Round 10 of the 2014 Supercross season took place this weekend at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. This year's Daytona Supercross by Honda marked Honda's 23rd year of sponsoring this unique and historic race. Daytona is always tough, and this year's track designed by former Honda Champion Ricky Carmichael was no different.
To help celebrate its sponsorship of the Daytona Supercross by Honda, Honda hosted a Kick-Off party Friday evening. Team Honda Muscle Milk riders along with the other Honda racing stars came out to Honda's main display area for a meet and greet with fans and an autograph session. It was an impressive list of riders in attendance including: Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard, Justin Barcia, Cole Seely, Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda riders Eli Tomac, Wil Hahn, Justin Bogle and Matt Bisceglia and JCR Honda's Johnny Campbell and Chris Bach.
450 Class
After being sidelined for two weeks, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Barcia returned to battle Saturday aboard his CRF450R. It was a roller-coaster night for Barcia, who rebounded from three crashes in practice to finish third in his heat race. In the main event, he nabbed a top-10 start and was in a heated battle for fifth when he was involved in a crash with another rider. He ultimately finished 12th.
"It ended up not being a very good night of racing for me," stated Barcia. "I struggled a little in practice but felt awesome in my heat; I got a good start and was riding great. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good start in the main and had worked my way up into sixth when I went down with [Malcolm] Stewart. I'm looking forward to Detroit next weekend, and hopefully we can get on the podium."
Team Honda Muscle Milk fill-in rider Cole Seely transferred to the main event via a second-place finish in his semi-qualifying race. He got off the line to a less-than-desirable start and spent the entire 20-lap race battling through the field to finish 11th.
"The whole day was really tough. Practice was especially soft and they really had to keep up with the track to make it safe for us," Seely explained. "I rode really well in the heat race and almost made it into the last transfer spot but unfortunately had to go into the semi, where I got second. In the main, I rode pretty tight for the first five laps—the track was changing each lap and it was tough for me to adapt. I finally got into a good flow and was able to put my head down and start clicking away some good lap times. I got pretty tired towards the end but was able to work my way up to 11th."
Wil Hahn put together another impressive ride aboard his Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda CRF450R, charging his way from 17th to sixth. "I feel like I should have gotten better than sixth, but when you start that far back it's what you have to settle for," explained Hahn. "I felt like I rode really good and could've gotten up to fourth or fifth but wasted too much time at the beginning. I was able to stay calm though and keep my head down while coming through the field."
Teammate Eli Tomac was unable to compete after injuring his shoulder in the final practice.
250 Class
In the East 250 SX competition, the Muscle Milk-backed GEICO Honda squad had a solid night with all three riders finishing in the top 10. Blake Wharton led the team's effort, matching his season-best finish of fourth. Wharton advanced to the main event with a second in his heat race, and then maintained fourth from start to finish. Teammates Justin Bogle and Matt Bisceglia followed in fifth and seventh.
"I'm just trying to make some steps in the right direction," Wharton said. "It can be a bit frustrating at times when you're not where you want to be, of course, but progress is good. I feel good on the bike, and the GEICO Honda has been great and I'm thankful for the opportunity they've given me."
"Nice and consistent, but it's not going to get me in the fight for the championship," stated Bogle. "I'm pretty disappointed in my night; it didn't really go that well at all. Bad starts all night, and I was riding around with the wrong pack of riders. I really need to get up there and start battling for the win."
"It was an up and down night for sure. I got a terrible start and worked my way up as much as I could, but the track was tough and I got pretty tired by lap 10. I can't complain though. I'm out of here safe, and I had a pretty solid ride," described Bisceglia.
The Focus: VP Racing Fuels
The 2014 season will mark the 13th year VP Racing Fuels has been a Honda racing team sponsor. VP's experience in blending championship-winning fuels dates back 33 successful years, and in addition to its Motocross and Supercross titles with Team Honda, the company also boasts several NHRA Pro Stock titles, plus championships in off-shore, off-road, circle track and aviation competition. VP's unleaded fuel for motocross and supercross is engineered to generate maximum horsepower in 4-stroke applications in conformance with AMA Pro Racing rules while requiring minimal jetting/mapping changes, and does not require radical changes in ignition timing like other racing fuels on the market.
450 Supercross Results
1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Ken Roczen
3. Ryan Dungey
4. Broc Tickle
5.Andrew Short
6. Will Hahn (Honda)
7.Dean Wilson
8. Matthew Goerke
9. Justin Brayton
10.Josh Grant
450 Supercross Championship Points (after 10 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto 209
2. Ryan Dungey 181
3. Ken Roczen 180
4. James Stewart 157
5. Justin Brayton 155
6. Andrew Short 125
7. Justin Barcia 118
8. Chad Reed 111
9. Broc Tickle 111
10. Wil Hahn 108
250 Supercross East Results
1. Blake Baggett
2. Adam Cianciarulo
3. Martin Davalos
4. Blake Wharton (Honda)
5. Justin Bogle (Honda)
6. Jeremy Martin
7. Matt Bisceglia (Honda)
8. Vince Friese
9. Kyle Cunningham
10. Matt Lemoine
250 Supercross East Championship Points (after 4 of 9 rounds)
1. Adam Cianciarulo 94
2. Martin Davalos 87
3. Blake Baggett 79
4. Justin Bogle 72
5.Vince Friese 61
6. Blake Wharton 51
7.Cole Thompson 48
8. Kyle Cunningham 45
9. Jimmy DeCotis 43
10. Matt Lemoine 37
