SAN DIEGO, CA, FEB. 19 –
Once again it was a great night at the races for Honda, as riders Chad Reed and Eli Tomac celebrated wins at the San Diego Supercross which took place under rainy skies at Qualcomm Stadium. TwoTwo Motorsports Honda’s Reed bested Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey and L&M Racing San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart in the main event after also fending off challenges from fellow Honda rider Trey Canard. Tomac, on the other hand, flat out dominated the Lites class from start to finish, which made the GEICO Powersports Honda rookie’s career-first victory a potent one.
Mother Nature threatened to turn round seven of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross World Championship into a quagmire, and though the skies did open up and dump a fair amount of rain during the night program, the track stayed in fair condition – fair enough to challenge the riders’ patience and throttle control on the greasy San Diego soil, and also provide plenty of passing and crashing throughout the evening, which certainly kept things exciting.
Although neither of the current Supercross points leaders managed to finish the night on the podium in San Diego, for both Ryan Villopoto and Josh Hansen, the night was about limiting damages. Fortunatley for the Kawasaki riders, they were both able to leave Qualcomm Stadium with their championship leads intact.
Hansen was still nursing his broken hand which he suffered at Anaheim II two weeks ago, and he managed to further aggravate the injury in practice. Hansen managed to squeak out one hot lap for a top-ten qualifying position, and then go on to finish a modest sixth place in the main – enough to retain his points lead. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider is slated to go in for surgery to repair his broken hand on Monday, and plans to be back in action when the Lites West series resumes in seven weeks.
Hansen’s teammates – Tyla Rattray (28) and Broc Tickle (20) – rounded out the podium behind Tomac in the Lites main event. Tomac got off with the holeshot and never looked back. He opened up a commanding lead and left the rest of the field to battle for the remaining podium positions. Rattray and Tickle had some close racing for much of the 15-lap main, while other riders – namely KTM’s Ken Roczen – were left to play catch-up. Roczen set the hot lap in practice, but got hosed off the start of the main event, and rounded the first corner nearly dead last. The rookie was able to claw his way through the field up to seventh behind Hansen where he finished.
In the 450 class, there were quite a few lead changes, and plenty of excitement in the top-five. In the end it was the three riders who avoided hitting the ground – Reed, Dungey and Stewart – who graced the podium with Trey Canard and Davi Millsaps rounding out the top-five.
Reed (pictured right) grabbed the holeshot with Canard giving chase. The Honda riders gave the San Diego crowd a thrill as Canard scrubbed his way up onto Reed’s rear wheel over a triple and passed him in the following turn. Reed stayed with Canard, but didn’t get aggressive in trying to re-pass him for the lead. Canard gave it right back to Reed, however, when he knifed it and hit the ground letting Reed and Stewart by. Next it was Stewart’s turn to fumble, and he let Canard and Dungey by when he stalled his YZ. The next lap Canard crashed again, handing second place to Dungey, and letting Stewart regain and move into third.
Ryan Villopoto’s main event was riddled with bad luck, and the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider hit the ground off the start. But even after starting dead last (nearly half a lap down), and having to pull in for a quick pit stop to yank off a loose fender, RV was able to charge hard for 20 laps and salvage a seventh-place finish. It was enough to let Villopoto stay in control of the championship – even if only by three points – over James Stewart.
Reed’s win places him in a points-tie with Trey Canard for third in the championship, and Dungey continues to make up ground after his disappointing DNF in Anaheim II.
Kevin Windham’s night was nothing short of disastrous. The GEICO Powersports Honda rider was fighting to recuperate from his Houston crash in time for the San Diego Supercross only for disaster to strike again. He had a similar get-off in a rhythm section during his heat race which ended with him taking a face-full of dirt and a trip to the LCQ. In the main event, Windham only made it three laps before another crash ended his night.Lites Main Event:
1. Eli Tomac (Hon)
2. Tyla Rattray (Kaw)
3. Broc Tickle (Kaw)
4. Cole Seely (Hon)
5. James Decotis (Hon)
6. Josh Hansen (Kaw)
7. Ken Roczen (KTM)
8. Ben Evans (Kaw)
9. Ryan Morais (Suz)
10. Kyle Cunningham (Yam)
11. Antonio Balbi (Kaw)
12. Martin Davalos (Suz)
13. Ryan Smith (Suz)
14. Tommy Weeck (Hon)
15. Nick Paluzzi (Yam)
16. Casey Hinson (KTM)
17. Scott Champion (Kaw)
18. Travis Bright (Hon)
19. Dakota Tedder (Kaw)
20. Kyle Beaton (Kaw)
450 Main Event:
1. Chad Reed (Hon)
2. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
3. James Stewart (Yam)
4. Trey Canard (Hon)
5. Davi Millsaps (Yam)
6. Andrew Short (KTM)
7. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
8. Brett Metcalfe (Suz)
9. Mike Alessi (KTM)
10. Justin Brayton (Yam)
11. Nick Wey (Yam)
12. Kyle Regal (Yam)
13. Fabien Izoird (Kaw)
14. Chris Blose (Kaw)
15. Ivan Tedesco (Kaw)
16. Michael Byrne (Suz)
17. Maxime Lesage (Kaw)
18. Austin Stroupe (Yam)
19. Weston Peick (Yam)
20. Kevin Windham (Hon)
