Racer X Race Report: Toronto
Sunday, March 25, 2012 | 5:00 AM
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Although it was a bit of a predictable night here in Toronto for round eleven of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross Series, it was still exciting with some real action, especially in the Lites Eastern Regional main event. We may have seen the usual winners, but the story behind the results indicates that it was one of those nights where you just had to be there.
The Toronto race has been growing and growing in terms of attendance the last few years and in 2012, it set a record with 47,010 rabid fans. The Canadian fans were mostly subdued compared to some American fans but were very loud for GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham. More on that later.
LItes Heat 1
The first heat starred the series points leader from beginning to end, as GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia took the holeshot and sped off from there. It was a crushing win and an impressive one at that. Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen, fighting the effects of the flu all day, rode behind Barcia for the entire time while Eleven-10 Mods Alex Martin was strong in third. J-Star KTM’s Malcolm Stewart rode an impressive race coming from the back to get by Martin and then on the very last lap, stuffed his way by Roczen to end up second.
1-Justin Barcia
2-Malcolm Stewart
3-Ken Roczen
4-Alex Martin
5-Tyler Bowers
6-Kyle Peters
7-Matt Lemoine
8-Lance Vincent
9- Shane Sewell
Slash performed in opening ceremonies!
James Lissimore photo
Lites Heat 2
Just as heat one was a Justin Barcia runaway, heat two was a Monster Pro Circuit domination by Darryn Durham as he led start to finish for his second heat win of the year. Early on his teammate Blake Baggett was right there but last week’s winner, Rockstar Suzuki’s Blake Wharton made some smooth moves and got by Baggett and into second. In the end, Wharton made a bit of a gain on Durham but it wasn’t enough to make a move. Privateer Shawn Rife rode great to get fourth and Eleven-10 Mods Phil Nicoletti was fifth.
GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle, the fastest qualifier in practice, provided the highlight of the heat races. He crashed early and fought his way back into just outside a qualifying spot when he collided with Angelo Pellegrini over the finish and both guys spilled onto the pavement in spectacular fashion. Bogle would be forced to go to the LCQ.
Justin Bogle had a rough night.
James Lissimore photo
4- Shawn Rife
6- Jake Canada
7- Tommy Weeck
9- AJ Cantanzaro
Supercross Heat 1
It was time for the 450s and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto showed why he is the series leader in victories as well as the current points leader: he took off and hid. Behind RV was Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s Broc Tickle who was riding pretty well and RV’s teammate Jake Weimer, who eventually got by Tickle and settled into second. DNA/Jeff Ward Kawasaki’s Kyle Chisholm had maybe his best ride of the year, as he came from about sixth to second at one point, before Weimer got back past him on the last lap.
Villopoto after his heat race win.
James Lissimore photo
450 Heat 2
In his first race on the factory 450, Honda Muscle Milk fill-in rider Wil Hahn showed that he was a quick learner as he grabbed the holeshot and led early. He was quickly passed by JGR Yamaha’s Davi Millsaps and from there, Millsaps continued his impressive riding by holding off Hahn’s teammate Justin Brayton for the heat race win. At one point, Brayton appeared to have made the pass but couldn’t make it stick. Behind those two it was a nice battle with Yoshimura Suzuki’s Brett Metcalfe and GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham, with Windham on top.
WIl Hahn holeshot his first heat race ever on a 450.
Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
James Lissimore photo
1-Davi Millsaps
2-Justin Brayton
3-Kevin Windham
4-Brett Metcalfe
5-Nico Izzi
6-Wil Hahn
7-Gavin Faith
8-Matt Georke
9-Jimmy Albertson
250 LCQ
GEICO’s Justin Bogle had the very last pick on the gate on the far outside but he burst from the blocks and grabbed the holeshot. From there he was unchallenged for the win and Eleven-10 Mods Jeff Gibson took home the last spot into the 20-man main event after a last lap battle with Ohlins KTM’s Les Smith.
1-Justin Bogle
2-Jeff Gibson
450 LCQ
It was DNA Kawasaki’s Josh Grant who holeshot, and although he had a frisky Rockstar Valli-Star Yamaha’s Bobby Kiniry trying to put some moves on him, he held strong and won the race. Kiniry rode safely behind for the last spot into the main event.
Lites Main Event
Justin Barcia grabbed the holeshot but was quickly passed by Roczen in the first rhythm section. As we said earlier, despite being sick, Roczen was riding very well. The top two riders gapped the field a little bit while in the back, Bogle’s tough night continued as he went down and started dead last.
Barcia slowly gained on Roczen and made a little bit of contact as he forced the matter and got into first. From there it was just like every other race we’ve seen this year save for one, as Barcia just sprinted away from the field. He pulled slowly away from the always-fighting German kid, and Wharton rode alone in third after making an early pass. These three riders at one point had a fourteen second lead on fourth place.
Roczen snatched the early lead from Barcia, but Barcia would get him back.
James Lissimore photo.
Before Wharton, it was Durham who was looking good to get a podium before he crashed in a turn while battling Wharton. Alex Martin and Tyler Bowers were fifth and sixth and in an intense battle before locking bars and the end result was Martin shooting over the berm and Bowers going down. It was the beginning of a bit of a crazy main event as Stewart crashed twice, and Baggett, Rife and another rider were sprawled out in a turn together. It seemed that the Toronto track was breaking down and catching riders left and right.
Taking advantage of the nuttiness was Motoconcepts Racing rider Jake Canada who continued his strong east coast performance with a steady ride into fourth. There were faster riders than Canada on this night, but he kept it on two wheels and rode fast to a career high fourth on the night. Oh Canada indeed! Somehow Bogle got eighth in a crazy race and he deserves props for this ride.
Barcia has won all but one Lites East race this year.
James Lissimore photo
But it was his teammate who once again stood on the top step and increased his series lead to 28 points. Roczen was second and Wharton third.
“Right now I couldn’t be (happier),” said Barcia. “I got my first win here two years ago. My GEICO Honda was hooking up great. This track was really tough tonight. You had to be really smart and really smooth. I made a great pass for the lead and kind of just rode my own race from there.”
Wharton backed up his win last week with a podium.
James Lissimore photo
1. Justin Barcia
2. Ken Roczen
3. Blake Wharton
4. Jake Canada
5. Darryn Durham
6. Alex Martin
7. Tommy Weeck
8. Justin Bogle
9. Matt Lemoine
10. Jeff Gibson
11. AK Catanzaro
12. Shane Sewell
13. Malcolm Stewart
14. Tyler Bowers
15. Blake Baggett
16. Dakota Tedder
17. Lance Vincent
18. Kyle Peters
19. Shawn Rife
20. Phil Nicoletti
Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda – 145
Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki – 117
Darryn Durham, Butler, Pa., Kawasaki – 114
Ken Roczen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 102
Jake Canada, Sun City, Calif., Honda – 90
Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki – 86
Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda – 74
Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., KTM – 50
Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 50
Matthew Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki – 46
The Lites podium.
James Lissimore photo
Supercross Main
The Honda horsepower of Justin Brayton got to the first turn first and took home the holeshot money that goes along with that honor. Villopoto hung in tough and survived first turn contact with Nico Izzi and emerged second. He made some stabs at Brayton and finally early on made the move into the lead. RV was slowly pulling away early in the race but made a mistake in the whoops which allowed Brayton to catch back up. The Honda rider matched the Kawasaki rider for a few laps but in the end, Villopoto pulled out a nice comfy lead about halfway through the race. Brayton was the second best rider on this night and gapped third place, which early on was Davi Millsaps. Then a battle for third began.
Brayton led Villopoto and Millsaps early.
James Lissimore photo
Villopoto made the move on Brayton to take the top spot.
James Lissimore photo
Millsaps and Weimer were battling for that last spot on the podium when Weimer snuck inside before one of the triples and pulled away from the Yamaha rider. From the back came the veteran Windham who made short work of Millsaps and set his sights on Weimer and the final podium spot. Slowly but surely, and using some lappers to his advantage, Windham struck and got by Weimer which caused the pretty docile Toronto crowd to finally get on their feet and cheer. Weimer’s race sort of went to pieces after that, when he narrowly avoided a huge crash when he jumped off the track and onto the concrete. Millsaps got past and Weimer ended up fifth.
Windham took his first podium of the year after a charge around Millsaps and Weimer.
James Lissimore photo
Metcalfe had a crash late in the main.
James Lissimore photo
Again, with the track breaking down, the riders were trying to survive at the end and there were plenty of mistakes made by everyone not named Ryan Villopoto. He rode a great race to get his seventh win of the year and further cement his hold on a series that he looks to clinch in the next couple of races.
“Out of the first turn, it was just me and Brayton right off the bat,” said Villopoto. “I made some pretty big mistakes in the whoops. They were tough. We’ll go to Houston, where I think there’s a chance to wrap up the title. That’s the plan.”
Brayton got his third podium out of the last four races and Windham got a very popular third place on the night.
Boom! Villopoto wins again.
James Lissimore photo
Three podiums in four races for Brayton, who is surging against the injury-depleted field.
James Lissimore photo
SX Main-
1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Justin Brayton
3. Kevin Windham
4. Davi Millsaps
5. Jake Weimer
6. Marvin Musquin
7. Kyle Chisholm
8. Broc Tickle
9. Robert Kiniry
10. Wil Hahn
11. Justin Sipes
12. Josh Grant
13. Mike Alessi
14. Matt Goerke
15. Jimmy Albertson
16. Jeff Alessi
17. Kyle Regal
18. Brett Metcalfe
19. Nico Izzi
20. Gavin Faith
Supercross Class Season Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 271
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 192
3. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha – 177
4. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha – 169
5. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda – 166
6. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Honda – 165
7. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki – 150
8. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki – 145
9. Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Calif., Suzuki – 136
10. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Honda – 128
Villopoto has a shot at wrapping his second-straight Monster Energy SX Title next weekend in Houston.
James Lissimore photo
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Wow- thats gotta be one of the earliest title wrap ups in history.
On the SX Main Results from Toronto, we need to change them as it appears to be the Lites Results.
Durham ant scared.I was impressed by Durham.Bowers and Martain.Brayton is comming around.Just think if he hadn't of been hurt for most of the year we might of had a sixth title contender.Windham was awsome.I wish he had a better start.
Barcia is killin dem boys boys in the 250 class. I'm a big js7 fan (Not a camp swapper) But Rv came through with tommy for a "sx style st valentines day massacre"
If JS misses next weekend and RV win's, it's over with 4 to go...Crazy!!
oh and this is windhams 2nd podium. unless were not counting daytona
The whoop section was not hard until the track started to deteriorate plus those rocks and the massive ruts in the corners. Now you guys are always asking why the riders get hurt, well try the tracks on for size. Persoanlly I think it is ridiculous to have rocks brought in and if that is the best you can provide go some place else. Did you notice how many guys crashed in practice with Barcia being one of them.
When the best riders in the world say the conditions are bad then is it not time to do something about it? I am shocked one of those rocks have not hurt someone from the roost. Maybe soon they will ad a 40 foot glass section and a 30 foot section of hangman nooses you have to dodge.
On the hoops RV said you couldn't skim it and you could not jump in later in the race that you just had to be careful. When you look at the long list of injuries most do come from supercross and it should be the opposite since the speeds are slower. Mamma's don't let your babies grow up to be crossers.
yeah-good racing even with the big guns out. Brayton steps up. 250 racing was great. And a good night for my hometown boy AM 30! And K-Dub on the podium. Glad I'm not one of the people that decided to not tune in.
Bogle is proving to be a little bit of a hot head. I don't think his crash over the finish was anymore the other guys fault than it was his own. The suzuki rider (forgot the name) crossed him a little bit but that was more so him protecting that line. It looked like what drew the contact was Bogle still scrubbing/whipping his bike.
And how about Durham and Wharton going at it. That was some exciting racing for a little while! If Barcia would quite saying "awesome" and shave his mustache it would make it a little easier seeing him check out. Hopefully Barcia doesn't quite the lites class in the outdooors again and move to the 450s. All I think about when they talk about him moving to the 450s is when he almost killed Dungey last year.
"finally early on"
"in the end... halfway through the race"
Come on Matthes, can you really not do any better? Listing the 250 results twice was the icing on the cake. Do you even read what you write?
I dont see what the title chase has to do with Stewie, Dungey still has a 15 point lead on Stewie, but I guess if Stewie races and earns more than 15 points, he will pass Dungey finally..
Fun race to watch last night, Barcia gapped the field once he passed Roczen, and is clearly the fastest guy.. Wharton looked good, it was nice to see him and Durham being aggressive and rubbing some.. And Nobody crying about it..
Boring!!! Can't wait for the series to go back west so i can see ET and Wilson battle for a points lead. The east is over and Give Villo his crown now..
Honda should move Barcia up to a 450 for VEGAS and give Villo an actual race for the win. Who cares about a east west shootout between ET and Bambam...Villo will have a 150 point lead by then and JB1 will be crowned too. Just a fans perspective to get excited about seeing some racing again..
Windham's 2nd podium. First of the year viewed by Matthes though..ha.
Yeah, Weege reported that it was K-Dubs first podium too in the Spoiler report. Does RacerX not remember Daytona? Or do they just not think Daytona counts? The errors on these articles are becoming more and more common.
I have to agree with 731 chopper, it sure looked like Bogel caused the contact in the air that made them both go down. It was lucky that neither of them got hurt. Bogel also had a mini hissy fit when he stalled his bike and got bumped into, dude looks to be wound up too tight.
I have no idea how 2 guys side by side who both whip the back end towards each other can be seen as one or the other "causing" it. They were both equally at fault.
RV seems to have a little goat in him, pin it till everyone else falls off, just like RC used to do.
What Jeff Alessi does in the main events is ridiculous. The ama should send this pos home. If he can´t race 20 laps he should not be there.
BORING!! A good year gone bad...who cares....
High light of the Night
baby Bogel's hissy fits?
Erin pulling the mic from Slash?
Brayton's eyebrows?
Being a total Stewtard LOL ... I have to admit that RV is killing everyone this year and last ... The only thing I think he has on CR JS and Rd is alot more time on the same bike , remember he got the 20012 early , and has a lot of time on that bike , The rest have been struggling with setup , and JS7 needs to figure that bike out , or find a new ride , his lap times are there for sure , the word backwards does not seem to get along with Moto. ....Give it up Yamaha ...Go Forward ...I still think the outdoors will be good this year , unless James does not race , then it is all RV
someone is waxing Braytons eyebrows , and they aint doin it right ... Looks Like they are Tattooed on .... like two catapilliars...
BD200, The simple answer is because RD is out for 2 - 3 weeks more so he is OUT of it, Wile JS mathamatically is still in it.... But It could very well be over this weekend.
.I am thinking 15 rider mains in the 450 class might be a good Idea. Look at how many guys are just riding around out there!! Looks bad and is dangerous to the guys who are "Racing"
Things are going well for R.V,yet he married sooo young, the woman could smell the green,she is not the dummy.....Men are suckers for the sushi bar down under ...Make the big bucks then marry a young lady from another country, besides america think hard why i said that?...When the money is gone, so are they.
I didn't know that Blake Wharton played guitar much less being that good. Impressive opening ceremonies for Blake and to then go out and score a third in the main event.
Of course RV will wrap up the title* early, all of his serious competition is out.
*Hopefully the RV fan brigade will remember 2010 and all their comments about Dungey winning the title.
Bogle caused that crash for sure. The other guy was in front of him going up the triple and Bogle came up behind him with more speed and scrubbed into him. Bogle needs to calm down and make better decisions or he is goiung to hurt someone. I like Bogle but he is racing like he is still at LL's. The 250 racing was great last night. Also before everybody starts saying Brayton is going to break out and be in the mix remember that there is 6 guys hurt that normally finish in front of him.
wow bogle is such a baby. I like how ROcky didn't say anything about bam bam's dirty hit and run pass. too bad zat little kid wont be able to keep his bike on two wheels come outdoors
Worst broadcast to date. Ralph and Jeff in the box need to do some homework and walk around the pits a bit more to have some meat and potatoes to talk about. The camera men do their best to get all the action on the track so i cant take anything away from them. Its the man in the booth telling which camera to switch to who blew this one. They didn't show barcia on his final lap until after her crossed the finish line, and jeff and ralph didnt even know what was going on. I honestly think they thought he pulled off the track with bike issues before he started smoking the tires. Racing was good behind the leaders as usual.I am no RV fan by any means but that kid can ride. He needs some true competition and I believe JB1 and Chad Reed are the only ones who can give it to him in the outdoors. Bump BAM BAM UP!!!
Hey chosen1, you assume a lot of things don't you BOY? Did I even mentioned I raced? Did I blame the dirt crew? They cannot make chicken salad out of chicken poop.
Do I believe tracks need more money invested in them? YES
Do I believe you ever rode a motorcycle? NO
people, lay off the whole "get the article right" "sheesh all the errors" crap.
You are missing the point. These articles are getting us very quickly and likely do not have an editor doing any reviews. More like a blog than ant published and polished article.
I for ne will take them as is if I get my information quickly. That said, maybe a quick once over before hitting the "post" butting would not hurt.
Not a bates fan, and never will be. As expected she has finally fallen back on the only thing she could...a five thousand dollar breast job.
It seems that many of you who post here have very low IQ's.
So, the track went from "spongey" last year to rock hard and rocky. There is a way to screen the rocks out of the dirt, why this doesn't happen is a mystery. Maybe a liability lawsuit to Feld or dirt wurx would inspire them to step up and try a little "due dilligence".
The promoters should make the tracks free from rocks & stones because the talent is the show and having a depleted field from an avoidable injury is incredibly foolish for a company that wants to maximize their profits. Who wants to go to Vegas to see a title that was wrapped up two weeks previous?
There are plenty of creative ways (and some not so creative) to build a track that will test the riders and their machinery. Leaving rocks in the soil to "marble" the corners and injure the riders is negligent and the promoters could be held liable.
The explaination for having soil this poor is not acceptable.
@J_Sloan - All you do is accuse people of things and rattle on about how Dungey has won the last four championships in the 450 class...oh wait, he didn't, get over it.
J_Sloan ... Please let 2010 go!!
To me it looked like Bogle went outside in the turn before- way up on the berm so he had to veer left to miss the aluminum finish tower- then had to whip it a little left to veer back to the right again, so they wouldn't collide. The other guy just came inside/outside and did a normal whip- and the two lines came together. I would blame the design of that turn and say that the finish line jump should've been wider so that tower was a little more to the right.
Then he stalled his bike and the guy behind him ran into him, and when he tried to get going again,he slammed into Bogle when he missed his line- and thats why Bogle raised his hand. Does seem a little wound up- but that same intensity is probably what has him doing so good this early in his racing career- At least he didn't bixtch slap him.
@ penguin_bob What is it that I accuse people of? "Things" is not very specific. Also, I never "rattle on" about how Dungey has won the last four 450 titles since he clearly has not won the last four 450 titles. What I do point out is the overly-biased opinions of many of the RV fans here, and how many of their comments about Dungey are back-handed compliments. I also happen to think that what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so when I hear RV fans* talk about how Dungey was lucky to have won his titles in 2010 because of the injury plagued field, I like to point out the same thing in 2012 to see if RV fans are going to be consistent in the application of their standards. Of course, most are not and have one standard for RV and another standard for all the other riders.
*By RV fans I mean fanboys that seem to frequent racerx and vitalmx and have to seemingly tear down other riders to build Villopoto up.
I'm pretty sure they couldn't find Wiemer for the opening ceremony's when he was supposed to walk down the isle in the stands.. They found the dude selling popcorn tho, classic.
@J_Sloan - I take back my previous comment as I see it is pretty hypocritical. I appreciate that you give everyone an equal shot, and I have no clue how anyone could say Dungey didn't earn his championships in 2010, because in supercross I am pretty sure he led the points from Phoenix to Vegas. Outdoors he dominated some pretty heavy hitters. So he kept clear on injury and DNF's and that is what Villopoto has done this year.
I am sorry I guess I was pretty quick to look at you as a biased Dungey fan.
@Preston-- I know you are a child and you wont respond, but Stewart has been on his bike twice the time RV has been on his.. Choose another excuse..
@The Chosen1-- have quite the large ego tonite dont we dude..
Chosen1, Obviously it is a strain on you to articulate in any sembelance of politeness or tact with your egregious remarks.
Obviouly it is a blunder on my part to even participate with anyone so socially inept and repulsive.
yeah bogel is a babby... man.. dude his hissey fit when he stalled the bike in the main rut in the corner an got bumped come on dude he was right be hind u an u were in the main rut.. an on the fish line jump they were going side by side up the face an if u scrub or whip it a little you are probably going to have contact being that close but lets look at the other guy an cry about it throw ur arms in the air an have a hissy fit.. i dont care for him.. he crys to much an if he gets on the box more im sure we will here him cry about something or someone
@TheCosen1 I'm with you about the tracks. Do these guys remember how they were before they stored the dirt indoors? Toronto used to be a wet rutted mess. I think Dirt werx does an incredible job. I think alot of these posters would be happier with a pre-built wooden track with astro turf on it. One guy thinks the riders should file lawsuits if they get hurt by the rocks. Sometimes I wonder if a lot of the guys that are into dirtbikes are the same guys that were on the short bus a few years back.