Monster Energy Supercross: San Diego 2010

After flirting with rain for the last three weeks, the riders (and track crew) got a bit more of a true mud race, as the Supercross circuit traveled to Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA. There had been showers off and on throughout the day, and a very abbreviated practice session for each group of riders after the protective plastic cover was removed from the track at 4:00 in the afternoon. After a couple additional showers, the track was really slick and challenging…but definitely not as sloppy as it could have been. The track crew continues to score good reviews from the riders.

When Davi Millsaps (Honda Red Bull Racing) said after the main event last week in San Francisco that he could have won, it would have been easy to discount his claim as the speculation of a positive-thinking guy who’d crashed while running near the front. But then he came back and scored a main event win in San Diego, taking over the lead from Nick Wey (Monster Energy Kawasaki) on the third lap, and leading the rest of the way to score his first win of 2010.

Nick Wey (Monster Energy Kawasaki) grabbed the holeshot, and Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) slid out in the slick first turn.

Wey had bagged the holeshot, but right behind him is where the action was in the first turn. Right before the riders took off on their sighting lap, the skies had opened up briefly, and Supercross series points leader, Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), slid out in the rain-slickened first turn. That crash also balled up Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki), and Tommy Hahn (Rockstar Energy Suzuki) who were in the wrong place.

Josh Hill (San Manuel / Yamaha / JSE) chases Ivan Tedesco (Valli Motorsports Yamaha), Andrew Short (Honda Red Bull Racing), Davi Millsaps (Honda Red Bull Racing), and Nick Wey (Monster Energy Kawasaki).

With Millsaps out front, there was a freight train of riders right behind him, featuring his Honda Red Bull Racing teammate, Andrew Short, as well as Ivan Tedesco (Valli Motorsports Yamaha), Josh Hill (San Manuel / Yamaha / JSE), and Kevin Windham (Geico Powersports Honda). Windham ran in front of hill for several laps, but the Yamaha-mounted Hill finally got by him for good on lap 12.

Josh Hill chasing Ivan Tedesco.

Unfortunately, Andrew Short went down hard over a triple with only three laps remaining, though we did hear that he checked out okay via X-Rays with the Asterisk Mobile Medical crew…though he will get further exams tomorrow. That left the battle for second and third on the podium to be decided between Hill and Tedesco, and Hill finally made a pass stick with two laps left. Dungey had managed to charge back to sixth place after his first turn crash, despite having a hole in the radiator of his RM-Z that was spewing a fine mist of steam throughout the main, and Villopoto had climbed back to fourth place.

Davi Millsaps' win makes it four winners in five races so far this season.

So how did the point standings shake out after that action? Well, Dungey now has a mere four-point lead over Hill (a seven-point change from last weekend), and he has ten points over Ryan Villopoto in third. Whoever’s writing the script for this season is doing a heck of a job. We now have four different winners in five races.

It was cool to see these guys congratulating each other after the main.

In the Lites main event, however, Jake Weimer (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) was as reliable as ever, as he’s taken four out of five wins this season. Last week’s winner, Geico Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard, grabbed the holeshot and was running up front for a chunk of the first lap, but he seemed surprised when Weimer jumped up next to him as they headed into a 180-degree right-hander, and Canard went down…though he did charge back to sixth place at the finish. For the first five laps, Weimer’s biggest challenger was Blake Wharton (Geico Powersports Honda), but he was nudged out of the way by DNA Shred Stix / Star Racing / Yamaha’s Max Anstie, who was keeping the pressure on Weimer. When Anstie went by, Wharton went off the track, and onto the very slick plastic-covered plywood. A little too much throttle, and he went down, dropping to ninth in the final results.

Headed into a 180-degree right-hander, Weimer's rapidly closing on Canard.

Anstie was in the hunt until the final lap, when a mistake allowed the Troy Lee Designs / Lucas Oil / Honda duo of Cole Seely and Wil Hahn to get by him and nab the final two podium spots. These two had been battling amongst themselves for much of the main event, and like they said afterward, it was like they were dicing on their practice track…duking it out for supremacy. Seely turned in the best ride of his career, taking the second place trophy, with Hahn not far behind.

Hahn and Seely working out their friendly Troy Lee Designs / Lucas Oil / Honda inter-team rivalry.

Weimer still has the Lites West field covered, now with a 26-point lead over his closest pursuer, Trey Canard. Wil Hahn’s a mere two points behind Canard in the standings, with three rounds remaining in the West series.

Everyone will line up next week in Angel Stadium for the final round of there before the series heads east.

Results

2010 Monster Energy AMA Supercross

San Diego, CA

Supercross Lites Heat 1

1. Wil Hahn

2. Phil Nicoletti

3. Max Anstie

4. Travis Baker

5. Broc Tickle

6. P. J. Larsen

7. Cole Seely

8. Mike Horban

9. Jeff Alessi

Supercross Lites Heat 2

1. Jake Weimer

2. Blake Wharton

3. Josh Hansen

4. Chris Gosselaar

5. Antonio Balbi

6. Eric McCrummen

7. Trey Canard

8. Joshua Clark

9. Robert Kiniry

Supercross Heat 1

1. Josh Hill

2. Ivan Tedesco

3. Davi Millsaps

4. Dan Reardon

5. Kyle Chisholm

6. Tommy Hahn

7. Michael Byrne

8. Grant Langston

9. Cyrille Coulon

Supercross Heat 2

1. Ryan Dungey

2. Kevin Windham

3. Andrew Short

4. Justin Brayton

5. Ryan Villopoto

6. Nick Wey

7. Kyle Partridge

8. Chris Blose

9. Fabien Izoird

Supercross Lites LCQ

1. Jason Thomas

2. Bobby Bonds

Supercross LCQ

1. Hunter Hewitt

2. Hugo Dagod

Supercross Lites Main Event

1. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki)

2. Cole Seely (Honda)

3. Wil Hahn (Honda)

4. Max Anstie (Yamaha)

5. Broc Tickle (Yamaha)

6. Trey Canard (Honda)

7. Phil Nicoletti (KTM)

8. P. J. Larsen (KTM)

9. Blake Wharton (Honda)

10. Chris Gosselaar (Honda)

11. Josh Hansen (Kawasaki)

12. Hunter Hewitt (Suzuki)

13. Robert Kiniry (Suzuki)

14. Antonio Balbi (Kawasaki)

15. Eric McCrummen (Honda)

16. Jeff Alessi (Yamaha)

17. Mike Horban (Honda)

18. Jugao Dagos (KTM)

19. Travis Baker (Yamaha)

20. Joshua Clark (Kawasaki)

Supercross Main Event

1. Davi Millsaps (Honda)

2. Josh Hill (Yamaha)

3. Ivan Tedesco (Yamaha)

4. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)

5. Justin Brayton (Yamaha)

6. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki)

7. Tommy Hahn (Suzuki)

8. Grant Langston (Yamaha)

9. Nick Wey (Kawasaki)

10. Kyle Chisholm (Yamaha)

11. Chris Blose (Honda)

12. Fabien Izoird (Kawasaki)

13. Dan Reardon(Yamaha)

14. Michael Byrne (Yamaha)

15. Bobby Bonds (Kawasaki)

16. Kevin Windham (Honda)

17. Cyrile Coulon (Kawasaki)

18. Jason Thomas (Suzuki)

19. Kyle Partridge (Kawasaki)

20. Andrew Short (Honda)

Supercross Lites West Point Standings

1. Jake Weimer 122

2. Trey Canard 96

3. Wil Hahn 94

4. Broc Tickle 78

5. Cole Seely 76

6. Blake Wharton 71

7. Max Anstie 63

8. Josh Hansen 56

9. Jeff Alessi 45

10. Ryan Morais 42

Supercross Point Standings

1. Ryan Dungey 105

2. Josh Hill 101

3. Ryan Villopoto 95

4. Davi Millsaps 82

5. Ivan Tedesco 77

6. Justin Brayton 72

7. Andrew Short 69

8. Kevin Windham 66

9. Tommy Hahn 56

10. James Stewart 51

11. Nick Wey 50

12. Kyle Chisholm 39

13. Michael Byrne 36

14. Grant Langston 32

15. Chris Blose 26