Reed second in 2011 AMA SX title
Finishes in the best way possible on his Honda, but this year's spoils belong to Kawasaki pilot Ryan VillopotoChad Reed closed the final chapter on the 2011 AMA Supercross Championship with a superb victory in Las Vegas on May 7, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto being crowned the champion.
“We gave it all we had,” Reed said. “I feel totally blessed this season. Congrats to Ryan (Villopoto). He earned (the championship). He had the most wins this season and to come back from what he went through last year, he has my respect. We did all we can and sometimes, you come up short.
“The last race certainly lived up to the hype of the whole season but we came into this round behind the eight-ball and it was a long shot. All I could do was try and win the race.
“Just making the startline in January was a massive achievement, so… to be in a position where we have had the speed to compete for the title up to the very last round was pretty special and I can’t thank my team enough.”
It was a championship that had everything – five different leaders, six separate winners, and four riders vying for the title coming into the final round.
At the end just 4pts separated Reed from Villopoto, who was third in the finale, with second place filled by outgoing champion Ryan Dungey (Suzuki). James Stewart (Yamaha) led early before he crashed, also bringing down Kevin Windham (Honda).
“I just have to thank everyone at Kawasaki,” said Villopoto. “The team believed in me through thick and thin. We’ll enjoy this. It was a hard-fought battle. I saw James (Stewart) and Kevin (Windham) go down – the whoops were tough tonight.
“We all had to run the same line and you couldn’t avoid it. Luckily I got around (the crash). I wasn’t pulling away form Chad, so I just let him by and Ryan (Dungey) was right behind him so then I let him by. I just cruised from there.”
Australia’s Tye Simmonds (KTM) scored his best finish of the year with a fine 10th place in the final.
AMA Supercross results: Las Vegas
1. Chad Reed, Honda
2. Ryan Dungey, Suzuki
3. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
4. Chris Blose, Kawasaki
5. Andrew Short, KTM
6. Jake Weimer, Kawasaki
7. Austin Stroupe, Yamaha
8. Nick Wey, Yamaha
9. Kyle Regal, Yamaha
10. Tye Simmonds, KTM
AMA Supercross final standings
1. Villopoto 338
2. Reed 334
3. Dungey 328
4. James Stewart, Yamaha 301
5. Trey Canard, Honda 255
6. Short 230
7. Kevin Windham, Honda 207
8. Davi Millsaps, Yamaha180
9. Justin Brayton, Yamaha 155
10. Wey 152
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
