Villopoto closing on title following Indianapolis win

Ryan Villopoto is closing on a second successive AMA Supercross title after taking his sixth win of the 2012 campaign in Sunday's Indianapolis event.

The Kawasaki rider has now claimed victory in over half of this season's races to open up an advantage in excess of 50 points over nearest challenger Ryan Dungey (Red Bull KTM), who is currently sidelined with injury.

Suzuki’s Mike Alessi took the holeshot ahead of Justin Brayton (Honda) and Dungey's Red Bull KTM replacement Marvin Musquin as action got underway at Indy's Lucas Oil Stadium. Meanwhile Villopoto found himself immersed in the pack but quickly began moving through the field in pursuit of the leaders.



An error by Alessi allowed Brayton past on lap five, the Suzuki dropping back further as Brett Metcalfe (Suzuki) displaced him from P2. Meanwhile Villopoto was making his way through the field and on lap ten relegated Metcalfe to third. Brayton was his final target.

After five laps of pressure Villopoto finally snatched top spot from the Honda rider, immediately pulling a gap on his way to another victory. Brayton secured his second successive runner-up finish with Davi Millsaps (Yamaha) snatching the final podium spot.

“This was by far the hardest track of the season,” said Villopoto after the win. “It was slick out there, and I had to be on my game. It was tough to make passes on this track.”

The Kawasaki man now sits 54 points clear of the injured Dungey with James Stewart – who also sat out Indianapolis – a further 15 points in arrears. Six rounds remain on the 2012 calendar, the next seeing AMA SX move north of the border for a trip to Toronto (March 24).

Watch AMA SX action on Motors TV


James Weeks