This past weekend, the seventh round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championships was held in Southern Maryland just 50 miles south of our Nation's capital. Built and managed by Jonathan Beasley, Budds Creek started out as a practice track in the early 1970's, but has steadily improved throughout the years. It was incorporated into the AMA Motocross Championship in 1989 and since then has hosted numerous local, national, and international events including last year's memorable Motocross of Nations. Sadly, the event attracted a rather light crowd this year-the fact that it was held almost a month after its typical Father's Day weekend schedule in mid-June may have contributed to the light turnout.
As far as racing was concerned, though, things didn't change much-Kawasaki riders James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto once again took the top honors in their respective classes. For more on what happened this weekend make sure you check out the Racer X Motocross Show on Motocross.com. For more on exactly how each race went down, read on.
Motocross Class
In the first moto of the Motocross class, Monster Energy/Kawasaki's James Stewart grabbed the BTOSports.com Holeshot Award followed closely by Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki's Michael Byrne. Burner was able to hold on to his position for a few laps before being passed by Red Bull/Honda's Andrew Short and Monster Energy/Kawasaki's Tim Ferry. Red Dog was all over Shorty, trying his best to take over the third position. As the laps worn on, though, Shorty eventually gave into Ferry's dominant display of endurance and slipped to third. Meanwhile, it was smooth sailing for Stewart who had been steadily building a comfortable lead, which reached 30 seconds by the time he crossed the finish line. Factory Yamaha's Josh Hill took fourth place, followed closely by Cody Cooper from team Suzuki City Biloxi/OTSFF.
Moto two was pretty much a repeat of the first moto. With Mike Alessi out of commission, James Stewart once again easily grabbed the holeshot and never looked back. Red Bull Honda's Andrew Short was in second early, followed by Michael Byrne in third. Tim Ferry had his work cut out for him after a bad start, however, he eventually came back from behind and found himself in third position within only a few laps. A few seconds behind the lead pack, Josh Summey from team Joe Gibbs Racing and Davi Millsaps from team Red Bull/Honda were battling for seventh. Unfortunately, the two riders collided in a corner, and with Millsaps, already suffering from shoulder problems, he pulled off the track and did not finish. (Sean Hamblin also attempted to race after recently sustaining a shoulder injury, but was unable to finish.) Back up front, the hot and humid conditions did not seem to bother Ferry as he was able to close the gap, separating him from Short. By the time Red Dog reached Shorty he moved around him fairly easily and secured the second spot almost effortlessly. In the end, Stewart crossed the finish line first, followed by Ferry, then Short.
Results:
Moto 1:
1. James Stewart (Kaw)
2. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)
3. Andrew Short (Hon)
4. Josh Hill (Yam)
5. Cody Cooper (Suz)
6. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
7. Michael Byrne (Suz)
8. Nicholas A. Wey (KTM)
9. Jeff Alessi (Hon)
10. Shaun J. Skinner (Hon)
11. Jimmy Albertson (Hon)
12. Jason W. Thomas (Hon)
13. Antonio Balbi (Hon)
14. Paul P. Carpenter (Hon)
15. Kevin D. Rookstool (Hon)
16. Chris Blose (Hon)
17. Jase A. Lewis (Hon)
18. David Vuillemin (Suz)
19. Tony M. Boughten (Yam)
20. Justin M. Sipes (Suz)
Moto 2:
1. James M. Stewart (Kaw)
2. Timmy M. Ferry (Kaw)
3. Andrew T. Short (Hon)
4. Michael Byrne (Suz)
5. Cody Cooper (Suz)
6. Joshua R. Hill (Yam)
7. Nicholas A. Wey (KTM)
8. Jimmy Albertson (Hon)
9. Paul Carpenter (Hon)
10. Jeff Alessi (Hon)
11. Matt Boni (Hon)
12. Antonio Balbi (Hon)
13. Shaun J. Skinner (Hon)
14. Jason W. Thomas (Hon)
15. Michael L. Willard (Yam)
16. Jack Carpenter (Hon)
17. Jacob Morrison (Kaw)
18. Billy R. Laninovich (KTM)
19. Justin M. Sipes (Suz)
20. Jacob Marsack (Hon)
Overall:
1. James Stewart (Kaw)
2. Timmy Ferry (Kaw)
3. Andrew Short (Hon)
4. Josh Hill (Yam)
5. Michael Byrne (Suz)
6. Cody Cooper (Suz)
7. Nick Wey (KTM)
8. Jimmy Albertson (Hon)
9. Jeff Alessi (Hon)
10. Paul Carpenter (Hon)
AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Points Standings (After 7 of 12 rounds):
1. James Stewart (350/5 wins)
2. Timmy Ferry (245)
3. Andrew Short (221)
4. Mike Alessi (221)
5. Davi Millsaps (203)
6. Michael Byrne (198)
7. Nick Wey (162)
8. Jeff Alessi (143)
9. Cody Cooper (134)
10. Josh Hill (123)
Motocross Lites Class
Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki's Ryan Dungey grabbed the holeshot in the opening Lites moto, with Trey Canard, Nico Izzi, and Ryan Villopoto in tow. But the Lites East Coast Regional SX champion-Trey Canard-wasted no time in taking over the lead just a few turns later. Dungey's teammate Nico Izzi was on fire during the first few laps of the moto as he sky-rocketed past his teammate to take second and eventually managed to sneak in front of the leader Canard. Unfortunately, his lead was short-lived as defending Outdoor National champion Ryan Villopoto fired up the after-burners and by lap four had already passed Dungey, Izzi, and Canard to claim the lead for good. Behind the leaders an intense battle for fifth was taking place between Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Brett Metcalfe and Torco Racing Fuels/Honda's Jake Weimer. Unfortunately for Metty, he couldn't make a pass and Weimer went on to take the fourth position. Meanwhile, Izzi sunk all the way back to eighth place. When the checkered flag flew it was Villopoto, Canard, and Dungey. Weimer and Metcalfe rounded out the top five.
Torco Racing Fuels / Honda rider Josh Grant had trouble with his bike at the gate; he started dead last and was forced to slice his way through the field, but managed to work his way up to ninth before crossing the finish line.
In moto two, Trey Canard seized the holeshot followed by teammate Josh Grant. Villopoto, working his way through traffic, caught up quickly and took the lead on lap three to notch his third overall victory at the Budds Creek MX Park. Canard held off Ryan Dungey for a good portion of the moto until he tangled with a lapper and went down. The incident left him unable to restart his bike and forced him to DNF; teammate Josh Grant also bailed out of the race due to mechanical difficulties. Dungey capitalized on Canard's bad luck to grab second in the moto-good enough for second overall.
Behind Dungey, a fierce battle between Ryan Sipes, MDK/KTM's Martin Davalos, and Brett Metcalfe began to materialize. Sipes pulled out of that battle, however, when he went down in a corner and left the door wide open for Davalos and Metty. Davalos held off Metty to capture the last podium spot in the moto. It was Metcalfe that finished the best in the overall standings, though, as his fifth in the first moto combined with the fourth in moto two was good enough for third overall.
Villopoto has never been defeated at Budds Creek and currently enjoys a comfortable 103-point lead over Dungey.
Results:
Moto 1:
1. Ryan D. Villopoto (Kaw)
2. Trey G. Canard (Hon)
3. Ryan M. Dungey (Suz)
4. Jake T. Weimer (Hon)
5. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw)
6. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
7. Kyle B. Cunningham (Hon)
8. Nico A. Izzi (Suz)
9. Joshua M. Grant (Hon)
10. Martin Davalos (KTM)
11. Thomas K. Hahn (Kaw)
12. Matthew J. Lemoine (Yam)
13. Andrew McFarlane (Kaw)
14. Jake Moss (Yam)
15. Justin D. Brayton (KTM)
16. Kyle P. Chisholm (Kaw)
17. Wil A. Hahn (Yam)
18. Broc Tickle (Yam)
19. Ryan Morais (Yam)
20. Sean D. Borkenhagen (Hon)
Moto 2:
1. Ryan D. Villopoto (Kaw)
2. Ryan M. Dungey (Suz)
3. Martin Davalos (KTM)
4. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw)
5. Kyle B. Cunningham (Hon)
6. Nico A. Izzi (Suz)
7. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
8. Justin D. Brayton (KTM)
9. Kyle P. Chisholm (Kaw)
10. Broc Tickle (Yam)
11. Wil A. Hahn (Yam)
12. Robert S. Kiniry (Hon)
13. Andrew McFarlane (Kaw)
14. Matthew J. Lemoine (Yam)
15. Ryan Morais (Yam)
16. Tucker J. Hibbert (Yam)
17. Sean D. Borkenhagen (Hon)
18. Mike Brown (Yam)
19. Jake T. Weimer (Hon)
20. Benjamin R. Ritter (Suz)
Overall:
1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
2. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
3. Brett Metcalfe (Kaw)
4. Martin Davalos (KTM)
5. Kyle Cunningham (Hon)
6. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
7. Nico Izzi (Suz)
8. Trey Canard (Hon)
9. Jake Weimer (Hon)
10. Justin Brayton (KTM)
AMA Toyota Motocross Lites Championships (After 7 of 12 rounds):
1. Ryan Villopoto (341/4 wins)
2. Ryan Dungey (238)
3. Brett Metcalfe (198)
4. Jake Welmer (187)
5. Nico Izzi (154)
6. Austin Stroupe (152)
7. Trey Canard (149)
8. Ryan Sipes (130)
9. Jason Lawrence (120)
10. Dan Reardon (116)
Courtesy of Motocross.com
