The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads into Indianapolis, Indiana to Lucas Oil Stadium for round number ten of this wild ride. Last week in Daytona, the series switched gears as the number two Ryan Villopoto left Daytona International Speedway with nearly a one-race lead in the points and more than half the series behind him. The big questions this week were would RV2 begin to bring it down a notch and start trying to protect that lead, and would James Stewart do what he has done so many times before and start clicking off a win streak to get back into the title hunt?
I wish the other riders would take a page out of Trey Canard’s opening ceremony trick book. Photo by Brian Robinette.
As the riders got into their gear for round ten qualifying, JS7 let us all know where his head was with a butt patch that read “Ain’t over yet.” Stewart has always brought his never-say-die attitude with him to the races, and he quickly showed in early qualifying that last week’s crash was not going to effect him. The San Manuel Yamaha superstar would quickly lay down the fastest laps in early sessions, but in qualifying session number two, would go down a couple of times with little mistakes.
As the last qualifying sessions of the day came to a close, Trey Canard would be the number one qualifier followed closely by RV2, JS7, Chad Reed #22 and Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey rounding out the top five. From Trey Canard’s fast lap of the day back to the number five qualifier, there was only a four-tenths difference. With the riders’ best laps being so close, the night would come down to consistency and fitness in the end.
Reedy would struggle all night to get his rhythm on the tight Indy circuit. Photo by Brian Robinette.
With questions looming over RV2 and JS7, and uncertainty as to whether or not someone else could get in the mix and begin a run of their own, the capacity crowd was on their feet as Heat 1 rolled up to the line.
Heat 1
Heat 1 on the night would bring out the current points leader, Monster/Kawasaki rider Ryan Villopoto. RV2 surely had desires of starting the night out on the right foot, and he did just that. Mr. Villopoto would grab the holeshot and lead wire-to-wire taking the first transfer spot into the night’s Main Event. RV2 may have lead wire-to-wire, but the old veteran, GEICO Powersports/Honda’s Kevin Windham, kept him honest the whole way. The man many call Mr. Smooth may be getting up in age, but he showed in Heat 1 that he still has the speed to play with the best of the best. The Two-Two Motorsports superstar Chad Reed was never a factor for the win in Heat 1 due to a not-so-great start, but he did his work and finished in a solid third behind RV2 and K’dub.
RV2 would start the night off right with a monster holeshot in Heat 1. Photo by Brian Robinette.
Heat 1 Qualifiers
1 2 Ryan Villopoto
2 14 Kevin Windham
3 22 Chad Reed
4 18 David Millsaps
5 29 Andrew Short
6 321 Fabien Izoird
7 36 Cole Seely
8 27 Nicholas Wey
9 800 Mike Alessi
James wanted everyone to know how he felt about the 2011 SX championship. Photo by Brian Robinette.
Heat 2
When San Manuel/Yamaha’s James Stewart rolls to the line, the stadium takes notice. For the start of Heat 2, all eyes were on the number seven, and when the gate fell on Heat 2, the inventor of the Bubba scrub would scrub the gate and be the first man in and out of turn one. James, in vintage Stewart fashion, would charge the first two laps, easily pulling a three-second lead on the number forty-one, factory Honda’s future, Trey Canard. Trey lost time early on during JS7’s two-lap sprint, but from lap three on, Trey used the speed that gave him the top qualifying time to make sure JS7 was aware he could run his pace. Third place in Heat 2 would go to the Joe Gibbs Racing backed rider Justin Brayton. If there is anyone in this field that could be called a “quiet assassin,” it would be the number ten. He is consistently getting better and quietly becoming a factor in 2011.
Heat 2 Qualifiers
1 7 James Stewart
2 41 Trey Canard
3 10 Justin Brayton
4 1 Ryan Dungey
5 9 Ivan Tedesco
6 942 Tye Simmonds
7 26 Michael Byrne
8 38 Chris Blose
9 50 Matt Boni
LCQ
With the depth of talent in 2011, there always seems to be at least one factory star in the LCQ, but Indy saw a gate stacked with privateers hoping to make the Main. Privateer Robert Kiniry would get the start and, despite an early hounding from Kyle Partridge, would hold on for the win with Matthew Goerke behind him for the last transfer spot of the night.
LCQ Qualifiers
1 62 Robert Kiniry
2 39 Matthew Goerke
Main Event
With the heat races complete, the stage was set and the cast for round ten was on the line ready for the Main Event. As the insanely hot Miss Supercross ran off the track with the thirty-second board, the gate crashed, and a Honda with two-two on the side would out-brake everyone in turn one. Reedy grabbed the Main Event holeshot with RV2, Ivan Tedesco, Dungey and Canard right behind him, but his lead would be short-lived. RV2, sensing urgency on the tight Indy circuit, would make quick work of Reed and go around the former two-time SX champ, setting off to gap the field early. Honda’s Trey Canard–who rounded turn-one in fifth–would get into it with RD1 just before the line, stall his Honda and cross the stripe at the end of lap one with a load of work ahead of him in eighteenth.
Ryan Dungey has had one issue after another in 2011 and Indy would be no different. After a rough Main Event, he was greeted by an angry Canard who after some words would push RD1. TC41 would later apologize to RD1 stating he was upset about an early race run-in with the Suzuki rider. Photo by Brian Robinette.
RV2’s primary concern was James Stewart, and JS7 would be the last rider into turn-one. With some crafty work, though, Stewart would be in fifth by the first time everyone would cross the line. On lap two, he would go by IT9, but would find himself having to pass the Hart and Huntington rider once again after a series of unreal saves in the ultra-technical rhythm sections. This track was one on which over-riding would do more harm than good, and JS7 was quickly reminded of this. After some huge mistakes, James would regroup, gather his senses, get back by IT9 and set off for the leaders.
While James was getting it together, RV2 was out front riding his own race, and Dungey was doing some serious work trying to get by Reedy. The one downfall in Dungey’s game this year is his lack of aggressiveness, and the 2010 champ was being far too nice to the number twenty-two. Dungey would spend ten laps being a cordial gentleman and paid the price for it on lap ten. While going way out of his way to keep it clean, Dungey would hit Reed’s rear tire and go down, giving the final podium spot to JS7. Unlike RD1, JS7 would catch and pass Reedy in a matter of a lap, and with seven seconds between himself and RV2, go to work on trying to catch the points leader.
Cole Seely, in his 450 debut, would make the Main directly through his heat race and go on to have a solid performance in the Main Event. We expect big gains from Cole in coming weeks. Photo by Brian Robinette.
At the front, Mr. Villopoto was doing what he has done all year: riding the perfect race. While everyone else has been involved their own battles–and some off-track drama–Ryan has been simply flawless. Saturday night was just another of those flawless nights. JS7 would mount a valiant charge–cutting RV2’s lead to just four seconds on lap eighteen—but in the end, RV2 would come out on top by doing what he always does. Villopoto rides smooth, smart, calculated races, and for the fifth time this year, he punched another twenty-five points into that calculator of his.
Behind RV2, JS7 would add twenty-two points to his total with his third runner-up position in 2011, while the number twenty-two would finish third. Dungey—after his early run-in with Reed—would catch Reed, who was obviously riding slower on this night, again but would not be able to do what he needed to get by. If Dungey wants to be the fifth winner in 2011, he is going to have to turn his aggressiveness up a notch or two. Behind Dungey, crossing the line in fifth was the quiet assassin, Justin Brayton. It was a decent night for JB10, but after speaking with him on Thursday, I know he wants, and feels he can do even better.
RV2 would do what he has done all year. Get a good start, attack early, be smart and play race management until the checkered flag. Photo by Brian Robinette.
As we leave Indy and head back down to Florida for round eleven in Jacksonville, RV2 now has a twenty-six-point gap and a nice cushion to work with for the last seven rounds. Is the series over? Not even close! With seven rounds to go there are still a hundred and seventy-five points on the table. What will happen in those seven rounds is anyone’s guess. The only thing we know for sure is that a champ will be crowned in Las Vegas on May 7th, and I can’t wait to see it.
Main Event Results
1 2 Ryan Villopoto
2 7 James Stewart
3 22 Chad Reed
4 1 Ryan Dungey
5 10 Justin Brayton
6 41 Trey Canard
7 14 Kevin Windham
8 27 Nicholas Wey
9 36 Cole Seely
10 800 Mike Alessi
11 18 David Millsaps
12 50 Matt Boni
13 26 Michael Byrne
14 321 Fabien Izoird
15 39 Matthew Goerke
16 942 Tye Simmonds
17 62 Robert Kiniry
18 38 Chris Blose
19 9 Ivan Tedesco
20 29 Andrew Short
Indianapolis SX podium. Photo by Brian Robinette.
Be sure to follow @dandunes818 and @motoxaddictscom on Twitter for updates, interviews and Supercross news throughout the week.
