Press Release

Honda Tops the Opening Round of the Lites East Class

Torrance,
CA:
Round seven of the Monster
Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship series took place this weekend
in Arlington, TX. Nearly 54,000 fans filled Cowboys Stadium to watch not only
the seventh round of the series, but also the opening round of the Lites East class.
GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia, who is also the defending Lites East Champion,
started his season strong by winning the main. His teammate Kevin Windham and
Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Brayton rode noteworthy races, finishing in the
top ten.





After spending most of the week recovering from his
crash in San Diego, Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Brayton put together a respectable
ride aboard his CRF450R. He finished a solid fifth in his heat race. In the
main, Brayton grabbed a mid-pack start and had a close call on the first lap when
another rider landed on his right side. Despite damage to his exhaust, Brayton
spent the remaining 20 laps battling his way up a ninth-place finish.





“The night went okay since I came into this round not
even knowing if I was going to be able to ride. I did a lot of therapy this
week but wasn’t able to get on the bike,” said Brayton. “In the main I got
landed on in the first lap. The right side of my body and my muffler were
pretty messed up. I am happy to be going home safe and have another week for
rehab. I think I’ll be able to go to Atlanta more on point like I was before my
crash in San Diego.”





TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed started the day off
strong after laying down the fastest lap time in qualifying, giving him first
gate pick headed into the heat races. He finished a solid second in his heat race
in front of GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham. In the main Reed got a good start and
quickly made his way into the second-place position. He was putting a lot of
pressure on the rider in first place until going down hard in the whoops. Reed
was taken off the track by the Asterisk medical team and was unable to finish
the race.





For a second week in a row GEICO Honda’s Kevin
Windham had an upsetting end to his night. After qualifying fifth quickest during
the day, he finished third in his heat. During the main he rode in fifth the
majority of the race until making a few mistakes and dropping to seventh place.





“The GEICO Honda was running incredible and things
were going great almost all day,” said Windham. “I don’t know what happened but
with three to four laps to go I made some major mistakes causing me to get
passed a few times. I don’t want to dwell on it too much since the majority of
the day went well but I just need to focus on finishing the last five laps
strong. I’m excited for Atlanta which will be my 200th start and am hoping to
turn things around and make it on the podium.”





Defending Lites East Champion Justin Barcia started
his 2012 season exactly where he left off last year—on top of the podium. After
setting the quickest lap time in qualifying, Barcia rode a solid heat race
finishing in first place. In the main he nabbed a fourth place start and
quickly began charging to the front of the pack. On lap eight Barcia made the
pass for first and quickly pulled away from the rest of the field to take his
first win of the season.





“The night started okay. I got a bad start in the
heat race but was still able to take the win,” said Barcia. “I turned it around
in the main, got a pretty good start and made some strong passes. I ended up
getting the lead and was able to pull a nice gap. This is a great way to start
off the season and I am excited to head to Atlanta.”





Supercross Main Event



1. Ryan Villopoto



2. Ryan Dungey 



3. Jake Weimer



4. Mike Alessi



5. Josh Hansen



6. James Stewart



7. Kevin
Windham (Honda)



8. Brett Metcalfe



9. Justin
Brayton (Honda)  



10. Kyle Chisholm   




 



Supercross Championship Points (after 7 of 17 rounds)







1. Ryan Villopoto 150



2. Ryan Dungey 145



3. Chad
Reed 128



4. James Stewart 116



5. Jake Weimer 92



6. Kevin
Windham 92



7. Brett Metcalfe 88



8. Mike Alessi 81



9. Justin
Brayton 80



10. Josh Hansen 80



 



Supercross Lites East Main Event



1. Justin
Barcia (Honda)



2. Darryn Durham



3. Ken Roczen



4. Blake Wharton



5. Phillip Nicoletti (Honda)







6. Malcolm Stewart



7. Jake Canada



8. PJ Larsen



9. Cole Thompson (Honda)







10. Lance Vincent  







 



Supercross Lites East Points (after 1 of 9 rounds)







1. Justin
Barcia 25



2. Darryn Durham 22



3. Ken Roczen 20



4. Blake Wharton 18



5. Phillip
Nicoletti 16



6. Malcolm Stewart 15



7. Jake Canada 14



8. PJ Larsen 13



9. Cole
Thompson 12



10. Lance Vincent 11



About Honda



American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is the sole
distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and MUVs in the U.S. American
Honda’s Motorcycle Division conducts the sales, marketing, and operational
activities for these products through authorized Honda dealers. For more
information on Honda products, go to www.powersports.honda.com.

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