Monday Conversation: Ryan Villopoto
Monday, January 9, 2012 | 9:40 AM
Alpinestars has been delivering performance of the highest level on the motocross tracks of the world for almost 50 years. Racing on Sunday and developing on Monday is a way of life at Alpinestars. Welcome to the Racer X Monday Conversation.
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All the buzz, stories and questions from Anaheim cover just about every finishing position except one—the guy who actually won the race. There weren’t many doubts about Ryan Villopoto coming into the race, and there are absolutely none coming out of it, as the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider demolished the field en route to his second-straight Anaheim 1 win.
There really wasn’t much to ask the defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion, but we came up with a few questions, anyway.
Racer X: Were people actually watching you during the race?
Ryan Villopoto: Not from what I heard.
So you heard cheers out there while you were riding?
Oh yeah.
Where are you compared to last year?
I feel a lot better. Fitness wise, especially. So I’m happy with that side of things. The track was a little longer in the lap times compared to a lot of tracks, we were doing a minute laps, so that is what, maybe 10 seconds longer than most tracks? I felt good about how I felt for the 20 laps. I did back it down a little at the end, but the way I felt coming off the track, I'm confident in my program.
Villopoto dominated the field en route to his second straight victory at Anaheim 1.
Photo: SImon Cudby
Yeah when did you first hook up with Aldon?
After Pala last year. So last September.
Right. So compare working with him for just four months before last year’s opener, and now a year and four months before this one.
Well, the thing is, when I started, I was coming from not doing anything, since I had a broken leg. So that’s big.
Is there anything to talk about in this race?
Yeah I had one moment. There was a triple onto a table top, I almost went over the bars. I don’t remember what lap it was or anything. But at some point, I almost crashed there. That was it.
Hearing quite a bit about the track. What did you think?
I liked the track because it was safe. I think they can still do that and make it more like a regular supercross track. It was an odd track, but, I think it wasn’t too bad. It made it tough to race a 450 on, because there were a lot of tight turns, and slow sections where you’re turning. It’s hard because of the weight of the bike and the power. It was okay though.
What happened in the heat race?
It didn’t go as well as I hoped, I almost went down at the start, and I went off the track. I did alright, came through the pack, and started riding well toward the end.
In the main event you got a good start.
Yeah I got a good start, and that’s obviously everything in supercross.
Villopoto won A1 last year en route to his first SX title. Will 2012 prove to be more of the same?
Photo: Simon Cudby
Were you marking the rest of the guys?
I could see Chad, and seeing it just little by little, and maybe four or five laps in I could see it was getting bigger every lap.
Okay so no one ever knows exactly where they stand before the opener, but, you are the champion so you had to have some confidence already. Do you take something out of this?
I’m definitely happy with it.
So this helps build some confidence.
Of course it does.
But you won some races last year, too, including the opener. So this isn’t just a contunuation of that?
You come into the first race wanting to show that you’re ready. And I think this did that.
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the new "fastest man on the planet"!
what do you think about that bubba?
20 second gap at one point. Yep.
Fastest lap time...period.
OK Stewart...let the crashing begin!!!!!
He simply CRUSHED everyone else.
Nice job RV. Hey Stewart bashers, we should hope he re-groups so the racing is better. Nothing like one guy being way out front and most of the racing in the back, I still remember a few of the RC years.
Villo was the only one who held it together mentally of the top 4: Reed, Dungey, and Stewart all crashed. Stewart seemed to brain-fade earlier than the rest. They all re-grouped extremely fast after their falls, which speaks volumes about their physical preparation at this point in the season. Brayton looked the smoothest and most in control of the top 5 finishers.
Villopoto crushed it. Reed wasn't too far off as well, remembering that Villo's lead only went up to 20 seconds because Reed had a tip over. Dungey also did well considering he hasn't had as much seat time as Reed or Villo so good job to him. Stewart rode well, but not as fast as last year I think. He has always been faster than Reed (but not consistent) yet at A1 he couldn't do it. I found it funny after the heat race he said the bike was good, yet after the main he said the bike had a few problems. Also good to see Brayton doing well for Honda. It seems Factory Honda is finally gonna get a break with injuries and such.
After seeing Alessi 800 step up his game, after changing bikes, can't wonder if stewey is second guessing his decision to stay on the yamie? Not saying its a bad bike, i would kill to have a JGR yamie, but can't not wonder what stewie might do on a sazuk? go RV1 you are now the "FASTEST MAN ON THE PLANET" at least for this week, keep it rolling! PRops to RD5, great start to the season, right were he should be and gets the KATOOm on the box his first try. Now all KTM doubters can't play that card. Even though it looked like the KTM struggled to get over the techie tripples. At least stewie didn't disappoint, well at least not me!
I was at the race, and on lap five villopoto already had a 6 second lead. Reed was way off and so waas everyone else. Poto crushed them all. Hopefully there isnt any excuses being made for stewart. Everyone has the same chance to win when they line up. Stewart failed and villopoto dominated. Tomac and Seely were VERY impressive as well
Awesome race for my fellow ginger RV!!
Although JS7 crashed , along with Reed, Dungey, Tedescoe and a slew of other guys I actually noticed some improvement with JS7. One, he seemed to be more relaxed when coming through the pack...he was in 12th or so coming across the first few turns. He patiently passed thru the pack and was in 4th but a ways behind Dungey and Reed, who started 2nd and 4th on the first lap.....so all things considered, on a track like that where people were bottleknecking the first few laps i thought JS7 did good...then Reed crashed (before James) and BAM....7, 22 and 5 are all in a tight race for 2nd .....JS7 crash wasnt him riding over his head or doing anything dumb...the moisture coming up that claimed Reed and Dungey also got James, only it got him worse and damaged his bike....A little rusty and maybe not at RV speed yet, but based on the heat races and main where JS7 easily passed Dungey twice, I think he'll make more improvements...
Kicker - JS7 didnt say there were "problems" with the bike....he said they can always work on the bike, which is a continuous activity during the season....we'll see what happens in weeks to come....
You know im right when you go and remove my comment................RV IS " The Fastest Man On The Planet " Period
KICKERMAN360!!! RV was up 12 sec when Reed tiped over, Reed and RD were of the pace. JS had the speed but about half way slowed up.. Arm pump??
.Either way I picked RV last year and this year and I think it might me a boring season with RV killing it. I think JS will be there but thats it, The others will not have the speed or be able to pass there why to the front like them.
@killomoto.....although stewart did pass dungey when he crashed, dont forget that dungey ran him down, and re passed him. Then they each went back and forth after they couldnt stop making mistakes (dungey singles the back double, then stewart crashing).
I dont think there is any excuses for any of the riders. Stewart has had a longer time to prepare for supercross. Dungey has had enough time on a new bike, Reed has had more then enough practice on that track to get comfortable, and Villopoto let his riding talk for him instead of making excuses.
I love how all of you want to strip JS7 of the FMOTP title and hand it to RV1....are you ready to strip it from RV1 just as quickly the first time he gets flat out beat, because it will happen...sooner or later
RV1 was the man at A1...not doubting that...but why would you want to give him a title that people hate so much?
Stewart will be back up front, but he doesn't have another title in him. You gotta be able to concentrate for an entire season do that and he struggles to concentrate for a single race.
Heywood, which riders were making excuses?
As for the other comments about RV being the only rider in control and not making any mistakes, he just said in his interview that he nearly went over the bars. And that mistake, on a step up triple, could have been much more catastrophic than what Reed or Dungey did.
Its a long season guys, it's the first race so don't go saying its over already. Starts are going to be very important this year. Congrats to RV on the win.
Motohead - read it again. i never said riders are making excuses. I said i dont think there is any excuses for any of the riders. Meaning no one can make excuses for them. Durrrr
@BIKER143...what happens to that title in a few weeks when RV gets waxed? it will happen eventually...what then you say?
no one had anythin for RV Sat night. To bad RD got a poor start but thats racing.
Ginger is the fastest man on the planet, He should be called The Fastest Man on the Plantet, sorry James! Poto rides like his 250F days and is great to see. I thought after the Cup race, if he continues like that, he would be on a terror. No doubt he will falter at one time or another, but he continues like this, everyone else will have to up there game. Fastest redhead on the plantet, sorry Carmicheal!
congrats to villopoto, dominant performance for sure. like he said though no one was watching him. Speeds coverage sucked, I watched it after I went to the race the commentating was fine they just focused on the race for 10th place and spent too much time watching rv. They missed a lot of great racing for second. Dungey reeled in reed,then washed out, then reeled in stewart passed him, reed crashed and dungey reeled him back in and was taking alternate lines to try to get around reed when stewart passed him that was the killer racing on the track and the tv coverage got maybe 1/4 of its goodness.
Saying someone is the "FMONTP" is like saying "the best running back in the NFL". It will trade hands eventually. Stewart,Rv,etc. shouldnt get to keep it forever. Now the "GOAT", thats a keeper!
My point in saying this is because I am SICK and tired of hearing this term used ONLY with Stewart ALL the time by the media !! He is NOT the fastest guy, That name for him has been a discredit to all the other riders ! Especially the ones the beat him !!
That isn’t even a nick name that someone can have because the next race they may not be the fastest, Its so silly to give someone this name...... Do you hear me " Media " ? I think I speak for a LARGE majority that post on these articles that you need to lay that term to rest.....
Biker143, It depends on what you think FMOP means, If it means turing the "Fastest" lap my money goes on JS if it means Race wins its gets harder but more clear, Does it mean titles? FMOP can mean dif things. All the top guys have said that JS is the fastest so i don't know why so many get mad about it. There out there with the guy and say he is the fastest. For Raw speed I say he is the FMOP.
The fastest man on the planet right now is wearing both #1 plates from 2011. Fastest lap time, best fitness, mentally prepared, blew everyone out of the water at the MEC and A1 opener. So currently I think it's pretty clear who the fastest is right now, and one bad race doesn't take that title from someone in the future by JS rules. He hasn't put something together in 2 years and still gets the that title somehow.
The bottom line is this, If you not an RV fan it's all over for you dude.
let em' go Bill C....let em' go...hahah.
The nickname was given to Stewart (by the media) when he was 16 years old on a KX125 and simply smoking the competetion....From then untill now, it has been a nickname that stuck....as we saw saturday, JS7 did have the fastest lap time...yes that doesnt matter in the race, but he was still the fastest around the track and on any given day, that is the case...so the name does still has a relation....
I do agree it doesnt sound right when he isnt winning races or titles for that matter...but he is still a fast SOB and dudes like Ralph Shaheem who's voice goes up 20 decibles anytime he says the name " stewart" use the term more than it should be used.....at this point in time
Agreed that the FMOTP moniker is a transient title but... Until RV gets a perfect season under his belt like JS you should just chill and let RV develop. he will no doubt be one of the hall of famers like Hannah, McGrath, RC, and JS, but don't be in such a hurry. Just enjoy the ride.
No doubt RV and Kawi are the best man and machine on the circuit. And there is only one other rider with the speed to challenge, JS7. Being out of competitive racing with the bad wrist, and a new team, I think its going to take a few races before we see if JS7 has anything for RV. Hopefully he does, because the last thing I want to see is one of those McGrath in his prime style seasons were he wins every race by 20+ seconds. Dungey has an outside chance of mixing it up, but being on a KTM is still a question mark. He and Reed will be there if RV or JS7 makes a big mistake. Brayton and Short will probably be the top second tier guys, with Alessi and Grant breathing down their necks.
I think RV took a small amount of that last $M paycheck and bought himself a new set of running shoes. I doubt he even went elk hunting in his off-season. That red head hit the friggin gym beside A Baker and worked his butt off. The drawback ( if there is one) would be he might get burned out towards the later part of the year. All work and no time off can get old. The others will get up to his speed soon enough. I think this is alittle of what burned RC out. We'll see....
@BillC - Js had the pace but half way slowed up??? Not sure what race you were watching. But no he didn't.
RV looked strong. Should be another good season... hopefully right down to the wire in Vegas again!
@KilloMoto- Stewart's fastest lap was 1:01.962, RV's fastest lap 1:00.409... Stew wasn't even close.
@emmerthouse- Seriously, we have to wait for RV to get a perfect season? It is amazing to not really have any problems for a whole season but Stewarts only competition was Mike Alessi. Remember RC's retirement season when he did half of the races and beat Stewart every single moto? That's why I've always hated that fastest man on the planet nickname. RC was faster then Stewart, but smarter then him. He rode smarter most of the time but when he needed to he stepped it up and rode faster then Stewart because he was faster.
@DZ958 Right on! I agree 100%
Here's the only thing we have to look forward to....Canard getting healthy and staying healthy. That is the only guy that is going to get close to RV. One of the other 3 might beat RV a few times but it will be due to a bad start or mud or something. What's scarier is now RV is going to know he doesn't have to go all out to gap them. He can go 95% and be faster than them from the looks of it, which means not many mistakes. I can't see anyone else upping their game that much in a few weeks after having months to get ready. Reminds me so much of 2001 when RC came in all buff and ready to take care of business. He took it to MC and there was nothing MC could do about it. What is it with the gingers?
dz958: Not only was RV's fast lap blazing, he strung a bunch together one after another.
He had 8 laps faster than James fastest lap. 8 laps faster than Dungey's fastest lap, and 5 laps faster than Reed's fastest. That is ridiculous.
the track sucked, and everyone knows when RV gets the holey he'll win what if the tables were turned and RV was in stewarts positions off the start? if villo goes onto to win the next 5 in a row then we know it'll be a broing season but its only been one race!
If RV was in the same spot as James off the start he catches them all and wins Staurday night. Hell, James caught them all (other than RV) and he only dropped the 4th fastest fast lap out of them. The way things went Saturday night, I believe he would have caught them all even if none of them fell and he would have gapped them on top of it. It was that big a of a whooping.
@loose02 You make no sence, RV was so much faster than everyone else that he would have smoked them either way.... What if my aunt had balls......... The what if crap doesnt fly....
congrats to RV, but overall that race was a yawner....I am so sick of the single file 1 lined tracks, ARE THEY EVER GOING TO FIGURE IT OUT
They should just have SX drag races cause the start is the only race
FMOTP means the guy who wins the titles at ALL race dicip-lines. A guy who has only raced one dicipline like "supercross only" and doesnt win a title for over 2 years IS NOT the FMOTP. NO WAY, NO HOW.. That title currently belongs to the guy who won the Supercross title, the National Title, and helped win the Motocross Des Nations... NOT a guy who can go fast for one lap. NO WAY can anyone say that one lap makes a guy the FMOTP. That is just dumb..
@ridenbutter-- the races will continue to be one lined as long as there are timed qualifiers instead of racing qualifieing..
For some reason, I don't think it will be boring to watch RV win em all. to see someone ride with that much control and speed is entertaining to me. and there's plenty of racing to watch from 2nd to at least 10th. in the past, mostly during McGrath's dominance, I got bored with it, Maybe I'm finally growing up!! As a Suzuki fan, I don't have much to hope for, so I'm just sitting back and enjoying the show.
Stewart still had the fastest lap of the night
dgizzy1 - you go ahead and cling on to a practice lap while RV has 8 laps faster then his fastest lap when it matters..
These boards crack me up! Great ride RV, one race don't make a season but it can shure make a nice start. Now don't let your guard down, they won't all be this easy.
dgizzy1.......he can win practice all he wants. What was his fastest lap in the main and how did he finish when it counted?
@ BillC- I agree 100%
Some of you people need to crawl out from under that rock. Quite a few of you who don't have a clue what you're even saying. Try racing a few laps and see how much you run your mouth.
(disclaimer) not a 7 fan, but he's talented) i'm just wondering if all those dirt samples have caused a brain injury lol....he still just cant get it together.....then again he, as #1, could dominate as well
Ryan Villopotto is the fastest man on the planet. He has taken that title from James Stewart.
@Someguy - You should crawl under a rock so that you wont have to say anything stupid ever again. Everyone on here is obviously race fans that express their own opinions. We all "run our mouths" because we like to come on here and talk moto. You dont see anyone criticizing your opinion (until now)
@Heywood Jablowme- amen brother!!!!!! Everyone here is either a rider, racer or fan or a combanation of the 3. It's not like, " I was on the shopping channel and ended up here"! ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Interesting name though.
um holy crap the dude is fast... one day ill be there:)