There were some fresh faces inside the top ten at the beginning of the first 450 moto. Josh Grant nailed the holeshot with Jake Weimer right behind him, and Andrew Short, Malcolm Stewart, Justin Brayton and Phil Nicoletti also benefited from decent starts. Ryan Dungey and James Stewart hovered around fifth, while points leader Ryan Villopoto sat a small handful of positions behind them.
The top three were composed of Josh Grant, Trey Canard and Ryan Dungey after the first lap, but it was clear that Villopoto was on a tear and would soon join them or crash trying. Villopoto was clicking off laps two-to-three seconds faster than anyone else on the track as he sped to the front of the pack. He made the pass on both Dungey and Canard in just the fourth lap, and then got Grant in the fifth. Even though Villopoto locked down the lead fairly early, he still kept his lap times significantly lower than any rider up until the 15-minute mark.
Grant fell back to fifth after being passed by Villopoto. Canard also dropped back a couple positions after being by passed Dungey and James Stewart, then a few more after dropping his bike in the sandy corner after LaRocco’s Leap. Stewart caught up to Dungey after Dungey experienced a sub-par lap around the 20-minute mark. The battle never materialized when Dungey’s bike stalled and never restarted after the ski jump. Dungey pushed his bike off the track after trying to bump start it and went back to the pits with a mechanical DNF, allowing Grant to move back into podium position.
A five-man battle started brewing late in the race just outside the top three. Short led Malcom Stewart, Canard, Weimer and Brayton in an exciting sprint to the finish. Short stayed out front, but Stewart fell back to eighth allowing Canard, Brayton and Weimer to pass him. Justin Barcia moved up just behind Stewart and into ninth after charging from near last place since the beginning of the race.
Although Ryan Villopoto is no stranger to the top rung of the podium, James Stewart and Josh Grant may have gained a boost of confidence with their second- and third-place moto finishes.
450 Moto 1 Results
1. Ryan VIllopoto
2. James Stewart
3. Josh Grant
4. Andrew Short
5. Trey Canard
6. Justin Brayton
7. Jake Weimer
8. Malcolm Stewart
9. Justin Barcia
10. Phil Nicoletti
11. Broc Tickle
12. Ryan Sipes
13. Chad Reed
14. Les Smith
15. Mike Brown
16. Cole Thompson
17. Nick Wey
18. Michael Byrne
19. Ben LaMay
20. Heath Harrison
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