Pair of aces lead GEICO Honda team into Las Vegas

LAS
VEGAS (May 2) – With the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Lites East and
West titles already in hand, this Saturday's season finale at Sam Boyd
Stadium is going to be as much celebration as business trip for the
riders of GEICO Honda.

"Eli
(Tomac) and I were fighting for our championships until the last race
before Vegas," said Justin Barcia, who successfully defended his Lites
East title in 2012. "Now the pressure is off of both of us, we can just
go in, race and have fun."

Still,
with a few more trophies to be won and the prestigious East/West
Shootout on the table, the team's riders know that there's still
opportunity for further glory.

"Vegas
is going to be a lot of fun," said newly-crowned Lites West champion
Eli Tomac. "We'll have two GEICO Honda guys running with No. 1 plates,
so it's going to be a blast."

The
format for the Lites riders will be a little different than a normal
race. Instead of heat races, the Top 20 riders from each class will go
head-to-head in the final points race of the season. Then, the top
riders from the East and West "heats" will square off in the East/West
Shootout to cap the night and the season.

"It's
going to be a great race and I'm going there to win," Barcia said. "I'm
going to put my full effort into it, especially since there's no
pressure with this race."

For
Wil Hahn, who has been battling back from an early season injury, Las
Vegas will serve more as a springboard for greater things in the outdoor
season, which starts in two weeks.

"Las
Vegas is a race where you are going to see a lot of wild cards go all
in, and that's going to be what I want to do," Hahn said. "I really want
to taste that podium again. It's the next step in rebuilding myself.

"The
track is more open, more hard-pack and a lot faster. It's still
challenging because the stadium is a lot bigger so the rhythm lanes are
pretty long. It'll be wild."

Rookie
Justin Bogle is looking to end the Supercross season with back-to-back
podium finishes, and has a shot to move up a spot or two in the final
season standings.

"There's
a lot of motivation there to get back up on the podium," Bogle said.
"I've got one or two more chances at it to see what I can do. Ending
Supercross on a high note and building momentum going into outdoors
would be huge for me."

GEICO
Honda's Supercross rider Kevin Windham will be in Las Vegas, but it is
still doubtful he well race because as he recovers from injuries to his
shoulders and hand.

However,
Windham and the rest of the members of the GEICO Honda Supercross team
will sign autographs on Friday night at the GEICO AMA Endurocross race
from 7-7:45 p.m. inside Orleans Arena.

Practice
for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross race at Sam Boyd Stadium gets
under way at 12:30 p.m. PDT on Saturday with opening ceremonies getting
starting at 7 p.m. SPEED TV will carry the race live starting at 10 p.m.
EDT.