Monster Energy Supercross: Atlanta 2010 3

Ryan Dungey (5) grabs the holeshot aboard his Rockstar Makita Suzuki, with Honda Red Bull Racing's Trey Canard (number 38, on loan from the Geico Powersports Honda team) hot on his heels. Click any image in the article for a larger version.

The Georgia Dome has hosted a number of barnburners over the years, but for this year’s incarnation of the event, it was something else entirely. “Barnburner” doesn’t exactly cut it. And for a couple of championship hopefuls, Atlanta became a major hurdle.

It almost seems like Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey is kryptonite to his rivals’ super-powers. For two weeks in a row now, Dungey has come into a race tied in points with someone, only for that someone to have their worst race of the year. In Indy, that unlucky superhero was San Manuel / Yamaha / JSE’s Josh Hill. In Atlanta, it was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto.

Dungey took the main-event holeshot over Andrew Short’s replacement rider Trey Canard, of the hybrid Honda Red Bull Racing/GEICO Powersports team, and then came Villopoto, Valli Motorsports Yamaha’s Ivan Tedesco, JGRMX Toyota/Muscle Milk/Yamaha’s Justin Brayton, Geico Powersports Honda Kevin Windham, Honda Red Bull Racing’s Davi Millsaps, and Hill.

Valli Motorsports Yamaha's Ivan Tedesco (who finished fourth), and Justin Brayton (JGRMX Toyota/Muscle Milk/Yamaha) who finished fifth, battling early in the main event.

Hill had gone down hard in the final practice session of the day, reportedly bending his handlebar crossbar with his chest, so he came into the main event in a hobbled condition, unsure even if he was going to race until as late as 6:30 p.m., and the show started a half-hour later. And Millsaps had gone down in a similar fashion the week before in Indy and suffered a concussion bad enough that, a week later in Atlanta, he was still having vision problems in the main event due to the trauma.

Still, both of them began moving forward, and they were both helped out when Windham took a spill in a tricky rhythm lane and had a hard time getting back going again. He was dead last as he resumed the chase. That same lap, Villopoto found a way by fellow redhead Canard, and he set out after Dungey, but at the halfway point, while comfortably in second but chasing Dungey, Villopoto miscalculated a rhythm section and went over the bars. He, too, had trouble getting his bike restarted and rejoining the race, and he got going again well over a lap down.

Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki) had a tough crash halfway through the main event that dropped him to 19th for the day, and 23 points back in the standings behind Dungey.

Villopoto’s crash moved Canard up into second, and his temporary teammate Millsaps into third, and that’s where the top trio would stay for the remainder of the race.

Dungey took the win – his third of the season – over Canard, in only his second-ever 450cc main, and Millsaps. Tedesco, Brayton, Hill, Brayton’s teammate Michael Byrne, Jason Lawrence and Nick Wey rounded out the top 10, and they were also the only racers on the lead lap at the conclusion of the race.

Ryan Dungey took his third win of the 2010 season and extended his points lead considerably.

More significantly, though, Dungey came into Atlanta tied with Villopoto, but Dungey left Atlanta with a massive 20-point cushion over Hill, who shared the points lead with him last weekend in Indy. Villopoto is another three points behind Hill.

In the Lites class, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel was heads and shoulders above the rest of his class at round one in Indy, but things were looking quite a bit different early on in Atlanta.

Dean Wilson (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) led for the first eight laps of the Lites main event.

His teammate Dean Wilson grabbed the holeshot to start the Lites main, and he was followed closely by a battle that included Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Austin Stroupe, Pourcel, Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Blake Baggett, the Geico Powersports Honda’s pair of Justin Barcia and Brett Metcalfe, and the rest of the field.

Similar to Hill, Metcalfe went down hard in his final qualifier, but Metcalfe was an innocent bystander, as someone jumped right into the back of him and sent him down in a heap. He returned to race the heats and main event with just about every part of his body battered or bruised in some way.

Barcia and Metcalfe immediately began moving forward and sat fourth and fifth by lap three while Stroupe and Pourcel battled it out for second and Wilson led. Just past the halfway point, Wilson came under pressure from Stroupe, who took over the lead, while Wilson’s teammate Pourcel was getting all he could handle from Barcia, but giving back all Barcia could take as well.

Austin Stroupe (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) led for a handful of laps, until he crashed on his own.

Eventually, though, Barcia worked his way up into second as Wilson faded out of the front position, and Stroupe took over. Barcia began pressuring Stroupe for the lead, only for Stroupe to thwart his advances until Barcia miscalculated a rhythm section and went down, damaging his front brake and forcing him into the mechanics area.

It was at this point that Pourcel seemed to smell blood, and he immediately went after Stroupe and made the pass stick with three laps to go, grabbing his second-consecutive 2010 win. For the second week in a row, Stroupe was second, but this time over the injured Metcalfe, then Wilson, Baggett, and the rest of the field. Barcia ended up scoring, officially, an 18th place dropping him to eighth in the points, 27 points behind Pourcel.

Christophe Pourcel is now two for two in the 2010 season, and six points ahead of Austin Stroupe in the title chase.

Now we move on to Daytona International Speedway next weekend for the annual running of the Daytona Supercross by Honda. That will throw a couple additional elements into the mix—namely the different style of track (though this year’s East round haven’t exactly followed the traditional mold)—and the pressure manufacturers and the riders themselves heap on that race and the coveted prestige that comes with it.

Results

2010 Monster Energy AMA Supercross

Atlanta, GA

Supercross Lites Heat 1
1. Austin Stroupe

2. Kyle Regal

3. Justin Barcia

4. Dean Wilson

5. Kyle Cunningham

6. Vince Friese

7. Alex Martin

8. Taylor Futrell

9. Matt Lemoine

Supercross Lites Heat 2
1. Christophe Pourcel

2. Brett Metcalfe

3. Ryan Sipes

4. Blake Baggett

5. Jake Moss

6. Nico Izzi

7. Levi Kilbarger

8. Adam Chatfield

9. James DeCotis

Supercross Heat 1
1. Davi Millsaps

2. Ryan Dungey

3. Justin Brayton

4. Grant Langston

5. Jason Lawrence

6. Nick Wey

7. Chris Blose

8. Jason Thomas

9. Heath Voss

Supercross Heat 2
1. Kevin Windham

2. Josh Hill

3. Ryan Villopoto

4. Trey Canard

5. Ivan Tedesco

6. Matt Boni

7. Kyle Chisholm

8. Michael Byrne

9. Dan Reardon

Supercross Lites LCQ
1. Michael Willard

2. Kyle Keylon

Supercross LCQ
1. Weston Peick

2. Kyle Partridge

Supercross Lites Main Event
1. Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki)

2. Austin Stroupe (Suzuki)

3. Brett Metcalfe (Honda)

4. Dean Wilson (Kawasaki)

5. Blake Baggett (Suzuki)

6. Vince Friese (Yamaha)

7. Matt Lemoine (Suzuki)

8. Jake Moss (Suzuki)

9. Levi Kilbarger (Honda)

10. Kyle Cunningham (Honda)

11. Kyle Regal (Yamaha)

12. Nico Izzi (Yamaha)

13. Michael Willard (Honda)

14. Adam Chatfield (Kawasaki)

15. Ryan Sipes (Yamaha)

16. Taylor Futrell (KTM)

17. James DeCotis (Honda)

18. Justin Barcia (Honda)

19. Alex Martin (Honda)

20. Kyle Keylon (Suzuki)

Supercross Main Event
1. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki)

2. Trey Canard (Honda)

3. Davi Millsaps (Honda)

4. Ivan Tedesco (Yamaha)

5. Justin Brayton (Yamaha)

6. Josh Hill (Yamaha)

7. Michael Byrne (Yamaha)

8. Jason Lawrence (Yamaha)

9. Grant Langston (Yamaha)

10. Nick Wey (Kawasaki)

11. Chris Blose (Honda)

12. Kyle Chisholm (Yamaha)

13. Matt Boni (Honda)

14. Kevin Windham (Honda)

15. Jason Thomas (Suzuki)

16. Heath Voss (Honda)

17. Weston Peick (Yamaha)

18. Dan Reardon (Yamaha)

19. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)

20. Kyle Partridge (Kawasaki)

Supercross Lites East Point Standings
1. Christophe Pourcel 50

2. Austin Stroupe 44

3. Brett Metcalfe 36

4. Dean Wilson 33

5. Blake Baggett 26

6. Ryan Sipes 24

7. Kyle Regal 24

8. Justin Barcia 23

9. Jake Moss 22

10. Nico Izzi 22

11. Levi Kilbarger 20

12. Vince Friese 19

13. Matt Lemoine 14

14. Kyle Cunningham 14

15. Adam Chatfield 14

Supercross Point Standings
1. Ryan Dungey 170

2. Josh Hill 150

3. Ryan Villopoto 147

4. Davi Millsaps 134

5. Justin Brayton 131

6. Ivan Tedesco 115

7. Kevin Windham 113

8. Nick Wey 85

9. Michael Byrne 71

10. Andrew Short 69

11. Kyle Chisholm 69

12. Grant Langston 66

13. Tommy Hahn 61

14. Chris Blose 60

15. James Stewart 51