Super Tight St. Louis
The story after the first practice session at the St. Louis round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship round inside the Edward Jones Dome is the tight and technical track riders face today.
Davi Millsaps, who is coming off his best result of the season so far with fourth in Atlanta last week, said the technical track was the thing that hit him right off in the first practice session. “It’s super tight,” said Millsaps, the JGRMX/Toyota Yamaha rider. “It’s the same for everybody, so I’m hoping to go out and just put in solid laps and go from there. I’m not a big fan of tight tracks. Last weekend (Atlanta) was pretty tight, but not as much as this weekend.”
When asked what enabled him to score such a good result in Atlanta, Millsaps replied, “I think I just had good week of practice leading up to Atlanta. Hopefully I can carry that momentum into the race this weekend.”
Seely Ready for More
Cole Seely shocked a lot of fans last week in Atlanta when he led a major portion of the race on the factory Team Honda/Muscle Milk entry, but Honda’s team manager Erik Kehoe said he wasn’t surprised to see Seely, a West Coast Lites regular filling in for the injured Trey Canard, do so well on the 450 in his first outing on the big bike this season. “He’s definitely capable of getting holeshots, like he did in Atlanta,” Kehoe said. “When he took the lead he did a good job handling the pressure. I think being on the bike only a week or so, it maybe got to him a little bit, getting used to the power and a little heavier bike, but he did a great job.”
Seely said his performance last week has changed his outlook coming into St. Louis. “It does change my mindset,” he said. “It’s a huge confidence booster and the main thing I took from that was gaining the experience. Now I know what it’s like to lead a 450 event and what it will take win a main event.”
Seely filled in for Josh Grant last season and raced four races in the 450 class and he’s slated to do the same this year.
Wharton Knows What’s Possible
Blake Wharton won the Lites class in St. Louis in 2009. The Rockstar/Yoshimura Suzuki rider feels that makes expectations higher than at other races. “When you’ve won a race before it verifies in your mind that you’re capable of doing it again,” said Wharton, who is ranked third in the standings coming into St. Louis. “I can beat these guys. It just takes a good race. The competition is high so you’ve really got to be solid. To win here again would be special, but if I can put in 15 solid laps I think I’ll be happy no matter where I end up.”
Wharton went on to explain why St. Louis is one of his favorite venues. “I like the dirt here,” he said. “It has just the right amount of moisture. I also like the way they make the track here and I just enjoy racing in this stadium.”
Barcia Going for a St. Louis Record
In all the years the AMA Supercross Series has been coming to St. Louis, no one, in either classes, has won three consecutive years. Lites East Series leader Justin Barcia has the opportunity to pull off that feat tonight. The GEICO Honda rider comes in the Edward Jones Dome have won theLites class in the previous two seasons.
“For sure I’m excited about coming back to St. Louis,” said Barcia, who is undefeated so far in 2012. “I’ve won here twice and the dirt is amazing and it’s just a sweet track. I don’t necessarily feel any pressure having a chance to become the first to win three in a row. To do that would be amazing, but if I get second or third I’m still on the box and will have a solid lead in the series and that’s what really counts.”
