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Supercross & Motocross
EMIG: Villopoto The Man To Beat
Jeff Emig looks at the developing Monster Energy Supercross title fight…
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto (Photo: Hoppenworld.com)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Round 6 of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship from San Diego, CA will air LIVE on SPEED Saturday, February 11 at 10:30pm ET. #SXonSPEED
The statistic on everyone's mind heading into Round 5 was that 23 out of 38 times, the first rider to win two main events went on to claim the title. That’s pretty strong history and I willing to guess that when you look into the first rider to win three, four or five races, that statistic shoots way up.
And it was an important race. All week long I felt like Ryan Villopoto had something to prove after his race in Oakland. He was really frustrated with that ride and once again, it starts with getting a strong start in the main event.
Of course, James Stewart was able to work his way through the pack and have a really impressive ride after that horrific crash in his heat race and Chad Reed, once again, gets another podium with a consistent performance. He understood where his limits were and rode within them.
Reed had the fastest lap of the heat races, so I looked for him to have a better night in Anaheim, but he continued to pile up the points. While he loses the points lead back to Villopoto, he’s only three off.
Ryan Dungey once again suffered from a pretty bad start, and had to work his way up through the pack… just like we expect him to do. But, if he’s going to have any chance at staying in the title fight, his starts have got to return. He’s got to be there inside the top three right off the gate. Reed started fourth in LA, Stewart was third or fourth in Oakland. It’s got to be at least inside the top five, especially with this group of champions battling for the title.
But right now, Villopoto is the guy to beat. He’s the reigning champion, he’s the points leader, he's the first guy to win two races, and he’s the guy who just won the last race. But every now and then -- every four, five, or six races -- he seems to make a big mistake. If he didn’t do that, he’d be at the point right now where he’d be wheeling away with the points lead. Chad Reed, every four or five races throws a win in, and James, once again in Anaheim, was so fortunate that the mistake he made in the heat race didn’t cost him big time.
I heard Stewart mention on the podium that he thinks he might have a broken rib. That’s one of those injuries where on the night it happens, the adrenaline's flowing and you can ride through that. But, as it sets in, it might prove tougher for him to ride this weekend as he sleeps in pain seven nights leading up to this weekend’s event in San Diego. He might need to take some sort of painkillers. However, the pain would be secondary to his body tightening up and the signals his body sent him throughout the week.
But despite all that, Stewart had a fantastic ride. He was fast all day, like usual. Still, when it came time to get it done, Villopoto was the guy.
The statistic on everyone's mind heading into Round 5 was that 23 out of 38 times, the first rider to win two main events went on to claim the title. That’s pretty strong history and I willing to guess that when you look into the first rider to win three, four or five races, that statistic shoots way up.
And it was an important race. All week long I felt like Ryan Villopoto had something to prove after his race in Oakland. He was really frustrated with that ride and once again, it starts with getting a strong start in the main event.
Of course, James Stewart was able to work his way through the pack and have a really impressive ride after that horrific crash in his heat race and Chad Reed, once again, gets another podium with a consistent performance. He understood where his limits were and rode within them.
Reed had the fastest lap of the heat races, so I looked for him to have a better night in Anaheim, but he continued to pile up the points. While he loses the points lead back to Villopoto, he’s only three off.
Ryan Dungey once again suffered from a pretty bad start, and had to work his way up through the pack… just like we expect him to do. But, if he’s going to have any chance at staying in the title fight, his starts have got to return. He’s got to be there inside the top three right off the gate. Reed started fourth in LA, Stewart was third or fourth in Oakland. It’s got to be at least inside the top five, especially with this group of champions battling for the title.
But right now, Villopoto is the guy to beat. He’s the reigning champion, he’s the points leader, he's the first guy to win two races, and he’s the guy who just won the last race. But every now and then -- every four, five, or six races -- he seems to make a big mistake. If he didn’t do that, he’d be at the point right now where he’d be wheeling away with the points lead. Chad Reed, every four or five races throws a win in, and James, once again in Anaheim, was so fortunate that the mistake he made in the heat race didn’t cost him big time.
I heard Stewart mention on the podium that he thinks he might have a broken rib. That’s one of those injuries where on the night it happens, the adrenaline's flowing and you can ride through that. But, as it sets in, it might prove tougher for him to ride this weekend as he sleeps in pain seven nights leading up to this weekend’s event in San Diego. He might need to take some sort of painkillers. However, the pain would be secondary to his body tightening up and the signals his body sent him throughout the week.
But despite all that, Stewart had a fantastic ride. He was fast all day, like usual. Still, when it came time to get it done, Villopoto was the guy.
SX Seattle
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