Kawasaki ace Ryan Villopoto has done it again.

The man from Poulsbo, Washington, won the 450cc main event at the Houston Supercross at the weekend, the 13th round of 17 in the AMA Supercross Championships series in the United States, and with that he pushed his lead out to 21 points over Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps.

In front of more than 49,000 fans inside Reliant Stadium, MCR Suzuki’s Mike Alessi grabbed the holeshot for the main event, as Villopoto, Honda’s Justin Barcia and Trey Canard followed him through turn one in second and third, respectively.

Villopoto gained the lead on the opening lap, and after five laps, Canard, KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Suzuki’s James Stewart held down the second, third and fourth positions. Dungey passed Canard for second place on lap seven, and on the same lap, Stewart took over third place.

While challenging Dungey for second place, Stewart crashed on Lap 10 before the finish-line jump. Dungey finished second and Canard third in his first race back since an injury sidelined him for a race.

The race marked Villopoto’s second-consecutive win at Reliant Stadium and he extended his points lead to 21 points.

“It was tough out there tonight,” said Villopoto. “The track was breaking down out there, and there were several variables that we had to deal with. You had to move quickly out there tonight, and that is what I did in the early part of the race. I wanted to establish a lead before the lapped riders would begin to play a factor in the race.”

Racing resumes next Saturday, April 13, at Minneapolis’ Metrodome.

450SX Class Results: Houston

1.      Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki

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

3.      Trey Canard, Shawnee, Oklahoma, Honda

4.      Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda

5.      Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki

6.      Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha

7.      Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM

8.      Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore, Suzuki

9.      Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki

10.    Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki

 450SX Class Season Standings

1.      Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 277

2.      Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 256

3.      Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 252

4.      Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 202

5.      Chad Reed, Australia, Honda, 196

6.      Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 185

7.      James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 171

8.      Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 162

9.      Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 137

10.    Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 133

 

Eastern Regional 250SX class

In the Eastern Regional 250SX class, Suzuki’s Blake Wharton won his first 250SX class race of the year.

Zack Freeberg opened the Eastern Regional 250SX class main event with the holeshot but was quickly passed by Wharton and KTM’s French former MX2 world motocross champion Marvin Musquin, the winner of the last three races. Musquin made a move around Wharton on the opening lap.

On the opening lap, Wharton answered back, passing Musquin for the lead. Musquin ran into bad luck when he crashed on Lap 5 and lost several places. Honda’s Wil Hahn, who came into the night’s race as the points leader, took over the number-two position and gave chase to Wharton but several mistakes kept him making the pass. Hahn finished second and extended his points lead to eight with two races remaining.

“It’s important to be aggressive out there,” said Wharton. “I had a great start and it was pretty intense during get first few laps, but I was able to give myself a nice cushion until Wil [Hahn] pressured me at the end.”

After re-entering the race, Musquin worked his way through the field, eventually securing third place, where he finished.

Three-time AMSOIL Arenacross Champion Tyler Bowers finished a career-best fourth place in his debut ride for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team.

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results: Houston

1.      Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki

2.      Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda

3.      Marvin Musquin, France, KTM

4.      Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ken., Kawasaki

5.      Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda

6.      Cole Thompson, Canada, Honda

7.      Peter Larsen, Menifee, Calif., Honda

8.      Lance Vincent, Youngsville, La., Honda

9.      Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda

10.    Steven Clarke, Cairo, Ga., KTM

 

Eastern Regional 250SX Class Season Standings

1.      Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 156

2.      Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 148

3.      Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki, 133

4.      Vince Friese, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Honda, 89

5.      Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki, 87

6.      Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 82

7.      Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda, 78

8.      Cole Thompson, Canada, Honda, 72

9.      Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 71

10.    Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki, 68