Monster Energy/Pro Circuit’s Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Cole Seely
2014 Seattle Supercross ResultsThe three-way battle for the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross Championship continued Saturday at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field.
Ryan Villopoto fought hard to keep the points lead, winning at his hometown race. This was Villopoto’s fifth win of the season. He was joined on the podium by the two others in the hunt for the 2014 SX Championship, Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart and KTM’s Ryan Dungey, respectively.Before nearly 54,000 fans at round 15 of 17, Villopoto took the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot, followed by Dungey and BTO Sports/FLY Racing KTM’s Andrew Short in third. Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart quickly placed himself into fifth, and by the end of lap 1 of 20, the Floridan who also has five wins this season was in third.Stewart made a pass on Dungey on lap three, and began chasing down Villopoto. But the Kawasaki KX-F 450 pilot already had a huge lead, and extended the gap to take his second career win in Seattle in six years.“I don’t think I’ve ever raced in front of a crowd cheering me on this loud. It’s tough to race at home and in the past I haven’t been that stellar here, so to have a race like that is awesome,” said Villopoto, who’s first career 450SX Class win came in Seattle during his 2009 rookie season. “With [James Stewart] and [Ryan Dungey] standing up here next to me, getting a win is huge. I’m not thinking about the championship right now, but it does feel good to have an opportunity to wrap up the title in New York in a couple weeks.”Stewart and Dungey finished second and third, respectively, preventing Villopoto from securing the title. But with his 48-point lead over Stewart, Villopoto can possibly secure the Supercross title at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in two weeks.Rounding out the top five were Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen and Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia.In the penultimate race of the Western Regional 250SX Class Championship, Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Cole Seely led every lap of the Main Event to capture his second win of the season.Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson took the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot Award with Seely close behind. Seely maintained the pressure on Wilson and was able to make the pass for the lead coming to the line to complete the first lap. Wilson didn’t lose much ground on Seely and was within striking distance throughout the opening laps until he lost traction and went down on Lap 4, dropping to fifth. Wilson’s misfortune allowed Seely to open a gap on the field that he would ultimately maintain for the remainder of the race, Feld Motor Sports says.Behind Seely, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Justin Hill and Rockstar Energy Racing’s Jason Anderson engaged in a spirited battle for second. The duo traded spots on multiple occasions with Anderson, the championship leader, crashing and going off the track on separate occasions. Despite his misfortune, Anderson was able to continue the fight with Hill for second and made the pass stick on Lap 12, Feld Motor Sports says.Seely’s win helped him gain three points on Anderson, who finished second, to close to within eight points in the championships standings with one race remaining in the Western Regional Championship, Feld Motor Sports says.“I’m just trying to stay alive in the points hunt,” said Seely, who won in Seattle in 2011. “I’ve been solid and he [Jason Anderson] has been solid. I got off to good start then Dean [Wilson] made a mistake and I capitalized. We were able to put together 15 solid laps. This is where I need to be, so I’m pumped. I’m not thinking about the points. Whatever happens [in the championship] happens. It’s been a fun year.”Hill rounded out the podium in third while Wilson bounced back from his crash to finish fourth. The Western Regional 250SX Class Championship will next race at the 2014 season finale from Las Vegas on May 3, Feld Motor Sports says.Monster Energy Supercross will take its lone break of the 2014 season next weekend in observance of Easter before returning to action for the penultimate race of the championship on Saturday, April 26.The sport will make its first visit to the New York area since 1991 as MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, N.J., will host its inaugural race. Live broadcast coverage on FOX Sports 2 begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by tape-delayed coverage on CBS on Sunday, April 27, beginning at 1 p.m. ET.2014 Seattle Supercross 450SX Class Results:
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
Justin Barcia, Pinetta, Fla., Honda
Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
Ken Roczen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM
Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Suzuki
Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki
2014 Monster Energy 450SX Class Season Standings:
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 318
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 270
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 267
Ken Roczen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 249
Justin Barcia, Pinetta, Fla., Honda, 214
Justin Brayton, Cornelius, N.C., Yamaha, 196
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 194
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 126
Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Suzuki, 124
Wil Hahn, Menifee, Calif., Honda, 122
2014 Seattle Western Regional 250SX Class Results:
Cole Seely, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda
Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., KTM
Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki
Dean Wilson, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Kawasaki
Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda
Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda
Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha
Jake Canada, Sun City, Calif., Honda
Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda
Shane McElrath, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda
2014 Western Regional 250SX Class Season Standings:
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This week, in the first segment Editor Don Williams talks to us about the new Kawasaki Versys 650 LT. It’s the middleweight ADV style machine that uses the same 650 parallel twin motor as the Ninja 650, so it’s an excellent performer in a user-friendly, good looking package.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my dearest industry friends—now retired Honda PR executive, Jon Seidel. Jon’s fascinating career spans some 30 years with Big Red, and gave him some great experiences with some incredible machines. I was fortunate enough to be invited on many of the press launches that he organized. His new project is documenting and saving many of the old archives from years gone by—and incidentally, if you have anything that may be of value to the project, please contact us by email at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll pass it all on to Jon.
So on that note, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
