Sign of the (Lap) Times: Atlanta
AMA Supercross
Wow, things all of a sudden are getting interesting in the AMA Supercross class. So much so that we just had a Honda podium sweep—the first since... Well, if you could be one of the first five readers to tell us when the last Honda podium sweep was in the premier class of AMA Supercross, we’ll send you a One Chance to Win DVD, courtesy of The Motocross Files. Submit your answers here.
Finish
|
Best Lap Time
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
1
|
50.776 |
Honda
|
|
19
|
51.015 |
Yamaha
|
|
2
|
51.082 |
Honda
|
|
4
|
51.096 |
Kawasaki
|
|
6
|
51.129 |
Yamaha
|
|
5
|
51.402 |
Yamaha
|
|
3
|
51.648 |
Honda
|
|
18
|
52.678 |
Yamaha
|
|
7
|
52.785 |
Yamaha
|
|
20
|
52.851 |
Honda
|
|
9
|
53.215 |
David Vuillemin
|
Suzuki
|
12
|
53.676 |
Honda
|
|
11
|
53.714 |
Honda
|
|
8
|
53.805 |
Honda
|
|
10
|
54.197 |
Honda
|
|
14
|
54.278 |
KTM
|
|
16
|
54.338 |
Honda
|
|
15
|
54.355 |
Honda
|
|
13
|
54.387 |
Bryan Johnson
|
Honda
|
17
|
54.811 |
Kawasaki
|
Getting back on track, Honda Red Bull’s Davi Millsaps has caught fire lately, and he fed off his hometown Atlanta crowd to ride a flawless 20 laps to grab the first premier-class win inside the same stadium he made his AMA Supercross debut one year ago. This was only the 17th AMA Supercross start in his career—it took RC 22 tries for his first win (Daytona ’00).
There’s no doubt that Millsaps earned this one, as he logged the fastest lap time of the night and was the only rider able to dip into the 50-second range. The second-fastest rider in the AMA Supercross class was Team Yamaha’s Josh Hill! Unfortunately, Josh cased a jump and was ejected off the side of the track, resulting in a 19th-place finish.
Kevin Windham was third fastest, followed by Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tim Ferry and San Manuel Yamaha’s Chad Reed, who saw his points advantage shrink to 25 over Windham after his crash while leading.
Josh Hansen was eighth fastest in the AMA Supercross class aboard his Gibbs Racing Yamaha. photo: Kelly Moore
Biggest surprise: Atlanta was considered the “hometown” race for the newly-formed Gibbs Racing/Toyota Yamaha team, and both of their riders had top 10 lap times: Hansen was eighth, Summey ninth. Unfortunately, Hansen had trouble with the same section that Chad Reed did, and finished 18th. Summey, on the other hand, scored his second-consecutive 7th-place finish and is now within two marks of breaking into the top 10 in points.
Supercross Lites
You don’t have to be the fastest rider on the track to win, but Torco Racing Fuels Honda’s Trey Canard was pretty close, as he was the third quickest Lites rider. The fastest? Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, who retired from the main event early after a brutal crash involving Josh Grant.
Finish
|
Best Lap Time
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
22
|
51.775 |
Kawasaki
|
|
7
|
51.947 |
Honda
|
|
1
|
52.094 |
Honda
|
|
6
|
52.224 |
Branden Jesseman
|
Kawasaki
|
4
|
52.277 |
Yamaha
|
|
8
|
52.569 |
Suzuki
|
|
3
|
52.675 |
KTM
|
|
2
|
52.677 |
KTM
|
|
5
|
53.233 |
Yamaha
|
|
9
|
53.515 |
Kawasaki
|
|
10
|
53.622 |
Honda
|
|
11
|
53.761 |
Yamaha
|
|
12
|
54.234 |
Honda
|
|
15
|
54.407 |
Suzuki
|
|
14
|
54.446 |
Honda
|
|
16
|
54.534 |
Phillip Nicoletti
|
Kawasaki
|
13
|
54.668 |
Ryan Mills
|
Honda
|
18
|
54.959 |
Honda
|
|
20
|
55.347 |
Levi Kilbarger
|
Honda
|
17
|
55.321 |
Kawasaki
|
|
19
|
55.714 |
Nathan Skaggs
|
Honda
|
21
|
56.051 |
Chad Ward
|
Kawasaki
|
|
As for the other two podium finishers—Davalos and Sipes—they had the seventh and eighth fastest lap times, respectively.
Jake Moss was a pleasant surprise. photo: Carl Stone
Biggest surprise: I’m going with Jake Moss. Nobody really knew where the Aussie would be running, but Moss looked solid with the fifth-fastest Lites lap time and impressive fourth-place finish—and he might have had second had the Star Racing Yamaha newcomer played his cards right at the end.