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Supercross & Motocross
SX: The Burning Q - Is The Title Fight Over?
With Ryan Dungey, Chad Reed, and Trey Canard sidelined, and James Stewart well back, is this year's championship already in Ryan Villopoto's back pocket?
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto (Photo: Hoppenworld.com)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Round 11 of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship from Indianapolis, IN will air LIVE on SPEED Saturday, March 17 at 8:30pm ET. #SXonSPEED
The 2012 Monster Energy Supercross Championship title fight was buzzing with excitement only one week ago. Despite having lost one of its most prominent players in Chad Reed due to injury, the championship battle lost little steam as Ryan Dungey stepped up to assume the role of challenger, renewing his captivating rivalry with Ryan Dungey, a showdown that has defined the sport in recent years.
Dungey made the first statement in Reed’s absence by racing off to the win in Atlanta, but Villopoto responded a week later with a victory of his own in St. Louis, albeit only finishing just ahead of a very hard-charging and fast-closing Dungey.
Coming into Daytona, just 13 points separated the duo with a lot season still remaining.
However, last Friday afternoon, the motocross industry was shocked to learn that Dungey would no longer be a factor in the championship, undergoing surgery to repair a broken collarbone suffered the week prior to St. Louis. While many tried to wrap their head around how Dungey performed so impressively inside the Edward Jones Dome with a cracked bone, others made the assumption that with eight races to go on the schedule, Villopoto was sure to repeat as champion.
However, almost as quickly as those thoughts were made public, the reality of the sport was in full effect in Daytona. A wet and messy track wreaked havoc and simply finishing the main event became a triumph in itself. The seemingly forgotten fourth man in this championship-caliber group of front-runners, James Stewart, reminded the world that while he may be quite a ways back of Villopoto in the standings, he is by no means giving up hope of winning a third Supercross title.
As Stewart pulled away out front for his second win of the season, Villopoto was faced with the extremely unpredictable nature of Supercross. A wild ride on the opening lap relegated the reigning champion to the tail end of the field, but being a true representative of the number one plate, Villopoto fought back valiantly. He salvaged what was looking like a horrible evening to finish fifth -- incredibly his worst finish of the season -- and surrendered minimal points to Stewart.
As the series left its wildest round of the season to date, 44 points separated Villopoto from Stewart in the standings. Sure, that remains a very comfortable margin for Villopoto, but last weekend's events (along with the previous title-crushing injures to Reed, Dungey, and Trey Canard) should serve as a reminder that we are in no way nearing the conclusion of this title fight. Even Villopoto himself said via Twitter that it’s never over until it's over. There is still a lot of racing to be done out there.
The 2012 Monster Energy Supercross Championship title fight was buzzing with excitement only one week ago. Despite having lost one of its most prominent players in Chad Reed due to injury, the championship battle lost little steam as Ryan Dungey stepped up to assume the role of challenger, renewing his captivating rivalry with Ryan Dungey, a showdown that has defined the sport in recent years.
Dungey made the first statement in Reed’s absence by racing off to the win in Atlanta, but Villopoto responded a week later with a victory of his own in St. Louis, albeit only finishing just ahead of a very hard-charging and fast-closing Dungey.
Coming into Daytona, just 13 points separated the duo with a lot season still remaining.
However, last Friday afternoon, the motocross industry was shocked to learn that Dungey would no longer be a factor in the championship, undergoing surgery to repair a broken collarbone suffered the week prior to St. Louis. While many tried to wrap their head around how Dungey performed so impressively inside the Edward Jones Dome with a cracked bone, others made the assumption that with eight races to go on the schedule, Villopoto was sure to repeat as champion.
However, almost as quickly as those thoughts were made public, the reality of the sport was in full effect in Daytona. A wet and messy track wreaked havoc and simply finishing the main event became a triumph in itself. The seemingly forgotten fourth man in this championship-caliber group of front-runners, James Stewart, reminded the world that while he may be quite a ways back of Villopoto in the standings, he is by no means giving up hope of winning a third Supercross title.
As Stewart pulled away out front for his second win of the season, Villopoto was faced with the extremely unpredictable nature of Supercross. A wild ride on the opening lap relegated the reigning champion to the tail end of the field, but being a true representative of the number one plate, Villopoto fought back valiantly. He salvaged what was looking like a horrible evening to finish fifth -- incredibly his worst finish of the season -- and surrendered minimal points to Stewart.
As the series left its wildest round of the season to date, 44 points separated Villopoto from Stewart in the standings. Sure, that remains a very comfortable margin for Villopoto, but last weekend's events (along with the previous title-crushing injures to Reed, Dungey, and Trey Canard) should serve as a reminder that we are in no way nearing the conclusion of this title fight. Even Villopoto himself said via Twitter that it’s never over until it's over. There is still a lot of racing to be done out there.
SX Seattle
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