Race Report – Anaheim 2 SX

SUPERCROSS CLASS

HEAT 1

James Stewart grabbed the holeshot at the start of the first heat race and absolutely destroyed everyone for the first few laps, pulling out a six-second lead over Ryan Dungey and Chad Reed by the fourth lap. Stewart was wheel-tapping a tricky rhythm section the no one else was, but it bit him on lap four and he went down hard. Stewart laid on the ground for a few minutes before walking out of the stadium under his own power. Dungey inherited the lead and held on for the win, but only by the narrowest of margins as Reed really turned up the heat as the race wore down. Andrew Short worked into third at the finish, stuffing his way past Josh Hansen on the last lap in the sand.

HEAT RACE 1 RESULTS

1. Ryan Dungey (KTM)

2. Chad Reed (Hon)

3. Andrew Short (Hon)

4. Josh Hansen (Kaw)

5. Broc Tickle (Kaw)

6. Kyle Partridge (Kaw)

7. Jeff Alessi (Suz)

8. Justin Sipes (Kaw)

9. Nick Wey (Kaw)

HEAT 2

Mike Alessi grabbed the holeshot and led the way in heat two, but Davi Millsaps took over almost immediately. Millsaps led Alessi for half of the race until the Motoconcepts rider attempted to dive underneath the leader, taking both of them down in the process. Jake Weimer, who was running third, led the race for the nest straightaway, but fast qualifier Justin Brayton stuffed him in the sand section and took him down. While all this madness was going down, Ryan Villopoto quietly snuck towards the front of the pack after suffering a miserable start. Once into second, RV reeled Brayton in and the two engaged in a heated battle for the lead. After trading several passes, the defending champion took over for good just before the white flag and ran away with a solid win.

HEAT 2 RESULTS

1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)

2. Justin Brayton (Hon)

3. Mike Alessi (Suz)

4. Kevin Windham (Hon)

5. Davi Millsaps (Yam)

6. Jake Weimer (Kaw)

7. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw)

8. Brett Metcalfe (Suz)

9. Weston Peick (Kaw)

LCQ

After his spectacular crash in the heat race, Stewart showed up in the LCQ and raced to an easy win over BTOSports.com ride Jimmy Albertson, who rode alone in second. Stewart rode conservatively in the LCQ, opting not to wheel tap the jump  that sent him to the ground in his heat race. Bob Kiniry took home the gas card in third.

LCQ RESULTS

1. James Stewart (Yam)

2. Jimmy Albertson (Suz)

 

MAIN EVENT

Brayton was the quickest into turn one, but Villopoto pushed his way into the lead exiting turn one. Reed surprised everyone, though, by blasting into the lead in turn two and leading the first lap and a half. Villopoto took control of the lead before the start of lap three and went to work up front. Reed maintained control of second for the first third of the race, but Stewart slowly chipped away at the distance between himself and his rival before making the pass in the same section that bit him in his heat race. By the time Stewart took over second, RV had established a five-second lead that he would maintain until the checkered flag.

Stewart rode solid once into second and held Reed at bay throughout the remainder of the race. The two finished only a few seconds apart, while Dungey came home fourth, some 10 seconds further back after making his way past a determined Brayton halfway through the main event. In winning, Villopoto became the first two-time winner of 2012, and completed his sweep of the Anaheim Supercross events.

TOP LAP TIMES

1. Ryan Villopoto 55.019
2. James Stewart 55.205
3. Chad Reed 55.436
4. Ryan Dungey  55.722
5. Justin Brayton 55.853

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