More than 60,000 fans crammed inside the Edward Jones Dome in St Louis on Saturday night to watch as Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto won his fourth 450SX class race of the season at the ninth round of the AMA Supercross Championships in the United States.

Suzuki’s Mike Alessi jumped out to an early lead, winning the holeshot, with Honda’s Justin Barcia tucked into the number-two position on the opening lap and Suzuki’s James Stewart in third.

Championship points leader Davi Millsaps (Suzuki) started the race in eighth place.

On lap one, Stewart moved into second place and advanced to the lead a few turns later as Villopoto assumed fourth. The race was stopped due to a red flag on lap three, and the field had to be re-started. Stewart, Barcia and Australian Honda rider Chad Reed held down the top three positions after the re-start, and on lap five, Villopoto moved around Reed for third.

Villopoto continued his charge, passing Barcia for second place. During laps 9-11 Stewart and Villopoto traded places several times, and Villopoto successfully moved into the leader position.

After passing Stewart for second place on lap 13, Barcia made a mistake a lost several spots.

This allowed Reed to move into third place. Stewart finished second and Reed finished third.

Millsaps holds a 12-point lead over Villopoto in season standings and  KTM’s Ryan Dungey is in third.

“That was a good race for us, we’re slowly getting better out here,” said Stewart. “Villopoto caught me by surprise on the pass, but I was still able to keep it together and hold the second place spot. It was one heck of a race tonight. That’s what it’s about.”

“It was a crazy night out there,” said Villopoto. “I made a costly mistake on the first start, so I knew my work was cut out for me. I was able to make things happen on the second start and get out in front after some wild racing.

“It’s coming down to crunch time and we were all able to make it happen tonight.”

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship

For the second consecutive race in the Eastern Regionals, Honda’s Wil Hahn was victorious, and he is now the new points leader. After grabbing the holeshot, Hahn led Suzuki’s Blake Wharton, who moved into second place on lap one, and Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson, who moved into third place on lap three.

After a mid-pack start, Wilson continued his charge past Wharton on lap seven to secure the number-two position.

On lap nine, Wilson was 1.5 seconds behind Hahn, patiently waiting to make his move. The two traded positions on lap 12, but Hahn quickly regained the lead and rode to the second win of his career. Wilson finished second and Wharton finished third.

“It was a tough race,” said Wilson. “I didn’t make things easy on myself tonight with that bad start. I passed him [Hahn] once, but it wasn’t good enough.”

“That wasn’t an easy race,” said Hahn. “It was a tight race tonight with Blake [Wharton] pressuring me early and Dean [Wilson] came on strong late in the race. Tonight was awesome, and my family was here tonight to enjoy this with me.”

Hahn has a one-point lead over Wilson in season standings and Wharton is in third.

Racing resumes next weekend at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

 

450SX Class Results: St. Louis

 

1.      Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki

2.      James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki

3.      Chad Reed, Australia, Honda

4.      Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM

5.      Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda

6.      Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki

7.      Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Fla., Suzuki

8.      Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda

9.      Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha

10.    Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM

 

450SX Class Season Standings

 

1.          Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 189

2.          Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 177

3.          Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 166

4.          Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 148

5.          Chad Reed, Australia, Honda, 147

6.          Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 132

7.          James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 122

8.          Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 113

9.          Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 103

10.        Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 87

 

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results: St. Louis

 

1.        Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda

2.        Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki

3.        Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki

4.        Marvin Musquin, France, KTM

5.        Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha

6.        Vince Friese, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Honda

7.        James Decotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda

8.        Cole Thompson, Brigden, Canada, Honda

9.        Zach Bell, Cairo, Ga., Honda

10.      Peter Larsen, Menifee, Calif., Honda,

 

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Season Standings

 

1.      Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 70

2.      Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki, 69

3.      Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki, 60

4.      Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 53

5.      Vince Friese, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Honda, 39

6.      Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 38

7.      Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki, 36

8.      James Decotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda, 34

9.      Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 32

10.    Kyle Peters, Greensboro, NC, Honda, 31