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Supercross & Motocross
SX: The Holeshot - St. Louis
Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey could be set to trade haymakers for the remainder of the '12 Monster Energy Supercross season.
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto (Photo: Hoppenworld.com)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross Championship from Daytona, FL will air LIVE on SPEED Saturday, March 10 at 7:30pm ET. #SXonSPEED
If we’ve learned anything about Ryan Villopoto these last two seasons, it’s to never count him out. Time and time again Villopoto has fought back against all challenge posed, demonstrating that not only is he at the top of his game at this point in his career, he’s also displaying the true mark of a champion.
Just one week after Ryan Dungey looked positioned to steal Villopoto’s momentum in the championship by capturing a much-needed win in Atlanta, the defending champ responded with yet another dominating effort last weekend in St. Louis, grabbing his fifth win of the season.
This punch-counterpunch could be a preview of the remainder of the season. I actually
expect this duo to see-saw the race wins and resultant momentum from here on out. After all, it’s been the trademark of their rivalry dating back to 2008; one rider gains an edge, then the other claws his way back. It’s a large part of what makes their continued battles so intriguing to watch.
However, Dungey isn't really in a place where he'll want to go back-and-forth for much longer. With five wins in his pocket, Villopoto already boasts a sizable advantage. Moreover, he has garnered a double-digit championship lead, placing Villopoto firmly in control of his destiny.
Even though he’s comfortably out front, Villopoto won’t ease up -- last weekend's performance was ample evidence of that. Sure, if he found himself at the tail-end of the field due to some misfortune, he’d likely ride with a little more caution than he might have earlier in the season, but you can bet that when the gate drops Villopoto is gunning for the holeshot, and if he finds himself out front, he’s going to put on a charge for the win.
Unlike Atlanta, where he was almost flawless in the main event, Dungey didn’t get the start he needed in St. Louis and was forced to battle his way into a runner-up result. It was pretty evident that had there been another couple laps of competition, Dungey might have closed to challenge Villopoto as he was coming on strong at in the late stages. The lap times show that over the final quarter of the race Dungey was gaining considerable ground on the lead, in some cases even more than a second.
Of course, Villopoto had also slowed down his pace a bit with such a healthy advantage to ensure that he worked his way through lapped traffic safely. Nevertheless, it might have gotten interesting.
If we’ve learned anything about Ryan Villopoto these last two seasons, it’s to never count him out. Time and time again Villopoto has fought back against all challenge posed, demonstrating that not only is he at the top of his game at this point in his career, he’s also displaying the true mark of a champion.
Just one week after Ryan Dungey looked positioned to steal Villopoto’s momentum in the championship by capturing a much-needed win in Atlanta, the defending champ responded with yet another dominating effort last weekend in St. Louis, grabbing his fifth win of the season.
This punch-counterpunch could be a preview of the remainder of the season. I actually
expect this duo to see-saw the race wins and resultant momentum from here on out. After all, it’s been the trademark of their rivalry dating back to 2008; one rider gains an edge, then the other claws his way back. It’s a large part of what makes their continued battles so intriguing to watch.
However, Dungey isn't really in a place where he'll want to go back-and-forth for much longer. With five wins in his pocket, Villopoto already boasts a sizable advantage. Moreover, he has garnered a double-digit championship lead, placing Villopoto firmly in control of his destiny.
Even though he’s comfortably out front, Villopoto won’t ease up -- last weekend's performance was ample evidence of that. Sure, if he found himself at the tail-end of the field due to some misfortune, he’d likely ride with a little more caution than he might have earlier in the season, but you can bet that when the gate drops Villopoto is gunning for the holeshot, and if he finds himself out front, he’s going to put on a charge for the win.
Unlike Atlanta, where he was almost flawless in the main event, Dungey didn’t get the start he needed in St. Louis and was forced to battle his way into a runner-up result. It was pretty evident that had there been another couple laps of competition, Dungey might have closed to challenge Villopoto as he was coming on strong at in the late stages. The lap times show that over the final quarter of the race Dungey was gaining considerable ground on the lead, in some cases even more than a second.
Of course, Villopoto had also slowed down his pace a bit with such a healthy advantage to ensure that he worked his way through lapped traffic safely. Nevertheless, it might have gotten interesting.
SX Seattle
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