— Millsaps Dominates in San Diego to Extend Championship Lead
— Tomac Takes Control of 250SX Class for Fourth Win of the Season
— Images
The sixth race of Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, signified the final California stop of the 2013 season on Saturday night, with 55,361 spectators in attendance inside Qualcomm Stadium. For the second time this season, Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps captured the victory with a wire-to-wire performance that extended his lead in the 450SX standings. GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac won his fourth 
Western Regional 250SX Class race of the season, closing his deficit in the championship.
Millsaps pulled an advantage out of the gate of the 20-lap Main Event to secure the Nuclear Cowboyz® Holeshot Award, with Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing Suzuki’s Broc Tickle and TwoTwo Motorsports Honda’s Chad Reed in tow. Championship contenders Ryan Dungey, Ryan Villopoto, and Trey Canard, who sit second through fourth in the points, all started outside the top five, with Canard crossing the line outside the top 10 on the opening lap.
As the pace settled in, Millsaps and Reed pulled Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia into a three-rider tandem that opened a gap over the field. Reed pressured Millsaps for several laps and even looked to make a pass, but lost traction on Lap 9 while in pursuit, dropping to seventh. Barcia assumed Reed’s spot in second and stayed close to Millsaps as the pair worked through lapped riders, but eventually the championship leader pulled away for his second win inside Qualcomm Stadium.
“What can I say, when you’re able to pull the holeshot and ride 20 clean laps you make life a lot easier on yourself,” commented Millsaps, who has now won 
multiple races in a season for the second time in his career. “It’s been a great start to the season and everyone is working hard to make this happen. You have to be there every week in order to have a chance to win this thing (the championship), and we’re doing our best to keep it out front.”
Barcia followed Millsaps across the line in the runner-up position, while Red Bull KTM’s Dungey, last week’s winner, worked his way through the field to finish third. Reed rebounded from his earlier misfortune to finish fifth, while Villopoto also experienced misfortune aboard his Monster Energy Kawasaki en route to finishing sixth. Canard battled from behind to finish eighth.
Millsaps extended his advantage in the 450SX Class Championship to 19 points over Dungey as the season heads east for the first time.
Rockstar Energy Racing’s Jason Anderson emerged with the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot Award to start the Western Regional 250SX Class Main Event, with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Martin Davalos and JDR/J-Star KTM’s Malcolm Stewart closely behind. As he made a push for the lead on the opening
lap, Davalos lost control of his bike and crashed, falling to the tail end of the field.
Davalos’ misfortune allowed Tomac to move into second position and set his sights on Anderson in the lead. On Lap 4, Tomac made an inside move on Anderson just before the finish and from there opened a comfortable lead. Behind this battle, Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen moved himself into podium position and it wasn’t long before he was on Anderson’s rear fender for second.
Roczen took over the position from Anderson on Lap 7 and set a pace that helped him close the gap on Tomac’s lead. As the laps wound down, Roczen closed in on Tomac and had a chance to steal the win on the final lap. A final desperation move in the final turn put Roczen alongside Tomac heading to the finish, but he missed out on a third straight victory by mere bike lengths.
The Western Regional 250SX Class Championship will now take a break from competition until April 20 in Seattle.
“This was the best way to go into the break,” said Tomac, who has the most wins in the class. “It was an awesome race out there and a good track. It was a little close in the end, but it was a fun race. This place (Qualcomm Stadium) has been hot and cold for me. I won here in 2011, got a DNF last year, and now won here again. We’ll go into the break with some confidence.”
Roczen holds a 17-point lead over Tomac with three races remaining in the championship.
Monster Energy Supercross continues next weekend, from Arlington, Texas. The annual stop inside Cowboys Stadium will mark the beginning of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship and the seventh race for the 450SX Class.
450SX Class Results: San Diego
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki
Chad Reed, Australia, Honda
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha
Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki
450SX Class Points
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 132
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 113
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 105
Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 105
Chad Reed, Australia, Honda, 97
Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda, 83
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 83
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 74
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 67
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 57
Western Regional 250SX Class Results: San Diego
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM
Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki
Austin Politelli, Riverside, Calif., Honda
Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha
Travis Baker, Romoland, Calif., Yamaha
Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda
Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki
Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Kawasaki
Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda
Western Regional 250SX Class Points
Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM, 138
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 121
Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda, 95
Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki, 88
Kyle Cunningham, Aledo, Texas, Yamaha, 83
Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Kawasaki, 82
Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, S.C., Honda, 82
Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., KTM, 62
Christian Craig, Wildomar, Calif., Honda, 62
Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 60
— Reed Report
TwoTwo Motorsports Chad Reed was left rueing what could have been, after going down while dicing for the race lead in tonight’s Monster Energy Supercross 450SX Main Event at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.
The Australian, who was third in his heat race, was quick off the start, moving past Broc Tickle into second on the opening lap of the race.
Over the ensuing laps, Reed closed in on race leader Davi Millsaps, but dropped to seventh after going down on Lap 10.
Reed finished the race fifth and said that while he was disappointed with the end result there were positive gains made over the past week.
“There are definitely some positives to take away from the race tonight,” Reed said.
“I was up there challenging for the race lead but lost the front while trying to find a way around Davi.
“We are making gains, I am up there battling the guys at the front, now I just need a little luck to go my way,” Reed added.
The TwoTwo Motorsports rider will head back to his Florida base to prepare for the first of the East Coast rounds at Texas Cowboys Stadium on Saturday 16th February.
— KTM Report
Red Bull KTM Factory riders Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen had a good night out at the sixth round of the AMA Supercross championship in San Diego with Dungey finishing third in the big 450 class and Roczen taking a great second in the 250s to retain the red plate as championship leader.
Dungey qualified sixth fastest from the days practice sessions to earn a spot in heat race number one. He rounded the opening turn in eighth and proceeded to work his way into the top five before moving up to fourth at the flag.
This left Dungey with a decent gate pick for the main event and he chose the third gate to the left of the start box. Launching from the start line Dungey was about sixth place by the end of the opening lap. Shuffling a few spots during the race, he successfully got around Justin Brayton to move into podium contention with six laps to go. Dungey’s third place result is good enough to retain second overall in the championship points with 113.
“I’m actually pretty happy with my ride tonight,” said Dungey. “It was a tough track to pass on and as I didn’t get a great start, I think I rode pretty strong to come through the pack and finish on the box. It would definitely make my life a little easier if I could keep getting a start like I did last week! But that’s just something I have to work on”.
Roczen consolidates championship lead in West Coast competition
In the 250 class saw German teenager Roczen finish a strong second in San Diego and with three rounds in the 250SX West Coast Series remaining has a solid points lead in the championship standings.
Roczen rode well all day starting from the early afternoon practice session where he qualified fifth fastest. He jumped fourth out of the start gate in his heat race and maintained that position until the flag to secure a good gate pick for the main event.
Off the start of the 250SX main, Roczen hustled mid pack rounding the opening turn yet managed to maneuver his way into third place by the end of the opening lap. With Eli Tomac out front, Roczen set his sights on Jason Anderson for the number two spot and successfully made the pass on him midway in the race. Never one to go down without a fight, Roczen set about reeling in Tomac for the lead and was just 0.2 seconds shy of the race win when they crossed the line.
With six rounds down and a 10-week break scheduled before the next round in West Coast series resumes in Seattle, Roczen holds an 18-point lead in the championship standings. The East Coast series will see Roczen’s factory teammate Marvin Musquin of France back on the track.
“I’m actually really happy with the way I rode tonight,” said Roczen. “I was kind of uncomfortable on this track all day but I think I put together a good race come the main event. I guess my focus at this point in time is just to stay healthy and to keep things going the way they have been going at the races while our series is on a break and come out blazing again in Seattle.”
