Villopoto captures first AMA open class victory

Hometown rider Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) was able to take advantage of a good start and capture his first career AMA Supercross class victory in Seattle on April 18, with Australian star Chad Reed (Suzuki) finishing a modest seventh and losing the championship lead to arch-rival James Stewart (Yamaha).

During chaotic scenes, Reed crashed coming out of the gate and remounted in 19th place. He then had trouble slicing through the pack, finishing outside the top three for the first time all season.

“Tonight was very disappointing, it all fell apart at the start for me and I wasn’t able to recover," said Reed. "I just ran out of laps to do anything about the guys in front.

“This is not what I needed, and  will have to bounce back very strongly next week to mount a challenge for the title.

“In saying that, the advantage that James has is only three points. It’s a margin we can make back and we’ll be doing everything possible to get the job done.”

Meanwhile, it wasn't all plain sailing for Stewart either, and he was 11th after lap one before completing the 20-lap final in second, ahead of Davi Millsaps (Honda), Mike Alessi (Suzuki) and Andrew Short (Honda).

Villopoto, in his first race back since New Orleans on March 14 after contracting a debilitating virus, put his head down and rode to an impressive and surprising victory after his early rival, Alessi, crashed.

"It's awesome," boasted Villopoto. "I can't thank my team enough and everybody that put effort into it. It hasn't been the year we wanted but they never gave up.

"I could see James and Chad out of the corner of my eye sometimes. I just focused on Mike (Alessi) and he made that mistake. The track was super tricky tonight and there were some slick spots so you really had to ride smart."

Stewart is now 3pts (332 to 329) in front of Reed with just three rounds remaining, starting next Saturday in Salt Lake City.

In West Coast Supercross Lites, Australia's Jake Moss was fifth on his Honda, with championship leader Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) the winner.

For full results and standings in both classes, click here.

In other news, serial hothead Jason Lawrence has been thrown the book by the AMA for an on-track altercation between himself and fellow Supercross class competitor Broc Hepler at the Jacksonville, Florida round on April 4.

Lawrence violated section 5.14, paragraph "a," of the 2009 AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship rulebook, which states "no rider may ride in such a manner as to endanger life or limb of other riders..."

In consideration of the violation and in recognition of Lawrence's current probationary status, the following punitive measures will be applied: