VOL. 50 ISSUE 23 JUNE 11, 2013
Villopoto made quick
work on Ryan Dungey
(1) who had to settle for
second.
motos, but now slowed by a bum
knee, Stewart isn't heading the
field much these days. Everyone loves an underdog, and as
hard as it is to believe, that's what
Stewart is now.
Close your eyes and follow the
race by sound alone. In every
new section fans saw the yellow
bike leading and realized it was
Stewart. They cheered.
Fast-starting Josh Grant succumbed to Dungey then Villopoto. Those two were gaining
on Stewart. Oh yeah… this was
shaping up nicely - three legends, all former 450 champs
running 1-2-3. Villopoto was closing on Dungey, and those two on
Stewart. That's what we came to
see.
Six laps in and Villopoto was
coming so fast on Dungey, but
wait… no he didn't! RV could
have passed anywhere and he
chose there? The fast infield
uphill Triple? The riskiest place
on the circuit to do it? And they
came oh so close to hitting. You
don't think a message was being
sent? Dungey knew and said afterwards he'd remember that.
So now we have Villopoto closing on Stewart. He's there within
a lap and makes the pass, but
wait, what's this? Stewart passed
him back! Doesn't he know
the rule? People don't pass RV
once he takes the lead, but sure
enough Stewart did and for just
a precious moment it looked like
we had Clash of the Titans II on
our hands. RC vs. JS circa 2005.
But no. Motorcycles are mechanical things after all and mechanical things break – especially
when you bash them into poles
at high rates of speed, which is
what Stewart apparently did. The
victim was the front brake caliper
of his Yoshimura Suzuki.
Stewart pulled off. What a letdown. Suddenly it seemed quiet
around Mt. Morris.
Villopoto was leading again
P51
and Dungey, while closer this
time, slowly, but surely, lost touch
and it was race over.
There was some decent racing
a minute back. Mike Alessi, has
yet to earn a holeshot this year.
That's the downside, but guess
what? He's learning how to pass
people instead of the other way
around. He took third over Tyla
Rattray and Trey Canard, all within five seconds of one another.
250 National
The story of the first moto was
Ken Roczen. He comes from the
land of Porsche, Audi and BMW,
so speed runs through his veins.
And it showed. Pushed wide at
the start, Roczen was way back
in ninth early, but on what many
called a one-line track, he raced
all the way up to the lead by the
end of the lap in what might have
been the best single-lap performance of the season so far.
As the race progressed Roczen built a strong lead. Red Bull
KTM teammate Marvin Musquin
took over second after Cole
Seely fell. Eli Tomac, who also
got off to a bad start, charged his
way to third. The two gave chase
to Roczen, but the leader was
able to monitor his gap and he
held a 4.1 seconds in hand at the
checkered flag. Roczen stayed
perfect with four first moto victories this season.
The second moto was considerably more exciting.
Musquin earned his first holeshot of the year and was off and
running in the lead. Keep in mind,
