Ryan Dungey wins one for home crowd. Photography by Hoppenworld.com
For the second time this season, the Red Bull KTM Team came away with a sweep in the 2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series, this time at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 13, with Ryan Dungey capturing his second victory in the 450 class and Marvin Musquin his fourth in the 250 East division.
The 450 main ended up being a thrilling two-rider shootout between series points leader Ryan Villopoto and home favorite Dungey. Villopoto, who has won the last five straight rounds, shot into the lead after getting around fast starter Mike Alessi, then Dungey wasted little time getting into second place.
Villopoto tried sprinting away, but Dungey stayed right with him for the first half of the race. By the 10th lap, Dungey started to turn up the pressure a bit.
By the 12th lap and urged on by the vocal crowd of 48,864, Dungey began to attack Villopoto for the lead and was all over the Kawasaki rider with five laps to go. Heading into the 16th lap, Dungey put his KTM in front of Villopoto’s Monster Energy Kawasaki through a split section of the track.
Villopoto came right back and the two went at it for a few more turns, with Villopoto passing Dungey back for a moment, before Dungey finally took full control of the situation.
On the last lap, Villopoto made one last run at Dungey but came up less than a second short of the KTM rider in what was one of the most exciting finishes of the year.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been on top of the box, but, man, it front of all these fans it was amazing,” Dungey said. “We could hear them out there. It was pretty loud and I’ve never felt anything like it. This is amazing to win in front of the home crowd, and I never could have dreamed something like this.”
“Me and Ryan [Dungey] had a hell of a race out there,” Villopoto said. “The fans were unbelievable. I knew they were rooting for Ryan, but it was awesome to hear them in every turn.
No one else was really in this one. Although Rockstar Energy Drink’s Davi Millsaps rode a strong race and got on the podium in third, he was more than 16 seconds behind Villopoto at the finish line.
Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia finished fourth 10 seconds behind Millsaps, while TwoTwo Motorsport/Discount Tire Honda’s Chad Reed rounded out the top five, six seconds behind Barcia, after returning to the series following minor knee surgery.
Andrew Short, Trey Canard, Josh Hill, Justin Brayton and Weston Peick completed the top 10 overall.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart pulled out of the race and rode back to the pits while running in the top five.
With three rounds to go, Villopoto still enjoys a comfortable 22-point lead in the standings over Dungey, who took over second place from Millsaps. Just one point separate the two riders for second place.
The 250 East main had far less drama, with Musquin jumping out to an early lead, and he never looked back, taking an uneventful win.
“It was a great day,” Musquin said. “I was fastest in practice, I won my heat race, I won the main and even got the holeshot.”
Points lead Wil Hahn, on the GEICO Honda, finished eight seconds back in second but still controls the series. With one race left in the 250 East Championship, Hahn leads Musquin by just five points. Hahn can wrap up his first title with a second-place finish at the series final in Las Vegas.
Third on the night went to last week’s winner Blake Wharton on the Rockstar Energy Suzuki. He and Tyler Bowers went at it early in the race, which ended with Bowers going down.
The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider got back up and ended up finishing fifth, one spot behind Gavin Faith on the MotoConcepts/Smart-Top Honda.
Results
450 Main
1. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
2. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
3. Davi Millsaps (Suz)
4. Justin Barcia (Hon)
5. Chad Reed (Hon)
6. Andrew Short (KTM)
7. Trey Canard (Hon)
8. Josh Hill (Suz)
9. Justin Brayton (Yam)
10. Weston Peick (Suz)
11. Matt Georke (KTM)
12. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
13. Broc Tickle (Suz)
14. Mike Alessi (Suz)
15. Chris Blose (Yam)
16. Bobby Kiniry (Yam)
17. Ben Lamay (Yam)
18. James Stewart (Suz)
19. Phil Nicoletti (Yam)
20. 20. Les Smith (KTM)
250 East Main
1. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
2. Wil Hahn (Hon)
3. Blake Wharton (Suz)
4. Gavin Faith (Hon)
5. Tyler Bowers (Kaw)
6. Lance Vincent (KTM)
7. Vince Friese (Hon)
8. A.J. Catanzaro (Kaw)
9. Steven Clarke (KTM)
10. Cole Thompson (Hon)
11. Mitchell Oldenburg (Hon)
12. Jackson Richardson (Hon)
13. Daniel Herrlein (Hon)
14. Landen Powell (Hon)
15. Levi Kilbarger (Hon)
16. Adam Gulley (Kaw)
17. Ozzy Barbaree (KTM)
18. Maxx Malatia (Hon)
19. Zack Williams (Hon)
20. David Butler (Hon)
