I think it would be fair to say that most AMA Supercross fans would have been expecting Villopoto and Millsaps to be in the mix for yet another win in Atlanta this past weekend – perhaps with outside bets on Dungey or Barcia. Well in part it ran exactly to the form book but with a certain legend back on the top step after a long wait.
Veteran rider, James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing) was clearly feeling it all Saturday – he topped qualifying practice and won his heat race. That’s when the 70,000 fans in the Atlanta Georgia Dome started to feel it too. The stadium flashed its text to vote on the big screen before the main event and the crowd went with JS7 as the favourite to win.
Stewart had been dominating troughout the eighth round of the AMA/ FIM World Supercross Championship. He trounced the competition in qualifying and in his heat race. Then come the 450 class main event he took the holeshot and the win. And that’s despite pressure from Monster Energy Kawasaki rider, Ryan Villopoto during the entire race. Stewart becomes one of just three racers who have gone nine straight seasons with a win in Atlanta.
Bubba’s day in Atlanta started strong, posting the fastest qualifying times during the day’s practice and then he grabbed the holeshot in his eight-lap heat race and led all laps to take the win. Similarly, in the main event, Stewart took the Holeshot and rode flawlessly to lead all 20 laps to the chequered flag to notch-up his 45th career premier class win.
Said Stewart: “What can I say, we won. This whole season has been kind of crazy, but it was basically a perfect day. I was fastest in qualifying, I holeshot the heat race, I holeshot the main event and I led every lap I was on. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous because I haven’t been out there in a while, but I felt good and I was just trying to stay in my head and focus. I have to give it up to the Yoshimura Suzuki team; they’ve been working so hard and they’ve stood by me in this up-and-down year. Now I’m looking forward to building on this momentum and heading to St. Louis.”
The next event for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross is the ninth round of the 2013 AMA/ FIM World Supercross Championship on Saturday, March 2nd at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
250 SX class
Wil Hahn got his first career supercross win and did it with some style – taking the holeshot in the main and keeping the Brit and Championship points’ leader, Dean Wilson behind him.
Wilson (Monster Energy Kawasaki) came to Atlanta with a lot of momentum from the last event in Dallas and through his heat race – he looked like the rider to beat in the 250SX class. Wilson got a good start and came around the first turn in second place, applying pressure to the leader through the 15-lap main event, but he could not find a place on the tight track to make the pass. With his second-place finish, Wilson currently holds a two-point advantage in the standings.
“The track was tricky tonight and it was tough to make passes out there,” said Wilson. “I was trying to be patient and wait for the leader to make a mistake and unfortunately he didn’t. I was able to get a good finish and keep the red plate for another week and now we will get ready for St. Louis.”
2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Atlanta Results
2013 Atlanta 450 SX
1. James Stewart (Suzuki)
2. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
3. Davi Millsaps (Suzuki)
4. Justin Barcia (Honda)
5. Trey Canard (Honda)
6. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
7. Eli Tomac (Honda)
8. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki)
9. Chad Reed (Honda)
10. Mike Alessi (Suzuki)
11. Matt Goerke (KTM)
12. Broc Tickle (Suzuki)
13. Justin Brayton (Yamaha)
14. Andrew Short (KTM)
15. Peter Larsen (Honda)
2013 450 Supercross Championship Points
1. Davi Millsaps, 174
2. Ryan Villopoto, 152
3. Ryan Dungey, 148
4. Trey Canard, 135
5. Chad Reed, 127
6. Justin Barcia, 116
7. Andrew Short, 102
8. James Stewart, 100
9. Justin Brayton, 91
10. Matt Goerke, 79
2013 Atlanta 250 SX
1. Wil Hahn (Honda)
2. Dean Wilson (Kawasaki)
3. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
4. Blake Wharton (Suzuki)
5. Jeremy Martin (Yamaha)
6. Justin Hill (Kawasaki)
7. Gavin Faith (Honda)
8. Kyle Peters (Honda)
9. Vince Friese (Honda)
10. Zach Bell (Honda)
11. Mitchell Oldenburg (Honda)
12. Lance Vincent (KTM)
13. Cole Thompson (Honda)
14. James Decotis (Honda)
15. Steven Clarke (KTM)
2013 250 Supercross West Championship Points
1. Dean Wilson, 47
2. Wil Hahn, 45
3. Blake Wharton, 40
4. Marvin Musquin, 35
5. Kyle Peters, 31
6. Justin Hill, 31
7. Gavin Faith, 28
8. Vince Friese, 24
9. James Decotis, 20
10. Lance Vincent, 20
