MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto emerged victorious from last Saturday’s Built Ford Tough Unadilla National, which took place in New Berlin, N.Y., as Round 10 of the 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. Villopoto proved to be the most versatile rider of the day as he captured the Oakley Bomb Award, both Motorcycle Superstore holeshots and both 450 Class moto wins, en route to his fifth overall victory of the season.

Villopoto captured the fastest qualifying lap time of the 450 Class at Unadilla, with a time of 02:16.3, grabbing his sixth Oakley Bomb Award through the first ten rounds. In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac laid down the fastest lap time of the day, topping Villopoto and the others with a time of 02:15.6. Tomac currently holds the lead with seven Oakley Bomb Awards this season.

Each rider was awarded the one-of-a-kind Oakley Bomb trophy and now has one point towards the season tally that determines an overall winner in the Fastest Lap Program at series end.

The Ricky Carmichael Hard Charger Award is given each round to a racer who embodies a never-give-up mentality, despite any setbacks that may occur during the race. Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin struggled to get a solid holeshot last round at Unadilla, setting the usual front-runner behind a pack of talented 250 Class participants. However, despite a start outside of the top 20 in both motos, Musquin fought his way back to a top ten finish each time. More specifically, the Frenchmen began Moto 1 in 24th position, where he battled back to finish eighth. In Moto 2, Musquin began in the 25th position and once again worked his way up to ninth, passing an impressive 16 riders in each moto. Musquin went on to finish eighth overall with an 8-9 moto score.

The Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot Championship is brand new to Lucas Oil Pro Motocross this season, courtesy of Motorcycle-Superstore.com. Championship points are tallied over the course of 12 rounds in both the 450 and 250 Class, where each Moto 1 holeshot winner gets one point and the Moto 2 holeshot winner gets two points. If the same rider holeshots both motos of the day, that rider would get an additional bonus point for a total of four points, thus creating a mini-championship inside the series championship. The final payoff will be a $25,000 check for the 450 Class winner and $15,000 for the 250 Class winner.

Villopoto wasted no time grabbing both Motorcycle Superstore Holeshots in the 450 Class, where he led both motos from start to finish. By virtue of sweeping both moto holeshots, Villopoto earned himself a bonus point for a total of four points toward the overall championship. With two rounds remaining, James Stewart leads the way with nine points, Justin Barcia has eight and Villopoto sits in third with six points.

In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn wrapped up the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Holeshot Championship last round at Unadilla with his eighth holeshot of the season, totaling 13 points in the standings. Hahn’s impressive nine-point lead over runner-up Jeremy Martin allowed him to wrap up the $15,000 championship with two rounds still remaining in the series. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Martin Davalos captured his first Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot of the season in Moto 2, securing two points toward the championship.

Round 11 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will resume this Saturday, August 17, for the Built Ford Tough Utah National in Tooele, Utah. For tickets and additional information, please visit AlliSports.com/motocross.

Photo: Simon Cudby