BUDDS CREEK, Md. – James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto continued their respective marches though the 2008 Toyota AMA Motocross Championships today, at round seven of the series held at Budds Creek MX Park, in southern Maryland.
Under hot and humid conditions, the two Kawasaki riders dominated their divisions with Stewart topping the Motocross class over teammate Timmy Ferry and Red Bull Honda’s Andrew Short, while Villopoto blitzed to an easy victory in the Lites division over Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey and Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe.
Stewart was unstoppable in the 450 class, riding away to a large margin after grabbing the BTOSports.com Holeshot Award in each race.
Short and Ferry provided most of the action, as the two battled over the runner up position in each race.
In both races, Short ran in second during the early stages but in the end was unable to hold off the hard-charging Ferry. In the second moto, Ferry came from outside of the top 10 after a bad start, before passing Short at the finish.
Dungey grabbed the holeshot in the opening Lites moto, while Villopoto battled through traffic after a poor start. Villopoto took the lead on lap four and held on for the moto win with Geico Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard taking second ahead of Dungey.
In the final moto, Canard pulled the holeshot and ran out front but tangled with a lapper in lap 11 and failed to finish. Dungey capitalized on Canard’s misfortune to grab second in the moto and second overall. Meanwhile, Metcalfe, rounded out the podium for the second moto and took third overall after a fifth place performance in moto one. Villopoto worked through traffic in the opening portion of the moto again, taking the lead on lap three to maintain his undefeated record at Budds Creek and notch his third straight overall victory at the facility. “I’ve been able to ride good here the last three years,” said Villopoto. “I like the track. I didn’t get the start I wanted in both motos so I just had to put my head down, get around the guys, and pull the gap.” Stewart currently holds a 105-point lead over teammate Ferry in the AMA Motocross standings. In AMA Motocross Lites, Villopoto has a 103-point advantage over Dungey.
Motocross (Overall Finish)
1. James Stewart (Kaw)
2. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)
3. Andrew Short (Hon)
4. Josh Hill (Yam)
5. Michael Byrne (Suz)
6. Cody Cooper (Suz)
7. Nic Wey (KTM)
8. Jimmy Albertson (Hon)
9. Jeff Alessi (Hon)
10. Paul Carpenter (Hon)
Motocross Lites (Overall Finish)
1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
2. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
3. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw)
4. Martin Davalos (KTM)
5. Kyle Cunningham (Hon)
6. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
7. Nico Izzi (Suz)
8. Trey Canard (Hon)
9. Jake Weimer (Hon)
10. Justin Brayton (KTM)
