Racer X Race Report: Las Vegas
Sunday, May 6, 2012 | 10:15 AM
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PrintWith titles wrapped up in all three divisions, this year’s Monster Energy Supercross finale was going to be hard pressed to live up to Las Vegas-level hype. And yet somehow, the night delivered just enough drama to keep things interesting. While the results were predictable, the battles that delivered those results were pretty darned fun to watch.
It started with twin 15-lap East and West main events instead of the typical 6-lap heat races. The GEICO Honda team had already clinched both titles with Justin Barcia in the east and Eli Tomac in the west, and the two champs used Vegas as a reminder of how they earned those titles. In the East main, Barcia grabbed yet another of his seemingly-patented holeshots and looked to check out early. Meanwhile Ken Roczen put his Red Bull KTM around Blake Baggett’s Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki on the first lap and tried his best to match up to Barcia’s lap times. Barcia was able to inch away, until he made a pair of big mistakes and had to double two triple jumps, allowing Roczen to close the gap. The crowd braced for a showdown, but Barcia was able to settle down, pull it back out, and ice the win. Roczen and Baggett took second and third.
Barcia sported the regular #1 plate for the East Main, with the 1E coming later in the Shooutout.
When Barcia bobbled while leading the East main, Roczen made a run at him, but couldn't make a move.
Roczen passed Baggett on the first lap, leaving Blake in a lonely third.
Cudby photos
Lites East Main Event Results
1. J. Barcia
2. K. Roczen
3. B. Baggett
4. M. Stewart
5. B. Wharton
6. K. Cunningham
7. H. Hewitt
8. J. Canada
9. M. Lemoine
10. K. Peters
11. J. Bogle
12. A. Catanzaro
13. L. Smith
14. A. Politelli
15. Z. Freeburg
16. M. Akaydin
17. S. Sewell
18. J. Pauk
19. D. Tedder
20. S. Rife
Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
1. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda – 210
2. Ken Roczen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 165
3. Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki – 158
4. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki – 148
5. Darryn Durham, Butler, Pa., Kawasaki – 143
6. Jake Canada, Sun City, Calif., Honda – 131
7. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda – 117
8. Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha – 85
9. Matthew Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki – 78
10. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 77
Out West, Tomac grabbed a holeshot as well, and quickly gapped early pursuers Jason Anderson and Martin Davalos, both mounted on Rockstar Suzukis. Meanwhile, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawaskai’s Dean Wilson got into last year’s East/West Shootout winner, Ryan Sipes, on the first lap, putting Sipes down. Sipes' crash then collected new TLD replacement Billy Laninovich. Wilson was on the charge after a bad start, passing Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin for fourth, then getting both Suzuki riders to take over second. Davalos and Anderson swapped spots a few times, then later Musquin made a move on Anderson, which Anderson paid back by pushing the Frenchman off the track.
Wilson, riding with a bad shoulder, couldn’t make a run on Tomac, who had already built a big lead. Seemingly out of nowhere, Tomac’s teammate Wil Hahn rallied to third late in the race.
Tomac matched Barcia's East effort by leading every lap in the West Main.
Bad starts did in Wilson (15) and Hahn (58), but they charged for the full 15 laps and ended up on the podium.
Cudby photos
West Main Event
1. E. Tomac
2. D. Wilson
3. W. Hahn
4. M. Davalos
5. J. Anderson
6. M. Musquin
7. M. Moss
8. R. Sipes
9. S. Champion
10. L. Powell
11. C. Plouffe
12. R. Smith
13. J. Greco
14. C. Martinez
15. P. Tilford
16. M. Alcorn
17. M. Tedder
18. B. Hudson
19. K. Rusk
20. B. Laninovich
Final Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
1. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 184
2. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki, 154
3. Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 142
4. Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 119
5. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki, 111
6. Matt Moss, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 106
7. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha, 96
8. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Georgia, Suzuki, 89
9. Billy Laninovich, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 85
10. Nico Izzi, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha, 78
Those East and West mains also served as qualifiers for the Dave Coombs East/West Shootout, and favorites such as Justin Bogle didn’t make the cut. But Bogle rallied back to win the Last Chance Qualifier and set the stage for the 10-lap shootout.
And that one lived up to its billing. Barcia pulled yet another holeshot, with Davalos and Tomac right behind. While many hoped to see Tomac pull a quick pass on Davalos to challenge Barcia, instead, Davalos was the one doing the moving, making a superb pass on Barcia in the massive Monster Alley sweeper to take over the lead! Tomac and fourth-place Roczen closed in, as well, making for a four-rider battle for the lead. Barcia regrouped, and when Davalos made a mistake, Bam Bam 1E shot back into the top spot with Tomac following him through. The battle was on, as Tomac had a few good lines and was able to get to Barcia’s rear wheel. Then, Barcia bobbled in the whoops, which seemed to open the door for Tomac, until Tomac bobbled a moment later in the same exact spot!
The twin #1 shod Hondas continued to mirror each other around the track all the way to the end, with Barcia hanging on for a close victory.
Davalos took a solid third, with Roczen and his teammate Musquin rounding out the top five. Wilson got off to another rough start, and then went off the track on the first lap. He would finish 11th.
Only the white/black gear combo served to tell the difference between Tomac (white) and Barcia in the Shootout. Unless you could see the tiny W and E on their plates.
Shocker of the night? Martin Davalos started second and made a slick move on the inside of Barcia to take the lead!
Had Davalos hung on to win his first-ever SX race in the shootout, it would have been a Vegas-level upset. But he bobbled, and the two champs blew past him.
Tomac charged hard down the stretch and caught Barcia, but never got quite close enough to go for the pass.
It was GEICO/Factory Connection Honda's night, for sure.
Dave Coombs Memorial East/West Shootout Results
1. J. Barcia
2. E. Tomac
3. M. Davalos
4. K. Roczen
5. M. Musquin
6. W. Hahn
7. R. Sipes
8. M. Stewart
9. B. Wharton
10. M. Moss
11. D. Wilson
12. B. Baggett
13. J. Bogle
14. K. Cunningham
15. M. Lemoine
16. B. Laninovich
17. J. Canada
18. H. Hewitt
19. J. Anderson
20. S. Champion
With so much focus on the Lites class, the Supercross Class nearly took a back seat for attention. While Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto already had the title wrapped—and would also sit out the race with a torn ACL—second in the final standings was still up for grabs between JGR Toyota Yamaha’s Davi Millsaps, Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Brayton and Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey.
Millsaps and Brayton staked their claim to that spot by winning their heat races, while Dungey seemed to struggle at times through the whoops both in practice and his heat race, where he finished second to Millsaps. But in the main, Dungey proved a gamer once again. MotoConcepts’ Mike Alessi grabbed the main event holeshot, but Dungey started second and shot right by him for the lead on lap one. From there, the race for the win was over, because no one was catching Dungey.
But a wild battle broke out behind him, and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Brett Metcalfe, Alessi and Monster Energy Kawaski’s Jake Weimer were all in it. Millsaps continued his recent run of strong riding and rolled up on the battle, too. He started poorly but moved up quickly, from outside the top ten around the first turn, to seventh on the first lap, and soon he had caught the Metty/Alessi/Weimer battle.
First, Weimer and Metcalfe battled for third and fourth behind Alessi, until Metcalfe got by Alessi. Moments later, Millsaps passed Weimer for fourth and they almost collided in a rhythm section. Millsaps completed the pass, but then went off the track in the next corner! Weimer then focused on getting Alessi and repassing Metcalfe, to put him into second.
Brayton had a bad start, but started coming through traffic with DNA Energy/JWR Kawasaki’s Josh Grant tucked in behind him. They both got around Alessi, and then Brayton’s charge eventually brought him up to the Millsaps/Weimer/Metcalfe. Millsaps moved to third and pressed Weimer hard. He made yet another pass on Weimer, but Weimer tucked underneath to get him back, and then they touched wheels in mid air over a tabletop!
Mike Alessi holeshot the race, but Dungey was by in lap one. This, we get to run the classic "This is all the competition got to see of Ryan Dungey in the main event" caption here.
This is the crazy battle that broke out for second between Metty, Weimer and Millsaps. Had this been the battle for the lead (and with Dungey pulling away you could have thought it was), this would have gone down as one of the best supercross races in a long time.
Cudby photos
Finally at the halfway mark, Millsaps made a pass stick on Weimer for good. Late in the race, Brayton caught Weimer and made the pass to take over third. He couldn’t catch Millsaps, though, and that allowed Millsaps to hang on to second in the final standings.
Brayton ended up tied with Dungey in the standings for third, but Dungey won the tie-breaker by virtue of his four main event wins. And the fourth one, tonight in Vegas, was a no-doubter, as he dominated the event for the entire 20 laps.
Weimer got around Alessi and Metcalfe and held off Millsaps for a bit to maintain second. But he struggled through the second half of the race, and Millsaps and Brayton got by him.
Ryan Villopoto came to race! No wait, he just rode out in opening ceremonies, post-ACL surgery.
Dungey ends the year with two-straight wins, four total, and wins the tie breaker with Brayton for third in the standings.
Millsaps rode well all night to take "best of the rest" behind Dungey, as well as secure second in the final standings.
Brayton won his heat thanks to a good start, but blew the start in the main. He rode hard and rallied back to third.
Cudby photos
Main Event
1. R. Dungey
2. D. Millsaps
3. J. Brayton
4. J. Weimer
5. J. Grant
6. N. Izzi
7. M. Alessi
8. W. Peick
9. A. Short
10. N. Wey
11. B. Tickle
12. J. Sipes
13. C. Blose
14. G. Faith
15. T. Bowers
16. J. Thomas
17. R. Clark
18. B. Metcalfe
19. M. Goerke
20. K. Regal
Supercross Class Final Season Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 323
2. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 266
3. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 257
4. Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 257
5. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 229
6. Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki, 206
7. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha, 178
8. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki, 177
9. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki, 171
10. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 166
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Some wondered if the races would be worth watching with all the titles wrapped up early, all the riders put that to rest giving us 100%.. proving once again that racers race!!!
The lites class gave us alot of action... Helmets off to Barcia and Tomac for winning their coast races then giving us a great race in the shoot out...To Wilson, he did not win, but he did give a gritty effort with his gimppy shoulder..Roczen and Musquin made KTM very proud with their 2nd and 3rd place finish in the series..Hahn and Davalos ride their what looked to me to be their strongest race of year in the shoot out...
In the Supercross class, Milsaps and Brayton showed they wanted the 2nd place bonus money as both came thru the pack and fought thru a few mistakes to take 2nd and 3rd behind Dungey..who did what he does best when he gets a good start, put in fast consistant laps...there is only a couple of guys who can run his pace and unfortunately they were watching the race as they heal up.
To all the Riders, Feld and Monster employees and track builders, THANK YOU for all your hard work in bringing us 2012 Supercross ....with that said....Bring on the Great Outdoors!!!!
BD25...
Millsaps didn't have a 2nd place bonus money in his contract. Words from his mouth.
BD25.....well said (written). Both classes will be great racing outdoors. The two disciplines (SX,MX) are very different, and we may see some surprises in the 250 class. 450 class, it will be interesting to see who consistently battles for 2-10th spots.......We'll see how the lawn-dart does????!!!!!!!!
BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm with you guys on this. BD-your post was spot on.(except the bonus cash, apparently) they should give him a bonus for finishing first on the team,IMO. And on another note, I could swear I visited this site earlier, and those posts have disappeared? That would be the second time I think I saw this in a week. Maybe it's just me?
Racing was great in the 250 class both mains and the shootout,Superb !!!!!!!! I love the start after the anthem and WFO we go.......... They should adopt the philosophy and format for the 250 class and make it travel the whole series that would put greater emphases for 1 lites 250 title like the 450 class, most of the team travel the whole deal anyway. l would make the wantabees show regionally if they care to give it ago or just have some under card like a boxing match regionally. I don't know what you would call it but I will think of something in another writing.
The 450 class?????????????? after the top 2 or 3 riders the overall margin of time was lets say BIG between competitors. With the cast of injured mainly guest on the show, which was a great thought to have that perspective,the competition was a horse race of a few.
@ Welker
Speaking of hoarse racing you can check out some of the finishes as to my picks I had some winners big and some close ones all in all I came out way ahead . I use a formula given odds,postposition ,numbers on the hoarse, and yes MX Numbers. 19 is used a lot because that was Doug Henry which just so happen to win the Derby. I'll have another.. My post was and of coarse I picked the east in MX
Mr_Mx wrote: 3:37pm May 3, 2012
East wins
Mr_Mx wrote: 3:25pm May 3, 2012
Going for the W: I'm going with ....
http://www.kentuckyderby.com/contenders/dullahan
I spent overall about $500.00 on different races and before and after the derby race was 12th on card
Net winnings was over $33,000.00 yes thousand for the day not to bad for a light weight..............
By the way{ I WILL HAVE ANOTHER }.
CHOW
Would hate to see one Lites class. As is, its a great for sponsors, and its great for riders too, as there are more jobs. The racing has been great for years. You even have Lites riders being able to dip their toes into the 450 class when they're not on their own coast. Its brilliant as is and I hope they dont screw up a good thing.
WTF... Dungey you cherry picker!!!
@bucky394 wrote:
yOUR EYES HAVE NOT LET U DOWN YET.............I have had post last week that someone was cussing me out and calling names I have also,but there are people that are screening the post on the host end and have been deleting them,It also know as a kind sensorship..........enjoy all
Good night of racing, stoked for Davilos. Lil fellar has a pair on him the size of grapefruits. Hey Mookie..............see what happens when you turn that throttle back every once in a while, good ride also.
@BD You saved me alot of typing. Good post.
The behind the scenes folks don't get enough recognition. Thank you to all the cogs in the machine.
Millsaps raced incredible last night! I have been hard on Millsaps in the past for being lazy and making up crazy excuses like food allergies and vitamins giving him arm pump, gluten etc. but he has been riding great for the last 2 months. His battle with Weimer was great and when they touched and both saved it was the best. Davey showed that he has been working hard during the week and he was a gamer last night! (Weimer also had some fight in him, I hope he can take it outdoors). To hear that Millsaps didn't have a bonus for finishing 2nd in the series is sad, I guess JGR couldn't afford it after paying Saps 350.000 and JS7 10.000.000 plus huge bonuses. (just guessing but I think I'm close) Anyway Davey did a great job last night and I hope JGR shows him some love!
Good racing! enjoyed the show! I am not understanding what is happening with James Stewart. Is he injured? is it team problems? or something else? He does not even do interviews during the races like Chad Reed, Kevin Windham, etc. When Ryan Villopoto got hurt it was like a couple days later James said he was in for the first outdoor. Is he just picking races now that he can win? Not trying to be a hater, i just really don't understand what is happening with James. To me it seems as though he races only if he wins. Sorry guys, not trying to bash James just confused!
How about Alessi sticking his leg out on the start.....what was up with that? Did anyone catch that?
@jdawg - James and his team (JGR) are not gelling well together, so they are trying to get out of their contract together. James is probably going to join Yoshimura Suzuki and I don't know if he is races Hangtown because RV is out or if he just wants to prove he can win.
Dungey: FMOTP!
Stewart has been saying all along he will race the outdoors, James did not decide to race because RV was hurt. Too many people hype RV up to some mythical status. I feel bad for the guy (RV). Just let him be the great rider he is.
Thank god!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now can we think about good old fashion Outdoor MX for a change.
@924rutsrider, yeah I saw that! Add this to the list of all the stupid things he's done over the years.
James was dropped by JGR. Suzuki will sign him, and Dungey will OWN him!!!!!! Bring on the Nationals!!!!!!
The Gieco boys kept KTM's "World Champs" off the box in the shootout. It should be an intesting outdoor series in that class. There will be 10 or more guys that could win any given moto.
Seems only fitting to see Dungey pull a 13 second lead. Should be an excellent confidence boost for the outdoors. Congratulations to Millsaps for retaining second in the series, and to Brayton for his tenacity overcoming adversity all season. I still feel this will be a great outdoors season for the open bikes. As the cream will again rise to the top, just from a different herd of beasts.
As for the 250 class, I think this will prove to be (very) interesting through-out the entire series. No predictions, just a feeling from deep inside!
Film @ 11:00...
Way to go Geico Honda, great job. Glad to see it.
Awesome to see Millsaps finish the season 2nd in points, after alot of guys said he shouldnt even have a ride. Two of those Yamahas finished top 10 in points.
Lots of exciting racing. Good way to finish off the SX season. Just one correction Weege, Billy Laninovich won the LCQ, Bogle was second. BRING ON THE OUTDOORS!!!
@924rutsrider.....I saw that too, and the first thing I thought of was that Alessi was auditioning for a MotoGP ride with Ducati........
@bigtireguy......100% agree, the "Dunge" will own the "lawn-dart"
Did anyone notice that Stewie's old bike seems to treat GF617 the same as it did to Stewie the lawn-dart??????? Hmmmmmm.....maybe it is the bike (NOT)
I was watching the race again and slow motioned the start. Mr assface #800 actually looked over at #5 and stuck his leg out to block, then moved over on the #5. That #800 guy must be broke to have to do all that for the holeshot check. #800 is a total loser for doing that, lost me as a fan too.
What cemented Chad Reed's status as a legend?
Was it him starting his own race team on his own dime to continue his career when he could have easily hung up his helmet and retired to Oz?
Was it winning races in his first season with said team?
Was it climbing back on the bike and finishing the moto at Millville after the "Mile High" crash?
No.
It was telling James Stewart to "sack up" on live TV.
I laughed so hard I thought I was going to cry.
Hondas (hon-ders) back on top. Best on Earth!!!
@ Bigtireguy For once I agree with you, I can't wait to see Dungey pull away from Stewart and hear JS7 blame his team and the bike again.
@bigtireguy Shut up and go back to doing what you do best, eating twinkies you fat turd.
@ SuzukiBoi_247
Hey thats my friends you talkin about ........How would you like M, MR_MX.BIG Tireguy and Blackjack come on over AND MAKE YOU SCREAM LIKE A LITTLE YELOWBELLY Suzuk
Like him or not, it will be a better series with a competitive JS. I think Dungey will outpoint him, but he is a threat to win races.
Big tire guy... You gonna be at high point? We should get together and put some $ on who's gonna win? It sure would make it an even more interesting afternoon.
I really don't understand all the biased comments. Some of you just make stuff up to criticize riders for. Do you honestly think Alessi was planning on blocking 400 lbs of rider and motorcycle at full throttle with his leg? He was clearly off balance and just trying to stay on the bike.
RD rode a great race. I'm afraid the outcome of the outdoor season will be the same with all the racing behind him unless JS finds the magic bike he's looking for.
Everyone's homework lesson will be to study the definition of objectivity.
Tired of you mr_mx and fat turd bigtireguy, nobody wants to hear your commentary, You poser wannabes voice your opinion, amd dont have a clue what your talking about.Why dont you and your boyfriend go to a gay pride meeting and leave motocross to the real motocrossers.
WILL SEE YOU AT HIGH POINT PUNK!!! I'm turnin Black Jack on ya.. We will give you the real buba scrub
Yea, cant wait to see you get dropped so hard your fat mom gonnas feel it.
YEAH put your head in some 80 wt gear oil. We also got our buddy Vern Troyer I 'll let him take care of ya from the knees down. You make fun of me, BlackJack and BigTireGuy but we have the status,chicks,money,somethin youll never have. Bevis
Se you at HighPoint Boy
Nobody scared of you, and your crew of gay queers. Chicks? yea right, your mom does not count loser.
Just cause I'm a cheese & sausage,you don't think I have the onions to get up in your face!!!!!!!!!! You want a piece of me Suzuk Boy!!! YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.gioninos.com/
If you were in N.E. Ohio it is a pizza chain they have a spot on my talk radio 10:00 am -3pm my name is Howie Chizek I've been on for over 30 yrs.. You should read my bio. I also was the voice Pa address announcer for the Cleveland Cavilers for over 20 yrs at the old coliseum You may see a name also Bob Golic football player after me
http://www.wnir.com/
You should listen if you live in NE Ohio or out in cyber space
I guess some of the posters on here are of the 80cc age range!
I have a q for ya all, what happen to metty #24 ffs racer x he gets noted for being
in an epic battle for second and then nothing???
Endo4: I'm just assuming you are a child....
Stewart loyalist: RD seems to be back, or very close, to his 2010 form. The bike and team are solid now. Give him a couple outdoor races and he'll be ready. (This will be the first season for the new bike). There is no way JS can beat the dunge for a complete outdoor season. Not happening. I think 3 riders have the ability (RV, CR and TC) to beat Dungey outdoors and only one (RV) when Dungey is at his best. But with Decoster running things for him again, there will be no bikes failing to start or braking with a 35 second lead on the last lap. So it will be hard for ANYBODY to beat Dungey now. We won't get to see RV and Dungey while both are at the top of their game this year unfortunately. I think JS7 mistakenly thinks that "all I have to do is beat Dungey" this year. Well, Mr. Stewart, that is much easier said than done..