A huge crowd of more than 58,000 fans welcomed the sixth race of the 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Saturday night.

Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto won his third race of the season to extend his points lead to six points over Australian Chad Reed. In the Western Regional Supercross Lites Class, Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson won his second race and now controls the points lead as the Western division takes a two-month break.

Suzuki’s Brett Metcalfe grabbed his first holeshot of the season to start the Supercross Class Main Event with Villopoto and his Kawasaki team-mate Jake Weimer in tow.

Villopoto took the lead on the second lap while a battle ensued between Honda’s Reed, Yamaha’s James Stewart and KTM’s Ryan Dungey behind him. On lap three, Reed charged through the pack and made a pass on Weimer to assume second place. Shortly after, Weimer lost his position to Metcalfe.

Midway through the race, Stewart passed Metcalfe for third, but went down a few laps later in the whoops and handed over the spot to Dungey. Back in front, Reed and Villopoto were bar to bar, and on lap 18, Reed stole the lead, but was unable to hold it as the duo came up to the white flag. Reed went on to secure second place with Dungey rounding out the podium in third.

“The whoops were treacherous tonight,” said Villopoto. “I knew it was important to be consistent every lap. Battling Reed on the last few laps was exciting and I was able to make a good pass. I’m happy to keep the red plate on my bike and am excited for the Dallas race next week.”

Honda’s Vince Friese opened the Western Regional Supercross Lites Class main Event with the holeshot with Wilson trailing closely through the first turn. Wilson quickly passed Friese and held the lead for the remaining 20 laps.

Honda’s Eli Tomac, who controlled the points lead heading into the night, started mid-pack and charged his way to third place, however on lap seven, he crashed in the whoops to surrender his podium spot and points lead. With Tomac crashing out, KTM’s Matt Moss moved into third place to secure his squad’s first podium of the season behind Honda’s Cole Seely.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic with the win,” said Wilson. “I knew I needed to run consistent laps out there and get through the whoops as fast as I could all night long. Eli [Tomac] is a tough competitor, so it’s a bit of a surprise to be in the points lead, but I’m going to work my butt off during the break to try and stay there.”

Supercross Class Results: San Diego

1.             Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki

2.             Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Honda

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

4.             Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki

5.             Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., Kawasaki

6.             Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Honda

7.             Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha

8.             Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Kawasaki

9.             Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Calif., Suzuki

10.          Nick Wey, DeWitt, Mich., Kawasaki

 

Supercross Class Season Standings

1.     Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 133

2.     Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Honda – 127

3.     Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 123

4.     James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha – 101

5.     Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda – 78

6.     Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki – 75

7.     Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki – 72

8.     Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha – 70

9.     Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Honda – 68

10.  Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., Kawasaki – 64

 

Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Results: San Diego

1.     Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki

2.     Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda

3.     Matt Moss, Sussex Inlet, AUS, KTM

4.     Gareth Swanepoel, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha

5.     Nico Izzi, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha

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

7.     Billy Laninovich, Riverside, Calif., Honda

8.     Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda

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

10.  Nick Paluzzi, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki

 

Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings

1.     Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki – 116

2.     Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda – 114

3.     Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda – 101

4.     Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 89

5.     Nico Izzi, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha – 78

6.     Matt Moss, Sussex Inlet, NS, KTM – 73

7.     Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Yamaha – 67

8.     Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda – 63

9.     Tyla Rattray, Wildomar, Calif., Kawasaki – 60

10.  Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki – 58

© Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com