Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto may be the best motocross racer on the planet today.
That’s a message that was clearly sent as Villopoto clinched his second 450cc Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship in three years with a third 1-1 moto sweep in the past three rounds to nail down the crown at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, today. In the 250cc class, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac also served notice that he may be the man to beat in the near future as he clinched the 250cc Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship via another 1-1 moto sweep.
The all-new Miller Motorsports facility featured deep, sandy conditions, with numerous blind jumps that presented the same challenges for all the riders, who fought to find the fastest lines around the track.
Villopoto adapted quickly and wasted no time in taking command of his own plight by grabbing the holeshot at the start of the first 250cc moto, leading JGR Yamaha’s Justin Brayton, Muscle Milk Honda’s Trey Canard, Monster Energu Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer and Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart. A Weimer miscue and off-track excursion moved Stewart to fourth place, with a desperate Dungey right behind him, and the pair began dicing back and forth for position. Dungey disposed of Stewart and quickly caught Canard, the two riders dispatching Brayton on the lap three. Both Stewart and Chad Reed would later pull off and card DNFs.
Dungey dogged Canard for another lap in attempt to grab second place, and he finally passed the Honda rider for the runner-up spot on lap five. It proved to be too long a wait as, by then, Villopoto was long gone. Villopoto continued to click off laps en route to becoming the first rider to win an AMA National moto at Miller, crossing the finish line with a healthy 27-second lead over Dungey. Canard finished third, followed by Tyla Rattray and Hyper-X Suzuki’s Weston Peick. Afterward, Villopoto appeared to be as relaxed and confident as he has been all season.
“You have a little bit of nerves out there,” Villopoto said of the potential to clinch the title at Miller. “We don’t have to wrap it up right today, but I’d sure love to…But if you put too much pressure on yourself, you could end up making a mistake.”
Villopoto was on the gas again in moto two, as he followed Rockstar Racing’s Ryan Sipes at the start but then dispatched Sipes before the end of the first lap. Dungey quickly moved into second place, but he wasn’t able to match Villopoto’s pace.
Villopoto averaged lap times in the 2-minute, 5-second range as he amassed an 11.372-second lead over Dungey when the checkered flag fell. Dungey was followed by Canard and his Muscle Milk Honda teammate Justin Barcia. Canard’s 3-3 moto scores landed him third overall on the day, while Peick put together a solid 5-5 day for fourth overall, ahead of Brayton, who went 6-7.
That Villopoto has won 16 of the 22 motos run thus far this season is impressive although both Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart have posted clean sweeps of every moto in a single season. Carmichael accomplished that feat twice, in 2002 and 2004, while Stewart did it in 2008. Still, Villopoto, who is scheduled to have ankle surgery immediately after the season, is happy to go into the final round of the series at Lake Elsinore, California, with no pressure to land the championship.
“Today was a really good day for me and the team,” Villopoto said. “At the beginning of the year my goals were to recapture the outdoor title after missing last year with my injury, as well as winning a third straight supercross championship. I’ve accomplished my goals for this year, and now it’s time to celebrate a little before getting back to work to defend both titles.”
In the 250cc class, Tomac suffered a poor start in the first moto, but he soon marched his way through the field to pass teammate Zach Osborne for the lead by lap three. Tomac then pulled clear of the pack by 13.042 seconds to land his seventh moto win in a row and move to within four points of clinching the championship after his closest title rival, Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen, finished a disappointing fourth. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki duo of Blake Baggett and Adam Cianciarulo finished second and third respectively in the moto.
Moto two was more of the same, as Tomac got off to a ninth-place start and had to charge in order to track down Roczen, who was hoping to extend the championship fight into the final round of the season at Lake Elsinore, California, next weekend. Tomac did catch Roczen, however, and the two battled back and forth before Tomac was able to take the lead for good with four laps to go. He went on to win the moto with a 5.710-second margin of victory.
Roczen’s hopes to remain in title contention were then dashed when he fell prey to a charging Baggett on the last lap of the moto. In the final dash to the finish line, Baggett passed Roczen and effectively helped Tomac to clinch the championship one round early. It will also be his last tile in the class, as Tomac is expected to graduate to the 450cc ranks in 2014.
Baggett’s 2-2 moto scores netted second overall, ahead of Roczen’s 4-3. Cianciarulo (3-9) and GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle (9-4) rounded out the top five.
Miller Motorsports Park
Tooele, Utah
Results: August 17, 2013
Round 11 of 12
450cc
1. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw/1-1
2. Ryan Dungey-LTM/2-2
3. Trey Canard-Hon/3-3
4. Weston Peick-Suz/5-5
5. Justin Brayton-Yam/6-7
6. Justin Barcia-Hon/11-4
7. Jake Weimer-Kaw/8-6
8. Phil Nicoletti-Yam/12-8
9. Matthew Goerke-KTM/9-11
10. Ben LaMay-Yam/13-10
250cc
1. Eli Tomac-Hon/1-1
2. Blake Baggett-Kaw/2-2
3. Ken Roczen-KTM/4-3
4. Adam Cianciarulo-Kaw/3-9
5. Justin Bogle-Hon/9-4
6. Darryn Durham-Kaw/8-5
7. Marvin Musquin-KTM/5-8
8. Cooper Webb-Yam/7-7
9. Zach Osborne-Hon/6-10
10. Justin Hill-Kaw/10-14
Series Points Standings
450cc
1. Ryan Villopoto-513*
2. Ryan Dungey-463
3. Justin Barcia-375
4. Trey Canard-303
5. James Stewart-289
6. Jake Weimer-244
7. Andrew Shor-238
8. Brock Tickle-216
9. Josh Grant-208
10. Mike Alessi-204
250cc
1. Eli Tomac-505*
2. Ken Roczen-454
3. Marvin Musquin-388
4. Blake Baggett-373
5. Zach Osborne-322
6. Justin Bogle-268
7. Jeremy Martin-264
8. Jason Anderson-256
9. Cooper Webb-217
10. Kyle Cunningham-214
*clinched series championship
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