Villopoto wins AMA Supercross race at St. Louis

Ryan Villopoto took a lead midway through the 450SX Class race to clinch victory in St. Louis.

Frank Mattia/ZumaPress.com

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Ryan Villopoto took over the lead about midway through the 20-lap race and got his fourth career 450SX Class victory in the AMA Supercross race Saturday night in front of 60,178 fans at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Kawasaki rider moved 12 points behind series leader Davi Milsaps. Suzuki's James Stewart, who won last week's event in Atlanta, finished second, followed by TwoTwo Motorsports rider Chad Reed in a race that had to be restarted after a red flag on the third lap.

"It was a crazy night out there," said Villopoto, who was fourth during the first lap. "I made a costly mistake on the first start, so I knew my work was cut out for me. I was able to make things happen on the second start and get out in front after some wild racing. It's coming down to crunch time and we were all able to make it happen tonight."

Honda's Wil Hahn won the Eastern Regional 250SX Class for the second straight week to move into the series points lead. Kawasaki's Dean Wilson finished second and fell one point behind Hahn, and Rockstar Energy Racing's Blake Wharton was third.

"That wasn't an easy race," said Hahn. "It was a tight race tonight with Blake (Wharton) pressuring me early and Dean came on strong late in the race. Tonight was awesome, and my family was here tonight to enjoy this with me."