Race Report – San Diego SX

By Donn Maeda

Photos by Michael Antonovich and Steve Emter

Round five of the Monster Energy Supercross Series rolled into San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium, and the massive crowd on hand was treated to amazing racing in both classes. In the Western Regional Supercross Lites class, series points leader and winner of the three previous rounds, Geico Honda’ Eli Tomac, crashed out of contention while running third, leaving Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson to run away with his second win of the season and take control of the championship. In the premier Supercross class, defending champion Ryan Villopoto fended off the race-long charges of Chad Reed to earn his third win of the season and further extend his series points lead.

SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT 1

Dean Wilson grabbed the holeshot at the start of the first Lites heat race and established an immediate lead over the pack. Topher Ingalls held control of second early on, but Marvin Musquin took control of second early on and stayed there, in spite of a little heat from Matt Moss, aboard his JDR KTM. Jason Anderson overcame a terrible start to grab fourth at the finish.

RESULTS SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT 1
1. Dean Wilson (Kaw)
2. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
3. Matt Moss (KTM)
4. Jason Anderson (Suz)
5. Gareth Swanepoel (Yam)
6. Gavin Faith (Hon)
7. Scott Champion (Hon)
8. Max Anstie (Hon)
9. Jean Carlo Ramos (Hon)

SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT 2

TLD Honda teammates Cole Seely and Travis Baker led the pack through turn one at the start of Lites Heat 2. Seely put the hammer down from the get-go and checked out quickly, while fast qualifier Eli Tomac found misfortune in the first turn and began his charge from the back of the pack. Tomac raced through the field to an eventual eighth, while Seely turned in a commanding performance up front for a solid win over Baker.

RESULTS SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT 2
1. Cole Seely (Hon)
2. Travis Baker (Hon)
3. Vince Friese (Hon)
4. Billy Laninovich (Hon)
5. Bruce Rutherford (Hon)
6. Nico Izzi (Yam)
7. Killy Rusk (Hon)
8. Eli Tomac (Hon)
9. Marton Davalos (Suz)

SUPERCROSS LITES LCQ

Kyle Beaton took control of the Lites LCQ on the second lap and rode off with an uncontested win, leading Slayton Motorsports rider Nick Paluzzi into the main event.

LITES LCQ RESULTS

1. Kyle Beaton (Kaw)

2. Nick Paluzzi (Kaw)

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SUPERCROSS LITES MAIN EVENT

Vince Freise grabbed the holeshot in the main event but Wilson passed him in the corner preceding the whoops and began to check out immediately. Behind Wilson, the pack gobbled Freise up in short order, and Seely took control of second. Moss held third early on ahead of Tomac and Musquin, but when the series points leader bobbled in a tricky section, Musquin ran into the back of him and crashed in front of several riders who ran over him. Musquin got up and restarted the race, but definitely looked a little banged up.
Up front, Wilson was never seriously challenged, as he rode a calm, collected race. The lanky rider was consistently the fastest through the treacherous whoop section, and at the finish, he enjoyed a solid four-second lead over runner-up Seely, who rode an equally impressive race. Tomac controlled third early on, but just when it looked like he might challenge Seely for second, he lost control at the start of the whoop section and went down hard. Tomac’s bike pounded him into the ground, and he was unable to rejoin the race. As he left the stadium, Tomac appeared to be holding his right elbow or wrist.
Bringing it home third was JDR KTM’s Moss. The Australian rider rode solid en route to a distant, albeit solid, third-place finish, well ahead of Star/Valli/Rockstar/Yamaha teammates Gareth Swanepoel and Nico Izzi.

TOP LAP TIMES

1. Dean Wilson 46.993
2. Cole Seely 47.402
3. Eli Tomac 47.243
4. Jason Anderson 48.623
5. Marvin Musquin 48.634

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