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SX: Surging Champ Leads Into Indy
Ryan Villopoto has rediscovered his mojo and once again established himself as the man to be.
Media Release  |  Posted March 11, 2013   Aurora, IL
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto (Photo: Kawasaki Racing)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Round 11 of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship from Indianapolis, IN will air LIVE on SPEED on Saturday, March 16th at 8:30pm ET.

For the first time in 2013, a rider other than Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps will carry the red number plate in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, as the world’s best riders make their return to Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night for the 11th race of the season. Following a dominant outing at Daytona en route to his 450SX Class-leading fifth win of the season, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto surpassed Millsaps atop the championship standings and carries a two-point lead into Saturday night’s race.

Live broadcast coverage of the action from Indianapolis can be seen exclusively on SPEED, beginning at 7:30 PM ET.

Villopoto has gained considerable momentum in the championship over the past month of competition. In the last four races Villopoto boasts three victories and a runner-up effort, compared to second, third, sixth, and 10th-place efforts for Millsaps over that span. Villopoto has made up a 24-point deficit with his recent surge, passing both Millsaps and Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey along the way.

In Daytona, Villopoto grabbed the holeshot and opened a slight gap early, only to lose traction in his rear wheel, turn sideways, and ultimately launch off the side of the track in an effort to prevent falling over. He dropped to third following the incident, but worked his way past Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Justin Barcia for second and Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen for the lead by Lap 4. Once back out front, Villopoto pulled away from the field for perhaps his most convincing effort of the season and now has posted at least five victories for four consecutive seasons.

“We’re in a good place,” said Villopoto following the race. “The track was so tough [in Daytona], you just had to keep on your toes and be ready for anything. We didn’t expect to be back in the points lead this fast, but from here we will try to keep the wins coming.”

Saturday in Indianapolis will mark the first time Villopoto has carried the red number plate, which signifies the current championship points leader, since the opening race in Anaheim, when it signified Villopoto as the defending Monster Energy Supercross Champion. The timing to reclaim his possession of the red plate couldn’t be better as Lucas Oil Stadium could very well be considered Villopoto’s favorite venue, taking the checkered flag for three consecutive seasons.

On the heels of his worst two results of the entire 2013 season, Millsaps will be looking up in the standings for the first time this year, albeit just two points out. Millsaps is enduring some lingering effects from incidents at the St. Louis stop of the championship as well as practice in the week leading up to Daytona. Admittedly, he wasn’t at his best last weekend settling for a season-worst 10th-place finish, but after such a strong start to his championship campaign, Millsaps is still well within reach of his first career title.

"Well, Daytona was the worst race of the season so far, [so] I got that out of my way,” said Millsaps. “Now it's time to climb my way back up to the top. It's supercross, it's going to happen. Other guys had bad races and now I just got rid of mine."

Should Millsaps finish in front of Villopoto on Saturday night in Indianapolis, he would almost be guaranteed a share of the points lead.

The third member of this developing championship battle is Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey. In Daytona, Dungey posted a quiet runner-up effort to claim his sixth podium finish of the season, ending a two-race drought. He was gaining on Villopoto in the closing stages of the Main Event, but took the strong result as a step towards gaining more momentum in Indianapolis. He enters Lucas Oil Stadium with a 14-point deficit to Villopoto in the standings.

“It was a pretty rough track [in Daytona],” commented Dungey on the podium. “Luckily, we got my suspension dialed in after practice and my bike worked really well. I got off to a great start and was able to put myself in a good position early on. It feels great to get back up on the podium.”

This trio of championship leaders will lead the highly-talented lineup of riders set to make their anticipated return the “Circle City,” arguably the mecca of motorsports in America. A total of five different winners have stood atop the podium thus far in 2013, and with seven races still remaining, the 450SX Class title fight is only beginning to heat up.

During the 2012 stop from Lucas Oil Stadium in front of nearly 60,000 spectators, Villopoto needed to overcome a bad start in order to capture the win. After climbing through the field throughout the Main Event, Villopoto made a late pass on leader Justin Brayton with only four laps remaining to claim his sixth win of the year en route to the title.
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