Racer X Outstanding Performance: Ryan Villopoto
Sunday, April 1, 2012 | 6:50 PM
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Often our Racer X Outstanding Performance Award goes to a rider who doesn’t win the race, as we aim to show some love to riders outside the traditional spotlight. But this week there’s an undeniable winner of the award: Ryan Villopoto.
Villopoto’s Monster Energy Supercross win in Houston last night allowed him to clinch this year’s AMA SX Championship four races early—which is a record as far as we know. It also absolutely, positively confirms something that has probably been true for longer than many realize: right now, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Villopoto is the best dirt bike racer on earth.
It’s true that RV’s early title clinch was aided by chief competitors like Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey, James Stewart and Trey Canard going out with injuries. But while that may have helped him build a bigger points lead, absolutely no one will claim Villopoto isn’t a deserving champion. RV was leading the standings and holding the most wins when each of those riders went out, and he proved last year, indoors and out, that he can deliver in the clutch if he needs to. Perhaps 2012 comes as a reward for all the sacrifices he has made the last two years. Like the hard work to come back from 2010’s big leg injury, and the hard work to best ultra-stiff competition for two titles last year. At this point, RV has earned the right to get one under less-stressful conditions.
Numbers don't lie: Villopoto owns the sport right now.
Cudby photo
The competition will eventually return from injury, but can anyone actually stop him? Villopoto has traditionally been even tougher to beat in motocross than supercross, and clinching the SX crown early will allow him to get a good jump start on training and testing for the summer’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, a luxury he didn’t have last year. And next year in Supercross, how do you bet against the man?
Yes, the 2012 season may be one marred with injuries, but that doesn’t in any way mar Villopoto’s full package of skills—speed, stamina, smarts, desire and a top-rate support group. This season ultimately won’t be judged on who didn’t make the races, but by the man who did. Plus, as Ryan continues to win, the actual on-track competition is becoming less of an enemy. Really, right now, his biggest competition may come from the record books. Welcome to the RV era.
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Really???? Villopoto cant feel good about this championship. This year is one to forget!!!!!!
Why can't he feel good about it? I'm not a big RV fan, but he's the last man standing...what else do folks expect? If everyone crashes their brains out trying to hang with him, is his championship cheapened somehow? Nope, he is the best right now and that's all there is to it. Congrats to him.
Give credit where credit is due. With the exception of Canard most of the crashes are the result of riders feeling the pressure of keeping up with RV and riding over their heads. Reed was definitely pushing the pace when he crashed, and JS can't seem to stay on the bike these days for whatever reason. Hopefully RD can keep up outdoors.
Ryan beat who ever was on the line with him, most of the time, thats is all that can he could do. For now, Villopto is the Chammpion and the best supercrosser racer active in the sport!!!
@ctrefz
This year is one to remember, RV absolutely crushed CR RD and JS while they were healthy and 100%. What does that mean? It means 3 of the other past champions (top 4 names of the sport) couldn't match him in all of the disciplines of racing. That is a huge accomplishment. The pace and consistency of RV is unreal and unmatched.
RV deserves this and more, what he has accomplished not only in this race but this season is amazing. (last couple of years)
Welcome to the RV era. :)
Had Dungey won the 450 SX title in this fashion, people would be saying that he had luck on his side. Other, less dignified people, would be saying that Dungey should have a * next to his title.
Oh wait...that already did happen. Fast forward to 2012 and the same people saying the former would never say it about their favorite rider.
RV is a deserving champion, but contrary to what persona says, RV did not crush the competition before they were injured. Reed had a win and was right there in the points chase and every bit as fast as RV, and Dungey had two wins and was right there in the points chase.
Putting RV's last two season in perspective (as opposed to the RacerX and RV fan hype) is that RV has had just as much luck as anyone else in winning these titles: Rider DNF's (Dungey had two, plus some trouble at Southwick), and rider injuries (Reed and Dungey). Deserving champ? Most certainly. A new "RV" era where RV fans rewrite history? Nope.
The "RV era" Now that would be a good butt patch :-) Of course he is to humble a champion to sport it, but it is cool.
I finally figured it out!
J_Sloan is in fact Ryan Dungey's mother! It's obvious! Whenever there's a story extolling the virtue's of RV J_Sloan....uh....I mean RD's mom chimes in about how lucky RV is and how Dungey would have won every championship going the last two years if his chain hadn't have come off in SX last year!
I feel bad for her......she really loves her boy but he has a huge obstacle in his way!
A raging little red-head who is either really good or the luckiest S.O.B on the planet!
I'm a Canard fan, but I wasn't expecting him to finish a season without injury. Unfortunately it ended way to soon this year. I hope he can come back and get a full,healthy SX and MX tour in on a big bike.
@j_sloan
It's apparent that you lack reading comprehension. He did crush the competition in all disciplines of racing, he had the speed (reed matched it but crashed doing it) (again) he had the consistency (RD had it but he got hurt, that's not consistent is it?) and RV made the least mistakes (what JS problem is). Sorry J_sloan i know you're an RD guy ( i like RD to) but RV straight up owned.
Only idiots put ** on championships. RV and RD are both deserving champions RD was the man in 2010 and RV was/is in '11 '12.
That was in response to Texag who mentioned TC.
CONGRATS RV!!! I'm not a big fan of him but the guy puts in work and gets SH** done!
Here today, gone tomorrow, it called life.
Stewart is finished, he chose a path of ignorance, ignored his parents, spent his money of stupid cars, diamond chains, and all the stuff that an immature person does trying to be cool and just plain stupid. He is no longer anyone that we care about,
@ persona, you don't "straight up" own anything when your toughest competition is out injured and when your toughest competition was within 13 points of you after ten rounds when they were racing. That would be RV fans attempting to rewrite history and say something that history did not record.
The same goes for the rhetoric when you say that Reed crashed trying to run RV's pace. I doubt you would be willing to be balanced with that statement and apply to RV crash in 2010 at St. Louis where RV crashed shortly after he wildly passed RD.
I'm fine with RV winning his titles, he deserves them. But his fans and their rhetoric gets very old, very quickly.
Im not saying RV wouldn't have got the championship if everyone else had stayed healthy, I think he definitely still could have won anyway but maybe not with so much dominance so that he wraps up the title with 4 rounds to go. I was really hoping to see Dungey make a go at it, and would have been nice to see Reed battle for it too. Lets hope for another nail biting outdoors series........ can't wait.
@ Ripdown I think it's dishonest for you to put words into my mouth that I did not say. I did not say that RV got lucky; I said that RV had just as much luck as anyone else did in winning titles. I did not say that Dungey would have won the titles had it not been for his DNF's.
J Sloan.... rhetoric about Reeds crash? No one is trying to persuade you with their effective writing, but simply stating a fact that Reed crashed while trying to run the pace of RV..... Again this is a fact. RV's only "loses" came from first turn, first lap in traffic crashes. keep this in mind, he still came back from any race adversity with nothing less than a top 5 finish! A far as an RV era, take a look at win percentages over the past four seasons (including his injury year), championships, etc and you will find that again, facts do not lie..... he is the best rider in the World right now!
The guy is as solid as a rock, and with each victory and each additional championship he adds to his resume the more difficult it is going to be to beat him. And yes, he is beatable now and then but when it comes to consistency he just rules the roost.
Now that's all fine and dandy but who is going to challenge him in the outdoors? All I could come up with is maybe Dungey.
@ mbmoto, there is no "RV pace", again, that just rhetoric. Reed crashed running a race pace the same as RV has crashed running a race pace just like RV crashed while trying to gap Dungey at St. Louis in 2010. The idea that Reed crashed, "while trying to run the pace of RV" implies that Reed was riding over his head and crashed *because* he was trying to keep up with RV which is a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. Reed made a mistake and crashed while running a race, it's as simple as that.
Also, RV never beat Dungey if Dungey was ahead of him at the end of the first lap, so starts came into play just as much for Dungey as they did for RV. Facts do not lie.
@J_sloan
Now i understand why most people who comment on here ignore your comments. You're so dense and butt hurt it's not even worth trying to bench race with you.
Also, both of CR big crashes have came while trying to run RV's pace and pass him.. FACT
You and other naysayers always forget that RV won the title last year with all of them healthy and making all the rounds. Can RD say that? RV is the only one who can say that he has won a championship with RD CR and JS all healthy and all in it. Pretty dang cool don't ou think?
@J_Sloan - I don''t know how much of an RV fan you are, but your trying to explain to us that he didn't dominate? Dungey dominated 2010, and RV crashed trying to run is pace, that I'm willing to admit. RV did the work and came out swinging in 2011. Of course Dungey had some problems in SX that weren't preventable, but RV had some troubles of his own. But in the Outdoors obviously RD had some more troubles, and while I know this isn't a team sport per say, but those problems were his teams fault, and if you don't have a team that can get it done than your season falls apart. This year I don't know if RD crashed trying to get to ''RV status'' but chances are he was pushing it, because how often do you see RD crash?
I respect that your defending your rider, and your statements, but truth is, your statements are irrelevant at this time.
J Sloan, nice work on coming off as a completely biased SX observer. However you want to look at things to make your thoughts jive with reality is up to you, but the rest of us can only shake our heads at how ridiculous it is. Pay attention when the outdoors hit, maybe then you will be forced to admit what crushing the competition looks like.
Only 5 guys have scored points at every round and one of them happens to be the guy that has won 8 out of 13 races. That is a testament to how good RV has things going. Watching him finish 3rd in that early race where EVERYONE was out there pretty much was the writing on the wall that even a last place start and getting stuck on a tuff block off the track wasn't enough to give him a 10th place or so. All we heard from the detractors was how his big bad race was coming and it would even things out. It never came. The problem for everyone else this year was that RV was able to go faster than he did last year at a more comfortable pace. He wrapped up the title in March for a series that ends in May. That is ridiculous.
Nice Job RV1. One might say that CR, JS and RD got hurt tring to step up to RV's pace. (RV got hurt in 2010 tring to win against RD) RV was in the point lead when all of his main competition got hurt, that has to say something.
Yes it does. But you will notice all the guys who did not do well in math or science will never get this. The liberal art crowd always think everyone is the same and that winners just get lucky.
But we know the truth! :-)
Crashes aren't bad luck, and don't just happen. They are either the result of a mistake you make, or in some cases someone else's mistake. You could even fault Canard for his crash because he chose to ride around with a tough block cover attached to his bike rather than stop and pull it loose. CR's crash, and JS' multiple crashes were definitely their fault. I'm a big KW fan and I will admit his Houston heat race crash was the result of him trying to keep up with JS. Stop being fanboys and think logically.
Most racers make their own luck. You can only get away with riding over your head and riding dirty before you get your pay back. What comes around goes around.
@ persona If people ignore my posts then why are there @J_Sloan comments throughout this thread? No need for personal insults since that doesn't get anyone anywhere. Since you like using the word, "FACT" let's do a fact check:
I'm not sure what two big crashes of Reed's you are talking about, but if you are talking about Millville in 2011, Reed was ahead of RV when he crashed. FACT.
At the Arlington SX, Reed's fastest lap was faster than RV's and Reed was riding the first six laps faster than RV. FACT.
Now explain to me how it is that Reed was trying to run RV's pace when he was ahead of of him at the Millville race and was running faster laps at the SX?
@ B-KR I'm biased and so is everyone else. I admit it, others, like you, try and act like you're objective. But I will be sure and pay attention when the outdoors come. Of course, people said the same thing at the start of the 2011 Nats and we saw what happened there. And it wasn't the domination many RV fans predicted.
@penguin_bob your post makes 100% sense to me and I agree with you. :)
@j-sloan where did your guy finish.....oh thats right on the couch, RV #1 2012 SX champ. Bummer you feel so compelled to rain on Rv's little parade. Your so bummed your guy did'nt get it done that you can't even give a little credit to a phenomenal rider who now won everything last year and is doing it again. See ya outdoors ...oh wait no we won't. oh well you can always look back on that time he was leading or a faster lap.
That Millville crash for Reed was just insane. I think he saw his life flash in front of him for a moment. I think it took him a couple races to get that behind him and rightly so. He was lucky landing on the side of that hill like he did. Yikes!
J Sloan, I wouldn't think you could agree on anyone being objective but coming from someone trying to paint RV as nothing more than equal to Dungey, Reed, or Stewart and just in the right place at the rigth time......it doesn't mean much.
You will point to one or two races where RV didn't have the fastest lap of the race as some sort of proof that he wasn't dominant, but it is all in how you want to define dominant. In some people's eyes, dominant is now going 24-0 or winning all but one SX and qualifying fastest and winning every heat race on the year. That's all thanks to MC and RC. Dominant used to be a guy that won over 50% of the motos or SX races. That was because there were 5 guys capable of winning. Winning 50% of the races when your comp. is Ward, Johnson, Bailey, Hansen, O'Mara, Barnett, Lechien, and Glover is a pretty sick thing. It is pretty much as sick as winning half the races against Reed, Stewart, and Dungey.
I wouldn't go comparing 2011 to 2012 for outdoors either. RV won 7 races in SX last year, he had 5 wins after 9 races (again with the big names out there). Think he won't win a lot more in MX this year? I seriously think Townley is going to be the biggest competition for him this year, but that doesn't mean it wil be close. RV hadn't ridden an outdoor race in 2 years heading into Hangtown last year....and he STILL won the title. He now has a month+ to prepare for the Nationals with zero pressure of the SX title to worry about.
"Only idiots put ** on championships. RV and RD are both deserving champions RD was the man in 2010 and RV was/is in '11 '12. "
Ding ding ding.
@ B-KR No I don't consider it dominant when his points lead was 13 points 10 races into the season. Nor do I consider it dominant when he never beat Dungey when Dungey was ahead of him at the end of the first lap (and vice versa).
As for the Nats...you always seem to have an excuse for RV. He did win last season...and Ryan Dungey did lose 25 points when his fuel boiled.
@ tonewall Your post made laugh. I'm not raining on anyone's parade, in fact I said that RV earned this title. I just pointing out the over-exaggerated claims of RV fans who like to rewrite history and use lots of rhetoric in their posts.
JS STILL MAKES MORE MONEY $$$$$$$ THAN ALL OF THEM!!!!!!
EVEN WITH THEIR BONUS FOR WINING A CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!
GUESS THEY FIGURE HE HAS MORE TALENT THAN THE REST.
CANT WAIT FOR BARCIA TO RACE THE 450 NEXT YEAR, CANT STAND THE THE TOP FIVE RIDERS.
J_Sloan ... WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA man it's getting old dude. RV WIN'S live with it.
RV won 5 of the first 9 rounds... Sounds like somone was better then everyone else.
I'm going to give J_Sloan a break, not only because he said my post made sense (not sure if that was sarcasm or not) but because he admits he's biased and while he seems to like judge us RV fans :( he does a good job at giving everyone credit. I think we should wait till the end of the 24th moto to see how this plays out. Unless of course someone raps it up earlier.
jsloan how many races did dungey win in sx last year? go ahead ill wait!
@ penguin_bob I was not being sarcastic, your post made very much sense to me and I agreed with your points. They were well stated.
@ BillC Good to see you around. :) You are correct, RV rode a better series and that's why he was leading it when Reed and Dungey were injured. However, I would dispute that he was dominating Dungey since his points lead was a mere 13 points after 10 rounds.
Also, I am giving Dungey some leeway here being on a new team and a new bike. It will be tougher for him outdoors in my opinion, but this is not a talent/speed thing where RV has an edge. In my opinion, it is so close between those two that it comes down to testing, development, and preparation. In that regard, RV, being on the Kawi and having the foundation that has been developed for the last few years gives RV a distinct advantage over Dungey on the new KTM. We all saw what Dungey can do outdoors on a developed bike in 2011 since he was one DNF away from the title.
I do expect Dungey to be faster in 2013.
if you consistantly come in 2nd or 3rd place every race the guy getting first place isnt just gonna run away from you its only a couple points a race , that being said if you want to argue about dungey having a chance on rv argue about the outdoors because that is the only place where its even close RD won and stayed the same RV won and looks to get better and better...........in SX if RD and RV holeshot in position 1&2 rv is gonna beat him every race unless something crazy happens to rv but with RD's patient non aggressive approach to passing he would never pass RV on a SX track
I actually see the collar bone being more of a factor than the bike, just think back to the monster cup he only had days on the bike and did just fine than in SX did 10 times better on that bike than even decoster himself thought he'd do
Hey Sloan, In Arlington Reed was behind RV when he crashed- FACT. Reed was also 6 points behind when he crashed- FACT. RV also had faster laps than Reed at 8 of 9 races with Reed- FACT. When Reed crashed at milville it was Reeds fault- FACT. Reed needed to run that pace to beat RV- FACT. Reed didn't stay up at that pace in Milville or Arlington- FACT. RV beat Red in all series after 2010- FACT
RD got beat by Reed and RV in SX last year- FACT. RD got beat by RV in MX last year- FACT. RD got beat in SX this year- FACT. RD's gas boil was HIS TEAMS fault and no one elses- FACT. RD's chain derailment was between TC and RD and his team nobody elses- FACT. RV won 2.5 times more than RD this year before RD crashed- FACT. RV was 13 points ahead of RD when RD crashed- FACT.
Both CR and RD HAD to go faster than RV to beat him and so far they couldn't- FACT
Its looking pretty dominating so far to me, IF RV wins the MX this year I will join the guys that say he is dominating because he IS.
That said I am not hoping for a runaway but it very well could happen.
I really hope RD comes back in new orleans- the man deserves 2ND and he could do it.
@ Davidl RD lost the 2011 SX title by 10 points and had a DNF: FACT
RD lost the 2011 450 National title by 12 points and had a DNF: FACT
You can talk about speed all you like; RD hunted RV down and passed him at both Millville and Washougal.
FACTS are never uninterpreted and stand alone, they ALWAYS exit in a context which must itself be explicated to some degree. Maybe those who don't think in dumbed-down black and white terms are what sets Dungey and Reed fans apart from RV fans. ;)
J_Sloan.... Go reread your post's... You are already making excuses for RD before the nats start!! BUT any time someones says RV had not time to test before the nats last year you complain!!! in 20111 RD had a bike with YEARS of testing behind it, MANY titles and and RV was on a bike he had NEVER raced outdoors and RD still could not over come one DNF?? Oh wait he did make up the points, Rememebr with 8 moto's to go RD was 1 point behind RV?? Then what happen?? Yup RV won 6 out of 8 and the title...so PLEASE stop saying he was 1 DNF from the title... YOU don't know that...Hell if his bike did not run out of gas he "could" have crashed and broke his arm in the next corner...right?? It could have happen but we will never know. As for the SX title RV got 0 points in Jacksonville RD DNFed but got 1 point so I would say RD had the advantage there but RV over came it.... I would say there both responsable for what happen because they both got bad starts whitch lead to what happen next.
Sloan, you are correct Rd lost the title by 10 points last year to RV even though RV had a DNS- FACT
You are also correct RD lost the 2011 MX title to RV by 12 points- FACT
You would be correct to say that RV hunted down RD and passed him and won more points even through illness and crashes- FACT
dont be so hard on RD man he's a good guy, he can't help it if RV is consistantly beating him and making him go faster.
Facts tend to agree with the results and titles even when we don't like it and want to only dwell on the facts that make our guy look better,
OK I'm tired of rubbing your nose in facts - lets go riding some time I had a blast at three palms and Ok is close.
In arlington RV had faster laps than CR on the first, second and 5th laps.
Cr had faster laps on the 3rd, 4th, and 6th
overall CR was slower than RV when he crashed by a wopping 25'
CR had to ruin what was shaping up to be a fine race
@ Davidl RV had a DNQ, not a DNS. RV failed to qualify because he crashed twice in the last chance qualifier, once on his own. That's much different than a DNF, where the rider has no culpability in regards to a mechanical failure. But that's neither here or there since RV won numerous races and proved that he had the speed to win the title. He probably would not have won it had Dungey not had a DNF, however. The same goes with the outdoors except it was MORE obvious that Dungey would have won the title had it not been for his DNF. I get that that shatters the universe of RV fans who think he is some unstoppable force of nature, but if we are being fair with the "FACTS", then the facts don't lie.
@BillC Listen to yourself: "...and RD still could not over come one DNF?" Are you being serious? It's as if you're saying that RV needed to be spotted 25 points and if Dungey could not overcome that, then RV rightly earned that title. RV did earn that title, but he probably would not have won it if not for Dungey's DNF. RV admitted that, it's too bad his fans can't be honest and do the same. Also, notice that I used the word, "probably" since you are correct that Dungey could have crashed and broke his arm one turn later had he not run out of gas. But when you deal with probabilities, you deal with background info and when you look at Dungey's riding style, and consider his lack of crashes, it becomes obvious on probabilistic grounds that Dungey likely would not have crashed. But if you think otherwise to make yourself feel better, that's fine. But just listen to yourself sometime: "Dungey could not overcome a DNF..."; "Dungey could have crashed..."
And you are exactly right about Dungey being on a tested and developed bike -- the Suzuki -- and look what he did on it: He hunted RV down and a couple of races, passed him, beat him, and was 1 DNF away from the title. Now the tables are turned and RV is on a tested and developed bike while Dungey isn't. When you get that, then you may understand why I think that Dungey is every bit as good as RV is.
As for 2012, I think RV would have likely won the SX title regardless of whether or not Reed and Dungey stayed in. RV has nothing to be ashamed of, he is the best rider out there right now and he has proved it. But he would not have dominated if Reed and Dungey stayed in for the series...
J_Sloan ,.... Me saying RD still could not over come one DNF was to show you that the excuses you are already making for RD this year don't matter because you don't want to hear that RV was in the same spot last year that RD is in this year. You like to keep saying RD hunted RV down and a couple of races, passed him, beat him.... YUP and once RV got diled in what happen?? YUP RV handed RD his ass!! RD was the better man at the beging of the year but by the end RV was the better man and the Champ. Like I said MANY times ....Rememebr with 8 moto's to go RD was 1 point behind RV?? Then what happen?? Yup RV won 6 out of 8 and the title, You always like to over look that and say for the 1,000th time RD was 1 DNF away. Also be carful saying this again "But when you deal with probabilities, you deal with background info and when you look at Dungey's riding style, and consider his lack of crashes, it becomes obvious on probabilistic grounds that Dungey likely would not have crashed"...Who is out right now because of a crash??
@ Sloan again, You said this "@ Davidl RV had a DNQ, not a DNS. RV failed to qualify because he crashed twice in the last chance qualifier, once on his own. That's much different than a DNF, where the rider has no culpability in regards to a mechanical failure"
.Why was RD buried in the pack when this happen? HE GOT a bad start...So Yes it was his Fault. It was NOT a machanical failure...He got a bad start and put himself in a bad spot and crap happen. A machanical failure is somthing you can't avoid, RD could have avoided what happen by getting a better start or taking a better line see the dif?? It's the same t with RV in Jacksonville..RV got piss poor starts and payed the price..HIS FAULT just like RD's.
Billc you couldn't of said it better, but the real problem here is Mister Sloan is so biased he slants every possible thing RD's way and then is not accurate or fair on key points in his statements about other riders and THEN whines about other fans. For almost a year now he keeps milking the dnf theory without giving the dnq equal credit. The biggest fail here is the way the scores lay today is the real and fairest reality and he just can't get agrip on it.
If we were true friends we would tell Sloan the RD is really better and faster, there is just a conspiracy against him and the ama cheats against him.
I tried to tell him RV did not wreck all by himself in the lcq (Jacksonville) but he Just can't see the rider knocking him off the track and tries to says the fault is when he got stuck on a tuffblock trying to get back ON the track AFTER the takeout- then he calls others names for being biased.
What fun !!!
The truth is RV won it WITH his DNQ in SX 2011
The truth is RV won it fairly in MX 2011
The truth is RV won it fairly in SX 2012
@ BillC RV was NOT in the same spot last year as Dungey is this year...that is, unless RV is on a completely new and untested/undeveloped bike built from the ground up. Nice try, but no cigar. Dungey rode a better series in the outdoors than RV did. The proof is in the pudding; take away the DNf and Dungey most likely wins. Even RV was honest enough to admit that.
It is laughable that you say that Dungey could have avoided a DNF by getting a better start and therefore it was his fault that he had a DNF. I don't know how to respond to such ridiculous claims as that. Again, probabilities deal with background information, not purely hypothetical conjecture and backward causality. We know that, all else being equal, a DNF is out of a rider's control (Dungey is not omniscient and therefore could not have known that if he had a bad start he would end up with a DNF) whereas, again, all else being equal (since it is equally true that RV is not omniscient and therefore could not have known that if he had a bad start he would have crashed), a DNQ where a rider crashes twice is within, to a much higher degree, a rider's control. So yes, there IS a recognizable difference between a DNF and a DNQ.
I think it's just too much of a disruption for any RV fan to admit as much because admitting that practically concedes that Dungey only lost his titles, probably, because of his DNF's. And not one DNF, but TWO! Add to that bike trouble at Southwick and you can begin to see a plausible picture where Dungey rode the better series aside from those types of things that were not in his control, e.g. DNF's. I get that shatters the universe of RV fans, but it is simply undeniable unless one wants to eschew reason in favor of a overly held biased opinion of one's favorite rider. It's too bad that RV fans choose to deny the facts and plausibility instead of simply admitting the truth.
@ Davidl LOL.
One quick question Sloan... Do you feel RD "won" the lites outdoor title or did CP REALY ride the better series and there for "should" be the champ because he was 1 DNF away from winning it and RD had it handed to him...Right??
Thanks davidl ...It is kind off like talking to a wall...But fun at the same time i guess LOL
@ BillC I think that had it not been for the DNF in 2009 that Pourcel would have likely won the title. I don't think it's as obvious as Dungey's DNF in 2011, but I still think it's likely. Remember with Pourcel, that even if he did not have the DNF, he would have likely left Southwick only about 5-7 points ahead of Dungey. In 2011, if Dungey did not have the DNF he would have had much, much more of a points gap than 5-7.
@ BillC and Davidl I get the impression that the two of you are still quite young, probably around 12-14 (your grammar, your lack of complete sentences, not well-thought out arguments, etc.), and that's fine. I do have some understanding when I am dealing with a less mature audience. But if you really think about it, I'm being fair and one day when you get older and wiser I hope you will realize that you don't always have to be over-biased for one rider or another, and you don't have to insult other riders to build RV up.