Eli Tomac and Ryan Dungey Win Salt Lake City Supercross; Tomac Earns 2012 Lites West Champion

Eli Tomac was the big celebration of the night at the 2012 Salt Lake City Supercross, as the team Geico Honda lites rider clinched the win and earned the 2012 Supercross Lites West Champion title, his first ever. Eli was all smiles, stating that his SX championship win felt as good as when he won his very first professional outdoor motocross race at Hangtown a year earlier. Pro Circuit’s Dean Wilson charged hard throughout the race to challenge Tomac, passing Anderson and trying to beat Tomac to the checkered in order to earn the valuable points needed to beat Tomac in the West Lites championship title fight. Unfortunately, Wilson who was already nursing a sore shoulder and second in overall points, crashed in the final laps…giving the win and overall title to Tomac. Cole Seely had a nasty crash earlier in the day and was recovering at a nearby hospital. The technical track claimed many victims during practice, as the tight, almost ‘arenacross’ style layout, seemed to take some riders time to get dialed in. Jason Anderson landed an impressive 2nd place finish for the night after a holeshot and lead. Anderson is certainly in contention for a rookie of the year award, showing good speed and talent in his first ‘rookie’ year on the circuit. Wil Hahn had an impressive ride too, finishing with a fourth place after only just recently returning to supercross racing. All three 2012 Supercross title champions have now been crowned, but get ready for more intense bar to bar racing next week, as the rest of the lites riders chase the remaining top spots at Vegas.

While team Geico Honda was off celebrating Eli Tomac’s victory title, team KTM continued setting new records for their own team’s history books too. KTM’s Ryan Dungey clinched the win in the premier class and at Utah’s Rice-Eccles stadium. It wasn’t until the final laps that he was able to pass Davi Millsaps, in front of screaming fans, to earn the win. Millsaps, of Team Joe Gibbs JGRMX, led the race for 18 of the 20 laps. Davi’s 2nd place podium must have been a bitter sweet victory for the JGR rider, as he was so close to taking his second ever supercross win. Davi won his first supercross in Atlanta in 2008 . Davi has been building speed and momentum all year, and sits in 2nd place for overall points. With only one race remaining, the Las Vegas Supercross on May 6th, Millsaps will be under tremendous pressure to hold on to his impressive ‘runner up’ podium spot. Both Dungey and Brayton are very close behind in points …just 12 and 7 points behind. Ryan Villopoto may have already won the 2012 title in the premier class, but you can expect another battle at the final round, as these riders will still be fighting for finishing order. See you in Vegas! Cheers, Rocket 88!

2012 Salt Lake City Supercross 450 Results:
1. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
2. Davi Millsaps (Yamaha)
3. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki)
4. Justin Brayton (Honda)
5. Mike Alessi (Suzuki)
6. Broc Tickle (Kawasaki)
7. Andrew Short (Honda)
8. Josh Grant (Kawasaki)
9. Robert Kiniry (Yamaha)
10. Tyler Bowers (Kawasaki)

2012 Salt Lake City Supercross 250 Lites Results:
1. Eli Tomac (Honda)
2. Jason Anderson (Suzuki)
3. Martin Davalos (Suzuki)
4. Will Hahn (Honda)
5. Marvin Musquin (KTM)
6. Matt Moss (KTM)
7. Billy Laninovich (Honda)
8.Topher Ingalls (Honda)
9. Vince Friese (Honda)
10. Scott Champion (Honda)

2012 AMA Supercross Championship 450 Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto, 323 Champion
2. Davi Millsaps, 244
3. Justin Brayton, 237
4. Ryan Dungey, 232
5. Jake Weimer, 211
6. Mike Alessi, 192
7. James Stewart, 178
8. Brett Metcalfe, 174
9. Kevin Windham, 166
10. Broc Tickle, 161

2012 AMA Supercross Championship 250 Lites West Standings:
1. Eli Tomac, 159 Champion
2. Dean Wilson, 132
3. Marvin Musquin, 127
4. Cole Seely, 119
5. Jason Anderson
6. Matt Moss
7. Billy Laninovich, 84
8. Ryan Sipes, 83
9. Nico Izzi, 78
10. Travis Baker, 75