Although he suffered his worst finish of the season last week, the rookie Ryan Dungey has an 11-point lead heading into round 5 of the 2010 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
And though it was his worst finish, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider still finished fourth at San Francisco. Dungey grabbed the holeshot, and remained in the lead until crashing on Lap 10.
After the mishap, Dungey gave the lead to Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Ryan Villopoto, who took the win, the third of his career. San Manuel Yamaha rider Josh Hill took second, and Honda Red Bull Racing rider Davi Millsaps third.
Dungey goes into San Diego with 90 points; Hill’s strong finishes give him second in the championship race with 79 points, Villopoto very near with 77.
Probably the biggest upsets of the year, rivals James Stewart and Chad Reed are both out due to injuries. Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Reed is out with a broken hand for the next few weeks, and it was reported Friday that defending champion Stewart will also be out for a few weeks. The San Manuel Yamaha rider broke a bone in his left wrist and underwent successful surgery on last week.
Both riders were involved in “the crash heard ‘round the world” during round 2 in Phoenix.
Last year at Qualcomm Stadium, Stewart won, extending his lead by 23 points. The track made its debut in October of 1980, when Mike Bell won on a Yamaha. Seven-time AMA Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath and Reed share the all-time AMA Supercross win record at Qualcomm Stadium with five while Stewart owns two wins.
The Supercross action will be aired on SPEED at 1 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, Feb. 7. The AMA Supercross Lites class will precede the main event at noon on SPEED.
