Saturday, 18 February 2012 09:30
Race Results –
AMA Supercross Race Results
The Dallas Supercross delivered another excellent race. Ryan Villpoto won the 20 lap 450 Supercross Main Event, taking his third win in a row, while also increasing his series points lead. In the initial East Lites 250 race of the year, an action packed 15 lap Main saw Justin Barcia take the win over Darryn Durham and Ken Roczen.
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It’s raining outside this afternoon, but perfect inside the famed Cowboys Stadium. Not only is there a battle between four AMA Supercross Series champions for the 2012 Monster Energy Crown (Villopoto, Reed, Dungey, Stewart), but it’s the opening round of the ‘East’ regional series.
250 East Lites qualifying (after 1st practice) - Justin Barcia has quickest lap (48.73), Ken Roczen next (48.91), Malcolm Stewart on KTM third (49.65), Justin Bogle (49.67), and Matt Lemoine also at 49.67. Blake Baggett sixth at 49.77.
450 Supercross Class qualifying - It’s Chad Reed – number 22 on top with the quickest lap – 46.53 seconds. Ryan Villopoto is next – 46.89, then James Stewart (47.07), Ryan Dungey (47.23) and Kevin Windham (47.60).
Opening ceremonies included the lasers, light show, fireworks, music and more that Feld Motor Sports is know for in producing shows. Opening ceremonies also included a ‘transfer’ by Kevin Windham – where he jumped probably jump over 110 feet, launching off a triple jump, and then crossing over two sections of track to land on the finish line! Andrew Short felt that he should injury from last weekend is not 100%, and will not be racing tonight.
250 East Heat 1 – Blake Baggett jumped out to the early lead followed very closely by Ken Roczen. Heading into the bowl turn after the whoops the two riders were dead even with Roczen to the inside. A simple and clean block pass allowed the German rider to slip by and quickly open up a gap on Baggett. Behind the number 12 machine was the number 19 of Kyle Cunningham, who began to apply pressure as the laps wore on. Supercross rookie, Justin Bogle sat alone in fourth place for most of the heat, looking very strong in his initial ride indoors. At the finish, Roczen took the unchallenged win, well ahead of Bagget and Cunningham. Bogle and PJ Larsen rounded out the top five.
250 East Heat 2 – Blake Wharton took the holeshot ahead of Darryn Durham and Justin Barcia. Within just one lap, Barcia managed to work his way around Durham and immediately went after Wharton. It didn’t take long for Barcia to latch on to Wharton and that’s when things got interesting. Barcia made a pass attempt along the first rhythm section but Wharton immediately responded. It looked like he would finally make it stick in the turn after the whoops, but Wharton contered by jumping to the inside of the left hand turn before the second triple. The crowd went wild, but Barcia finally made the move. Barcia would go on to take the win ahead of Durham, Malcom Stewart, Wharton (who got bumped out of the way by), and Matt Lemoine in fifth.
450 Supercross Heat 1 – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Broc Tickle grabbed the holeshot, but was quickly overtaken by defending champ Ryan Villopoto. Jake Weimer came out of the first lap in fourth, but shortly worked his way past Jeff Alessi and Tickle to take over second place. Ryan Dungey had an unfortunate crash right after the holeshot that set him all the way at the back of the pack. It was not until the seventh lap that Dungey found his way into a qualifying position. At the finish it was Villopoto in first, followed by Weimer, Tickle, Davi Millsaps, and Justin Brayton in fifth. Dungey qualified ninth.
450 Supercross Heat 2 – James Stewart took the holeshot ahead of Kevin Windham and Brett Metcalfe. Chad Reed did not have the strongest start but quickly made his way into the top three. Windham held onto second for the first five laps before Reed overtook his position. Stewart would go onto to take the win with Reed in second and Windham in third. Brett Metcalfe and Kyle Partridge rounded out the top five.
Attendance has been announced for this event. In the 2011 event, Feld Motor Sports attracted 51,509 fans. At this race today, the attendance is – 53,952 fans!
250 East 15 lap Main Event – Darryn Durham took the opening holeshot of the East Lites series, inching ahead of Blake Wharton. But Wharton faultered and the GEICO/Honda duo of Justin Bogle and Justin Barcia quickly took his place, inching up on Durham. Barcia would eventually use his typical agressiveness on his teammate to take over first place and go for the lead. Meanwhile, Ken Roczen had already recovered from a mediocre start to begin pressuring Bogle as well.
On lap six, Barcia was finally able to position himself for a pass attempt on Durham after the first rhythm, but Durham countered at the next corner and Barcia was unable to clear the first triple. For several laps, the pair continued to battle until Barcia was finally able to make the pass stick, taking over first place. In the battle for third, Roczen had been pressuring Bogle for sometime and made his move just before the first triple, jumping up to third place.
Roczen would then go after Durham, and nearly caught him just before the finish line. At the finish, Justin Barcia took the win, followed by Durham, Roczen, Wharton, and in a surprise finish, Phil Nicoletti captured fifth place.
Justin Barcia video interview after the main event.
Supercross 20 lap Main Event – Jeff Alessi snapped the holeshot but it did not take long for Ryan Villopoto and Chad Reed to sneak by and take over the lead positions. From their the duo would begin to break away from the rest of the pack. Further back, James Stewart had a mid pack start and on the second lap, he stalled his machine after the whoop section. Unfortunately his teammate, Davi Millsaps, was right there and crashed into the back of the number seven machine, taking both riders down and dropping them to the back of the pack.
Up front, Villopoto and Reed continued to battle. Reed seemed poised to make his move at times, but would then lose a few feet to Villopoto depending on the section. Going into the sand section, Reed had been a bit faster than Villopoto, and looked poised to make a pass attempt until coming up short on a tricky but small triple that sent him over the bars and out of the race.
Ryan Dungey also did not have the best of starts and slowly worked his way up through the pack. Mike Alessi proved to be a tough competitor, as Dungey, who has finished no worse than fourth this whole year so far, struggled to make a pass work on the number 800. He was eventually able to make his way past and then go after Jake Weimer who had been riding alone in second since Reed’s crash. In the closing laps, Dungey had closed in on Weimer. On lap 18 he attempted a pass, but it didnt work. On the next and final lap, he was finally able to make it stick in an aggressive move on Weimer. At the finish Villopoto nailed his third win in a row ahead of Dungey, Weimer, Mike Alessi, and Josh Hansen.
Ryan Villopoto – “The track was breaking down. When that happens, you need to be smart. It was a good race, although bummer for Chad (falling).”
Ryan Villopoto video interview after winning the Dallas Supercross.
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Article source: http://www.supercross.com/ama-supercross-race-results/round-7-amafim-supercross-series-2012-dallas
