Houston SX Spoiler Race Report
Saturday, March 31, 2012 | 11:30 PM
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For a moment tonight, we got to see the “expect the unexpected” and “anything can happen in racing” mantras come to life. In Houston, Texas’ round of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship, GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia looked to have the Lites race sewn up with a big lead on the last lap. But Barcia tangled with lapped rider Lance Vincent while going around him, and Barcia hit the ground. Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen inherited the lead for his first win of the season, while Barcia recovered for second ahead of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett.
With that kind of potential drama, maybe there was a chance of something unexpected in the SX Class. And with a championship potentially hanging in the balance, such drama could make for big headlines. But Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto said to that, “Not a chance.” He battled down the start straight and got past JGR Toyota/Yamaha’s Davi Millsaps for the lead in the first few corners. From there, he checked out to his eighth win of the season.
Meanwhile, Villopoto’s championship also became secure when James Stewart got a terrible start, then crashed out when he overjumped a tabletop in a rhythm section and went over the bars. It was a hard crash, and Stewart retired from the race after that. From there, Villopoto only had to hold off Millsaps to win the title, and he did. Villopoto dropped his bike after the finish of the race and pumped his fists. He becomes just the fifth rider to ever win back-to-back AMA SX Titles, wrapping it up an incredible four races in advance.
Millsaps and Villopoto’s teammate Jake Weimer rounded out the podium.
Earlier in the day, it looked like crowd favorite Kevin Windham might have been able to make a run for the win, as he posted the fastest times in both practice sessions. Windham then had a fantastic battle with Stewart for the win in the second heat. On the last lap, while running second, Windham scrubbed to hard over a triple and landed short, launching him over the bars. He was out of racing for the night. Team reports say he hurt his thumb and shoulder, but x-rays came back negative.
Villopoto is rapidly building his place in the history of the sport, racking up race wins and titles at a rate few in the sport have produced. He gets a weekend off to celebrate, and then the tour resumes in New Orleans in two weeks.
Look for a full report, photos and much more from the race right here on RacerXonline.com
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RV is a beast.
Well done Mr RV....well done.
Well done Mr RV....well done.
Congrats to Ryan and his new crown. Looks as if Davey out in one good ride tonight, will have to wait till tomorrow to watch. Tough break for Kevin, earlier reports had him looking so good. Kroc gets his first win, I hope he thanks Bam Bam for that one. Time to move on to the outdoors!
Speaking of outdoors, if RV gets that title too, who was the last guy to go back-to-back (other than RC) for National championships?
Another one bites the dust.
The best Supercross rider on the planet once AGAIN proves it with wins ...no woulda shoulda coulda... DONE. Congrats ...Damn man ,you can seriously ride the bike. Excellent job.
Think Roczen's second win. Not bad for 17 yrs old and total of +/- 8 SX's ever. Just hopin he healthy for the outdoors. BTW, watching tweets, was Barcia's own fault. It happens.
How ironic that there is a picture of Barcia and Vincent standing together in the practice report gallery.
Many thought it'd be Stewart beating McGrath's 72 wins....nope, it's going to be RV.
Congrats to RV but I wouldn't be betting on him going for 72 just yet. As we have seen in the past with the other guy going after the record, a racers career can go downhill in one season.
Chillmatic good eye - I noticed that pic as well, never thougth of BamBam as tall but I guess he is or Vincent is short. Butt patch was pretty funny too. Don't think we'll see them pictured together again for a while. Holding judgement until the AM, but from the tweets sounds like BamBam over-reacted, but we probably all would have, i'm guessing we won't get to see the roosting of Vincent and the Asterik guy on TV but i'm sure it will end up on youtube this weekend. Congrats to RV, he earned the championship, hopefully the points race stays close outdoors, but without CR, TC, and possibly the old JS, it will be up to RD to grab some race wins to keep it interesting.
Congrats to RV! Can't wait til High Point and Steel City!
Congrats RV!! You stepped up and made your own destiny. I look forward to watching you From the Stands in Vegas Finals/Monster Energy Cup and Lake Elsinore.
The Champ is in a pretty good spot right now. His main comp have all crashed out. He can now real off some more wins, add to his list of accomplishments and also get an early start on prep for the outdoors!
This could turn out to be quite a run for the RV Machine!
Congrats Ryan. Well deserved !
Slayin' manatees and praisin' RV's!
Way to go! One of the five in history to go BACK-TO-BACK
@Chadrick_167:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMA_Motocross_Championship
Last back-to-back (besides Carmichael's 7) was Emig, 96 & 97 in the big bikes.
Last back-to-back in the little bikes was Villipoto's 3; before that, Carmichael in 97-00 and before that was Lamson in 95-96.
Has anyone won a SX title with 4 rounds to spare before?
Congrats rv!
I think they should penalize barcia 25 points for acting like a fool in front of all the kids there! Plus putting the medical crew and Vincent in danger! Vincent didn't even have is helmet on when he threw a temper tantrum and sprayed them with dirt! That kid just lost any respect I had from him! He is a dirt bag! A suspension and a fine would even be better. But nothing will happen to him. He rides like a stewart! ( an idiot)
The RacerX tweet made it sound pretty bad.
SX 2012...........Boring! Get back on a Kawi James. Big Blue just ain't ur thing.
Poor KW on the night he qualifies the fastest just like the ones before him he crashes out. There is definately a trend here and if you look back at the results and the times you can clearly see it. RV is just too fast with his natural comfortable speed and the others should stay within themselves as well.
Vincent was also practicing with Bam Bam at his place on the Down Home video on MXA, so they're most likely friends.
Its the bike, thats why Stewie and his bro crash every race!............Oh wait.........
Well there is 0 reason to go to any of the remaining Supercross races. I was planning on New Orleans. Now there is no point in going. Hopefully the terrible attendance and tv ratings will make someone wake up and worry about safety. Oh and if RV goes down, forget about it.
You guys need to stop congratulating Villopoto, dude won cause everyone crashed out. He has to feel like it was given to him. If all you guys like rooting for a runaway find a different sport. Its supposed to be RACE!!!!
This year was like watching paint DRY........Boring.
Oh and if Villopoto is so fast let see if can go undefeated in the outdoors!!!!!!
Not gonna happen.
clearly ctrefz you have to bee new fan, did you saw the early rounds rv was just crushing everybody BEFORE they got hurt so my advice is that when you are clearly unaware of the FACTS just shut the f....k up
I loved watching KW14 take it to Bubbles!! Dude was killing it!! Glad he was OK after the get-off. James is a wreck!! (pun intended), I wonder what is wrong? He is better than this, He is not on RV1 level, (who is?) but he is better than he is showing....... Outdoors will be interesting, I still don't think he will show, regardless of what he says....
How many riders is James Stewart going to take out? Over the last couple years he has landed on or just plain ran into people from his out of control reckless riding. Its not the bike , It is from over riding it. Nice move tossing your helmet onto the ground.Helmets might be free to you but the majority of us pay good money for a helmet. Show some class James.
Every top racer started this series. They were all in it when RV was the first to win 2 races. He came from last to 3rd and last to 4th to salvage the series against all the top guys.
So now he is the remaining top guy and the title holder. Well why is that, do you think? Is he lucky? No, that is not it. Are the others just unlucky? No, that is not it.
Gosh, what could it be? Not luck, it must be something other than luck...but dang it! what?!!
Stewart is just suffering bad karma, he takes out everyone and he even got mad at KW!?? KW is one of the cleanest racers out there. You ever notice in interviews Windham says he likes to race RV1 and has respect for him, but not one racer says they like to race Stewart. He is a wrecking ball out on the track.
Congrats RV1
What's up with JS taking out Chrisholm for 10th? What an idiot! He is not only a stupidest rider on the planet but he is the fastest man into the planet.
Who would have thought that MIllsaps would be the most successful rider for JGR this year?? Stewie is now down to 5th place.. Wonder if they will give a special 5th place award this year in supercross..LOL
boring season...!!! it over and there's 4 races left,,,, watch the ratings plummet, stands thin out,,, people want to see competition....
125250
Complaining about a pro rider dropping his helmet? Do you get upset when they put a brand new hat on when they are all sweaty and a fresh pair of goggles around their neck just because? Who cares about his helmet, I would do the same thing out of frustration. In fact, if that were me, I would throw my helmet.
Once again, everyone talks about JS7. He's making just as much money of the non-fans than he is the fans.
The KW - JS battle was the best racing of the night. My whole family (wife included) was screaming up a storm. So bummed KW got hurt. By the looks of the thumb cast we won't see him untill outdoors. Big loss for the rest of the season. Loved it when Bubbles took him high then waived in apology. Then going over the finish waived and looked back while KW gave him a nod like it was no big deal. No two ways about it those tow guys were having a blast during that battle!