Villopoto Brings Three-Race Winning Streak into Jacksonville

AURORA,
Ill, (March 14, 2011) – Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World
Championship, will make its third appearance at Jacksonville’s EverBank
Field on Saturday for the 11th race of the 2011 season. Last
weekend, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto added to his recent
dominance by capturing a third consecutive victory inside Indianapolis’
Lucas Oil Stadium.

Media
Day for this weekend’s action takes place on Thursday, March 17 from
Noon-2:00 p.m., featuring San Manuel Yamaha, Suzuki City and
BBMX/Palmetto Suzuki. Riders will be available for interviews and will
ride the track for the media.

Villopoto’s
performance last Saturday also marked his championship-leading fifth
win of the season. After moving into the lead before the completion of
the first lap, Villopoto pulled away from the field with a wire-to-wire
win to give him his second straight win inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
Currently, Villopoto’s advantage over San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart
in the Supercross class standings sits at 26 points.

“The
track was really tough tonight,” said Villopoto. “The ruts played a big
factor throughout the 20-lap main. You really had to be smart out
there. The whole team worked together really well tonight, and I
couldn’t do it without them.”

Monster
Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto will look to keep the momentum going
heading into Jacksonville, where he took the victory one year ago.

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

After
a difficult outing in Daytona the week prior, Stewart rebounded with a
strong runner-up effort at Indianapolis, giving up minimal points to
Villopoto. The 20-lap main event was full of excitement for Stewart,
coming from dead last off the start and overcoming a pair of
near-crashes to work his way through the field and a return to the
podium.

“I
had a rough weekend last week and wasn’t able to ride the way I wanted
to,” said Stewart. “I let my team down today. It’s not over. I’m so
motivated right now and I have a bunch of guys behind me.”

Stewart
was the inaugural winner in Jacksonville in 2009, the year of his last
world championship. With good fortune on his side, EverBank Field could
serve as the place for him to begin his pursuit of Villopoto.

Rounding
out the Supercross class podium in Indianapolis was TwoTwo
Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing’s Chad Reed. Since capturing his first win
of the season in San Diego four weeks ago, Reed has been a podium
fixture and is just three points behind Stewart in the standings.

With
an impressive third place finish last weekend, TwoTwo
Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing’s Chad Reed now sits in third place, three
points behind San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart and 29 points behind
leader and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto.

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

In
the Eastern Regional Supercross Lites class, DNA Shred Stix/Star
Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes became the fourth different winner in as many
races. A longtime veteran of the sport, Sipes’ breakthrough victory was
the first of his professional career. Adding to the special nature of
Sipes’ win was the presence of family and friends in the stands as
Indianapolis marks the adopted home race of the Kentucky native.

“I
can’t even describe the feeling right now,” exclaimed Sipes. “I didn’t
think about winning until I crossed the checkered flag. Last time I
thought about taking first place while leading, I went down and handed
over the lead. Tonight, I stayed strong and didn’t think about it, and
it definitely paid off.”

The
parity-heavy title fight has featured exceptional racing throughout its
first month of competition and at this point, the championship is
anyone’s to win. On Saturday night, GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia
maintained his points lead with his fourth podium effort in second
while Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett also kept his
podium streak intact in third. For Baggett, the night was one of
frustration after crashing out of the lead on the seventh lap of action.

“I
went six laps and got pressured and went down and pretty much threw the
race away, said Baggett. “I threw away a good amount of points, but
we’ll just make sure we pick it up down the road.”

Last
weekend in Indianapolis, DNA Shred Stix/Star Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes
captured the first victory of his career which bumped him up to third
place. Sipes now sits 12 points behind leader and GEICO Honda’s Justin
Barcia.

Photo Credit: Hoppenworld.com

Currently,
Barcia holds a six-point lead over Baggett in the standings with Sipes
moving into third after his win, an additional six points behind.

Last
year in Jacksonville, Villopoto grabbed the holeshot and went on to
take a wire-to-wire win as he chased down Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan
Dungey for the championship. In the Supercross Lites class, eventual
champion Christophe Pourcel grabbed a convincing victory.

Tickets are available at the EverBank Field Box Office, SupercrossOnline.com, all Ticketmaster retail locations, charge by phone at (800) 745-3000, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. 
Practice and qualifying begins at 12:30 p.m., and the main event begins
at 7:00 p.m.  Club Level Seats are available for $45 Adult/Child;
Non-Club Level Seats $20 Adult/Child.  Fans can also get into the Pits
for FREE from 12:30 – 6 PM Race Day when they recycle a MONSTER Energy
Can at the stadium Pit Entrance (valid only with event ticket). 

Supercross Class Results: Indianapolis

1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha
3. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda
4. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
5. Justin Brayton, Cornelius, N.C., Yamaha
6. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
7. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda
8. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Yamaha
9. Cole Seely, Corona, Calif., Honda
10. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM

    Supercross Class Season Standings

1.     Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 221

2.     James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha – 195

3.     Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda – 192

4.     Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki – 183

5.     Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda – 169

6.     Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM – 129

7.     Justin Brayton, Cornelius, N.C, Yamaha – 121

8.     Davi Millsaps, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha – 114

9.     Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki – 107

10.  Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda - 103

 Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Results: Indianapolis

1. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha
2. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda
3. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki
4. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki
5. Matt Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki
6. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Blake Wharton, Aubrey, Texas, Honda
8. P.J. Larsen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
9. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda
10. Les Smith, York, S.C., Honda

Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings

1. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda – 91
2. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki – 85
3. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha – 79
4. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki – 75
5. Blake Wharton, Aubrey, Texas, Honda – 65
6.  Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki – 62
7. Matt Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki – 51
8. P.J. Larsen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 46
9. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki – 44
10. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 40

Past Winners in Jacksonville

Supercross class

March 27, 2010  Ryan Villopoto

April 4, 2009                  James Stewart

Supercross Lites class

March 27, 2010  Christophe Pourcel

April 4, 2009                  Christophe Pourcel

For more information on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, please log on to www.SupercrossOnline.com. For all media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig dhartwig@feldinc.com or 630-566-6305. To follow Monster Energy Supercross on Facebook and Twitter, log on to http://www.facebook.com/supercrosslive and http://twitter.com/supercrosslive.

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