Villopoto takes a commanding points lead with fourth Daytona Supercross win in five years.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto avoided a first-turn incident and rebounded from a solo crash while leading late in the main event to earn his second consecutive Daytona Supercross by Honda win at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, tonight.
It was also his fourth Daytona Supercross win in five starts.
“It’s pretty big,” Villopoto said of the win. “This is a unique track, and to get a win here with the way the track is—it’s kind of outdoors, it’s supercross, it’s very technical—to get a win here is awesome. This is kind of like a turning point in the season. We’re closing down onto the home stretch here, and to get a win here is huge.”
Villopoto’s win also underscored the dominance that he has displayed as he seeks to join seven-time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath as a four consecutive championship winner. Villopoto is well on his way, as he currently has not only the most wins during 2014, but he also starts and his fourth Monster Energy AMA Supercross win of 2014, but has only finished worse than fourth place at one round this season.
There was plenty of excitement at the start of the 20-lap main event to set the tone for the race. TwoTwo Motorsports/Discount Tire Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson, who had turned in the fastest qualifying lap early in the day and then backed that up with a win in the second heat race, grabbed the holeshot to kick off the 20-lap main event. BTO Motorsports KTM’s Andrew Short, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey ran around the outside of the first turn while defending series champ Ryan Villopoto dropped down low on his Monster Energy Kawasaki. They were fortunate, as Mike Alessi baled off his Suzuki in the middle of the track and forced Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart, Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia and host of others to check up to avoid Alessi and his downed bike.
Villopoto wasted no time in passing Wilson by railing around the first right-hander to lead the young Scottish rider into the first rhyhm section. Short and Dungey ran third and fourth, ahead of Lucas Oil/Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Malcolm Stewart. His brother, James Stewart, was mired back in eighth place, and he suddenly dropped off the pace with exhaust system damage caused when he caught the handlebar on Alessi’s fallen bike while trying to avoid it at the start. James was forced to head to the mechanic’s area for hasty repairs. The Stewart family was still well-represented, however, as Malcolm Stewart got past Short to run in fourth place, behind Dungey, on lap four.
Villopoto pulled away to a 6-second lead by lap five, but three great battles began to emerge on the track. Dungey came after Wilson for second place while his Red Bull KTM teammate, Ken Roczen, upped the pace passed Short to latch onto Stewart in the battle for fourth place. Further back, Barcia fought his way past Short for sixth place in a three-rider battle that also included RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki’s Broc Tickle. Roczen was able to slip past Malcolm Stewart over the step-up wall jump to move into fourth place on lap seven.
There were fireworks between two Honda riders on lap 10, as Barcia came from behind through a whoop section and knifed under Stewart in a corner while attempting to take fifth place. Barcia cleaned out Stewart’s front wheel, and both riders hit the deck, with Stewart clearly upset as he pushed Barcia when both men got to their feet. Stewart then picked up his bike and wheeled it into Barcia’s Honda, knocking Barcia to the ground again. Stewart was up and away first, but his Honda was trailing steam and was clearly no longer in race shape. As Stewart coasted over one of the triples, Barcia jumped past him, looked over and flipped him a hand gesture.
Villopoto continued to cruise out front, but the battle for the remaining two podium positions was still far from settled, as Wilson attempted to hold off Dungey and Roczen, who battled closely right behind him. Roczen edged past Dungey for third place on lap 11, right before Villopoto stuffed the front end in a rutted right-hand corner, slammed into his Kawasaki’s handlebars and crashed. Villopoto lost minimal time in getting back underway.
Roczen was still trying to find his way past the stubborn Wilson for second place on lap 13, and the two traded paint in one corner as Roczen tried to make the pass, only for Wilson to get the better drive and hang on to the position. One lap later, both Roczen and Dungey passed Wilson in the same corner to lock down the final two podium spots.
Villopoto crossed the finish line to earn his 37th career Monster Energy AMA 450cc Supercross win, placing him fifth on the all-time winner’s list. Of course, the win also piled on the points. Villopoto now leads 2010 series champion Dungey by 28 points, giving him a one-race advantage over his title rivals.
“I felt really good tonight,” Villopoto said. “Everything was clicking. We’ve worked so hard.”
Having finished in 21st-place last weekend, courtesy of a first-turn incident with Villopoto, Roczen was happy to be back on the podium, although he has to wonder if he can claw his way back into contention for the title in his rookie 450cc season.
“I had a pretty solid week,” Roczen said. “I struggled the first two days of training this week, but I got back strong. It was a good race for me, you know. I came a little bit from the back and had a goggle problem with about four laps to go. I had a lot of sweat inside, and I could barely see. I was about to take it off. So, I couldn’t push all the way through, but RV was gone anyways, and I had a solid second place. I am satisfied with my performance tonight.”
After finally breaking the ice with a big win at the previous round in Indianapolis, Dungey didn’t appear to be particularly thrilled to be giving away points to Villopoto again at Daytona tonight. Villopoto leads Dungey, 209-181, in the series standings. Roczen is third, with 180.
“We can always be better, but solid and on the podium is good,” Dungey said. “The track was really tough today. We fought it a lot in practice and struggled coming up with setups. It totally caught us off guard, but we did the best we could. The track was tough. They did some maintenance there that helped us out. The track would have been gone if they didn’t do that. Third place—we’ll take it, and we’ll keep moving forward. Wwe’ve got to keep plugging away at that championship lead.
It was another dominant night for the Kawasaki brand as Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett earned his second 250cc Daytona Supercross by Honda and his first AMA Eastern Region Supercross win since the 2011 Las Vegas Supercross; Baggett also won the Daytona Supercross that year. With tonight’s win, Baggett joins Travis Pastrana, Brian Swink and Christophe Pourcel as a two-time Daytona Supercross winner in the 250cc Eastern Region class.
Baggett’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammates Martin Davalos and Adam Cianciarulo both got excellent starts to run one-two as the field funneled through the first turn, but Baggett joined them at the head of the pack by the third turn. GEICO Honda’s Blake Wharton ran fourth to stick with the Kawasaki boys, leaving a gap to fifth-placed Vince Friese as the first lap went into the books. Baggett then passed Cianciarulo to move to second and put the pressure on Davalos on lap two, and he took over the lead when Davalos bobbled after landing from the step-up wall jump that was located perpendicular to the start straightaway.
“Martin is really fast in the whoops, so I knew that I had to pin it through there,” Cianciarulo said. “He tried to square me up, and I just had to outrun him down the start straight. It was a good race, a good pass.”
Baggett was long gone by then, having pulled out over 11 seconds on Cianciarulo, who finished second. Davalos held on for third to five the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team its second Eastern Region podium sweep of the season.
“It’s Daytona,” Baggett said. “You’ve got to block out anything that’s bad. This place is awesome. There’s no other place like this. I love coming here. I love racing here. I won this race in 2011 and now again in 2014. [I am] just excited. I was down in the slumps a little bit, and now I can believe I can do it again, and I’ve just got to plug away from here.”
Cianciarulo’s runner-up finish helped him to retain the Eastern Region 250cc points lead in a three-rider log jam that is almost certain to guarantee the title to a Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider. Cianciarulo leads the way with 92, over Davalos with 87 and Baggett with 79. More than that, however, the talented rookie was thrilled to be racing at Daytona for the first time as a professional.
“It’s a great experience for me,” Cianciarulo said. “Growing up here, watching Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, it’s a dream come true to be up on the podium. I’ve got to give it up to Blake Baggett. He rode unbelievable. He had me covered. We overcame a little bit of a bike malfunction in the heat race, got not so great of a gate pick [and I] was able to pull a decent start. Blake just made it happen quicker than I did last night.”
Davalos is happy to be staying consistently on the podium, but he is also hungry for more wins.
“I just wanted to salvage some points,” Davalos said. “We still have some rounds left. But I don’t want to get these guys a little more confidence. I want to be there for the championship, and I want to be consistent, but I want to get on top of the box.”
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Results: March 8, 2014 (Round 10 of 17)
450 Main
1. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw
2. Ken Roczen-KTM
3. Ryan Dungey-KTM
4. Broc Tickle-Suz
5. Andrew Short-KTM
6. Wil Hahn-Hon
7. Dean Wilson-Kaw
8. Matt Goerke-KTM
9. Justin Brayton-Yam
10. Josh Grant-Yam
11. Cole Seely-Hon
12. Juston Barcia-Hon
13. Phil Nicoletti-Yam
14. Mike Alessi-Suz
15. Josh Hill-Suz
16. Chris Blose-hon
17. Jimmy Albertson-Hon
18. James Stewart-Suz
19. Nicholas Schmidt-Hon
20. Ronnie Stewart-Suz
21. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
22. Nick Wey-Kaw
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (After 10 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto-209/3 wins
2. Ryan Dungey-181/1 win
3. Ken Roczen-180/2 wins
4. James Stewart-157/2 wins
5. Justin Brayton-155
6. Andrew Short-125
7. Justin Barcia-118
8. Broc Tickle-111
9. Chad Reed-111/2 wins
10. Wil Hahn-108
250 Main
1. Blake Baggett-Kaw
2. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw
3. Martin Davalos-Kaw
4. Blake Wharton-Hon
5. Justin Bogle-Hon
6. Jeremy Martin-Yam
7. Matthew Bisceglia-Hon
8. Vince Friese-Hon
9. Kyle Cunningham-Hon
10. Matthew Lemoine-Kaw
11. Kyle Peters-Hon
12. James Decotis-Hon
13. Cole Thompson-KTM
14. Alex Martin-Yam
15. Mitchell Oldenburg-Hon
16. Gavin Faith-Hon
17. Jackson Richardson-Hon
18. Justin Starling-Hon
19. AJ Catanzaro-Hon
20. Jacob Baumert-Kaw
21. Auston Albers-Suz
22. Jace Owen-Hon
AMA 250cc Eastern Region Supercross Series Points Standings (After 4 of 8 rounds)
1. Adam Cianciarulo-94/2 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. James Decotis-43
10. Matthew Lemoine-37
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