Supercross returned to Minneapolis after four years, with the winter-hardened natives seeing quite a changing of the guard. Most of the riders filling the podiums were still amateurs in 2004. Minnesota native, Ryan Dungey, riding the 450 “just for fun”, lead for a while and finished a close second, but it was Josh Hill fulfilling the promise he had shown in previous rounds, winning his first Supercross Main. In the Lites class, Josh Grant and Ryan Villopoto were never further than a few bike lengths apart for the entire race. Grant clung onto to the lead for 14 ¾ laps, but Villopoto made a move stick three corners from the finish and took a desperately needed win.

The winner of the last round held here, Kevin Windham, was close to Hill and Dungey early in the Supercross Main, but fell off their pace slightly as the race progressed. Points-leader Chad Reed came in with the flu, was able to win his heat race, but fell in the main, and could only recover to seventh. His 34-point lead was down to 17 after his second straight race off the podium.

Martin Davalos rode alone in third for much of the Lite Main to put the KTM on the podium as the 19-21 year-old “veterans” filled that podium. Rookie sensation, Trey Canard, had a mid-pack start and could only work his way up to fourth. Riding a smart race on a night where he couldn’t quite match the leader’s pace, the Oklahoma native left with a twenty-four point lead with three rounds remaining.

The first race of the night was Heat One in the Lites class. Grant started things out right, getting the holeshot and quickly pulling a gap. Tyler Medaglia was in second early, but dropped back as Ben Coisy, Ryan Morias, and Branden Jesseman surged into 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Ryan Mills stayed out of trouble in 5th, followed by Kyle Chisolm, Ohio’s Nathan Skaggs, and Medaglia. Riders headed towards the LCQ included North Dakota’s, Tanner Reidman in 13th, Minnesotan Bruce Dehn in 14th, Ohio’s Levi Kilbarger in16th, and Michigan’s Kristofer Miller who was scored 20th.

In Lites Heat Two, Villopoto quickly got by Martin Davalos and rocketed to a huge lead. Early on, Davalos was staying in front of Canard, who was sore from a big crash during practice. Villopoto took a very comfortable win, leading home Canard, Jake Moss, Tyler Bowers, Davalos, and Michigan’s Nico Izzi. Indiana’s Travis Sewell got the last qualifying spot in 9th. Heading to the LCQ was Indiana’s Geddy Karrle, who finished 16th.

With only four qualifying spots left up for grabs, a good start was critical in the Lites LCQ. The Comeback rider of the year, Billy Payne, got the start and rode on to victory and the main event. The action behind was intense as Ohio rider, Zach Ames made it into the main with a hard-earned second, followed by Matt Boni and Kyle Partridge. Another Ohio rider, William Browning, was fifth and the winner of the Asterisk Medic Card. He gratefully accepted it, but would have much rather been in the main.

The Supercross heats got underway with Josh “I wish my nickname was Holeshot” Hanson leading the way early, followed by Chad Reed and Davi Millsaps. Reed and Millsaps pushed past and ran 1-2 for the remainder of the race, with Hill never too far behind. Travis Preston, Tommy Hahn, Michigan’s Nick Wey, Ohio’s Jeff Gibson, Manuel Rivas, and former Minnesotan, Heath Voss rounded out the qualifiers. Hanson went down and was headed for the LCQ.

Supercross Heat Two saw Kevin Windham and Charles Summey gapping the field early. Dungey started around 5th and passed riders in the whoops on consecutive laps to move into third. As the laps wore on, he slowly pulled back the early advantage that Summey had built, passing him on the last lap for second behind Windham. David Vuillemin was in fourth, followed by Andrew Short and Eric Sorby. Michigan’s Jacob Marsack, who was coming off a 3rd place finish the week before at the Daytona Monsoon Race, was in eleventh, not quite in qualifying position. Illinois rider, Tim Hawthorne, got caught up in some carnage and finished in 15th and also headed for the LCQ.

James Polvony, long time resident of Minnesota, but more recently living in Indiana, was giving the race a shot, although he admitted coming in against the guys who have been out there every round was going to be difficult. He struggled in his heat race, but seemed to settle in towards the end of it. In the LCQ, he got the holeshot and lead early over Hanson and the heat race winner from last week, Antonio Balbi. Hanson tried to block pass and ended up putting both himself and Balbi on the ground, giving Polvony some breathing room. He was still struggling in a few sections and Klatt got by. He was still in qualifying position as the last lap began, but he came up short in the rhythm section and was plowed into from behind, with several riders going down hard. He walked away OK, but his night was over. In a last lap bid for second, Chris Gosselar went down hard, leaving Tyler Bright the last ticket to the main.

As anyone with even the most passing knowledge of the sport can attest to, making an AMA Supercross main event in either class is a major accomplishment in itself. The first obstacle is the time qualifying during the afternoon. What used to be short do-or-die pre-qualifying races have been replaced with timed practice sessions where they take your best lap. If you’re not in the top 40 overall, you do not get to compete in the evening heat races. Cameron Lansing and James Robert Garrett, both from Illinois, did not quite make it into the final 40, Lansing coming the closest, less than a second away in a very deep class. Still an effort worth noting.

The first main of the night was the Lites class and it tuned out to be a real barn burner. Grant grabbed the holeshot with Villopoto right on him. Davalos escaped an early scrum to settle alone into third. Canard was coming through the pack from outside the top ten. Lap after lap, Grant would lead with Villopoto sticking a wheel in at nearly every corner. RV forged ahead briefly on lap seven, but Grant passed him right back though the following triple-triple section. Things got dicey as they started through the lappers, still jumping everything and not backing down a bit. It went on like this until the last lap, when Villopoto made his move on the inside of a tricky jump-on, jump-off section. Grant tried to come back but their lines crossed and Grant went down, easily recovering for second. Davalos held off Canard for third followed by Ryan Sipes, Bowers, Morais, Partridge, Izzi, and Payne. Sewell was 13th, with Ames getting a 16th for his efforts, and Skaggs ending up 20th.

Thinking it would be tough to top that main, the Supercross class just might have done it. The crowd roared its loudest as Dungey took the holeshot, and lead for three laps, leading Hill, Windham, and a charging Reed. Hill moved by when Dungey bobbled on lap four, and was able to pull a small gap. Reed moved past Dungey a few laps later and was making ground on Hill. Suddenly, Reed went down and took a long time to get going. This left Hill, Dungey, and Windham contending for the lead. Hill continued to hold his gap as the two eighteen-year-old riders started pulling away from the 30-year-old Windham. The lappers got thick at times, leading to some interesting moments, but no big mistakes. The rest of the pack spread out as the race wore on. At the checkered, an ecstatic Hill took the win followed by Dungey, Windham, Short, Hahn, who was making his 450 debut, an off-form Millsaps, and then at a distance, Reed.

Josh Hill was understandably excited after the race. "Getting second was amazing a few races ago," said Hill. "I don’t know how to put it into words - this win. The season has had its ups and downs, but this is huge for me. Yamaha put faith in me, and I am grateful for that." Dungey was also please with what turned out to be the best SX finish ever for a Minnesotan in the premier class as well as the first time this year Suzuki was on the podium. "The crowd was behind me 100%, and I could hear them on every lap. This is only my third race in this class, so I very happy,” said Dungey.

Voss, Wey, and Gibson all ran into problems and finished 14, 15th, and 17th respectively.

As people were filing out, they knew they saw two of the best main events of the year. If these are the stars of tomorrow, the sport looks to be in great shape. People walked out, some no doubt pumped to ride, only to still see piles of snow all around and no significant melting. But for a few hours, people could forget about what seems like the longest winter ever, and watch the very best do their magic under the dome.

There are other AMA national events in Minnesota this year. The Spring Creek Motocross National is on August 17th with the 40th Annual Minnesota Moose Run Enduro following a week later, on August 24th. The District 23 amateur races are also scheduled and ready to get started, and it looks like 2008 is going to be a great year for motorcycle racing in the Land of Ten-Thousand Lakes. (or maybe just a hair East, for the Grantsburg practice March 29-30, for example).

Moster Energy AMA Supercross Results: Minneapolis, March 15
Lites Heat 1:
1.Joshua M. Grant (Hon); 2.Ben Coisy (Hon); 3.Ryan Morais (Yam); 4.Branden L. Jesseman (Kaw); 5.Ryan Mills (Hon); 6.Kyle P. Chisholm (Kaw); 7.Nathan H. Skaggs (Hon); 8.Tyler D. Medaglia (Suz); 9.Kyle M. Gills (Kaw); 10.Justin M. Sipes (Suz); 11.Jimmy Albertson (Suz); 12.Matt Boni (Hon); 13.Tanner J. Reidman (Suz); 14.Bruce L. Dehn (Kaw); 15.Leighton T. Lillie (Hon); 16.Levi W. Kilbarger (Hon); 17.Augie L. Lieber (Kaw); 18.Matthew C. Goerke (KTM); 19.Kyle Partridge (Hon); 20.Kristofer Miller (Kaw);

Lites Heat 2:
1.Ryan D. Villopoto (Kaw); 2.Trey G. Canard (Hon); 3.Jake Moss (Yam); 4.Tyler T. Bowers (Yam); 5.Martin Davalos (KTM); 6.Nico A. Izzi (Suz); 7.Phillip J. Nicoletti (Kaw); 8.Ryan Sipes (KTM); 9.Travis L. Sewell (Suz); 10.Billy R. Payne (Hon); 11.Kyle D. Keylon (Hon); 12.Zach T. Ames (Hon); 13.William A. Browning (Suz); 14.Vernon A. Mckiddie (Hon); 15.Ricky L. Renner (Kaw); 16.Geddy L. Karrle (Suz); 17.Jason R. Hussey (Hon); 18.Mitchell S. Dougherty (Hon); 19.Sean L. Hackley (Suz); 20.Tyson D. Hadsell (Hon);

Lites LCQ:
1.Billy R. Payne (Hon); 2.Zach T. Ames (Hon); 3.Matt Boni (Hon); 4.Kyle Partridge (Hon); 5.William A. Browning (Suz); 6.Sean L. Hackley (Suz); 7.Vernon A. Mckiddie (Hon); 8.Kyle D. Keylon (Hon); 9.Justin M. Sipes (Suz); 10.Kristofer Miller (Kaw); 11.Leighton T. Lillie (Hon); 12.Geddy L. Karrle (Suz); 13.Jason R. Hussey (Hon); 14.Matthew C. Goerke (KTM); 15.Ricky L. Renner (Kaw); 16.Tanner J. Reidman (Suz); 17.Mitchell S. Dougherty (Hon); 18.Levi W. Kilbarger (Hon); 19.Bruce L. Dehn (Kaw); 20.Jimmy Albertson (Suz); 21.Augie L. Lieber (Kaw); 22.Tyson D. Hadsell (Hon);

Lite Main Event:
1.Ryan D. Villopoto (WA); 2.Joshua M. Grant (CA); 3.Martin Davalos (Ecudor); 4.Trey G. Canard (OK); 5.Ryan Sipes (KY); 6.Tyler T. Bowers (KY); 7.Ryan Morais (CA); 8.Kyle Partridge (CA); 9.Nico A. Izzi (MI); 10.Billy R. Payne (CA); 11.Kyle P. Chisholm (FL); 12.Branden L. Jesseman (PA); 13.Travis L. Sewell (IN); 14.Matt Boni (FL); 15.Ben Coisy (France); 16.Zach T. Ames (OH); 17.Tyler D. Medaglia (ON); 18.Phillip J. Nicoletti (NY); 19.Kyle M. Gills (MISS); 20.Nathan H. Skaggs (OH); 21.Jake Moss (Australia); 22.Ryan Mills (NY);

Supercross Heat 1:
1.Chad Reed (Yam); 2.David D. Millsaps (Hon); 3.Joshua R. Hill (Yam); 4.Travis A. Preston (Kaw); 5.Thomas K. Hahn (Kaw); 6.Nicholas A. Wey (KTM); 7.Jeff Gibson (Kaw); 8.Manuel Rivas (Kaw); 9.Heath D. Voss (Hon); 10.Jiri Dostal (Kaw); 11.Dusty Klatt (Kaw); 12.Joshua Hansen (Yam); 13.Joe Oehlhof (Yam); 14.Cole T. Siebler (Hon); 15.Shaun J. Skinner (Hon); 16.James M. Povolny (Kaw);

Supercross Heat 2:
1.Kevin W. Windham (Hon); 2.Ryan M. Dungey (Suz); 3.Charles J. Summey (Yam); 4.David Vuillemin (Suz); 5.Andrew T. Short (Hon); 6.Eric Sorby (Hon); 7.Jason W. Thomas (Hon); 8.Nathan Ramsey (Yam); 9.Bryan K. Johnson (Hon); 10.Paul P. Carpenter (Hon); 11.Jacob Marsack (Hon); 12.Tyler Bright (Hon); 13.Ryan D. Clark (Hon); 14.Christopher Gosselaar (Hon); 15.Tim Hawthorne (Hon); 16.Antonio Balbi (Hon);

Supercross LCQ:
1.Dusty Klatt (Kaw); 2.Tyler Bright (Hon); 3.Jiri Dostal (Kaw); 4.Ryan D. Clark (Hon); 5.Christopher Gosselaar (Hon); 6.Shaun J. Skinner (Hon); 7.Joe Oehlhof (Yam); 8.Antonio Balbi (Hon); 9.Cole T. Siebler (Hon); 10.Jacob Marsack (Hon); 11.Joshua Hansen (Yam); 12.James M. Povolny (Kaw); 13.Paul P. Carpenter (Hon); 14.Tim Hawthorne (Hon);

Supercross Main Event:
1.Joshua R. Hill (OR); 2.Ryan M. Dungey (MN); 3.Kevin W. Windham (LA); 4.Andrew T. Short (CO); 5.Thomas K. Hahn (TX); 6.David D. Millsaps (GA); 7.Chad Reed (Australia); 8.David Vuillemin (France); 9.Travis A. Preston (CA); 10.Nathan Ramsey (CA); 11.Paul P. Carpenter (NY); 12.Charles J. Summey (NC); 13.Eric Sorby (France); 14.Heath D. Voss (MN/TX); 15.Nicholas A. Wey (MI); 16.Tyler Bright (NC); 17.Jeff Gibson (OH); 18.Dusty Klatt (CAN); 19.Jason W. Thomas (FL); 20.Manuel Rivas (Brasil?);

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