What a year it has been for the AMA Supercross Championship series! We’ve seen ups and downs; crazy turns in points leaders, and exhilarating competition on the track. But it’s all over now… well, this series is anyway.
On May 7, a sold out stadium in Las Vegas saw Ryan Villopoto clinch his first AMA Supercross championship with a third place finish in the main event. Chad Reed won the main, finishing second in the final points standings. The 250 West sees Ken Roczen win the Main - his first ever AMA win, and Broc Tickle finishes second to win West Lites Championship. In 250 East, Blake Baggett takes the main, and Justin Barcia is the East Coast Lites Champion via a third place. Ryan Sipes wins East/West Shoot-out with an exciting ride.
In an eventful East Lites main event, Justin Barcia took an early lead, only to crash in the fourth lap. He was able to recover, however, and finish third to hold his lead in points and take the championship. The Geico Honda Rider was excited to clinch his first AMA East Lites Supercross Championship, saying after the race: “I'm at a loss for words right now. It hasn't sunk in yet that I've won the championship. It's been an awesome season. The racing has been crazy all year and I've had a lot of fun. I have an awesome team behind me that have given me 100% support every race. This is a moment I will remember forever.”
In the 450 class qualifying heats, it was James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto taking the wins and promising the main event to be quite a show for the final round of the series. With the championship up for grabs between four riders, (Stewart, Reed, and Dungey already title holders), and the points leader Ryan Villopoto, it was anyone’s game. For the first few laps of the 20-lap main event, it was James Stewart and Kevin Windham fighting for the lead, with Villopoto and Reed following closely behind. It wouldn’t last though, as Stewart and Windham both crashed out on lap seven. Those two would sit out and watch the top three points contenders battle for the lead the remainder of the race. Villopoto initially took the lead, with Reed and Dungey close on his heels. However, by lap 13, Villopoto was passed by both. Knowing he could win the championship with a third place finish, Villopoto smartly sat back and let the other two fight for the lead on a track getting slicker by the lap.
TwoTwo Motorsports/Honda rider Chad Reed went on to win the Supercross Main Event, with Dungey finishing second and Villopoto third.
Chad Reed said "I had a blast. So thankful to everyone behind me. Huge thanks to the fans - this year has been unbelievable. I feel totally blessed this season. Congrats to Ryan Villopoto. He earned the championship. He had the most wins this season, and to come back from what he went through last year he has my respect. We did all we can and sometimes you just come up short."
Ryan Villopoto said "I can't thank everybody at Monster Energy Kawasaki and the team enough. They believed in me. We'll enjoy this one. Luckily I was able to go around Kevin and James. At the beginning of the year I was able to hire Aldon Baker as my trainer, probably the best move of my career. My fitness has greatly improved, we are a good team, along with Monster Energy Kawasaki. I just have to thank everyone at Kawasaki. The team believed in me through thick and thin. It was a hard-fought battle. I wasn't pulling away from Chad, so I just let him by and Ryan Dungey was right behind him, so then I let him by. I just cruised from there."
Feld Director of Supercross Dave Prater: “This was one of the most exciting seasons the sport has witnessed. Leading up into the final race in the Supercross class, we saw five different winners throughout the season and three riders sat within 12 points of the highly coveted world title. In both the Western and Eastern Regional Supercross Lites classes, we also saw several riders lining up for the Lites title with only a handful of points separating the field. I'd like to congratulate all of the riders, sponsors and teams for making the 2011 Monster Energy Supercross season a huge success.”
Heartland Honda sends a big CONGRATS out to all of this year’s winners. It was truly an exciting season to watch, from week to week. We are proud to see Honda riders doing so well in this prestigious championship series, and look forward to another great season next year!!
In the meantime however, we’ll turn our attention to the 2011 AMA National Motocross Championships, starting May 21! Stay tuned to Heartland Honda for updates, and as always, GO HONDA!
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