Davi Millsaps leading in supercross title standings, but just barely

Davi Millsaps of Murrieta is enjoying his first career lead in the supercross championship standings, but reigning title holder Ryan Villopoto is breathing down his neck.

Villopoto will try to catch Millsaps for the points lead when the series makes its third and final season stop at Angel Stadium on Saturday night.

Millsaps, a 24-year-old Suzuki rider, won the season opener in Anaheim on Jan. 5, and rookie Justin Barcia won the following week in Phoenix.

But Villopoto, who has captured the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series title the last two years, then rebounded with consecutive wins at the second Anaheim race Jan. 19 and last weekend in Oakland.

As a result, Millsaps’ lead in the title standings has narrowed to seven points over second-place Trey Canard of Oklahoma and eight points over Villopoto.

Villopoto, a Kawasaki rider from the Seattle area, got off to a slow start with a 16th-place finish in the season opener, but now returns to Anaheim with a head of steam. “I always like racing at Angel Stadium,” he said. “I just need to keep working hard and finishing as best I can so I can retake the points lead.”

But Millsaps has been the most consistent front-runner so far, and he finished second to Villopoto in Oakland.

“It was a good ending to a day that started off not that great” in practice, Millsaps said. “To come out on the podium definitely got my confidence back up.”

In the sport’s second-tier “supercross lites” division, which also races Saturday night at Angel Stadium, German rider Ken Roczen leads the title standings after he won the Oakland race.

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