This Week in Monster Energy Supercross: Seattle‏

AURORA, Ill. (April
15, 2011) – After snapping an eight-race winless streak last weekend at
St. Louis’ Edward Jones Dome, Team San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart
carries the momentum into Qwest Field tomorrow night for the 15^th
stop of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash., regained
the Supercross class points lead with a third place finish in St. Louis.

“I’ve been really trying hard all season, and St. Louis really came
through for me,” Stewart said.   “My bike was working great and to win
really meant a lot to me.  I can’t thank my fans, my team, my sponsors,
and my family enough.  You guys (the fans) are the reason I’m still
here.  I’m really looking forward to Seattle and am hoping to keep the
momentum going.” 

Stewart,
who has 41 career Supercross class wins, has enjoyed success in
Seattle, winning three consecutive main events from 2005 to 2007. He
has two additional Supercross Lites class wins as well.

With
three races left, current Supercross class leader and Poulsbo, Wash.,
native Ryan Villopoto holds a 5-point lead over 2010 Monster Energy
Supercross champion Ryan Dungey.

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

The
local favorite this weekend, Villopoto sits just five points ahead of
defending Supercross class champion Ryan Dungey. Villopoto won the main
event in Seattle back in 2009, marking the first time in the sport’s
history that a rider beat Stewart in a race that he didn’t crash in.
This marked Villopoto’s official arrival in the premier class.

“I’m
really excited to go back home to Washington,” said Villopoto. “There
is a lot of family that I haven’t seen for over a year. It will be good
to have a lot of friends and family on my side. I know it’s probably
going to be a ‘mudder’ and I hope I can come away with another good
finish. I want to win, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Dungey
and his Suzuki were strong all day in St. Louis. After scoring the
fifth fastest time in the afternoon timed practice, Dungey pulled the
holeshot and walked away with the win in his heat race. Another great
start on his RM-Z in the main put him in second place going into the
first turn. After a bit of shuffling, he dropped one position in the
first lap but was able to power his way back to second by lap three.
Dungey rode smooth and steady for the remaining 17 laps and piloted his
RM-Z450 across the line for a second-place podium finish. Dungey’s
consistency and string of podiums have paid off, as he now stands
second in championship points, just five points out of first place.

"I
think that all in all, it was a pretty good day in St. Louis,” said
Dungey. “Practice went really well. We were fighting a few areas, but
my whole Rockstar Makita Suzuki team went to work and made a few
changes that made me really comfortable out there on the track. My
Suzuki got me off to a great start in my heat race and I was able to
get the holeshot and come away with a win. That helped a lot and gave
me a good gate pick going into the main event. I got another good
start, which put me in second. I got passed and put into third but was
able to get back to second in the next lap. I’m really thankful for a
second on the night.”

Dungey
successfully clawed his way back from a 38-point deficit following the
Anaheim 2 race, where a broken chain forced him to withdraw from the
main event. Dungey has two Supercross Lites class wins in Seattle but
hasn’t won in the Supercross class.

“I’m
focusing on just being really consistent and smart,” said Dungey. “A
big thanks to my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team and the Yoshimura guys –
They all have done a great job. We’re heading to Seattle this weekend,
and I’m looking forward to that one. I really enjoy going there. The
dirt is a little different in Seattle; a little more sandy and usually
will rut up and deteriorate a bit. I look forward to getting there and
putting in another solid ride."

TwoTwo
Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing’s Chad Reed led the points race following
Toronto and slipped back into third place after a forgettable night in
the “Show-Me State.” The fourth-place finish moved him eight points
behind Villopoto.

“Maybe
I just did wake up on the wrong side of the bed,” said Reed. “I
wouldn’t say I had a tough day-I didn’t crash-I was just off and
couldn’t get comfortable.”

Reed has one win on the season and has never won in Seattle.

“Seattle
has been a tough race for me over the years. I also had some less than
stellar races there; I’ve also crashed in the first turn a few times,”
said Reed. “I like the ruts, the weather doesn’t bother me and it
brings a whole different feeling to what’s already a crazy supercross
season. Looking forward to that!”

American
Honda’s Trey Canard, who sits in fifth place, 20 points out of the lead
was injured during practice on Wednesday and will no longer be riding
the remaining three races of the season.

This will be the 40^th time the gate will drop in Seattle for a Supercross class race and the seventh at Qwest Field

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

Speaking
on behalf of Canard and the team, Team Manager Erik, Kehoe mentioned,
“Trey suffered a non-displaced fracture to his femur when he crashed at
a team test. The good news is that the fracture is not as severe as it
might have been. We are hopeful Trey’s return to racing will come soon.
It’s very disappointing to see him get hurt, especially after the
fantastic supercross season he’s having. In his rookie season he’s won
three supercross races and was in the championship points chase with
three stops to go. He will miss the remaining supercross rounds, so the
team will focus on our preparations for the upcoming Motocross series
where both Trey and Josh Grant will make their returns to racing.”

Stewart’s
teammate Kyle Regal has shown no signs of his wrist injury as he has
been able to pick up his speed and show consistent improvement.   Regal
finished 14^th in St. Louis and still maintains 15^th place overall. 

“I
rode pretty hard out there and am still trying to work my way up,”
Regal said.  “My team has been behind me 100 percent and training has
been going well, I just need to put it all together.   I hope to do
this in Seattle.” 

Red
Bull/KTM Factory rider Andrew Short had a night we would like to forget
in St. Louis. The KTM rider got off to a bad start and had to fight his
way up into the top ten.

“It took me the whole race to move into the top ten. I eventually finished 10^th
but it is much farther back than I would like to be. I know I am a top
five rider and I need to improve upon my starts to get myself in better
position to earn a spot within the top group,” said Short.

Dungey’s
Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki teammate Brett Metcalfe did not race due to
recent injuries and will sit out the remainder of the supercross season
in order to train and prepare for the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross
Championship series.

Following
a seven-week break, the Western Regional Supercross Lites class
championship reconvenes this Saturday. With only three races remaining,
Josh Hansen holds a 3-point advantage over teammate Broc Tickle in the
points standings.

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

After
a seven-race break, the Western Regional Supercross Lites class returns
to action tomorrow night. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Josh
Hansen holds a three-point lead over his teammate Broc Tickle. The
third member of the team, Tyla Rattray is seventh overall after missing
a race due to an injury. 

Hansen
is also on the mend from practice-crash injury to his hand at Anaheim
2. Miraculously, Hansen pulled off the win later that evening, riding
to his third victory of the year.

“My
hand is pretty much 100 percent now and I’m really happy we are back
racing,” said Hansen. “I took some time off to have surgery and I been
getting back up to speed. I think I’m where I was before I broke my
hand and excited to put more points on the board in Seattle.”

Tickle and Hansen share the same average finish at 2.6, but Hansen has three wins to Tickle’s one win.

“It’s
going to be really great to be back after the two month break,” said
Tickle. “I have been putting the hard work in during the break and I
know I’m ready to come out and get some more wins.”

Tickets available at the Qwest Field Box Office, SupercrossOnline.com, all Ticketmaster retail locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com,
or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000. Practice and qualifying begins at
12:30 p.m., and the main event begins at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will also be
available at participating Yamaha dealers. Gold circle tickets: $45;
Mid-level tickets: $25; Treadhead tickets: $10. Fans can also get into
the Pits for FREE from 12:30 – 6 PM Race Day when they recycle a
MONSTER Energy Can at the stadium Pit Entrance (valid only with event
ticket). 

SPEED will broadcast the Supercross class and the Supercross Lites class races live at 10:30 p.m. EST/7:030 p.m. PST.

For more information on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, please log on to www.SupercrossOnline.com. For all media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig dhartwig@feldinc.com or 630-566-6305. To follow Monster Energy Supercross on Facebook and Twitter, log on to http://www.facebook.com/supercrosslive and http://twitter.com/supercrosslive.

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