Oh how things have changed for Mitch Payton and his pro circuit powerhouse. After a frustrating and championship-less 2013 season Mr. Payton’s troubles continued on into the early part of the 2014 season as his riders competing in the 250 West coast campaign struggled off the blocks, allowing both Cole Seely and Jason Anderson to take a commanding choke hold on that championship fight.
Fast forward half a supercross season later and things couldn’t be any different for the Pro Circuit posse – seemingly Mitch and the crew can do no wrong.
As sx circus headed East and a new set of eager 250 class riders began their hunt for glory the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team have been pretty much flawless. Taking three wins from three races – split between two talented riders – they headed to the unique conditions of the Daytona supercross. Pro Circuit looked to continue their streak of domination. And the third and only rider on the team not yet to score a win this season, Blake Baggett, looked to get in on the act.
If we look back to the first three races of the 250 East campaign there has been one racer clearly faster than the rest of his competitors. Despite Adam Cianciarulo claiming two of the three wins so far he is not the rider I speak of.
The rider, to me anyway, that has just been slightly faster than the rest of the field (and his team-mates) so far this year has been Martin Davalos – only small crashes have held him back from all out dominance. But when the gates dropped for the 250 Main Event in Daytona Martin Davalos didn’t quite look as comfortable on the soft Daytona dirt as he usually does within the confines of the indoor domes.
Alternatively, his two team-mates Baggett and Cianciarulo looked right at home on the tough Ricky Carmichael designed circuit – despite utilising two very contrasting styles/ methods of riding, Baggett’s smooth and efficient approach to Adam’s all out wild style.
Blake Baggett was able to squirt away with the early race lead and with the clear track ahead of him he was able to churn out fast lap after fast lap leaving his team-mates behind to fight over second. Eventually Cianciarulo was able to make a pass stick on his veteran team-mate and looked to make a charge for Blake Baggett, but by this time in the race BB4 had stretched out an impressive and irreversible lead.
Baggett went on to take the victory for his second Daytona Main Event win, and when you look back as Baggett’s previous performances at this race then his win on Saturday wasn’t really all too surprising. Adam Cianciarulo crossed the chequers in second place to increase his points lead over Davalos but it’s only a mere seven points.
And finally Martin Davalos crossed the line in third to complete the Pro Circuit podium sweep and continue Mitch Payton’s impressive dominance over the 250 East coast championship… But really should we be so surprised that the power house that is Pro Circuit is proving to be so dominant? I mean it’s not like they haven’t done it before! Anyone remember the 2011 outdoor season?
The series heads to Detroit this coming weekend. Will this be the race in which someone stops the PC freight train? Or is this train not stopping until we reach the final destination Las Vegas, Nevada? Only time will tell…
450SX
As the biggest names in the sport lined up to gates for the 2014 Daytona Supercross Main Event the anticipation was high for yet another spectacular and unpredictable race on the most unruly track of them all.
However post-race as you glance at the podium results this may have been one of the most predictable races of the season so far… a pretty routine moto for the champ Ryan Villopoto…
Yep, it was another one of those ‘it finished before if ever really got going’ kind of races as Ryan Villopoto grabbed the early lead and never looked back.
Dean Wilson offered an early challenge to the champ on board his temporary TwoTwo steed – showing good speed and proving that he can run up front with the best in the business. Good news for us Brits and our MXoN hopes and also good news for him as it is surly a massive confidence boost as he soon reverts focus back to his 250 West coast championship campaign.
As well as Wilson both Red Bull factory KTM pilots, Dungey and Roczen were up front early. In complete contrast former Daytona winner and possibly the only man that could’ve brought a fight to RV on Saturday, James Stewart, was out of the running early after a first corner incident – Mike Alessi just can’t keep out of the headlines – leaving him without a header pipe!
As the race progressed and RV’s lead grew ever larger there were many nice battles beginning to form. Wilson, Dungey and Roczen fought after second place whilst only slightly further behind Malcolm Stewart (racing a TLD 450 this weekend) was making up for his brothers misfortune with a solid ride… Well a solid ride right up until Justin Barcia set his sights on the big number 34!
A typical Bam Bam-esque move went quite horribly wrong as Barcia ended up putting both himself and Malcolm Stewart on the floor. Not the smartest of moves for the 51, Malcolm is a rather big dude! And he wasn’t afraid to show Barcia his displeasure, first with a shove and then with a Jason Lawrence type clutch dump wheelie to the face! I think it’s safe to say there was no love lost there!
The battle for second intensified as the halfway point of the immense 20 lap race passed by. Dean Wilson began to show signs of fatigue; you have to guess because he is only accustomed to the 15 lap 250 Main Events.
Both Roczen and Dungey were able to get around Wilson and were now able to squabble over second place between them in a fight for KTM supremacy, a fight to prove just who the number one rider beneath that KTM tent is. But this squabble allowed RV to stretch away his lead even further. So massive was Villopoto’s lead that he was even able to have a little lay down on lap 12 – after tucking the front wheel in a loose sand berm – and not have to worry about a thing!
RV clocked off lap after lap with effortless perfection on the gnarly and damn right beat up Daytona circuit to take a dominant win, in pretty standard Ryan Villopoto fashion. Ken Roczen eventually followed him up in second with Ryan Dungey in third.
After the events in Daytona on Saturday night one thing has become clear to me; this is Ryan Villopoto’s championship to loose. The question marks and concerns of earlier in the season are now vanquished. The only question now left is no longer, will Ryan Villopoto claim the title and successfully defend his crown? But actually, When will Ryan Villopoto claim the title and successfully defend his crown?
Let’s see what Detroit has to offer!
