Photo: Supercross.com
The 2012 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, got its second half underway at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. With Red Bull/KTM’s Ryan Dungey winning last weekend in Atlanta, many wondered if the momentum would swing, but in St. Louis, it was once again the Ryan Villopoto show. The Monster Energy/Kawasaki rider grabbed a second place start, quickly blew by JGR/Yamaha’s Davi Millsaps and controlled the Main Event from the front. Villopoto has transformed into a supercross machine and, despite running into lapped traffic and losing time to Dungey late in the Main Event, was able to hang on for his fifth win of the 2012 season.
Finishing behind Villopoto was the #5 machine. Ryan Dungey started just a couple spots behind RV in the Main Event, but unlike RV, it took him a while to break free from Millsaps and then work his way around a very stubborn Muscle Milk/Honda rider by the name of Justin Brayton. Once around Brayton, the 2010 Champ put on a very admirable charge to shave Villopoto’s six second lead down to a mere two seconds at the flag, but it was too little, too late. Dungey crossed the line with a second on the night, and Justin Brayton followed him through in third for his first podium of the year.
Rounding out the top five were GEICO Powersports/Honda’s Kevin Windham—in his 201st Main Event—and JGR/Yamaha’s James Stewart. Kevin had just celebrated his thirty-fourth birthday on February 28th, and for a minute, it looked like he was going to be a thirty-four year old on the box with a podium. Unfortunately for K’dub, Brayton held strong, and Kevin walked away with his second fourth of the year. Behind K’dub was James Stewart who was once again charging back from an early race crash. James got a bit inpatient early while in traffic, went down and had to start round nine from last. James was dialed in on Saturday night, and if not for the crash, this was a night we think he may have gotten it done. Once again, though, his starts and impatience were his Achilles’ heel.
Now as the series heads to Daytona, it is looking more and more like a two horse race. With the series now beyond the halfway mark, RV brings a thirteen-point lead over Ryan Dungey with him to Daytona and massive fifty-two point spread back to Stewart in third. We may not see a three man Championship battle to Vegas, but we have a feeling we will eventually see some three man fights for Main Event wins. Hopefully we see our first one next weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
Next stop, Daytona!
Supercross Class – St. Louis SX
1 1 Ryan Villopoto 2 5 Ryan Dungey 3 10 Justin Brayton 4 14 Kevin Windham 5 7 James Stewart 6 18 David Millsaps 7 21 Jake Weimer 8 24 Brett Metcalfe 9 38 Marvin Musquin 10 27 Nicholas Wey
Supercross Class – After 8 Rounds – 2012 Championship Points
1 1 Ryan Villopoto Seattle, WA, USA 205 2 5 Ryan Dungey Belle Plaine, MN, USA 192 3 7 James Stewart Haines City, FL, USA 152 4 22 Chad Reed Dade City, FL, USA 128 5 14 Kevin Windham Centreville, MS, USA 123
