Ryan Villopoto gets another win and the championship points lead at Daytona. Photography By: Shan Moore
DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 9 – Ryan Villopoto claimed his fifth win of the season and his third Daytona Supercross victory in four years with an impressive performance at round 10 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider also took over the series points lead with the win, moving two points ahead of former points leader Davi Millsaps, who finished 10th on his Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki.
Starts have been oh so important in this year’s series, and Villopoto got off to a great one, grabbing the holeshot to start the 20-lap main event, and holding it until a small slip midway into the opening lap allowed Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen and Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia to squeeze by.
Villopoto was far from done, however, and on lap two he passed Barcia to move into second. Two laps later he passed Roczen to retake the lead, stretching his cushion to over five seconds by the finish.
“Daytona is a unique place to race and to win here is pretty awesome,” said Villooto. “It’s not like any other race, so if you can win here then it shows you are one of the best.”
Second went to Ryan Dungey, the Red Bull KTM rider working his way up from fourth after the start, passing Roczen on lap five and Barcia on lap nine. By the time he got into second, however, Villopoto was long gone.
“I tried to close that gap as much as I could each lap, but Ryan was riding a good race,” said Dungey.
Barcia managed to hold onto the final podium position, a good finish considering this was his first Daytona on a 450.
“The two Ryan’s ran a good race and I feel good to be up here with these two guys,” said Barcia. “This track was gnarly. It felt like an outdoor race for me, and I’m happy to be on the podium.”
Fourth was Eli Tomac, who is riding a few 450 rounds while the West Regional 250 class in on it’s break. The GEICO Honda rider finally got a decent start on the 450 and made the most of it.
Despite being one of the fastest riders of the day, Chad Reed finished fifth on his TwoTwo Motorsports Honda, while Muscle Milk Honda’s Trey Canard was sixth.
Roczen, another West Regional 250 rider, rode the KTM 350 to seventh.
James Stewart was up to fifth by lap three, but a crash on lap four dropped the Yoshimura Suzuki rider down the order. He eventually finished eighth, ahead of RCH/Dodge/Suzuki’s Broc Tickle.
Millsaps got off to a bad start and could never quite get in a groove, finishing the night in 10th and giving up the series points lead to Villopoto.
In the 250 East Regional Division, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin claimed his first-ever AMA Supercross victory after grabbing the holeshot and leading all 15 laps of the 250 main.
“This was the longest race of my life,” said Musquin. “I really love this track, it’s fun for me to ride, and I think that’s way I did well today.”
Wil Hahn passed Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson on lap 10 to move into second, the GEICO Honda rider making an aggressive move to do so. Wilson tried to retake the runner-up spot, but Hahn was able to close the door and put distance between himself and Wilson. Hahn went on to finish second; extending his points lead in the process.
Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin put on a late charge to take third, passing Wilson with four laps to go.
Wilson held on for fourth ahead of Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Blake Wharton.
With three rounds in the books, Hahn holds a five point lead over Wilson, 92 points to 97, with Musquin sitting third with 87.
Results:
450 Main
1. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
2. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
3. Justin Barcia (Honda)
4. Eli Tomac (Honda)
5. Chad Reed (Honda)
6. Trey Canard (Honda)
7. Ken Roczen (KTM)
8. James Stewart (Suzuki)
9. Broc Tickle (Suzuki)
10. Davi Millsaps (Suzuki)
450 Point Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto, 202
2. Davi Millsaps, 200
3. Ryan Dungey, 188
4. Trey Canard, 163
5. Chad Reed, 163
6. Justin Barcia, 152
7. James Stewart, 135
8. Andrew Short, 122
9. Justin Brayton, 104
10. Broc Tickle, 99
250 East Main
1. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
2. Wil Hahn (Honda)
3. Jeremy Martin (Yamaha)
4. Dean Wilson (Kawasaki)
5. Blake Wharton (Suzuki)
6. Justin Hill (Kawasaki)
7. Kyle Peters (Honda)
8. Zack Freeberg (Honda)
9. Cole Thompson (Honda)
10. Vince Friese (Honda)
250 Point Standings
1. Wil Hahn, 92
2. Dean Wilson, 87
3. Marvin Musquin, 78
4. Blake Wharton, 76
5. Jeremy Martin, 52
6. Justin Hill, 51
7. Vince Friese, 50
8. Kyle Peters, 45
9. James Decotis, 43
10. Gavin Faith, 40
