Press Release

GEICO Honda Dominates in Las Vegas


Torrance, CA: The final stop of the
2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship series,
took place Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Sam Boyd
Stadium. It was an exciting night for Honda, with GEICO Honda
teammates Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac topping the podium in both
Lites East and West main events, as well as going one-two in the
East/West shootout. Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Brayton put in
an impressive performance aboard his CRF450R, finishing third
overall. Brayton also scored Bret Michaels’ Rock Hard-Ride Hard
Award for the season after overcoming incredible odds and finishing
strong despite fracturing his leg in San Diego.



The Race



Posting the quickest qualifying time in
practice, Brayton seemed to have found his groove on the challenging
Las Vegas track. After grabbing a good start in his heat, Brayton put
together a solid ride to win, giving him a good gate pick heading
into the main. In the main event, he got away to a midpack start but
quickly started working his way through the field. Brayton put
together a great ride to make his way to the podium in third.



“Getting a good start is key in
Supercross,” said Brayton. “I got a great start in my heat race,
and was able to come out with the win, but unfortunately, in the main
I wasn’t so lucky. I didn’t get the greatest start and was forced
to work my way through the pack. I made my way up to third, which is
pretty good, but I have been really itching to get on that top podium
position and grab my first win. The entire Team Honda Muscle Milk
crew worked really hard all season with me, and although I’m a
little bummed to be taking fourth in the championship, this is my
best season finish yet, and I couldn’t have done it without
everyone’s support.”



In the 15-lap East and West main
events, GEICO Honda teammates Eli Tomac and Justin Barcia dominated
the night. The pressure was off for the two, who had already wrapped
up both titles; however, they came out strong reminding everyone of
how they won those titles in the first place. Both riders grabbed the
holeshot in their mains and quickly checked out from the rest of the
pack. In the shootout, Barcia ran up front for a majority of the race
followed closely by Tomac. Tomac charged hard and was able to catch
Barcia, but never got close enough to make the pass.



“What a crazy night,” stated Tomac.
“Being able to come into Vegas this year and not have to worry
about the championship was really nice. I felt really good today and
am glad to take the win in the West main and second behind Justin in
the shootout. It was great to race with my teammate and be able to
put the GEICO Hondas on top.”



“This is such an amazing feeling,
it’s almost unreal,” said Barcia. “Even though the championship
title is already wrapped up, I still wanted to come to Vegas and win,
which is exactly what I did. The shootout was a lot of fun and
everyone was riding really strong. The GEICO Honda team did a great
job setting up my bike, and I can’t thank everyone enough for all
the support. I am looking forward to moving up next season and riding
with a new group of guys on the 450.”



Teammate Wil Hahn rode a respectable
race, finishing third-place overall in the Supercross Lites West main
event and sixth in the East/West shootout.



The Focus: VP Racing Fuels



The 2012 season marks the 11th year
that VP Racing Fuels® has been a Honda racing team sponsor. VP’s
experience in blending championship-winning fuels dates back 32
successful years, and in addition to its Motocross and Supercross
titles with Team Honda, the company also boasts several NHRA Pro
Stock titles, plus championships in off-shore, off-road, circle-track
and aviation competition.



Supercross Main Event


1. Ryan Dungey


2. Davi Millsaps


3. Justin Brayton (Honda)


4. Jake Weimer


5. Josh Grant


6. Nico Izzi


7. Mike Alessi


8. Weston Peick


9. Andrew Short (Honda)


10. Nick Wey





Supercross Championship Points (after
17 of 17 rounds)


1. Ryan Villopoto 323


2. Davi Millsaps 266


3. Ryan Dungey 257


4. Justin Brayton 257


5. Jake Weimer 229


6. Mike Alessi 206


7. James Stewart 178


8. Brett Metcalfe 177


9. Broc Tickle 171


10. Kevin Windham 166





Supercross Lites West Main Event


1. Eli Tomac (Honda)


2. Dean Wilson


3. Wil Hahn (Honda)


4. Martin Davalos


5. Jason Anderson


6. Marvin Musquin


7. Matt Moss


8. Ryan Sipes


9. Scott Champion


10. Landon Powell





Supercross Lites West Points (after 9
of 9 rounds)


1. Eli Tomac 184


2. Dean Wilson 154


3. Marvin Musquin 142


4. Cole Seely 119


5. Jason Anderson 111


6. Matt Moss 106


7. Ryan Sipes 96


8. Martin Davalos 89


9. Billy Laninovich 85


10. Nico Izzi 78





Supercross Lites East Main Event


1. Justin Barcia (Honda)


2. Ken Roczen


3. Blake Baggett


4. Malcolm Stewart


5. Blake Wharton


6. Kyle Cunningham


7. Hunter Hewitt


8. Jake Canada


9. Matt Lemoine


10. Kyle Peters





Supercross Lites East Points (after 9
of 9 rounds)


1. Justin Barcia 210


2. Ken Roczen 165


3. Blake Wharton 158


4. Blake Baggett 148


5. Darryn Durham 143


6. Jake Canada 131


7. Justin Bogle 117


8. Kyle Cunningham 85


9. Matt Lemoine 78


10. Malcolm Stewart 77





Supercross Lites East/ West Shootout


1. Justin Barcia (Honda)


2. Eli Tomac (Honda)


3. Martin Davalos


4. Ken Roczen


5. Marvin Musquin


6. Wil Hahn (Honda)


7. Ryan Sipes


8. Malcolm Stewart


9. Blake Wharton


10. Matt Moss






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 powersports.honda.com.





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