2012 AMA Supercross Atlanta Results

Ryan Dungey Wins Atlanta Supercross

Ryan Dungey secures KTM's second Supercross Win - Photo: Hoppenworld.com
Red Bull/KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey secured his second win of the season at the eighth round of the AMA Supercross Series in front of the sold out crowd of 70,000 fans at the Georgia Dome. This win is now the second in history for the KTM brand in the Supercross class.

Dungey started the day off well qualifying 3rd fastest from the afternoon practice sessions to earn a top gate pick in the second Supercross class heat. He rocketed his KTM off the gate to a great start grabbing the holeshot in his heat and taking the early lead. While leading on the third lap, Dungey went high over a berm and suffered a small crash losing two positions. He quickly recovered and passed Brett Metcalfe to gain back 2nd position where he remained through the checkered flag to claim a top transfer position to the main event.

In the main event, Dungey earned another impressive start this time rounding the first corner in 2nd position. He spent the opening laps reeling in the first place ride of Cole Seely. On the eighth lap he was able to make an inside pass on Seely to take over the lead. Once out front, Dungey focused on riding a smooth race to work toward his second win. Lapper interference caused Dungey to lose some time to Ryan Villopoto near the end of the race which created a great battle for the fans with two laps to go. On the final lap, Dungey proved, once again, that he is in the championship hunt when he put another half second on Villopoto and crossed the finish line to take his second victory of the season.

Ryan Dungey rode in front of the pack to another victory - Photo: Hoppenworld.com
"This was such a great way to end the week," commented Dungey. "After seven weeks I finally got to return to the east coast and train at home. It was great to just have some time to myself and my normal training routine. I came into this race feeling confident and refreshed and it all paid off today. My team did an amazing job on my KTM and we had no issues today just a really great race. Thanks again to the Red Bull/KTM Team and my family for their constant support."

Now eight rounds into the series, Dungey has moved back up to 2nd place in the series point standings just 10 points behind Villopoto. The riders will now head to St. Louis, MO for round nine of the series to be held at the Edward Jones Dome March 3, 2012.

Ryan Dungey Wins In Atlanta To Close The Gap On Villopoto

Ryan Dungey is now within 10 points of Ryan Villopoto's lead - Photo: Hoppenworld.com
Although Ryan Villopoto recently won three straight races to put himself atop the AMA Supercross points standings, Ryan Dungey sent Villopoto a message Sunday with his performance in Atlanta - don't count the rest of the field out yet.

Cole Seely grabbed the holeshot, but was quickly chased down by Dungey, who took over the lead. Villopoto didn't get off to a good start, barely placing inside the top 10 riders out of the gate, according to Cycle News. From there, however, he charged hard toward the front and came close to overtaking Dungey.

Yet on the final lap, Villopoto's front motorcycle tire gave way just a small amount as he was trying to pass Dungey on a tight corner. That gave Dungey the breathing room he needed to take the win. Villopoto still held on for second and James Stewart took third.

"It was a good win for us and it keeps us in the hunt," Dungey told the news source. "We struggled with our setup a couple of weeks ago in San Diego, but we've been getting things worked out the last two weeks and tonight we put it all together."

With his second victory of the season, Dungey is now within just 10 points of Villopoto's lead in the overall standings, leaving the race for the championship still open.

Fourth Podium Of The Season For James Stewart

James Stewart walked to the podium for the 4th time this season - Photo: Frank Hoppen
JGRMX's James Stewart walked the AMA Supercross (also an FIM World Championship) SX podium for the fourth time this season and from eight events run so far in the seventeen round series at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta last Saturday. The former champion was joined at the top of the classification by team-mate Davi Millsaps who scored fourth place in front of a massive crowd that numbered over 70,000.

Stewart grabbed first spot in his qualification heat but the subsequent first pick of positions in the gate did not assist towards a decent start as the Floridian rounded the first turns mid-pack and had to pick his way through the field. An incident with the red warning light meant that 'JS7' had to slow over a jump when holding third position and closing on the front duo of Ryan Dungey and Ryan Villopoto. He lost time and had to settle for the bottom step of the rostrum.

James Stewart is now third in the overall points standings.
"I felt good tonight but that start stopped me from going for the win," he said. "I had a decent day in practice and was fast and should have had the best lap-time. The heat race was good but the bad start in the main event...well that's been a little bit the story of my season. I made some good passes and some aggressive ones to get up through the pack. I was catching those guys up front and then I slowly had to roll the triple at one point and that ended the race right there. I did my best and the team was awesome. We definitely had the chance to do it tonight but the start killed us."

Stewart is now third in the standings but still 44 points behind reigning champion and current leader Villopoto.

In the second round of the AMA East Coast Lites series Kyle Cunningham took his YZ250F to seventh position.

The championship continues on to the Edward Jones Dome next weekend in St Louis.

Source: www.yamaha-racing.com

Solid Points For Brett Metcalfe In Atlanta

Brett Metcalfe raced to another top-10 result in Atlanta
Team Yoshimura Suzuki continued its run of consistent performances in the 2012 AMA/ FIM World Supercross season as Brett Metcalfe raced his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to another top-10 result in Saturday night's eighth-round Atlanta Supercross in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 70,000.

The Australian enjoyed a positive start to the weekend by capturing an impressive third-placed finish in his eight-lap heat race. With an aggressive jump off the gate, he nailed the holeshot and led for several laps before finishing third. In the 20-lap Main Event, Metcalfe got a good start and was running in seventh for several laps before eventually finishing ninth.

"I was looking forward to this race, but it was a tough day," said Metcalfe. "I didn't feel comfortable in practice and it was a tough track for me. That was a bummer because it was a technical track and normally that's good for me. We had some positives though; I got some good starts on the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 but I just wasn't able to ride to my potential."

Brett Metcalfe got a good start and was running in seventh before finishing ninth.
As the series continues with its east coast stops, Metcalfe is already focusing on the next race in St. Louis. He's particularly enthusiastic about the upcoming event because it will be his first time to race the Supercross class at this venue.

"I just need to go back and regroup for St. Louis," said Metcalfe. "I haven't been to St. Louis for quite a while and I've never raced the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 there, so this is something new. Also, it's another round for me to improve, so I'm just going to keep working hard and try to make some progress in all areas."

Team Yoshimura Suzuki Racing's next event is the ninth round of the 2012 AMA/ FIM World Supercross Championship on Saturday March 3rd.

Justin Barcia Wins Second In A Row

Justin Barcia continued his perfect start to the AMA Supercross Lites East series - Photo: Frank Hoppen
Justin Barcia continued his perfect start to the AMA Supercross East Lites series, picking up his second win in a row in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Barcia has now won both races in the East Lites series thus far, reports Cycle News.

The GEICO Powersports Honda rider grabbed the holeshot early and never looked back, putting together a wire-to-wire victory over the rest of the field. The defending champion dominated the track and was never really threatened throughout the afternoon.

Although Monster Energy Kawasaki's Blake Baggett was in second place for much of the race, he was never all that close to Barcia. The only way Baggett would have had a shot was if Barcia made a mistake or crashed, and he didn't.

It was a good news for the Honda team overall, as Barcia's teammate Justin Bogle made it to the podium for the first time in his career. Despite being further back in the pack for much of the race, Bogle raced hard toward the end and was ultimately able to take third place. Earlier in the day, Bogle also notched his first ever heat win during qualifying.

Justin Bogle made it to the podium for the first time in his career - Photo: Frank Hoppen
Barcia is now up 12 points in the overall standings, with Kawasaki's Darryn Durham in second place at 38 points. Blake Wharton, who finished fourth in Atlanta, is in third place at 36.

Ken Roczen Blazes Through Pack To Finish 6th

Ken Roczen climbed from dead last to 6th place - Photo: Hoppenworld.com
Red Bull/KTM Factory Team rider Ken Roczen made the best of the worst after climbing from dead last to 6th place at the end of the second AMA East Supercross Lites main event held at the Georgia Dome.

Roczen impressed the sold out crowd of 70,000 plus from the start of the day after earning the top practice time in the afternoon qualifying sessions. His fast time earned him the first gate pick in Lites heat number two during the evening night show.

When the gate dropped for Roczen's heat he launched forward to claim the holeshot and pull to an early lead. Roczen led the first two laps before he slid out in a corner and lost a position. Luckily, Roczen kept the bike running and got up quickly. He finished the heat race in 2nd place to easily transfer to the main event.

Ken Roczen suffered a clutch problem at the gate, but moved into the top ten within five laps - Photo: Hoppenworld.com
It was in the main event where Roczen would have the most work to do. Roczen suffered a clutch problem after the gate was held for an extended period of time which caused him to leap forward before the drop locking his front tire underneath the gate. Once untangled, Roczen shot down the start straight to round the first corner in dead last. He quickly set out on his mission to gain time back on the leaders and move up in position as quickly as possible. Before the end of the fifth lap, Roczen had already passed half the field to move up into the top ten. Four laps later he had passed four additional riders to move into 6th position sitting 8 seconds back from the 5th place ride. Roczen worked hard to chase down the 5th place ride of Darryn Durham during the remaining five laps closing the 8 second gap to 0.272 seconds when they crossed the checkered flag.

With 35 points, Ken Roczen is one point away from from 3rd, and three away from second - Photo: Hoppenworld.com
"I am really upset that I got stuck in the gate," stated Roczen. "It was hard coming through the pack in the first few laps because a lot of the slower riders don't jump all of the jumps and I had to work harder to get around them. I was able to come up to 6th and almost got into the top five. I was happy with my line choices and glad to finish safely. I am looking forward to St. Louis and hopefully getting my first win of the season there."

Next Event: St. Louis Supercross - March 3, 2012

JDR/J-Star/KTM Race Report - Atlanta Supercross

Malcolm Stewart had an unpleasant night as a crash kept him out of the main event - Photo: Hoppenworld.com
The JDR/J-Star/KTM Team had an unpleasant experience at the second round of the AMA East Lites Supercross Series held at the Georgia Dome after crashes kept Malcolm Stewart out of the main event and PJ Larsen from finishing inside the top ten.

Team rider Malcolm Stewart looked impressive during the early afternoon practice sessions where he qualified 6th fastest. Stewart was placed in the first heat alongside teammate Larsen. Stewart had a great jump off the line and after following Blake Wharton for the first lap he was able to capitalize on Wharton's second lap crash and take over the lead. On the third lap of the heat, Stewart came up short while tripling into a rhythm section causing him to crash over the bars and not finish the race. Luckily, Stewart was not injured in the crash but it cost him a qualifying position in the heat. Larsen went on to finish 7th to transfer into the main.

Larsen remarked, "The heat race was tough tonight. I had a bad start and just had to watch out for downed riders all over the track and people crossing lines in front of me. Luckily, I was able to avoid any crashes and a got my KTM into a qualifying position."

While Larsen headed back to the truck to prep for the main event, Stewart headed back down to the track to line up for the LCQ. Unfortunately, right before the gate dropped the team encountered a problem with his bike that appeared to be a result from his earlier crash which caused Stewart to miss the gate drop. He was unable to compete in the LCQ and did not get a chance to qualify for the main event.

PJ Larsen crashed on the tenth lap, but managed to recover to finish 12th - Photo: Hoppenworld.com
"I am bummed out on my night tonight," remarked Stewart. "I was very happy to not be injured in my crash but to find out that we have a mechanical issue was not what we wanted to hear. Now we just have to move on and regroup and come back stronger and ready to be on the podium for next weekend."

In the main event, Larsen managed to pull a mid-pack start from a poor gate pick. "I had to start two gates outside of the box on the main event which was not the best place to start," stated Larsen. "My starts are definitely going to be a high priority in my training this week as I have had two bad starts so far this season."

On the second lap Larsen had moved into 10th position and by lap eight he had climbed up to 8th and looked to be closing in on the 7th place ride. A crash on the tenth lap cost Larsen four positions but he recovered and completed the lap in 12th place. "After my crash I lost my groove and wasn't able to make the passes I needed to get back inside the top ten," remarked Larsen. The JDR/J-Star/KTM rider eventually finished the race in 12th place. "I am definitely not satisfied with my race tonight. I made some small mistakes that cost me a lot of time. I am planning to head back west to work with my team in the next week and feel that with their help I can get where I need to be and hopefully break into the top five."

Next Round: St. Louis, MO - March 3, 2012

Atlanta Overview And Point Standings

• Crowd: 71,000
  
• Weather: Dry
  
• Lap Record: 0:52.919 (Ricky Carmichael, 1/1/2006)
  
• Last Years Winner: Ryan Villopoto
  
• Next Event: St Louis, MO - March 3, 2012
  

1. Kawasaki - 182
   
2. KTM - 170
   
3. Honda - 159
   
4. Yamaha - 144
   
5. Suzuki - 111
   

1. Ryan Dungey: 17:16.976
   
2. Ryan Villopoto: +2.727
   
3. James Stewart: +20.077
   
4. David Millsaps: +32.303
   
5. Justin Brayton: +34.579
   
6. Cole Seely: +36.111
   
7. Jake Weimer: +37.104
   
8. Kevin Windham: +47.507
   
9. Brett Metcalfe: +1:03.864
   
10. Nicholas Wey: -1 Lap
    
11. Kyle Chisholm: -1 Lap
    
12. Mike Alessi: -1 Lap
    
13. Matthew Goerke: -1 Lap
    
14. Robert Kiniry: -1 Lap
    
15. Joshua Hansen: -1 Lap
    
16. Broc Tickle: -1 Lap
    
17. Kyle Partridge: -3 Laps
    
18. Jeff Alessi: -4 Laps
    
19. Justin Sipes: -5 Laps
    
20. Weston Peick: -8 Laps
    

1. Ryan Villopoto - 180
   
2. Ryan Dungey - 170
   
3. James Stewart - 136
   
4. Chad Reed - 128
   
5. Jake Weimer - 106
   
6. Kevin Windham - 105
   
7. Brett Metcalfe - 100
   
8. Justin Brayton - 96
   
9. David Millsaps - 94
   
10. Mike Alessi - 90
    
11. Joshua Hansen - 86
    
12. Kyle Chisholm - 77
    
13. Andrew Short - 59
    
14. Broc Tickle - 59
    
15. Nicholas Wey - 55
    
16. Kyle Partridge - 29
    
17. Weston Peick - 25
    
18. Robert Kiniry - 24
    
19. Ivan Tedesco - 21
    
20. Matthew Goerke - 17
    

1. Justin Barcia: 13:16.865
   
2. Blake Baggett: +2.254
   
3. Justin Bogle: +9.113
   
4. Blake Wharton: +12.264
   
5. Darryn Durham: +15.804
   
6. Ken Roczen: +16.077
   
7. Kyle Cunningham: +44.928
   
8. Hunter Hewitt: +54.383
   
9. Jake Canada: -1 Lap
   
10. Shane Sewell: -1 Lap
    
11. Lance Vincent: -1 Lap
    
12. PJ Larsen: -1 Lap
    
13. Matthew Lemoine: -1 Lap
    
14. Les Smith: -1 Lap
    
15. Shawn Rife: -1 Lap
    
16. Levi Kilbarger: -1 Lap
    
17. Daniel Herrlein: -1 Lap
    
18. Angelo Pellegrini: -1 Lap
    
19. Austin Politelli: -1 Lap
    
20. Bradley Ripple: -2 Laps
    

1. Justin Barcia - 50
   
2. Darryn Durham - 38
   
3. Blake Wharton - 36
   
4. Ken Roczen - 35
   
5. Blake Baggett - 28
   
6. Justin Bogle - 27
   
7. Jake Canada - 26
   
8. Hunter Hewitt - 22
   
9. PJ Larsen - 22
   
10. Lance Vincent - 21
    
11. Phillip Nicoletti - 16
    
12. Malcolm Stewart - 15
    
13. Kyle Cunningham - 14
    
14. Cole Thompson - 12
    
15. Les Smith - 12
    
16. Shane Sewell - 11
    
17. Alex Martin - 10
    
18. Matthew Lemoine - 10
    
19. Austin Politelli - 10
    
20. Angelo Pellegrini - 7