Monster
Energy Kawasaki takes over Daytona Supercross
It was nearly a perfect day and night for
the Monster Energy Kawasaki and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teams at
Daytona International Speedway as KX dominated the Daytona Supercross.
In qualifying, Kawasaki held down the top three
spots in the 250SX class as well as the top two spots in the 450SX class. In
the night show Blake Baggett and Martin Davalos each won a 250SX heat race
while Ryan Villopoto and Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports Dean Wilson
also swept the 450SX heats. In the Main events it was Baggett who grabbed the
250SX win with his teammates Adam Cianciarulo and Davalos filing out the
podium. In the 450SX main, Villopoto returned to his winning ways, leading
wire-to-wire to grab his third win of the year.
For the fourth time in five years,
Villopoto has hoisted the winner's trophy at the Daytona Supercross, dominating
both his heat and the main event. Ryan rocketed to the holeshot and then never
looked back as he cruised to the win with a margin of victory of more than 12
seconds. The Monster Energy Kawasaki team had Villopoto's KX450F dialed in as
he set the fastest lap of the race more than one-and-half seconds faster than
his closest competitor. With the win, Villopoto also extended his championship
points lead to 28.
"Daytona is always a little special,” said
Villopoto. "The track is always one of the most difficult we race on all year.
Tonight the dirt was softer than it usually is which made for some big ruts and
made it a little difficult.”
Baggett came into Daytona looking to grab
his first win of the season, and the veteran rider knew the
supercross-motocross hybrid track would be a great spot to get on top of the
podium. Baggett was fast all day and a crash in the second practice didn't slow
him down. In his heat race, the California native made quick work of his competition
and in the main event he grabbed the lead from Davalos on the second lap and
pulled away for his second career win at Daytona.
"Tonight was a good race for me,” said
Baggett. "There is something about racing at Daytona that I really like; I wish
we had more races here. The track was difficult but I knew I had the speed to
win tonight.”
Growing up in the shadows of Daytona
International Speedway, Cianciarulo was primed for the event on Saturday night.
Coming in riding a giant wave of momentum, the 17-year-old rider was looking to
win his third race in four supercross starts. The pressure of racing at home
didn't affect Cianciarulo as he was leading his heat race, when on the final
lap he had a mechanical issue that saw him drop to fifth. With a bad gate
choice for the main event, the Florida native jumped out of the gate well and
was battling for a top spot. He patiently worked his way around his teammate
Davalos and held on for the runner-up finish.
"I was able to get out of the gate decent
and tried to make a move super early in that first corner, but it didn't quite
work out for me,” said Cianciarulo. "I just tried to get around Martin then
tried to ride consistent laps, because obviously it's Daytona and a really
tough track. I tried to ride smart. Blake had everyone tonight so I wanted to
get as many points as possible.”
Since even before the 250SX Eastern Region season kicked off in Dallas, the Monster Energy Kawasaki team has been unstoppable. Saturday night's podium sweep marked the sixth straight win for the team. Since Dallas, the team has won every heat race and main event as well as posting the fastest time in qualifying.