By Jordan Powell
Photos by Michael Antonovich
Round nine of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series made its way into the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri, Saturday night where all in attendance witnessed Justin Barcia and Ryan Villopoto take home victory. For Geico Honda’s Justin Barcia, St. Louis marked his third consecutive win, his third win in St.Louis, and he is now controls the East Coast Lites class by a large margin. For Villopoto, the win in St. Louis was huge because it was in the Edward Jones Dome where he had his horrific crash in 2010, and he said that he was glad to get this race out of the way.
SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT 1
The first race of the night had Geico Honda’s Justin Barcia blasting out of the gate and grabbing the holeshot. Darryn Durham was close behind in second, but after a few laps, Barcia slowly started to pull away from the Kawi rider. Phil Nicoletti stayed within the top three until halfway through, but he eventually got bumped to fourth place as Blake Baggett charged through the pack. During the six-lap race, PJ Larsen stayed on the rear wheel of Nicoletti, but he was unable to make a pass on the Honda rider. Rookie Supercross Lites rider Austin Politelli put in a hard push towards the front, and caught up to Larsen by the conclusion of the race, but he had to settle for a sixth place finish.
RESULTS SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT 1
1. Justin Barcia (Hon)
2. Darryn Durham (Kaw)
3. Blake Baggett (Kaw)
4. Phil Nicoletti (Hon)
5. PJ Larsen (KTM)
6. Austin Politelli (Hon)
7. Malcolm Stewart (KTM)
8. AJ Catanzaro (KTM)
9. Brad Ripple (Hon)
SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT 2
When the gate dropped for heat two, Blake Wharton led the pack of riders into the first turn. Not too far behind was the fastest Lites qualifier of the day, Justin Bogle. Bogle kept close to Wharton during the entire six lap race, but the Rockstar Suzuki rider was able to finish the race with a three second gap. Jake Canada had a mid-pack start going into the first corner, but he put on a hard charge and made his way up to third when the checkered flag came out. Right behind him was Ken Roczen, who also suffered from a bad start, followed by Alex Martin.
RESULTS SUPERCROSS LITES HEAT 2
1. Blake Wharton (Suz)
2. Justin Bogle (Hon)
3. Jake Canada (Hon)
4. Ken Roczen (KTM)
5. Alex Martin (Hon)
6. Matt Lemoine (Kaw)
7. Kyle Cunningham (Yam)
8. Jeff Gibson (Hon)
9. Cole Thompson (Hon)
SUPERCROSS LITES LCQ
Hunter Hewitt grabbed the holeshot in the DC Shoes Refuse to Lose LCQ, and never looked back. Shane Sewell held the final transfer position for almost the entire race, but Tyler Bowers made the move into second on the final lap.
LITES LCQ RESULTS
1. Hunter Hewitt (Suz)
2. Tyler Bowers (Kaw)
SUPERCROSS LITES MAIN EVENT
At the start of the 15-lap main event, Justin Barcia rocketed out front on his Geico Honda. Following him into the first turn was Ken Roczen, Justin Bogle, Jeff Gibson, and Jake Canada. Aboard his MotoConcepts Racing machine, Canada jumped right into fourth by the second lap. Within the first five laps, Barcia slowly started to pull away from the field of riders. Bogle stayed on the rear wheel of Roczen during that time, but the Red Bull KTM rider kept him at bay.
When the riders hit the halfway point, Blake Wharton pounded out lap after lap, and found his way onto the rear wheel of Canada. The two riders went back and forth for the next three laps, but Wharton eventually reeled him back in and made the pass into fourth. Darryn Durham sat not far behind in sixth, but when Wharton made the pass on Canada, he quickly followed suit.
With one lap to go, Bogle pushed to make the pass on Roczen but went down halfway through. This allowed Wharton to move into third. When the checkered flag came out, Barcia took his third consecutive win, while Roczen and Wharton rounded off the podium.
| Overall 1. Justin Barcia 2. Ken Roczen 3. Blake Wharton 4. Darryn Durham 5. Justin Bogle 6. Jake Canada 7. Malcolm Stewart 8. Kyle Cunningham 9. Blake Baggett 10. Alex Martin 11. Matt Lemoine 12. Hunter Hewitt 13. Cole Thompson 14. AJ Catanzaro 15. Jeff Gibson 16. Austin Politelli 17. PJ Larsen 18. Brad Ripple 19. Phil Nicoletti 20. Tyler Bowers |
250 Class East Coast Championship Standings (After 3 of 9 rounds) 1. Justin Barcia (75 pts./3 wins) 2. Ken Roczen (57) 3. Darryn Durham (56) 4. Blake Wharton (56) 5. Justin Bogle (43) 6. Jake Canada (41) 7. Blake Baggett (40) 8. Hunter Hewitt (31) 9. Malcolm Stewart (29) 10. Kyle Cunningham (28) |
Top Lap Times
1, Justin Barcia 51.370
2. Blake Wharton 51.675
3. Darryn Durham 51.720
4. Ken Roczen 51.947
5. Justin Bogle 52.033
TAGS: 2012, ama, Blake Wharton, edward jones dome, Justin Barcia, Justin Brayton, Ken Roczen, Monster energy, Photos, Race Report, ryan dungey, ryan villopoto, St Louis SX, supercross
