Believe it or not, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto had never won a Monster Energy AMA 450cc Supercross main event in Phoenix…until tonight
Usually, things begin to calm down a bit within the Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series after round one in Anaheim, but round two in Phoenix tonight was anything but calm, as defending three-time series champion Ryan Villopoto took home his first win of the season and took over the 450cc points lead, and Rockstar Energy KTM’s Jason Anderson stole his second victory in a row right out of the hands of TLD/Lucas Oil Honda’s Cole Seely.
In the 450cc class, Suzuki Australia’s Matt Moss snatched the holeshot at the start of the 20-lap main event, but it was JGR/Toyota Yamaha’s Justin Brayton who quickly took over the early lead, followed closely by Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia, Moss, round-one winner Ken Roczen, Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart, Mafia Moto’s Nick Wey, and Villopoto.
The next victim was Barcia himself, as Dungey clipped Barcia while Barcia was riding defensively late in the race. Barcia recovered in fifth place, just behind Stewart.
But out front, Brayton held tough until Villopoto caught him and made a smart move in a rhythm section to steal the lead away on lap 14 of 20. From there, Brayton kept Villopoto honest, and even had a shot at Villopoto through the last section of whoops on the final lap, but checked up as the move could’ve cost Brayton and Villopoto a fall and a lot of points.
Villopoto took the win over Brayton, Dungey, Stewart, Barcia and Roczen.
“I think it’s a good start for the season,” Villopoto said. “We’re only in the second round. When you get a win it’s definitely good for momentum, and for me, the team, everybody… We worked hard. We went back, when we worked on the bike, with actually the rear shock. So, we made that a lot better, with thanks to Scott at Showa. We worked at it; the whole team.”
In the 250cc class, Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb grabbed the holeshot in front of Anderson and Seely, but Seely made a pass on both of them at once just after the finish line at the end of lap one to take the lead, while Anderson took Webb wide off the track in the sand section just behind him. From there, Seely and Anderson did just like they did at Anaheim, taking off from the field.
Webb recovered in fifth behind Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson in fourth and TLD/Lucas Oil Honda’s Shane McElrath in third. Wilson got by Shane McElrath, but Webb got impatient behind his fellow SX rookie and dived to the inside in a turn, making enough contact that they both went down. This handed fourth place to GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne, and Osborne went to work on Wilson right away, making the pass for third stick for good on lap 11 of 15.
Out front, Seely made a costly error just after he took the white flag, allowing Anderson to close in on him. Anderson smelled blood and completed a beautiful block-pass to take the lead with about a half-lap to go. Seely tried to go after him at the finish, but came up just short again.
Anderson took his second win in a row, followed by Seely and Osborne, duplicating the podium from round one in Anaheim. Wilson finished fourth with room to spare over TLD/Lucas Oil Honda’s Malcolm Stewart, and Webb.
“I’ve been having a little bit of stomach issues all week,” Seely said on the podium. “I couldn’t eat anything all day, and like halfway through the race I just feel my gut starting to tighten up. Just tried to stick it out there, and Jason just threw another wheel on me on the last lap. Just, I can’t blame anybody but myself. I made a stupid mistake on the last lap, over in the sand, and it just cost me the race. But I feel great. We’re both just checking out on the field, which is awesome. I think we both really picked it up this year.”
Anderson was pumped with his second win in a row.
“You know, I’m in it,” Anderson said. “I’m not going to let this slip away. I think Cole was riding good tonight, I just had to stay on him. Those late passes aren’t planned, you know… I want to lead a race, from start to finish, but it’s tough when you have guys like Cole, and guys like Osborne, Cooper Webb and Wilson. But I think my fitness is good and I’m in it to win it every race, and that’s what I’m showing.”
The series continues next Saturday, January 18th, back at Angel Stadium in Anaheim for round three.
Chase Field
Phoenix, Arizona
Results: January 11, 2014
Round 2 of 17
450cc Main
1. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw
2. Justin Brayton-Yam
3. Ryan Dungey-KTM
4. James Stewart=Suz
5. Justing Barcia-Hon
6. Ken Roczen-KTM
7. Andrew Short-KTM
8. Broc Tickle-Suz
9. Chad Reed-Kaw
10. Wil Hahn-Hon
11. Matt Moss-Suz
12. Ivan Tedesco-KTM
13. Nick Wey-Kaw
14. Vince Friese-Hon
15. Matt Goerke-KTM
16. Kyle Chisholm-Yam
17. Mike Alessi-Suz
18. Jake Weimer-Kaw
19. Kyle Partridge-Hon
20. Nicholas Schmidt-Hon
21. Weston Peick-Sux
22. Chris Blose-Hon
450cc Supercross Points Standings
1. Ryan Villppoto-43/1 win
2. Ryan Dungey-42
3. Ken Roczen-40/1 win
4. Justin Brayton-37
5. Chad Reed-32
6. Justin Barcia-32
7. Broc Tickle-26
8. Andrew Short-26
9. James Stewart-22
10. Wil Hahn-21
250cc Main
1. Jason Anderson-KTM
2. Cole Seely-Hon
3. Zach Osborne-Hon
4. Dean Wilson-Kaw
5. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
6. Cooper Webb-Yam
7. Dean Ferris-KTM
8. Justin Hill-Kaw
9. Jessy Nelson-Hon
10. Cole Martinez-Kaw
11. Scott Champion-Hon
12. Shane McElrath-Hon
13. Austin Burns-Hon
14. Darryn Durham-Kaw
15. Chris Plouffe-Hon
16. Colton Aeck-Hon
17. Dakota Tedder-Kaw
18. Aaron Siminoe-Kaw
19. Ruben Alanis-KTM
20. Killian Auberson-KTM
21. Conner Elliott-Hon
22. Jake Canada-Hon
250cc Western Region Supercross Points Standings
1. Jason Anderson-50/2 wins
2. Cole Seely-44
3. Zach Osborne-40
4. Dean Wilson-36
5. Cooper Webb-31
6. Malcom Stewart-29
7. Justin Hill-28
8. Jessy Nelson-24
9. Darryn Durham-21
10. Dean Ferris-21
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