Reigning champ Ryan Villopoto wins supercross race in Anaheim

Ryan Villopoto took a step toward his third consecutive supercross title Saturday night with a win at Angel Stadium, his first victory of the season.

The Kawasaki rider passed Trey Canard on the sixth lap of the 20-lap main event and never was challenged after that.

Canard finished second, former champion Chad Reed was third and Davi Millsaps of Murrieta -- who won the season opener Jan. 5, also at Angel Stadium -- finished fourth.

Millsaps also kept the lead in the title standings of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series by three points over Canard. Reed was seven points back and Villopoto was fourth in the standings, 11 points behind.

“It seems like the ball is rolling now,” Villopoto said. “Once I got into the lead there, I was just trying to click off the laps, be consistent.”

Justin Barcia, who won the season’s second event Jan. 12 in Phoenix, fell out early Saturday night after his Honda made a hard landing and he finished last in the 20-rider race.

James Stewart, another two-time champion, finished 12th on his Suzuki despite racing with a knee injury.

Stewart, 27, disclosed this week that he had torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during practice before the season opener but would keep competing as long as possible this year.

Before the race, veteran rider Kevin Windham announced his retirement, effective immediately, to the crowd of 37,789. Windham, 34, has 18 career supercross victories stretching back to 1997.

In the sport’s second-level “supercross lites” division, Eli Tomac maintained his perfect season so far by winning the 15-lap main event, the Honda rider’s third win in as many races. Ken Roczen was second.

The series will make its third and final season stop at Angel Stadium on Feb. 2.

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