This deep into the Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Championship, you would assume that the winners would be predictable, but the Minneapolis Supercross was everything but predictable.
Torco Racing Fuels Honda's
Josh Grant started the night out with a win in the first Lites Heat race.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's
Ryan Villopoto dominated Lites Heat two.
Despite being sick, San Manuel Yamaha's
Chad Reed won the first 450cc Heat (on his 26th birthday).
Torco Racing Fuels Honda's
Kevin Windham won 450cc Heat two.
Billy Payne won the Lites LCQ.
In the 450cc LCQ,
Josh Hansen (100) went down with four laps to go when he tried an aggressive move to pass James Povolny for the lead. Hansen spun out, was hit by
Antonio Balbi (55), and didn't qualify.
In the last turn,
Chris Gosselaar (pictured) tried to squeeze in on Tyler Bright, and then this happened. Bright took second, while Dusty Klatt won.
Grant (20) got the Lites main holeshot, with Villopoto (2) right on his tail.
Grant led the first few laps over Villopoto...
...and Villopoto even passed Grant one time, only for Grant to pass him right back on the very next straightaway.
After that, Villopoto challenged Grant repeatedly until passing Grant with only two turns to go. Villopoto took the victory, while Grant went down just before the finish trying to pass Villopoto back, but recovered for second.
It was Villopoto's much-belated first win of the season.
Points leader
Trey Canard started at the tail end of the top ten and fought his way through to fourth despite his sore leg from his Heat-race crash. Canard started the night leading by 24 points over Sipes and ended the night leading by 24 points over Villopoto.
MDK KTM's
Martin Davalos finished third on the night.
Davalos' teammate
Ryan Sipes was fifth and sits third in points with three rounds left.
Villopoto and Grant show their appreciation for each other after one of the best races of the year (probably second only to the Phoenix Lites main).
Villopoto (center), Grant (left) and Davalos (right) celebrate on the podium.
Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's
Ryan Dungey (28) got the 450cc-main holeshot over Windham (14), Yamaha's
Josh Hill (40) and the rest of the field.
Hill (40) quickly moved into second and went to work on Dungey out front.
Hill (40) found his way by Dungey (28) on lap four and went to work extending his lead.
Reed (22) worked his way through the pack. Here, he's passing Windham (14) on the fifth lap for third. He eventually found his way past Dungey into second.
Windham fell back as far as fourth, but then caught back up to third by the finish.
Honda Red Bull Racing's
Andrew Short landed fourth.
Motosport/Xtreme Kawasaki's
Tommy Hahn finished fifth in his 450cc debut.
While running second, Reed crashed at the end of the track's first section of whoops, remounting eighth. He eventually finished seventh.
Hill took his first-ever 450cc supercross victory.
Hill, only 18 years old, celebrates his first big win.
Dungey, also 18, finished second in only his third 450cc race, in front of his home crowd.
Hill (middle), Dungey (left) and Windham (right) celebrate on the podium. Windham now sits only 17 points behind Reed in the championship with six rounds left to run. Only two races ago, Reed's lead was twice as large.
The series now takes a week off before the 450cc crowd heads to Toronto while the Lites East gets that weekend off, too.
AMA Supercross Class Results, Minneapolis1.
Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha
2.
Ryan Dungey, of Belle, Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
3.
Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda
4.
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
5. Thomas Hahn, Alvord, Texas, Kawasaki
6.
Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda
7.
Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha
8. David Vuillemin, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
9.
Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Kawasaki
10.
Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha
AMA Supercross Class Season Standings1.
Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha, 237
2.
Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 220
3.
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 172
4.
Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 164
5.
Tim Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 137
6. Joshua Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha, 135
7.
Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha, 134
8. David Vuillemin, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 115
9.
Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Honda, 97
10.
Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., KTM, 95
Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Results, Minneapolis1.
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
2.
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda
3.
Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., KTM
4.
Trey Canard, Elk City, Okla., Honda
5.
Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ken., KTM
6.
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ken., Yamaha
7.
Ryan Morais, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
8.
Kyle Partridge, Menifee, Calif., Honda
9.
Nico Izzi, Saint Clair., Mich., Suzuki
10.
Billy Payne, Simi Valley, Calif., Honda
Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Season Standings1.
Trey Canard, Elk City, Okla., Honda, 93
2.
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 69
3.
Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ken., KTM, 67
4.
Nico Izzi, Saint Clair., Mich., Suzuki, 54
5.
Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., KTM, 53
6.
Ben Coisy, Manosque, France, Honda, 53
7.
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 47
8.
Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ken., Yamaha, 45
9.
Billy Payne, Simi Valley, Calif., Honda, 42
10. Branden Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Kawasaki, 39
