News 11 Jan 2013

Millsaps and Tomac lead Monster Energy Supercross into Phoenix

Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps will lead the world’s top riders into Phoenix’s Chase Field this Saturday for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.

The gates will drop on round two of American Supercross this weekend. Image: Simon Cudby.

The gates will drop on round two of American Supercross this weekend. Image: Simon Cudby.

Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps will lead the world’s top riders into Phoenix’s Chase Field this Saturday for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.

Last weekend at the season opener in Anaheim, Millsaps raced to his first win since 2010, ahead of an inspiring Trey Canard who finished second, while Ryan Dungey finished third.

“It was a great night for me,” said Millsaps. “This is my first win since 2010, and I was just trying to keep calm out there. It has been a long time since I have led a race, so it was hard to calm my nerves.”

The win marked Millsaps’ fourth win of his career. Millsaps’ previous wins came aboard a Honda motorcycle, giving the Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki team their first-ever 450SX Class win.

Two-time defending 450SX Class Champion Villopoto finished 16th after a series of crashes, while James Stewart remains under an injury cloud heading into Phoenix with a tweaked knee.

Australia’s Chad Reed finished fourth at Anaheim for TwoTwo Motorsports, while Dan McCoy failed to reach the main aboard his privateer Yamaha.

GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac opened the Western Regional 250SX Class Main Event with a dominant win and carries the points lead into Chase Field this weekend for the 16th Monster Energy Supercross race in Phoenix.

“I had a tough heat race and that was kind of a wake-up call for me,” said Tomac. “This is how I wanted to start the season. I did a few off-season races, like the Monster Energy Cup, and that kept me in shape.”

Tomac’s win was the ninth of his career. Last year he finished fourth in Phoenix before going on a two-race win streak en route to the first 250SX Class Championship of his career.

Both Josh Cachia and Kade Mosig will be looking to qualify for their first American Supercross main events this weekend.

During the Phoenix stop in 2012, former 450SX Class Champion Dungey earned his first victory of the season and gave his Red Bull KTM team their first ever win.

In winning last year’s main event, Dungey joined Stewart as the only riders in history to win both classes in Phoenix. In the 250SX Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson also earned his first win of the season.

Throughout the 15 years that Monster Energy Supercross has stopped in Phoenix, an average of 47,199 avid fans have come out each year to see the sport’s greatest battle it out for their division’s prestigious championship titles.

Stewart holds the record for most wins in the 250SX Class in Phoenix and is tied with Ricky Carmichael for the most wins in the 450SX Class with four inside Chase Field.

ESPN 2 will broadcast the race live in Australia on Sunday, 13 January, at 1:30pm AEDT (check your local guide for confirmation).

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