Racing

What Really Happened & Results: New Orleans Supercross - Dirt Rider Magazine

April 16, 2012

The New Orleans round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross might have been a sleeper had it not been the final round of the East Regional Lites series, which added a bit of drama with Justin Barcia needing a fourth place finish to wrap up his second-straight title. After his meltdown in Houston two weeks before, all eyes were on the GEICO Powersports Honda to see if he could handle the pressure in The Big Easy.

In the Supercross class, all the major players except for Ryan Villopoto were on the sidelines with injuries, and for sure, the fact that Kevin Windham was not riding hurt the attendance as only 33,392 attended the race. That was the official count, although it looked as though that might have been a stretch. Villopoto broke into the lead at the start of the 450 main, and after that, no one had a chance at catching the newly crowned Monster Energy Kawasaki rider. What made the race interesting, however, was Josh Grant, who worked his way into second place after getting off to a great jump off the gate. The Jeff Ward Racing Kawasaki rider held his ground for all 20 laps and came away with his best finish since 2009. MotoConcepts Suzuki's Mike Alessi, on the other hand, was in position to grab a third place finish, but he threw it away when Justin Brayton started putting on the pressure, leaving the Muscle Milk Honda rider a clear path to the podium.In the Lites class, Barcia came in gunning for a win but was willing to settle for a fourth, and that's exactly what he got - a fourth place finish, which was just enough to claim the Lites title. Meanwhile his the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate Darryn Durham grabbed his first career victory with an inspired ride.Of course, the New Orleans round is a great race for an out-of-towner to attend, since the French Quarters are within walking distance of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and this year the race fell on the same weekend as the annual French Quarter Festival. Can you say, "Abita Jockamo and crawfish pie?"Read the full story "What Really Happened at New Orleans SX" by clicking here or the image below.

Official Monster Energy Supercross Results

Supercross Class Results

1. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)

2. Josh Grant (Kaw)

3. Justin Brayton (Hon)

4. Brett Metcalfe (Suz)

5. Andrew Short (Hon)

6. Davi Millsaps (Yam)

7. Weston Peick (Yam)

8. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw)

9. Wil Hahn (Hon)

10. Broc Tickle (Kaw)Lites/250 Results

1. Darryn Durham (Kaw)

2. Blake Baggett (Kaw)

3. Justin Bogle (Hon)

4. Justin Barcia (Hon)

5. Ken Roczen (KTM)

6. Kyle Cunningham (Yam)

7. Jake Canada (Hon)

8. Tyler Bowers (Kaw)

9. Austin Politelli (Hon)

10. Philip Nicoletti (Hon)