Rate this article:
Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legend
The complete story of this true American legend is one worth slowing down for.
Our Price: $25.00
Victory By Design: Ferrari DVD
Alain de Cadenet, a long-time Ferrari enthusiast and aficionado, drives some of the great sports racers and sports cars.
Our Price: $24.95
Red Hot Ringtone: Air Rachet Single Burst
Sound off with SPEED Ringtones!
Our Price: Only $1.99
Written by:
Steve Cox
07/01/2008 - 06:04 PM
Lakewood, CO
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto (Photo: Steve Cox) » More Photos
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto is on a streak that is almost unmatched. Through five races (10 motos) he has won four of them (nine of the motos), and the only moto he didn't capture was the very first of the season at Glen Helen, meaning he has won nine motos in a row at this point. With a points lead of more than one race’s worth, at this point it looks as if the only way anyone else is going to get a sniff of the championship is if some serious bad lucks falls Villopoto’s way
We sat down with Villopoto after he swept both motos at the first-ever night-time AMA National in Colorado this last Saturday night.
SPEEDtv.com: Coming from behind like you had to in that second moto, you kind of made it hard on yourself, but you still pulled it off. Are you feeling almost invincible at this point?
Ryan Villopoto: I don’t think tonight was that hard. If it would’ve been (Ryan) Dungey up front (instead of Josh Grant), it would’ve been harder. But Josh was strong at first, and then he might have been feeling it a little bit, but I was able to catch him and pass him.
When you did get that bad start, though, did part of you think that your streak was over?
When you caught Josh, did you know it was just a matter of time before you passed him?
Yeah, I was waiting for a spot because the track was really smooth, and obviously the lights were really dim and other stuff like that, so I was just trying to be patient.
You were really skeptical about the lighting. How do you think it turned out? How much better do you think it would’ve had to be to be really good?
I think probably about four more light trucks and then maybe some more of the little ones in spots.
The first turn was pretty dark. Did that make it harder since you had a bad start to begin with in that second moto?
No, because it was pretty smooth, so you could go where you needed to and not have any surprises.
With the points lead that you have now, does it change your game plan?
I don’t really know what it is.
It’s well over 50 points now, which is one race’s worth of points...
No, I mean, Dungey’s going to be back -- I don’t know about next weekend, but definitely the weekend after that...
Page 1 of 2
View All Comments
