It’s Round 5 of MX GP – at the beautiful circuit of Sevlievo. In MX1, it’s Frenchman Gautier Paulin on top, followed by Tony Cairoli and Clement Desalle. In MX2, it’s Jeffrey Herlings first, Jordi Tixier second. Video highlights are below.
MX1 – Gautier Paulin won his first MX GP of the season today, winning the first moto, and taking second in the second moto. Second overall today – World Motocross Champion Tony Cairoli, who went 4/1. Third goes to Clement Desalle – taking two thirds. Gautier moves to second place in the points chase, behind Tony Cairoli.
MX2 – Jeffrey Herlings is perfect so far this season – he’s won all five GP’s so far – Qatar, Thailand, Valkenswaard, Arco di Trento, and Bulgaria. He’s won all ten motos. The next MX GP will be in Portugal.
In front of 53,862 fans, Justin Barcia has won the 450 SX Main Event over defending champion Ryan Villopoto. The 250 West regional series returned to action, with Ken Roczen winning over Eli Tomac to extend his series points lead. .
The ‘news’ coming into this weekend’s event, two-time AMA Supercross Series Champion James Stewart is out for the remainder of the supercross season, but will be back for the motocross season.
In the 250 West Qualifying, it’s Eli Tomac on top with the quickest lap – 54.42 seconds. His teammate Zach Osborne next – 54.92 seconds. Then Kyle Cunningham, Jason Anderson, Martin Davalos, Ken Roczen (55.14), Malcolm Stewart, Ryan Sipes, and Travis Baker rounding out the top ten of 46 riders – 56 seconds even.
The 450 SX Qualifying has Ryan Dungey with the quickest lap – 53.07 seconds. Second is Justin Barcia, 54.55, Ryan Villopoto 54.71, Trey Canard 55.02, Jake Weimer 55.13, Josh Hill 55.22, Andrew Short 55.24, Broc Tickle 55.41, Chad Reed 55.6, and Davi Millsaps tenth at 55.98 seconds. 40 riders are attempting to race in this class tonight.
It has rained off and on, with the second timed practice being a bit slicker than the first.
250 West Heat 1 – the first race of the night will go six laps. It’s the first time the West riders have been in action since the San Diego race back in February.
Martin Davalos number 40 on the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki leads the first lap, with GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne (338) running second.
The track is slippery, especially on the top of the surface, and the bottom seems a bit hard, so the riders lap times are off compared to their first timed practice.
Martin Davalos goes on to win this race just over Zach Osborne. Malcolm Stewart, on a KTM, finishes third. Then Travis Baker, Kyle Cunningham, and Christian Craig.
Restart – it’s Eli Tomac first, and former MX2 World Motocross Champion Tyla Rattray in second. Seely is eighth. Roczen back in 12th.
At the halfway point it’s Tomac leading, and Jason Anderson has passed Tyla Rattry to move into second. Rattry third, Seely sixth, Roczen eighth.
At the finish, it’s Eli Tomac with the win. Jason Anderson is second, Tyla Rattray third. Cole Seely finishes sixth, and Kenny Roczen finishes seventh.
450 SX Heat 1 – these races go eight laps. And it’s number 18 on the Rockstar Energy Suzuki Davi Millsaps with the lead. He’s followed by Justin Barcia.
By the end of lap two, Millsaps is stretching out his lead, and Trey Canard has passed teammate Barcia and moved into second. Barcia third, then, Vince Frieses, Weston Peick, Cody Gilmore, and Michael Horban. Broc Tickle is 12th. The average lap time is about 5 seconds slower than Qualifying, due to the mud and ruts.
Halfway point – Barcia has gone back around American Honda Muscle Milk teammate Trey Canard. So it’s Millsaps leading Barcia by almost five seconds. Canard third. Then Vince Friese and Josh Hill.
At the finish, it’s Davi Milsaps winning, Justin Barcia closing the gap but still second, and Trey Canard a ways back in third.
It’s Ryan Villopoto first, and Ryan Dungey second! Jake Weimer is third. Chad Reed is fifth, Andrew Short is 14th.
Halfway point – four laps in – Villopoto looks in command. He leads Dungey now by almost seven seconds. Then it’s Jake Weimer, Justin Brayton, Chad Reed, and Mike Alessi. Andrew Short is 12th.
Ryan Villopoto wins this race handily by over 10 seconds. Ryan Dungey is second. Then it’s Justin Brayton, Jake Weimer, Chad Reed, and Mike Alessi. Short finishes 14th.
250 West 15 Lap Main Event – it’s Eli Tomac on the number 1 GEICO Honda with the lead! He’s followed by Christian Craig, and Ken Roczen.
Roczen quickly dispatches Craig and moves into second.
At the end of lap three – it’s Tomac leading Roczen by just over three seconds. Ryan Sipes has moved into third, Zach Osborne has moved into fourth. Then Craig is fifth … Rattray … Stewart … Cunningham. Davalos and Seely are ninth and tenth.
At the end of lap five, Tomac leads Roczen by four seconds. Sipes a ways back in third. Then Osborne, Rattray, Davalos, Craig, Cunningham, and Seely.
Now the race is almost at the 2/3rds point – lap ten. And problems for Tomac, good fortune for Roczen. Tomac goes down, and Roczen takes the lead.
As they start lap 13, Roczen leads Tomac by almost 12 seconds. Zach Osborne is third. Then Cole Seely, Ryan Sipes, and Tyla Rattray.
450 SX 20 Lap Main Event – it’s Justin Barcia number 51 with the lead on lap one! He’s followed by Mike Alessi, Ryan Villopoto, Davi Millsaps, Vince Friese, Trey Canard, Weston Peick, and Justin Brayton. There is a crash in the first corner, which includes Ryan Dungey and Chad Reed. Dungey finishes the first lap in 13th … and Reed … is out of the race!
Lap five – Justin Barcia is leading … and Ryan Villopoto is second – under two seconds back of Barcia. Davi Millsaps is third, Mike Alessi fourth, Trey Canard fifth. Ryan Dungey has moved up to eighth.
Lap ten – the halfway point. Barcia is laying down quick laps, as is Villopoto. The track is is good condition – lap times for those top two guys are in the 55 second range. Barcia leads, Villopoto about two seconds back. Third is Davi Millsaps, who is five seconds behind Villopoto. Then it’s Trey Canard, and … Ryan Dungey has moved to fifth.
Lap 15 – Barcia is staying strong, maintaining his lead of approx. 2 seconds over Villopoto. Millsaps third … and Dungey has moved to fourth.
Next weekend is the penultimate round of the series, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the following week is the series Finale in Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium.
The 2013 MX GP series heads to the beautiful hillside circuit of Sevlievo. Tony Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings, the defending MX1 and MX2 World Motocross Champions, are leading their respective class points chase this season.
Today in the Qualifying Races, it’s Jeffrey Herlings on top on MX2, and Gautier Paulin on top in MX1. (Results below.) The Grand Prix is tomorrow. There are YouTube videos below highlighting both the MX1 and MX2 Qualifying races.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Steven Frossard is still on the sidelines as the Frenchman fully recovers from recent surgery on his left foot. He plans to be back in action for the MX Grand Prix of Portugal on May 5. Evgeny Bobryshev is not racing this weekend as well – a broken bone in his leg.
MX1 – Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin started the day clocking the fastest lap time in the pre-qualifying session and he succeeded in having a good start and led the race from the beginning. The French rider admitted after the race that he feels really comfortable with the settings of his bike and he is more consistent in his starts, so he is now ready to be fighting for wins.
Second place was Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos, who started 8th. The Belgian rider felt really well on his Suzuki, especially after the team had made some changes to the bike settings. Strijbos is very confident for tomorrow and he is looking forward to obtaining his first podium of the season.
CLS MX1 Kawasaki Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle had a great qualifying race today at Sevlievo. The British rider started second. Then he made a small mistake at the upper part of the track and Strijbos passed. Searle is very happy with his progression in the MX1 class and he is now closer than ever to obtain his first podium of the season.
Honda World Motocross’ Max Nagl had a good start and he finished in a solid fourth potion. The German rider proved last weekend that he is getting his confidence back and today he managed to keep Cairoli at bay during the last laps of the qualifying race. Nagl finished fourth ahead of the Italian.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli was ninth in the pre-qualifying session and fifth in the qualifying race. Sevlievo is not one the Italian’s favourite tracks, but he will give his best tomorrow to be on the podium once again.
Jeremy Van Horebeek had a good start and he succeeded in finishing sixth, ahead of Desalle, who had taken the holeshot but a small mistake in the opening lap made him drop down to the tenth position. Rui Gonçalves started also with the front group, but after riding third during the first half of the qualifying race, he lost his rhythm and he could only cross the finish line eighth. His teammate Xavier Boog, who is entering his 100th Grand Prix this weekend, was forced to retire from the qualifying race as he twisted his ankle when landing from a jump.
MX2 – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was the fastest today at the Bulgarian track and he dominated with great authority, crossing the finish line almost 22 seconds ahead his teammate Jordi Tixier, who finished second. The Dutch rider had a good start today, so he was pleased to race at the front since the beginning and he hopes to do the same tomorrow and win the Bulgarian Grand Prix for the first time.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier started third in the qualifying race but he quickly moved up to second and he managed to hold the position comfortably until the finish flag. The French rider is looking forward to a good start tomorrow in order to try to stop his teammate to win both heats and fight for what it would be his maiden overall victory of the season.
Wilvo Nestaan JM Racing KTM’s Jake Nicholls took the holeshot and was second during the first two laps of the qualifying race, but Tixier was faster than him and he dropped down to third. However, the British rider managed to keep a good rhythm and he rode third until the chequered flag. Tomorrow Nicholls is determined to finish once again on the podium and leave completely behind the bad result he obtained in Arco di Trento last weekend.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Christophe Charlier showed really good speed today in Sevlievo. The French rider started fifth and after some laps he managed to move up to third, but he made a mistake and he lost the position with Nicholls. Charlier is making significant improvements every Grand Prix, but he still lacks a little bit of confidence to fight for the top three positions at every race.
Silver Action KTM’s José Butrón did not have a good start today in the qualifying race, but he managed to move from his initial eighth position to fifth. The Spanish rider did not want to take any risks today and he rode safe during the whole day in order to assure a good result at tomorrow’s races.
Supercross returns to the “Emerald City”, at the home of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, CenturyLink Field. Ryan Villopoto leads the premiere 450 SX points chase, with Ryan Dungey and Davi Millsaps pursuing the two-time defending Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Champion. And the 250 West series, featuring Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac, gets back in action.
Here are the current point standings, with the race report, results, and photos from last weekend’s dramatic race in Minneapolis.
The big news coming into Seattle – James Stewart is out for the remainder of the 2013 Supercross Season. Read that news here.
Ryan Villopoto leads Ryan Dungey by 22 points, with Millsaps just behind Dungey in points, coming into this Seattle race.
Now the 250 East series takes a break until the finale in Vegas, while the 250 West series starts back up. And Ken Roczen leads the West over Eli Tomac by 17 points.
Now more about tomorrow’s race in Seattle: CBS will broadcast the 450SX race on Sunday, April 21 at 1:00 p.m. ET, while SPEED will broadcast the 250SX race at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The 2013 AMA Pro Motocross Championship season kicks off May 18 at Hangtown.
The first race in Seattle was held on February 18, 1978, and Jimmy Ellis won on a Honda. The first 250SX Class race was held on February 8 1985, and Bader Manneh, won on a Kawasaki. The 2013 season marks the 42nd time the gates will drop for a supercross race in Seattle. From 1978 – 1999, the race was held at the Seattle King Dome, and this year marks the ninth race at CenturyLink Field.
·Larry Ward won the first 450SX Class race of his career in Seattle in 1990 on a Suzuki. Nine years later, he won the last 450SX Class race of his career in Seattle on a Suzuki. That would be the last race held in the King Dome.
· As a 250 SX Class rider last year, Ken Roczen raced the 450SX Class and earned the first podium of his career with a second-place finish.
Round 14 of the 2013 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series in Minneapolis was one of the best races of the year. Ryan Dungey battled with defending champion Ryan Villopoto, to ultimately come out on top at the end of the 20 lap 450 SX Main Event. And Marvin Musquin won his fourth 250 East SX main of the season.
Who will you see in the photos? Ryan Villopoto 1, Ryan Dungey 5, Marvin Musquin 25, Wil Hahn 19, Davi Millsaps 18, Blake Wharton 13, Justin Barcia 51, Trey Canard 41, Tyler Bowers 68, Matt Goerke 62, Andrew Short 29, Josh Hill 75, Chad Reed 22, James Stewart 7, Broc Tickle 20, and Jake Weimer 12.
Coming this Saturday on Supercross.com will be the Seattle SX Round 15. The 250 West series returns to action, featuring Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac.