The excitement continued Saturday night at Qualcomm stadium in San Diego, CA, for round six of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. Thousands of racing enthusiasts filled the stands and watched Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Barcia make his third podium appearance of the season with a second overall aboard his CRF450R. Muscle Milk-backed GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac also put together an impressive performance on his CRF250R, nailing down his fourth victory of the season to head into the mid-season break with 17 points separating him from the leader.
450 Race
In his heat race, Barcia nailed down the holeshot but had some trouble on the opening lap, sending him back to eighth. He was given a second chance to close the gap on the leaders when a red flag forced all riders into a staggered restart. Barcia worked his way up from eighth place to a respectable fifth. In the main, he put together a solid ride from start to finish. Third off the line, he took over second a few laps in and kept that spot throughout the entire 20-lap race. His second-place finish moved him up to sixth in the championship.
"The track was very challenging tonight; the whoops were a little sketchy and a majority of it was really tight and one-lined," said Barcia. "I got a decent start and made my way into second after Reed went down in a corner. I tried to keep up with Millsaps but the lappers made it tough; overall tonight was awesome. I am really looking forward to the east coast races. I think they will favor my style better since I know the tracks and the conditions."
Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard put together another remarkable come-from-behind ride in the main event. After posting a third-place finish in his heat race, Canard got a good jump out of the gate in the main but got pushed toward the back of the pack after another rider came across his line. So the opening lap showed Canard sitting in 15th but he spent the remainder of the race putting together a hard charge, ultimately finishing in eighth. Canard is currently tied for third in the championship.
Despite going down in the main event while battling for the lead, TwoTwo Motorsports' Chad Reed was able to recover and finish a respectable fifth aboard his CRF450R. Andrew Short also finished within the top 10 with a ninth overall.
250 Race
This weekend marked the final appearance of the Western Regional 250 Supercross class before its midseason break, and Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac ended the night strong, clinching his fourth victory of the season. After nailing down a second-place finish in his heat, Tomac grabbed a third-place start in the main event and quickly began making his way to the front. He made the pass for the lead a few laps in and began to set a blistering pace that no other rider could match.
"Everything worked out really well tonight and I enjoyed myself," stated Tomac. "It's always nice to get a win no matter when it is, but being able to head into the break like this is great. We gained a few points on the leader but are still going to have to do a lot the last three rounds of the season to defend our title."
Still on the mend from a shoulder injury sustained in Phoenix, fellow GEICO Honda rider Zach Osborne had another difficult night, placing seventh in the main event. "I felt strong all day and liked the way I was riding but once again the result wasn't as good as I wanted," said Osborne. "I'm going to use this break to regroup and work on my starts so I can finish out the last three races with some podium finishes."
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda's Christian Craig and Jessy Nelson finished ninth and 10th respectively in the 250 Supercross class main event.
The Focus: Tire Selection
Tire selection is a key component in bike set up and can vary depending on dirt and weather conditions at each track. Dunlop's Brian Fleck explained how the tire selection process was made in San Diego.
"This week in San Diego, the conditions were unique because it rained really hard on Friday. They had the track covered so we were waiting for the track walk to see what conditions we would be dealing with," stated Fleck. "It was soft in a lot of places but actually really hard underneath, so we were challenged on what tire to select. For the first sessions we recommended an intermediate tire, giving the riders more control in the soft conditions. Later in the day we went to a hard-terrain tire because the base dirt in San Diego is really dry and hard packed and most of the track got down to those conditions. The popular tire choice for this race was the Geomax MX71."
450 Supercross Class Overall Results
1. Davi Millsaps
2. Justin Barcia (Honda)
3. Ryan Dungey
4. James Stewart
5. Chad Reed (Honda)
6. Ryan Villopoto
7. Justin Brayton
8. Trey Canard (Honda)
9. Andrew Short (Honda)
10. Mike Alessi
450 Supercross Class Championship Points (after 6 of 17 rounds)
1. Davi Millsaps 132
2. Ryan Dungey 113
3. Ryan Villopoto 105
4. Trey Canard 105
5. Chad Reed 97
6. Justin Barcia 83
7. Andrew Short 83
8. James Stewart 74
9. Justin Brayton 67
10. Broc Tickle 57
250 Supercross West Class Overall Results
1. Eli Tomac (Honda)
2. Ken Roczen
3. Jason Anderson
4. Austin Politelli
5. Kyle Cunningham
6. Travis Baker
7. Zach Osborne (Honda)
8. Tyla Rattray
9. Martin Davalos
10. Jessy Nelson (Honda)
250 Supercross West Class Championship Points (after 6 of 9 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen 138
2. Eli Tomac 121
3. Cole Seely 95
4. Jason Anderson 88
5. Kyle Cunningham 83
6. Martin Davalos 82
7. Zach Osborne 82
8. Joey Savatgy 62
9. Christian Craig 62
10. Jessy Nelson 60
About Honda
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About Muscle Milk
Muscle Milk® Ready-to-Drink is a protein-enhanced functional beverage that promotes workout recovery, lean muscle growth, and sustained energy. Muscle Milk takes the guesswork out of high performance nutrition, delivering a precise blend of premium proteins, complex carbohydrates, functional fats, vitamins & minerals. CytoSport™, the maker of Muscle Milk®, is among the largest sport nutrition protein beverage companies in the U.S. and offers a complete line of protein-enhanced powders, shakes and bars. Muscle Milk® was named Ready-to-Drink Beverage of the Year by bodybuilding.com, Best Functional Beverage and Beverage of the Year by BevNet and Company of the Year by Beverage Forum presented by Beverage Marketing Corporation and Beverage World.
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