Photo by: Hoppenworld
Weekend Wrap-Up is a weekly series by MotoXAddicts’ Dan Lamb and Nolan MacDonald wrapping up the highlights and lowlights from the weekend’s racing action.
The tenth round of the 2014 Supercross Series occurred Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida. With so much action occurring week by week, Daytona looked to be another night of adrenaline-pumping action. Daytona is one of the more unique tracks in the series: it has a custom design by former champion Ricky Carmichael and an outdoor/supercross mix of obstacles. This premier level track is a one-of-a-kind every year, making the races a must watch with all of the action:
The Dominance of Pro Circuit Returns
– Nolan MacDonald
Pro Circuit/Monster Energy/Kawasaki has been the most elite 250 class team of all-time, but these past few years have been a drought for owner Mitch Payton. During these few years of less than desirable results, though, it appears Payton was in rebuilding mode and the team is back stronger than ever. This weekend, the rookie rider Adam Cianciarulo went into Daytona with the points lead, just like he has every other 250 East round this year. Adam backed up that lead with a stellar 2nd place to remain 7 points ahead of his veteran teammate Martin Davalos. Martin, who won the first race of his career this year, stands second in the points and showed he is ready to take the Championship with any mistake from his rookie teammate by finishing a strong 3rd in Daytona. The story of the team, however, goes to veteran rider Blake Baggett this week as he won his first race since 2011. Baggett has battled his fair share of injuries but showed he is back in the points chase and ready to win. Pro Circuit dominated the podium this week with all three riders on the box, establishing they are the men to beat in the 250 Eastern Regional Championship this year.
Jeremy Martin Bounces Back
– Nolan MacDonald
Jeremy Martin has had a rough start to 2014. Pre-season, the Yamalube Yamaha rider looked to be a Championship contender in only his second year, but after not even making the main event in the first two rounds, Martin was faced with needing to try to at least salvage his season. In round nine in Indianapolis, Jeremy qualified for his first main event but finished a poor 18th, showing he just could not put it all together yet. Daytona appeared to be different as Martin took his first podium in 2013 at the same location. This year, he must have told himself it would be no different. Although Martin didn’t podium this year, he did make a tremendous comeback and improve his riding by starting top 5 in the main event and finishing 6th. Is this just the beginning of the year for the young rider or will this be his only flash of brilliance?
Dean Wilson Makes a Statement
– Dan Lamb
If you went on the internet the day after the Daytona SX and looked up the results, all you would see is a mediocre seventh place by Dean Wilson, but if you paid attention from start to finish, you saw a very loud statement from the #15. With two years of injuries and a lackluster performance on the 450 in the 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, Deano’s stock had plummeted. After last weekend’s Daytona SX, though—where Deano set the two fastest laps in 450SX qualifying, held off James Stewart to win his heat race and ran second for fourteen laps—his stock may be at an all-time high. Yes, the Scottish-born Floridian transplant faded in the last five laps to finish seventh, but before that happened, he showed what he’s truly capable of. With that performance alone, Deano moved himself into a much better pay grade for his next negotiation.
Broc Tickle Climbs the Ladder
– Nolan MacDonald
RCH/Suzuki rider Broc Tickle has consistently been on the radar of many. At the beginning of the season, he looked to be a solid top ten performer in the 450 class, but every week it seems that he just gets better and better. Last week in Indianapolis, Tickle finished a solid fifth place in a stacked class and carried that confidence straight into the Sunshine State. This week, Tickle solidified that he is a man to compete with the champions when he got a solid top 10 start and battled his way into a career-high fourth place. The former 250SX Western Regional champion has worked hard this off-season, and it appears that he wants to be a top five guy week in and week out.
Bam Bam Welcomes Mookie to 450SX
– Dan Lamb
Troy Lee Designs/Honda’s Malcolm Stewart made his 450SX debut at the 2014 Daytona SX, and up until lap nine of the main event, he was exceeding all expectations. The #34 qualified eleventh in timed qualifying, transferred to the main event directly out of his heat and was running inside the top five. On lap nine, feeling pressure coming from Justin Barcia, Malcolm checked up and went wide, but when Barcia tried to go underneath him, he washed out the front wheel, went down and took Malcolm down with him. Unfortunately, Malcolm didn’t have the luxury of instant replay, so he retaliated, feeling like Barcia had taken him out. It started with the patented Malcolm shove and escalated to dropping the clutch and nearly using Barcia’s body as a loop-out ramp. In the end, nobody was hurt, but Malcolm’s bank account did take a hit. Because the AMA had already warned Malcolm after he put his hands on Cooper Webb in Oakland, on Tuesday the AMA announced that Malcolm was fined $5000 and put on probation for the remainder of 2014.
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The Bad Luck Continues for James Stewart
– Dan Lamb
It’s hard to believe that just three weeks ago James Stewart was on a two-race win streak and just fourteen points away from Ryan Villopoto in the Championship. Well, three weeks, one front wheel wash out and two first turn incidents later, and the #7 is all but out of it with a 52-point mountain to climb. It’s crazy how quickly things change in supercross, and while they say people make their own luck, it’s hard to blame him for what happened in Daytona. After getting a decent start, he was met by the #800 bike with nobody on it. When he made contact with Mike Alessi‘s runaway 450, his header pipe was ripped off. With a huge loss of power, James pulled into the mechanics’ area and, to his credit, still finished 18th after losing a lap and half getting repairs. You can say what you want about the former two-time champ, but you can’t say he has any quit in him. Hopefully from here on, the #7 can play spoiler and get a couple of wins before they go outdoors for the summer.
Ryan Villopoto’s Quest for Four Straight
– Nolan MacDonald
With such a crazy points battle the past few weeks, it appeared that reigning champion Ryan Villopoto was going to have to work his Monster Energy/Kawasaki to the top of the charts. James Stewart, Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey have all established they are championship contenders this year, but it appears they still are no match for Villopoto’s consistency. Even though this is not what Ryan is known for, consistency has been the key to staying on top this year as RV has led a good portion of our series without having won since round four. After winning in Daytona, though, Villopoto now stands 28 points ahead of Ryan Dungey who has a DNF, Ken Roczen who has a DNF and James Stewart who has had a few problems this season. Overall, Ryan Villopoto has stayed on top and is establishing that he is the man to beat for that fourth straight Supercross Championship. Villopoto will be one of the only riders to achieve this honor, right alongside “The King” Jeremy McGrath.
250SX Championship Point Standings
1. Adam Cianciarulo – 94
2. Martin Davalos – 87
3. Blake Baggett – 79
4. Justin Bogle – 72
5. Vince Friese – 61
6. Blake Wharton – 51
7. Cole Thompson – 48
8. Kyle Cunninham – 45
9. Jimmy Decotis – 43
10. Matt lemoine – 37
450SX Championship Point Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto – 209
2. Ryan Dungey – 181
3. Ken Roczen – 180
4. James Stewart – 157
5. Justin Brayton – 155
6. Andrew Short – 125
7. Justin Barcia – 118
8. Chad Reed – 111
9. Broc Tickle – 111
10. Wil Hahn – 108
