After six weeks on the West Coast, the Monster Energy
AMA Supercross Series heads east to Indianapolis to begin the eastern swing of the schedule. To the delight of the fans (and Feld Entertainment), there’s a logjam at the top of the series standings, with the top four riders now separated by just five points – a virtual promoter’s delight!
Ryan Dungey shares the points lead with Josh Hill.
After the Anaheim 3 round this past weekend, Rockstar Makita
Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey has two wins to his credit and sits in a two-way tie atop the standings with San Manuel L&M
Yamaha’s
Josh Hill, who has been the most consistent of the lot with a string of four-straight runner-up finishes and five-straight podiums. Monster Energy
Kawasaki star
Ryan Villopoto has two wins so far and sits third, three points behind Dungey and Hill, while Red Bull
Honda’s
Davi Millsaps finds himself another two points back in fourth after winning the San Diego round.
One of the benefits of the eastward push is that all of the venues except for the two Florida rounds (Daytona and Jacksonville) are in enclosed stadiums, so weather won’t be a factor. Heavy rains in California have made for uncertain racing conditions, and perhaps a few surprises in the results.
Heading into this week’s Indy round, perhaps the rider with the most momentum is Villopoto, who was impressive en route to the win at A3. According to RV, consistency will be a major factor in the remaining rounds.
The series moves to enclosed venues for most of the eastern rounds.
“I think I’m in a great position heading back east,” says Villopoto. “I think it’s anyone’s race at this point and it will boil down to whoever is the most consistent.”
Hill was happy with his stature at the top of the standings, but is getting kind of tired of being the bridesmaid.
“I’m glad to be in the points lead with Dungey but I’m tired getting second all the time,” said Hill. “I’ve just been riding in my comfort zone every week, but I need to break out of that and ride like I know how to ride. I know I can win one of these, but at the same time I’m happy to be where I’m at.”
Dungey needs a good race to reestablish the momentum he had during the first three rounds. Bad starts and small mistakes have erased what was once a 17-point lead in the standings, but Indy will be a chance to get back on track – new dirt, new stadiums and a return to his Midwestern roots.
As for Millsaps, the Georgian has proven he has the speed to win against this group, and he can go the distance, he just needs to start up front like he did in San Diego.
The fans are getting to see an interesting battle at the top of the Supercross standings.
Sometimes a change of scenery can mean a change of fortunes, and potentially, that’s what the move east represents for all of these riders. Of course, there are still 11 rounds remaining and you can’t rule out any of the riders waiting in the wings, like
Kevin Windham, Justin Brayton and
Ivan Tedesco.
The eastern swing also means a switch to the East Region Lites series, where names like Barcia, Pourcel, Rattray, Metcalfe, and Stroupe, will replace those of Weimer, Canard, Hahn and Wharton.
Meanwhile, Weimer and company take an eight-week break before resuming the West Region Lites championship in Seattle, where Weimer will bring a 14-point lead in the standings over Canard. But as we already know, anything can happen in Supercross.
