Davi Millsaps returned to racing for the first time since the 2013 Supercross finale to win the 2014 Monster Cup on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Millsaps sat out the 2013 Motocross season to heal a surgically repaired knee and then prior to the start of the 2014 Supercross season suffered another knee injury after a crash in practice. A nagging healing process kept him out of Supercross as well as the 2014 Motocross season and then near the end of Outdoors left KTM for Kawasaki to help fill the shoes of the now departed Ryan Villopoto. Millsaps went 3-4-1 on the night to grab the overall and a $100,000 check in his first race for Team Green.
"This feels amazing, I didn't even realize I won overall following the last race," Millsaps said. "It's great to be back on a new bike with a new team and to get here and get the overall win, it's so worth it. The bike is awesome and I haven't been on it that long, but so far so good and no complaints. I thought it was going to be a long day, but it turned around really quickly. I'm excited to build my garage with this money."
Millsaps said he still has a lot of work to do to get back into the swing of things. He hasn't been on the bike that long nor has he done a lot of testing with it. Prior to his Moto 3 win, Millsaps last won a race on Feb 9, 2013 at San Diego Supercross.
"It's so hard to take 18 months off and come back and win and that's why I think this race is so great for me," he said. "I really didn't want to go all the way through to Anaheim 1 and show up like I did in the first Moto."
Trey Canard almost won $1 million but settled for third overall after crashing on Moto 3
Trey Canard was one Moto away from becoming the second $1 million winner but two crashes in the final Moto kept him from the payout but also taking the overall. A rider who wins all three Motos walks away with $1 million. Villopoto accomplished the feat in 2011, the first year of the Monster Cup. Canard grabbed the holeshot and wins in the first two Motos but the two crashes bumped him to eighth for Moto 3 and third place overall. Including the Motocross season, Canard has won the last six of eight Motos.
"It was in the back of the mind (the money), but I wanted to go in there like any other race," Canard said. "It's so good to see Davi back and race against him. I'm just thankful to be healthy and this gets me excited for Anaheim."
Eli Tomac takes second overall for 2014 Monster Cup
Eli Tomac went 4-3-2 for second overall and Ryan Dungey landed in fourth after an 8-5-3 night. Justin Hill took second in the first two Motos but 18th in Moto 3 dropped him to sixth overall. Malcolm Stewart rounded out the Top 5. James Stewart, brother of Malcolm, did not race even though his Theraputic Use Exemption for the substance he tested positive for at Seattle Supercross in April was accepted by the World Anti-Doping Agency last week. His provisional suspension from the FIM was not lifted in time to race the Monster Cup. He won last year's Monster Cup.
No current MotoSport riders qualified for the Cup Class main event. Millsaps was a MotoSport-sponsored rider for the 2013 Supercross season. Weston Peick, also formerly sponsored by MotoSport took 15th overall after a 21-12-10 night. Jason Anderson, who took seventh overall after a 15-7-4 showing, was also sponsored by MotoSport during his 2014 Supercross 250 West Class Championship run.
Racing is done for the year, now it's the long two months before Supercross kicks off January 3, 2015 in Anaheim at Angel Stadium.
2014 Monster Cup Results
- Davi Millsaps (3,4,1)
- Eli Tomac (4,3,2)
- Trey Canard (1,1,8)
- Ryan Dungey (8,5,3)
- Malcolm Stewart (7,7,5)
- Justin Hill (2,2,18)
- Jason Anderson (15,7,4)
- Jake Weimer (10,10,6)
- Justin Barcia (6,6,16)
- Blake Baggett (5,8,21)
