Motocross
Detroit Supercross: James Stewart Makes History
With his victory at Ford Field, JS7 joins elite company on the all-time win list.
In the end, it was all James Stewart
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On Saturday night, Detroit’s Ford Field hosted round 11 of the AMA Supercross series. The Michigan fans packed the stadium and the big names turned up as the season took another step toward the finale in Las Vegas in early May.
Ken Roczen opens up the show in Detroit
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This year has been something of an anomaly, in that no one rider has dominated, but one has established himself as the man to beat. Ryan Villopoto leads the points, but only has three wins for the year, unusual at this late stage of the season. What has kept Villopoto ahead of the rest of the field is his ability to “minimize the damage.” Even his bad races aren’t that bad.
Rookie Adam Cianciarulo took another 250 class win
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Cole Seely grabbed the holeshot and led in Detroit
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It was JS7’s third win of the year, tying him with Villopoto for most in the season. More importantly, the win for Bubba tied him with Ricky Carmichael for 2nd on the all-time SX win list -- both have 48 victories to their name. In what has been a revival year for the #7, Stewart was fittingly elated when he was standing at the top of the podium.
The top 10 shaped up like so:
1. James Stewart
2. Ryan Villopoto
4. Andrew Short
5. Justin Barcia
6. Broc Tickle
7. Weston Peick
8. Josh Hill
9. Justin Brayton
10. Josh Grant
JS7 quickly grabbed the lead, and took off
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Unfortunately for everyone without a #1 plate, Ryan Villopoto still finished 2nd, meaning that he is now 30 points clear of Ryan Dungey in the runner-up spot for the championship. RD took a quiet 3rd at Detroit. James Stewart’s win jumped him up to 3rd in the championship, one point ahead of breakout rookie Ken Roczen, who now sits 50 points out of the championship after a dismal last three races.
Ryan Dungey snagged another podium
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Mathematically, this is still a race. There are six rounds left, and supercross often goes the Murphy’s Law route. Ryan Dungey has the most realistic shot at beating Villopoto (obviously, he’s in 2nd), but 30 points is a hefty margin. It's going to take some serious riding and serious luck to prevent Villo from taking his fourth straight Supercross championship.
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