2014 AMA Supercross – Detroit Results

Yoshimura Suzuki‘s James Stewart captured his third win of the 2014 AMA Supercross season and 48th 450 class victory of his career, tying him with Ricky Carmichael for second on the all-time win list behind Jeremy McGrath‘s 72.

Racing before a crowd of 50,856 fans at Ford Field in Detroit, Stewart took the lead from holeshot-taker Cole Seely shortly before the end of the second lap and led the rest of the 20-lap race for the win. Stewart led by as much as 7.1 second but eased off at the end, crossing the finish less than two seconds ahead of Kawasaki‘s Ryan Villopoto.

The series leader had a smart race, sitting second most of the night behind Stewart but more importantly, ahead of KTM‘s Ryan Dungey who trailed Villopoto  by 28 points going into Michigan. Recognizing that Stewart was more than 50 points behind in the standings, Villopoto knew he was better off staying in second than risk being too aggressive looking for the win.

Seely has a long way to go to catch up to Stewart on the all-time wins list but the 450-class rookie continues to impress in his stint with Team Honda Muscle Milk. Seely led the first lap and ran in second place for three more laps before being passed by Villopoto. The rookie stayed in a podium position for a few more laps before being passed by another former champion in Dungey.

The rookie’s luck ran out with a crash on Lap 14, dropping him back to 15th. Seely tried to continue racing but his night ended just a couple of laps later.

The night was also disappointing for another rookie in Ken Roczen. Entering the main event in third place in the standings, the KTM rider stalled his engine on Lap 2 and had a rock jammed in his rear brakes, locking the wheel and preventing him from moving. Roczen was eventually able to resume racing but was already a lap behind the leaders.

Adam Cianciarulo extended his lead in the 250 Eastern Regional championship, winning his third race in five rounds. His Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Martin Davalos took the holeshot and led the first two laps but crashed near the finish line, allowing Cianciarulo to take over the lead with Geico Honda’s Justin Bogle also getting past for second place.

Bogle stayed on Cianciarulo’s tail the rest of the race but had to settle for second place. Blake Baggett completed the podium in third place.

The 2014 AMA Supercross Championship continues north of the border on March 22 in Toronto, Canada. Villopoto carries a comfortable 30-point lead over Dungey with six rounds remaining. The three-time reigning champion has not been dominating races as much as he had his previous few seasons, instead taking advantage of increased parity among other riders, somehow managing to pad his lead even after races he didn’t win.

[Source: AMA Supercross]

By Dennis Chung