A sold-out crowd of nearly 70,000 attended round eight of the Supercross series this past weekend at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Barcia was sidelined for the night after going down in practice. Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda riders had an impressive showing with Wil Hahn finishing just shy of the podium in the 450SX class, and teammate Justin Bogle finishing third at the second round of the 250SX East battle.
450 Class
Barcia was unable to line up on the gate in Atlanta, following a crash during the final qualifying practice of the day. "This was not how I wanted today to go," stated Barcia. "Atlanta is like my home race and I have a lot of friends and family here, so I am definitely disappointed. I crashed pretty hard in the whoops and tweaked my knee in the last practice. I decided to take the night off to make sure I can race next weekend in Indianapolis."
Hahn put in a solid performance aboard his Honda CRF450R, logging his best finish of the season. He posted the fifth-quickest qualifying time in practice, then finished fifth in his heat race. He then nailed down a good start in the main event and rode consistent the entire 20 laps to finish an impressive fourth.
"My practice, my heat, and the main all went well for me; just a great day all the way around," Hahn said. "I am so happy with how everything went. There's something about the vibes here. I'm not sure if it's the win here last year, but every time I come here I have a great race. There must be something in the air here. I love this city."
Muscle Milk- backed GEICO Honda teammate Eli Tomac was unable to finish his race after suffering mechanical issues.
250 Class
In the East 250SX competition, Bogle recorded his first podium appearance of the season with a third-place finish. Aboard his Honda CRF250R, Bogle took second in his heat race before getting a top-10 start in the main event. By lap five he had maneuvered his way into third, where he stayed the remainder of the 15-lap race.
"This turned out to be a great day," Bogle said. "It feels so great to finish on the podium when I wasn't even sure I would race this season. I didn't have the best start in the main, so I had to fight through and make some passes to get up front. Basically, I capitalized on some mistakes other guys were making and made it through the carnage. I raced a pretty smart race. I'm happy but not satisfied. I'm hungry for more and ready to move over on the podium towards that middle spot."
Fellow Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda rider Blake Wharton also looked strong, running the same pace as the front-runners throughout the main, finishing a season-best fourth.
The Focus: Rental Fatbar and Twinwall Handlebars
Among manufacturers of handlebars and sprockets, only Renthal, a 27-year Honda racing team sponsor, can boast more than 100 world and national championships. It goes without saying American Honda's motocross team has won many of its championships with Renthal products.
Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard favors Renthal's Twinwall handlebar, an oversized-diameter, 1 1/8" handlebar that utilizes two tubes, one within the other. This design borrows principles from aircraft design and gives the Twinwall the best combination of strength, lightweight and safety. By utilizing two tubes throughout the handlebar, this design effectively increases the wall thickness in the most highly stressed areas of the handlebar, which extends its fatigue life. Teammate Justin Barcia, in turn, prefers the increased forgiveness of the Renthal Fatbar. This handlebar features a tapered outer wall resulting in a 1 1/8" clamping diameter and 7/8" diameter at control ends. This profiled wall and brace-less design combines excellent strength with good flexibility.
450 Supercross Results
1. Ken Roczen
2. Ryan Villopoto
3. Ryan Dungey
4. Wil Hahn (Honda)
5. Justin Brayton
6. Mike Alessi
7. Broc Tickle
8. Weston Peick
9. Josh Grant
10. Andrew Short
450 Supercross Championship Points (after 8 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto 166
2. Ken Roczen 157
3. James Stewart 140
4. Ryan Dungey 136
5. Justin Brayton 130
6. Chad Reed 111
7. Justin Barcia 109
8. Andrew Short 94
9. Wil Hahn 83
10. Broc Tickle 77
250 Supercross East Results
1. Martin Davalos
2. Adam Cianciarulo
3. Justin Bogle (Honda)
4. Blake Wharton (Honda)
5. Blake Baggett
6. Vince Friese
7. James DeCotis
8. Cole Thomson
9. Matt Lemoine
10. Mitchell Oldenburg
250 Supercross East Championship Points (after 2 of 9 rounds)
1. Adam Cianciarulo 47
2. Martin Davalos 45
3. Blake Baggett 38
4. Justin Bogle 36
5. Vince Friese 33
6. Blake Wharton 32
7. Cole Thompson 28
8. Kyle Cunningham 22
9. Mitchell Oldenburg 22
10. Jimmy DeCotis 20
