Ryan Villopoto extended his series lead at RedBud. Image: Simon Cudby.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto clinched the overall 450 Class win at RedBud’s round seven of the 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.

Celebrating 40 years of hosting the event over the fourth of July weekend, a huge crowd was on hand to witness some of the most intense racing of the season in Michigan.

JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha’s Josh Grant grabbed the Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot in moto one. Grant maintained his lead in the opening laps but a hard charging Villopoto came through the pack from a seventh place start to eventually take over the lead by lap four.

Villopoto established a comfortable gap on the rest of the field, leaving the battle for second place to ensue between Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart.

However, a mechanical issue ultimately ended Dungey’s charge in moto one, allowing Stewart to inherit the runner-up position late in the race.

Dungey’s 34th place finish in the first moto marked the first time this season that the reigning champion has finished off the podium. Grant maintained a smooth and consistent performance, securing a season-best third place finish in moto one.

In moto two it was Stewart and Villopoto who commanded the early lead as the two former 450 Class champions diced back and forth in the opening laps.

It didn’t take long for Dungey to inject himself into the battle where he created a three-way fight for the lead. Villopoto powered by Stewart in the sandy whoop-section and Dungey followed suit, moving past Stewart for the second place position.

With track conditions shaping up to be brutal, Villopoto worked hard to hold off the charging duo of Dungey and Stewart, who trailed close behind.

Bad luck struck again for Dungey in moto two but this time as the result of a bizzare crash near the end of the race. Dungey’s misfortune allowed Stewart to reclaim the second place position, where he ultimately finished second behind Villopoto.

Dungey was able to bounce back to salvage third place in moto two, giving him a 11th place overall finish with a moto score of 34-3.

Stewart was second overall behind Villopoto with 2-2 mot scores followed by Grant who used a strong 3-5 combination to land himself on the podium in third. Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard and Justin Barcia rounded out the top five.

Australia’s Chad Reed finished 12th overall aboard his TwoTwo Motorsports Honda. Fellow Aussie Michael Byrne was 22nd on the day.

Villopoto nows leads Dungey by 42 points after seven rounds, Barcia sits third overall followed by Canard and Stewart rounding out the top five.

In the 250 Class GEICO Honda teammates Wil Hahn and Eli Tomac went head-to-head off the start in moto one, Hahn edged out Tomac for the Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot.

Tomac reclaimed the early lead while Red Bull KTM teammates Marvin Musquin and Ken Roczen diced it out for the second place position.

Around the halfway point of the 30-minute moto, Roczen made the pass on Musquin despite the rough track conditions, where he then set his sights on Tomac out front.

MYPLASH/Metal Mulisha/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin put in a career best performance at RedBud, beginning with an impressive start in moto one.

Martin followed close behind the intense battle for second between Roczen and Musquin throughout the first half of the race, keeping the pace of the KTM duo.

By the hallway mark, Tomac was out of sight and Roczen had built a comfortable lead on his teammate Musquin for the second spot.

Just before the two-Lap board, Martin closed the gap to less than one second on Musquin but in the end, the Frenchman was able to hold off the rookie to secure third place behind Roczen, while Tomac secured the moto one win.

In mot two of the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Zach Osborne and Jeremy Martin commanded the early lead with heavy hitters Musquin, Roczen and Tomac all within striking distance. Roczen quickly made his move to the front by lap three and the points leader didn’t look back from there.

A small mistake early on caused Tomac to get off to a slow start but the GEICO Honda rider eventually fought his way back to the second place spot that was briefly inherited by Martin.

Tomac continued to charge toward Roczen out front but wasn’t able to catch the leader in time to make a passing attempt due to a small crash after passing his teammate Osborne.

Roczen’s moto two victory gave him the overall win with a 2-1 moto score, topping Tomac’s score of 1-2 for the day. Jeremy Martin’s impressive 4-3 score landed the Minnesota native his first career podium finish in the 250 Class with two season best moto finishes.

Musquin fell victim to a couple of late crashes that ultimately knocked the Frenchman back to fourth place in moto two, where he took fourth overall with a moto score of 3-4.

Osborne salvaged a fifth place in the second moto to finish which was good enough for fifth overall using 10-5 moto finishes for the day.

Australia’s Jackson Richardson was 21st on the day in the 250 Class and the privateer Honda rider currently sits 21st overall in points.

Roczen leads Tomac by seven points in the point standings with five races remaining in the series championship. Round eight of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship heads to Washougal for the Peterson Cat Washougal National on Saturday 20 July.

2013 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Round seven – RedBud, MI

450 Class overall results:
1. Ryan Villopoto 50
2. James Stewart 44
3. Josh Grant 36
4. Trey Canard 31
5. Justin Barcia 30
6. Justin Brayton 28
7. Malcolm Stewart 27
8. Andrew Short 27
9. Jake Weimer 22
10. Broc Tickle 20
12. Chad Reed (AUS) 19
22. Michael Byrne (AUS) 3

250 Class overall results:
1. Ken Roczen 47
2. Eli Tomac 47
3. Jeremy Martin 38
4. Marvin Musquin 38
5. Zach Osborne 27
6. Kyle Cunningham 27
7. Cooper Webb 27
8. Cole Seely 26
9. Blake Baggett 24
10. Justin Bogle 23
21. Jackson Richardson (AUS) 4

Click here for detailed results