By Sam Griebenow
Photos by Brendan Lutes
Light showers greeted the AMA Monster Energy Supercross as the series returned to the Lone Star State for round 13 held in the Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Texas fans witnessed the return of riders Chad Reed and Andrew Short to the 450 class, and a nasty practice crash involving Austin Stroupe that resulted in a dislocated shoulder. With fast lap times, some of the largest whoops we’ve seen all season, and the quad turned “Monster Triple,” Houston provided some epic racing and proved to be a pivotal point in both the Lites East Coast and Supercross Class championships. Would Reed and Shorty play the spoiler role in the Supercross Class championship chase? With the absence of Stroupe, would Pourcel be able to seal the deal in the Lites class? Read on to find out…
Lites Qualifying
When the gate dropped for the first qualifier of the night, Geico Powersport’s Justin Barcia pulled a massive holeshot and attempted to gap the rest of the field early on. With good starts, Martin Davalos and Blake Bagget—in second and third—began to separate themselves from the rest of the field in attempt to track down a quickly disappearing Barcia. Midway through the heat race, Barcia made a small bobble causing him to go down, relinquishing the lead to Davalos—a lead that he would hold on to until the checkered flag. Baggett, who continued to follow behind Davalos as he had through the entire race, crossed the finish line in second with Barcia nipping at his heals in third after making a quick recovery from his crash.
Michael Willard grabbed the holeshot in the second heat race followed closely by Christophe Pourcel and Ryan Sipes. On lap two, Pourcel slid by Willard to grab the lead, and from there never looked back. Sipes also got around Willard and kept Pourcel honest to the end, but had to be content with second place. After getting a mid-pack start, Brett Metcalfe put in a hard charge only to come up just two feet short of third placed James Decotis.
In the Last Chance Qualifier, Kyle Cunningham worked his way from fifth to first, securing his spot in the main event. Troy Adams, who was running fourth, nabbed the last spot in the main when he became the beneficiary of third place rider Tevin Tapia getting into second place rider Kyle Kilbarger—bringing both riders down in the last corner.
Lites Main Event
The gates dropped and the 250’s roared to life as the riders rocketed down the start straight to the first turn. It was Blake Baggett who crossed the line first, but his lead was short lived, as Pourcel wasted no time moving into the lead during the opening moments of the race. Behind Pourcel, a three-rider battle brewed for second place. Amateur rivals Baggett, Dean Wilson, and Justin Barcia all charged hard, vying for the second step on the box—going three riders wide in the turn after the tricky tabletop section. On the final lap, all three riders entered the final whoop section within the same second. Dean Wilson looked to have a pass made on Baggett through the whoops, but made a mistake and was kicked over the bars. Baggett was able hold on to second with Barcia coming in a close third. Wilson, however, went from third to ninth, and only twenty feet from the finish line, was still kicking his bike after everyone had finished. Behind the three-way battle for second, Brett Metcalfe and Martin Davalos quietly put in solid rides finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Results
1. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw)
2. Blake Baggett (Suz)
3. Justin Barcia (Hon)
4. Brett Metcalfe (Hon)
5. Martin Davalos (Yam)
6. Kyle Cunningham (Yam)
7. Ryan Sipes (Yam)
8. James Decotis (Kaw)
9. Dean Wilson (Kaw)
10. Troy Adams (Suz)
Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
1. Christophe Pourcel (159/5 wins)
2. Austin Stroupe (126)
3. Justin Barcia (122/1 win)
4. Brett Metcalfe (113)
5. Blake Baggett (102/1 win)
6. Ryan Sipes (91)
7. Dean Wilson (83)
8. Kyle Cunningham (69)
9. Martin Davalos (65)
10. Troy Adams (58)
TAGS: Christophe Pourcel, dirt bike, houston, Race Report, ryan villopoto, supercross, SX
