by Chase Stallo
Sign Of The Lap Times: Houston
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 | 9:30 AM
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PrintRound six of Monster Energy Supercross from Houston provided just about everything you can ask from a fan's perspective. Justin Barcia and Dean Wilson slugged it out in the Lites class, while Trey Canard capitalized on a Kevin Windham mistake to hold off a furious charge from Ryan Dungey. Throw in a James Stewart crash, and a couple of huge first turn pile-ups, and you have a recipe for some great racing. Now onto the lap charts, brought to you by Motion Pro.
AMA Supercross
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 4 |
48.800 |
3 |
51.063 |
Davi Millsaps |
| 2 | 15 |
48.842 |
5 |
53.742 |
James Stewart |
| 3 | 19 |
48.981 |
1 |
49.496 |
Kevin Windham |
| 4 | 3 |
49.033 | 5 |
50.768 |
Ryan Villopoto |
| 5 | 1 |
49.138 |
3 |
50.504 |
Trey Canard |
| 6 | 8 |
49.384 |
3 |
52.379 |
Brett Metcalfe |
| 7 | 2 |
49.385 |
3 |
50.509 |
Ryan Dungey |
| 8 | 6 |
49.547 |
10 |
50.395 | Chad Reed |
| 9 | 7 | 49.698 |
5 |
51.342 |
Ken Roczen |
| 10 | 13 | 49.933 |
8 |
49.933 |
Justin Brayton |
| 11 | 5 |
50.233 |
2 |
51.052 |
Andrew Short |
| 12 | 9 |
50.327 |
3 |
52.232 |
Ivan Tedesco |
| 13 | 16 |
50.828 |
6 |
55.031 |
Kyle Regal |
| 14 | 10 |
50.994 |
3 | 52.339 |
Mike Alessi |
| 15 | 11 |
51.026 | 7 |
52.421 |
Tommy Hahn |
| 16 | 12 |
51.098 |
3 |
52.387 |
Nick Wey |
| 17 | 20 |
51.608 |
3 |
52.304 |
Jason Thomas |
| 18 | 18 |
51.736 | 2 |
57.822 |
Chris Blose |
| 19 | 14 |
52.079 |
4 |
54.016 |
Weston Peick |
| 20 | 17 |
53.111 |
3 |
56.702 | Vince Friese |
The fastest lap of the night went to none other than James… wait what? Davi Millsaps? That’s right, Millsaps not only had his best race of the season thus far, but he also became the first rider not named James Stewart or Ryan Villopoto to put down the fastest lap of the night. Millsaps put down a scorching 48.800 edging out Stewart’s 48.842. After a long off-season Houston might prove to be the turning point in Millsaps' season.
Did Millsaps' season turn the corner in Houston?
Photo: Simon Cudby
Here’s an interesting fact from Houston. The top fourteen fastest lap times were under 51 seconds. Things are getting tight, folks.
AMA Supercross Lites
| Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
| 1 | 3 |
49.585 |
6 |
51.509 |
Blake Baggett |
| 2 | 2 |
49.880 |
1 |
51.144 | Dean Wilson |
| 3 | 4 |
50.045 | 4 |
52.057 |
Ryan Sipes |
| 4 | 6 |
50.061 | 2 |
53.246 |
Blake Wharton |
| 5 |
1 |
50.134 | 8 |
50.920 |
Justin Barcia |
| 6 | 5 |
50.179 | 4 |
52.421 |
|
| 7 | 15 |
50.311 | 4 |
55.696 | Nico Izzi |
| 8 | 7 |
50.488 | 5 |
53.507 |
Jason Anderson |
| 9 | 8 |
50.934 | 3 |
53.362 |
Lance Vincent |
| 10 | 14 |
50.951 | 3 |
55.738 | Malcolm Stewart |
| 11 | 13 |
51.079 |
5 |
55.129 |
Gannon Audette |
| 12 | 18 | 51.231 | 2 |
1:05.447 |
P.J. Larsen |
| 13 | 10 |
51.695 |
3 |
53.883 | Alex Martin |
| 14 | 9 |
51.824 |
2 |
53.543 |
Matt Lemoine |
| 15 | 17 |
52.410 |
7 |
1:03.556 |
Taylor Futrell |
| 16 | 12 |
52.535 |
3 |
55.257 |
Shawn Rife |
| 17 | 16 |
52.648 |
6 |
59.098 |
A.J. Catanzaro |
| 18 | 11 |
52.694 |
9 |
54.196 |
Chris Gosselaar |
| 19 | 19 |
53.627 |
3 |
56.379 |
Levi Kilbarger |
| 20 | 20 |
DNS | DNS |
DNS |
Darryn Durham |
Blake Baggett made quite the first impression on his new team—Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Baggett overcame a treacherous start and laid down the fastest lap of the night with 49.585. Baggett’s seemingly quiet third place finish should go a long way towards a championship run that could have gone wayward had he failed to make a charge through the pack.
Barcia outlasted Wilson to grab the opening round win in Houston.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Justin Barcia and Dean Wilson engaged in what seemed more like a UFC fight than a supercross race in Houston, with Barcia out-slugging Wilson en-route to the opening round win. It's interesting that while he won the race, Barcia set only the fifth fastest lap of the night with a 50.134.
What a opening round night for privateer Lance Vincent. The rookie not only managed a surprising top-ten finish but he also managed to put down the ninth fastest lap of the night. With arguably one of the deepest fields this past decade, Vincent proved he may not be just another name on the east coast.
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If double d would have been in the main he would have been a real close competitor and probably would have had one of the fastest lap times.
You have to go all the way back to 9th place to be 1 second off the fastest lap in the lites. It's tight in both classes. Awesome ride for Lance Vincent. 9th fastest lap and 8th place by a guy almost no one has heard of, ahead of alot of very familiar names.
Milsaps won San Diego last year so, maybe this is his "peaking" time. Good for him coming back from his (gnarly) injuries to be among the top times. I thought Brayton was going to be the bright spot on JGRMX but, good for Davi. JGRMX's bikes are by far, the most "works" looking Yamahas on the gate.
davi is such a goon
Wow RD only 7th best lap, I figured he was better than that he ran down TC pretty quick. KR's best lap was 1/2 sec faster than shorts!! The kid has SPEED!!! will be good to watch the next few years.
I don't buy this line either >ere’s an interesting fact from Houston. The top fourteen fastest lap times were under 51 seconds. Things are getting tight, folks.< If RV and JS were not in trafic I would have to guess there would be a bigger gap. There has been all year but it would be nice to see someone step up and match there speed.
Wow, it's a good thing Stewart didn't wash out the front wheel...It may have got embarrassing. I hope nobody figures out I have a man crush on Dungey.
What happened to Darryn Durham. He was battling! Barcia proved once again that he doesn't have the speed of Deano. If He wasn't such a dirty rider He'd be around fifth like his lap times. I'm not into practice times and whatnot, that doesn't matter till racetime. Dean, sipes, wharton, baggett, all got speed on him. That fool will even take out a teamate to better himself. Him, short, and stewey are just plain dirty.
Wilson needs a few more weeks to get back in shape I think. Barcia will get his someday I am sure but he does not seem to care witch is fine as long as he does not cry when someone parks him. I don't mind some rough riding but it seems he does not even try to pass clean first shot he gets it's bam!! Sometimes ya need to play a bit rough but he seems to play that way all the time just for fun.
It's going to be interesting to see Barcia's reaction when someone with size like Sipes punts him out of the way and puts him on his ass. It will happen this season, likely more than once. People have had enough of it and the other riders aren't going to look at him as a child anymore. What goes around comes around and if he can shrug off getting taken out and just call it racing like he does when he's dishing it out, then respect to him. I'm willing to say that won't happen though, but who knows....
@Pinned - DD broke is foot when he collided with Wilson. It happened on lap 4.
BillC you need to stop what iffing. Lousy starts happen. When they happen your lap time reflects that. The other 15 riders in the class can all go very fast on an open track. It is common for a slower rider to get sucked along by faster riders when the start permits it. RD reeled in TC because TC was messing up and likewise when TC opened a gap RD was making mistakes. It is really too bad that Windhams Swap put him in the dirt. Bring on a Mudder!
I thought the barcia battle with wilson was awesome! Not too dirty but that stuff is subjective. Sipes' move on wharton...hmmm? Barcia never contacted wilson. Or did he? I may be wrong but what I do know is they both stayed up and barcia proved to have way more fight than a faster smoother wilson...simple as that. you could see the intensity he was riding with was unreal.
And TC well hey that guy has got some fight in him for sure. Dungey needs to be a bit more agressive IMO - God will forgive you - ask Short!!
James stewart did have the fastest lap at houston...down in the 47's in his heat race win!
I think it would be interesting to know what the difference is between a riders fastest lap time and average lap time and, of course, the number of crashes.
The single fastest lap is O.K. Myself, I like the average lap time over the entire race myself. Unless its a runaway, were a guy gets a big lead and then cruises. But the 250 race is telling. Barcia only had the 5th fastest lap, but his average lap time for the entire race was the best. and he finished first. No, that doesnt happen all the time, but its pretty telling how consistant a guy can be. Maybe this is a turning point for Millsaps, but you never know whith him. He ran some really good races alst year, and then a poor one the next week. So its a wait and see for him. Roczen turned a faster lap than Short, for one lap. Look at the average lap time over all 20, Shorty is over a quarter second faster per lap. that is 5 seconds right there over the course of the race. But Roczen ran very well for his first 450 supercross ever. He has a very bright future for sure..
Thats the thing with Milsaps BD200, One week he looks unreal than he is back in 8th for 5 weeks. I never undersud how ya do that..... mrwhirlwind It was not ment that way, The guy who wrote this makes it sound like he thinks the guys are all getting close to the same speed (thats how i took it) All I was saying is it looks that way because of the bad starts by RV and JS I don't think the other guys found more speed sence the last race to make the class tighter. Does that make sence better??
I know that the top riders have separated themselves on an open track for the most part but the series roars on and I don't think one or 2 riders will win all the remaining races for the following reasons. First of all starts, and we have beat that to death. 2nd the fast guys are still making mistakes like tucking the front wheel etc (these mistakes are a byproduct of the blazing speeds). 3rd the rest of the riders are figuring things out (Milsaps gets the fastest lap of the main? Where in the heck did that come from?) 4th mother nature! I sense a mud fest in the near future and we all know all bets are off in the mud and finally the track on any given weekend the track can favor some riders more than others so the 450 class seems reasonably tight, top 5 and 6 to 20 all worth watching
I think Millsaps either has confidence problems or his health problems were getting him last season He had his elbow drained a couple of times. But we will see. Maybe he saw the bad start from RV and Stewie as his chance.
bd 200 its about time some one agrees with the lap time crap.... average lap time is a better gauge .... fastest is only a gate pick time from practice ... i am always hearing local kid racers carry on about there lap times & more often then not they finish behind me with my slower lap times but faster average race time & im no one special when it comes to racing only been doing it for 2 years & im 35... i race intermediate &/or vets but the young guys get bent up arguing over lap times... just my view on the matter ...how was reeds average time & he was in traffic the whole race thats why he is so good/consistent over the years
Why is bagget a story hear? He was in 5th until that a55-clown sipes took out wharton. Wharton had third wrapped up easy and fa I mean bagget was not even close.
Somebody always has to dislike somebody else, that's the way it's been forever. I like Barcia's style of moto & would like to emulate it but, I'm just not that fast or aggressive (plus I have to work Monday & my bones are made of bone, not rubber). I'd like to hear an interview or poll taken from some of the biggest "maulers" of MX and see how they see the pussification of our sport from their eyes. "Rocket" Rex Staten, the "Jammer" himself, "Ryno" Hughes, Damon "Redneck" Bradshaw, Mike LaRocco and Jeff Stanton. I'm guessing it would be very informative.
Well jus think if JS7 was on a Makita suzuki or the JGR bikes. How much faster would he be? The JGR bikes are so powerful bcoz Brayton & Millsaps were one and two at A1 straight out the gate. Windhams bike has a lot of power also.
Really impressed with Reed's fastest average lap; says a lot about his consistency. Must've gotten a pretty bad start if he ran laps like those but only made it to sixth.
Roczen's average could have been on-par with Shorts, but he really lost pace on lap 17; not unusual for lites guys, I guess. Sure tromped Alessi, though. Somebody hand that lad a sauerkraut sandwich.
Windham was FLYING. Holy god. Would have won easily if he didn't wear himself out trying, though he was likely not too comfortable at that pace (hence the wreck). He and Millsaps were energized by their starts for sure. Millsaps' only win last year evolved from a first-turn crash by the Ryans, so no huge surprise to see him up front early after bad starts from 2+7. Too many fast guys this year to turn it into a win, although it might prove that he doesn't try until the win is RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS NOSE.
Not to take anything from 1 & 41, but Villopoto likely would've caught them if he needed to, especially without that poor first lap AFTER the pile-up. Or he would've washed out trying. 50/50.
Tough night for the Stewarts.
Millsaps has been that way for a long time bd200, Not just last year. He seems to have 1 or 2 great races a year thats why I said Honda would let him go even though many said I was wrong. mrwhirlwind I agree RV and JS wont win the rest but Like I have said before about many guys, There not going to win unless it a odd race like last weeks. Not bagging on K-Dub but he is not going to battle with JS and RV and come out with a win, Same for TC There very fast guys but will need a little luck to get a win. Thats were the Straight up win arguements start I think.
Average lap times don't always mimic the finishing order. I see now, lap times start once they hit the transponder at the finish line, which starts lap 1 time. So if there is a pile up at the first turn, or if the finish line is 3/4ths the way around the track it is a more useful stat. Sorry to whoever I said that average times will always mimic the finishing order, my bad. When everybody has a fairly clean start and the finish line isn't too far from the start gate it appears to be that way though. I did notice that if a rider has a really bad lap more than 120% of their fastest lap time(Probably a crash or stall), they take that lap out of the average and use only 19 laps to figure the average. So lap times are definately not all telling on who wins the race or even determining the finishing order, but just another tool that might indicate how a rider is doing. Other factors like traffic or yellow flags can influence these times, so average times are useful, but they are not always the tell all...
In my defense though, if you go to amasupercross website and go to race results, then overall, it gives the averages of 1st and 2nd place riders. This average is the total time of race, including the start, divided by the number of laps. I guess this backs up the old cliche: figures lie, and liars figure..... Oh well.......
BillC , any time someone lines up behind the starting gate for the first race of the season it is all straight up from there
mrwhirlwind.........it can't be said or made any more clear than that, and it's the truth. Consistency, staying healthy, showing up, being smart, and capitalizing on opportunities is what makes a great rider. Sh*t happens and you crash sometimes, but it happens and does not de-value another rider's ability to capitalize and win. The straight up crap starts when people don't like how their favorite rider finished in the race/championship.
Straight up means dif things to dif people. The only point I was trying to make is some guys will only win when all the top guys have issues at one race, That does not mean the guy that one that night is the best now it just means he won that night. Just like when someone be RC.. Were they better then him?? Hell NO just had some good luck that night maybe. I look at it this way, on a normal night there are 2 maybe 3 guys who should win, BUT maybe 8 that could win if things go there way. I have won some races that I got lucky in, I know head to head the other guy would beat me but things fell my way that day. Its a very fine line, Take RV... How many guys could have done what he did?? not many... 2 or 3 guys IMO, Yes he did not win but IMO put in the best ride, Not to take anything away from TC but IMO head to head he does not beat RV. I know you will say it was head to head and they all started together and all that... I get your point 100% but do you see at all what I mean about some guys only win when things go there way and they don't make it happen Like some do. This is very F ed up.. LOL I guess for me untill I see someone come from behind for a win passing the top guys it does not mean as much. Thats why i am hard on RD, I still have not seen him run down and pass JS or RV this year, Yes he has beat them both but only when they fall or get a bad start. I think TC will find that next gear... This year?? Not so sure but he is getting close.