Davi Millsaps and Trey Canard provided a thrilling season opening 450SX main event. Image: Simon Cudby.

Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps has captured an upset win to commence the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season at Anaheim 1 in California on Saturday, 5 January.

A sold-out crowd of 45,050 inside Angel Stadium were served with a thrilling opening round of Monster Energy Supercross, filled with bar-banging action as the gates dropped on a new season.

After the long off-season each and every rider was looking to prove they had put in the pre-season training and preparations to contend for the win inside the infamous Angel Stadium.

In the 450SX class it was Millsaps who scored himself a surprising season-opening win – his first premier class win since 2010 and the first 450SX main event win for his new team.

Millsaps picked up the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot Award in the 20-lap main event with Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard and teammate Justin Barcia following closely in second and third respectively. This trio would then hold the top three spots for a majority of the race.

Millsaps, Canard and Barcia continued to control the podium positions, before Barcia went down and handed third place to Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey who also had suffered one small crash during the final.

Millsaps and Canard then traded positions in the final laps of the race, before an impressive last lap move from Millsaps saw the crowd on their feet. Canard was unable to regain his composure in time to regain his lead, leaving Millsaps to take the chequered flag.

Millsaps, Canard and Dungey took out the 450SX podium positions, whilst TwoTwo Motorsport’s Chad Reed came home in fourth as top Australian, with Monster Energy Kawsaki’s Jake Weimer rounding out the top five.

Weimer’s teammate and two-time defending 450SX class champion Ryan Villopoto suffered multiple crashes during the main event which saw him end the night with a disappointing 16th place finish.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart pushed through the pain of a twisted knee which he sustained during practice, the former Monster Energy Supercross champion salvaged an eighth place finish in the 450SX main event. Stewart will undergo scans on his right knee during the week, stay tuned for more developments as they arise.

Current number two in the Australian Supercross Championships, Dan McCoy, unfortunately missed out on the 450SX main event after taking an eighth place finish in the LCQ aboard his privateer Yamaha YZ450F.

In the 250SX class it was GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac who put on a clinic, kicking off his West Coast 250SX championship defence with a convincing round one win.

Lucas Oil/Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Jessy Nelson opened the 250SX class main event with the Nuclear Cowboyz Holeshot. Following turn one, he was one of several riders, including heat race winner Martin Davalos, of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team, that were involved in a big crash.

Tomac assumed the lead as Malcolm Stewart moved into second aboard his JDR/J-Star/KTM, followed closely by Germany’s Ken Roczen in third on his Red Bull KTM entry.

On lap one Roczen made the move on Stewart for second place, whilst Lucas Oil/Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Cole Seely dropped advanced passed Stewart midway through the race, both riders securing their podium spots respectively.

Tomac’s dominating win marked the eighth of his young career and sets him up for a strong title defence in what looks to be his final season aboard the 250 before making the move into the premier class ranks.

Australian debutants Josh Cachia and Kade Mosig were unable to advance from the heat races into the 250SX main event. Cachia suffered a crash in his heat race while in a transfer position, before going down once again in the LCQ as Mosig rode on to finish up with a sixth in the chaotic race.

The 2013 Monster Energy Supercross series’ round two will take place next Saturday night at Phoenix’s Chase Field.

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