Racer X Race Report: Salt Lake City
Sunday, April 29, 2012 | 6:20 AM
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PrintA look at the results from Monster Energy Supercross in Salt Lake City will say that Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey took the win, but that doesn’t at all explain how close the race for the victory was. For most of the race, and most of the day, it looked like Dungey didn’t have a shot, in fact. The 2010 AMA Supercross Champion had only returned to action last weekend following collarbone surgery, and couldn't quite find his old form in his first race back. At Salt Lake City, he crashed early in practice and totally trashed his KTM 450 SX-F, causing him to miss most of the first two practices while his team made repairs. Only late in the final practice did he begin to find his stride, and on the very last lap of the final session, Dungey clicked off the fastest lap of the day It was a theme that would continue into the night.
After all, with 2011 and 2012 Monster Energy SX Champion Ryan Villopoto out with a torn ACL, and Dungey having his problems, quite a few riders were feeling like this was their chance to grab a breakthrough win. Chief among them was JGR Toyota Yamaha rider Davi Millsaps and Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jake Weimer, who won the heat races. Millsaps victory was epecially thrilling, as he overhauled Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Brayton late in a thrilling eight-lap race, which Dungey could only muster a third behind them. Then, in the main event. Millsaps just edged out in front of Dungey to get the early lead, and Weimer quickly shot past Dungey to take over second.
Millsaps jumped out to the early lead with Weimer and Dungey not far behind.
And that battle stayed close for the first half of the race.
Cudby photos
Weimer rode well and kept Millsaps honest, with Dungey starting to put things together after a few laps. Eventually Dungey found his groove and closed on Weimer, then got inside of Weimer on the left-handed sweeper across the start straight. Weimer and Dungey have had a few aggressive run ins this year, and a quick game of cat and mouse broke out as Dungey and Weimer slammed on the brakes and tried to cut underneath each other. Dungey stood Weimer up a bit to take second. Weimer wasn’t happy and rode Dungey high in the next turn, and then did it again in the next and knocked Dungey down.
"I mean, I'm not going to be pushed around anymore," said Weimer.
"It was a little dirty," said Dungey. "Kind of caught me off guard, I thought I had it in there pretty tight, but he got inside of me and I hit the tuff blocks."
Weimer and Dungey went back and forth for second.
And at one point Weimer knocked the KTM rider down.
Dungey recovered quickly and was able to reel Weimer back in and make the pass.
Cudby photos
Meanwhile, Millsaps had built a 3.5 second lead by the halfway mark and was looking for his first SX victory in over two years.
Then Dungey got fired up. He started clicking off hard, fast laps, closing back in on Weimer after the knockdown. Everyone braced for a Dungey revenge pass, but he didn’t need it when Weimer made a bg mistake in a 90 degree turn, allowing Dungey to take the inside and take second in a clean pass.
Dungey then began closing slightly on Millsaps, but it appeared he wouldn’t have time to catch him for the win, until Millsaps started to get jacked by lapped traffic. Then, on the 18th lap, Millsaps made a huge mistake in a rhythm lane, as a lapped rider cut into his line and forced him not to use the proper timing through the section. Dungey shot past to steal the lead just before the white flag came out. Millsaps pushed hard and tried to retaliate on the last lap, but there was too much traffic to set up a pass, and with that, Dungey was on his way to his third win of the year.
It looked like Millsaps had this one...until lapped traffic slowed him enough to lose the lead.
Dungey is back after missing a few races with a broken collarbone and surgery.
Cudby photos
Millsaps took second—surely disappointed after leading 18 laps—while Weimer ended up third. Brayton got a bad start in the main event but came back for fourth, and Motoconcept's Mike Alessi rounded out the top five in a solid ride. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Broc Tickle was sixth, wth last week's winner, Andrew Short, seventh. Josh Grant took eighth on his Jeff Ward Racing/DNA Energy Kawasaki, and Dodge/Sycuan/Hart & Huntington's Tyler Bowers rounded out the top ten.
Main Event
1. R. Dungey
2. D. Millsaps
3. J. Weimer
4. J. Brayton
5. M. Alessi
6. B. Tickle
7. A. Short
8. J. Grant
9. R. Kiniry
10. T. Bowers
11. M. Goerke
12. W. Peick
13. N. Wey
14. G. Faith
15. J. Thomas
16. C. Blose
17. K. Chisholm
18. J. Albertson
19. K. Regal
20. B. Metcalfe
Heat 1
1. J. Weimer
2. A. Short
3. B. Tickle
4. M. Alessi
5. K. Regal
6. B. Metcalfe
7. G. Faith
8. K. Chisholm
9. J. Thomas
10. J. Grant
11. P. Mull
12. A. Enticknap
13. C. Gilmore
14. C. Howell
15. K. Urquhart
16. B. Ripple
17. M. Akaydin
18. D. Vawser
19. C. Schlacht
20. B. Hall
Heat 2
1. D. Millsaps
2. J. Brayton
3. R. Dungey
4. T. Bowers
5. M. Goerke
6. J. Albertson
7. C. Blose
8. N. Wey
9. W. Peick
10. R. Kiniry
11. A. Politelli
12. J. Sipes
13. M. Horban
14. A. Ray
15. J. Potter
16. J. Oswald
17. J. Odriscoll
18. R. Clark
19. G. Crater
20. R. Noftz
LCQ
1. R. Kiniry
2. J. Grant
3. J. Sipes
4. R. Clark
5. M. Horban
6. A. Enticknap
7. C. Gilmore
8. A. Politelli
9. P. Mull
10. G. Crater
11. J. Oswald
12. C. Howell
13. A. Ray
14. B. Ripple
15. K. Urquhart
16. J. Odriscoll
17. M. Akaydin
18. J. Potter
19. D. Vawser
20. R. Noftz
21. B. Hall
22. C. Schlacht
Supercross Class Season Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 323
2. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 244
3. Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 237
4. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 232
5. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 211
6. Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki, 192
7. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha, 178
8. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki, 174
9. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 166
10. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki, 161
The Lites class was a shocker right off the bat. Rockstar Suzuki's Jason Anderson plowed into Ryan Sipes, who won last weekend's race, in the first turn….of the parade lap. It was a hard hit, but both riders got up. Sipes never fully recovered, however, and pulled out of the race about halfway through. But things went much better for Anderson, who pulled the holeshot in the main and immediately started pulling away!
Jason Anderson got off to the best start of his pro career by leading early.
Dean Wilson rode through shoulder pain to run second early.
Eli Tomac didn't get a great start, but he came through to pass Wilson for second.
Cudby photos
Meanwhile, there was a focus on the championship battle between Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Dean Wilson and GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac. Wilson, sore shoulder and all, had won his heat race and looked good early in the main, moving up into second, ahead of Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin and Anderson's teammate Martin Davalos. But soon Wilson’s title rival, Tomac, was on the move, charging from about 7th to challenge the leaders. Davalos tried a move on Musquin and couldn’t triple, allowing Tomac to swoop past him. Moments later, Tomac pulled a slick move on the inside of the start sweeper to get past Musquin. That put him into third and started a battle with Wilson. Wilson made a few mistakes, allowing Tomac to close and set up duel. A few laps later, Wilson didn't get the final jump in a rhythm lane cleanly, and Tomac pounced by jumping to the inside and making a clean pass. Then Wilson could only double the next triple, allowing Tomac to get some breathing room. Still, at that point, Tomac stood to gain only two points on Wilson in the championship fight, which would have extended his lead to just six points with next weekend's Vegas finale yet to run.
At one point, Anderson had a lead of 5.2 seconds, but in the second half of the race, he began to falter, making big mistakes and allowing the Tomac/Wilson battle to close in. Tomac executed a quick pass to take the lead, and he checked out from there.
Old amateur rivals Anderson and Tomac hooked up in a battle for the lead, which Tomac won.
Cudby photo
A Wilson crash suddenly opened the door for Tomac to secure the championship with one race left in the season.
Then, suddenly, the title picture changed completely when Wilson, running third, swapped in the whoops before the finish and crashed hard. Already ailing, that knocked him out of the race, and suddenly, surprisingly, Tomac was in position to wrap up the championship. A few laps later, he won the race, and combined with Wilson’s 19th-place finish (and a DNS for Lucas Oil Troy Lee Honda's Cole Seely, who crashed out in practice), and Tomac had suddenly clinched the 2012 Lites West Championship!
"It's a dream come true!" said Tomac. "I definitely wasn't thinking about wrapping this up tonight, I just wanted to focus on winning the race. But now we'll have two number-one GEICO Honda's in Vegas. I can't wait!"
Tomac's teammate Justin Barcia clinched the East Lites title two weeks ago.
Avenging a close loss last season, Tomac is 2012 West Lites SX Champ.
In a tough season, Martin Davalos finally grabbed a podium finish.
Cudby photos
Anderson and Davalos took second and third on their Suzukis, marking the first podium finishes of the season for either rider, and the first of Anderson's two-year pro career.
Main Event
1. E. Tomac
2. J. Anderson
3. M. Davalos
4. W. Hahn
5. M. Musquin
6. M. Moss
7. B. Laninovich
8. T. Ingalls
9. V. Friese
10. S. Champion
11. K. Rusk
12. L. Powell
13. P. Tilford
14. B. Hudson
15. C. Plouffe
16. R. Sipes
17. M. Tedder
18. T. Bright
19. D. Wilson
20. C. Jurin
Heat 1
1. D. Wilson
2. W. Hahn
3. M. Moss
4. R. Sipes
5. C. Plouffe
6. T. Ingalls
7. K. Rusk
8. M. Tedder
9. B. Hudson
10. P. Tilford
11. R. Smith
12. T. Bell
13. M. Alcorn
14. B. Rangel
15. B. Foster
16. J. Hicks
17. B. Nauditt
18. C. Church
19. C. Seely
Heat 2
1. E. Tomac
2. J. Anderson
3. M. Davalos
4. B. Laninovich
5. M. Musquin
6. V. Friese
7. L. Powell
8. T. Bright
9. C. Jurin
10. C. Martinez
11. J. Greco
12. S. Champion
13. E. Meusling
14. B. Gillespie
15. S. Rhinehart
16. D. Schmoke
17. R. Rangel
18. J. Withrow
19. T. Baker
LCQ
1. S. Champion
2. P. Tilford
3. R. Smith
4. T. Bell
5. J. Greco
6. E. Meusling
7. C. Martinez
8. C. Church
9. S. Rhinehart
10. M. Alcorn
11. B. Gillespie
12. B. Rangel
13. D. Schmoke
14. J. Withrow
15. B. Nauditt
16. R. Rangel
17. B. Foster
18. J. Hicks
19. C. Seely
20. T. Baker
Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 159
2. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki, 132
3. Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 127
4. Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 119
5. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki, 95
6. Matt Moss, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 92
7. Billy Laninovich, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 84
8. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Kent., Yamaha, 83
9. Nico Izzi, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha, 78
10. Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda, 75
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This track time should put Dungey in a great position for when the outdoors starts, he now has to be one of the favorites going in.
Congratulations to Eli, it will be interesting to see how the two Geico honda boys stack up to each other in Vegas not to mention the entire outdoor series. That seems to be where my attention has gone to since the rash of injuries in the 450 class.
Are they making these bikes too powerful?
Good job RD5 Tuff luck for Wilson, looks like Gieco team finally stopped the Pro Circuit frieght train.
Come on Barcia your wasting your time in the 250 class, Get on the dam 450 we need you out there for the nats now !!!!!
Good job Eli, its an awsome morning here im Colorado thanks to you.
i am glad for eli and the championship, but still hope wilson has an ok shoulder for the nationals.
Note to Pro-Circuit employees: Monday would be a good one for a sick day..........
If DM had not been on that ragedy Yamaha, he could have maybe won his heat race and lead a few laps........OH WAIT, HE DID! I am sooooo confused!!!!!
Im happy to see Tomac win it but I will say I am bummed on Wilsons crashes. Good to see DM have a good ride! The Yamahas do have flaws with the centre of gravity but DM has been able to work around that. JS7 is fast but his very aggressive style does not work with the bikes.
I wondered who might be the first dill-hole to reference "you know who" on this story that he wasn't even a part of!! uneasy-rider wins the dill-hole award today!!!
....and thank you Wheelzz708, for actually making sense!!
Think Anderson needs his clock cleaned,taking someone out on the parade lap what a punk,then again look at his choice of rides,joke
James Stewart is gonna be really fast on his honda!
I have a James Stewart poster on my wall because he's the best rider!
Way to go Tomac and Killy Rusk! Every motohead in the Four Corners is happy today, except for those of us that get to watch an infommercial about life changing pillows on Sunday morning instead of supercross like probably everyone else in the entire United States. Anderson and my local CBS affiliate - what a couple of tools....
WTF RACER X!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! U guys said on ur How to watch Salt Lake City report that the SX race was on at 1pm Eastern time! Not 12 am. I missed the WHOLE THING and I didnt have it recorded. Are u serious C'mon
Kawi567....its on now you dumba$$
BYE BYE PRO CIRCUIT, NOW THERE'S SOMEBODY WHO CAN STOP YOUR BORING WINNING TRAIN. THIS IS MORE INTERESTING NOW.
Kawi567....are you seriously blaming racer x for your own stupidity? Learn to tell time. Total idiot!
Jake Weimer is the dirtiest rider ever.....somebody needs to put him in the cheap seats in Vegas!!!!
Why was Dungey racing the C class?
Jake Whiner made a big mistake in a 90 degree turn......
1) Missed the exit to the truck before 5 caught him
2) What did he do , mess himself in fear .............
3) Forgot his big boy pants.......................
JimM
Pala374
kinda a dumb-ass move on JW21, and Karma showed him in the end. Or, as Tony Alessi would say, "The Universe will get him, and it did". Congrats to FC Honda!! nice to see someone other than PC win the lites titles. New Sheriff in town?? Bring on the NATS!!!!!!!
It seems to me that JW21 gets overly aggressive in return. If someone makes a clean, yet aggressive pass on Jake, he seems to want to start a war and take the rider out instead of focusing on his own race. Dungey is the complete opposite; Dungey does not ride dirty or retaliate and focuses on the race at hand. It's why Dungey is always there at the end. I mean, the guy missed 5 races and is battling for third in the overall points.
js in for the nats...wow...im sure the fact that RV TC K-dub etc etc etc being out has absolutely nothing to do with it
First of all Hats off to Tomac he deseves it and was /is the best in the east, Good to see Dungey and KTM get another win. I am a Yamaha Man wish Millsaps could have held it on longer. Maybe he needs to train harder? Note to his mom!
I have so much respect for DeCoster and he knows how to do the job.
What ever happened to the DUNGY RULES guy???????? Seem like he should be somewhere?
Here come Vegas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LETS RACE!!!!!!!!!
Hey Mr.Motocross, i think ur the F'ing dumba$$! How is it my fricken fault that it was posted for the 450s to be on at 1pm on cbs today and when i go to watch the race it was actually on an hour earlier? WTF am i suppossed to do about that! Think about what ur saying the next time u go and post it on Racer x like a geeky D-bag computer boy!
PS: Who is this Stewart, Reed, Vilipito, Windham and whoever I forgot? In this sport you are only as good as your last race!!!!!
Go Millsaps..... Beat Dungy work harder push harder. Gee it seems so easy on the keyboard LOL and yes I am tired of seing that .
....what Welker said !!!!
Kawi567,
you are an idiot. Always check the listings and you should get in the 21st century and get a dvr. It would have picked it up no matter what time.
quit being a victim and own your crap dude.
Eli good for you ..finally a champion, they set you up in vegas last year you got screwed....You are champion, just like your dad, he being a 10 time mountain bike champion .........
I dont think Wiemer was dirty, he was riding aggressive, going for his first win and in front of his home town crowd... seemed to wake Dunge up when he hit the ground, his lap time dropped after that..and he didnt seem to fight the bike as much..Bummer for Milsaps ...but Ryan was at the right place at the right time...Congrats to the RD's and KTM!! Tomac is the alpha male in the west..fastest toughest win championships...Congrats to Eli.!!! Dean gave it a valient try, but he may have been his own worst enemy all year. Hope he takes time off to heal up before the great outdoors start up...the lites ought to tight, so much talent...
Dungey had the best payback possible. Passed him back and took the W. Kind of like pointing to the scoreboard in hockey (Go Yotes!).
The 250 races seem to get more wild each week. I just want all the players there and healthy for Hangtown. That's not looking too good.
Weimer was taught a valuable lesson: Punk moves DO NOT payoff. Ryan Dungey is pure CLASS. Passed Weimer and left him with ease. Brilliant racecraft closing out.
Hey Pro Circuit how is them pipes working? How about them Honda's huh?
Hey DPR57....wrong thread d-bag!! Go somewhere else to bag on JS would ya?? Ya d-ckhead!!
It's too bad that riders like Weimer and Alessi, after realizing their careers have pretty much peaked, become bitter little punks. Dungey's "aggressive" passes on Weimer earlier this year came as 1) Dungey was CLEARLY faster and was being held up while 2) racing for a championship. People forget that Dungey won Atlanta to get within 12 points of lead before crashing and braking his collar bone in practice 3 days later. That KTM was dialed in and he was very much alive with 8 races left (12 points down on a brand new bike with 8 races left guys). And, lets be serious, those passes were not dirty and were not anything ANY of the top 5 guys haven't done. But Weimer, who never has nor ever will be held up by Dungey or any of the top guys, will never be in a position to understand the difference I'm sure...
@RCRDDW - So your saying the riders that are contending for a title have the right to knock someone down? I am not a fan of what Weimer did, but your logic is clearly biased.
First...congrats to Eli, he rode hard and deserves this championship. Deano will be just fine.
The block pass Winer did on Dungey was not a dirty move. Dungey had the ability to back down, but was caught by surprise. Rubbin' is racin' and Dungey did not protect his inside. The replay shows it.........
I am a huge RD5 fan, but call it as I see it.
I like the FIRE that was lit in the Dunge when he got up off the ground. That seemed to be the wake-up call he needed in order to get the win.
The Dunge will be real hard to beat outdoors. Only he will beat himself. If he rides the outdoors the way he has in the past, consistent, no one will be near him for the overall championship. Others will be close, but, do not have the stamina and determination it takes to win a championship............
GO RD5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good ride for Davi! I know he rode his heart out and is working hard. Hopefully he will stay strong and healthy for the nationals. Congrats to Eli and his new title. I guess Jake and Ryan woun't be breaking any bread together soon. They are getting hungry out there and only 1 race left.
Having Dungey steal this one away is a wakeup call that these are never easy. With Shorty winning last week all we heard about was "Anyone Can Win".
Just not the case, wins are tough to come by.
@Welker- you are correct! I cut my lap times on my keyboard by 8 seconds. It just keeps getting easier! lol
Congrats to Tomac. He looks like he can move the bike wherever he chooses to on the track. Watching his post race actions and words He seems to be physically and mentally strongest of anyone out there East or West. Can picture him and Barcia battling all moto 'till the last turn in Vegas for the "W".
With his size and strength he will be a force to be reconed with on a 450 in 2013.
Tough break for Wilson. Obviously beat up from the week before, he did his best. Had he stayed on two wheels, I still don't think he could have kept pace with #17- who was a steam-roller on a mission yesterday. Great Job JASON ANDERSON and DAVALOS too! Some momentum for his Outdoor season(s)...! Good to see some new faces on the box.
Way to go Dungey- way to keep pressing til the end. Weimer had a real close call in the whoops on lap 11- but fro was too busy talking about something else and missed it .
And Tomac looked like one happy camper!
Since both championships are clinched, how about ditching the east and west mains, and have a 20-lap shootout?
Might be hard to arrange that in 6 days.
@Kawi567 do u know how time zones work?
Dungey rode like a boss!
Dungey & Wilson for Outdoor titles! Nice ride Dungey for the win, Wilson not 100% to run with Tomac today, he'll be back, get healthy boys, put the power down! May the best rider win! Looking forward to outdoor NAT ahead!
In both his heat race and the final, Dungey seemed to be out of sorts for the first lap or so. I wonder if he was just trying to get through the 1st couple laps of insanity and stay healthy for outdoors. Millsaps must have had about 10 seconds on Dungey after his crash, so don't blame the lappers for this one. Tomac had a bad start in his qualifier, then even a worse one in the final, but did a very business like job of working his way up front. He's not the scrawny, geeky looking kid he was a couple years ago. He looks like he's physically ready for the 450's.
I Harken back to MotoConcepts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hokTZGO0xCE
SWEET