Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen earns second career AMA 450cc Supercross main event win at the Georgia Dome. Martin Davalos earns first career 250cc win.
Sometimes a race win is decided by the rider who makes the fewest mistakes. Tonight’s Monster Energy AMA 450cc Supercross main event at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta was decided by when the riders who were gunning for the when made their mistakes. When it was all over Red Bull KTM-mounted Roczen had the best timing as he overcame a mistake in the early stages of the 22-rider, 20-lap main event and took full advantage of a virtually identical mistake by leader Ryan Villopoto to take the lead with six laps remaining and post the win
“The track’s tough out there, and I didn’t feel great all day—I had a little cold,” Roczen said. “But the race was awesome. I made a little mistake so he [Villopoto] got by, and then he made the mistake and I got by. It was a good race, and I’m glad I was able to pull this off. It’s good for my confidence.”
Indeed, Roczen rode with such smoothness and precision after taking the lead late in the race that is appeared as if he was going slow. Yet despite Villopoto’s best efforts to catch Roczen, the German waltzed to his second Monster Energy AMA Supercross win of the season and of his career.
Before the race, it appeared as though the battle for the win might come down to Yoshimura’s James Stewart, who was looking for his third consecutive main event win, and defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion Villopoto, who was seeking to regain some momentum. When Mike Alessi snagged the holeshot to start the 22-rider, 20-lap main event, Stewart and Villopoto quickly already engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle for second place right behind him as the field streamed through the second rhythm section on the opening lap. Stewart made his way to second place, while both Red Bull KTM riders, Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey, dropped Villopoto from second to fourth place on the opening lap.
Stewart appeared all set to pounce on Alessi early and take over the lead when he suddenly lost the front end and crashed at the end of the slippery transition section that lead backward across the start straightaway to tie the track together. He dropped all the way to the back of the pack before he was able to get going again, and despite bulling his way through the field, he would finish a disappointing 11th place at the finish
With that Alessi held the lead, while Roczen found himself in second place but at the front of a three-rider freight train that included Villopoto and Dungey, with GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn in fifth place.
Roczen caught up to Alessi at the tail end of lap four, but a mistake over the finish line jump not only messed up Roczen’s bid for the lead, it also cost him one position to Villopoto. Roczen had to single the jump, allowing Villopoto to easily jump into second place. A clean pass on Alessi through a rhythm section netted Villopoto the race lead on lap six. Roczen also passed Alessi in the next whoop section. Dungey, however, was balked by Villopoto, and it cost the 2010 series champion valuable time on the track as Villopoto and Roczen pulled away.
Villopoto eeked out a 1.8-second lead over Roczen, with whom he trains during the week, but Roczen cut back into that lead, keeping the pressure on the champ. Then, similar to what Roczen had experienced earlier in the main event, Villopoto hit a tough block on the the entrance to a corner and nearly slid out under acceleration on a short approach to one of the triple jumps. He was forced to back off gas and single the jump, while Roczen had no such issues and flew over Villopoto’s head and into the lead with six laps to go. Villopoto recovered and ran just a couple lengths behind Roczen, perhaps in the hope of setting up a last-lap pass for the win, but lapped traffic may have hindered Villopoto just enough to allow Roczen to grab the gold, ahead of Villopoto and Dungey.
“It was definitely a tough track out there today,” Roczen said. “We kind of had some good traction out there, but…not, so it was really tricky and you had to use a lot of throttle control and be 100-percent focused the whole time.”
While Villopoto’s second-place finish kept him in the series points lead, he admitted that he struggled in the main event.
“I just started to ride a little bit tight, but I’m happy with where we finished,” Villopoto said. “I definitely made that big mistake and gave away the race right there. You know, we struggled all day in practice, and I don’t know what it was. I couldn’t get my line and couldn’t get my flow. I was able to find in the qualifier and in the main event. I just need to start riding like myself and start getting some race wins.”
Dungey is still seeking his first win of 2014, but he appeared to be happy with his podium finish.
“It feels good,” Dungey said. “We were all right there, and the track got rougher toward the end there. I could have switched up my lines and made it a little easier on myself and not lost so much time making a few mistakes with the ruts getting deep. The track really deteriorated. I’m just happy the bike stayed pretty consistent. The setup and everything felt good. We will just keep building to get that win, but I’m happy with what we got here.”
After 64 starts, Martin Davalos finally broke through to earn his first career AMA Supercross main event win in Atlanta. The Ecuadorian rider, who made his first AMA start way back in 2006, kept his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki on two wheels from start to finish tonight, and that made all the difference.
After having to qualify through the Last Chance Qualifier, Arlington Supercross 250cc main event winner Adam Cianciarulo dove across the pack from the outside and took the holeshot, followed by Davalos, who quickly jumped past Cianciarulo in a rhythm section. That set up a Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki duel at the front of the pack for the second weekend in a row. Meanwhile, their teammate, Blake Baggett, tangled handlebars with another rider and got a last-place run into turn one. Baggett would work his way inside the top 10 just six laps into the race.
Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Anthony Rodriguez, who showed much promise at the Arlington, Texas, Eastern Region opener, quickly made his way into third place, followed by a sea of Honda riders. Vince Friese, Blake Wharton, Justin Bogle, Jesse Wentland and Matt Bisceglia ran in fourth through eighth place; all were “riding red.” Rodriguez was looking smooth until he bobbled in a rhythm section and slammed headlong into the face of a jump on lap seven, ending his race early.
Out front, Davalos had amassed a 5.2-second lead by lap eight, with Cianciarulo comfortably in second, another 7 seconds ahead of Bogle and Wharton. Davalos held on to take the win about 3.2-seconds ahead of Cianciarulo, who hangs onto the series points lead as the series heads to round three in Indianapolis. Bogle finished third.
“This is the most amazing thing ever,” Davalos said. “I put so much hard work, and I’ve gone everywhere—left and right—to achieve this. For me, this is the most amazing feeling in the world. I came to America as a nobody, and just to be here, standing up top, it’s like a dream come true. I know it has taken a little longer than I thought, but I just can’t thank enough Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki for believing in me. My whole family is here from Ecuador, so this is the most amazing thing ever.”
Baggett put together a nice pass on both Frieze and Wentland to take over fifth place with five laps to go when the two jammed each other over a double jump. Both Honda riders had to single the obstacle while Baggett took an outside line and soared past both of them. Fifth place is as high as Baggett would climb, but it was a strong effort to salvage points in a race that could have destroyed his chances for the Eastern Region title.
It was a rough day for Muscle Milk Honda 450cc rider Justin Barcia. Third last weekend in Arlington, Texas, Barcia suffered two crashes in practice and did not start his heat race.
Georgia Dome
Atlanta, Georgia
Results: February 22, 2014 (Round 8 of 17)
450cc Main
1. Ken Roczen-KTM
2. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw
3. Ryan Dungey-KTM
4. Wil Hahan-Hon
5. Justin Brayton-Yam
6. Mike Alessi-Suz
7. Broc Tickle-Suz
8. Weston Peick-Suz
9. Josh Grant-Yam
10. Andrew Short-KTM
11. James Stewart-Suz
12. Matt Goerke-KTM
13. Josh Hill-Suz
14. Ivan Tedesco-KTM
15. Chris Blose-Hon
16. Nick Wey-Kaw
17. Kyle Chisholm-Yam
18. Jimmy Albertson-Hon
19. Justin Sipes-Kaw
20. Nicholas Schmidt-Hon
21. Eli Tomac-Hon
22. Phil Nicoletti-Yam
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (After 8 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto-166/2 wins
2. Ken Roczen-157/2 wins
3. James Stewart-140/2 wins
4. Ryan Dungey-136
5. Justin Brayton-130
6. Chad Reed-111/2 wins
7. Justin Barcia-109
8. Andrew Short-94
9. Wil Hahn-83
10. Broc Tickle-77
250cc Main
1. Martin Davalos-Kaw
2. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw
3. Justin Bogle-Hon
4. Blake Wharton-Hon
5. Blake Baggett-Kaw
6. Vince Friese-Hon
7. Jimmy DeCotis-Hon
8. Cole Thompson-KTM
9. Matt Lemoine-Kaw
10. Mitchell Oldenburg-Hon
11. Jesse Wentland-Hon
12. Kyle Cunningham-Hon
13. AJ Catanzaro-Hon
14. Justin Starling-Hon
15. Gannon Audette-Kaw
16. Alex Martin-Yam
17. Gavin Faith-Hon
18. Jace Owen-Hon
19. Ryan Zimmer-Hon
20. Anthony Rodriguez-Yam
21. Matt Bisceglia-Hon
22. Kyle Peters-Hon
AMA 250cc Eastern Region Supercross Series Points Standings (after 2 of 8 rounds)
1. Adam Cianciarulo-47/1 win
2. Martin Davalos-45/1 win
3. Blake Baggett-38
4. Justin Bogle-36
5. Vince Friese-33
6. Blake Wharton-32
7. Cole Thompson-28
8. Kyle Cunningham-22
9. Mitchell Oldenburg-22
10. Jimmy DeCotis-20
Your Privacy Choices