Villopoto gets win number two at A3
2/14/2010
Story and photos by Shan Moore
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto edged out Josh Hill in the first turn of tonight’s round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Anaheim’s Angel Stadium and pulled away to his second win of the year. Meanwhile, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey could only muster a fourth after suffering a poor start. The combination of a runner-up finish by San Manuel Yamaha’s Josh Hill leaves three riders, Dungey, Hill and Villopoto, sitting at the top of the standings, separated by just three points. After six rounds, Dungey and Hill are tied atop the series while Villopoto sits in second just three points back.
Ryan Villopoto got win number two at A3.
Villopoto led tonight’s race from start to finish after passing Hill at the exit of turn-one, and then slowly inched away to a 4.6-second margin of victory over Hill at the finish.
“I could see where Josh was and I just tried to ride consistent and I was able to pull on him a little every lap,” said Villopoto. “Once I got a decent lead on him I was able to calm down a little and I just tried to keep that gap.”
“I finally got that holeshot,” added Villopoto. “It was nice to not have to eat any roost for once. It was a good track – it was technical, but everyone was taking the same lines in places and it made it tough for racing.”
After five races on the west coast, the series moves east to Indianapolis to start its eastern swing. Villopoto, who likes the eastern venues, carries a good bit of momentum from tonight’s win into next week’s Indy round.
“I think I’m in a great position heading back east,” said Villopoto. “I think it’s anyone’s race at this point and it will boil down to whoever is the most consistent.”
Hill was happy to be tied with Dungey for the points lead, but admitted he was frustrated with all his runner-up finishes. Tonight’s finish marked his fourth straight second-place finish.
“It’s cool to be tied for the lead, that’s where I want to be,” said Hill. “But I’ve just been riding in my comfort zone every week, and I need to break out of that and ride like I know how to ride. I know I can win one of these, but at the same time I’m happy to be where I’m at.”
Hill stuck tight to Villopoto for the first few laps, but a couple of mistakes at the midway point allowed Villopoto to pull away.
Josh Hill now has four-straight runner-up finishes.
GEICO Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham passed Red Bull Honda’s Davi Millsaps on the seventh lap of the race, and then held on for the duration of the event to finish third – his second podium of the year. At 32-years of age, Windham has plenty of experience to draw on, which might have been a factor on the tricky Anaheim course.
“It was kind of a freight train out there,” added Windham. “Villopoto had one good line out here and I was doing it in the heat but I didn’t feel comfortable doing it in the main and I let it go. It was just one of those tracks where everyone was doing the same thing, which made it close. I thought I could get to Hill, but it just wasn’t in the cards.”
Meanwhile, Dungey suffered a poor start and was forced to work his way through traffic on track that was difficult to pass on.
Trey Canard won the Lites division.
In the West Region Lites division, GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard passed TLD/Lucas Oil Honda’s Wil Hahn on the second lap of the main event and rode a solid race to claim his second win of the year. Canard eventually finished the 15-lap final with a five-second margin of victory, while series points leader Jake Weimer was only able to manage an eighth-place finish after sliding out in a slippery turn while trying to make a pass on Hahn for second.
It was Star Racing’s Broc Tickle who eventually wound up with the runner-up finish, passing Hahn on lap four and then holding the Honda rider at bay for the remaining 11 laps.
Despite finishing eighth, the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki-backed Weimer still holds a 14-point lead in the standings over Canard, with Hahn another seven points back.
“It was awesome,” said Canard. “I made a few mistakes, but this was exactly what I needed to do. I have a ways to go to catch Jake, but anything can happen in this series. It was a bummer for Jake to make that mistake, but I’ve made a whole lot of mistakes this season and we’re not giving up. We’ll go into this break with a lot of momentum and hope for the best.”
Tickle’s second was a career-best.
“Weimer went down in the corner before the finish and Hahn was really close to him and slammed on the brakes and I was able to get them both.”
After moving into second, Tickle said that he was able to relax and ride his own race.
“I’m glad to get this finish with the long break coming up and hopefully I can build on it,” said Tickle.
With the series moving east, the West Region Lites riders will take an eight-week break before resuming their schedule in Seattle.
Anaheim 3 Supercross Results:
1. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
2. Josh Hill, Yamaha
3. Kevin Windham, Honda
4. Ryan Dungey, Suzuki
5. Davi Millsaps, Honda
6. Justin Brayton, Yamaha
7. Kyle Chisholm, Yamaha
8. Michael Byrne, Yamaha
9. Daniel Reardon, Yamaha
10. Nick Wey, Kawasaki
11. Ivan Tedesco, Yamaha
12. Chris Blose, Honda
13. Grant Langston, Yamaha
14. J Browne, Kawasaki
15. Fabien Izoird, Kawasaki
16. C Coulon, Kawasaki
17. Justin Keeney, Kawasaki
18. W Peick, Yamaha
19. J Thomas, Suzuki
20. Matt Boni, Honda
Supercross Lites Results:
1. Trey Canard, Honda
2. Broc Tickle, Yamaha
3. Wil Hahn, Honda
4. Blake Wharton, Honda
5. PJ Larsen, KTM
6. Phillip Nicoletti, KTM
7. Travis Baker, Yamaha
8. Jake Weimer, Kawasaki
9. Antonio Balbi, Kawasaki
10. Jeff Alessi, Yamaha
11. Ryan Clark, Honda
12. Sean Borkenhagen, KTM
13. Hunter Hewitt, Suzuki
14. Eric McCrummen, Honda
15. Bobby Kiniry, Suzuki
16. Chris Gosselaar, Honda
17. Josh Hansen, Kawasaki
18. Tanner Reidman, Honda
19. Tiger Lacey, Kawasaki
20. Hugo Dagod, KTM
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