Ryan Villopoto and Wil Hahn capped off an exciting night of racing with main-event wins at the St. Louis Supercross, the ninth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship Series.
With more than 60,000 fans looking on at the Edward Jones Dome, Villopoto, on the Monster Energy Kawasaki, came from behind to win for the fourth time of the 2013 season. The defending champion was running fourth on the third lap when the red flag came out that stopped the race after a few riders got together and crashed, injuring JGRMX/Toyota Yamaha rider Kyle Chisholm. (Chisholm was carried off the track with, reportedly, injuries to his back and leg.)
On the staggered restart, Villopoto continued to move forward. He caught and passed TwoTwo Motorsports/Discount Tires Honda’s Chad Reed for third, then got around Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia.
Villopoto had one more rider ahead of him – last week’s winner James Stewart, on the Yoshimura Suzuki.
The two went at it for a number of laps with Villopoto getting around Stewart on the 13th lap. About the same time, Barcia bobbled and lost a few positions, handing third to Reed.
Villopoto went on to take the win, with Stewart getting second and Reed third for his second podium of the season.
“It was a crazy night out there,” said Villopoto. “I made a costly mistake on the first start, so I knew my work was cut out for me. I was able to make things happen on the second start and get out in front after some wild racing. It’s coming down to crunch time and we were all able to make it happen tonight.”
Fourth place went to Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, while Barcia ended up fifth overall.
Series points leader Davi Millsaps, of the Rockstar Energy Drink team, experienced his worse finish of the year in sixth, followed by holeshotter, Motoconcepts’ Mike Alessi, Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard, JGRMX/Yamaha’s Justin Brayton and BTO-Sports/KTM’s Andrew Short.
GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn proved that his Atlanta win last weekend was no fluke, as he collected his second win of his career.
Wil Hahn backed up his very first win last week at Atlanta with another win in St. Louis. Photography By: Hoppenworld.com
Hahn got out to a fast start, while his number-one rival, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson was stuck in the middle of the pack.
Wilson made a valiant effort getting to the front. He picked off riders one after the other until he was right on Hahn’s rear fender. Wilson actually made the pass for the lead on Hahn on the 12th lap but couldn’t hold it.
Hahn came right back, getting back by Wilson moments later and was able to hold off Wilson the rest of the way.
Hahn now leads Wilson by one point in the 250 East standings and will wear the red plate going into the next round at Daytona.
“It means the world to me,” Hahn said. “Going from none to two is a good feeling. Just to have some momentum on my side is also a good feeling. For me, I just need to keep consistent and keep getting the starts I’m getting and just ride a smart race.”
Third on the night went to Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Blake Wharton, followed by Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin, who crashed on the first lap and had to come from behind, and Yamaha rider Jeremy Martin.
RESULTS
450 Main
1. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki
2. James Stewart Suzuki
3. Chad Reed Honda
4. Ryan Dungey KTM
5. Justin Barcia Honda
6. Davi Millsaps Suzuki
7. Mike Alessi Suzuki
8. Trey Canard Honda
9. Justin Brayton Yamaha
10. Andrew Short KTM
450 Points Standings
1. Davi Millsaps Suzuki, 189
2. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki, 177
3. Ryan Dungey KTM, 166
4. Trey Canard Honda, 148
5. Chad Reed Honda, 147
6. Justin Barcia Honda, 132
7. James Stewart Suzuki, 122
8. Andrew Short KTM, 113
9. Justin Brayton Yamaha, 103
10. Broc Tickle Suzuki, 87
250 East Main
1. Wil Hahn Honda
2. Dean Wilson Kawasaki
3. Blake Wharton Suzuki
4. Marvin Musquin KTM
5. Jeremy Martin Yamaha
6. Vince Friese Honda
7. James Decotis Honda
8. Cole Thompson Honda
9. Zach Bell Honda
10. Peter Larsen Honda,
250 East Points Standings
1. Wil Hahn Honda, 70
2. Dean Wilson Kawasaki, 69
3. Blake Wharton Suzuki, 60
4. Marvin Musquin KTM, 53
5. Vince Friese Honda, 39
6. Gavin Faith Honda, 38
7. Justin Hill Kawasaki, 36
8. James Decotis Honda, 34
9. Jeremy Martin Yamaha, 32
10. Kyle Peters Honda, 31
