Villopoto hangs tough for his second race win in a row and third of the season. Dean Wilson finally captilises on a late race mistake by Tomac to claim the Lites class victory…
A huge crowd of 58,782 fans welcomed the sixth race of the 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season at Qualcomm Stadium. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto won his third race of the season tonight to extend his points lead to six. In the Western Regional Supercross Lites Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson won his second race and now controls the points lead as the Western division takes a two-month break.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Brett Metcalfe grabbed his first Nuclear Cowboyz® Holeshot of the season to start the Supercross Class Main Event with Villopoto and his Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Jake Weimer in tow. Villopoto took the lead on the second lap while a battle ensued between TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray/Honda’s Chad Reed, JGRMX’s James Stewart and Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey behind him. On Lap 3, Reed charged through the pack and made a pass on Weimer to assume second place. Shortly after, Weimer lost his position to Metcalfe who put in his best ride of the series so far to eventually finish fourth.
Midway through the race, Stewart passed Metcalfe for third, but went down a few laps later in the whoops and handed over the spot to Dungey. Back in front, Reed and Villopoto were bar to bar, and on lap 18, Reed stole the lead, but was unable to hold it as the duo came up to the white flag. Reed went on to secure second place with Dungey rounding out the podium in third.
Red Bull/KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey put his KTM back on the podium registering his fifth podium this year. He is currently third in the season’s standings and trails leader Ryan Villipoto by just 10 points.
“The whoops were treacherous tonight,” said Villopoto. “I knew it was important to be consistent every lap. Battling Reed on the last few laps was exciting and I was able to make a good pass. I’m happy to keep the red plate on my bike and am excited for the Dallas race next week.”
“I struggled a little bit tonight in some sections and it held me back from fighting for the top spot,” remarked Dungey. “Overall, I am glad I was able to get on the podium and salvage some points but I need to battle for the win to help my fight in the championship chase. I am looking forward to heading east and hoping to run up front next weekend.”
Top Result: The fast starting Bret Metcalfe finished up fourth
“It was a good night!” said Metcalfe. “We were able to put in some work this week and get the set-up back to what we were comfortable with and what we know works. The Yoshimura Suzuki RMZ-450 really worked great all weekend. I was still a little bit off in practice, but in the heat races and the Main, I came through. I got good starts – which helped out – and I was able to ride strong. I qualified third in the heat race and got a good gate pick, so I got where I wanted to be and ripped the holeshot. That was my first holeshot of the year so I’m really pumped with that. I rode solid and I rode as hard as I could.”
Lites
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Vince Friese opened the Western Regional Supercross Lites Class main Event with the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot with Wilson trailing closely through the first turn. Wilson quickly passed Friese and held the lead for the remaining 20 laps. GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac who controlled the points lead heading into the night, started mid-pack and charged his way to third place, however on lap seven, he crashed in the whoops to surrender his podium spot and points lead. With Tomac crashing out, JDR KTM’s Matt Moss moved into third place to secure his squad’s first podium of the season behind Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Cole Seely.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic with the win,” said Wilson. “I knew I needed to run consistent laps out there and get through the whoops as fast as I could all night long. Eli [Tomac] is a tough competitor, so it’s a bit of a surprise to be in the points lead, but I’m going to work my butt off during the break to try and stay there.”
Supercross Lites podium San Diego