Sign of the Lap Times: St. Louis

450SX Class

* The data for lap number four was skewed due to a red flag restart. Therefore we were unable to use lap four data. Also, the average lap time for Trey Canard was skewed. We were unable to use the data regarding his average lap time.

450SX

- Ryan Villopoto regained his spot atop the fastest lap throne with a 49.369 on lap 6.

- Ryan Dungey was on fire down the home stretch, setting eight straight laps under 51 seconds to end the race.

- Chad Reed made some major changes to his setup in St. Louis and it seemed to work as Reed collected his second podium of the year. Reed started hot with eight of his first nine laps under 51 seconds. Unlike previous weeks, Reed put together a strong finish as well, wrapping up his race with eight straight laps under 51 seconds.

- James Stewart also set a torrid pace early, turning seven of eight laps under 51 seconds.

- The latest, fastest lap of the night belonged to Justin Brayton who laid down a 50.980 on lap eighteen.

Comparison

Ryan Villopoto vs. James Stewart

* The data for lap number four was skewed due to a red flag restart. Therefore we were unable to use lap four data.

Let’s not continue to beat a dead horse here. The scenario that played out between Ryan Villopoto and James Stewart has been well documented, so let’s dig a little deeper into the lap times to see where RV gained and lost ground in St. Louis.

There is no denying that RV was en fuego on Saturday, but Stewart was right there with him every step of the way. The two averaged a blistering pace that hardly ever left the 50-second mark. But RV was a notch better in the first half and then turned things up a little more to separate himself from Stewart and the rest of the pack late in the race. As you can see, it's all coming down to a scant few tenths of a second.

Ryan Villopoto set the fastest lap of the night in St. Louis.
Simon Cudby photo

250SX Class

Lap Rank	Finish	Best Lap	In Lap	Avg Lap Time	Rider
1	2	49.795	6	50.598	Dean Wilson
2	1	50.232	14	50.880	Wil Hahn
3	3	50.388	2	51.545	Blake Wharton
4	4	50.812	6	51.719	Marvin Musquin
5	5	51.029	12	52.064	Jeremy Martin
6	11	51.814	5	53.803	Gavin Faith
7	8	51.819	5	52.825	Cole Thompson
8	16	51.821	10	53.061	Justin Hill
9	7	51.865	5	53.057	Jimmy Decotis
10	10	52.142	5	53.521	PJ Larsen
11	9	52.149	7	53.078	Zach Bell
12	6	52.512	6	53.276	Vince Friese
13	13	52.519	3	53.539	AJ Catanzaro
14	12	53.065	14	53.771	Zack Freeberg
15	19	53.091	3	55.452	Lance Vincent
16	14	53.104	5	54.464	Kyle Hussey
17	15	53.128	7	55.113	Mitchell Oldenburg
18	18	53.460	7	54.314	Daniel Herrlein
19	20	53.506	7	54.156	Shawn Rife
20	17	54.104	6	55.318	Levi Kilbarger

250SX

- For the third consecutive week, Dean Wilson would set the fastest 250SX lap of the night with a 49.795. Wilson would also set the fastest average time of the night with a 50.598. How is this possible considering Wil Hahn won the race? It’s actually pretty simple. Lap 1 is NOT counted toward your average time due to the fact that the rider does not complete a full lap.

- Wilson was the only 250SX rider to set a lap time under the 50-second mark. Wilson’s 49.795 marked the second fastest lap of the night (250/450 combined), bested only by Ryan Villopoto’s 49.369.

- Wil Hahn and Wilson were the only riders in 250SX to set all of their laps under 52 seconds.

- Receiving heavy pressure from Dean Wilson down the stretch, Hahn turned it up a notch, ending the race with five straight laps under 51 seconds.

- The latest fastest lap of the night would belong to Hahn and Zack Freeberg, who both set their fastest laps of the night on lap fourteen. Hahn had a 50.232 and Freeberg a 53.065.

- Blake Wharton joined Wil Hahn and Dean Wilson as the only three riders to set all of their laps under 53 seconds.

- Only six riders’ average lap times were under 53 seconds, compared to fifteen in 450SX.

Comparison
Wil Hahn vs. Dean Wilson

Following his second consecutive runner-up finish in St. Louis, Dean Wilson told Racer X’s Jason Weigandt, “I think I proved to myself that I’m the fastest,” and that he just needs to “put it all together.”  As mentioned earlier, Wilson did prove to be the fastest in St. Louis—setting the fastest 250 lap of the night and the fastest average lap time. Let’s go deeper into the lap charts to see where Hahn may have picked up time.

Lap	Wil Hahn	Dean Wilson
2	50.948	51.128
3	50.899	51.058
4	51.009	50.481
5	50.883	50.216
Avg	50.934	50.720
6	50.728	49.795
7	51.043	50.664
8	51.042	50.462
9	51.388	50.812
10	51.072	50.731
Avg	51.054	50.492
11	50.537	50.408
12	50.997	50.445
13	50.904	51.853
14	50.232	50.367
15	50.641	49.963
Avg	50.662	50.607

We divided the race into three segments: the first four laps, the middle five and the last five. According to the data provided by the AMA, Hahn was slower than Wilson in all three segments. Wilson was a bit faster in the first segment, and then really made up ground through the middle of the race. But once the pressure mounted on Hahn late, he picked the pace back up and nearly matched Wilson’ 50.607 average lap time on the final five laps, averaging 50.662.

Wilson set the fastest lap of the night in 250SX.
Simon Cudby photo