshot Points Leaders
1. James Stewart, 9
2. Justin Barcia, 8
3. Ryan Villopoto, 6
4. Josh Grant, 5
5. Mike Alessi, 4
6. Ryan Dungey, 3
7. Ryan Sipes, 2
450cc Holeshot Winners
Hangtown 1 – James Stewart
Hangtown 2 – James Stewart
Thunder Valley 1 – Justin Barcia
Thunder Valley 2 -Justin Barcia
Muddy Creek 1 – Ryan Villopoto
Muddy Creek 2 – Justin Barcia
High Point 1 – Justin Barcia
High Point 2 – Josh Grant
Budds Creek 1 – Mike Alessi
Budds Creek 2 – Mike Alessi
Southwick 1 – James Stewart
Southwick 2 – Ryan Dungey
RedBud 1 – Josh Grant
RedBud 2 – James Stewart
Washougal 1 – Ryan Dungey
Washougal 2 – Josh Grant
Millville 1 – Justin Barcia
Millville 2 – James Stewart
Unadilla 1 – Ryan Villopoto
Unadilla 2 – Ryan Villopoto
Utah 1 – Ryan Villopoto
Utah 2 – Ryan Sipes
250cc Holeshot Points Leaders
1. Wil Hahn, 13 – x
2t. Justin Bogle, 4
2t. Zach Osborne, 4
4. Martin Davalos, 3
5t. Zach Bell, 2
5t. Jeremy Martin, 2
5t. Marvin Musquin, 2
5t. Ken Roczen, 2
5t. Eli Tomac, 2
10. Blake Baggett, 1
250cc Holeshot Winners
Hangtown 1 – Blake Baggett
Hangtown 2 – Zach Bell
Thunder Valley 1 – Zach Osborne
Thunder Valley 2 – Jeremy Martin
Muddy Creek 1 – Justin Bogle
Muddy Creek 2 – Eli Tomac
High Point 1 – Zach Osborne
High Point 2 – Marvin Musquin
Budds Creek 1 – Wil Hahn
Budds Creek 2 – Wil Hahn
Southwick 1 – Wil Hahn
Southwick 2 – Ken Roczen
RedBud 1 – Wil Hahn
RedBud 2 – Zach Osborne
Washougal 1 – Justin Bogle
Washougal 2 – Wil Hahn
Millville 1 – Wil Hahn
Millville 2 – Wil Hahn
Unadilla 1 – Wil Hahn
Unadilla 2 – Martin Davalos
Utah 1 – Martin Davalos
Utah 2 – Justin Bogle
