The Elusive Leader
Race Watch
YAN VILLOPOTO THE BEST SUPERCROSSER EVER? KNEE SURGERY
THE VIEW FROM INSIDE THE STADIUM
THE CHAMP
RYAN VILLOPOTO Here's proof that he occasionally smiles.
THE ELUSIVE LEADER
SUPERCROSS
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto is the fastest supercross rider on the planet. Why doesn’t he look happier?
Davey Coombs
When the final checkered flag on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, a series that had started with so much competitive promise had turned into a cakewalk of sorts. After surviving various assaults by Red Bull KTM riders Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen, past champs such as Chad Reed and James Stewart, plus long-shot challenges from Justin Barcia, Trey Canard, and Justin Brayton, Ryan Villopoto once again held the title firmly in his grasp. As a matter of fact, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider swept the last four rounds of the 17-stop tour, leading all 80 laps in the process of icing his fourth consecutive title.
He then climbed off his factory Kawasaki KX450F and headed to his doctor for knee surgery. RV had spent that last month of this campaign racing with a bum leg.
Before taking his leave, Villopoto said, “Going from a really great feeling after winning a fourth straight supercross title to knowing I am going to spend the summer rehabbing a knee injury is devastating.”
Over the course of its 40year history, AMA Supercross has produced a long line of championship-winning superstars. Most stay up front for maybe a year or two, only to be overtaken—the competition is cutthroat and the racing in a constant state of evolution, be it in riding technique or technical advancement. An alarmingly high rate of attrition through injury is a side effect of such rapid change.
In fact, only four men have ever taken three premier-class titles in a row: Bob “Hurricane” Hannah (1976-’78), Jeremy McGrath (’93_’96, ’98-’oo), Ricky Carmichael (’01—’03), and now Villopoto (’11—’14). With apologies to Rick Johnson and Jeff Stanton, and even embattled rivals Stewart and Reed, these four—Hannah, McGrath, Carmichael, and Villopoto—are the men who would be carved into the Mount Rushmore of supercross.
OUT FRONT: The view most riders have had of RV these past four seasons.
Of those legends, Villopoto would seem the least likely candidate for such an honor. Born in Poulsbo, Washington, in 1988, Villopoto grew up far from the star-making circuits of Southern California or the live-in racing camps that have proliferated in Florida and Georgia. His grandfather, Dan, and father, Dan Jr., got him into racing minicycles early, but the boy was often overshadowed by the star-crossed Alessi brothers. It wasn’t until he turned pro in 2005 with Mitch Payton’s vaunted Pro Circuit Kawasaki team that Villopoto came into his own. He won his first outdoor national in 2006, as well as his first of three straight AMA 25OCC Motocross Championships.
At the 2007 FIM Motocross of Nations at Budds Creek, Maryland, Villopoto finally served notice to the world that he was something special. Racing for Team USA in the MX2 class (for 25OCC motorcycles), RV put on the most dominant performance the event has ever seen, handily beating everyone—including his 450-mounted teammate Carmichael.
Villopoto moved up to the 450 class in 2009 and struggled for a time. At that point, the supercross hierarchy appeared to be heading toward a time of upheaval, the old guard of Reed, Stewart, and Kevin Windham being joined by the up-and-coming Ryan Dungey, Trey Canard, and Villopoto—champions one and all. It seemed we would be in for years of turmoil as this talentpacked field sorted itself out, one race at a time.
Instead, those contenders found themselves riding in the long shadow of the compactsized Villopoto—a shadow that has only grown larger. RV is now on the verge of accomplishing something even McGrath—the greatest athlete in the history of supercross—was never able to accomplish: win five consecutive Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championships. But unlike McGrath, who soaked up the spotlight with a huge smile on his face, Villopoto rarely seems happy or satisfied. In fact, he seems detached and a little put off by the attention. It’s an outlook that puzzles McGrath.
“THOSE CONTENDERS FOUND THEMSELVES RIDING IN THE LONG SHADOW OF THE COMPACTSIZED VILLOPOTOA SHADOW THAT HAS ONLY GROWN LARGER.”
OUTDOORS OR IN: Wherever RV races, he's magic on his Kawasaki.
“To me, it’s sad when you see a guy up on the podium and he looks like he is miserable,” McGrath said. “Why? These kids don’t realize how great of a job they have. To me, it’s lame. I love the sport so much that I hate to see that these guys look like they’re miserable.”
Villopoto, who turned 26 on August 13, counters that it’s harder than it looks (and certainly harder than the carefree ’90s, during which McGrath reigned supreme). And the grind of supercross—17 races scattered over 18 weekends between January and May—wears on him.
“With the stress and pressure of personal sponsors and the team and everybody who puts in the work and the time and the effort to do well,” Villopoto said, “along with that they hired you to win races and do those things, it’s just a lot of weight on your shoulders. It’s the nature of the sport where if I don’t win next weekend, it doesn’t really matter what I’ve done prior to this. This sport chews you up and spits you out, mainly from the fans’ aspect of it. You’ll have two or three bad weekends and all of a sudden, ‘He’s washed up.’
“Obviously, I enjoy winning,” he added. “When you’re in it and you’re in the moment, it’s hard to enjoy—we’re still moving on to the next weekend. So, yes, you can live it for a little while, but you still have to understand and push forward knowing that there’s more racing in front of you and turn your focus to that. That’s one of the tough spots that we’re in as riders. We win races and it’s all high fives, and then Monday rolls around and you have to turn your focus to the next weekend because of the back-to-back races.”
HARD WORK: `This sport chews you up nd spits you out," RVsavs.
Villopoto does all he can to stay on top, including moving to Florida with his wife, Kristen, so he can train full time with fitness guru Aldon Baker, the notoriously tough taskmaster. He’s also one of those athletes who shares a love/hate relationship with the endemic media. When word began to leak out that his knee injury was more serious than previously diagnosed and that he would likely sit out the summer outdoor nationals, RV firmly denied the reports—only to later admit he would indeed be going in for surgery after the series-ending Las Vegas SX.
“This is definitely not the news I wanted to hear from the doctors,” Villopoto finally said of the injury. “We have worked hard to be in position to win championships.”
What Villopoto lacks in obvious enthusiasm for his job as the world’s best supercross rider, he more than makes up for with sheer determination. Yet that detached excellence even has some guessing that he might retire as soon as next year, choosing to go out young like his good friend Casey Stoner did in MotoGP.
But that’s later. For now, there’s a knee to heal and a summer to recuperate. Then it’s back to the grind for Ryan Villopoto.
“RV IS ON THE VERGE OF ACCOMPLISHING SOMETHING EVEN McGRATH DIDNT-WINNING FIVE CONSECUTIVE AMA SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS.”
