This Week in Monster Energy Supercross: San Diego

AURORA,
Ill (February 18, 2011) – Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, of
Poulsbo, Wash., used a 14-point swing in Supercross class point
standings to move into the covered number-one position following the
20-lap main event at Houston’s Reliant Stadium last weekend for the
sixth stop of the 2011 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World
Championship. With two wins and three additional podium finishes,
Villopoto is the most consistent rider in the field heading into San
Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium tomorrow night.

“I’ve
been trying to stay focused on the long term goal of a championship,”
said Villopoto. “I did lose the lead for a few races, but tried to ride
smart and stay on two wheels. I’ve only been off the podium twice and I
really want to maintain the consistency.”

With
a 2.2 average finish this season, Villopoto’s only non-podium finish
was a fourth at Oakland and he’s led the points race every weekend
except Anaheim 2, where James Stewart’s third win of the season gave
him a five-point advantage over Villopoto.

How quickly things change.

Stewart,
of Haines City, Fla., has an average finish of 3.8 and earned podium
finishes at every race this year except Houston where he finished 15^th
due to two crashes. He’s now nine points out of the Supercross class
points race. Stewart’s reputation for either winning or crashing is
following suite this season as he’s won every race that he hasn’t
crashed in.

San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart is hoping to rebound from a 15^th place finish last Saturday in Houston. Stewart currently sits in second place, nine points out of the lead.

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

“The second crash is what really set me back, when my front brake got
bent,” Stewart said. “I really had to take it easy the rest of the
laps, because my tire kept locking up. The good thing is I didn’t get
hurt and I’m excited to show my fans that I’ll be back on top in San
Diego.”  Stewart now sits in second place, just nine points shy of the
lead.”

While
Villopoto and Stewart wrestle for the points race, American Honda’s
Trey Canard picked up the first Supercross class win of his career.

"It
was awesome to get my first-ever Supercross class win last weekend and
to put American Honda Racing on top for the first time this season,"
said Canard. "I want to build on this momentum going forward and my
goal is to finish on the podium every weekend."

Canard
was given the lead on Lap 10 by fellow Honda rider Kevin Windham.
Windham suffered a horrific crash that didn’t allow him to return to
the main event.

"The
race was going so well and I was pulling away from second place,” said
Windham. I probably could have quit doing the obstacle that tripped me
up and still won the race. I mean, it's never over until it's over but
I liked my chances from that point on. The track was deteriorating and
a lot of the top riders had quit trying that maneuver where I wrecked.
By the end of the race none of them were trying it. Man, it just breaks
your heart.”

Like he has done so many times before, Windham will pick up the pieces and make another run at victory.

"I'm
going to need to nurse my injuries and just fight through it,” said
Windham. “I want to get back to that level as soon as I can. The life
of a motocross rider involves dealing with injuries and at this point
in the year there isn't anyone out there that isn't banged up somehow.
When you have all the races in a row there just isn't adequate time to
recover. We'll do the best we can."

Defending
Supercross class champion Ryan Dungey rebounded in Houston after a DNF
at Anaheim 2, finishing second. Dungey and Villopoto jockeyed for
positions late in the race before the two engaged in a drag race to the
finish line.

After
his first Supercross class career victory last weekend in Houston,
American Honda’s Trey Canard sits comfortably in third place, 20 points
behind the leader.

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

“Overall,
we had a real solid day in Houston,” said Dungey. “The bike felt great
all day. I really owe a lot to Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki because they
worked hard. We need to keep pushing and start winning these races. I’m
really thankful for the day – coming off of Anaheim 2 was a real tough
one for the whole team and myself, but this is a step in the right
direction and we’ll keep building from here. It will be good to get a
good solid week in and show up in San Diego with my RMZ ready to go."

Red Bull/KTM made history when their three riders, Andrew Short, Ken Roczen and Mike Alessi, finished 5^th, 7th and 10^th,
respectively at Houston. Prior to that, KTM’s best finish came at the
ninth race of the 1992 season when Mike Fisher, Keith Johnson and Mark
Musselman all finished within the top 20.

In
practice, Short put together his best showing all season. He qualified
sixth fastest just a second off the pace of James Stewart who turned
the fastest lap. Ken Roczen, in his first-ever Supercross class race,
turned the 9^th fastest time and Mike Alessi rounded out the group in 13^th.

“I
was not thinking very positive before the main event because my heel
was still hurting me from the heat,” said Roczen, who jarred his foot
in a collision with Ivan Tedesco in the heat race. “But it was not bad
in the main, and I forgot about the pain when I was riding. I am so
excited to finish inside the top ten. I was more nervous than I had
ever been going into this race. The guys in the Supercross class have
been my heroes for a long time, and it was pretty cool to get to race
with them. I am very happy to have raced this event and hope to do a
few more.”

For Alessi, finishing 10^th marked the best finish of his season.

“The
last two weeks I have made some changes to my program and am slowly
gaining back some confidence,” said Alessi. “My goal was to get inside
the top ten and now I just want to remain consistent and hopefully back
it up in San Diego. I am really pumped for the team. To have all riders
finish inside the top ten is great for the Red Bull/KTM team and
especially the 350 SX-F.”

Rockstar
Makita Suzuki’s Brett Metcalfe rode a solid practice and carried that
momentum into his heat race with a fourth-place finish on his RM-Z450
in Houston. A strong start in the main put him into third place on the
first lap. Metcalfe rode a consistent race and maintained a top-five
position until the last lap when a small mistake put him on the ground
in the first whoops section. Metcalfe remounted his Suzuki to finish in
eighth place.

“I’m
happy with the way I rode in Houston,” said Metcalfe. “The team made
some good changes that week. We made some big improvements to the
engine and I have to thank Yoshimura for all their help and everybody
on the team. I think myself and Ryan both got great starts. I came out
strong in the heat race and the main event was going good right ‘til
the end. I made a couple mistakes, and a couple guys got me at the end
there and I threw it away in the whoops trying to get a position back
on the last lap. I’ve had a good week riding and each week my riding
has been improving. We just need to improve the result.”

With
a victory two races ago in Anaheim, Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki’s Josh Hansen currently leads the Western Regional
Supercross Lites class by eight points.

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

 As
the action in the Western Regional Supercross Lites class championship
returns to action, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Josh Hansen
used last week to rest his injured hand. He looks to maintain his
points lead in the AMA Supercross Lites Western Region before the seven
week break.

“I’ve
been focused on getting my hand back to a good place where I can race
as hard as I can this weekend,” said Hansen. “It’s not going to be
easy, but I’m definitely staying positive.”

Hansen’s
teammate Broc Tickle is only eight points behind in the standings and
is looking for his second win of the season. His first win came at the
rain-soaked track in Oakland, and with the forecast calling for rain,
he is hoping that his luck will return.

“I
did well in the wet in Oakland so maybe that will also be the case in
San Diego,” said Tickle. “I’ve been working really hard during our week
off and I want to be able to go into the break on a high note.”

After sitting out Anaheim 2 due to a back injury, Tyla Rattray looks to make his return in San Diego.

“I’m
still a bit sore, but I rode for the first time on Monday and it went
pretty well,” said Rattray. “I should be strong enough for the race on
Saturday. I really want to get back out there so I’m going to do
everything I can to make it happen.”

Team
Rockstar Energy Suzuki scored a sixth- and a seventh-place finish at
the last west lites main event in Anaheim. Martin Davalos powered his
Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z250 to a sixth-place finish in the 15-lap
lites main event and teammate Ryan Morais finished just behind Davalos
in seventh.

“I
had a decent race at our last round in Anaheim,” said Davalos. “It has
been good to have a little break and work on some things I needed to
improve on. I’m really ready for San Diego.”

“I
twisted my ankle in the first practice at A2,” said Morais. “The week
off has been very helpful for me. I’ve been able to rest the ankle a
bit and get ready to put my Suzuki on the box in San Diego."

Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster retail locations, SupercrossOnline.com, charge by phone at (800) 745-3000, participating Yamaha dealers, or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Practice and qualifying begins at 12:30 p.m., and the main event begins
at 7:00 p.m.  Gold Circle tickets are available for $35 Adult/Child;
Mid-Level $30 Adult/Child; Press-Level $30 Adult/Child; Treadhead $10
Adult/Child.  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). 

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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