After a difficult season-opening race in which he finished 16th, defending back-to-back Monster Energy Supercross Champion Ryan Villopoto rebounded with a strong performance in Phoenix. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider was able to overcome a mid-pack start in the Main Event to challenge Canard for second on the final lap. When his rival went down, Villopoto took advantage and captured a much-needed podium result to vault into seventh in the championship. He’ll look to take that next step on Saturday night in Anaheim.

“Every weekend we’re moving in the right direction,” said Villopoto. “Second place in Phoenix was really good and if we can stay on the box every weekend from here on out, win on our good weekends, and second and third on our bad weekends, we’ll be in a good spot.”

Villopoto’s teammate Jake Weimer continued his strong start to the season with a solid fifth-place effort inside Chase Field. Currently, Weimer and Villopoto are separated by a mere four points in the 450SX Class standings, sitting sixth and seventh, respectively. Weimer will look to keep things going in the positive direction tomorrow.

“Last weekend I felt good coming in, but didn’t perform how I wanted,” said Weimer. “We had a really productive week leading up to Anaheim 2 and made some progress with the bike, so I’m excited to transition that into results.”

Yohsimura Suzuki’s James Stewart once again displayed an incredible toughness and discipline in Phoenix. After tweaking his knee in Anaheim, Stewart came back in Phoenix to once again post the fastest lap in afternoon practice, from which he then went on to win his Heat Race. In the Main Event, Stewart slotted his RM-Z450 solidly inside the top 10 and rode a consistent 20 laps to finish seventh. His strategic approach to the Main Events has worked out for Stewart thus far, as he currently sits in a tie for seventh with Villopoto and Chaparral Honda’s Andrew Short.

“[Race] 2 was a little bit better than [Race] 1,” said Stewart. “My knee was sore, but I was able to deal with it in the Main Event. I got a bad start, but I was able to pass a couple of people, and then I did what I did last week and just stayed there. I’m happy we got out of Phoenix without damaging anything and I felt a little stronger than I did last week. We have a couple of things to work on, but the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 was awesome. In both Main Events this year it’s been phenomenal. Unfortunately, I’m just not riding up to par right now. One reason is because of the injury, but the other reason is I that just need to let it hang it out there a little more – there are some young guys out there that are just letting it go. We’ll be better. I had a chance to do some riding and testing this week and I can feel that I’m getting stronger, so we’ll be better at Anaheim 2, for sure.”

GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham finished 11th in Phoenix and as a result, sits just outside the top 10 in points. Meanwhile, Short rode his way to a solid ninth-place effort and will look to gain ground on his rivals on Saturday.

"I’m still building up my confidence," Windham said. "It was a very quick pace for such a tight track design and it really placed a premium on being smart and staying upright. There were some things I did that really felt good and a few other areas where I need to improve, but I'm getting back to where I need to be. It's really more mental than physical and it takes a little time."

Supercross LIVE!® is back in 2013 with a three-hour mid-raceday program from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. local time. Hosts, Jim Holley, a former World Supercross Champion, and Kevin Barnett, a former member of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Volleyball Team and professional broadcaster, will provide in-depth analysis of the afternoon’s practice and qualifying sessions as the riders and teams prepare for the night racing, in addition to interviews and behind-the-scenes coverage. As the only place to follow live practice and qualifying coverage from Monster Energy Supercross, Supercross LIVE! provides fans with an inside perspective before the gate drops on the night’s qualifying and Main Events. Additionally, there will be video snippets made available throughout the race day that can be viewed on www.SupercrossOnline.com, the official website of Monster Energy Supercross, or the YouTube Channel www.YouTube.com/SupercrossLive. To access the live streaming broadcasts, go to www.SupercrossOnline.com/SupercrossLive or subscribe to the Supercross LIVE! streaming channel at http://new.LiveStream.com/Supercrosslive.

Fans can also catch racing action from this weekend’s AMSOIL Arenacross Grand Rapids race from Van Andel Arena on Sunday, January 20 by tuning into SPEED TV at 6:00pm EST.

For more information on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, please log on to www.SupercrossOnline.com, the official website of Monster Energy Supercross. For all media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig dhartwig@feldinc.com or 630-566-6305. To follow Monster Energy Supercross on Facebook and Twitter, log on to http://www.facebook.com/supercrosslive and http://twitter.com/supercrosslive.

About Feld Motor Sports®

Feld Motor Sports®, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross, Nuclear Cowboyz®, and IHRA® Nitro Jam®. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.