For James Stewart, the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross title may be out of reach, but a piece of history is within his grasp.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart has admitted that his chances at running down a third career Monster Energy Supercross Championship in 2014 are unlikely given his bad luck and the resultant gap between him and series leader and defending champion Ryan Villopoto. But that hasn’t stopped Stewart from winning races, and that’s just what he did at Ford Field in Detroit, last night.
Stewart dominated the 20-lap 450cc main event, passing early leader Cole Seely just before the finish line jump at the end of lap two to take the lead and go on to pull away to a five-second gap for most of the race before crossing the finish line 1.7 seconds ahead of the Monster Energy Kawasaki-backed Villopoto. Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey was third, another 2.6 seconds behind Villopoto.
With the win, his third of the year and the 48th of his career, was over, Stewart also altered the history books by tying the great Ricky Carmichael for second place on the all-time Monster Energy Supercross winners list.
“It feels great to tie a legend like RC,” Stewart said. “We’ve been riding good. This is the first time that we haven’t been down on the first lap in, like, three races. So, it feels good.”
In sharp contrast to Stewart, the night was a disaster for Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen, who suffered mechanical issues and wound up finishing 21st in a main event for the second time this season, almost certainly wiping out any chance Roczen had of joining teammate Dungey as an AMA Supercross Champion in his rookie season. Roczen’s misfortune and Stewart’s win also meant that the two switched places in the series standings, with Stewart now third and Roczen fourth, behind leader Villopoto and second-placed Dungey.
The Ford Field track featured a unique element that was a throwback to when Supercross used to visit the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan; the track was routed into the lower grandstands, with an uphill run to a 180-degree left-hand turn before returning to the stadium floor.
Muscle Milk Honda’s Seely snared the holeshot at the start of the 20-lap main event, with TwoTwo Motorsports/Discount Tire Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson second and Stewart third. Villopoto and Dungey came through in fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of BTO Motorsports KTM’s Andrew Short. Stewart and Villopoto quickly dispatched Seely to fourth place by laps two. Stewart then ran down Seely and shot past him over the finish line jump to take the lead on lap three. Meanwhile, Roczen’s main event slid to a halt when it appeared as if his rear wheel was locked.
Seely kept Villopoto at bay until five, when Villopoto got a better drive out of a corner and jumped past Seely into second place. Stewart was only about 15 bike lengths ahead of Villopoto, but Villopoto was having a hard time cutting into Stewart’s lead as the main event progressed.
Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia was the man on the move in the middle stages of the main event, coming from eighth place to pass RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki’s Justin Hill and on lap seven. Short then attacked Wilson, the two seesawing back and forth for fifth place, behind Dungey
Dungey passed Seely with a clean pass in a right-hand corner on lap eight, and he tried to catch Villopoto in an attempt to pick up points on the champ, but the front three were basically set, with Stewart cruising out front.
Barcia wasn’t finished, however, and he caught and passed the fading Wilson for sixth place, dispatched Seely then caught Short with six laps remaining. The two engaged in grinding battle for fourth place, with Barcia block-passing Short to take away the spot, but Short repaid the favor by passing Barcia before the finish.
Villopoto struggled with lapped traffic, and he was never able to catch Stewart, who made it look easy en route to victory.
“All I want to do is try to break some records,” Stewart said. “The championship is out of my reach right now, but I feel great.”
Villopoto still holds a commanding lead in the series, and he added to that tally by keeping his chief rival, Dungey, behind him to the finish. Villopoto now enjoys a 30-point advantage.
“I got off to a pretty good start and was riding well, but I just made one mistake and lost a lot of time,” Villopoto said. “But I was able to regroup and still get second. It’s all about the points. We’ve been working at it, and now we are slowly clicking down these races to the last one.”
Dungey knows that he needs to start beating Villopoto to give himself a shot.
“Villo is a pretty solid dude,” Dungey said. “He doesn’t make many mistakes, and it is just going to take consistency, winning races, and if it happens it happens. We’ve got to keep focusing on one race at a time. It’s a long series. It was good night, all considered.”
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki enjoyed another great run at Ford Field, keeping its podium streak alive when rookie rider Adam Cianciarulo claimed his third win of the season. However, early in the 15-lap main event it appeared as though the team might score another podium sweep.
In a repetitive scenario that has played out over the past several weeks, a Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider grabbed the holeshot, with Martin Davalos leading Cianciarulo and the rest of the 22-rider field into turn one. Davalos appeared to be pulling away from Cianciarulo, but just as he did at the Indy Supercross, Davalos crashed and handed the lead to Cianciarulo, on lap three. Davalos remounted, but another crash three laps later dropped him out of podium contention.
Cianciarulo would not be challenged for the rest of the main event, staying smooth and claiming the win 3 seconds ahead of GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett, who once again had to pass his way into podium contention after getting a terrible start, made it two Pro Circuit riders on the podium by finishing third.
With Davalos finishing sixth in the main, Cianciarulo now enjoys his biggest points lead yet, with a seven-point margin over Davalos, 94-87, with just two rounds remaining in the seven round AMA Eastern Region Supercross Series. Cianciarulo has either won or finished second in all five of the East rounds run thus far.
“It’s a dream come true to be up here, and I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Cianciarulo said on the podium after the race. “I can’t say enough about the guys in my corner. There are so many people that make this happen that it would be wrong of me to take all the credit.”
Ford Field
Detroit, Michigan
Results: March 16, 2014 (Round 11 of 17)
450 Main
1. James Stewart-Suz
2. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw
3. Ryan Dungey-KTM
4. Andrew Short-KTM
5. Justin Barcia-Hon
6. Broc Tickle-Suz
7. Weston Peick-Suz
8. Joshua Hill-Suz
9. Justin Brayton-Yam
10. Joshua Grant-Yam
11. Matthew Goerke-KTM
12. Dean Wilson-Kaw
13. Mike Alessi-Suz
14. Wil Hahn-Hon
15. Cole Seely-Hon
16. Chris Blose-Hon
17. Nicholas Wey-Kaw
18. Jimmy Albertson-Hon
19. Ronnie Stewart-Suz
20. Ken Roczen-KTM
21. Cody Gilmore-Kaw
22. Nicholas Schmidt-Hon
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (After 11 of 17 rounds)
1 Ryan Villopoto-231/3 wins
2. Ryan Dungey-201/1 win
3. James Stewart-182/3 wins
4. Ken Roczen-181/2 wins
5. Justin Brayton-167
6. Andrew Short-143
7. Justin Barcia-134
8. Broc Tickle-126
9. Wil Hahn-115
10. Chad Reed-111/2 wins
250 Main
1. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw
2. Justin Bogle-Hon
3. Blake Baggett-Kaw
4. Kyle Cunningham-Hon
5. Matthew Lemoine-Kaw
6. Martin Davalos-Kaw
7. Vince Friese-Hon
8. Jeremy Martin-Yam
9. Alex Martin-Yam
10. Jimmy Decotis-Hon
11. Cole Thompson-KTM
12. Kyle Peters-Hon
13. Gavin Faith-Hon
14. Mitchell Oldenburg-Hon
15. AJ Catanzaro-Hon
16. Jesse Wentland-Hon
17. Jackson Richardson-Hon
18. Landen Powell-KTM
19. Matt Bisceglia-Hon
20. Justin Freund-Yam
21. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
22. Ryan Zimmer-Hon
AMA 250cc Eastern Region Supercross Series Points Standings (After 5 of 8 rounds)
1. Adam Cianciarulo-94/3 wins
2. Martin Davalos-87/1 win
3. Blake Baggett-79/1 win
4. Justin Bogle-72
5. Vince Friese-61
6. Blake Wharton-51
7. Cole Thompson-48
8. Kyle Cunningham-45
9. Jimmy Decotis-43
10. Matt Lemoine-37
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