Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES ROUND 9/MARCH 1, 2014 LUCAS OIL STADIUM/INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA P46 But Villopoto made the best of a bad night by charging back af- ter the crash, in spite of a bent bike, and fought his way back to fourth. So, here's how it went for RV in Indy - crash several times in practice, look out of sorts all night, get tangled up in a start crash in the main event and walk away increasing your series lead from nine to 23 points, nearly a one-race cushion. How's that for a slump? WILSON'S 450 DEBUT Ironically tough outings in the 250 Supercross West Series pre- sented an opportunity for Dean Wilson. Since Wilson's a distant fourth in the 250 West standings and a long shot at best to win that title, Chad Reed checked with Pro Circuit's Mitch Payton about the possibility of Wilson filling in for him aboard the Discount Tire/ TwoTwo Motorsport's Kawasaki in East-Coast rounds. A deal was made and Wilson had his 450 Supercross debut in Indianapo- lis. It didn't go as well as he would have liked, however. It was awful for me," Wilson My Own Race: 5 RYAN DUNGEY 450 1ST Ryan Dungey finally broke through to win his first race of 2014 and the Red Bull KTM rider did it on one of the tough- est tracks in recent memory. "This was the first super soft track that we've had all year so far," Dungey explained. "It tore apart really quick and I knew we had our work cut out for us. When I went through the whoops on the warm-up lap it was really uncomfortable. I didn't know where I was going to go. I was just going to have to see it when I got out there. Once I got into the lead, I tried to run good laps and make no mistakes. I saw Eli was right there and I wasn't try- ing to force the issue, I was just trying to ride clean." 3 ELI TOMAC 450 2ND When the season began, 450-class rookie Eli Tomac was expected to make an immediate impact, but injury kept him out of races and he's struggled to find form since returning. In Indianapolis things finally began going Tomac's way. He scored his first career Supercross podium with a strong second. "For me, and for everyone I think, it was one of the toughest tracks all year," Tomac said. "The ruts out there were really deep, really sticky and you would get pulled left and right everywhere. I started getting tight and missing some of my rhythm sections, but it seemed like everyone else started making little mistakes too." Tomac said it was a great feeling to score his first podium in the premier class. "It's awesome, because, for me this year has just been a big downhill starting with Anaheim and that crash and struggling to feel comfortable on the bike." 7 JAMES STEWART 450 7TH James Stewart looked fast all day in Indianapolis. In prac- tice and qualifying he was the one rider who looked to ex- cel on the rutted surface. But in the main things went awry. "It was mayhem off the start," Stewart explained. "They held the gate a long time and a lot of guys kind of flinched. I thought I had a pretty decent jump and I got up there and we all kind of got pinched and went around the corner. Seely kind of hit me a little bit and then Hill got into the back of me and I just went down. He [Hill] got stuck in my bike and somebody was on top of him, so it took me forever to get going. It bent my handlebars and I got it all the way back to seventh. I didn't lose too much to Villopoto, I mean four points. At this point I can't afford to lose anything, but it could have been a lot worse." Stewart went on to say he still feels he has a shot at the championship. "It's far from over. Second through fourth is right there. Ryan's [Villopo- to] gotten away a little bit. We'll see. If he has one bad race we're right back in there. If not he'll win the championship." 31 MARTIN DAVALOS 250 2ND The dirt in Indy was so soft that it fell apart badly in places during the mains. It was down to the stadium floor in one section during the 250 final and it caught Atlanta winner Martin Davalos off guard. "It was definitely unexpected," Davalos said. "I came over that single and we got down to the concrete and it was so slippery and it shot me left. Luckily I was able to recover and get on the podium. Some- times it's out of your control. The track got the best of me but we all had to ride the same track. I'm happy I was able to recover and still put my Kawasaki on the podium. I'm ready to work on some stuff, put this behind me and be a little more patient next time." 96 MATT BISCEGLIA 250 4TH Rookie Matt Bisceglia had a solid night, winning the LCQ and running up front in the main, where he would eventu- ally finish fourth. "It [the LCQ] is not ideally where I wanted to be or where I wanted to get my first real win," Bisceglia said, "but I was happy to get out of it, rip the holeshot, and grab the win. It allowed me to put down some really great laps before the main event. The bikes are really running amazing right now," the GEICO Honda Team rider said. "I really thought I had a chance to get on the podium tonight, but the bike was just too tight as the laps wound down. Overall, I am happy. This gives me something to build off of."