Ryan Dungey and Cooper Webb continue their winning ways when supercross invades Levi’s Stadium.
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey was the star of the show once again when the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series made its first visit to Levi’s Stadium the new home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California, Saturday night.
Dungey claimed his 21st Monster Energy AMA 450cc Supercross win by taking control early in the 20-lap main event and outrunning GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac. Dungey’s margin of victory was 5.7 seconds. Toyota/Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha’s Weston Peick earned his first career podium finish by crossing the line third, over 17 seconds behind Dungey.
But the real talk surrounding the Santa Clara round was the sudden and unexpected termination of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Davi Millsaps last Thursday. Millsaps was still on hand to watch the event but did not compete. There is still an air of mystery surrounding Millsaps’ sudden release, and both he and Kawasaki are remaining tight-lipped about it. However, DirtBikes.com has learned that the situation is the result of an FIM-banned substance that was found in Millsaps’ immediate area of control within the Monster Energy Kawasaki team transporter. More information on this story is sure to follow.
450cc Main Event
Toyota/Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha’s Justin Barcia pulled the holeshot at the start of the 20-lap 450cc main event with TwoTwo Motorsports/Discount Tire Kawasaki’s Chad Reed and Dungey slotting in to second and third respectively. Reed immediately put pressure on Barcia for the lead, but Reed’s race came undone on lap two when he cased a jump in a rhythm section on lap two and crashed hard, dropping to the rear of the field.
Dungey then moved up to challenge Barcia, and he drove past Barcia in the whoops to take the lead on lap four. One lap later, Barcia’s teammate, Weston Peick shot into second place and tried to mount a challenge for the lead. GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac was the next rider to battle Barcia for the final podium spot, and he made his way alongside Barcia over the finish line jump. Barcia was a little more reluctant to yield the spot, but Tomac eventually moved into third on lap seven. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett made his way up from 12th to fifth by that time.
Dungey clicked off the laps with rhythmic precision, and he was just over 4 seconds ahead of Peick by the halfway point. Tomac passed Peick through the whoops on the same lap to take over second place.
The battle for fourth place heated up with eight laps remaining as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson moved to within striking distance of Barcia and made a clean pass in a left-hand corner to take over fifth place. Seely and Baggett were also right behind Barcia, and Seely found his way past Barcia for fifth with six laps to go. Baggett then dropped Barcia to seventh.
Up front, Tomac could not cut into Dungey’s lead, which was up to 4.5 seconds with five laps remaining, and Dungey went on to collect his seventh win of the season.
“Wrapping [the championship] up early was definitely great as far as it not coming down to the wire in Vegas,” Dungey said. “We got the main objective wrapped up, but still these race wins are important for a lot of reasons. It’s great to win, but what would it be if you just fell off the map? I enjoyed last week, I enjoyed all week, but this week I really wanted to come out swinging. There’s still a lot to accomplish ahead, and I want to keep focused on that. We struggled a little bit in practice, but we got it dialed. The boys did a good job.”
Tomac finished second, claiming his fourth podium finish in the row.
“I’m at the point now where it is the start,” a disappointed Tomac said. “I’m not sure what to really do now, or fix. Honestly, I can’t say. I need to be up there early on to get up there with Ryan, and I haven’t done it yet, and it is keeping me from battling for those wins. It’s putting more fire in my belly, but we’re getting close to the end of the season, so I’d like to get another win here soon.”
Peick kept it all together and crossed the line third to claim the first 450cc supercross podium finish in 67 starts.
“I’m super-stoked,” Peick said. “We’ve been training so hard and working so hard, trying to get to this point and, you know, it has finally paid off. Everybody has been busting their butts crazy hard. Words can’t even describe what I’ve overcome through my career, from five years ago to get to where I am now on the podium. It has been awesome, and I can’t even explain what I’ve been through to get here.”
250cc Main Event
Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb added icing to the championship cake that he got to eat last weekend in Houston, Texas, by claiming his sixth win of the season at Levi’s Stadium, but this one may have been harder-earned than any other after.
The start of the 250cc West main event was punctuated by a huge pile-up that deposited a lot of the contenders on the ground when Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chris Alldredge tangled with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne. The multi-rider crash would also take out Webb, GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart and Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull KTM’s Shane McElrath, among others. Josh Hansen took full advantage of the melee to snag the lead ahead of Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger and Alex Martin. Plessinger quickly closed up on Hansen and challenged him for the lead on lap three, and he was able to take control of the race shortly after they crossed the finish line and started lap four.
However, Webb had already charged back up to fourth place by then, and he was knocking on Martin’s door for third place by lap six. Webb inherited that position when Plessinger lost the front end and crashed out of the lead by himself at the end of the whoop section. That put Hansen back into the lead. Webb quickly dispatched Martin and reeled-in Hansen on lap eight, giving himself ample time to make a pass for the win.
The pass came on the same lap, but not without a fight from the veteran Hansen. Webb got underneath Hansen and took the lead as they entered the whoops, but Hansen came back and stuffed his way past Webb in the left-hander at the end of the section. Webb came right back again and retook the lead at the end of the triple/rhythm section, and he quickly began to pull away from Hansen who then pulled off the track with mechanical issues.
With a clear track in front of him and little in the way of challengers coming up behind him, Webb cruised to his sixth win in seven rounds of the West series.
“It was a wild race for sure with everybody going down on the start,” Webb said. “I know I went down, and I was just seeing who was down, and once I that, I said, ‘Man, it’s a race to get the bike up first. I had a weird feeling about the race when I did my sight lap. It was just one of those nights where something wild was going to happen. I just got up and put my head down. My rookie teammate [Plessinger] was up front, leading, and unfortunately he went down. Racing with Hanny [Josh Hansen] was awesome. I just got into the lead, rode my own race and finished it out. We’ll try to ride a little bit before Vegas and then go for that East/West Shootout [win].”
Red Bull KTM’s Justin Hill, meanwhile, made his way past Martin to finish second and score his best finish of the season.
“It was difficult,” Hill said. “Me and Cooper got into a crazy first-turn pile-up, and it wasn’t an easy crash. We got up and had to get going again. I’m really thankful the good Lord was looking out for all of us. I’m truly blessed to walk away from unharmed and then get on the podium. This is a good way to end for me even though I didn’t get the win.”
Martin fulfilled a goal to get on the podium even after missing out on his usual training and practice routine during the week while relocating to California from Florida.
“No worries,” Martin said. “You never forget how to ride in one week. It was fun out there. To be honest, the way I felt wasn’t the best I’ve felt all year. I was riding a little bit tight and just trying to dodge bikes. I almost hit two guys in the first turn, so definitely mayhem out there. I think key tonight was to keep it on two wheels, try to ride as fast you could and hit your marks.”
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series
Levi’s Stadium
Santa Clara, California
Results: April 18, 2015 (Round 15 of 17)
450cc Main Event
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM
2. Eli Tomac-Hon
3. Weston Peick-Yam
4. Jason Anderson-Hus
5. Cole Seely-Hon
6. Blake Baggett-Suz
7. Justin Brayton-KTM
8. Chad Reed-Kaw
9. Andrew Short-KTM
10. Nick Wey-Kaw
11. Kyle Chisholm-Kaw
12. Broc Tickle-Suz
13. Kyle Partridge-Hon
14. Nick Schmidt-Suz
15. Killian Rusk-Yam
16. Justin Barcia-Yam
17. Ben Lamay-Hus
18. Dustin Pipes-Suz
19. Ronnie Stewart-Suz
20. Alex Ray-Hon
21. Thomas Ramette-Kaw
22. Josh Grant-Kaw
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Point Standings (After 15 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-343/7 wins*
2. Eli Tomac-258/2 wins
3. Cole Seely-239/1 win
4. Chad Reed-212/1 win
5. Trey Canard-204/2 wins
6. Blake Baggett-190
7. Jason Anderson-188
8. Broc Tickle-168
9. Andrew Short-164
10. Ken Roczen-156
11. Davi Millsaps-147
12. Weston Peick-129
Josh Grant-129
14. Kyle Chisholm-92
15. Justin Barcia-88
16. Nick Wey-76
17. Jake Weimer-74
18. Phil Nicoletti-66
19.Justin Brayton-53
20. Mike Alessi-48
*Clinched 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship
250cc Main Event
1. Cooper Webb-Yam
2. Justin Hill-KTM
3. Alex Martin-Yam
4. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
5. Shane Mcelrath-KTM
6. Jackson Richardson-Hon
7. Aaron Plessinger-Yam
8. Matt Bisceglia-Hon
9. Tommy Hahn-Hon
10. Scott Champion-Yam
11. Cole Martinez-Yam
12. Austin Ullrich-Yam
13. Brandon Scharer-Suz
14. Morgan Burger-Yam
15. Ryan Breece-Yam
16. Cody Church-Kaw
17. Trevor Reis-Yam
18. Kevin Weisbruch-Kaw
19. Josh Hansen-Kaw
20. Zach Osborne-Hus
21. Chris Howell-Yam
22. Chris Alldredge-Kaw
AMA 250cc West Supercross Series Point Standings (After 8 of 8 rounds)
1. Cooper Webb-186/6 wins*
2. Shane McElrath-124
3. Zach Osborne-117
4. Justin Hill-116
5. Aaron Plessinger-113
6. Alex Martin-111
7. Malcolm Stewart-107/1 win
8. Jessy Nelson-106/1 win
9. Tyler Bowers-105
10. Josh Hansen-91
11. Tommy Hahn-79
12. Matt Bisceglia-66
13. Jackson Richardson-63
14. Cole Martinez-57
15. Zach Bell-55
16. Scott Champion-43
17. Zack Freeberg-40
18. Chris Alldredge-39
19. Trevor Reis-28
20. Michael Lieb-25
*Clinched 2015 AMA 250cc West Supercross Championship
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